Lack of Margaret making you twitchy?

I know my Mom's been having withdrawals.  Here's a few of the little puddin' today:

Margaret loves her new slippers.  She proudly stomps around in them all day.

Craft Room Update

I mentioned in my craft room tour that I'd soon be needing some new shelving units to house my ever-expanding stash of fabrics and works in progress. Add in my newly-acquired knitting and needle felting supplies, and I was being overrun by supplies with no place to put them. Well, I finally got the storage I needed. Having more space to organize these things has made crafting so much easier.

Before:

After:

The new fabric-housing bookcase left the old one empty, so I moved my works in progress onto it.

Before:

After:

It's amazing what the proper storage pieces can do for a room.

Wordless Wednesday: Toddlers

Waldorf-Inspired Toys

This week I've been working on some Waldorf style toys for Margaret. I made two ribbon streamer rings, just sort of experimenting with different ways to attach the ribbons. I'll give her the rainbow one for Valentine's day and the pastel one for Easter, I think. I also made her a fabric scrap bag. She loves to play with my fabrics in the craft room, so I thought I'd give her some of her own. I think this will be an Easter gift.

Rainbow Streamer

I made this one by cutting 1 yard of each color ribbon (and a few strands of white) and stitching them onto the ring.  The stitching allows the ribbons to be loose enough to slide freely around the ring.  I used a reed purse handle from Joann's for the ring. If I were to make one of these to sell or for a gift, I'd match my thread to the ribbons. As this one was more just a bit of an experiment, I didn't bother.

Pastel Streamer

I made this one by looping the ribbon over the ring and through itself (someone help me out on what this type of knot is called - I'm drawing a blank), then I secured the knots with a dot of fabric glue.  They are attached more tightly than the stitched ribbons, so they stay in place on the ring.  This technique made the ribbons shorter than the previous one, which would make the toy more suitable for a younger child.  Again, I used a reed handle for the ring.

Fabric Scrap Bag

This project was fun and ridiculously easy. I just cut different sizes of a number of fabrics from my stash. I tried to find as many different textures and colors as possible. The felt, flannel, and fleece, I left with raw edges. I bound the edges of the cottons with bias tape. I made a few fabrics double-sided by stitching two with right sides together, turning and top-stitching. I made a running stitch around the edge of the burlap to prevent it from fraying. I also threw in some scraps of trim and lace I had laying around.

I can't wait to see what these fabric become over time. Doll blankets, scarves and capes, playscapes...

I made the bag to hold all the scraps out of fabric I had left over from a table cloth. The ties are straps from an old dress.

Self-Sufficiency: Week Two Update

I'm a little late posting my update this week because of this:

Margaret bashed her face on the concrete on Monday, and she's needed plenty of attention and cuddles since then.

So, week two is complete. This week I made:

A dress from an old childen's XL t-shirt. (Yes, I agree the huge neon words are slightly tacky, but it's what I had on hand, and it'll make a fine play dress.  Besides, we must compensate for all the "Daddy's Girl" items she's so frequently sent. ;) )

This was a simple and fun project. I laid a sleeveless dress of Margaret's on the middle of the XL shirt, matching the collars together, and traced around it. I took the shirt in on the sides and cut out the sleeve holes (I didn't even have to finish them off, because the stretchy fabric rolls rather than fraying). Then I opened up the shoulder seams and tied the new straps together to shorten them. This shirt had a faux tank strap beside one of the sleeves, so I took it up slightly to make it the same length as the new straps.

On the baking front, I made whole wheat bread, pizza crust, and English muffins.

While the wheat bread was very tasty and we always love that pizza crust recipe (we make it with a mix of white and wheat flour and add some rosemary to the dough), the English muffins were the real stars this week.

Good thing, too, because they were a pain to make. January's baking challenges are doing nothing to endear me to the art, and the English muffins were much more work than this kitchen grump cares for. They taste great, though.

I don't own a biscuit cutter, so I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Kind of cute, no?

Whew, halfway there.