cargo pants to tote

 I've been eyeing all the military/utility canvas jackets popping up in stores, but can't bring myself to buy another coat.  So instead, I was inspired to make a tote out of old cargos from one of my brothers.

it has cool sideways pockets...

and polka dot lining (which is not so military, but fun anyway)!

I might have to say goodbye to the diaper bag!

new spring clips

So I've had my etsy shop for almost four months now, and I feel like I am still trying to find my niche.  There are a LOT of hair clips/headbands out there!  So I am trying to combine two of my favorite things right now - felt and embroidery.  Here are my favorites so far...

a tulip trio!

bicycle clip!

and because I wish I could wear the little girl clips, I made something more mommy friendly. 

birthday presents

Last week I made some heating pads and gave them away as birthday presents to two of my sisters.  

 They have a removable bag of rice inside, which can be heated in the microwave.  (Brent and Ella took turns trying them out - sorry Mary, yours was heating Ella's toes!) 

I thought they could also double as a cold compress...just stick in a bag of peas! 

striped pillows

Pillows are definitely the easiest and fastest way to give a room a new look.  And I did just that a few weeks ago when I found some large, striped fabric at Ikea.  

 

I love the chevron pillow (from this tutorial at MADE), but ran out of fabric, time and patience, so I pieced the back.   

(The yellow pillows are actually on our purple couch - yep! we have purple couches and I love them.)

Now, if I can just keep our dog off the new pillows...

the LOST sweater

After Christmas we didn't have a whole lot going on, so Brent and I started watching LOST.  I wasn't really interested in the show while it aired, mainly because everyone told me I needed to start from the beginning or I would be "lost"  (haha sorry - it was going to happen sometime...). 

 We were totally sucked in!  In less than two months we watched ALL 6 seasons!  But at least I didn't just sit there and do nothing.  I made a sweater...

It is a bolero pattern by Debbie Bliss, from her Junior Knits book I believe.  I shortened the sleeves and used a different yarn - the sleeves were suppose to have a rolled-up cuff, but since I used a heavier, cotton yarn I thought the cuff would look too puffy. 

After all that time in front of the tv, I'm now looking for a new book to read.  You know, stimulate my brain a little.  Any suggestions?

sunshine

I think all of us could use a little SUN today!

p.s. i'm coming back to the blog!