hats hats hats

as the weather cools down i've been getting crazy with the hat making

classic paper pumpkins

at 3 1/2, kiddo is super into halloween this year
all the scarey stuff,
and decorations!

he wanted to start decorating the apartment this weekend, so we went right to the classic paper jack o'lanterns

of course he did all the drawing and cutting himself

as well as the gluing

!!!!

kiddo's legwarmers

A few weeks ago i was finishing up a pair of leg warmers for myself (20-20 leg warmers pattern available on ravelry.com), when my son declared he wanted some legwarmers too.

And, he wanted them to be very soft, so we dug around in my stash and found some Malabrigo worsted in a gorgeous blue that he had helped me pick out some time ago.

So i whipped up the following pattern for

SEED STRIPED LEG WARMERS:

with size 8 dpns cast on 36 stitches (these were made for a 3 1/2 yr old, and can easily be adjusted by adding or subtracting stitches by twos)

k1p1 for 8 rounds.

* k 3 rounds in stockinette st.
seed stitch: p1k1 across 1 round,
then k1p1 across 1 round*

repeat ** 6 more times (more or less depending on desired length)

k 3 rounds stockinette st

switch to size 6 dpns
k1p1 6 rows
bind off

recycled magazine pin project for kids

this project is fun and easy, and makes a great gift

what you will need:
cereal box or other cardboard, magazines or catalouges,
glue, glitter glue and or glitter, glue gun,
pin backs, plastic gems, googley eyes, feathers or other decorations
scissors
optional: stencils or shapes to trace

depending on the age of your kid, they may be able to do more or less of this project themselves

step one: pick your pictures
kiddo chose several animal pictures and cut them out roughly
then we decided what shape to make each one. and i cut it out more precisely. next trace that shape onto the cardboard and cut it out too.


step two: glue it down
my son painted the white glue onto the cardboard piece and placed the picture on top, pressing it down. then he squirted some glitter glue on top of the picture and spread it around w/ the brush.

step three: decorate it
he sprinkled some other glitter on it just for good measure.
then we let it dry.
when we came back to it he chose some "gems" and googly eyes, and placed them where he wanted them. i glued them in place w/ the glue gun, and glued the pin to the back.

current obsession: crocheting shoes

i will never buy shoes again.

i bought this pattern on etsy quite awhile ago, but then got distracted. a few weeks ago i went out and bought all the necessary supplies; jute twine, 3 balls worsted weight cotton for the inner soles, and 1 ball worsted weight cotton for the body.

they work up real fast.

but i found that despite the triple cotton sole on top, the jute made my feet itchy. i ended up cutting a liner out of scrap denim, folding under the edges and zigzag stitching it. then hand sewed it in.




while i was working on my maryjanes, both my partner and my son declared they wanted some too.
so i went back to her etsy shop and bought 2 more patterns.


kiddo decided he wanted slippers first, so i'll be making some outside shoes for him soon.
























and for my man, i got the awesome slippers pattern, and made the outer sole from hemp, which seemed to be less scratchy.

i am so in love with this concept, and after a few goes in a few sizes i feel confident to tweak her pattern, and make it my own.

i could make anything now, from sandals to boots
look for updates soon

more pants from shirts

I couldn't resist, went right out the next day to goodwill and brought home a pile of ladies' shirts. cut them all up and got to work sewing.

Eamon chose the green flowers for himself.

look for them soon on etsy

kid pants from dad's old shirt

My son's been going through a growth spurt, so today i decided to make him some new "snuggy pants" (his name for comfy cotton knit pants). But i didn't have anything that wasn't spoken for in my stash of knits.

So i pulled out my bag of t-shirts for reconstruction projects, and found one of daddy's old shirts.

You can use any pattern you like, or make up your own. I modified one for size 3t leggings, to make the pantlegs wider, looser.







sew the inseams, the crotch seam, turn the waist band, (the bottom of the legs already have the original shirt seam)













measure, and insert the elastic into the casing (21" here)








overlap elastic and sew, close the waistband.









voila
i'll be heading to goodwill soon to find some fun stripey t-shirts for more snuggy pants, i'm betting this works w/ sweatshirts too