Gifts for my Sewmies

Where my sewmies at? Hollaaaaa!

Okay yes, I can’t really pull that off, but I like to breeze merrily past Pulls Things Off and go straight for Clearly Beyond Help. But that aside, today’s round up is gifts for those who like to sew. We’ll go ahead and just call this my wish list, if you like, although if you’re really looking to get me gifts I should ask for Kobo gift cards because my hubby got me Kobo e reader as our one real black friday purchase even though he thinks ereaders are stupid and so he got me one that also functions as a tablet and I am stubbornly using it as just an ereader because we are both just goats in love. Did I mention I sent him the email I got that they were $50 off and he said no, e readers are stupid, use my tablet, and I may have said his tablet was stupid. Then he came home with the e reader and I was both sheepish and gleeful. And I won’t tell you the reading hours I logged this past week while sick because they are insane.

So anyways, clearly I’m not getting anything else for Christmas so this list is for all my sewmies out there. 

We’ll actually start back at the e reader thing. I do totally recommend an e reader or tablet if you have a sewing or knitting person who is most beloved to your heart, because it’s a great place to put instructions for all those pdf sewing and knitting patterns, which is 50% of the reason I was keen on one. I like the Kobo for black and white and the Kobo Arc, which is what I have, for colour. It’s more of a tablet and its an android, which I normally like to screech at like a Macaw, but for some reason I’m having very little trouble with it. (Possibly related to barely venturing out of the Library section.)

And speaking of pdf patterns, one of my favourite pattern sites is (affiliate link) Go To Patterns. Right now you can use the code DECEMBER10 for 10% off your purchase, or DECEMBER15 for 15%. Now, if you sew yourself, then you know that nobody, NOBODY will appreciate the time and effort that you put into a sewn gift than one of your sewmies. So first of all, you can buy patterns and make some gifts. For example, the Commuter Cowl pattern (pictured above, and is anyone else thinking they need to knock off that tshirt sleeve??) is less than $4 even before any discount code, and would make a great gift for anyone (and bonus gift to yourself, keeping the pattern.) However on the less time-spendy side of things, you can get a gift card for your sewmie in the Sale section. (And if I’m your sewmie then yes, please.)

Or if your sewmie is more into the books (and who isn’t, my real touchable book collection is almost exclusively sewing books) a really intriguing looking book that is both the learning and the fun sewing time that I would love to get my own hands on is Sew Retro. I’ll link to it on amazon (affiliate) for both the Canadian amazon.ca and American amazon.com sites, because I feel your feels when you have to find something yourself because you get the wrong link.

Now this one is for the boys who want to be men. Listen up, fellas. If you know a sewmie and you’d like to woo your way into her heart, or perhaps you’re married to one of my sewmies and you’d really like to lower her presser foot, so to speak, then get your girl some Gingher dressmaker shears. If you’re a man then you may understand why if I explain that those orange-handled scissors she threatens to stab you with if you use them on paper, they are a nice little Sunfire. But the Gingher shears, they, my friend, are a Porsche. Yes, you feel me. Here you go, stud, follow the link to amazon.com or amazon.ca (and for the record my goodness does my local fabric store charge A LOT MORE than the amazon sites for these things, so you’re welcome) and get ready to have your muscles felt up a whole lot. And don’t worry, Gingher cares for her too, and will sharpen her scissors for her for a small fee when they’ve been used and abused. Her love for them, and you, will go on.

Coming back around to sewing patterns and things you can buy me your sewmie, meet the Esme Pattern from Sew Liberated. This looks so cute, and so flattering, and I just love it so much. It’s a bit of a splurge, which is exactly why it’s a fantastic gift idea, and the paper pattern comes with instructions and a code to unlock a full video tutorial, how fantastic is that? I for one could see myself making this in a few different fabrics and sleeve variations.

And lastly, here’s an absolutely charming little necklace I found on etsy that would be sure to delight any sewmie who found it in her stocking. I’m not always a fan of gold tone charms but it is just perfect paired with the vintage sewing machine, and totally reminds me of my own vintage Singer!

Sew, there’s a few gift ideas for your favourite sewmie. I’ve marked the ones that are affiliate links, and I truly adore every one of them. (I actually have the commuter cowl pattern, but haven’t made it yet and may just have to bust into it for Christmas gifts.) And thus concludes today’s edition of the somewhat-spotty-attendance Friday Favourites!

Friday Favs Etsy Edition

(I thought I had prescheduled this for Friday but for some reason it didn’t go live)

Are you far enough into November to acknowledge that it’s followed by December yet? I’ve been thinking Christmas since midnight November 1st; in Canada we have thanksgiving in October so there’s nothing to stop me from immediately humming Christmas carols while thoughts of Christmas gifts dance in my head. My husband and I both really enjoy giving gifts, although he gets more anxious over it than I do. He loves the initial burst of excitement someone gets from opening a gift that screams SPECIAL!!!

Now, personally, I am a fan of the slow burn of appreciation that comes with realizing a gift that may not have necessarily caught your eye in the flurry of wrapping paper is, in fact, one of your favourites. In fact, many things I’ve gotten for Chris himself  - gifts or otherwise - were initially met with resentment and then, over time, a gruff yet affectionate comment about how much he uses it dazzling appreciation. Often these are Useful Gifts, or Experience Gifts, or something along those lines. If you read through to the end, I’ll share some of my personal favourites from the history books.

So here’s a collection of under $40 gifts I love on etsy, most of them either fun experience/craft kits or somewhat practical with a touch of whimsy. And, as always, I’ll toss in the non-disclaimer that I’m not being paid, compensated, bribed, or offered free stuff for anything in this post, but if any of the sellers of these items wants to send me one I will kiss their cheeks or send them lots of xoxo’s over the internet, whatever is more practical geographically.

I truly adore the cheese kits at Urban Cheese Craft and I have every intention of gifting some this year. The above mini kit is priced at $10 and has everything but the milk that you need to make three batches of farmer’s cheese. There are a few different varieties including mozzarella, chevre, and queso blanco and I meant to do these as a gift last year but waited too long to order.

This little hanging terrarium kit is just adorable, and really just ideal for the person on your list with the greenist of thumbs. It comes with seeds, not plants, so I would potentially kill it before it had a chance to get started.

This is and isn’t an experience gift. If you want to add a bit of ‘special’ to the grooming routine of one of the men in your life, hardwoods and shaving are really, really manly.

For the foodie and/or health nut in your life, this is a gourmet popcorn kit.  Non GMO corn, seasonings and salts, and you can choose your seasoning options, so whether your giftee like sweet, savoury, or salty, you can cater to their taste.

So, you made it to the end! Here’s some of our personal favourite gifts from history.

- a GPS for Chris for Christmas, from my parents and myself, before smartphones were a big thing and he was always calling my dad for directions. This is the one that caused great resentment but he used it a lot and eventually acknowledged it was a good gift but a PSP would have been more fun. (He got a PSP for his birthday a few months later.)

- a flying lesson in a small plane, for his birthday. He found this so exciting when he opened it, despite being just a piece of paper, and he totally recommends this as a gift to dazzle any man who isn’t afraid of flying.

- cake decorating lessons, a gift I got as a birthday gift from my mom. I did request it, but if someone you love has been saying they would love to take some sort of lesson or class, a gift certificate that pays for all or some of it would be just the motivation to take the time to do it!

- really good quality slippers. I got Chris some Sherpa slippers from L.L. Bean and he used them almost 24/7 for the first while. When he started wearing them outside I quietly told him that they were kind of pricey and meant to last him a lifetime, he had a little heart attack because he’d had no idea and had been casually tromping about in salty snow in them. I have been brazenly suggesting hinting that I would truly adore a similar pair but so far no dice.

Friday Favs Ikea Edition

I just happened to be browsing ikea, as I often do when thinking of ways to best utilize our small space. Chris and I live in a home that’s just under 1000 square feet (plus a basement) with our three kids, two dogs, and copious amounts of fish, so I’m constantly playing furniture Tetris and the like. I was loving a lot of things, but of course I can’t have everything (especially not in our house) so I figured I’d make a post out of it! The pictures are links to the items at the Canadian store, I’m sure you can transfer over easily, and I get no compensation or fistbumps from Ikea for this post but if they would like to give me either, I’ll be right there.

This is something we actually do have already. I just LOVE this rug, and whenever I post a picture that was taken in my girls’ room onto Instagram I get one or two comments about it. Ikea! And at least in Canada, it costs only $60. Super cute. I have had to carpet clean mine already, but Jackson drooled chalk all over it on day 2 so yeah. I think it’s adorable in a little girls’ room, and it would be great in a sewing/craft room or even perfect if you wanted to go for a Lalaloopsy theme! My girls love to play with the miniatures, but they’re not into them enough for me to bother with that.

HOW CUTE IS THIS BED? I know, really it’s just a plain white bed but THAT CANOPY THOUGH! This is a new item and if we get around to separating the girls again any time soon (there is talk about making Nicole a bedroom downstairs) you can bet your butt this will be Olivia’s bed. I even showed Chris the bed we don’t need for the room we don’t have and he agrees, perfect for her.

Jackson has this little toddle truck and he adores it. In fact, he dragged the pieces around pathetically while looking tragic when Olivia smashed it to smithereens. This one needs to be glued when you put it together if you have older kids around, but even if you do so, it really isn’t meant for bigger kids to sit in and use it as a cart. Chris is hoping to reassemble it for our broken-hearted boy… for the $30, if he can’t I may just grab another next time I’m instore and be fiercer on the no-touching-if-your-name-isn’t-Jackson rule. The look on the above baby’s face? Pretty darn accurate.

Considering the toddle truck situation, you may be surprised to learn that this little $25 table set withstands my kids just great. It is way sturdier than I expected it to be. Jackson drags those little chairs all over the house, often using them to climb onto the big chairs, so he can climb onto the table, so he can climb into his highchair and yell for food. My kids do crafts at it, eat at it when we have a full house, and hover at it with Little Peoples sets or building blocks. If I had the room for it I’d probably have more than one of these sets around the house, they’re so affordable yet sturdy. They aren’t beautiful, but they’re basic and they match the easel, which we also have.

 

How adorable are these children’s hats?! How sweet! There were little fairy wings too, but I’ve seen those everywhere. These are too cute and definitely cheaper than what I could make at home, I think if my local Ikea has them they might sneak into the cart next time I’m there.

Okay, so this wound up being mostly children’s things. I also love their kitchen stuff and organization solutions, but they don’t have half the ‘aw cute!’ factor of these items!

Scarfpocalypse

So, I have been sewing and crafting away this week and last, but not really taking the time to do good photos or to post them. Back to my old tricks already, eh? Oh, yes and no. I’ve signed up to do a nearby craft show on Nov 23rd in conjunction with preparing to relaunch my online shop. I’ve decided to relaunch shop{thelaundry}line rebranded as CLOTHESPINS by ON{thelaundry}LINE.

Look, I have a poorly shot picture of a business card and everything. Don’t count on these particular items showing up in the shop, there are people infinitely better at bows than I scattered all over the interwebs already, and as far as I’m aware a few of my online friends sell some form of the crocheted bows I was playing around free-forming. Some items will primarily be sold at craft fairs, while others (like my infinity scarves) will be available online soon.

I just got a shipment of more moustache fabric in, girlcharlee (referral link) suddenly had more available to preorder and you bet your buttocks I preordered right away. (along with a plethora of bird and feather fabrics, which cracked me up when it arrived as I hadn’t noticed the pattern.) The right picture is various knits cut and ready to be made into scarves, many of them already are and some of them are already sold.

I also did some sewing for Kids Clothes Week Challenge which I have yet to share, and some sewing for me that is on the table and not completed. We’ll get there.

In other news, I have become a bit obsessed with some british television lately and I couldn’t help but notice that everyone was wearing half-finger mittens. Well I mean, not everyone, but enough. And at first I thought nothing of it. Then I sort of thought it looked cool. Then I slowly started to get obsessed. I briefly considered knitting myself some, but I am not a superknitter and I wanted something cabled. Plus I would likely get one mitten done, minus the probably finicky half-fingers (double pointed needles, hiss!) and then toss it in the basket as I panicked and tried to finish a table full of handmade accessories in the last week before the sale, never to be seen again. Soooo I went shopping on etsy. Since I missed both sharing my own handmade goods this week, AND missed my friday favs, here are the mittens I added to my fav list before making my decision (which was the last pair.) Click any of them to buy, although two are already sold so you’ll have to click around the shops of the sellers. WARNING: DO NOT ADJUST YOUR MONITORS. Grey gray grrrr, eh!
And yes, I noticed one was a men’s pair.

Just think! One can use one’s smartphone, find the keys, open the gas thinger, dig change out of the cupholder, and various other things that would normally require the removal of mittens. But one’s knuckles could still be toasty, while looking significantly more sophisticated than when using the flip-over mittens I am shamefully fond of. Although to be honest, there is no such thing as shame in Winnipeg when it’s –40 Celcious. You wear your long johns, a hoodie, fake turtleneck thinger, a scarf, a toque (get it right), finger mitts, mittens over your finger mitts, a coat that covers your butt, and some big old boots, and you walk nonchalantly down the street drinking an iced coffee.

But for tropical weather like –20C, half-finger mitts will have me strutting my stuff.

Friday Favs Miracle for Maverick Edition

Looking for the A Miracle For Maverick auction? You can find it at Emily’s blog, where you can find more of his story, the auction, ways to share, and even enter to win a door prize for helping spread the word.

As you’ve probably noticed by now, the Miracle for Maverick auction is near and dear to my heart, so I thought it only appropriate to do today’s Friday Favs based on my favourite auction items. Click on any of the images to bid over at the ebay store. All proceeds go to Maverick’s parents and to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, the world renowned heart care program set up by Dr. David Ross and Dr. Ivan Rebeyka, and to other organizations that will directly help families struggling with CHD. These organizations have and individuals have played a crucial role in keeping little Maverick alive and helping the family along. The donors of the items are all shipping them from out of pocket, so bid your little hearts out!

This is a beautiful, soft stack of bangle bracelets that would be perfect for a beach wedding, or for a very romantic, feminine look. Soft shell pinks are represented in a variety of stones and pearls. There is a sweet mother of pearl dove that is framed by soft peach fresh water pearls. wire wrapped pink jasper, vintage glass beads and focals, vintage faux pearls, an artisan clay shell, and stones are included to make this lovely set of six bangles. Perfect for those who like the idea of wearing multiple bangles; but prefer a more feminine, romantic, soft look.

Item donated by Etsy Shop Owner Hope

Three super soft burp cloths, flannel on one side, ultra soft white fabric on the other. Each has 'lemon squeezy' tag on it.

Handmade and donated by a fellow Heart Mama and the owner of Lemon Squeezy, Christie Hurst of A Lemon Squeezy Home.

Carry your daily essentials inside a Gussy Sews tote bag ~ including your medium zip pouch, large zip pouch, a light sweater or a little picnic blanket, a book or journal -- even a few small toys + books for the little people in your life.

HOW TO USE THIS // as a purse, large weekender bag, book/library bag, or to help the little people in your life play quietly while out + about :)

Includes the signature Gussy Sews ruffle, 1 horizontal medium inside pocket {measuring approx. 6.5" x 5"}, 3 vertical inside pockets {measuring approx. 6" x 8"} + a darling inside lining.

Measurements: bag is 17" wide at the top/14" wide at the bottom x 4" deep x 13" tall // shoulder straps are 1" x 24"

This item is made-to-order.

Donated by Maggy Gussy

A handmade leather cuff by Farmgirl paints with a silver plaque saying "Trust the Journey."
One of a kind, designed uniquely for you.

Item donated by Becky Strahle of Farmgirl Paints.

With its roomy capacity, vintage look, and inspiring message, this overnight bag meets the need for every overnight outing and more! Its patchwork lining and embroidered Scripture bring a message of hope --- our Heavenly Father loves us and promises to bring all the pieces together to make something beautiful of  our lives. It's a great gift idea for moms, daughters, sisters, and girlfriends!

Message:
lovely by design
(Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Product Details:

• Size:  18"L x 12"H x 6"D; 20" strap
• Embroidered patterns and message
• Fully lined with wipe-clean, patchwork pattern fabric
• Two inside pockets, plus inside zipper
• Zipper closure
• Materials:  Durable canvas, oil-cloth, soft faux leather

Item donated by (in)courage

{Ladies Slipper Boots ~ Womens Size 8}

These {Slipper Boots} are so cozy you'll never want to take them off! They are made with a soft furry fabric on the outside and in! They have a waterproof and slip resistant sole making them more durable and easier to walk on slippery flooring.

Machine wash in cold water, hang to dry.

Item donated by Oh Lollipop Designs

 

This is a gorgeous chiffon & satin headband, perfect for everyday use and for special occasions! The satin band rests comfortably for all day use, and the special rhinestone center adds a little sparkle.
This headband can be made in any color (choose from the second picture), and in the following sizes:
newborn-3 months: 12.5"
3-12m: 14"
12m-3 years: 15.5"
3 years to adult: 17"
Please specify color & size in "notes to seller" when ordering. If no color or size is mentioned, you will receive a pink headband in 3-12m size.
**CURRENT TURNAROUND TIME IS 3-5 BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE MAILING**
Item donated by Little Dragonfly Boutique in Barrhead, AB

(there are a number of these up for auction so take a look around if you’re interested)

African Acholi Necklaces

Handmade beaded necklace made from colorful "acholi beads" or rolled paper. Each large bead is covered with a protective varnish for durability.

Donated by World Help

A great little cowl that can be worn under a jacket or to add style and color to your little lady's outfit. 
Item donated by Oh Lollipop Designs

And of course I’m awfully fond of the scarves I donated, which can all be found on this auction page or by clicking through below. (There are two of the moustache scarf, I linked to the one with the current lowest bid.)

Friday Favourites

Does anyone feel crazy over how I spell that? If I recall, the American way is favorites. We Canadians do love to sneak u in wherever we can. Interpret that as you will.

 

If this isn’t the prettiest cookie I’ve seen all year, I don’t know what is. I kind of want to make them for Shannon’s knitalong and feign total innocence over my loose interpretation of knitted mittens. Except I think actual mittens would probably be easier.

 

Speaking of Shannon, she released her Mallory Cowl adult pattern this week! I have yarn on the way for this. Ironically, by the time the yarn arrives our butt-numbingly cold spell will have ended and we’ll be experiencing normal weather again. For now.

 

This needs no explaining. Where I found it on Pinterest, the linkback brings you to Facebook, but obviously this is brought to you by the cynical minds at www.someecards.com

 

I made this French Onion Soup last week. And then I ate it. And then when I could find it in me to fit more food in my body, I ate it again. And then I ate it again the next day. Because this is quite serious and generous when it says it serves six, and Nicole isn’t a soup person, and mainly because it’s amazing. I used Canadian Rye Bread (it’s a different creature. When we ordered rye bread in North Dakota, the waitress took one look at our bewildered faces and kindly said, “You’re Canadians, aren’t you…?”) and chedder cheese on it because it’s what was in my kitchen, and it was magical. This recipe calls for red wine, and it gives it a nice richness that just… yumm. I want to make it tomorrow.

 

Oh, how sweet, how fresh, how darling. This simple little leaves headband just makes me think of warm weather and fresh air. I love it.

 

Googiemama’s 4-bunk bed is only the beginning of as far as this lovely bedroom is concerned. Not only do each of the beds have their own light and privacy curtain, there’s hidden storage. There’s space to play. There’s a striped ceiling. There’s dresser space for four girls, and sparkly light fixtures, and some of my favourite colors. Go look, it will make you feel like a slacker if you painted your kids walls and called it a day last time you redecorated. (guilty.)

 

I think I have some more rad things I found this week but my monsterface baby is sitting beside me – she is supposed to be in bed, to start off with – and she’s pulling my hair, right in the back where it hurts. If I go “OW!” and scold her she laughs this out-of-breath-I’m-laughing-so-hard laugh. This baby does not take me seriously, at all. My mom-voice has been known to cause grown men to stop dead in their tracks. Stuff of legends here, folks.

But Olivia? Olivia laughs her bum off at me.

I never thought I’d be a mom who would ask her husband to give her kids trouble for her. But there are times when Chris walks in the room and I turn and desperately ask him to give her trouble for something, like pushing the glass top off the coffeetable or standing on the dining room table. If he sounds mildly displeased, she bursts into tears. I’ve tried all range of emotions, facial expressions, etc. and I am just a clown as far as she’s concerned. A sitcom character. I sincerely hope she outgrows this.

a monster, the likes of which the world has never known

And to conclude on yet another unrelated note, I’m in my second trimester now! Exciting. I celebrated by feeling the constant desire to put food in my belly lest I feel unwell. I need to stock up on celery or something…

Friday Favourites

I think you should all know that the song in my head right now is The Little Peoples rendition of “Music is to dance to, if you like to dance, me I like to dance each time I have a chance… like a ballerina or a hip hop diva…” actually, now that I think about it, I suspect that is a Little Peoples original. Anyways, now that you have that critical information in your minds, lets move forward.

 

I know I shared a link with you in the Christmas Dress post to a peasant top tutorial that spans many sizes, but that involves creating your own pattern. If using a pattern is more in your comfort zone, this sweet little 0-3 m Peasant Dress pattern will be right up your alley,and a darling baby gift.

 

Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Depending on how recently I’ve birthed a child and the amount of energy that tends to be directly proportional to the activity of said child, in the opposite direction. This year, Olivia is climbing on tables and continuing to defy death on the regular, so maybe not… but then again, this chain of hearts is so charming, I might just shove her in the pack’n’play and go to town. (I have no idea what the original site says, at all. For all I know it’s a string of chinese cuss symbols. In which case, my bad.)

 

I am all about charming today, I guess. Doesn’t this just make you smile? It just makes me smile. This is another foreign site, I have no idea what those Brits are saying, either. Juuuuust kidding. This link is a via but credit where credit is due… from the link you can find the etsy shop of the crafty lady who makes these little charmers. Sigh. I’ll take the sewing machine sewing kit and the red/turquoise bunting makeup bag, plus the embroidery hoop art of course…

 

More bunting! I am the last person to jump on the bunting bandwagon… that or I just needed the buntings to get really, really tiny. I do love tiny things. And ruffles! Guys, this cake (link is to a roundup of cakes) wouldn’t even be that hard. A medium consistency buttercream icing in pure white to do the ruffles from the bottom up, after icing and smoothing both cakes… the same tip to do the white ‘ribbon’ line around the bottom of the upper tier… and then dowels. The bunting looks to be bakers twine hand stitched through bunting.

 

Oh, you guys. You know Katy Dill always has a winner up her sleeve, and this sleeve is no exception. Even better, this is actually a tutorial for a cute little cross-over bodice shirt. For some reason it took me until the last pictures to realize this shirt was for one of her baby Dills (I know, that picture is kind of a giveaway, but I only noticed the sleeve. I’m a little excitable, you’d be surprised to hear.) and I got quite excited about the thought to make it into a maternity shirt. And you know what? I still may. A crossover top, cute little ruched sleeves, and then just toss some extra room into the front of the empire-waist top with either gathers or pleats… I like it. Probably gathers to go with the sleeves. I have a nice, flowy black and white knit large-print floral. Say that ten times fast. Anyways, hey ho lets go. Maybe next weeks project? And I know, not all of you sew and those of you that don’t are probably all like SUUUUUUURE dear, whatever you say. Sorry. Here’s food again:

 

This is The Pioneer Woman’s Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika. No, wait, let me finish before you stampede over there. I haven’t made this yet, I bought all the ingredients I knew I didn’t have onhand and I marked it on the calendar to make yesterday and got terribly excited. I didn’t buy beef because I have a large portion of a cow in my chest freezer, and I didn’t buy beer because I requested a manfolk (there are two here) do that. When I went to go grab the beef to defrost, I realized that basically all I have left are Tbone steaks and ground beef. Not helpful. I also did not have beer. I could have just picked up beer, but I didn’t want to make two stops when I had thought I’d have a stay-at-home day. I explained to my hubby that I didn’t have beer or beef, and Stew With And Paprika sounded much less appetizing. So we ordered pizza. The end. Now I hope to make it this weekend. Wish me luck, and have a great weekend!

What’s your favourite recipe? What do you like better… tiny things, or oversized things?