Team-Up Thursday-Books

This week Cara and I chose books as our theme. Despite the fact that we both waited until the last minute to get our shots together, I love how the diptych turned out. I think it is so interesting to see what books people are reading.

For more Team-Up Thursday, visit Mental Inventory.

Recycled Tee Camera Strap Cover

I have been needing a camera strap cover for a very long time now. I had elaborate plans to make one that had various pockets. I like the look of the patchwork ones that I have seen in various places, but was concerned that they would not be very comfortable. I decided to use an old t-shirt so that it would nice and soft around my neck. I also decided against pockets this go around to keep it nice and simple.

What you will need:

t-shirt or knit fabric

batting or flannel

sewing machine

Cut 2 pieces that are 4" x 11.5". If your t-shirt is big enough, you can cut 1 piece that is 4" x 23".

Then with right sides together sew the 2 pieces together along the short end. I used the hem of the shirt so that I would not have to hem the bottom.

Cut a piece of batting the same size as the t-shirt piece.

Sew straight lines the length of the fabric to attach the batting to the knit fabric.

Fold the piece in half with right sides together. Sew the length of the strap forming a tube.

Turn the tube right side out. Then feed your strap through the cover. Ta-da.

Now you have a comfy, stylish, and eco-friendly camera strap cover.

If you make one, please make sure to add it to my flickr group.

Crafty Pillow Tuesday

Last week was all about pillows. My niece turned 4 last week. My sister-in-law wanted to make a reading nook in the corner of her room. So she requested some floor pillows to make the space nice and cozy. I spent way more time deciding on fabric and thinking about what kind of pillows to make then I did actually sewing the pillows.

I knew that I wanted to make the floor cushion by Living with Punks, so it was the first one that I tackled.

I also knew that I wanted to make the dress up doll pillow from the new Wee Wonderful's book. This book is so cute. There are so many dolls that I want to make from this book.

I had so much fun putting this pillow together.

All the pieces go in the back pocket.

Then I made a couple of simple pillows.

This one is 16" x 16' and has a soft furry pink fabric on the back. I thought it would be good for cuddling.

This one is 24" x 24". This was my first time to cover a button too.

Here's the other side.

I do have a couple of projects that I need to be working on, but my main focus this week is going to be operation de-stash.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Team-Up Thursday- Milestones

This week Cara and I decided to conquer some milestones for Team-UP Thursday. Her little boy has learned how to write his name. Look at his sweet handwriting. I am very impressed. He has a hard name to learn to spell too.

My little boy has learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels. He might be afraid of heights and water, but he is not afraid of speed. He is crazy on this bike. A few minutes after the training wheels were removed, he was riding with no problem. As you can tell, he needs a bigger bike. Good thing Christmas is right around the corner.

Join us for Team-Up Thursday hosted by Megan and Melody.

Sunday at Mammoth Cave

Our action packed weekend continued on Sunday. We woke up early and headed to Mammoth Cave National Park. We did a 2 hour tour of the cave. Then we had a picnic lunch and hiked around the park. It was so nice to spend time with family enjoying the perfect fall weather.

What? You thought you were going to actually see some photos of the cave? Well, it was really dark down in the cave. Plus, the kids are way cuter anyways.

Felted Wool Sweater Coffee Cozy Tutorial

It's hard to believe that I have never done a real tutorial on how I make my coffee cozies. I did post these instructions last year, but they were the instructions that I included in my DIY kit. They don't really go into detail about the actual cozies. So I thought it was time to share some of my tips and tricks. Since I have made 100's and 100's of these cozies, I have learned a couple of things along the way.

The first thing you are going to need is a wool sweater. You can read about

how I felt sweaters to learn more about that process.

After the sweater has been felted, you can get to work on your coffee cozy. There are a couple of options depending on the size and thickness of your sweater. If you are lucky you can just use a portion of the sleeve and do no machine sewing at all. You should be able to look at the felted sweater and tell if it is going to work. If the cuff is ribbed, then more than likely you will have enough stretch. If the sweater is smaller or you want to use the sleeves for something else, then follow the directions below.

I would suggest making a pattern, especially if your are going to be making several cozies. Mine is just made of craft felt. It's lovely, huh? This speeds up the process. It also allows you to place the pattern on the sweater to determine where you want to cut.

My pattern piece is 3.5" x 9"

Once you have cut your sweater pieces, you will want to sew the ends together to form the cozy. I always cut my pieces a little larger than they need to be (which is the size of my pattern) so that I have a little wiggle room. The stretch of the sweaters varies greatly so this ensures that I have enough material to work with. It only takes a minute to make the cozy smaller if it is too large.

I use a universal needle for medium to heavyweight material. I also set the tension to 5 or 6 on my machine. You may have to experiment on some scrap sweater pieces before you start to make any adjustments.

When I start to sew the cozy, I backstitch then sew forward a little bit and backstitch again. I also do this when I come to the end. It is not necessary, but you would could stitch the seam twice for added durability.

It's hard to see in this photo, but the arrow points to my seam.

Once the cozy is sewn, I trim up the edges. Start by trimming fairly close to the stitched edge. Then check to make sure the top and bottom edges are even.

Once it is all even, turn it right side out.

You are done. Now embellish your cozy with a cute design. Next week I will give some tips and tricks about how I applique my cozies.

These are a great beginner project as well as a perfect Holiday gift. (Yes, I am already thinking about the holidays). I am still in the process of going through my stash so I should have some cozies in the shop soon. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks. I also have several owls that will be going up as well. I might also have some sweater remnants for those of you that don't want to go searching for sweaters. Let me know if anyone is interested in a kit. I can make up some of those for the shop too.

If you make any cozies, please add a photo to my flickr group.

Adventureworks Ziplining Tour

We had an action packed weekend. It is finally feeling like fall so we want to spend as much time outside as possible. So Saturday afternoon we took Harper ziplining. (Miller is too young and not as brave as his sister.) She has been wanting to go for awhile now. I think the tour lived up to her expectations.

We are all ready to go.

And she is off....

Here's proof that I actually ziplined too.

"Look Mom, no hands"

Mitch is videotaping.

It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.