Pink Trees

Feeling Jipped

The winnersof the Michael Miller Baby Bootie Contest were named yesterday. I don't want to sound like a sore loser but I'm feeling jipped. The winner's booties are cute but they're just a slightly modified version of a pattern that's all over the net. What makes me feel jipped is the first runner up....those booties look a little familiar? Yeah, they're sort of like minein a way...the ric-rack, the mary jane style and the fabric. It's frustrating because she posted after me and as soon as I saw her booties I thought, "Wow, those look similar". I also don't understand why the others won runner-up when there were so many cute and unique booties. Look at these, I swore these would win! The rules stated "we are looking for the cutest and most unique baby booties design"...what's unique about any of the winners? Man, I suck at losing!!!

ETA: well, I've received a comment from the 1st runner-up and I'd like to say here that in no way was I accusing her of copying me...I was sulking (i.e. being a sore loser) when I wrote that post so my wording might sound like I was. Notice I said "...they're sort of like mine in a way". Yes, we chose similar fabric and she used ric-rack but our booties are different. So, I apologize if she or anyone else thought I was making a horrible accusation. I still, however, stand by the fact that I was not happy with any of the winners. They wanted unique, yet you see booties in those styles all over the net or in Japanese craft books. Yes, I am totally aware that my booties weren't all that unique either. Unique is this one, these, or these. There was no stipulation in the contest rules about what type of fabric could be used so for those who say felt isn't a fabric then you're wrong....you knit/crochet to make fabric as well.

Swappity Swap

Tonight is a good night! The hubby brought me mail from Scotland Chips (I honestly never asked her if she had a blog). We both are participating in the Doll Quilt Swap 4 and when she posted a sneak peek of her quilt I fell in love with the yellow fabric she was using. The next day I get an email from her asking if she wants to do a swap! Me? Of course!! Who wouldn't! This is my first swap in a long...I used to be an avid swapper! Oh, how I missed it!

As I was gushing over the bits of Amy Butler and other fabrics the hubby asks, "Why are you going nuts over a few inches of fabric?". I hear all the gasps from fabric hoarders stashers collectors! That's exactly what I did!! He doesn't know me very well, huh? Sheesh!!

The monkey pencil sharpener went immediately into Jerrett's little hands as he scurried to find a pencil to sharpen; the Canadian flag pen (that's where she lives) was clipped to Jerrett's waistband as he ran off. The beautiful bracelet is a tad small for my wrists but fits Jerrett perfectly; he liked that it matched his green shorts and is wearing it proudly. The chocolate didn't make it because of the heat but I'm hoping it will firm up enough in the fridge for a late night snack.

Thank you so very much! I love it all!

What is that?

Guess...

Any idea yet?

How 'bout now?

Getting warmer! I think you know!

It's a nursing cover or it can also be used as a shade cover for a or a stroller! I was putting the leftover fabric from the bibs and burp-cloths in my scrap box yesterday and I realized I had enough fabric leftover to make one of these. I had seen these all over the net and they were fairly pricey on Etsy so I thought I'd try my hand at making one. The neck strap is adjustable by a strip of Velcro and the two blue fishy corner pieces in the above photo are actually little pockets that close with Velcro that can hold a pacifier, nursing pads, or maybe a little cloth to wipes the baby's little mouth. It all folds up and closes with a tab of Velcro to store easily in a purse or diaper bag.

In most of the ones I saw on the net there was a strip of boning that created a tent-like effect when worn so you can view the baby while they're feeding (and no one else can see!). I didn't have anything like boning but I did have some Timex which works perfectly and it's work great because boning plastic wouldn't allow for folding. Bear-Bear (Jerrett's doll from when he was first born) is about as close to a baby as it's going to get around here!

This is super easy to make...if anyone wants to make one for themselves I'll be happy to make a tutorial even though it's fairly self explanatory from the photos.

Quick and Easy Part Deux

Yesterday I needed another quick and easy project to do...uh, I have to say here that I was also in the process of making a dress for my niece...Jerrett rarely is the recipient of things that I make so, while I was preparing fabric for my niece's dress I picked up the fabric I ordered to make Jerrett pillowcases. I swore I ordered enough fabric to make 2 cases but I only managed to get only one out of it. The skateboard fabric is Michael Miller and the stripe (which makes my eyes cross when I look at it) is "At the Park" by Benartex. I just followed some tutorial I found online for the measurements.

Jerrett wanted brownies...I found a recipe online called "Quick and Easy Brownies" and I thought perfect! I followed some of the reviewers suggestions and reduced the amount of flour to make a less cakey brownie but they were still too cake-like for my tastes. I also don't think they're chocolatey enough...next time I'll add some chocolate chips.

 Out of the blue this afternoon Jerrett asked to make Playdough...he tells me "all you need is flour and water!". How can I resist a request like that! I found a recipe online that makes dough without having to heat it up (I didn't have any food color). It works great but I find that it dries out very easily; but that might just be because of how warm it is in the apartment. Jerrett played with it for about 30 minutes so that means it was a hit!

Here's the recipe:

Playdough
3 cups flour
1/3 cup salt
2 tbsp oil (veg)
1 cup water
7 drops food coloring.

mix dry ingredients with oil. add food coloring to water and mix together. add water to flour/salt/oil mixture slowly~about 1/4 cup at a time and mix together with a spoon. once you've added all the water, knead the dough with your hands.

New Things

My new laptop came yesterday!! It's a perfect shade of sunny yellow! I know you're thinking "why didn't she order the pink?"...well, yellow is my new obsession, plus the pink is more of a magenta than the "baby" pink I like. My old laptop isn't dead it's just a little sick...it's been dropped a lot, the screen was dark, the battery dies very quickly, and the power plug only works when it's in a certain position. Now this beauty is fantastic! The screen is much better and it's color is amazing! I have to get used to the keyboard keys being larger, the way my nails feel weird over their surface (they're that silvery plastic) and there's no back button to return to the previous page. I also have to get used to using Vista.

Another new thing is a cute little hat that I knit yesterday! I had yarn leftover for my little project for the bambino (there's a sneak peek of it in the background) and it was the perfect excuse to purchase the Kiddie Cadet hat pattern by KathrynIvy. I have been eyeballin' this pattern for some time now; it's super cute and very easy to knit. I used less than 1 skein of Berrocco Touche in Pecan to make the infant size. To give you an idea how small this is I'm blocking it on a roll of paper towels. The hat is worked in the round, starting with the garter stitch ribs then it changes to stockinette stitch. Then it turns with a purl row and then the swirls of decreases start to form the top of the hat; the brim is picked up at the cast on edge.