Before and after!

I always love to see what everyone makes from the sweaters, but this was too cute not to share! Lisa made this ADORABLE sock monkey costume for her grandson. Thanks for sharing with us Lisa!

Before...
 

and after...


Margaret of Fox Island Fancywork, makes a lot of fabulous things from Resweater sweaters. Here is one before and after:

Though I couldn't find the "before" sweaters on these, she has made all these wonderful things from Resweater sweaters, and I am always amazed at what she can do to a sweater! If you need any warm weather accessories or unique gifts, her shop is the place to go!

It's What I've Been Working on Wednesday - cotton pocket diapers

I haven't made anything wool this week (gasp), but I did make more overnight cloth pullups for my son. Last week I had made one piece pullups, but those take a while to dry, so I got brave and attempted a pocket style. They are actually easier than the one piece style! The one on the left looks a little wavy/wonky, because I stretched as I sewed. Once I wash it that will go away & look like the one on the right. All you do differently than the one piece, is pull away the inside layer a few inches, in the back, when you are sewing on the waistband. You just slide an insert in, and you are good to go! You can make your own inserts, or you can even fold a prefold (old school cloth diaper) or even a clean microfiber cloth. The materials I used this time were soft, 100% cotton, mens thermal shirts that were super cheap at the thrift store.

ETA: I realized that I was using the term "all in one" to describe the other style I made, and changed that to say "one piece", because I realized the term "all in one" usually indicates that you don't need a cover. Both styles are 100% cotton, and require a cover (wool, plastic, fleece). My son wears wool pants, or longies, at night that double as a diaper cover.

It's Tutorial Tuesday! Make a baseball style shirt

This ones for the boys... and girls that wear baseball style shirts! When I saw the super cutie below over at the Make It and Love It blog, with this adorable shirt, I knew I had to make one for mine! I was about to make mine, like hers, out of t shirts, thinking what a shame it was that he wouldn't be able to wear it until it was warmer. Then the light bulb went off, and I made one from lightly felted merino! I just made the sleeves longer.



Unfortunately, my model isn't as eager as her model (ok, i'll do it, but i'm not going to look at the camera), but here it is. I though I would like the bottom edge with no hem (pictured below), like some baseball shirts have, but it just looked unfinished, so I made a simple hem (first picture).


Ready to make this awesome shirt? Head over to Make It and Love It's tutorial!

Tutorial Tuesday - Simple Sweater Hat by Nancy's Couture

Today's tutorial is from Nancy Couture's blog (Thanks, Nancy!!!), and is one of the easiest recycled wool projects i've seen in a while! Here is the one I made, following her instructions, and it literally took only minutes to make! I swear my husband just happened to be wearing that shirt, and didn't put it on just to match the hat ;)


Ready to make your own? Head on over to Nancy's Couture tutorial!!

Tutorial Tuesday - patching ripped jeans

I got a new sewing machine, a Baby Lock BL9, and I am trying out some of the cool features on it that I don't have on my antique Singer. I love, and will always keep my Singer, but this Baby Lock is fun to play with!

One of the features is zig zag & fun stitches, like these:


Now, i'm sure that this has been done before, one version of it or another, and i've probably seen it on a craft website before. I would love to give credit, but can't remember, so please let me know if you've blogged something like this & i'll link to you.

Ok, this is dedicated to all the moms out there with 5 year old boys & up! Jack's Jeans' knees were pristine, until he hit 5, and now he gets a hole in the knee every other week. Sometimes being green is just taking care of, and fixing, what you already have, so it lasts longer. Even after my son outgrows these, they are more likely to be worn again because they are "fixed", rather than be thrown away because they have a hole.

Ready? You will need a hole in the knee, and a scrap of soft felted wool or cashmere (what I used) that is a little bigger than the hole.


Now, seam rip an opening on the outside seam of your jeans big enough for you to comfortably sew.


Place your scrap on the inside of the jeans, and zig zag or funky stitch (I don't know the name of it, but I used the bottom "D" stitch, pictured above) all over the hole, holding the hole closed as best as you can. Now, turn the jeans inside out & sew up the seam you seam ripped, and you are done! Now you have the "destroyed" look that clothing stores charge more for! You can actually cut the jeans and do this all over, if you want that trendy look. I think it looks cute!

I like how this pair came out (please ignore the grass stains... i'll get those out later today)...

... and it went well with the overall "destroyed" look of those particular jeans...


On these, I wish I would have used a closer matching color, because the hole in this knee was bigger than the other pair, so the cashmere peeked through a little. I also could have used slightly darker thread to make it look better (I used light gray).


Overall, a quick, easy, and useful project! Jack's knees will stay warm this winter ;)

Runner's mittens

Can you tell i'm on a mitten kick ;) ? Anyway, I took up jogging over the summer, so this is going to be my first winter as a runner, and i'll be learning as I go. Friday morning was the coldest weather i've jogged in, 40 degrees, and it felt great! When I started out though, my hands were very cold, but by the end were more than warm & sweaty. I wasn't wearing anything on them, and wondered when & what I should be wearing on my hands, so I started Googling. Apparently when it's that cold, I should be starting out with a thin pair of runner's gloves or mittens. They should be thin, breathable, and moisture wicking. Hmmmm... I know something that does all that... merino wool! It does everything those sports fabrics do, and more. I made myself a pair, and will be selling them at my upcoming craft fairs, for you local folks that are interested. As a bonus, they can worn inside other mittens, as a doubler, as well.

Palomino Morgan

I was surfing around the crafty blogosphere last night, and ran across Palomino Morgan's Etsy shop, "Home of the quirky and always opinionated bunnies!". The cuteness was overwhelming! I just love these super cute recycled bunnies! I'm bookmarking this one for Easter... beats Peeps & made in China toys any day! In addition to the sweet bunnies, she carries some great baby items, like sensory blocks, and baby blankets.