I’m doing a quick post from my phone today to let you all know I’ve been sewing every day. I have lots of little projects to share this week. This picture is what I finished today…and it’s for me!

I used a white ribbed knit fabric. I followed the pattern pretty loosely. I cut out strips (I didn’t measure them) and I only used 5 instead of 7. I also didn’t measure out where to place them. I just did it free handed.

The texture of the fabric really lent itself well to this type of project and I’m super pleased with the way it turned out. It only took about 15 minutes from start to finish!

What will you be sewing today?

This is my self-named scarf. It is my first finished object of 2011 and I really love the way it turned out. This is going to be my donation to the Helping Hands auction.  I hope it goes for a lot of money! If I were to put this in my Etsy shop it would retail for $125.

Yarn: Tilli Tomas Rockstar– 100% spun silk studded with European glass beads.  I used the Atmosphere colorway. Needless to say, this was the most expensive skein of yarn I’ve ever purchased. But, I got it on sale during the year-end clearance at Personal Threads Boutique in Omaha.

Pattern: I used the drop-stitch scarf pattern found here. It is based on the Seafoam stitch from one of Barbara Walker’s Treasury books.  My one skein of yarn (150 yds) made a scarf approximately 58″ inches long.

My pictures really don’t do this yarn or scarf justice. The color is a beautiful silver and the feel of the silk is really beyond compare! You can’t forget about the shimmer from the glass beads. It is an absolutely gorgeous scarf and I can’t wait for it to go to a good home for a good cause!

image via flickr, copyright zehhhra

The auction features scarves, gloves, bracelets and rings. One of a kind, handmade items are great sellers and could be an excellent way for you to clear out some of your inventory and get a little promotion for your business.

There are kids showing up to daycares all over the country in newspaper diapers—or even the same diapers they had on the day before. When you don’t have that extra $100/month to spend, it can be a real burden. I know that I’ll be helping out by donating some items for the auction! Can you?

image via flickr, copyright rigadoon glass

The deadline to submit items is Jan 12th. You can send your items to:

Be sure to include a business card or other tag so those that see your items know where they can find more!

Will you help?

I’ve had almost a week with my Cricut Imagine now and I’m still figuring out some things but I thought I’d share my first thoughts.  The video is a little long.  It includes a bit of a tutorial on how to use the machine and then shows how I made some paper dolls.

The beginning includes a basic overview of the machine. At around the 2 minute mark, I start adding images and using the screen. At 6:26, you’ll see loading the mat, printing, and cutting. The finished items are shown at 9:20.

The GOOD

• High quality printing using HP technology and inks
• Touch screen is intuitive and easy to use
• Perfect for cartridges that have a lot of layering as it saves time since you don’t have to change out your papers
• Quick way to make your own scrapbook paper and embellishments to match
• Uses the same blades and cartridges as other Cricut products

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• Ability to save your work
• More design flexibility (across all Cricut products)
• Mats, mats, mats!
• Could use more designs and images on the Imagine Art cartridges
• SIZE! This thing is really big
• Cost. I have yet to price the printer cartridges  and find out how long they last. But, that will be an added expense

OVERVIEW

Should this machine replace your Cricut Expression? Probably not. The ability to print and cut is a nice feature but for me, it doesn’t justify going out and getting a whole new machine. This could be just the type of machine that avid scrapbookers would want but for the crafting I do, it is a bit redundant to have this and an Expression.

For the ease of use and high quality production, I give it 2.5 out of 5 stars. It lost points on the size, my mat problems, and the fact that for me, it isn’t quite different enough from the Expression to make it worth the upgrade.

What do you think about the  Cricut Imagine?

The Cricut Imagine was a gift for attending their gala during the Craft & Hobby trade show. I have not been compensated for this post and the opinions are my own.

20th century dress from Ethiopia. I wish my picture did it justice. It is so delicate and well-made.

Samurai mask from Japan. Who needs a mustache on a stick when you can put on one of these?

Japanese sewing box with ivory accessories. Ivory needles, bobbin winders, inlaid wood box…how luxurious!

Sarcophagus with some mummified animals next to it. I can’t even begin to describe to you the smell that was in that room. Let’s just say I got into the hallway as soon as I could!

Before I got out of that room, I had to get a picture of the mummy toes peeking out. Most of the bandages were gone and it was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen.

All of the attendees were so knowledgeable that they were able to help the curator with a lot of the information regarding the pieces.  I was able to take pictures in there so I thought I’d show off some of what we were able to see.

Silkworm cocoon rattles

The background material is cornhusk. The pattern is made with wool.

19th  Century leather jacket–Love the fringe!

Most of the “beads” on these moccasins are porcupine quills.

Embroidered moccasins. I would totally wear these.

More pictures coming soon including a dress from Ethiopia that I love and some real “live” mummy toes.

I had some really great craft ideas surrounding the movie, Despicable Me.  Most of those had to do with the little minions.  My kids LOVE those little guys.  I thought I might be able to make a lot of little minions using thumbprints.  I was smart enough to practice.

When it was clear that my thumbprint minions needed some work, I changed directions and started going in the fluffy unicorn direction. You can see my amazing rendition of a fluffy unicorn.  Drawing is not one of my strengths.

Cricut to the rescue.  There is a sweet unicorn in the Once Upon a Princess Cartridge.  I cut that out and decided to cover it with fluff.

Recognize the card?  It was part of the Dinotalk Scrapbook Invitational.  The fluff is cotton layered on top of some tacky glue.  I also had to throw in a rainbow for good measure (also on the Once Upon a Princess cartridge).  The clouds received some fluff, as well.

It is all on top of some glittery paper and, because it is a product from Dinotalk, it talks!  The inside says, “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!”.

So, there you have it.  That’s how I went from thumbprints to unicorns.

Dinotalk is the sponsor of next month’s craft challenge.  If you’d like to try out their products, you can sign up for the challenge until Sept. 30th. I have a limited number of the products so when they’re gone, they’re gone!

photo from Spoonflower. Click to order this fabric.

Spoonflower is a site where you can design your own fabric or purchase designs made by others.  If you can’t find that perfect fabric, just make your own!  I have yet to try out the design side of the site, but I know the finished product is high quality and the ordering process is easy.

photo from Sew, Mama, Sew. Click for post and tutorial.

Sew, Mama, Sew! is a shop, blog, and forum full of sewing info, tips, and inspiration. I included the picture of one of my favorite projects on there…the ticker tape quilt.  What a great way to use up those super tiny scraps!

Shannon, from The Nina Line, has some amazing videos on her site (among other things).  I met Shannon at CHA and she’s even one of the product sponsors of the craft challenge this month!  Go by and check out here site.

Did I get the ball rolling?  Where do you go for online sewing resources?  I haven’t even scratched the surface here.

This is a super quick project and uses very few supplies.  Here is the link to the Cloth Baby Shoes Pattern.

Since I made only the smallest size, I omitted the bonded fleece for the sole.  If you’re making these for a toddler, I would add that for sure.  I also didn’t add the interfacing because I found that made the shoes a bit too stiff for an infant shoe.  Again, if you’re making these for an older infant or toddler, I would include the interfacing.

I made a card to match.  How sweet is that?  I used my circle punch to make the dots and one quick stamp layered on some paper finished off the card.  Super quick and easy!

I made some bibs, too.  We’ll save that for another day.