Often sewing makes me feel like I’ve done something great. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, and everything turns out wonderful. But, ugh… sometimes sewing can become a near nightmare. That’s what I experienced today.

I made a mei tai for my sister, because she has her hands full with her newborn twins. In the process I broke three… THREE. needles. Within the space of five minutes. I was sick. After that, I only had three inches left to sew and something with my machine stopped working. I couldn’t find my manual so I had to sew the rest by hand. It was annoying because it doesn’t match and I’m not the best at hand stitching.

But in the end, I must remember that functionality is most important, and that this was a labor of love. I’d do it all over again.

(Photo by GulfCoastCottagePDF)

I nearly died when I saw this shop 🙂 My sister and I LOVED playing house (for far longer than either of us care to admit…) and if we’d had access to this shop then, I’m pretty sure we would have lost our minds 🙂

GulfCoastCottagePDF sells patterns for adorable felt toys. Each pattern is only $5.99! There is a wide array of imaginative toys for both boys and girls. I want the above tool kit for Dex, and *cough*hint*cough*, Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles, Dexter might enjoy some of the other patterns for Christmas… 🙂

I got a new book last night called The Crafter’s Devotional: 365 Days of Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Unlocking Your Creative Spirit. I’m so pumped about using it.

The only thing that makes me a little sad is that they leave out fine art. It would have been beneficial for me to have painting projects included.

The book is set up with a division of 52 weeks, and each day has a different theme:

Monday- Journaling

Tuesday- Recycle, Reuse, or Revive

Wednesday- Collection, Stash, and Materials

Thursday- Personal History

Friday- Noncraft Inspiration

Saturday + Sunday- Collaborate, Gather, and Experiment (these days are combined for projects that require more time and energy to complete)

Since I bought the book on Wednesday and couldn’t wait for Monday to roll around, I’m going to do multiple entries for a few days to catch up. I love this sort of thing, and anything that inspires me and gives me something to work toward is worth checking into!

PS: If any of you artists are interested in getting the book and working through it at the same time, let me know in the next few days. I’d be willing to wait to let you catch up! It might be fun to share and discuss what we get out of it! (I got it for $25 at Barnes and Noble, but I found that Amazon has it for $16)

Someone recently mentioned to me the importance of viewing your life as building toward something. Not just scattered, random events, just living life until you die. But truly meaningful, purposeful living.

I know I tend to forget to live like that. I’m more of a live-in-the-moment kind of girl, which has its merit, but I think that working to bring the two ideas together could create a richer kind of existence.

I want to internalize that, and over the next week I’m going to begin to dwell more on a forward-thinking perspective. I’m going to think more on what is and will be most important to me (which, for me, is God and family) and see how that shapes the way I do things

I finally got around to listing some of my sock monsters in my Etsy shop: www.lemonwoodclock.etsy.com

So far I have 3 listed, stay tuned for more!!

I received my application for the craft fair today! So I have all the info:

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Thompsons Station United Methodist Church 8th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival

Saturday September 19th 2009 9am-5pm

Arts & Crafts, Food, Bake Sale, Homemade Ice Cream, Children’s Games, Petting Zoo, Live Music all day…

1517 Thompson Station Rd. West next to the Williamson County Rescue Squad Building.

For more info call 595-1855 or 794-8113 (I think those are both 615#’s)

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I have so much work to do… hopefully I’ll be accepted, but if not I’ll have a lot of stuff ready for Etsy, so no worries!

[When I typed all this out, I didn’t realize there was info on a website. For anyone who’d also like to apply, while there’s still time, here’s the link to the downloadable form!]

It’s been a crazy week! I can’t believe it’s only been 7 days since I last blogged.

In the meantime, I found some GREAT socks at target. They’re over-the-knee socks, so I’m able to make the sock monsters longer without worrying about running out of material. And, as it turns out, I’m actually able to get 2 monsters per sock! And because each pair is made of a different material and texture, I’ve been learning a lot about what types of socks work best for different purposes. For example, the more stretchy the sock, the better Dexter is able to hold onto the toy. However, those socks seem more delicate and tend to show their stuffing if overstretched.

I’ve completed 3 monsters so far, and I have 5 more in process. I set myself a goal of having 3 up on Etsy  by Tuesday. I won’t be selling the first 3, as my baby has already given them much love. In fact, #3, or Bucky, just got spit up on today, so I’ll have the opportunity to see how they handle machine washing. I also won’t sell any from used socks… it’s one thing for my own baby to chew on our clean laundry, it’s another thing entirely to trick someone else’s baby into doing it 🙂

Sock monster #2 is Munchie. (Somehow #1 is called Bonkey, for Bunny-Donkey, although I’ve determined that he is, in fact, a donkey.) He was made from a super-cute pair of socks that I HATED to wear.

#3 is Bucky, well… for obvious reasons. He is made from the new batch of socks. My husband, Alex, played a huge role in the brainstorming process for Bucky’s features. So we’re keeping him 🙂 (It will actually be hard to get rid of any of them, each one is so cute and funny!)

I stayed up til almost 2am trying to complete some tummy time pillows for Dexter and my twin nephews. I’m making 2 per boy, because I found that Dex spits up a lot during tummy time. Instead of making him suck on the same puke-covered pillow, I decided it would be a good idea to make a couple so I could throw them into the wash when needed.

I traced around tummy time pillow someone gave us, trying to estimate what size the pieces should be before sewing and stuffing. Mine still came out skinnier than the original, but I think this might be better, since my first one arched Dexter’s back a little too much as a newborn. I used an upholstery fabric I had in my stash, and some wide ribbon to make loops for attachable toys.  Then, last minute, I discovered that sewing the stuffing hole closed created a very rough seam, so I stitched a bit of the ribbon over it. I need to practice my hand stitching… It’s not very attractive.

When I tested it with Dex it seemed to work better than my first one! I can’t wait to see how they work for the Ty and Micah, who are 2 weeks old!

I think I tend to go overboard when I enjoy something. And that’s probably an understatement. I discovered the joy that is the sock monster, and since that’s been my craft obsession. If I’m not working on them (2 created so far and and others would be made if I didn’t have a pulled muscle) I’m researching them.

I love that crafters are so active in the blogosphere!!! It’s like we’re all working along side one another, in a world where women just don’t take the time to craft together anymore. 

I fell in love with Craft Schmaft, and resting with my pulled muscle allowed me to spend the day reading every last one of her blog posts 🙂 I guess there is an up side to being injured (though I pray it’s over soon, I’m dying to get back to my own crafts and back to taking care of Dexter myself instead of directing my husband). But in the meantime, I will continue to enjoy crafting vicariously, all the while planning my own adventures!

In my hunt for crocheted toy patterns I stumbled across sock monsters. I decided to give it a try, and well… it was extremely fun 🙂 There’s no pattern required, so the possibilities are endless, and you really can’t mess it up! So expect to see a whole slew of sock and glove toys in the future.

My sock monster looks more like a donkey-rabbit than a monster. This one is so cute, but I’ll probably still try to make the next one look more like a fun monster. The ones I’d seen online all had ears (they’re supposed to be horns) but I think I’ll try my next one without them.

I also chose not to use any buttons, only embroidery, so it would be baby-safe. And it paid off, Dexter loved him! In fact, I forgot to take any pictures before he got ahold of him, so the picture above features Dexter slobber 🙂

And I believe Mr. Sock Monster is going to be quite resilient. Dexter gave him a good going-over.

The sites that inspired me:

http://sockmonsters.woolywarrior.co.uk/page.php?2

http://6ichthusfish.typepad.com/6ichthusfish/crochet/