Make This: Child's Sewing Kit Tutorial (with pincushion & needle book)

Hey everyone. I'm back. I didn't forget and look the wrong way when crossing the street in London and find myself smooshed beneath the wheels of some impossibly tiny European car. Nor did I find myself among the ranks of bloggers who start a blog and have a good thing going only to suddenly disappear forever, as if abducted in the night by some paramilitary group or something. Really, all that happened was that this damn tutorial was a bit more complicated than expected and I meant to work on it on the plane but then I forgot the sheet that had my measurements for the pattern on it so I couldn't work on it then and instead I have been putting it together this past weekend in fits and starts between birthday parties and cookouts and work on the garden and just watching Beeper splash maniacally around in his new kiddie pool while I eat fruit popsicles. But, it is done. Hallelujah.

This is it, in all its imperfect glory. I even included a couple of extra little projects in the download--for the girl-face pin cushion, and a little felt needle book. Just because I thought you might want to make a little something extra to stash inside the sewing box once you complete the kit itself.

And yes, there are 14 pages to this tutorial, but that does include the pincushion and needle book, and all the templates...so don't get scared about it. This project is not so hard, although fairly exact measurement is important when making the box or your completed box may look a little down at the heels and saggy in all the wrong places--but even then, this is supposed to be for a kid--who will likely never even notice a sag or two, especially if you stock the kit with all sorts of yummy sewing goodness.

So, there is a photo of all the materials you need to make the whole shebang. And here is the tutorial for you to download:

DOWNLOAD SEWING KIT TUTORIAL

Now go forth and make some sewing kits for yourself and the kiddies in your life. While I cannot guarantee anything soon, I am working on a series of kiddie-friendly first-sewing projects, the patterns for which will be for sale in my little shop...because, if you are going to have a first sewing kit, you kind of need some first sewing projects to go with it, right?

(and I will be back with some photos from the London trip--including an afternoon of shopping at Liberty and buying a bit more tana lawn than was probably prudent...)

London Holiday

Mr Beeper and I are away on a brief holiday in London (a little something tacked onto a business trip to Amsterdam). So, mind the gap--in blog posts that is, and I will try to drop in this week with some photos and will be back next week with my children's sewing kit tutorial. Hope you all have a lovely week.

Grandma's China

The past few weeks Mr Beeper and I have been on a mission to sort through all of our unwanted stuff--stuff long ago stashed in the attic where we would not have to think about it, stuff lurking in moldering boxes in the basement, and just stuff that has been accumulating around the house...all in preparation for the ENORMOUS yard sale we will be part of this weekend. And aside from the good feeling of knowing we are clearing out all the junk and helping it to find a new home where it can be used and appreciated, it has also been a bit of a treasure hunt because we have found things we had forgotten about and that we actually want--like these mismatched pieces of china that belonged to my long-since departed grandma.

Unwrapping these from the yellowed newspaper that enfolded them was like Christmas, each a lovely little surprise for me--the milk glass chicken, the blurry delft-blue print bowl, the yellowed crackle on a teacup-less saucer. And some, like those tiny crystal salt and pepper shakers with the tarnished silver caps, I actually remember seeing in Grandma's curio cabinet...so it was also a bit like unwrapping memories of her and her little home filled with so many interesting antiques that she was never fussy about.

But these are my favorite--this mismatched assortment of butter pats. They are like little doll dishes--so tiny, so lovely. I wish you could see their patterns up close--the little strawberries , the curling wildflowers, the pale tea roses, the schooner, the ferns...all of these pieces are now upstairs, in my own china cabinets, where I can put them use. I am not quite sure how I will use them, but I will find something because they too pretty not to use, and they connect me to my past, my dear Grandma Keller.

Bird Sachets

So here is the other thing I made for mother's day gifts--they are little aromatic birds. I made them from this pattern from Spool (lovelovelove their shape--so simple, so sweet, and so utterly bird-esque)-but I stuffed their bodies with dried lavender and rose buds. I guess so they can be sachets or air freshener type things or just something pretty to look at that also happens to smell nice.

I made the birds from some of these reproduction fabrics I bought a while back at a quilt show my mother-in-law took me to. I know--they are lovely. Seriously, I never tire of vintage fabrics or fabrics that just look vintage--they always make my my palms sweat when I see them. My only problem is that other than ReproDepot, I can never seem to find really good reproduction fabrics like these--anyone else have a go-to source for these?

Anyway, I am really pleased with how the birds turned out and am even more resolved to make the full-on bird mobile now for my workshop.

And on a tangental note, when you hand-make stuff for gifts a lot or all the time pretty much, do you think the people who are the recipients get tired of it--like, Oh god, here comes another handmade gift from Holly...smile pretty now and act like it is extra special. I mean, I do buy gifts every now and then because there are only so many hours in a day, and I do find things at stores attractive once in a while, but I really do make a lot of gifts these days. What is your take on this? What do you feel about receiving handmade gifts?

Make This: Little Felt Photo Book

Here is a little last minute tutorial for you, if you are looking around for something simple but sweet to make as a mother's day gift. I whipped a couple of these up today for my mum and my mother-in-law since I always make them something that includes photos of Beeper from the past year (and given the late date thank goodness this was one of those projects that went as imagined, rather than one of those that presented one unforeseen obstacle after another even though the project seemed so simple to begin with...you know the sort of project I am talking about--the sort that finds you still up at 1:00am cussing...)

Anyway, this is really easy--you can easily whip this out in under an hour because all you are doing is making a little custom felt book jacket for one of those cheap plastic photo books. Because I planned to fill my photo books with photos of Beeper, I also had him make a little self-portrait that I could put on the cover (Beeper calls those wavy lime-green arms "lava limbs"). I scanned the drawing and printed it on printable fabric sheets--but you could also embroider the image or even have your child draw the image direct on some fabric using fabric markers, depending upon what you have on hand and what works for you.

And also, I only had enough wool felt on hand in white, so that is what I used for the cover, but really, you could use any color that suits you--although I kind of like the clean look for the white cover with the contrasting turquoise blue stitching. And then once you make the cover, you need only fill it with photos--or handwritten notes from your child or you--or even some little drawings...whatever appeals and will fit in that little photo pocket slot.

Find my tutorial here:

DOWNLOAD LITTLE PHOTO BOOK TUTORIAL

Got one more mother's day gift in the hopper and will hopefully be back with photos of the completed project tomorrow...

May Day Brunch

The first Sunday of every May we host our annual May Day brunch and group trek to the crazy liberal May Day Parade that ends at Powder Horn Park, just down the way from us. Here are a few photos from our lovely day...

(big jar of Sangria)

(rainbow cupcakes made by Adrian)

(flower lollies--later handed out by the kiddies at the parade--more about how to make them here)

(colorful faces for the kiddies)

(lemon sticky buns--recipe here)

(laughter with the girls over prosecco around the table)

(smashed crispy potatoes--one of my favorite recipes for casual gatherings--recipe here)

(scenes from the parade put on by the amazing In the Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre)

(kiddies up close with the parade animals)