Sock Sack

One of my very least fav chores is searching through a pile of laundry, matching up, turning right side out and folding together socks.  Especially dozens of baby socks.  So one day I thought of a simple assistant to this problemo: hang a mesh laundry bag (aka lingerie bag) on the hamper and put all of the baby socks in there as they get dirty.  Then I zipped up the bag, threw it in the wash and they all came out clean and grouped together.  No more rogue socks stuck in the washing machine or getting lost in the dryer!  In 2 years I have not lost one sock in the wash!  Now we have lost several on walks or in the grocery store or in the car, but that's pretty much unavoidable since sock-pulling seems to be every baby's favorite pass time.

To make the sock sack just a bit cuter than a plain mesh bag I took about a 3" long piece of ribbon (make yours whatever length it needs to be to hang off your hamper) and folded it in half.

Then I handstitched it onto a medium sized lingerie bag

and slipped it on one of the front pegs of the kids' hamper.

Fill with dirty socks and done!

BERNINA Halloween 2011 Contest

BurdaStyle is having a Halloween Contest sponsored by Bernina and one of the prizes is this little beauty I've been drooling over (and saving up for)!

So of course I made the kiddos costumes with a coordinating theme.  I first came up with my son's Colorin' Cowboy after I had quite a bit of faux leather leftover from the upholstered headboard the Hubs and I made a few months ago.  E's costume idea came after that because every Western has a saloon girl and she's just so darn cute in well anything.

I'll post more details and instructions on their costumes later, namely tips on how to sew with satin (I found these after I struggled to put her costume together, twice!).  But for now, head on over to BurdaStyle and check them out.  If you're a member, please vote and/or comment.  If you're not a member, it's free to join and there's ton of creative people on there with endless inspiration and tutorials!

W's costume entry: BERNINA Halloween 2011 Colorin' Cowboy – Sewing Projects | BurdaStyle.com

E's costume entry: BERNINA Halloween 2011 Sassy Saloon Baby – Sewing Projects | BurdaStyle.com














If I actually take E out trick or treating around with her brother she'll probably go as a Triple Grande Nonfat Latte with a long sleeve onesie underneath.  Saloon Baby outfit is cute, but not toasty enough for the Northwest!


E's 2nd option is also entered in the contest: BERNINA Halloween 2011 Triple Grande Nonfat Latte – Sewing Projects | BurdaStyle.com

Tree Stump Floor Cushion

I've been thinking about changing the kids' room from a mountain bike theme to a more woodsy/mountain theme that will work for both my son and daughter since they'll be sharing this room.  I somehow stumbled on this tutorial from Living with Punks on how to make floor cushions and then found a tree stump floor cushion on Etsy that was adorable!  But of course no longer available.  So what does any crafty mom do?  Make her own of course!  Here's what I did to modify Susan's fantastic tutorial into a tree stump floor cushion:

• 1/2 yard of Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2 Woodgrain
• 1/2 yard of home dec weight in a light tan
• dark brown permanent marker
• green felt for the leaves, so just a bit will do
• one bag of foam scraps from JoAnn's
• some quilting batting, probably about 1/2 yard will do

I made mine slightly bigger than Susan did, I cut out my circles in an 18 inch diameter.  To figure out the length of the sides for my enlarged cushion I had to Google the formula to find the circumference of a circle using the diameter.  It's circumference x Pi, BTW.  So my 18 inch diameter circles had a circumference of 56.5 inches.  And since the woodgrain fabric was not home dec fabric, it was only 44" inches wide, I had to cut out two 28 1/4" long pieces and then sew them together along the short ends.

Then I used a disappearing fabric marker to draw some leaves on my felt and cut out three of them:

Next, I used the permanent maker to draw the rings of the wood on both of the circle pieces.  I didn't do such a neat job on the first one so that will be the bottom.  Second one was a bit neater, I took a picture of that one :)

Next came my least favorite part, pinning the circle to the side pieces.  It always seems all wonky at first when attaching a rectangular piece to a circular piece, but stick with it and it turns out fairly well.  I didn't pin the last 2 inches of the side pieces on either end so I could make any adjustments necessary which is a good thing I did because they were a smidge too long!

Before moving on to the bottom piece, I made the twig/stem handle.  To do that I took the handle piece of fabric, folded it right sides facing and sewed along the long edge and one short end with about a 5/8" seam.  

I turned it right side out, stuffed with batting and turned in the open end a bit.

Then I pinned the twig and the leaves to the side of the cushion and sewed it on with a box stitch on both ends of the handle.  I should mention that before I pinned on the leaves, I basted them together because the little boogers were too wiley on their own!

Then I pinned the bottom circle piece on and sewed away using a 1/2" inch seam leaving a gap open on one end.  

Then the surprisingly messy part: stuffing!  I strongly encourage enlisting small hands to help.  My little guy thought it was so much fun to pull the stuffing out of the bag and put into his floor cushion.  I also think this made him very proud and happy with this project.  And he was actually much better at it than I was, small handfuls are key!  Ooh, I forgot to mention (and to do myself) you should put a piece of batting down as the first layer and then stuff with foam.  Then once it's as full as you like, put another piece of batting on the top of the filling.

Once it's good and stuffed, use a ladder stitch to close up the opening, grab a book and enjoy!

Here's a better view of the stump cushion or "my pellow" as my little man calls it.