Filled with Joy

Knitting Lessons with Oma

My friend, Donna, kindly gifted us a huge bag of yarn for an Easter project I have in mind.  After seeing the amount of yarn, Olivia immediately called her Oma (my mom) to ask if she would come over to give her knitting lessons.

 

Oma said she was doing a great job.  My mother is very patient.  She ended up giving my SIL and me lessons, too!

 

Here is what she completed in about 1/2 hour.  The holes in the pattern were done on purpose.  My mom was showing her a pattern that makes holes. 

 

This is a picture of her going strong today. 

Oma was coming over and Olivia wanted to show her how much she had completed.

 

A Walking Doll

Teresa modeling a dress my mom knit for her.

Sewing Firsts

Over the weekend, DH bought me a sewing machine.  I guess he has listened to me talk on and on about the inspiring sewing blogs I've been visiting long enough.  Time to help me get over my sewing machine phobia.  Yes, you read that right.  Some people fear spiders, some the dark, and some fear small places.  I have had a sewing machine phobia for at least 25 years. Seriously! 

Growing up, I enjoyed watching my mom make different things on the sewing machine with great interest.  I wanted to learn how to make clothes like she did.  However, all the interest screeched to a hault the moment she shared that my Oma (her mom) had accidentally put her finger too close to the needle and consequently it went through her finger.  OUCH!!  Just imagining that horrible incident scared me so much I haven't touched a sewing machine since.

The thrill of teaching my children to sew when we made the Japanese felt mascots went out the window when their daddy showed them what the machine could do!  8-)  He made a small heart pillow in under a minute.  It would have taken them at least 30 minutes to sew it by hand.  He had captured their attention.   Oooooh, the possibilities!

Olivia was up first.  I printed off a free pattern I had found for a clutch purse.  We didn't have any fabric other than the felt we were using for the mascots.

She made the purse all by herself & added the strap to turn it into a purse for her. 

Check her out.  8-)

Notice, when I stood up to take the picture I had her move her fingers away from the needle.  LOL 

Since we don't usually sew, I didn't have clasps or velcro to close the purse, but that wasn't going to stop her from completing her purse.  She ran off and returned with a green button.  She sewed it on by hand and cut the button hole to keep her purse closed.  She used the machine to add a strap, then glued on a heart to personalize it.

I am sooooo proud of her.  Well done, BFF.

She looks mighty proud herself!

The pattern was perfect for a beginner.  We plan to go fabric shopping this weekend and will make the clutch purse again with an attractive print.

Japanese Felt Mascots

We've discovered a new creative outlet.   

Japanese crafts... specifically, the stuffed toys made using felt.

They are very simple to make.  My children had never even sewn a button on a scrap piece of fabric before this.  I was AMAZED how they focused to complete their mascot.   The mascots fit into the palm of their hand.

Our library had a wonderful beginner book:      

Using the patterns available in The Cute Book, we created monkeys, rabbits, a terrier, and a pink hippo.  (The felt rabbits and terrier are our favorites.)

The book also includes patterns for aliens, pandas, robots, squirrels, fish, and several more.