I moved

Just moved the blog over to Wordpress. You can read me there if you are interested.
http://jenoline.wordpress.com

Gift bags

I went to the thrift store to look for old clothes I could make stuff with. I'm in the process of making cloth gift bags out of an old pajama top. I bought several pj pieces that I think will work well. Here's my first one. This one is fleece. I have a few more in this fabric that are still in process. I also have several satiny shirts that I think will make nice gift bags, too. I'm kind of hoping to wrap most of our holiday gifts this way.

mmmm...

Yesterday I made bread...thanks to the inspiration from Blue Yonder. This is what's left (I didn't think to take a photo of the full loaf). I used my Kitchenaid for the kneading, which made it less intimidating. It turned out almost perfect. The texture was a little off, but I'm not sure why. I will definitely be doing this again!

Getting started

It all started because C. made a pair of bandana pants . They looked so simple that every time I saw them I thought “I could do that”. But I couldn’t, because I had no place to put my sewing machine, and never found the time to go buy a pair of bandanas. However, my google skills led me to Blue Yonder and I started reading. And reading Blue Yonder led me follow more links, and listen a little closer to my crafty friends, and the next thing I knew I was lamenting my own lack of creativity. Both the energy to be creative, and the actual time to create. I wanted to make something, and be able to say “Hey look – I made this!”

However, my latest major creation

leaves time and energy in short supply. He’s an absolute joy but I needed something more. And I was feeling it. So for some time now I’ve been reading blogs, and books, and message boards and fantasizing about all the things I felt I didn’t have time for. Then one day, I found this and in a burst of inspiration I made two of them for my little girls.

(more pics later)

I was so incredibly thrilled and I’ve been toting them everywhere to show them off. They are simple, but I made them and they are easy & cute and took all of 20 minutes (during which all three children were awake and happy). So that has led me to search out other super-simple projects. I’m trying to put aside perfectionism, big ambitions, and the “right” way to do things, and just do it.

Laying in bed today, simultaneously nursing my little one and working on an embroidery project (which I can't share yet, b/c it's a gift), I was basking in that creative glow and realized that I really want to show off what I’m making. And then it occurred to me why people have blogs. So here’s mine. I suspect that it will be mostly photos - my time to sit and write brilliant, witty, and inspiring prose is especially limited - a place for me to show what I’m doing without having to drag it around town and hold it under people’s noses. If you are looking for inspirational prose I recommend checking out the blog links to the right.

I’ll probably find a niche eventually, but right now I’m doing a little of everything: clothing reconstruction/small sewing projects, baking, embroidery, knitting (thanks to B for refreshing my memory on the basics!), crochet, etc.