Summer of ......

Do you have a summer of ..........(you fill in the blank)?

Like the summer is themed. There is one area of activity that you are doing a lot of?

Example:

Last year it was the summer of .....travel.

I think we were at other places more than at home. You know--bear lake, stiener park, trip cross country to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Zions...what else? oh, yea...somewhere in Idaho. Rock City. Yup. That was last year! Whew!!

This year it is the Summer of ........yard.

This past week we have cleaned out the back yard right behind our house. We have almost an Acre. Now, that is fun...but when it is covered with weeds and such it isn't so fun. When the kids play in the front yard, because the back is so 'scarry'. not fun.

We built a fence in the one corner and moved the tramp and then stuck the clubhouse the kids built under the big pine tree. we need to paint that baby.

cute huh? see the lounging cat and chickens? don't forget to spot their own little 'fire pit' and stump stool.

tramp, garden, bunnies, clubhouse.

the big people fire pit. love it!! use it a lot!!

the lone tree with the tree house in it. big back. lots of weeds. the property is actually an L shape and we own 2 other homes back yard :) there is a lot of trees on those parts so it is quite private + with the new fence at one part.

Now we are faced with ----the back. A blank slate so to speak. any suggestions? well, besides a pool and tennis court. doesn't fit into the budget. you know. hard work being poor.

The honey will be working on getting water to the back. Right now we have an acre long hose that runs from the only spicket in the front to the back :( Then, we can maybe get some grass going.

We have a few trips planned-the summer travelers will get to go somewhere-- Bear Lake, and next Tuesday somewhere....i really don't know where. isn't that horrible? We are going with others that have good planning skills and we are going to just follow them. We will bring dinner for one night..that is all i know.

That's how it is this summer. What can i say- it isn't that summer of camping.

Wait---is it too late to vote it the summer of.....sewing? what am i thinking---yard...hmph.

Summer Travelers TUTORIAL

These little guys are around 9" tall. They are perfect to snuggle with, laugh with, and to show the world too. They love to be tucked into bags, blankets, suitcases, and little people arms. They find the world facinating and want to see and experience it all.
Pick your fabrics:

6 X15 inch piece of Fleece, or anything else soft

6 X 15 inch piece of cotton or whatever else you would like to use

Print your Pattern:

CLICK HERE

Transfer your pattern:

Cut out the printed pattern and lay on the RIGHT SIDES of the fabric and trace. The edges will fray and make them fuzzy and cute. You will need to do this for the body, ears--choose just one kind per little guy, arms and legs.

Sewing Arm and Legs:

Lay the cotton fabric RIGHT SIDES UP on top of the fleece fabric. You want to make sure that the fleece stretch is going up and down. You want it to stretch long and skinny, not short and fat.
Now you need to sew on the drawn lines. This will keep you straight and nice.

Cut:

Now cut all the pieces out just under a 1/4 inch outside of the sewn line. This area will fray. Make sure you aren't too close to the seam line. It is easier too to cut out with the cotton on the bottom. It won't shift while cutting. no funky edges.



Body:
On the right side of the fabric you can add a belly. I used a piece of the fleece. I fussy cut the little spiral thingie. Sew this to the front along the edge. Cut your fleece for the back of the body 6 X 5 1/2" with the stretch going up and down the 6" length. Here are all your pieces and parts:

Stuff:
ONLY the legs. Just a bit. Not too much, not too little. Leave a little space at the top. This will make it much easier to sew into the body later. Believe me.

Pinch and Pin:
Pinch the ears just a bit and before pinning in place.




Pin the ears, and arms onto the front piece of the traveler.




Pin again:
Pin the front to the back fleece piece. Notice that the fleece is not cut to shape. It will stretch and move just a bit. Perfect for getting everything just right.




Sewing again:
Sew around the body edge 1/4 inch inside. Watch those pins!! There will be a few parts that are fat and chunky and hard to get through. Just keep going.





Take your pins out and then turn it right sides out. I know i am not having you clip it yet...hold on. You want to make sure that the ears and arms are all sewn in perfect. Nothing should be loose, or dangeling, or sewn into the other side seam. Everything ok? Then pop it all back in and trim around the seam.


Look how cute:
Now stuff it.



Pinning again, again:
Stick the legs in place and PIN. These legs love to run away and move. They are little guys and little guys are wiggle worms, so pin those in.


*That doesn't look to comfortable, does it?*
Sewing again, again and again:
Sew right across this bottom. 1/4 inch is perfect. Then turn over and make sure you got both front and back sides. Then sew across it again.




Trim it:
Bend the legs down and trim this just past the stitching. There is large and small parts of fabric everywhere. Even them all out. Make their bum cute people. People will be looking at them!

Face Please:
They would love to have a face either stitched on or use button for thier eyes, red pucker lips, a crooked sneaky smile, starry eyes, eyelashes...whatever you think this little guy/gal needs.
Admire:



Admire Again:


Make More:
Make sure you make one per child. They all want their own! And they don't like to share! And they won't fight while you are on vacation! Have fun... oh, and i would love it if you shared them too!!
Flickr it baby!

Whitey

I am so glad that the weather is warming up. I love spring. not too hot, not too cold....but boy am i white. the hibernating winter does that to me. I am suprised that all that hot cocoa i drank during the winter hasn't tinted my skin. too bad.

Time to break out the tanning cream.

Does this mean less sewing for me? What? Never!

I finished quilting this one for a gal in my neighborhood. I usually don't quilt for others, but she is a mom to one of my girl scouts and so i thought...ok. Here it is. Pretty basic quilt but great pictures in there. This is for her mother and father for their anniversary in june. So fun. simple meander with a few leaves and words...names, dates, love, family.. you know mushy stuff.

I am working on a tutorial for the 'Travelers' I decided to share. It is hard to share things...even when you are in your 30's. Technically that should be late 30's since i passed the halfway mark this year. I was thinking of doing this later, but come on who has time 2 days before leaving the home to work on a traveler for the kids. ok. that would be me...but i will spare you the procrastination. So come back tomorrow.....and take a peak.

Summer Travel---ers

Summer Travelers

9 inches of Fun!!! They are perfect to snag and go. The love to see new things, and go on trips. Short, long, near, far...or anything in between. They love to have thier pictures taken and look at the scrapbook of the memories afterwards. I will be listing a few today.

Check out our adventures last summer. The kids loved these guys.