Ruffling Up A Little Bit of Sunshine

By my calculations, this is finished and blogged project number 17!!!

Some were big, some small, but they all took me time and effort :0)

I am so happy to finally be getting things marked off the to-do list.

These towels I have been dying to work on for months now.

In fact, I am not quite sure WHERE in the new house to put them, but I finished them anyway ;0}

Basically, I purchased a set of two hand towels from Target for about $3 a set.  A couple days later I went back for the washcloths, set of 8 for the same price.

I cut some yellow knit into 2" strips, then ruffled the whole pile of strips with my ruffler foot.

For the hand towels, I made the top one first, but decided I didn't like the ruffles meeting end to end.  I thought it looked too spaced out.  The bottom towel has the three rows of ruffles overlapping, each line sewn about 1" apart vs. the top towel with the rows sewn about 2" apart.

I think I would like the rows 2" if I had cut the knit only 1-1/2" wide.  I will have to try that on my next batch of towels.  I also have grey and white waiting for embellishment.

Once I had my two hand towels ruffled up, I experimented a bit with the washcloths.  This one was a flower type design using the pre-ruffled 2" strand of knit.  Cute, but not what I was looking for.

I really like how the rolled flowers turned out though.  Here is a washcloth with just one flower...

And here is one with three rolled flowers.

The last design I tried was a rolled flower with leaves.  I will show you how I made that one.  If you want to try it but don't like the leaves, just skip that step.  Like the ruffled towels above, all the knit was cut into 2" strips.

I took a 2" strip, folded it in half the long way, then made a origami-style leaf for each side of the flower.  While holding a leaf in place, I sewed the leaves to the washcloth with my sewing machine right across the bottom of the leaf.  I was trying to sew it on low enough that you would not be able to see the stitching once the flower was attached.  I also ran a quick machine stitch down the center of each leaf to give it that veined look.

OK, rolled flowers HERE WE COME :0}

Take your 2" strip of knit, fold it in half lengthwise and tie a knot in the end.

You will use the same basic technique for the rolled flower as you do with the hair flower type, we are just securing the fabric with the sewing machine instead of hot glue.  Also, these are more folded than rolled.

I recommend moving your needle all the way to the right, place your knotted end to the right of the presser foot {with the rest of your fabric strip under the foot and out the left side of your sewing machine.  Set your needle down, backstitch, then sew right over the strip, stopping with your needle down once you reach the end of the strip.

Please forgive me if the pictures are confusing or the instructions hard to read.  It is rather tricky to photograph or explain this process.

I am hoping you can see in the picture above that, with my needle down, I have lifted my presser foot, folded over the strip of knit, then put my presser foot back down to sew again.  I sew about an inch along the outer edge of the knit strip, then put the needle down into the fabric again, lift the foot again, and do the same thing over, and over, and over, and over, and over, etc.

Here are my pictures of that process...

I continued sewing, turning, sewing, until the flower is the size I want it.  When it was looking big enough, I snipped off the extra of the knit strand, folded the end under, and sewed the final one inch of stitching to secure the end of the flower. 

There you have it!  Rolled flowers on washcloths.  Now if you are a little nervous to try this on your own fine bath accessories, go ahead and try it on a piece of paper first!  Yep, and actually, you could sew the whole flower onto regular printer paper, tear away the paper, and just sew the flower to your linens by stitching all around the outside with your sewing machine.  I can see you getting the flower centered a lot easier that way.

Here are a couple files I made up just in case you want to try the paper method and want a guideline...

Basically I made a flower layout, traced the line you would sew on, and came up with the dark line above.  Below I made the flower in a couple different sizes and labeled them accordingly.

Here are sheets with all the same size flower on them...

Let me know if you need original files on those.

Here is a second look at my single and triple flower washcloths.

Such a fun project...and can I add low stress.  Especially with the cloth all yellow!  I LoVE me some yellow. It was like spending the afternoon ruffling up a little bit of sunshine ;0}

ToolBox Tuesday: Tens Unit

Hello All!  It is time for another fabulous edition of ToolBox Tuesday.

Seeing as how I am finally in my house and spending all day moving my craft supplies from one floor to another trying to find their home, I have a special tool to show you today.

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My BodyMed 350T Tens Unit goes absolutely EVERYWHERE with me!  I have mentioned here and there in the past how bad my back can get.  My all time low was when I had to call a friend to come over, have my 3 yr old let her in the house, and get her to help me up so I could make my baby girl some lunch.  Luckily I had a fabulous chiropractor that gave me my tens unit.  Let me tell you, while I get absolutely nothing for sharing this tool with you, I LOVE IT!!!  WON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!!!  DON'T KNOW HOW I EVER LIVED WITHOUT IT :0}

Here is the description from the NewEgg listing:

Pain is the body's warning system and is intended to prevent additional injury. Pain is important because, without it, vital parts of our bodies might be damaged or injured without our knowledge. However, long-lasting, persistent pain, often called chronic pain, once diagnosed serves no apparent purpose. TENS is developed to help relieve some types of chronic and acute pain.

***I got my tens unit for free, billed completely through my insurance, but knowing now how much pain relief I get, I would purchase it myself.  It is totally worth it.***

I found it for sale at the following online sites:

NewEgg- $59.99 + 8.99 shipping

MediMassager.com- $122.60

PainRXStore.com- $69.45

Amazon- $54.99 + 12.49 shipping

Here is how it works.  

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There are two wires that come out of the top of the unit.  They are usually about a yard or so long.  At the end of each wire, they split into a Y and that is where you attach two sticky electrode patches, a black and a red for long wire.  

So when I am having back pain, pretty much all day today, I attach the self-adhesive patches to the area that hurts or is tight.  First, you should not let the pads be close enough to touch while on your skin.  Also, you want to use these guys on muscle, not bone.  So, you place the pads in like a square on the area of pain.  The pads should be anywhere from an inch to several inches apart.  The important part is to alternate the red and black pads.  If you have the red pad on top on the right side, you should have the black pad on top on your left side.

Thanks to Wikipedia, I have this nifty back image so I can SHOW you what I am talking about...

This is my most used formation {note that I am a woman, not a man as in this image ;0}

My back pain is very low on my back and often has something to do with my rear end or hip muscles being tight.  Usually after just one cycle of the tens unit I feel the pain ease, but sometimes I need several rounds before the pain is tolerable.

My upper back is also a tough area, being a crafter and all.

I like to put the pads on my worst knots up around the shoulder area, then sew a few more hours with the unit  turned on.

Once in a while my one shoulder is super bad.  I have either put all four on the one spot, or just used one wire, just the red and black from the same wire, and not turned on the other wire.

In all reality, you can only take what I am saying as opinion.  I have no medical knowledge that makes me authorized to give you advice for or against this machine, but if you have muscle pain, talk to your doctor about getting one of these units!!!

There are a couple knobs that need to be set.  The knobs behind the side cover are for your doctor to determine.  

The physical therapist that worked in the chiropractic office set my knobs for me, but I have my unit set at 180 for the width and 40 Hz for the rate.  I have it set at "C", which I believe means continuous, and at the 30 minute timer.  There is also a 60 minute timer.

The knobs on top are what YOU use.  They start at off, then go from 1 to 8 for the intensity of the shock.  As the numbers grow, the electric pulse grows.  I usually turn mine up to about 3.  The pulse is pretty strong at that point and I really have never gone higher.  I was rather surprised to hear from my husband that these tens units were being sold all over the Mall of America last weekend.  He took the kids up to the mall {now that we live like 15 minutes from the mall *Yes*} and guys were popping out of kiosks all over the place trying to get him to buy one.  They were selling it with the angle of working your muscles without working at all :0)  Whatever.  Like I said, I use mine to get through the day.  It totally works for that.

The unit runs off a 9 volt battery.  One battery lasts a really long time if you don't forget to turn the unit off ;0) Once the impulse stops, you do have to turn the knobs on top back to off in order to keep the battery for longer.

I know I have left a ton out of this explanation.  All I can tell you is if you have back or other muscle issues, check out the tens unit.  Ask your doctor or chiropractor or physical therapist   They know a lot more about the "how it works", I just know it has made so much of my crafting possible!!!

Happy Crafting everyone!

10yr Old Quilt...Done!

Sweet Mary let me set up this quilt frame in her basement last week.  I finally sewed that final row of squares on to the bottom of this quilt and was ready to tie it.

Originally I had visions of quilting it, but since the topper has been sitting around since my Eli boy was one, it is probably time to just get 'er done!  Back during our BYU days, me at home with my two munchkins waiting for our grown-up lives to start, I purchased a pile of $1/yd fabric from Walmart.  

I used the pattern "The Minnesota Hot Dish" {purchased in Bemidji, Minnesota the previous summer during our whole family trip up north}.  I loved the pattern so much I even made two other quilts from the same pattern, just never got around to finishing this one.  I intended to applique frogs or soccer balls on top to make it more boy-ish for Eli, but obviously let go of that dream too.

Here is what it looks like when opened up.  

Probably of all the projects I have finished up to this point, this quilt was the one I have been the most excited about.  I don't know if it is because it has been waiting the longest, or perhaps deep down inside I never did see myself working on it again.  I do really think it is because looking at the pattern and touching the fabrics brought me back to that magical, hopeful moment in our lives.  We were waiting for the end of the last year of Scott's Master's program.  I was loving and snuggling on two adorable cuddlers.  We would play at the sandbox all day, then I would pull this quilt out and sew a little while the munchkins slept.  We had so many hopes and dreams of how life would be after graduation, when life would really begin.  

Even though very little of life turned out as we hoped, and many a day I wish I were back in those simpler days {even though we were also poorer}, those days are fond memories.  I am so grateful for the moments last week to be able to work once again on that quilt, and much like my life, not finish it like I had hoped, but finished it still I did!

Here is the scrappy backside.  I love to use all the scraps to make the back of the quilt!!!

Go grab those unfinished projects lurking in your closets, under your beds, or moving closer to the trash bin. You might just be surprised at how much joy it brings you to finish them :0}

Playing With Pics

Wohoo!  I am so TOTALLY excited to be home!  We have been taking things one room at a time with the unpacking, but every once in a while I need a break!  Today I chose playing with my pics from Emmalee's Preschool graduation.

These are just the pictures from outside before the thing started.

Emmalee was looking so cute, I thought it might be a good time for close-ups of all the kids.

I am hoping to make some canvas shots for the living room wall.

I love this one of Eli.  It is probably the one we will use {even though the next one is really my favorite}.

What a cute smile!  It melts a Momma's heart!  Unfortunately Eli's sisters were both too crabby to give me real giggle smiles like his, so we will have to settle for the grin...unless I force them all back outside for more ;0)

OK, hoping to make those faux canvas prints with these pictures later this week.  I guess it will all depend on how much the project is gonna cost.  Wish me luck!

Fancy Pants To Saucy Skirt

Madison had an adorable pair of jean capris that she was so sad to get rid of.  They got those annoying inner-thigh holes that are so uncomfortable when patched.  We decided to try one of those jean skirts from the 80's that start out jean and end up fabulous fabric.  After a long trip to the fabric store, we came home with this gold lace and lining. 

I had 1.5 yds.  We actually purchased the fabric months ago during our "hotel period" of the Sioux Falls stay.  I was  little worried that it would not be enough fabric, but it ended up just right for the size 14 pair of pants. We cut the pants off just below the zipper, sewed the fabric into a tube, then folded over the bias end of the fabric under and ran a running stitch around the folded edge.  The fabric was distributed evenly around the pants and then sewn in place.

This skirt was totally fast and easy!  It made me want to make more, more, MoRE!!!

Madison made this cute, scrappy flower from the skirt scraps, in addition to some other scraps she found around the sewing room.  Totally cute!  I think the flower makes the skirt.

I might have to make one for me ;0}