tooth pillow improvement

Hey, everybody! I've been to physical therapy and we did all kinds of cool but sinister-sounding things like electrodes and traction. My neck is on the mend, and this Thanksgiving all my thanks go to the good Lord for answered prayers. And to you, for your prayers and good wishes! More PT after Thanksgiving for me, and I'm looking forward to it.

I did squeeze in this tiny bit of crafting for a sweet little five year old's birthday party. I assure you it was quite moderate compared with the mondo crafting I wanted to do. I thought I'd share it with you since I added an improvement that will make it more durable.


When you make the Tooth Pillow from my pattern, after you mark the line for the mouth but before you cut the slit, machine stitch all the way around it with matching thread, close to the line. See the stitching around the mouth in the photo above? This will prevent the mouth from stretching from repeated use. You can also used this method with the slit you need to cut in the back for turning. It makes things look neater with less stretching. The PDF pattern has also been updated with this change (and can be found here).

Well, there you have it. Just a small thing. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday all you United States citizens, wherever you may be.

And the winners are...

(rustling of envelopes)

Amy, who has made an Atlanta Braves themed Molly and would like to add a Mikey,

and

darlinroz, who's in it for the shoes. Darlinroz, I need your email address!

(falling confetti)

(pinwheeling spotlights)

Well, congratulations you two! I'll be emailing you the patterns soon.

A huge HUGE thank you to everyone who commented and also for your support in my shop for the patterns. It blew me away! Happy holiday crafting.

Don't forget the pattern sale is on through Monday, 20% off the regular price of Katy Kitty, Baby Binky Bunny and Mikey Monkey.

P.S. On a sad note (for me), I have injured my neck and time spent on the computer or sewing seems to aggravate it. SIGH. SIIIIIIIGHH. I'm praying for healing and patience. Until the neck is better, I won't be crafting or posting as often! I'm going to have to learn moderation, which is very difficult for me when it comes to Precious and crafting. I'll miss it, and I'll miss you.

Mikey Monkey, a sale and a giveaway

Wow, thanks everybody! Comments are now closed for the giveaway.

Mikey Monkey is now in the shop! Above is the first page of the 15-page boy-centric Mikey Monkey PDF pattern. It includes color pictures, step-by-step detailed instructions, a boatload of illustrated diagrams for each step, and of course, the pattern pieces. I've learned a few things since I wrote the Molly pattern, and I've made some adjustments here and there for easier assembly.

I hope this is in plenty of time for your Christmas makings. If you already have the Molly pattern but would love to make the boy version and these accessories without all the guess-work, then this pattern is for you!

Here is the basic Mikey, above.

He has two options for his Look. One is the more debonair tie/collar combo, paired with a jaunty newsboy hat, above.

The other fashion option is a striped t-shirt with a baseball cap, for the more casual monkey on-the-go.

Here's the back of the cap.

And included also with the pattern is a pirate play set, with pirate hat, sword and eye patch. Arrrr!

And of course, the tennis shoes. And if Molly wants to play, go ahead and let her! All Mikey's accessories fit her too.

To mark the debut of the Mikey pattern, I am also having my first ever sale at the shop. All my softie patterns will be 20% off until Monday the 23rd.

And oh, yes. I nearly forgot. I'd like to celebrate by giving away two Mikey patterns! If you are interested, leave ONE comment with your email address on this post. I'll be giving the patterns away via random number generator first thing on November 18th. See you back here then.

P.S. If your monkey makin' won't wait until Wednesday and you want to get started with the pattern, I can refund you the purchase price if you should be one of the lucky winners!

aarrrrrr...

Aye, hand o'er the bananasss and no one gets strapped t'the masthead. Arrrr

So, so close on the Mikey Monkey pattern. Finishing up some fun options/accessories for him, including the pirate playset you see here.

what I'm up to

Working on the Mikey pattern variation. I'm hoping to have it done by the firstish of November, but won't hold my breath. My grand-nephew Tucker, for whom I made the original Mikey, was just born a few days ago and I can't wait to go cuddle him. Might have to sneak off with the girls and go to Huntsville for some newborn baby love.

Hello, world! My name is Tucker!
I'm four hours old. Count my chins!

I had to share this picture of him. It was taken on a phone in a darkened room, hence the image quality. This is about 4 hours after he was born, in the arms of his very happy grandmother and my older sister, Leigh.

So now you can see the impossible cute factor we are dealing with here. And he is a hoss, in the grand tradition of our family. 9 lbs and 10 oz at birth. And just as kissable as he can possibly be. We love you Tucker! Congratulations, sweet Erin and Nathan.

I just realized 'tucker' means 'food' if you are in Australia, right? Well, that fits. Ha!


We went to our local county fair over the weekend, which was 1) cold 2) muddy 3) rinky dink, and yet conversely 4) really expensive. Somehow we missed the fabulous state fair in Perry, due to my poor planning. There's always next year!

(if I close my eyes, I am not here)

Can you tell Thing 2 was not a big fan of this ride? That's big sis behind us flying solo. I'm wearing my favorite crocheted scarf, courtesy of Robyn. Man I need to learn to crochet.

Y'all have a lovely weekend. And happy All Hallows Eve!

mushroom avoidance crafting

I was having a family of six over for dinner Saturday. So at 2pm I made this when I should have been showering/cleaning/cooking.

Everything was done in time, so all's well that ends well. And I had something cute on my mantel.

robyn's messenger bag

I can share this now that Robyn has received her package with this and some other tiny goodies. I knew I wanted to make something fall(ish) for a girl with a September birthday. I was thinking this could be used to hold a few diapers, wipes, wallet, and chewy keys for some hands-free shopping.

I'm happy to say the construction of this one was much less tortured and plagued with mistakes. Came right together with minimal angst over color (it's like Jamie's with a different color combo). The bag is a really dark olive gray and I lined it with a mustardy yellow. I think the flap colors work ok, maybe a bit brighter than I was shooting for, but I was happy with it in the end.

I actually had an overabundance of ideas this time. There were 3 color combos all vying for my attention and I actually pieced the flap design for another one, but decided it was too summery looking for a September birthday. It will just have to wait for another occasion.



I decided to add some interest on the strap with some channel stitching this time. I love the look of contrast stitching, but it really lays the pressure on to be flawless with the sewing, and I can never manage it. Robyn, don't look too closely!


I also decided to make a little zippered pouch for it and I used this excellent tutorial to make one with french seams. I pieced it in the same colors as the bag with an orange interior.

If you'd like to make a messenger bag too, you can use my basic messenger bag tutorial here. Flap design is all you, though! Go crazy.

hey, Mikey!

(Let me say a huge THANK YOU for the prayers and well-wishes for my flu-riddled girlies. They are doing MUCH better, no fevers, and now they are bored and stir crazy, always a good sign. H1N1 seemed pretty much like any other flu, 'cept maybe higher fevers and shorter lived. Michael and I are still feeling well, so thank you, Lord!)

Here's my version of a boy Molly Monkey. I've seen several really nice ones in the flickr pool, including ties and overalls and tennis shoes, and one kind reader even took the trouble to send me the instructions for a boy monkey she did herself!

I tend to be girl-centric with my crafting, for obvious reasons, but as it happens my beautiful niece, Erin, is having a baby boy in October. Here was the perfect opportunity to develop the Mikey Monkey I've had patiently waiting in my brain almost since I made the Molly Monkey for Thing 2.


I had a lot of fun coming up with these tennis shoes. I modeled them after the Converse-like shoes I drew for Robyn's baby announcement. Michael saw them and said, "Tennis shoes...with a shirt and tie?" But that's just how Mikey rolls. Oops, I think I still see some purple disappearing marker on the shoe. I was on a tight deadline, as usual.


Close-up of his shirt and tie. These are Erin's nursery colors, and the I think the tie fabric is also included in the baby quilt that her talented mom (my sister Leigh Ann) made her. I love love love the colors Erin chose for the baby's room. It's all robin egg blues, browns, greens, with touches of yellow and orange.


Here's Mikey without his newsboy hat and shoes. Since he'll be in the baby's room, I went ahead and sewed the hat and shoes on after this picture, so they wouldn't get lost. His linen short pants look a bit like jodhpurs to me. Which was unintentional, but I don't mind it. Maybe he is a polo player.


I cut a hole in the back of the tie to turn it more easily, so of course I had to glue a label over the slit. Fancy Monkey is an exclusive line of designer ties for equestrian newsboy monkey types.

To sum up, in order to transform the Molly pattern to a Mikey pattern:

1. I altered the Molly beret to get the newsboy hat,
   
2. added a tie and collar,
   
3. divided the torso to make a waistband for the pants,
   
4. switched the socks to legs and the legs to pants,
   
5. and made the tennis shoes.
   

Of course you could skip the tie and collar completely and give him a t-shirt and jeans instead. There's a lot of possibilities.

If there is some interest out there in having the new Mikey pattern pieces so you can make boy versions from your Molly pattern without the guesswork, let me know. I can make the new pattern available in my shop at some point.

On a sour note, a fellow crafter informed me recently that she saw my Molly pattern on a craft site being passed off as their own design. She had the same experience with them with one of her own designs. They had indeed made .gifs out of my pattern pieces, deleted my text, and placed their logo on everything, including a photo image taken by me. Pretty cheeky. I guess that is the peril of a free pattern and the honor system. I've contacted them and requested them to remove it, but so far no response to me, although they have removed the offending page. I also recognized some other 'borrowed' tutorials there, some Martha Stewart images among them. That seems a little foolhardy. If you've posted a free tutorial, you might want to check it out.