Short and Sweet

Leave me a comment and tell me what you love the most about this time of year to win this heart garland. I know ... it's a stretch but you can do it! I love sipping coffee / wine (depending on the time of day - he he) by the fire place, crawling under bedding that has been warmed by my electric blanket, snow (if we ever get it), and seeing my boy's cheeks all rosy after a good tumble outside.

Winner announced Monday, Feb 2nd!

And since I know you want details ... I used this pattern to crochet the hearts. ;-)

Sword / Dagger Tutorial

I did a not so great job of drawing my sword to use as my template. I have no suggestion here to avoid a wonky shape except to find something to use as your pattern (unless you can draw well!). I did find that the sword was floppy despite the Peltex. I was hesitant to insert something like a popsicle stick to give it more stability. I saw trips to the ER … so I opted to only use the Peltex and cut the sword down to a dagger. The boys didn’t seem to mind a bit that their dagger wiggles and waggles – there were having too much fun slaying imaginary whatevers …

You will need:

Felt for sword / dagger
Contrasting felt for applique

Firm interfacing - I used Peltex 70
Glue stick like this (not mandatory but helps when assembling layers)


I am going to refer to the color scheme that I used for sake of ease. Gray felt for the sword and yellow for the handle.

Cut two rectangles from yellow. I made mind 4 ¼ inches by 1 ¼ inches.

Cut two rectangles from interfacing about 1/4 inches smaller than yellow.

Cut two daggers from felt. My suggestion is to make the dagger the same width the entire length. I made mine a bit narrow where I attached the yellow and I think this contributed to the wiggle and waggle. My daggers are 10 ¼ inches long and 1 ¾ inches wide. You are going to cut one continuous piece. The yellow is going to be placed over the dagger to give it more stability.

Cut two daggers from interfacing about ¼ inch smaller than the felt.

Make a sandwich of the gray felt, interfacing, interfacing, gray felt. I used the glue to hold it all together since it’s so thick. Double check to make sure no interfacing is showing; if so trim. Zig zag stitch (I used a very small /tight stitch) to close the gray felt around the interfacing.

Next is to add the yellow felt to the dagger. If you wish to embellish and add ‘jewels’ or squiggles now is the time.

Once you are done decorating your dagger’s handle (you see I chose the easy way – no embellishments) we are going to make another sandwich. Yellow felt, interfacing, dagger, interfacing, yellow felt. I placed the bottom of the yellow felt 3 inches up from the bottom of the dagger and double check to make sure no interfacing is showing:

Zig zag a small / tight stitch all the way around the yellow (and over the dagger) to attach the ‘handle’. Double check that you caught all the seams and if need be (I had to) restitch those areas that did not make the first round.

Pictured at the top is the sword which I then cut down to dagger size which is pictured right above. I hope this isn’t too confusing. If you little knights are like mine, they aren’t very discriminating and didn’t notice the flaws – they were too busy puffing out their chests and putting on their ‘soldier’ faces ~ remember, send me pics if you make these (smile).

Here are the links to the armor tutorial and the shield tutorial.

Shield Tutorial

I hope you don't mind that I've done these tutorials in parts. My brain just couldn't handle so much information at once ;-D Again, if you have any questions or this is unclear, just let me know and I'll try to remedy it.

You will need:

Felt for shield

A plate or something that is a large circle use as your template

Contrasting felt for applique
Firm Interfacing - I used Peltex 70

Glue stick like this (not mandatory but helps when working with the applique)

Draw / trace your plate on the felt and cut two.

Do the same for the interfacing but this time cut the circle about a ¼ inch smaller.

Cut two rectangles 5 inches x 2 inches should do the trick for the handles.

To embellish I enlarged clip art and letters then cut it out on felt and used the zig zag stitch to attach. After my designs were cut from the felt, I attached the letter to the mini shield and then the mini shield to the big shield and one layer of interfacing. In other words, make a sandwich of one layer of interfacing, felt, mini shield with letter. Here's a good place to use that glue stick vs pins. Attach mini shield with letter using the zig zag stitch.

Now to make your handle. First sew the two rectangles together. We are going to make another sandwich now using the other layer of interfacing, felt, and then handle. Center your handle on the shield but don’t pin just yet. We are going pin the handle like this:

Once you have your handle in place, stitch the ends down. I went over mine several times figuring boys will be boys and will be rough.

Next up – putting it together. Place the interfacing sides together (right sides of felt facing out) and pin. Double check to make sure your interfacing is not sticking out. If so, trim. I used a very small and tight zig zag stitch to attach the two pieces together. When you are done, you might want to check to make sure you got all the seams. If not, just go back and stitch those places down again.

Here are the links for the sword / dagger tutorial and the armor tutorial.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with ~ go forth and conquer ... er ... be creative!

Armor Tutorial

Thank you so much for all your kind words ~ I hope your little ones enjoy these as much as my boys have ... Please excuse the not so great picture ~ wind blowing, sun setting, in a hurry ... you know the story. For some action shots go here. So here goes fellow bloggers ~ read lots of these things but never written one. Please let me know if anything is confusing.

You will need:

Felt for armor

Contrasting felt for applique

4 inches or so of sew on Velcro

Glue stick like this (not mandatory but helps when working with the Velcro)

I made each piece of armor to fit my boys. I measured the width of their shoulders (like where the seam of a shirt would be) and then from their shoulders down to where I wanted (waist / middle of bottom / knees) to get the length you desire. Here are my boys measurements in case you are making this from afar from your little knight: Henry (a tall 4 1/2 yr old) is 12" wide and to hit mid-bottom 18" long. John (a tall 2 yr old) is 5 1/2" wide and 15" long. Just a note for John's size - I wish I had made the length a wee bit longer.

Once you have your measurements, fold felt in half and cut your rectangle on the fold. The fold is where you are going to cut out the neck – no seams – yae!

To make the opening for the neck measure 2 ½ inches in from the side on both sides and 2 inches down from the fold. Draw your rectangle and cut your opening.

Take the felt scrap you just cut from the main piece and cut in half long ways. In other words – make the cut down the middle so that it is a long and skinny rectangle ~ this is going to be your straps for the side.

Take your straps and on one end of each sew the ‘soft’ part of your Velcro. (I used the fabric glue instead of pins to hold the Velcro in place.) I found out the hard way that Velcro attaches itself to felt … so we are going to put the piece that is a bit tougher on the actual armor.

Now to attach your straps to the armor. I attached the straps to the outside back (whatever side you deem to be so if you aren't ahead of the game and already did an applique) and had the matching Velcro on the outside front. I felt this would be easier for little hands to manage (all about independence here!). Attach the end of the strap without Velcro to the armor about half way down and two to three inches onto the felt. Repeat on the other side.

Now to attach the ‘hard’ part of your Velcro. Find where your strap’s Velcro meets the front and sew Velcro on (right on the edge of the armor).

Embellish as you wish or should I say as your knight wishes! For my little royalty I just enlarged clip art and then cut it out on felt and used the zig zag stitch to attach.

If you have a princess who requires a crown, or your knight prefers a cape to armor, you should check out these great tutorials - here, and here, respectively.

I would love to see photos if you decide to make some armor! Make sure you leave me a comment so I can come take a peek ;-) Up next are the tutorials for the shield and the dagger / sword. Stay tuned!

Here Ye Here Ye

The Queen of Some of a Kind has issued an official thank you to all of her loyal readers. The following post will show two of her most loyal subjects (captivity may have something to do with their undying devotion) frolicking in the gardens (desolate lands).

All of the excitement had nothing to do with sharp objects (how dangerous is felt?)

And everything to do with the celebration of post number 310! Never mind that her royal highness missed post number 300.

My dear bloggy subjects ... you have stayed true through babble and craft alike.

Sir Henry

and Sir John

do not take this lightly. Ok - well, maybe just Henry ;-D

Tutorials will follow next week in three different dissertations ... I mean post.

Sneak Peak Number Two

Lack of naps the past few days have greatly infringed on my sewing time but I'm almost done. Here's another little peek to keep you on the edge of your seat ...


to

Wordless Wednesday - Saturday

Sneak Peak

So I've been working on one of my ideas ...

I hope to have some tutorials for you by the end of the week.



Even poor Henry doesn't know what I'm up too!

Hopefully he will still be smiling when I'm done!

Cliched

Put your best foot forward ...

A bird in the hand ...

It's a wrap ...

Just couldn't resist the cheesy cliches. All these goodies were for a baby shower this weekend along with a case of diapers and wipes. Never can have too many of those! Here's the link for the shoes. They were sorta easy. I had to rip out the first shoe once and the second shoe twice. There is a part in the tutorial where she says that it is a bit tricky ... she's right. My tired brain seemed to keep making the same mistake - 3 times. You know what they say ... four is a charm. Ok, so that's not really the cliche ;0) I must be chiched out!

Mission Control

There is nothing like a good chair to sit and blog from. DH couldn't stand the ragged out, very uncomfortable, ripped, hard back chair we've used for years so he made a little trip to the store the other day ... you know ... to help stimulate the economy (and help his aging back!).




Blogging has never been so comfortable. Not to mention the fact that somehow this chair motivated me to clean up my space a little bit. My sewing room / office looked like outer space - debris everywhere, USP's (unidentified sewing projects), and piles of recipes. I'm back at the controls (now that I can see them). Hopefully I'll get some downtime this weekend to work on those ideas that are running around my little head ...



Houston, I'm ready for lift off.

Pass the Cheese Please

I finally made bread from this book and it lived up to all the hype. I cannot wait to make the whole wheat sandwich bread. If it is anything as good as the 'master recipe' I'm gonna be floating on air. Kinda how this bread looks:

It took me forever to track down the right size container for the bread to rise in. Nowhere could one be found in my town. I finally had to order one from King Arthur Flour. I got a little panicky when I reread the recipe and realized that I needed a baker's peel. I wasn't up for the challenge to try to find that in town either; so I improvised:

I used a cutting /cheese board that has a handle. Worked like a charm. The dough slid right off and onto the pizza stone.

Don't let the title of the book fool you. It does take more than 5 minutes to make the bread; with that said and having the experience of making bread from scratch the 'old fashioned' way ~ this way is far superior when it comes to time management and quickness that doesn't interfere with the quality. In other words - this bread was some kinda good. We topped ours with guyer and blue cheese. Even DH who is admittedly a bread snob loved it. There was lots of "mmm's", "This is really good. really.", and "Could you pass the cheese please?"

Wordless Wednesday - Shutterbug

Thing To Wear

I found this wonderful list of the top 100 tutorials of 2008 (thanks Angela!) and spent too much time on the computer checking everything out. I knew this little kimono wrap had to be made. It just so happens that I've got a baby shower this weekend ...




Recognize the fabric? Did you know the true meaning of Kimono? Well I didn't. It's "thing to wear". This soon to be here baby girl hopefully won't feel that way ... now as for me - ha - I never have a thing to wear!

Tap Tap Tap

Did you hear that?

Maybe it was a peck peck peck ...

Listen carefully ... there it was again!

A little birdie came to tell me that this here post is number 301. I apparently was asleep on the job for the big 3-0-0. I have been pecking away on the computer that is for sure! So, um, I'd love to say I have something really profound to say or some fabulous give away but I don't. I'm a little behind the game. I do however have a few great (so I think) projects brewing in this little head of mine that I want to share ... I just need to make them first. Just a little technicality I suppose. So my gift to you dear readers will be coming soon ... maybe more like post 305, 311, and 317 ... or so.

Stay tuned ~ I'm just a pecking away over here!

Cat Nap

I couldn't resist.

I just had to join him.

Hope you get some cat naps in this weekend too.

Three's A Charm

You might recognize this yarn. It was supposed to be a grocery tote.

I decided to pull the original 'flower' and redo it. I figured what I had to loose except time - either way I was on track to loose that any way - my gut told me that this was not turning out how it was supposed to. Well lo and behold ... it turned out the same way! This time I made sure I counted - actually made little tick marks on a piece of paper to keep track. The pattern called for 'treble crochet V sts ' and when I googled it, the best I could get that it was the English equivalent of the double crochet sts. hmph. The way it was working up looked more like quadrupole zillion trillion (as Henry would say) ... a carnation was in the making again.

I pulled it and made a scarf for no one in particular. I need to have something come out of this yarn - not because it's pricey (it wasn't) or some high grade (it isn't) but because I needed to make something. So a scarf it became (because that's about all I can crochet!). I'm going to file it away for Christmas '09.

Jump For Joy

I participated again this year in the Holiday Traditions Exchange and was not disappointed.

Just the packaging alone got my pulse going ...

Ya I know ~ makes you almost not want open it ... almost ;-D

Lindsey made this beautiful mat/center piece that had a place both on my buffet and the center of the dining room table during our Christmas celebrations.

I'm going to continue enjoying the back side during the winter months.

She fueled my love for a cup of anything that is hot and a little something sweet. She sent all the fixin's for a stellar hot cup of chocolate which I cannot share pictures of because I've already used it all! Just to make your mouth water ... marshmallows, candy canes, sugar sprinkles, red and green M&M's, hot coco and an adorable mug to stir it all up in ... divine.

In case you are wondering, yes, jump for joy I did.

Public Service Announcement

Casting On + Counting + Kids = Frogging

Please do not try this at home.

(That is unless you are an Amphibian.)

Thumbs Up

Don't you just love surprises ... especially those that evoke all your senses. Lisa sent the Some of a Kind household a package that did just that ...

Mouth watering

Easy on the eyes wrist warmers and yarn

Finger poking giggle endusing book

I'd give this surprise a thumbs-up!

Good Things

Come to those who wait ... at least that's what the back of my new cookbook says ...



I can't wait, I mean, I'm excited to make some slow cooker dinners that actually taste like something. I have had the opportunity to enjoy several of these recipes at the hands of generous friends so I know that this book is a winner.


The funny thing is I really did have to wait to get this cookbook. I went to the store where both of my friends had purchased it and it was out of stock - twice! The second time they took my number and said they would call when it came in ... that was 2 months ago! I totally forgot all about it and then the call came - they had one left out of the six they ordered. Yup. I went out that day and got it.


I'm going to try to adhere to the 'good things' approach this year ... slow down and take care of my family, my home, my spirit. Bit by bit. Letting things simmer and not boil over. Tackling one thing at a time. Adding just enough spice. Yes. That is the recipe for 2009. It will be the art of the slow cooker indeed.

Shhh

Do you hear that?

I think it's the sound of my MoJo coming back ... hmmm I better go listen some more just to make sure.

Hello 2009

Hope you had a horn blowing, shoes off, bead wearing, sparkly hat, champagne kinda time!