Lasso The Moon

Sew Your Own Crib Sheets

 

Elijah is two months old now, and it's time for him to spend a little more time in his crib.  And a little less time in my bed.  This transition is always a gradual one in our house.  I like to put him in there for a couple naps a day, maybe some awake time, and add in some night sleeps after a little while. Pretty soon he'll feel comforted by the crib, and I'll leave him in there over night.

After I cleaned out all the junk that had piled into the unused crib since Esther moved out of it, I wanted to make him something a little more special than the plain white sheet that had been in there before.  I'm not using bumber pads this time, so the sheets needed to add some color to his new bed.

I found these two seersucker ginghams at Walmart.  (We have one of the last remaining fabric departments at our Walmart.  It's nice, until you need someone to cut for you...I waited 20 minutes with two screaming kids for this fabric!!)

After I washed and dried the fabric to preshrink, (never skip this step!!) I cut each one into a rectangle measuring 68 x 45 inches.

Then I folded it into quarters (four layers), lined up the corners, and cut an 8-inch square from each corner.

Now each corner has an L-shaped cut in it.

Bring the legs of each L together to form a point.  This will make my corner.  Sew using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

After all the corners were sewn, I finished all the raw edges with a zigzag stitch.  I could have pulled out my serger, but a zigzag works just fine.

I folded over outer edge of the sheet and sewed a 1/2 inch casing around the perimeter.  Then I threaded through 80 inches of 1/4 inch elastic.  I tied the two ends together, sewed the casing shut, and it was finished!

This is an easy sewing project for anyone.  The fabric cost me $4.50 a yard, so each sheet was $9.  A little more than a plain white sheet, but these ones make the bed look just right for a little boy.  Which he needs, because just two feet away from his bed it looks like this:

This is the only corner of the room without giant flowers painted on it, so this corner is all about Eli.

Come back next time, and I'll show you what he's looking at.

::

And check out this post to see how I made the big flowers on the wall.

 

Christmas Project Sneak Peek

On my side of the family, between my parents, siblings, and their spouses and children, there are 17 of us.  So, instead of worrying about gifts for all of them, we started drawing names.  Since we only have one gift each to think about, we added the rule that it must be hand made.

Here's the beginning of my gift this year.  A stack of thrifted, washed, men's shirts.

Ready to be cut into strips to create something like this...

Hmm... lots more to do before the reveal.

168

Oops! I was away for a little longer than I anticipated, but for good reason!

I have been sewing, collecting dolls, sewing, stuffing dolls into bags, sewing, and collecting more dolls.  Here are some highlights:

Laura V. and Jeani M. made 24 dollies to send to Haiti with our group.

My brother Ben (15) made this handsome guy:

These 3 were made by Rose M.

Some more from my sister Abby:

A handsome fella made by my brother Jon (17):

Some cuties from someone I've never met, but who had been praying for a way to use her time and materials to serve the Lord:

A couple more hand-stitched darlings:

And these from Leisa B. (Emma {7} helped with some of the faces!)

I cannot begin to express how amazed I am at the turnout.  We did this in ONE MONTH! (Lord, you are so good!!) We got dolls from as far away as Michigan.  I had new friends in my home making dolls with me. There were dolls made by a 94-year-old woman (and a new friend of mine!) and a 4-year-old boy (my neighbor, CJ). 

In total, we took in 168 dolls!

I'm keeping that one in the center.

Then we loaded them into some space bags.

And squished them together until they looked like this.

And incredibly, they all fit into this huge duffel!

The team left for the trip today, and I feel like a part of me left with them.

I cannot express the gratitude I feel for your help.

Except to say Thank You.

Someday you'll know the impact your simple gift and the prayers you prayed had on the little ones who will get these dollies.

Until then, keep them in your prayers a bit longer.

And, thank you again!

 

 

How to finish your baby dolls -- faces, bows and other tips

I have had a few detail questions that I thought you might all like the answer to as you are working on your baby dolls for Haiti. 

Find the printable pattern here.

1. What is the best way to put the dolls together? 

First, read the tutorial made by the designer.  I put all of my baby dolls together the way she suggests, with only a few minor adjustments. One change that I made is that I don't pin the arms to the sides of the dress.  I found that they were bunching and shifting too much during the sewing, so I tacked them to the sides (stitching close to the edge) of the front piece before sewing the front and back together:

I also did the same with the stuffed legs, before stuffing the body.  This time I used the full 1/4 in seam allowance, so it makes a guide for turning under that last seam after stuffing.

Another small thing I changed is that I am hand sewing the last seam shut, because no matter what I did, I could not make that one look good using the machine.

Finally, when cutting out the boy body pattern, I divided the body into two pieces, cutting about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom, to form separate pants and shirt.  Then I added a 1/4 inch seam allowance to each side of the split so the finished doll would be the same size.  I think the boys look adorable either way, though.

2. How are you doing the faces? 

Since I am much more adept with a needle and thread than with a paintbrush, I am embroidering the faces.  But I say, do whatever you are good at.

Here are the two simple face styles I'm using for the girl dolls:

Use just two strands of embroidery floss so it looks nice and tidy.  For the satin stitched eyes, outline your oval in a neat back stitch, then fill with the satin stitch, keeping your fill stitches inside the outline.

Here are the boy faces:

I hid my knots under the hairline or along the side seam, and then poked the thread back into the doll to bury the tail end.

3. How should I finish them off?

I am sewing a simple felt pocket to the boy shirts, before I sew the front and back pieces together.  This could also be added at the end by hand. (See above)

For the girls, I'm switching between three options:

A simple ribbon bow, a felt flower, and a yo-yo rosette with ribbon "leaf".

Overall, I just want to send as many baby dolls as we can to Haiti next month.  So if you can make one, please do.  And please send the dolly drive info to someone else who sews, too.  We had a dolly-making party yesterday, and added several more to the group:

We got the total up to 26, with a few more that just need finishing touches.

Send your baby dolls to:

Baby Dolls for Haiti

c/o Faith Bible Church

1437 W. Pleasant Run Rd.

DeSoto, TX 75115

Remember, the deadline is July 28th, so if you are mailing them, you'll need to get them in the mail by the 25th to get here on time.

If you have already made dolls for the drive, and would like to add a tip, please leave it in the comments.

 

 

Can you make one rag doll? Baby Dolls for Haiti

Do you sew?  Do you know someone who does? I have a little project I want you to help me with. 

Donnie is leaving for a mission trip to Haiti on August 1st. He's taking several kids from our youth group, and while they are there, they will be helping with a local ministry, learning about the culture, playing with Haitian kids, and getting their feet wet in global missions. 

There are more than 400,000 orphans in Haiti, and hundreds of thousands more children living in poverty there.  I want to send as many baby dolls with Donnie as I can--something to hug when life gets scary or lonely.  Every child needs that.

I made one!

And then I made a few more.

I made 7 dolls in just a few days, and I'm going to keep making them.  But since the trip is only about 3 weeks away, I thought you might want to help me out. Here's how:

If you sew, commit to making ONE doll to send with our group to Haiti.  Just one.  You might want to make more after that, but even one doll would make a difference in a little one's life.

If you don't sew, consider donating some supplies (solid brown cotton fabric, black thread, stuffing...) or even just a few bucks to the cause.  We figured that the dolls cost about $2 each to make, so just a little could make a big difference.

Whether you sew or not, make it your goal to tell three people about our Baby Doll Drive.  Send them the link to this post, share it on facebook, however you can get the word out.  I will probably make about 25 dolls before the group leaves, but imagine how many more we could send if we all pitched in just a little! (We can't send too many.)

(Aren't they gorgeous! Can't you picture them holding on to their own baby dolls! Haiti photos by Amanda Towns.)

I got the pattern from here. The Dolly Donations blog is full of ideas, patterns, tips, and tricks to make doll-making easier.  Download your pattern here.

There is a list of supplies on the site above, but basically, you need brown cotton fabric, black felt, and patterned fabric for the "clothing". 

We are looking for girl AND boy dolls, with brown to dark brown skin, with any color hair.  Get creative and have fun with it!  Ask a child to help you stuff your doll, and use it as an opportunity to teach him/her about children in other countries.  When you are working on the hand-stitched parts, or picking out your fabric, take a moment to pray for the child who'll get your doll.  Maybe this child has never been prayed for in her life.  You don't know her name, but God does!

Send your babydolls to:

Baby Dolls for Haiti

c/o Faith Bible Church

1437 W. Pleasant Run Rd.

DeSoto, TX 75115

Please send your dolls early enough that they arrive before July 28th.  They'll need a couple of days to figure out how much they are taking and get it all packed up. 

If you have any questions about the drive, please leave a comment on this blog post, or email me.  lassothemoonshop (at) gmail (dot) com.  Thanks so much for helping!

And here are a few pictures from the last trip our group took to Haiti.

That's my little brother Jon playing guitar.

Thank you, Amanda for letting me use your photos!  I hope we get to send lots of baby dolls this year.

 

 

Make a Portrait Pillow from your Child's Drawing

We made this throw pillow for Emma's first grade teacher at the end of this school year.  We wanted something to help her remember Emma, and it just happened that Emma had written this adorable paragraph about her the week before school let out.  So I had her draw a simple portrait to go along with it, and then I made this pillow, complete with misspelled words, because they are precious.

You can refer to the pictures above for visual help, but if you have ever made anything with applique, this will be simple for you.

1. Select the drawing and writing sample you want to use.  Emma's portrait was a little small, so I enlarged it myself.  You could also use a copy machine for this.

2. Break down the drawing into simple shapes, and make a pattern for each one.  computer paper is fine for this. 

3. Cut out your pattern pieces and remember to label them.

4. Choose a piece of fabric for each pattern piece, and apply (with an iron) the back of the fabric with some fusible webbing.  Place the pattern pieces lightly onto the paper backing to make sure you have a large enough piece.  Place each pattern piece RIGHT SIDE DOWN onto the paper backing and trace around it with a pencil.  Label it with with your pencil if you need to and cut it out.

5. Arrange your pieces onto your pillow front.  My pillow fabric is a solid neutral, cut 17"x17", to fit a 16" pillow form.  Carefully remove the paper backing from each applique piece, making sure you are not also pulling off the adhesive webbing.  Arrange them all in place, adhesive side DOWN, and secure with the hot iron, according to directions.

6. I used a raw-edge applique method to sew down the pieces. Carefully sew a straight stitch around each applique piece.  I went around each one twice, to make it more secure AND to create a kid-drawing effect.  Pull the loosed threads to the back, tie off, and clip.

7. I wanted to include Emma's actual handwriting on the pillow, so I traced her schoolwork directly onto the pillow fabric using a water-soluble pen. 

8.  Embroider the letters with a single strand of cotton floss and a back stitch.

9.  The back is a simple envelope style. Cut two pieces of fabric 17"x20" and hem before constructing the pillow. 

10. If needed, use a damp cloth to wipe away stray marks from the soluble pen.  (Those are the water spots above.)

That's it!  I know there are several steps and techniques involved, but they are worth it to capture a precious stage in your child's life.  Who will you make one for?

Organize Some Stuff

My aforementioned project isn't quite finished, but here's what's going on.

A fully-lined canvas bin, custom-sized to fit any shelving system.

You're going to want to come back soon and find out how to make them for yourself.

Now I'm going back to the sewing machine...

 

 

A Sick Day or Three

Emma was home this week with a cough and sore throat. She missed three days of school, which I feel bad about.  But I have to admit, I LOVED having her home for more time than usual.  Since we didn't have to rush her out of the house in the morning, we had a leisurely breakfast with the family.

Fried biscuit doughnuts could not be easier.  Pop a can of biscuits, poke a hole in each one, heat up some oil, fry on each side till golden, cool on some paper towels to absorb excess oil, and dip in a bowl of sugar.  YUM.

We also had time for plenty of reading.  We have been reading through The Little House Series as a family.  We are finally starting the last book.  The ninth book!  If you are an adult and have never read this series, please do so.  Like, today.  I had no idea they were this good.  The detail that Laura Ingalls Wilder includes in her family's story is incredible.  She tells the story through her little-girl point of view in such a way that you are drawn in completely.  I cry in almost every chapter.  My kids laugh at me.  And it's worth it. 

And sometimes Emma reads a couple paragraphs.  Her reading level is well above her grade level, but her reading comprehension needs to catch up.  That's a tricky thing.  Any suggestions?

We also took a few moments (hours actually!  The time with her seems so indulgent!) to work on our "sewing with children" project that I mentioned recently. 

I wish I could show you the whole thing, but I have to keep it under wraps until the magazine comes out.  Though I might have one more peek to share in the coming weeks.

I hate when my babies don't feel well, but every momma knows to savor those moments, because that's when the cuddling is the BEST.

Hope you all are feeling well this week.

XOXO, Anna

I found some other fun "Little House" activity books you might like! I kinda want them all...

 

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W.I.P. Friday

I love working on large batches of things.

I think it has something to do with the piles.

Soon these strange little piles will be a whole family of hamsters.

What are you working on this weekend?

Project Bags - Behind the Scenes

Two hundred bags, cut and ready for sewing.

A stack of tags, for tucking into the seam.

Spud & Chloe's "sweater" yarn for the drawstrings.

Sewn.

Want one of your own?  Jimmy Beans Wool just put them up on their website.