Meet Little Willis!

Remember this post a while back about my whale obsession? Nautical + whales + boy = perfect combo in my mind. I had been looking to buy a little whale softy for baby brother, but couldn't find one that I liked well enough. Thus, this spur-of-the-moment plush was created. Meet Willis the Whale:

He is a soft, stretchy light blue knit on top, and a gray wool on his belly, with french knot eyes. Being one of my first softies, there are things I now know to make one differently in the future (especially considering that I made it without a pattern...) He matches the sailboat pillow I made a bit ago. He is ready to be slobbered, chewed, and cuddled on!

Sew in Love

While browsing the enormous array of items sold on Etsy, I can across the most amazing children's toys from WoodClinic. Maybe I can influence K to take after her momma if I get her these:

For now, they are added to her birthday gift list...

Gone Fishin'

With the amount of rain we're receiving down here in Texas, we'd probably only have to walk a few feet to find a fishing hole! Since the weather is so wet outside, I've been doing some Spring cleaning. One thing that needs to be dejunked is my computer... pictures, pictures galore! I came across pictures of this project I made for K's first birthday (that was 8 months ago!) I guess I forgot to post it on here. Here she is in all her scaley grandure:

I made her out of materials I already had sitting around, except for the wheels. I sketched a fish shape on some scrap wood, had free reign of my dad's plethora of wood-working tools, and made this fun toy for a then beginning walker.

I think she turned out pretty cute. K loves to try and see how fast she can go around corners without Ms. Fishy tipping over...

Friday Finale

For sake of completing a post this week, amongst the many things that have kept me busy, here are some projects I've been up to...of which I LOVE!

I had been looking for some wooden blocks for K, but hadn't found any that I thought were cute enough or for the right price. So here are the blocks I made for her. The blocks were $2 and the paper were some scraps I had in my stash. She loves them!

I had posted this dress on my family blog, and it has finally found its way onto this one. I learned how to smock and this was my first project. Overall the project cost 38 cents and 20 minutes! Love that :)

My sister gave me these shorts to try and sell to Plato's Closet- they said they were and older label (don't they still sell ones almost exactly like this at the store?!!) Anyways, since they wouldn't give money for them and I thought the fabric was perfect, I used it to make a summery ruffle top for KiKi. I think I may make some matching lounge pants with a ruffle at the bottom.

These "M.C. Hammer" pants as Dave calls them, were made without a pattern and on a whim... next time I will do some things differently. Overall they turned out cute, and a good thing is that they are short enough that K doesn't stumble on them while walking.

Last are these simple lounge pants with ric-rak on the bottom. After making them and K wearing them to playgroup, I discovered that they are a bit long, next ones will be a bit shorter. They are nice and lightweight for summer.

Quiet Book

My friend, who has the cutest 1 year old boy, asked me to make her a quiet book. I was so excited about this project because I could go to town and try out some fun pages for the book. She knew she wanted some buttons in the book, but the rest was up to me. Here is what I turned out. I want one for myself now!

One Eyed, One Horned, Flying...

Yup, that's right... Purple People Eater! This little monster just came to town and doesn't have a mean bone in his squishy little body. Isn't he cute?!?
Ready to fly to your rescue from those mean monsters!

Numbers and Shapes Book

This is the latest project that I have almost completed (minus a few extra details). It is a padded counting book that uses basic shapes to count from 1 to 9. I used left over scrap felt, fabric, and batting, making this project free besides the tiny bit of material I purchased to make the cover. It was fun to test out different stitches that my new machine makes!

Baby Ball

K always loves a new toy and I always love something that is free! I had some left over scrap flannel that I thought I'd put to good use in this soft ball. K likes to push it and then roll over to it to push it again- silly girl!