Honeybee*Hill

This is a super quick and easy crochet project. I found a pretty ball of Lily Sugar’n Cream Naturals in Terra Firma while I was at Meijer the other day (of all places!! For those who don’t know, it’s similar to a WalMart or Target store). I liked the color but I had no idea what to do with it. Well yesterday I noticed that we really don’t have any coasters for the fall season, so I picked up the yarn and started crocheting! That’s what’s so awesome about knowing a craft like that. Once you know what you need or want to create, it’s no problem either wing-dinging it yourself, or going to the internet to look for a pattern.

These don’t really have a “pattern”. They are concentric circles of eveningly increasing single crochets. Crocheting in the round is something I learned from amigurumi. I happen to find it a beautiful technique and would much prefer everything crocheted this way rather than fiddling with slip stitches and joining. If you’ve never done it before, you need a safety pin or stitch marker to use. I use “jewelry” safety pins — that is, it’s a bag of pins I found in the “jewelry findings” aisle at Hobby Lobby. They don’t have a ring opposite the clasp, so there’s nothing to get caught in my yarn. I put a little bead at the end to make it cheerful.

Use a 4mm hook (G). I made a magic ring (which I absolutely can’t teach you how to do because I’m a hack at it myself! Google it!) and then sc 6 in the ring. At the end of each round I place my marker in the last stitch so I don’t lose my mind trying to count those stitches! Each round increases evenly by six. If you don’t know what that means, here is how I made mine:

Make a magic ring.
R1 – 6 sc in ring, place marker – 6
R2 – 6 sc inc, place marker – 12
R3 – sc inc, sc – repeat around, place marker – 18
R4 – sc inc, 2 sc – repeat around, place marker – 24
R5 – sc inc, 3 sc – repeat around, place marker – 30
R6 – sc inc, 4 sc – repeat around, place marker – 36
R7 – sc inc, 5 sc – repeat around, place marker – 42
R8 – sc inc, 6 sc – repeat around, place marker – 48
R9 – sc inc, 7 sc – repeat around, place marker – 54
R10 – sc around, sl join to previous row – 54
ch 10, sl join to next sc to form loop

The little lip fits nicely around a regular size coffee mug. I added a little leaf embellishment with some cotton from Hobby Lobby that I had scraps of. I don’t know a good way to write the pattern out so I just drew a chart. I hope this is self explanatory:

Once you sl join at the end of the leaf, just cut off a tail long enough to tie it to the coasters.

As you can see, the coasters have a kind of six-sided shape to them. This is because the way I wrote the pattern above, the increases occur on top of the increases from the previous row. This is just the easiest way for me to make this shape and not have to think or count very much (like when I’m vegging out and watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman on Netflix). But if you want your increases to be more hidden and the rounds to be more… round, you can stagger your increases. Like this:

Make a magic ring.
R1 – 6 sc in ring, place marker – 6
R2 – 6 sc inc, place marker – 12
R3 – sc inc, sc – repeat around, place marker – 18
R4 – sc, sc inc, sc – repeat around, place marker – 24
R5 – 2 sc, sc inc, sc – repeat around, place marker – 30
R6 – 2 sc, sc inc, 2 sc – repeat around, place marker – 36
R7 – 3 sc, sc inc, 2 sc – repeat around, place marker – 42
R8 – 4 sc, sc inc, 2 sc – repeat around, place marker – 48
R9 – 5 sc, sc inc, 2 sc – repeat around, place marker – 54
R10 – sc around, sl join to previous row – 54
ch 10, sl join to next sc to form loop

Now I *think* that might work, but I haven’t worked it up myself, so don’t hate on me if I accidentally didn’t bury those increases more evenly.

One ball of Sugar & Cream made four coasters with enough left over for probably two more. That’s a nice use of $1.50 if you ask me! Oh and here’s another tip, if you want to make a little bowl, just make several more rows of sc after R10. It’ll make a cute little dish and the cotton is quite sturdy! I’m going to get another ball of this yarn next time I’m grocery shopping to make a little box for them.

I’ve never  tried to write up a crochet pattern, so please let me know if anything is confusing or you know, wrong!

Words cannot adequately express how much I love this pattern. It’s the “Buttercup Bag” pattern by Rae Hoekstra and after I made my first two, I knew I had to buy the license to sell them. This one is in my etsy shop. It’s Japanese linen and red vintage polka dot fabric. I wish someone would buy it because it’s PAINFUL to think about parting with it and it’s so so so so tempting to just snatch it off the shelf and fill it with my cards and lipbalm!

This one is Robert Kaufman and a yarn dyed checkered cotton. Seriously the cutest. bag. ever. Also in the etsy shop.

I have a bunch of these cut out just waiting to be sewn — I need to pick up more magnetic snaps.

And then I got all excited when I realized it was September and nearly almost Halloween. So I put together these buttons. Been meaning to try bigcartel.com so I put the buttons up there to see how they sell. I’m also going to put them on etsy when I have a few minutes.

My classes started today. I spent two damn hours doing Spanish work and all I can say is my name and what town I live in. I have mom-brain super bad. Sorry for the disjointed sentences that I don’t even bother to

Pictures! Pictures, right? Aren’t they worth 1000 words? This is pretty much what my life is like:

We gave Sullivan a camera. It’s a vTech Kidzoom brand digital camera. Normally I’m opposed to giant plastic colorful toys that make noises, but Sul has been obsessed with taking photos with my camera — which is definitely not a toy. The picture quality on the vTech is terrible and it’s really not very good at all, but Sul can drop it over and over again and it still works and that’s what really counts!

Aaron set up a flickr page for Sullivan — which I think is really cool. It’s marked private, but if you want to see his photos, leave me a comment with your flickr name and I’ll add you to his friends.

He’s taking photos of this:

Which isn’t his. I made it for a swap, but Sullivan loves it so much I will have to make him one just like it.

The pattern is from this book which I got from mwendas.etsy.com (when I ordered my fancy hooks). I really like the book — though I hesitate to call it that. It’s more like a glorified brochure. There are 48 pages and it’s 6″ x 8″. Fridah discloses all of this in her shop — which I really like and respect. Some times I am disappointed by how small Japanese craft books are when sellers don’t post this info. But smallness aside, there are actually a lot of really super cute patterns in this book. And they’re all pretty easy.

It must be that I’m a visual person, because I much prefer to crochet from charts rather than read out the abbreviations. I think this book is really good for someone who is new to either amigurumi or reading a chart. The patterns all increase and decrease evenly — which is another feature of the Japanese patterns that I really love. Most patterns work in multiples of 6 I’ve noticed.

One thing that is really helpful when you’re reading an amigurumi pattern in a Japanese book is to have a little cheat sheet of body parts commonly used — like head, ear, eye, etc. My Little Mochi has such an aid available here. It also helps if you have a husband who can read some Japanese!

Amigurumi are so inexpensive to make! I have already made three toys of the two balls of yarn (the brown and white) and I have enough left still for another toy or two. The beagle pattern was fun but I was surprised how small it is. The legs were harder for me because I had to use such a small hook.

I’m sad that I have to send him off to a new home and so is Pippi bunny. Sul too. When I showed him the dog he said, “COOL!!!! Dog!” and ran to grab his camera. Ah, my kinda kid. I hope my swap partner loves him!

I remember I wanted to learn how to crochet because I kept seeing all these granny squares tutorials pop up (mostly on whip-up) and I thought they were pretty darling. It was the day before my birthday and I had got some mad money in the mail from my inlaws, so I went to Hobby Lobby and bought five balls of yarn and one crochet hook. It was a Clover Soft Touch hook size H. Once I learned my basic stitches on that, it was impossible for me to pick up those cheap-o aluminum hooks and use them. I was completely spoiled.

I’ve done quite a few projects since then (which I unfortunately can’t show you till next month because they’re surprises for swaps) and once I realized that I was totally obsessed with crochet, it became necessary to get more hooks. Well Hobby Lobby only sells them in two sizes, G and H. So I ordered a full-set of 8 (C-J) on eBay for around $20. GOOD DEAL.

Well then I won a give-away on the whip-up blog — a $50 gift certificate to mwendas.etsy.com. I have to say, I really love this shop. Fridah, the owner, is very helpful and friendly. I have ordered from her previously and she even helped me track down some Japanese patterns I had been searching all over the internet for! I had been intrigued by the Hamanaka double-ended crochet hooks she sold. So I figured I’d try them out since I wouldn’t be losing anything.

I got them a few days ago and I’ve been using them exclusively ever since! They are super comfortable to hold — I would say better than the Soft Touch. They’re pretty smooth too, although they have a shiny finish and are slicker than the Soft Touch, so it took me awhile to get used it it. I really like how the hooks are pointier than the Soft Touch too.

Now I wouldn’t say that they will completely replace my Clover Hooks. The Hamanaka set is five hooks with two different sizes on each one — so I have ten sizes to my eight Clover sizes. The Hamanaka set was also expensive. I don’t remember how much exactly she had them listed for, but it was right around or at $50 and you’ll find that pretty even across the board if you do an etsy search for the hooks. Now I guess $5/hook isn’t too bad, but these aren’t something I would have bought for myself — especially since I already have a Clover set. I’m scared to lose one of the Hamanaka hooks too because it’ll be expensive and inconvenient to replace.

But they are really nice and the more I crochet with them, the more I like them — so maybe if I did lose them, I would replace them! Or at least cry a lot.

The hooks came in a little plastic box, but it wasn’t very cute so today I made a felt case to slip them in. I appliqued and hand-embroidered the bee and machine-embroidered (my first attempt) the rest. I put some fabric yoyos on the front. I think it turned out pretty cute!

I’ve got three (yes three!) amigurumi in the works — but they’re all for swaps, so no pics till next month! Other than that, I’ve been working on some hand-sewing projects and cutting fabric for pouches and bags for an upcoming craft show. School starts a week from Monday, so I’ve got to get my butt in gear! I’ve got a cute little pouch tutorial that I’m going to post on Sunday!

Happy Friday!

Lauren & Ryan’s wedding was absolutely beautiful. It was probably the only wedding/reception I’ve ever been to where I actually had a good time. I took a few hundred photos with my lensbaby — which only confirmed and solidified my deep and sincere love for it. I so badly want to get a composer — and the optic set, but it’ll have to wait. I have pictures of the wedding here.

The lensbaby is one of my toys that has really inspired my creativity. I think if I had a composer I could take photos in lower light situations. The muse is awesome though for on-the-fly shots and I think I’ve gotten really good at portraiture with it.

Since we had a six-hundred mile trip each way, I brought my crochet hook and a ball of yarn and started this little guy on Thursday.

I’m one of those people who gets car sick if I try to read in the car. We don’t have a CD player or anything fancy like that — we have a portable DVD player in the back so Sullivan can watch movies so we get to listen to his movies the entire way. It was pretty easy to crochet in the car though! My fingers did get really tired and sore after a few hours though.

The yarn I’m using for my amigurumi is from Hobby Lobby. It’s called Baby Bee Hushabye Solids and it’s a 50/50 blend of cotton and acrylic. I love how smooth and soft it is — the best of both worlds as far as cotton and acrylic go. The Hobby Lobby we have has a nice assortment of colors, though they’re all muted/softer shades.

The pattern is from a Japanese Amigurumi Book (and Amigurumi Book is the title, so far as I can tell!) I bought on ebay from this shop. It was my first time buying from this seller and I was pleased with the prompt service and quick shipping. I did spring for the shipping upgrade for my purchases (I bought two books from her). I think that SAL from Asia to the US has been SO SUPER SLOW. I’ve been waiting on a package from Mwendas in Singapore for weeks now that I hope hasn’t gone missing.

It was my first time reading a pattern in chart form and I thought it was so easy. I actually like it so much better than trying to decipher the abbreviations. I don’t think I would have been able to figure it out had I not been making some amigurumi beforehand though.

I’m not sure how long it took me to make him. I worked for a few hours in the car on Thursday and a few on the ride home Sunday. I found safety eyes at a craft shop we stopped at in the Poconos called The Ribbon Factory. I made him a little reversible bandanna today and I’m still thinking about ways to make him a matching hat (he needs one because his head is so big!).

I’m really enjoying crochet so much! I’m not confident enough to try to design my own little animals, but that is definitely something I want to work toward anyway. There are so many talented ami designers on etsy already — and with patterns costing a few bucks a pop, I can afford to indulge a little bit. In any case, I have enough patterns and projects in mind to keep me busy for awhile.

Today’s Sunday Stash pick is some red and blue repro prints from my stash. I absolutely adore 20s and 30s repro fabrics. They’re probably my favorite. I love the small patterns. They’re great for little patchwork projects and for baby items. I keep a few of my repro FQs in a little craft kit that I take with me. It’s just a little box with my yoyo makers, some hand-sewing thread and needles. I also have some yarn scraps and crochet hooks in the box now too. But anyway, I really like to just sit on the porch and make yoyos with these kinds of fabrics.

When I was in the hospital having the bebe, my friend Amanda sent me a package with some hex papers and some cute fabric scraps. I’ve been practicing with the cuuuute scraps she sent. The linen fabrics are harder to make hexes out of.

I think I’ll use these to embellish some pants for Sullivan. They seem to be boyish, right? I’ve got a few scraps of Heather Ross goldfish in bags fabric that I think I’ll fussy cut some hexes and use them to embellish a backpack for him.

I can’t do any sewing today though and I have to resist the urge to pick up my crochet hooks too. I have a paper to write and a few hundred pages of Don Quixote to tackle! Yikes!

What’s in your stash today? Happy Sunday!

We had been busy visiting with Aaron’s mom all week — Sulivan’s Grammy (or Grr — as he likes to call her). And Wednesday we were preparing for a big send-off dinner of gnocchi with sauteed garden veggies, fig and orange goat cheese bruschetta and blueberry tart, when Joanne (Grr) noticed something… funny in Freyja’s diaper. That is, she noticed a diaper full of blood. It was still early in the afternoon, so I called Freyja’s pediatrician and they were able to see her right away. She had been throwing up after every feeding for the past few days, and I just figured it was some kind of reflux until I saw the bloody diaper — but our pediatrician said that it was much more severe than she was used to seeing for just an allergic reaction. She advised us to take her to the emergency room at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis (which is about an hour and a half away) to see a pediatric gastrointestinal specialist.

It seemed like a pain and it wasn’t at all how we planned to spend our last evening with Joanne in town, but Aaron and I ran home real quick to pick up some extra diapers. We left Sullivan happy with his Grammy and drove to Indy. We honestly figured we’d be there for an hour or two — have some out-patient tests run and then go home.

Long story short — we ended up staying overnight. They wanted to run all kinds of tests on her and each time they decided to do another test, it took an hour for them to get around to doing it — and then another hour of waiting around for the results. Aaron left around 11 p.m. or midnight and I stayed with Freyja. I was in an emergency room cubicle from around seven p.m. to 4:30 a.m. the next day, when they finally decided they needed to admit her to the infant unit. That whole time all they did was put her on an IV, take four vials of blood — twice because the first round of blood tests didn’t work right — and run two ex rays. Once we got a room I was able to doze in a more comfortable chair on and off for a few hours.

Aaron came back up with Sullivan around 11 a.m. By that time they were nearly ready to do an upper GI test. All the tests were coming back inconclusive. Anatomically, she was perfectly fine. By 4 p.m. Thursday, the doctors determined that it was a severe allergic reaction to something in my breastmilk. They advised we put her on formula till her gut stopped bleeding. In the meanwhile I should cut out all dairy and dairy-derivatives. If that doesn’t work we can try soy, wheat, eggs and nuts.

I felt so awful because I didn’t realize how dehydrated she was until we got to the hospital. And it was either watch her throw up and pass blood or put her on formula and fill her belly with something that wouldn’t make her wretch or bleed internally, you know? So that’s what we did. She was feeling kind of crappy yesterday, but today she’s much better.

I’ve been off diary since Wednesday (I just happened to not eat any Wednesday and Thursday while at the hospital). I’ve been able to breastfeed her a little bit, but we’ve had to supplement with the bottle because my supply is so diminished already. I also don’t want to overwhelm her little tummy, so she’s mostly getting a bottle. I have all kinds of emotional roller-coaster feelings about this, so I’m going to kindly request that no one make comments about my decision to put her on the bottle. I honestly feel guilty enough about what happened, but also so grateful that she’s happy and feeling better now.

Cutting out dairy has rendered me effectively a vegan. I won’t be able to eat the gnocchi and Alfredo that we had planned — and tonight I had to make my blueberry tart dairy-free, which was really no fun at all. I really love cheese pizza, so that will be hard for me. Aaron picked up some Earth Balance and some soy milk for me. It’s all just really depressing. If her allergy continues, I’m not sure I’m willing to give up wheat or soy — so we’d probably just keep her on the bottle. Luckily I do have some experience with vegan cooking. It won’t be that bad, I just have to re-train myself like I did when I went veg so many years ago. I also have to read all the ingredients on all prepared foods because her allergy is very severe. Oiy!

While toting around a crabby baby, we did some gardening yesterday and this was our harvest:

Sullivan is doing well. He’s really missing his Grammy, but we’re actually heading to the Poconos to visit her next week!

He says so many things now and likes to tell me how it is. We can sing the ABCs and the “If you’re happy and you know it” song. He can count to six and he’s learning colors. He’s been such a good big brother and he even thinks  “Freyja is nice” (though the other day he did call her a vacuum, which in Sullivan’s world is the most terrible thing ever).

Somewhere between reading Don Quixote and dealing with a sick bebe, I managed to work up this little girl. She only took probably two or three hours total, but I have to work in ten-minute blocks. I think I like crochet so much because it doesn’t require a lot of set-up, tear-down and clean up, like sewing does. I can leave my yarn and a hook in a basket and pick it up whenever I have a few minutes. This pattern is from an etsy seller Shop AmyGurumi. Here’s a hint: follow her on twitter for sales on the patterns!

I’m behind on sending etsy orders out and I think I’ve got a swap package or two that needs to go out. Hopefully I will get caught up before we go out of town. Hopefully Freyja gets better and I don’t have to deal with anymore emergency room visits. Hopefully I can figure out a way to use up all that zucchini (and do it without butter or cheese). Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. That’s how I operate these days.

In honor of Sew, Mama, Sew! Sewing Machine month, here is my sewing machine self-interview meme:

What brand and model do you have?

I have a Janome Sewist 625E.

How long have you had it?

I’m pretty sure I got it about a year and a half ago? Right around 18 months I think.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

I can’t remember exactly but I think I paid about $400 at the local dealer.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?

Well I sew clothing, bags, home-dec projects and cloth menstrual pads, of course! I’m just starting to get into quilting a little bit, but I much prefer to sew small things and clothes.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I probably use it every-other day. My serger actually gets more use — but that may change as I become more and more enamored with sewing hats and quilts!

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I suppose I think my machine does exactly what I need it to do. I’m not passionate about it, nor am I ambivalent.My machine is very sturdy and solid — which is why I bought it over some cheaper models with more fancy stitches! I love that it doesn’t wobble around when I’m sewing.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

The features I most love are:

• ease of use (simplicity)
• up-down needle button
• drop-in bobbin
• adjustable foot pressure
• free arm
• one-step buttonhole
• automatic needle threader

If my needle threader broke or the up/down needle button stopped working, I’d have to get a new machine! That’s how much I love those features!

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

I honestly haven’t had any problems with this machine since I’ve had it! It has a nice hardcover case too and it’s small enough to fit in one of those rolling bags if I want to take it somewhere. The only thing that drives me nuts is getting to the dealer before she closes when I need to buy bobbins! I do kind of wish I could use generic bobbins, but only because I’m lazy.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

I would definitely recommend my sewing machine to others. Especially new sewers. When I started sewing a few years back, I had a cheapo machine from a department store and within a few months I started to feel very frustrated with the quality of the machine and all the problems I had with it. If sewing is going to be a serious hobby, a good entry level machine is important — otherwise you’ll end up just hating your machine as soon as you realize all it’s limitations. I think that the Janome Sewist 625E has just enough features for basic garment/home dec/quilting projects that anyone could use it with satisfactory results. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on this machine, but like I said, it’s sturdy, solid and super easy to use! (I totally sound like a commercial)!

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

Knowing what you want to do is important. When I started sewing I had no idea what kinds of things I wanted to make — so having an all-purpose machine was important. I also think it’s pretty impossible to buy a sewing machine blind off the internet. If you’re going to invest the kind of money in a hobby that can be as expensive as sewing, it’s important to form a good relationship with a dealer that can help you when you have problems. I think it’s handy to go to a dealer that can do small repairs on-site too.

There is a Janome dealer and a Husqvarna/Viking dealer in the town I live in. I happened to get a Janome machine because on the day I went looking, I got better customer service from the Janome dealer — but I’ve since formed a great relationship with the Husqvarna/Viking shop too — and that’s where I ended up buying my serger. If I were going to upgrade my machine, I’m honestly not sure who I’d go through! I bought a Janome Serger to start out with too and it was sort of crappy compared to my new Huskylock. I’m not sure how the higher-end machines stack up. I just took a beginners quilt class at the Husqvarna/Viking shop and I go in there more often because they have better fabric. It would be a tough choice because I do love my Janome sewing machine.

Do you have a dream machine?

I don’t know if I have a dream machine. I did some sewing on the computerized Husqvarna quilting machines at the class on Saturday and I liked the thread intake thing and the bobbin winder a lot. I think it would be nice to have some more stitches (my machine has 24) — but I have no idea what I’d use them for! If I got a new machine I’d want it to be sturdy and hard-working and I would need it to specialize in garment construction or quilting. I’m not big into embroidery, so nothing like those crazy embroidery machines.

Maybe one of those adorable vintage/retro machines would be nice. Or a Hello Kitty sewing machine. Yeah. I’d like that!

First off, WOW! I’m totally overwhelmed by the great comments and questions on my giveaway post! I’m going to compile everyone’s questions into a new massive FAQ and it’s seriously been very helpful! So thanks! There’s still time to enter too. I’ll close comments and pick a winner around lunchtime on Sunday (noon EST).

I thought I’d write up a tutorial on how to make a lacy flower pin, since I haven’t seen one posted yet. I can’t take credit for this idea though. I saw it used on fabric in a craft magazine (though I can’t recall which magazine it was in). All I did was apply the technique to lace! You can use this to make fabric flowers too — but you should use thinner fabric if you do.

The first step is to go to your local thrift shop and find a huge gallon ziplock bag of lace and trim for $1.

Got it? Good. You’ll also need thread and a needle (hand-sewing thread works the best). You’ll probably want to use thread that actually matches the lace you’re using. And you’ll need a pinback or safety pin and a bit of felt (I’m using some heavy sew-in interfacing here because I had a few scraps left from a bag project). If you want to embellish it with buttons or beads or whatever, you’ll need that too of course!

The first thing is to cut your lace so that you can visually divide it by five. Most lace that I’ve used for this has a “bumpy” side and a flat side. I count ten “bumps” and leave half a “bump” on each side to sew them together (does this make sense?). If you want to just mark your lace with a little fabric pen or something, that would work too. Just make sure you can easily divide it by five (or however many petals you want).

Start at the top of the lace (the bumpy side) and make a long running stitch down. You’ll be stitching U shapes. When you get to the top of the U, bring the needle around to the other side of the lace so it can pull the lace (see the picture because I obviously can’t explain this).

Keep going till you have made five U shapes and then start pulling the thread to gather the lace.

Eventually you’ll have something like this:

Use your needle and thread in the back of the flower to shape it nicely. You just have to play with it, adding a stitch here and there and seeing how the front is shaping up. You’ll want to push and pull on the petals with your fingers to get it nicely shaped too.

Sew your button on (if you want a button in the center).

Now is the time to embellish it with other lace, trims, ribbons, whatever. Just use your imagination and stitch them on the back of the pin.

Finally, sew a pinback onto a bit of felt and attach it to the back. Or just stab it with a safety pin. Honestly, I’ve done both!

Okay, so now that you’ve made one, you can just start gathering the lace while you’re sewing the U’s. The wider you make your U’s the bigger the petals will be:

Sit back and marvel at your creations. I put these on my hats and I’ve used them to dress up bags. They would make super cute headbands. I’m not really a broach kind of girl, but I’m sure you can make beautiful broaches with them too!

Please let me know if something wasn’t clear! And if you make any, leave a link to a photo for me to see!

Except I’m not giving away my blog! I’m giving away lots of fun stuff though!

Today is the SewMamaSew blog giveaway day and since I love getting free crap, I thought I’d offer lots of free crap to you instead (cause I have never won anything, seriously, except the husband-lottery. Maybe the baby lottery. Maybe).

There are three prizes in my giveaway today and you can enter for just one or all three! How sweet am I? Though if you by some random chance win all three, you will have to endure the wrath of all the other participants!

The first prize is my “handmade” gift that is not about cloth menstrual pads (haha!). I wanted to give something away that would have larger appeal, so I’m offering this hand-stitched cathedral window pincushion I made. I have been really drawn to these batik colors lately, so I went with this color scheme for the whole theme of my give-away. This prize also includes some yoyo hairpins with tiny silver moons and two very random fabric sheep 1.5″ pinback buttons (what can I say, I’m getting little random craft things ready for the farmers markets!).

This is giveaway #1!

My second gift is a set of cloth pantyliners. If you’re interested in making the switch from disposable menstrual products to cloth, check out the links in my sidebar for more information! This is a set of four — two 6″ liners and two 8″ liners. One set is organic cotton and raw silk and the other is organic cotton and organic bamboo velour! I hand-dyed the cotton myself. Raw silk is a fiber that helps reduce irritation and it just feels really cool on hot summer days. Bamboo velour is almost buttery soft. These are perfect for light days, spotting, discharge (OMG I just said discharge on the internet!) and are great if you already use a cup or sponge and want some additional leak protection. I’m happy to answer any/all questions about my products and believe me, I’ve been at this for years  — nothing is TMI!

This is giveaway #2!

Finally I have a kit of vintage notions and sewing stuff. This has a cute pajama pattern, a bit of vintage fabric, some lace and trim and a few zips. Enough to keep you busy for awhile. I used to have these kits in my etsy shop, but have discontinued them (look for them in a new incarnation soon though)! You’ll love this. Seriously, it’s so much fun!

This is giveaway #3!

To enter, pick which one(s) you want to win and answer the corresponding questions in my comments:

For #1: I really got lost in these batik colors! And I love dying fabric too. What is your dream fabric color combo? If you could find hand-dyed or hand-batiked fabric in any color combo, what would it be?

For #2: Help me improve my ever-evolving cloth-pad FAQ. What info would be most helpful to you? To your friend you’re trying to convert?

For #3: What’s been your luckiest or favorite vintage find? I go thrifting once a week. How often do you go?

If you want more than one prize, you’ll have to answer more than one question! For extra points, post about my giveaway on your blog or in a message board and then comment the link! I’ll enter your name twice!

My giveaway will close on May 31st at Noon EST. The winner of each prize will be picked randomly. International folks are welcome to play along! Hopefully this all made sense! Let me know if you have any questions!
Good luck!