{this moment} : :

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Soulemama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

*** *** *** 

I will be taking a little time away from my blog, etsy, and other sites do to a first time weekend away with the hubby, followed by some not so fun stuff after that, and a much needed few days of being "unplugged" after that. I hope to see you back here Monday May 9th. Wishing you all a lovely stretch of days until then! ~ Maureen

{this moment} : :

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by Soulemama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

*** *** ***

Scrappy Nap Pillow : :

Yes folks, I am aware that since I began sewing again, almost every item I have made has been with Anna Maria fabric, but that is just simply because her fabrics are a huge reason why I started again and well, I just can't get enough of them. Now that I have her new book, I might as well change the name of this here blog to something more like, um... Maureen Cracknell Handmade - The Ambassador of all things Anna Maria Horner. I realized it was a little out of hand when I noticed that I link back to her blog, more than my own. Hmn...

Handmade Beginnings is full of amazing photos of the most beautiful projects to do for a baby on the way, but many of these patterns can be adapted to fit your own needs if you are not expecting. I am definitely not, but that didn't stop me from pre-ordering this book with all the excitement of an expecting mother. I knew it would have lots to offer me, the lady who attacks every baby that gets strolled by this busy street we live on. Because even though my baby days are over, I just can't get enough of all the "baby stuff." I was so happy when during my first (of many) flipping through's of this book, I found the Scrappy Nap Pillow --- and, you all know how I love making pillows...
Because I am fairly new to sewing, I don't have many scraps - so I went with full panels of a variety of prints from her Good Folks Fabrics.
All of the center points didn't match up just perfectly, so I made a little yo-yo flower for the center, just for now, until I get a large (preferably orange) button for the center.
This pillow is super soft and cuddly...and HUGE! I love it! I plan on making another hopefully this weekend. I posted pics of it on my Flickr last night and this morning when I checked my email, I almost peed my pants when I saw that Anna Maria herself, had commented on my pillow!!!! Be sure to check that out --- I am super new to flickr, so it has me very excited today.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend. ~ Maureen

Yesterday :

Our days are usually pretty full. Filled with the usual household chores, lots of playing, busy crafting, endless cooking, - but something about yesterday was just very calm. It was nice...

I did a little (more) organizing in our craft/play room :
And made another pot holder :
Haila had a little craft of her own going on, wearing the crown her Daddy made her :
Lily protected the DMC ( She usually is the keeper of the yarn, but I think she was a little mad that all the wool was neatly put away) :
And, I got a very special delivery, that I am so excited about! A wonderful new book for the kiddos and Anna Maria Horner's new book Handmade Beginnings, for me! I already started on the Scrappy Nap Pillow -- my first time ever following a pattern :
but I am sure I will veer away from it a little...pictures soon. : )

What's new : :

Before I fire up the old sewing machine, I decided I needed to get a few things in order...

New ideas : :

I already have several pin cushions, including that ugly tomato that we all have, but I always find myself still searching for the needle, whether I have a pin cushion by my side or not. The solution...a wrist pin cushion. It was pretty fun and easy to make : : I used one of my felt balls (adding a little bit of embroidery and beads, of course), some craft felt, a fabric yo yo, and an extra felted handle I had from my dollhouse making. It fits snug around my wrist, but is a little on the large side in general, but hey, I figure this way I won't miss it and so searching for the needle should become a thing of the past. I plan to use it for all the needle felting and sewing projects I do throughout the week.

New comforts : :

The other day Haila was a big help in re-upholstering this little stool I am using as my sewing chair.

New corners : :

This is a peak in the new sewing space I am making for myself...

New books : :

One of the most recent books I have purchased is Felting for Baby: 25 Warm and Woolly Projects for the Little Ones in Your Life by Saori Yamazaki. It is filled with the most beautiful photographs and felt projects. Although this book offered me much inspiration, I don't really have an interest just yet in making felt the way the book suggests. Most likely because it doesn't involve any knitting, which is still my favorite step in the felt I create for my dolls and dollhouses.

Fabric Flowers : :

After many months of making excusing and complaining about my current "I don't have enough time for that" situation, I finally had an epiphany... It was in the midst of a rare moment when my boys were at school, my daughter was napping, and I was completely alone. So, what does one choose to do... The possibilities could be endless and yet instead, I catch myself staring at photos of complete strangers (well, friends of friends) on Facebook! Gah!! Thankfully, sanity stepped in immediately and after thinking to myself "you ARE crazy!" I decided that the only remedy was to redirect myself away from this weird path I was headed down and to quickly find myself a hobby. 

I decided it was time to revisit two of my favorite pass times that I unintentionally abandoned when I learned and became completely obsessed with motherhood and knitting -- reading and sewing.



So, I decided to go all in and order a BOOK about SEWING, Sew Liberated: 20 Stylish Projects for the Modern Sewist and I am loving it! I haven't gotten out my sewing machine just yet. I have read through the wonderful projects and had begun to start polishing up on some of my hand sewing techniques, when I skimmed back through the book and found "YO -YO's." After having just made several fabric flowers for my mini totes, I had to give this method of making fabric flowers a try.


I ended up spending every "hands free" second of my weekend making fabric flowers. And, I think I am ready to move on the heavy stuff. This time it's going to be the very, very cool book by Diane Gilleland, Kanzashi in Bloom: 20 Simple Fold-and-Sew Projects to Wear and Give.

I plan on ordering it sometime next week and I'll be sure to let you know how it is. If anyone can recommend any other sewing/craft books, I'd love to check them out. Just leave me a comment...