WIP (Work in Progress) Wednesday

I have just completed and sent out one adult mermaid tail, two t-shirt quilts, and one crocheted Cabbage Patch Kid hat.

The mermaid tail was ordered by a You-tube sensation, Ginger Wesson.  She has a You-tube channel called "As Told by Ginger."  Check it out and subscribe.  She has 33,368 subscribers.  How about you make that 33,369?  Some of her videos have been viewed up to 25,000 times!  Her videos include makeup tutorials, vlogs about her life, question and answer sessions, silly stories, and my favorite-Harry Potter and Disney fan videos.  She also does product reviews.  She said if she likes my mermaid tail, she will do a video review for it.  How exciting!  Fingers crossed that she loves it!  Her mermaid tail is two strands of yarn woven together in alternating colors.  I made it by doing my own modifications to the pattern found at this link on Mad Hooker Crochet's blog.  Thanks Shelly Bunyard!

Message me on Facebook or email me at scrapstashstudio@gmail.com if you are interested in ordering one for yourself.  Prices for a baby tails start at $50, child start at $80, and adult start at $100.

The t-shirt quilt was made in the "rag quilt style."  It was made as a surprise for a woman's husband.  He is a car and motorcycle enthusiast.  His wife also threw his sheets from when he was a little boy into the mix...so we have Snoopy...

motorsports...

auto racing...

and cars, all thrown into the mix to create this...

The second t-shirt quilt was for my uncle.  His parents both passed away earlier this year, and both battled cancer.  This was an "in-memory" quilt.  It included numerous American Cancer Society shirts.

 

The back of the quilt even had shirts with pockets.  I love how it turned out.  He loved it, too.  He said it brought back lots of memories.

T-shirt (onsie, sheets, blankets, etc.) quilts start at $80 for a baby blanket and $100 for an adult blanket.  Prices are based on the number of shirts, style of quilt, and amount of additional material needed.  Message me for price inquiry.

And last, but not least, I have the Cabbage Patch crochet hat.  It was made using a free hat pattern found at Repeat Crafter Me.  Thanks, Sarah.  I can't wait to see it on the little one in her Halloween pictures.

Now on to my current projects.  I am in the middle of making a blue, gray, and white full-size zig-zag crochet blanket for a friend.  It is sitting in the passenger seat of my car and I work on it in the car on the way to school.  My husband and I carpool.  Don't worry.  I don't crochet while driving.

Last night I got started on my next t-shirt quilt.  It will be a graduation gift from a mother to her son.  It is all of his old wrestling shirts.  It is an extra special project for me because it reminds me of the quilt my mom had made for me as my high school graduation gift.  It included shirts from my high school running days, back when I was winning races.  The fun part of this project for me is embroidering on his "tournament champion" labels.  His quilt will be quite a display of talent, hard work, and success.  The finished product will be like a trophy he can cuddle up in.

The first step of the process included cutting all of the shirts in half and cutting off the sleeves.  I did this for about 40 shirts, many of them having images or words on both the front and the back.  From these 40 or so shirts, I cut 60 squares to use in the quilt.  Between the tshirt squares on the front and the ones on the back, I will sandwich a square of flannel.  So I also cut 30 squares of flannel.  That's a total of 90 squares for the quilt.  Step one of the quilt...done.

Next I will sew the "sandwiches" together...the front quilt square, the flannel square, and the back quilt square...
Then sew the "sandwiches into rows then columns...
Then snip the raw edges of each square every quarter inch or so to create the rag effect...

Then throw it in the wash on a gentle cycle...

Then toss it in the dryer on tumble, making sure to empty the lint from the machine every few minutes.  There will be lots of it. 
Then I will fold it up all pretty and present it to this wrestler mom to give to her son for Christmas.
It will continue to produce lint with every wash for the next few washings, making the edges fray more and more.  That's just what rag quilts do.  When the edges are all puffy, it will no longer fray each time it is washed.

Off to work on the crochet blanket tonight on the couch while watching some playoff baseball with the hubby.

Finished Product Friday

I have a lot to say lately so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. The first two pictures are of a tshirt quilt I made for my brother as his high school graduation gift. He is now playing football at The University of the South. I am super proud of him and can't wait to watch him throw the pigskin around this season.

And I crocheted 2 more mermaid quilts.

And crocheted 10 flower coasters.

And sewed a superhero quilt.

If you are interested in ordering a quilt or crocheted items, leave a comment below or message me on Facebook. Wait times are about 4 weeks so plan ahead for Christmas. Prices vary.

Happy weekend, my friends.

To-Do-List Tuesday: more in-memory quilts

Hi friends, remember those baby in-memory quilts I made out of Lindsey's Grandma's old PJs?

Well, now I am working on something that I think is even more special. Her grandmother started on a quilt she never finished. And Lindsey and her mom asked if I could finish it. I am so honored! I am hand-quilting it. And I am liking how it is turning out. This is this week's work in progress. 

Finished Product Friday

Life has been crazy lately.  Being a stay-at-home mom is hard work. This 2-year-old is wearing this 34-week-pregnant-mom out.

He is nonstop energy, sweetness, entertainment development, and discovery. This makes me feel blessed to have this extra time one-on-one with my sweet little man to be a part of all of it. It amazes me how quickly he learns about the world that is so new to him. It is crazy to watch him go from the kid saying a word or two and us racking our brains to figure out what he is trying to tell us, to a kid communicating in sentences..."I watch Mickey TV please, Mommy?" "Mommy pitch gloves?" "I have more pop tarts, please?" "I sorry for hit, Mommy." "I love you SOOO MUCH!" 

But he is also a little frustration, confusion, crabbiness, whiny, noisy, aggressive, and rebellious. The whole terrible twos is not a myth. I wouldn't call him terrible by any means but his newfound independence has made him a little sassy. He thinks rules don't apply. He thinks anything and everything is his for the taking and messing and throwing. He thinks he can always have what he wants when he wants it. And when he doesn't get it, he thinks it is perfectly acceptable to hit or bite or cry to tell you just how much he wants it. And that makes me so tired, and frustrated and impatient at times. Sometimes I lose my temper. Sometimes I don't use MY inside voice. Sometimes I temporarily forget that he is still a new human just learning how to be a person, just as much as I am a newish mother learning how to be a parent. But I have also seen God building up in me more patience and calm than I had before. I am learning that I can't do it alone. I am seeing more of God's grace in the moments where I mess up and Shea turns out okay anyways. The times when I have to tell my little boy sorry for how I reacted and he hugs me and says he loves me remind me of my Father's love and forgiveness.

 There is no still or chill in this little one. But because he is more or less an energy drink in a 27-pound package, he is FINALLY taking decent naps. 

And what a blessing that 1-2 hours a day has been. Not only do I get to fight him for 15 minutes to stay in bed, but I get to spend the next 10 minutes or so singing and cuddling my little person and holding his hand until he finally gives up fighting. Then I get to do the other things I love, like crocheting and sewing. And thanks to that quiet time, here is what I have finished this week. Before this week I have been busy making memory blankets like these twin onesie quilts.

But this week I have been doing IN-MEMORY projects. A dear friend from high school sent me this message a little while back.

"Hey Meredith,

Hope you are doing well, I see you're expecting your second little boy is well. 😊 I have a couple of sort of special baby quilts I would like to have made I was wondering if you were possibly interested in doing them for me...I am expecting another boy in July, and my brother Alex is expecting his first at the end of August. We were both very close to my grandmother who passed away in 2008, and for as long as anyone can remember she was always wearing the silk pajamas. Not real silk of course just some kind of fake polyester. I have a pair of those and I would like to have a baby quilt made for both of our children that incorporated those pajamas into patches. nothing large just small baby quilts." 

So here is what she got. This is quilt #1.

Working on number 2 during today's nap if all goes as planned...which it often doesn't.

This is the second In-Memory project I finished this week...another mermaid wrap blanket.

This one was extra special, and here is why. This is the text I received with her custom order.

"Oh my gosh I have been looking for someone to make these for me for a year now! My best friend and I both shared a love for mermaids and she passed away last summer, our favorite colors were pink and purple and she loved lime green, could I possibly get one with those colors?"

I love how it turned out and so did she. 

I hope it brings her comfort. 

I would love to do more projects like these (or any projects for that matter), so message me here or on Facebook if you are interested. 

To-Do List Tuesday-Before Baby #2

Baby Patten Turner Strauss will be joining the family soon.  Not sure when, but going from previous experience with his big brother, Shea, who decided to mix things up by trying to come 7 weeks early, it could be soon. But if he decided to be like most babies he may not be here until his due date on July 29th. Gotta wait and see.

But there is quite a to-do list to finish before he arrives. I am blessed to say that list is MUCH shorter than it was last week. My dad and little brother came and did some extensive house-prepping and cleaning and detailing the past several days. I cannot thank them enough for all of the love and hard work they put into our house that had bit by bit gotten a little out of hand.

They cleaned out our whole garage and added shelves to store our stuff that doesn't have a spot in the house. That included burning a pile of about 70 cardboard boxes that had accumulated since we moved in a few years ago, and shop-vaccing crawly critters who decided to make those boxes home. As soon as we have our next yard sale we will be able to fit 2 cars in the garage, which hasn't been possible since we moved here.  

The kitchen appliances are sparkling, the windows are clean, the floors and baseboards are scrubbed. A few minutes ago Shea left the living room and headed in the kitchen.  He's supposed to stay in the living room with me. When I asked him to come back he started crying. "I white, I white." I am not yet fluent in toddler speak but I am getting there. I was stumped.  I said, "show Mommy what you want."  He grabbed a dish towel off the stove, ran back in the room, and proceeded to "white" (wipe) the windows.  "I clean, Mommy."  He has learned a servant's heart by watching the people he loves and looks up to.  I think his love language is acts of service like his daddy and my daddy.  So I smiled and thanked him and gave him a big hug because my love language is physical touch.  :)

Paint has been touched up. We could probably sell this house tomorrow if we wanted to.  They left early this morning to drive back to Texas leaving behind a different house than the one they arrived at.  We are truly grateful.  

To-Do List

-Finsh organizing Patten's nursery and Shea's bedroom

-have another yard sale to clear out the rest of the garage

-clean my bedroom and bathroom as well as the rest of the house has been cleaned

-organize my arts and crafts from the studio in my basement (see previous post)

-finish the edging on My brother's high school t-shirt quilt

-make some quilts for my friend from high school

It's done list

-twin onesie quilts

-puppy quilt for Ryder

-photo props for Lorie 

(who happened to have done an amazing job on Shea's one and 2 year old pictures)

Www.lorieallison.com

-a crocheted baby blanket

-and another mermaid wrap blanket

If you are interested in having me make you something, either message me on Facebook or leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

I love my crazy life and am so thankful for the help with the craziness.

Today's to-do list includes joining my hubby for lunch at UTC followed by a visit to the doctor to check up on our little Patten...hopefully followed by a nap for the other little one when we get home.

We may not have it all together at the Strauss house, but we are on our way, works-in-progress. And God is using us and molding us and teaching us and humbling us and LOVING US in the midst of the madness.

My verse for today:

If I say "my foot slips," your mercy will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul. Psalms 94:18-19

I was anxious, thinking "how in the world will it all get done? We aren't even close to being ready for Patten. This place is a mess and I don't know where to start. How are we going to afford another one?" But it is getting done. And we have been blessed with resources and help to make life more organized. And God will provide what we need just like he always does. He has brought comfort and joy to my soul in the form of organization and family.  Now that they have headed home, I am homesick but I'm looking forward to a family reunion soon when Patten comes. 

WIP (Work in Progress) Wednesday-Shea

Today is my son's second birthday!

My how time has flown!  

I must say this kid may be the coolest 2-year-old out there.  He is a blast.  Lately he is obsessed...and I mean OBSESSED...with all things sports and Mickey Mouse.  He loves watching baseball, basketball, and hockey.

His two favorite people are the goalie and the umpire.  In his own words he loves them "SO MUCH!" 
He knows the umpire says, "strike one, strike two, strike three, you're out, and SAFE!"  He goes around the house throwing balls, swinging bats, and sliding into imaginary bases.  

Hockey is a new obsession.  He likes to tell us that the goalie wears a helmet, gloves, and pads, and he carries a hockey stick. 
Until a few weeks ago, he could have cared less about cartoons.  But out of nowhere he is now crazy about Mickey Mouse, more specifically, the Road Rally episode.  For that reason, he will be having a Mickey-themed birthday party this Saturday.  I can't wait!  I happened to stumble upon a Mickey Mouse Road Rally cake at Publix.  The design has actually been retired but they said they had one kit left at the store.  I felt like I deserved a mom-of-the-year award when I found this cake.  

Shea is a super-sweet, super-entertaining, super-cuddly, super-fun kid....MOST OF THE TIME.  But let me tell you, he sure is a work in progress.  I am not one to claim my child is perfect.  Lately he has needed frequent reminders to have nice hands and a nice mouth with his friends.  This is code word for no hitting or biting. Bedtime is a fight almost every night. He likes to say no and will make a run for it any chance he gets. And sometimes he uses his dogs as baseball tees. But he is learning to be a person and we are learning to be parents. Life is good and we are blessed with our little work in progress.

On my sewing table (cough cough kitchen table) is one of two twin quilts. I am sewing on the back now. 

What is your work in progress?