too ugly doll

I tried to make an "ugly doll" but at what point does ugly become frightening? I am not sure I will give this to the infant it was intended for. It seems a bit nightmare inducing. Maybe if he had hair.....?

patio furniture redo

When I took our patio furniture out earlier this summer I realized the cushions were very faded and really needed a makeover. I selected fabric to compliment our table umbrella. I bought the fabric at Joann's and it was on sale at the time so it cost about $60 for 5 yards of fabric.

For the seat cushions I simply enclosed the entire old seat cushions in fabric and I machine sewed the closure. The fabric can be spot cleaned with a sponge so I didn't see the need for a cushion that was removable for washing. For the pillows I cut open the old pillows and filled the new ones with the stuffing. I ran a bit low on fabric at the end so I had to improvise. I made a panel cushion using two of the fabrics and I made a long roll pillow using a leftover section of fabric.

I am really happy with the results and I can't wait to get out there and enjoy it - now that the sun is finally shining again!

mother's day gift

In Ireland Mother's Day is in March so I only have one mother to plan for this weekend - my mother-in-law. I decided to make a variation on a project my inspring neighbour Cheryl has on her blog, aprettycoollife.com. You can see her project here which I adapted to make quilted placemats.

M.O.L. loves shamrocks, so much so that even her license plate says SHMRK. I used 'shamrock inspired' material on one side and a more traditional pattern on the other side creating sort of a day-to-evening look.

This was an easy project and only took a few hours to complete. I hope she likes them!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there. We rock!

spring flowers, april showers

At least there are a few bright spots to cheer us up on these gloomy april days. I planted these flowers last fall and it is so nice to see them now. I love daffodils, they are such a happy flower.

easter funny

We hosted Easter this year and we had a really great time. We set up a little Easter egg hunt for Michael and his cousins and they had a blast.

More fun sandbox time. It's getting warmer so some were brave enough to wiggle their toes in the sand.

We did some fun easter crafting. Love those kits from Michaels!

For those who room left this cake was a delicious end to the day!

we are ready for sunshine

It's not ideal to play in the sandbox wearing a fleece but we just can't wait any longer.

The Knit Witch

I learned to knit when I was a kid but about a year ago I started up again. I wanted to use my blog to recommend a great help site for knitters - http://www.knitwitch.com/. I found her instructional videos so helpful. Happy Knitting!