made by hand

When My children were growing up and I was a stay-at-home mom, I was pretty "crafty"! I crocheted, did counted

 cross stitch, made rag rugs, painted wooden country crafts,

 and did a bit of sewing.

I had one skirt pattern that I made several times.

It was an easy one...three seams and an elastic waist!

And, do you remember "jams"...the brightly

 colored/patterned shorts boys wore in the 80's?

 Well, I made lots of those for my two boys.

In those days, I had more time than money,

 so many of the gifts I gave were homemade. 

Then, twelve years ago, when I got my job,

I had more money than time, so my crafting sort of stopped!

Oh, I made a curtain or two and crocheted a blanket or two,

 but that's about it.

Since my daughter got married, she has become

 more interested in crafts and homemade gifts.

 She has made many things on her own, 

but we've paired up on some projects, too.

I've already told you about the sugar scrub

 we made for Christmas. 

Well, last Friday, we worked together to make a baby gift.

She has never sewn, but has a desire to learn.

I don't know enough to really teach her, but I could show

her some basics. So we started with something simple...

burp pads made by sewing cute fabric to a cloth diaper...

an idea she found on Pinterest I think.

Here she is...being careful to sew a straight line.

She also learned how to turn a corner,

 thread the machine and fill the bobbin.

Here is one of her finished products...very cute!

We also decided to make a nursing cover for the

mom-to-be. The nursery theme is giraffes, so

we chose the floral for the front and the

 giraffe print for the back.

Here's the pattern...which includes a sling

 and a swaddler.

Didn't think to take a picture of the finished cover up,

but it looked pretty good for a first attempt!

It was late when I finished it, so I didn't

 attempt the top stitching. 

I didn't want to take a chance on messing it up!

I plan to make more...perhaps I will be braver next time!

Yesterday, I was watching an episode of a British mystery TV series called "Rosemary and Thyme". One of the characters said,

"Anything homemade is touched by the hand of God."

Isn't that a lovely thought?

Makes me even more interested in being "crafty" again!