Infinity Scarf Tutorial

If you know me, you know that there is one thing I try to avoid at all costs... hand sewing. Ugh. Which I why, when I made an infinity scarf for my sister for Christmas, I was determined to get around it. I looked at a few different tutorials (they all involved some element of sewing by hand) and then kind of mixed them all together until I found an easy way to make a scarf without touching a needle (and with minimal visible stitches). Yay! These unusually warm January days have me thinking of spring, so I went ahead and made a few more of these cute, lightweight scarves to list in my etsy shop. What's that? You prefer to make your own? Here's how....

You will need:
~2 yards of lightweight fabric (this will make 2 scarves) (You could get by with a little less. With 2 yards I had enough left over to make the main body for one of these bags)

Start by pre-washing your fun, springy fabric and cutting out your scarf. To do this cut your piece of fabric to be about 59" long (or whatever length you prefer) then fold it in half longways and cut right down the fold. This will give you two long pieces of fabric that can be made into two scarves, so plan on gifting one to a friend!

Take one piece of fabric and fold it in half length wise, with right sides together. Like so. If you want to be extra careful you can pin the edges together, but I prefer the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach so I just kind of hold it in place as I go.

Starting a few inches from the end, sew along the long side of the fabric with a 1/2" seam (you will end up with a long tube of fabric with the ends open) stop a few inches short of the end like you see below. (or if you're me, forget this step, sew all the way to the end, and rip it out later. Oops. The space you leave here will determine how many stitches show later. I was able to do it leaving as little as 2 inches at each end.)

Now turn your tube right side out. Oooo... pretty. Now, making sure your tube isn't twisted, fold it in half and line up the raw edges of the ends (hopefully that's clear with the picture below). You'll be sewing the ends together, so start by lining up the corners that are right sides together (shown below) and keep pinning all the way around to the other corner, keeping right sides together. It may take a little finagling and will look a little goofy, but it will all come together in a minute.

Go ahead and sew along the edge you just pinned with a 1/2" seam. It should look like this:

Now flip this section right side out. See what happened? We just joined the scarf into a loop with only this tiny hole left over!

Now to close up that hole. (at this point you could hand sew the opening closed if you prefer) Tuck in the raw edges and pin the opening closed.

Then carefully sew as close as you can possibly get to the edge to close the opening. (there are a few inches of stitches here, but once I started leaving a smaller hole I only had 3-4" of stitches showing)

Now break out the iron to get your scarf looking fresh and crisp. And that's it! It was really pretty fast and easy, right? Hopefully the instructions made sense. It's my first time writing a sewing tutorial. :)

My favorite thing about infinity scarves is that they can be worn long....

...or doubled up!

And now for the fashion show. Here it is worn long. I know, I should be a model.

And here it is doubled, which is personally my favorite style.

You can even pull it up like a hood to keep your ears warm or head dry! And since it's lightweight it will be perfect for those spring evenings that are right around the corner.

 Although and extra layer to cover my ears doesn't sound too bad right now either.... :) (note: my nose comes to a funny little point. I just found out.)

So have fun making your own scarf and let me know how it turns out! Of course, if you prefer to have me do the dirty work for you, you can head over to our Etsy shop to order an infinity scarf. Here are a few fabrics that will be on the menu...

 

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Toying with the Layout

It's been almost 7 months since we laid down plans to make-over our kitchen. Wowza. We have accomplished shockingly little in that amount of time. Unless, of course, you count raising Baby B. He's keeping our hands pretty full. :) But as time and budget allow we've very slowly been taking small steps in the kitchen, from replacing the broken stove and microwave when we moved in, to tearing down the wall between the kitchen and living room, collecting a mish mash of cabinets, snagging the sink of my dreams, painting, and finally installing new shelves. And it turns out that maybe it's not such a bad thing that we've been slow to make any major changes (like to the layout and cabinets). Because...wait for it...I've had a revelation. Well, that's a strong word for it. I've at least changed my mind! I think.... Here's what I'm thinking. This was my original plan for the kitchen:

Which I still like, but the more I think about what would be functional for us, the less I think it is the way to go. Enter Plan B:

(ha. ignore the craziness on the left wall. I forgot I changed that in the drawing, and it will be staying as-is for now. oops. Also I had trouble with my coloring, so ignore the sink & stove. Ugh.) The big change is ditching the fold down bar for a permanent peninsula instead. What do you think? There are a few main reasons I'm considering this layout instead.

1. Added Cabinet Space - It will only add one or two shallow cabinets, but in a kitchen this size we need whatever we can get. Those extra inches of storage would be awesome! 
2. More Workspace - We would gain several feet of functional countertop, which would be great for spreading out to cook or work on projects.
3. Bar Stools - There is still room for a couple stools in this layout, which I really want. Plus I don't think we need to worry about fitting the table in the during Christmas. We can just do without. Priorities. :)
4. Buyer Appeal? - I feel like buyers might be more interested in a peninsula than a weird drop down bar thing (those are the words I'm guessing they'll use to describe it).
5. Enough Space Around the Peninsula - Building the peninsula here would leave plenty of room to open the fridge, and room behind the stools for them to be pulled out.

Opinions? I'm still a little on the fence about it myself. I slid our table around to kind of mimic the way the layout would flow, and I actually feel like that's been working really well. And I have disastrous pictures to prove my point. (the bin of tuperware = Baby B's playground)

It's nice having the extra work space, and I've never felt even a little like it was too crowded or awkward to walk around. But, as usual, I'm afraid to commit until I over-think it for a few days. Weeks.

Also, we're thinking about doing butcher block countertops instead of concrete because they would be easier to install and we wouldn't have to worry about them turning out right (if we try concrete and mess it up we're out all the countertop $$$).

 photo via pinterest

So, any thoughts or opinions on they layout or countertops? What problems do you see with the ideas? How about benefits? Help me out here!

p.s. you can still enter my giveaway until 5:00pm tonight! Click here to check it out!

Home Goals 2012

I thought I'd join the fun over at The Nesting Place and share my Home Goals for 2012! (be warned, it's a lot of words and not a lot of pictures) I've never made a list of home goals before, so I started by reading the Nester's Advice for setting goals which was a great boost for my goal-setting-mindset. It also made me realize that a big element of how I feel about my home is my mindset and attitude, so I need to set some goals in that area as well as physical goals for my home.

I started by thinking about my answers to the questions she posed:

• What’s my favorite room in my house? Why? - Aesthetically, the bathroom. I think it's really pretty and it's one of the few rooms that I feel like I've fully transformed to fit my style. Functionally, the living room. I love how big and open to the rest of the house it is, and it's where we spend most of our time as a family. 
• How and where does my family hang out together?  What’s working for that room? What’s annoying in that room? - The living room. The size and openness is great and and I like the set up of the lounging area (with couches and a table). We definitely have not found our groove for great function yet. This room is rearranged more than any other in the house because I can't find what really works for us yet. And I can't put my finger on exactly what bothers me in there! I'd like to address the spaces around the front door, the entertainment center, and the general layout and flow of the room.
• Is there something in my home I want to do but I’m afraid?  What if I take that risk?  What’s the worst that can happen? - I want to put concrete counters in the kitchen. If I take the risk it could turn out totally awesome and I'll never have regrets wondering how awesome it could have been. The worst that could happen is the countertops won't turn out and we'll lose a couple hundred dollars and still have no countertops. Kind of a big deal...
• What’s the purpose of my home?  Is that obvious by how we use it and what is filling it? - The purpose of my home is to be a safe, happy, loving place for my family. As well as a welcoming place for friends. Hmmmm....good question. Sometimes? I feel like we have quite a bit of junk we don't need that's filling space (which is because I have a hard time getting rid of things. there, I said it). I feel like having extra stuff puts the focus on the stuff instead of on the people around the stuff. It would be better to have more room for Baby B to play (and not worry about breaking things). I'll have to think on this one some more....
• Do the objects in my home reflect our family or do I just have things because someone told me it looked good, gave it to me or bought it for me? - Most of our things we truly like and use...but not all. If I do some decluttering and toss the things that aren't, I'll probably feel more at peace when I walk through my home.
• Am I neglecting my home and not putting money into something that is needed?  Am I squandering money on something I don’t need or enjoy? - I don't think we're neglecting any serious needs for the house (as in major function/safety needs). We do neglect some of our "it would be nice to...." projects, usually because of finances. When I squander money it's usually on other crafts or projects that I do enjoy, so I just have to prioritize my wish list.

From that point, I set the follow goals for my home in 2012 (some taken directly from her suggestion list):

• Stop apologizing for my home.
• Say more kind things than negative things about my home.
• My home is for the people who live there first and foremost, honor them and also think about my guests.  This means I can ignore what any random people have to say about my paint colors and furniture placement. Make it work for my family for this season of life.
• Make our patio a space where we spend as much time as the living room in the summer. (see our patio progress here)

• Paint the kitchen cabinets
• Put a countertop in the kitchen (budget allowing) (see the kitchen plan here)

• Find a better way for our living room to work for our family
• Keep the guest room clear and comfortable for guests
• Adjust Baby B's room to house a growing (soon to be walking!) boy (see the nursery here)

• Declutter and get rid of the things that don't fit my family - no guilt allowed
• Re-think our budget, make sure we are using our money where it best suits our family
• Plant a garden 
• Keep my home reasonably clean & organized year round
• Live healthier & more naturally
• Play with Baby B instead of working on ______. I'll be glad I did later.

 Whew. That's a long list. But we have a whole year ahead of us! I'm sure some of the goals will be tweaked and developed as the year goes on, but it feels great to have a starting place and something to strive for. What kind of goals do you have for your home this year? You can join me and link up at The Nesting Place. Here's to a happy home, in 2012!

P.S. You can still enter my giveaway to win a travel shopping bag, made by me! It rolls up to fit in your purse until you need it.

Click here to see the details on this sweet bag and enter to win!

In the Bag

******This giveaway is now closed. The winner is....Comment #1, Anna! I'll send you your prize this week. Congrats and thanks to all who entered!******

Whew. We've been keeping ourselves busy with lots of holiday traveling and family time the last few weeks. Once we made it home it took me a few days to adjust back to Baby B mode... you know, when I have to entirely supervise Baby B on my own all day without grandparents or aunts to share the load? Yeah, I know. My mom skills are off the hook. What does that even mean? I say it sometimes because it makes me sound gangster, so I should probably find out. Hmmmm.... Anyway, I'm adjusting back to life and finally found time to put a post together! So here is a closer look at the travel shopping bags I mentioned the other day that I made as Christmas gifts.

I used a tutorial by Needle & Spatula, found here. They were really pretty easy to put together (all straight lines!) and went pretty fast, considering I was making seven of them. Plus they turned out super cute. 

They aren't very big, but it's nice that they roll up so small. They aren't lined (which helps them be compact) and are made with french seams so there are no exposed edges left inside. This was my first time doing french seams and it was really easy and worked great!

Here they are in cute little bundles.

Want one of your own? Well, you could make one. Or....

...you could enter my GIVEAWAY to win one! Surprise! I'll be giving away this plaid travel shopping bag to one lucky winner!

How to enter:
1. Leave a comment telling me the best present you got this year! (bonus question: what do you think "off the hook" means?)
2. You can have an extra entry for sharing my giveaway on facebook or twitter (just leave an separate comment for each saying you did).
3. Also followers get an extra entry as a thank you for following my blog, just leave a separate comment telling me you follow. :)

The giveaway will close Friday, January 13, 2011 at 5:00pm.

Have fun and good luck!