Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Stockings

I still have two stockings from my childhood. One is from my grandma van der Werf, which was carefully knitted in red, white, and green with a santa on it and my name across the top. The other was quilted with random fabrics from my grandma Janzen. Both have very different meanings for me and were part of different traditions. Nevertheless, I treasure both, especially the memories they bring.

I decided this year that stockings would be a good tradition to start with my family. I didn’t have the time to really plan out the patterns for each stocking, so in essence, they made themselves along the way. I made four stockings, since I am pregnant with boy number two, and cut out pieces for another one, just in case. I’m sure if I get pregnant again, I might not have time to make another stocking with two boys running around, and I didn’t want child number three to have the quickly boughten commercial stocking.

I wanted to make each stocking similar, but yet individual. This was easy for Jonas. He loves tractors and anything that has wheels. The patterns for the other stockings took a little more thought, and if the boy on the way doesn’t like cars, I’ll have to make him another stocking. Here’s the how to:

1. I first went to the fabric store and bought a bunch of Christmas fabric that matched well together. Then I made a pattern for the stockings (I laid down a sock on a piece of paper and drew around it), and cut out all of the socks out of red Santa suit like material.

2. Then I cut out squares of the other fabric and ironed Wunderunder on the back of it. I drew stars and circles on construction paper and used these as patterns. Then I laid these patterns on the Wunderunder and drew around them. Finally, I cut out the stars, balls, stocking toes and heels out of the Wunderunder-ironed material and placed these on the stockings where I wanted them. Then, they were ironed into place.

3. Since the names were ironed onto a piece of felt, I had to sew the felt onto the stocking. I then used the sewing machine to sew around some of the stars, the toes and heels, etc. so that they looked like they had been sewn on and not ironed on.

4. I used some white chenille fabric for the tops of the stockings. Sewing this onto the tops of the socks was like sewing a cat (Sorry, but, it’s the first thing that came to mind). I had never sewn chenille before, and you really can’t see what you are doing at all through all that hair. In the end, luckily, it looked alright.

5. Finally, I laid the reverse sides of the stockings together and sewed around the original sock drawing and then turned them back right-side-in. Now, I could see the finished product. I possibly could have made them bigger. I don’t think an orange would fit in the toe. But, then again, who gets an orange for Christmas anymore? I hung a little loop at the top and then voila they were finished. Maybe next year I’ll get them hung up before the 23rd of December. By then, Jonas will be big enough to look forward to what’s inside.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Advent Wreath

One of the traditions I always love in my husband's family is the lighting of an advent wreath the Sundays before Christmas. My husband Matthias's parents have a tree farm (they do forestry) and therefore not only cut their own trees for Christmas, but also have plenty of pine to make great decorations around the house. My mother-in-law makes advent wreaths for all of the children out of a circle of pine with red candles.

This year my husband and I will be spending Christmas in California. Decorating a palm tree is nice, but doesn't smell as good as fresh cut pine. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on some fresh cut pine and decided it was time for my own traditions. Nevertheless, I still got some tips from my mother-in-law on how to prepare a wreath since it was my first time.

I think it turned out pretty well. The only thing it is missing is candles. Normally, there are four candles placed around the wreath, which are lit each week until Christmas. However, with a one-year-old who just learned to walk, I thought this year candles in a glass might be a big more practical. Therefore, I will still light the candles one by one, just not on the wreath. In Germany, many people also put real candles on their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It looks very pretty, but coming from Kansas, I've just seen too many fires first hand to completely enjoy the spectacle, especially when there are kids running around. Hopefully, my children won't hold it against me. When they are older, we can get riskier with the Christmas deco.


Here's the how-to on the wreath:
1. Get some thick wire and make a ring. This is the base for your wreath.

2. Then take some newspaper and wrap it around the ring until it is about an inch and a half thick. Use some thin wire to hold the newspaper in place looping the wire around the ring in a circular fashion. Make sure the wire ends are securely fashioned and not sticking out.

3. Now take small branches, 6-12 inches long, and begin on one side putting the ends of the branch under the wire on the base. Make sure the branches all go the same direction or your wreath will really look silly. You may have to circle around a few times until you can't see the newspaper anymore.

4. Finally, if you would like to add some accents, tie a ribbon around the wreath or add some candles. If you have some holly, dress it up a bit. And, now all you need are some matches...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Homemade Advent Calendar


Having lived over in Germany for so long, I really grew fond of the German Adventskalender, or in English advent calendar. Most Americans are familiar with the calendars that you can buy at Aldi, which are filled with little pieces of chocolate behind little doors for every day of the month of December until the 24th. However, there are a lot of other calendars that are far more creative. I've seen friends pack a basket full of gifts all numbered from 1 to 24, sew up little pouches that are hung up on a string, or even give a case of beer where each beer is numbered. There are endless possibilities.

The calendar that I decided to make is a very traditional one, which is often hung up on the back of a door or above the fireplace. It consists of 24 little pouches which can be filled with different gifts every year. I decided to make this kind of calendar, because it will allow me to vary the gifts from year to year. This year, for instance, I have a combination of chocolate for my husband, and cheerios for my one year old son.

How to:

1. First, I did the numbers and letters. I decided to cut a few corners on this project and use Wonderunder and material for the letters and numbers. Wonderunder allows you to take normal material and iron it on to other material, without having to sew anything. I figure, if I have time next year, I can always sew around the numbers and letters. But, it's not necessary.

2. Then, I did the number pouches. I cut out little squares of black felt to add contrast to the pouches. The pouches were sewn up out of little squares of colorful material. I ironed all of the corners first, which really helped to make the sewing go faster, and then sewed the pouches onto the felt.

3. Finally, I used some quilting backing and sewed up the background just like a little blanket. I kept a piece at the top open for a dowel (not pictured).

This project actually went a lot faster than I had anticipated and now I have an advent calendar for many years to come. It's worth the time and kids and adults love the anticipation of opening a gift every day. Enjoy!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Hungry Caterpillar


Jonas loves to play with strings, threads, and any little bit of fuzz that he can find. Therefore, I decided I would make a caterpillar for his first birthday with lots of strings attached.

As you can see from my absence the last month, it took me a lot longer than I had anticipated. Between having my German in-laws stay with us for three weeks and morning sickness, I just didn't get as much done as I had hoped for. But, thankfully, I did finish just in time for Jonas's birthday on October 14.

How to:
I really wish I could give a how to on this one, but I think it is almost impossible. This was a work in progress from the beginning. It started out with some pretty material and the bottom dangly strings from an old curtain (which I washed and to my surprise came out nice and white and in really good condition).

1. First, I sewed the curtain by hand into a yellow hem ribbon so that only part of the curtain was hanging out. I cut this into five pieces.

2. Then, I cut out 12 circles of material, 6 green ones for the bottom of the caterpillar and 6 colored ones for the top. I then took the colored circles and cut them in half. The yellow ribbons (with curtain pieces) were then sewed into the middle of these halves. After that, I sewed the green circles to the colored ones, leaving spaces at both ribbon ends for stuffing.


3. The legs were by far the simplest of the whole project. I took red satin material, sewed together and stuffed 10 legs, and then sewed two legs each between two pieces of yellow hem ribbon.

4. Now the fun part, the face. I took pieces of felt and sewed on the eyes. The pupils of the eyes are black ribbons tied in knots. The mouth is a piece of red rickrack. The antennas were made by braiding a thin red shoelace. I figured, my son would also like chewing on them.

5. Finally, I had to sew the whole thing together. This was really really hard. I ended up having to sew the leg pieces into the body pieces by hand. If I were to do the project again, I think I would do it all differently, in order to make this end part easier. Nevertheless, I did get it finished and I was proud of my achievement.

Jonas loves his caterpillar. Just as I thought, he loves to suck on the curtain strings or the antennas. Since he is still cruising and needs both hands to walk, he puts the caterpillar in his mouth and then cruises along the table. It's nice to know that the work has paid off. Nothing is better than a happy child.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Nursing Mother's Muffin


Nursing a 10 month old sure can make me hungry. So that I don't reach for sweets too often, I try to bake up a bunch of healthy snacks as often as I can. These muffins are a good combination of sweet and healthy. The fiber also helps to keep you going, which I need since my baby is now learning how to stand up and walk.

Here's the recipe:

The Nursing Mother’s Muffin
Banana, Walnut, Chocolate Chip, Grape Nuts


1 C flour
1 C Grape Nuts
¼ - ½ C Sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
4 t baking powder
¼ t salt
1 t cinnamon
¼ C oil
1 egg
¾ C milk
1 ripe banana
1 C walnuts
1 C chocolate chips

1. Mash ripe banana with a fork in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add egg and mix well.
3. Add sugar and oil and mix thoroughly.
4. Add flour, Grape Nuts, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. I like to mix the dry ingredients a bit on the top before I mix it into the liquid underneath.
5. Add milk (add more if needed) and mix well.
6. Add chocolate chips and walnuts.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Yummmmmm!!!!!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Thunderstorm Quilt - A little Donnerwetter


Rain. Rain. Rain. As a child, I always liked rain. It felt good, it smelled good, and it meant that my dad didn’t have to work on the farm. I remember seeing the horizon turn white in the distance as a storm approached. We only had about three minutes to get inside before we all would get terribly wet. Often, we kids would just make it inside and my mom or dad would get drenched only 30 seconds behind us. That was rain!

I loved the colors and sounds of a good thunderstorm and often spent hours sitting and watching the clouds build. You could often see extraordinary lighting storms while the sky above you was bluer than the sea. Other times, the dust turned the clouds brilliant colors in all directions. A Kansas thunderstorm is always breathtaking.

Later, when I moved to Germany my feelings about rain changed. I got tired of drizzle and days without sunshine. I realized, that it wasn’t so much the rain that I loved, but the storms that carried it. When I got pregnant, I decided that I wanted to make a quilt for my unborn child which also told a story. This thunderstorm quilt is the result.

The How to:

1. For this quilt, you need lots of old jeans! I saved up mine for a while and was amazed at all of the different shades of blue and black to be found. The only non-jeans material, is the sun. This is an old tablecloth.

2. For the pattern, I laid out a piece of brown packing paper and drew the design. Then I laid my jeans down on the paper and started cutting pieces to fit.

3. At this point, I just started sewing the pieces together. Then I would lay them back on the pattern, cut out some more and sew again. I’m not too much of a planner when I sew, and often change my pieces as I go.

4. The sun was made with an old tablecloth and yellow ribbons. I only added it later, because I thought the quilt needed some color. Thank goodness I did!

5. I used a large piece of blue fleece for the back of the quilt and some polyester backing. My friends at my sewing group helped me to tie the quilt with blue thread. Then, I used the rest of some yellow material for the edges.

6. Finally, the cloud details were quilted at the end with blue thread. This is still a work in progress. Maybe, I will quilt some more at a later time.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Colorful Burp Rags


Before I had a baby, I was told that babies produce a lot of laundry. I couldn’t imagine that such a little thing could produce a lot of dirty clothes… until I had my own baby. I hadn’t realized that babies could spit up so much and so often! It wasn’t just my baby’s clothes that needed washing, it was mine as well. Therefore, I got accustomed to bringing along a lot of burp rags with me at all times.

I found the best burp rags to be cloth diaper material, since it was soft, absorbent, and bigger than most you can buy at the store (These rags were bought in a department store over in Germany). In order to make the rags a bit prettier, I began stitching around the sides with bright embroidery thread. I used the same stitch that my grandmother had used on a quilt that she once made. I’m afraid, I don’t know its name. My mother-in-law also helped me out a bit, so that in the end, I had a whole supply of colorful cloths.


I still always have a couple of these burp rags with me, even though Jonas is already almost ten months old. They have proven to be useful for more than just cleaning up small spills. I lay one on the carseat when I go shopping, so that it doesn’t get too hot. I hang one in the window so that the sun doesn’t get too bright. I throw one over my shoulder when I want to nurse in public. I put a piece of ice in it when Jonas was teething. Finally, Jonas uses one as a comfort rag and loves to suck on it and hold it until he falls asleep (see photo). I love these rags and never leave home without them.

This stitch is also pretty easy, so no how to is necessary. Just look at the pictures and stitch away.