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In my travels around the internet the other day, I came across one of the coolest craft ideas I've seen in a while. Wendy Tsao in Vancouver runs Child's Own Studio, a custom shop that creates soft toys from children's drawings.

Parents send in a drawing like this (notice that "Mom" is the name emblazoned on this creature, and she's holding a laptop!):

All photos, courtesy of Wendy Tsao, Child's Own Studio Flickr photostream

...and Wendy uses some funky fabric, some fancy stitiching and tons of creativity to turn that drawing into this:

She's made "a few hundred" of these soft toys for many a happy child who gets to see his or her 2-D creation come to life in 3-D. Check out her gallery of finished projects here.

There was another one that really made me smile – and reminded me of Monsters Inc. (one of my very favourite movies). It was this sparsely illustrated dragon:

...who Wendy turned into this fantastic multicoloured softie:

Fortunately for Wendy, business has been brisk. Unfortunately for us, she's not taking any new orders at the moment, and is working through her waiting list.  I think everyone here can sympathize with that – I'm not the only one with a years-long backlog of projects in her craft room, right? Ahem.

But it got me thinking. This would be a great craft project if you have kids and some decent sewing skills. What do you think? Would you try making something like this?

There's something exciting about the riot of yellowy greens that's popping up on the trees in the neighbourhood.

Photo by garden beth, Flickr

There's so much potential in that mix of tints, shades and tones. Energy that's been locked up for months, waiting for just a bit of sunshine and a whisper of rain – a new beginning.

I think I know how that feels.

So each time I look out the window, I'm finding new inspiration. I've been Googling all sorts of green things. On Craftgawker I was looking for whatever came up under "green":

On Etsy I was trying to find craft supplies that would inspire a new project (LOVE the green buttons):

On Ravelry, I was on the hunt for a pattern that would make the most of two skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock mediumweight that I've been squirrelling away for the last year. The colourway is Irish Girlie Green, and it's just the thing for a little spring knitting.

After a long, leisurely look through (what seemed like) a million options, I clicked on the Sweet Oak Shawl by Megan Goodacre. It had just the right look for my beloved green yarn, and it's the perfect mix of interesting lacy patterns to keep my attention and give my lace-making skills a workout.

What colours are inspiring your creativity this spring? Are you a green person like me?

All the unrest on the home reno front has made my house decidedly craft-UNfriendly of late. I haven't had time to work on anything substantial in ages.

But I did have time to make a couple of new toys for Olive and Nestor. Here's my recipe for one of the simplest, most effective homemade cat toys in the world. I see them everywhere – Etsy, pet stores, the vet's office – but they're a cinch to make at home with fabric scraps.

Catnip Ravioli

1. Cut two squares of quilting cotton or other crisp, tightly woven cotton (whatever size you like). Stack the squares with the WRONG sides facing. Pin on three sides.

2. Sew 5/8 inch or so in from the edge on each of the pinned sides. Start and end right off the edge, and don't worry about backstitching to secure the thread – it doesn't matter. Snip off the thread ends.

3. Grab a small bunch of craft stuffing and stuff into the hole. Dump in a few decent clumps of catnip, then add another little ball of the stuffing.

4. Pin the open edges together. Sew about 5/8 inch in from edge to close. Snip off thread ends.

5. Cut each edge with pinking shears to desired width.

6. Push the stuffing around to fill the centre and crush the catnip. Add one curious cat.

7. Enjoy the silliness that ensues.

Do you grow your own catnip for your cats? I would love to hear your tips on growing it – if there are different varieties, what soil conditions work, and how you dry it. Nestor and Olive are eager for me to get the garden started!

My intrepid husband and I are half-finished laying down new Pergo in our living room. Yay, right?

Ugh. We hate it. And so does Artie – it's so slippery under his old paws. Plus, he hates all kinds of renovations. Or change of any kind.

Don't get me wrong – Pergo is lovely stuff. And this floating type with the underlayment attached is almost criminally easy to install. There's not one thing to hate about the material.

The problem is: it just doesn't work in this space. We installed this very laminate flooring throughout the second floor, where it's lovely and dark and quiet. It's ideal in bedrooms (and quilt rooms), where you want something soothing.

But the living room gets almost no natural light. That means a dark floor will suck up all the light and make the room like a cave. Olive thinks dark rooms are a total bore. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

So back to the drawing board we go. But it got me thinking: What do people do with those bits and bobs left over after a flooring/reno project?

• Buddy Allen Carpet One in Nashville, Tenn., rounded up a bunch of neat ideas for using up carpet, laminate and tiles, including a Decorative Tile Message Board from Serenity Now
• eHow has a guide to using up laminate scraps in interesting ways – homemade picture frame, anyone?
• Dremel offers up a few fun crafts you make with leftover laminate tiles, including turning them into hard felt-backed placemats (for messy eaters like me)
• Instructables has a tutorial on making decoupaged signs from laminate floor planks
• Crafting a Green World has a step-by-step lesson in creating custom coasters from leftover tiles

So what do you think? Have any other great ideas for using up leftover building materials? I'm all ears.

I just got back from a delightful trip home to see my family for Easter. One of the highlights was stopping in at Metaphor Yarns and A Notion to Quilt in Shelburne, Mass. And look what I got!

I was partway into cutting the pieces for my Bento Box Quilt when I realized I'd be needing more acid-bright and black-and-white fabric to cut the roughly eleventy million pieces required to make it. So I indulged in four yards of the loveliest prints I could find.

Now I just need to wash and dry it to get it ready for cutting. I admit I'm lazy about prewashing. Most good-quality quilting cottons are colour-fast these days, so I've dispensed with testing them to make sure they don't run. I usually just dump them all in the washer, crank on the regular cycle and watch them go.

But I do believe in washing quilting fabric to make sure it's preshrunk. It would be terrible to make a beautiful quilt and have it twist, shrink and distort after you wash it for the first time.

I'm curious, though. Am I overly cautious? Do you prewash your fabric? Do you follow the rules or make up your own?

This is one revved-up quilting community! Thanks for all your entries in this week's giveaway of Quilting Modern by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen.

We were even treated to some affectionate back-and-forth commenting from Jacquie's proud aunt Arlene and Jacquie herself. (Hi, ladies!) I'm so proud we're supporting some terrific talent with Canadian roots.

But you came here to find out who the winner of this beautiful book is, right? So, without further ado, here's who the random digit generator tells me is the lucky quilter:

Congratulations, Marge! I'll be in touch shortly to send you your prize. In the meantime, you'd better pick out some fabric to try out that crazy quilting technique. We'll be waiting to see the results.

Sometimes all you need is a little eye candy to inspire your next work of art. Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts (Interweave, 2012), by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen, has plenty of visual sweets to inspire a lifetime of quilts.

These ladies really know their stuff. The introduction outlines the basics: tools, sewing skills, colour matching and strategies for finishing quilts are all covered, with plenty of colourful photos and helpful pieces of advice.

Once the basics are taken care of, it's time to move on to chapters covering specific modern quilting techniques:

• free-piecing
• improvisational Log Cabin blocks
• slice-and-insert piecing
• the stitch-and-flip triangle
• strip piecing
• crazy quilting with a modern twist
• curved piecing

Each chapter outlines a single technique with easy-to-understand illustrations. A handy box of hints and tips caps off the intro, helping you navigate any potential pitfalls and avoid common headaches associated with the technique. Then there is a selection of projects for you to try out your new skills.

The part I liked the best, surprisingly, was the introduction to the book. Called "The Improvisational Path," it shares the creative manifesto of the authors. They encourage their readers to learn traditional quilting methods, but to feel free to break the rules when they want to. They advise them to be creative, to take chances (and learn from failures), and to go where their hearts and guts lead them.

Most importantly, the authors encourage quilters to savour their creative time. Whether it's on your own or with friends, creating is something that's meant to be enjoyed. That's excellent advice to live by.

If you can't get enough of Quilting Modern, check out Jacquie Gering's blog or Katie Pedersen's blog for more tutorials and inspiration.

Better yet, want to win yourself a copy of Quilting Modern? Leave a comment below, telling me which new technique you'd like to try from this book. Entries are limited to residents of Canada only, and the deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, April 3, 2012.  I'll random-draw the winner and announce the results next Thursday, April 5, 2012.

Good luck!

Like Lisa, I have spring fever. Bad.

I know global warming is terrible. And I know Mother Nature probably has an April snowstorm up her sleeve. But all the sunshine and warm temperatures in my part of Canada is making me think that maybe, just maybe, we'll have a gorgeous, extended spring.

And to what does my crafty mind turn amid all this heady sunshine? Quilting, of course!

I've been saving up this pile of black-and-white prints and acid-toned brights to make something high-contrast. And, last week, when spring came on full force, I dove in and started cutting squares and rectangles for my Bento Box Quilt.

Turns out you need A LOT of fabric to make a quilt that's in between queen and king size. I think my pile might not yield as many pieces as I need. But if that means a trip out into the glorious weather to buy more fabric, no problem. How better to celebrate spring and the annual burst of creativity it brings?

Do you have spring fever? What's it inspiring you to make? Share a photo with your comment below – just click on the "+ Image" button at the bottom left corner of the comment box to upload a picture.

I was so excited when Austen asked me to join the Classic Raglan KAL last week. But one thought kept nagging me as I pondered what colour and what type of yarn to pick for my new sweater. What about my Old Port?

This poor old girl was consigned to the Island of Misfit Knits about a year ago. I hadn't been happy with her since Day 1. She looked way too small, the cast-on edge was a total mess (I've since learned the proper long-tail cast-on), and I definitely zigged where I should have zagged in many places.

The final straw came when I realized I had missed or added a stitch somewhere several rows back, thoroughly messing up my pattern repeats and my cables. So I decided it was time to say, "See you, Old Port. Hello, Classic Raglan."

Frogging a half-done sweater like this is usually a headache. Hand-winding ball after ball of curly yarn is no way to spend a Saturday afternoon, so I decided to let (admittedly old-school) technology do the work.

How to frog a half-done sweater in 3 minutes

1. Place your wooly tube top over your yarn swift. Open the swift up a bit so the tube is taut but not overly stretched.

2. Attach the end of the working yarn to your ball winder. Start winding your little heart out.

3. Watch the swift spin and the tube top disappear. You may need to stop to untangle here and there, so spin the ball winder slowly and steadily.

4. When the first ball is big enough, cut the yarn and start a new one. You can make them whatever size you want.

5. Get ready to start something new. In my case, this pretty purple yarn is already turning into one very pretty, very simple new sweater.

Do you have another technique for frogging something like this? I'd love to know how you do it.

Like all sewers (sewists?), I have a big box of fabric scraps. Admit it – you have one, too. And unless you're a machine with too much free time on your hands, I bet it's full of stuff you haven't looked at in years. Or is that just me?

I find the scrap box is a little like sedimentary rock. As you dig through it, you find layer after layer of pieces left from projects you've completed (or started and ditched).

Each layer represents a crafting era, in which you fell in love with a specific style or type of fabric. You realize you had a Blue Period, just like Picasso. Or that maybe you loved muddy earth tones just a little too much. Or that kitschy fruit and vegetable prints aren't as cute as you once thought they were.

The best thing to do, of course, is to find a way to use those scraps – and make them sing. That's what scrap quilts are for. Whether you're making a charm quilt, which contains just a single shape (each in a different fabric!), or any other sort of quilt that requires a large number of varied prints, this is one of the best ways to reduce your scrap pile and make something beautiful at the same time.

Here are three scrappy masterpieces I'd love to try:

• Erin at House on Hill Road made a kid-friendly one that uses the brilliantly simple half-square triangle tutorial from The Purl Bee.
• Rita at Red Pepper Quilts made a whirling, fun Labyrinth Quilt that juxtaposes brights with graphic blacks and greys.
• Anna Maria Horner made a fanciful Spinning Stars quilt that reminds me of spider webs. It's so lovely in her signature vibrant tones with contrasting white.

What quilts would inspire you to use up your scrap collection?