appreciation

one of the greatest lessons i am learning from this process of developing a craft is that every step should be observed and relished. to wash and iron and block and dye and measure and read and read again. all these things before my scissors even enter the scene.

i appreciate having a willing model at the ready.


i appreciate washing materials by hand. good materials. linen and cottons. i am glad that i have finally come to realize the difference between cheap and quality. i appreciate my husband for tutoring me all these years in this regard.

i appreciate what shauna over at gluten-free girl (i'm too lazy for hyperlinks but check the sidebar over at my regular blog) has to say about taking photographs of her food. that it is a way of paying homage, of being aware. i take pictures of my fabric with that in mind.


i appreciate the light green tinge that my hands have today from dying the canvas for my sling. i noticed it when i was on my way to work this afternoon. there is a secret delight in being marked by your art+craft. the stray hair with dried clay, the paint under your nails. reminders of a self too distracted in the act of creation to worry over personal appearance.

some w.i.p.s

the (blurry) results of my quick craft from yesterday. i envision some more earrings and a necklace on the horizon.

i'm in the process of making a few baby sets for some new wee ones to this world. the set includes a quilted patchwork bib, a pair of reversible booties, and a knitted burp cloth. i will also add a pair of earrings for the mamas.



to keep them all together, i'm going to borrow an idea from Tennen Seikatsu, one of my favorite magazines.

this little drawstring bag should be hold the sets quite nicely. i'll use the same material i used for the patchwork on the bib for the little stripe that holds the drawstring.

and speaking of mothers, next sunday is the calendar date for mother's day. i am making lotta's oven mitt and an apron of my own design using canvas and these three printed fabrics for my mom and mother-in-law.

for nico and myself, i have plans for a sling. i'll dye the canvas and use the tracy porter duck canvas for the interior.

and after visiting joann's, i decided to poke my head into michael's next door to check out the much touted martha line. it is very nice and well-packaged and there are some things i will keep in mind. i went ahead a bought the alphabet cards to put up on sebastian's wall. he picked out these rad stickers. i like the robot especially.

and just some additions to my growing stockpile. more of the alexander henry pink fabric plus some super colorful cotton that reminds my of a polyester blouse my grandmother once wore, in a good way.

next time, i hope to be back with some finished projects to share.
xo

quick craft

this makes me so pleased. it took less than two minutes to put these together. no pliers used.
it almost satisfies the crafting urge for today.
almost.
i came back to report that i finished three more pairs within 15 minutes, all done with nico snoozing on my left arm and sebastian playing in the bath. this could easily become addictive.

built by me

with a bit of help from my mother. i was visiting my parents for about a week and decided i wanted to try a pattern while my experienced mom was about. a pattern that used a zipper to be exact. so built by wendy simplicity pattern #3835 it was. i used cheap grey cotton material for two reasons: one, to practice and not mess up expensive fabric; two, because it was either this, giant gold butterflies, or john deere tractor fabric.

grey is my favorite color but perhaps in this particular use it isn't the best as the dress kinda has an amish, choir-robe look to it.

i used what the package called "kiwi" green for the thread and zipper and hemmed it with a topstitch to allow this detail to be noticeable but the boldness of the green was still overwhelmed by the pious grey.


it is cute though and perhaps with a good pair of trousers, leggings, or even tights (though it is already too hot to consider tights for a while) it would look better. i do like the built by wendy pattern line and look forward to trying the a-line skirt and button-down blouse that came with "sew u" since i am more of a skirt and blouse sort of gal.

printing process

finishing the block took a lot longer than anticipated but now it's done and i can send off the spring postcard. if you would like one, just let me know. this is just my second block so it is a bit wonky but at this stage, it is all about learning. i really enjoyed every step.




and for my next project...

lotta lotta

here's another completed tote for a friend's birthday made with a very soft demin and some tracy porter fabric for the bottom.

it turns out it is really hard to take pictures of the inside of a bag but you can see that i did add a pocket and a liner, though the awesomeness of the fabric doesn't shine through. take my word, it's pretty. and cool. so, um, it's pretty cool.

and because every gal should have a matching change purse, here's another one but much improved. it's lined with the same awesome fabric as the tote. (yes, awesome is the word du jour)

i like zipper pulls. i'm thinking of shrinky dinks for future pulls.

so this is all wrapped with one of the new cards and ready to be sent once i can figured out how to get to the post office. or beg someone to take it for me. and please excuse the lame photos. my brother-in-law sold the glorious camera we were (gratefully) using so it's back to our four year-old powershot.

birthday greetings

i carved this out of a speedycut block last night while watching the office (american version. for those of you too loyal to the bbc version to give the yanks a chance, well, i'm really sorry for you. this show makes jason laugh like a girl who drank way too much diet soda before her cheerleading competition. seriously. )



i'm happy with these cards. now we have something on hand for those birthdays that always sneak up on us.
i particularly like the color. it looks like cake frosting and reminds me of that color in the cat in the hat comes back. you know, the ring in the tub from the cat in the hat that eventually ends up on the snow and little cat z has to save the day.

what, you don't read dr.seuss at least three times a day?
xoxo

changed my mind

i started the simple sewing (lotta jansdotter) book and decided that the simple tote was a better birthday choice.

i whipped up a little zippered purse that was a bit off since it was eyeballed rather than measured (plus i tried to press the rayonesque fabric on the cotton setting and had to fix that so...)

i kept the wonky tote for my own unbirthday self. i hope to be able to sew the all day tote from lotta's book in time for my birthday in september so luckily i have time to learn. and momo, i'll post pictures from this book this weekend. take care.

the doting tote

so last week i had high hopes that this project would be quick especially since sebastian was out of my hair, i mean, visiting with my folks for two nights. it's not that i forgot that nico would still need my services but rather i mistakenly thought needlecrafts and wee ones could be balanced within the respectable hours of the day. of course, i complicated matters. i could have skipped the tea dying but i wanted the canvas to be a little darker so it wouldn't get too grimy too quick.

i could have used fusible interfacing instead of hand basting the applique or i could have done a freezer paper stencil and skipped the applique.

or at least constructed the applique more like a seamstress and less like mother nature. the upper limbs don't show but for some reason i tackled this organically and let the tree come into bloom.

in the end (i hand sew slow enough to remember the camera but once the sewing machine is on, i become too absorded to consider taking photographs of the process) it turned out fine. a simple sturdy tote for a friend's 28th birthday. (happy b-day a! 28 is super great!)

i didn't originally intend to include lining but the bobbin got wonky during the applique so i needed to cover that up. the pocket i am happy with except the tiny little wonky part with the bias tape. that was when sebastian got into the fingerpaints so i was distracted. it is good to have little mistakes that serve to document where my head was when i made this but i will strive to have the next one wonky-free.

next, printing the postcards (and um, finishing the block).

then some shorts for the boys and some appliqued and freezer paper stencil tee shirts. i'm hoping it is something sebastian will help me on.

now, to clean up. maybe sebastian will help with that as well. take care.

top priority

maternity clothes + the need to keep the sun off= sebastian's new reversible hat

working

today i am staying home to clean clean clean. no swimming or trips to the library. just me, a mop and broom, a bottle of vinegar, and two monkeys climbing on me. i am motivated by the glorious weather outside and by my growing list of projects that need to be worked on soon. very soon. birthdays and mother's day and spring equinox drive me on, making me reach for another cuppa.
here is a little preview of my works in progress:

march's block print for the monthly postcard project. i'm flying solo on this for the time being but i am determined it will be done soon so those on my mailing list, please check your postbox next week.

a test strip of tea dyed canvas drying in the sun. can't reveal the purpose yet as it would be the ruin of many a surprise.


and thanks for the kind words about the placemat. i am not satisfied though and am in the process of redesigning the project. yet another layer in my pile of things to do.
anyway, hope march is marchy for everyone. take care.
p.s. if you care to be added to the postcard mailing list, just send an email my way.

table for four

in an effort to teach sebastian how to set the table, i thought i would whip up some placemats. i made the bias tape from an old skirt. i am still learning the lesson of sewing with bias tape as it requires undivided attention and that is hard to come by in a house with two under four. it's all about the process right now. every mistake is a learning opportunity, right? (said post-swearing quite a few words not intended for small ears) the foundation is canvas and i made the cloth napkins from a thrifted sheet and the pocket for the napkins are from another "learning opportunity". placemat number four should be terrific and guest-worthy where as this first attempt will be enough for a humble bowl of morning oats.