Oct 21 2011
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thoughts

In the interest of Pinterest.

This month–okay, the last six months–have just been killer on my crafty endeavors.

I haven’t managed to finish anything I’ve started except for Cecil, the chair covers, and a few other bits and bobs. I’m still working on a summer dress that is now past it’s prime season, and I haven’t started working on my halloween costume at all.

All this to explain why this is a craft-less post. Instead, I want to talk about the site you never knew you needed, Pintrest.

Why do you need Pintrest? Mostly because I bet right now, lurking somewhere on you hard drive is a folder of images saved from the web. My folder is named “Inspiration.” I save photos of rooms, of locations, of beautiful things I want to make. The big problem with this system, though, is sourcing it. If a picture has been in your folder for a year, or even a month, you might be hard-pressed to remember where it came from.

Pintrest, then, is your inspiration folder on steroids. When you “pin” a picture, you get to choose which “board” it goes to, can add a note about what you like, and it gives links back to the source and where you found it (say, if you repinned it from a friend).

Right  now, I’m using it to pin inspiration for my Halloween party, my bedroom redecoration, and fashion that I wish I could incorporate into my daily life.

If you have an inspiration folder, you’ll love Pintrest. And feel free to follow me and/or my boards. I think I do a pretty good job of curating my stuff.

 

Oct 14 2011
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knitting, projects

Gift giving, only a few weeks late.

So, the Mister and I have been dating for three years now. We don’t have an actual anniversary date–just a general idea of when we first started dating. This means that sometime by the end of September, we’ve given each other our “anniversary presents.” Now, this is never on the same day from year to year, nor do we exchange presents on the same day.

For example, in the middle of September he bought me a new tire for my car that I needed desperately (which also matched very nicely with the tire that he gave me for Valentine’s day. It may not be romantic, but it’s practical and my job requires me to drive a lot, so it’s definitely welcome). I in turn make him something every year. For our first anniversary, I made him a camp fire. For our second, a small computer.

This year? A monster joined our menagerie.

This is Cecil. He’s a monster from The Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger. He took me forever to make, seeing as I can only knit on free time when the Mister isn’t around, and that only happens on my lunch break. I started him in August, and didn’t finish him until October 7th. I probably would have finished him loads sooner if I had taken him to Texas with me, but I didn’t want to deal with knitting needles on the airplane coming home (I know you can take them through security, but metal needles in Texas seemed like something that would get me pulled out of line.)

Cecil was a really easy project. I had originally thought I would use different feet for him than his pattern said to, but when it came down to crunch time, I followed the pattern exactly as written. And this pattern is very well written, as is the rest of the book. Each monster is laid out row by row for exactly what is happening when. I am definitely planning on making a few more monsters and sending them on their way.

As I took Cecil’s photos yesterday evening, he was very chatty.

“Grrr grrr gggrrrrrrrr grr grr, ” he said.

He thinks he’s going to be a celebrity and has chosen the stage name Stripy McEarballs for all his cameo work. When he’s not posing for photos, I usually find him working on the small computer that I made for the mister last year. All of the other boys in the house seem to really get along with Cecil, and they all cuddle together to watch Sunday football.

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Sep 29 2011
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projects, sewing

One-Yard Wonder Purse Needs Some TLC

One-Yard Wonder purseIt took me years to finally admit that I owned a purse. When I was a tomboy in high school and middle school, I kept everything either in my backpack or in my pockets. I didn’t need a purse!

However, I needed something to carry my wallet, chapstick, phone and other assorted necessities in when I wasn’t lugging around a 50-pound backpack (and young lady jeans don’t have much in the way of pockets). Someone bought me a little tote bag with Hello Kitty (my one weakness!) and I carried it everywhere. It isn’t a purse, I would insist. It’s a bag!

But as with more than a few of my teenage ideas, I finally realized the reality behind my delusion. I owned and used a purse. And there was nothing wrong with that. I recently discovered I get much more satisfaction in making them myself than buying one from the store.

That’s why I was so excited when I picked up One-Yard Wonder — I could make my own purse with my own handmade style! With plenty of patterns to choose from and only needing one yard of fabric, I was good to go.  Check out a One-Yard Wonder photo group on Flickr for a view of these awesome projects.

This is the purse I chose to make with some canvas fabric that my mother gave me — she was going through the stacks of fabric she had stockpiled without any specific purpose.

I loved it and wore it everywhere for a few months. Then I discovered a few problems …

This particular purse includes a magnetic snap closure. Never having installed a snap closure before, I had to research the process. After a few months of use, the closure ripped off from one side. My mother has infinite wisdom when it comes to sewing and so I asked her what might have gone wrong — she told me more fabric backing for each closure side and some reinforcing stitches may have prevented the problem.

I had also misread a few of the instructions, so the interior pocket came a little loose and not all of the stitches along the top edge were perfect. Gaining experience comes at the price of mistakes, I suppose. Maybe I will fix it one of these Mend it Mondays, but until then, I’m using a store-bought purse from a few years ago.

Sep 23 2011
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projects, sewing

Topsy Turvy Doll Finds a New Home

I was really proud of how this topsy turvy doll turned out. It was the first doll I had ever sewn together and she is now safely in the care of my sister-in-law, who is soon to be the mother of a sweet baby girl (aside from already being an awesome “bonus mom”).

For those who don’t know, topsy turvy dolls are reversible dolls that when flipped upside down reveal a whole other doll that has a different outfit.

Topsy Turvy doll from Margot pattern in Wee Wonderfuls

Reversible for cuteness on either side.

I went a little outside the pattern, using a fat quarter of soft flannel to make the dresses (which is why there are stripes down the centers of each dress — the pieces weren’t quite big enough). The other major alteration was having different hair color on the two faces, as the book pattern had the same hair color on both sides.

The face is embroidered, which definitely put my needlework skills to the test to make each look exactly the same.

Why a topsy turvy doll? Honestly, I really loved them as a kid but never had any large ones, just a couple plastic, reversible toys. Surprisingly, very few people at the baby shower had ever seen such a doll, but I suppose that style of doll hasn’t really be in vogue for quite some time.

Any one who knows me well knows that I can hardly stand to wait until a gift-giving event to give my presents to the intended recipients, and this one was especially challenging. I finished this doll, called Margot in the Wee Wonderfuls book, a couple months ago and had been itching to send it early. The wait was worth it though, as my sister-in-law was very appreciative.

If I make another topsy turvy doll, I intend to make it a “sleeper” doll with one side awake in a bright dress and the alternate side asleep with a nightgown.

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Sep 23 2011
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sewing

What I’ve been working on.

Ally has been gently nudging me for oh, only a month or so now, to finally get a blog post up.

It seems that I manage to let the world get at me far too much (witness the eye twitch that will.not.quit. for the last four day), in between regular summer plans, and emergency “lets get the little sister married and moved to Texas in three weeks–with only three days for the wedding” plans.)

I made this chair cover much earlier in the summer, but I’m so inordinately proud of it. The pattern comes from one of my favorite sewing books, One-Yard Wonders. (Please see the other projects I’ve made from this book, such as the dog jacket I made for my sister’s dog and…. oh, I guess I should post about all the other stuff I’ve made).

The fabric came from Ikea, and cost almost as much as the chair it’s covering, also from Ikea, the Jeff folding chair. It’s the same chair pictured in the book, so when I saw the pattern, I absolutely knew I was going to make it. The whole thing, chair and fabric cost me $14.

So far, I’ve covered two chairs, and these chair covers were super quick, once I figured out how to fold the fabric for the top pleated portion. It took me two nights (one each night), and probably about 1-2 hours each, longer for the first one, shorter for the second when I knew what I was doing. I managed to make them in time to have my sister and her now husband (then boyfriend) over for dinner in July when he was home on leave.

The only complaint I have is that the ties are not exactly perfect for this chair. I put the forward ones–the ones for the front legs–exactly where the pattern said to, and they’re a little too far back. It was good that I had left the ribbon really long, and was able to still tie it around the front leg to stay.

I have two more chairs to cover, and will probably use a stripe pattern I saw at Ikea, or a faux bois that I saw. I’m still undecided, which is why I still have two more to cover.

As a final note, the photos in this post were taken by my mister as he has decided to make photography his hobby, and he loves encouraging me so he’s going to (hopefully) be taking my finished object pictures for me. We’re still working on the concept of photo styling, but without his help I’d have no photos to post tonight.

And now, I leave you with the sickeningly sweet photo of my sister and her new husband. Worth all the stress that I’ve had for the last month. Love you!

Sep 05 2011
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Mend it Monday

Mend it Monday — Darn socks!

Three Darned Socks

Holey socks have become usable darned socks.

One of the burdens of being one who wields needle and thread is I am also the designated clothing repair expert of the house. After I left home and went to college, my mother would still patch something up if I couldn’t, but now I live about four hours away. Much too far for a ripped stitch.

So began my most recent quest to repair a pair of pants and three pairs of socks for my sometimes-celebrated Mend it Monday. The pants were easy, as they were just a ripped stitch.

For those who are uninitiated, when you repair a sock, it is called darning. I previously bought a wooden darning egg from Arcata’s Fabric Temptations and I always have tapestry/yarn needles around; all that was left was for me to do was to learn how to darn socks. I had never done so before but I was feeling impatient, so I just glanced at a few diagrams and had at it.

Here’s the breakdown of my slapdash way to mend a holey sock (based loosely on the tutorial at the  ZigZag Stitch blog):

  1. Insert wooden darning egg into sock. Stretch the hole over the top of the egg.
  2. Thread yarn or thread onto tapestry needle (or any kind of blunt tipped needle). I used yarn that was split in half because I felt it would last longer, even those these socks aren’t yarn-based. Also, I had matching yarn colors for all three socks.
  3. Insert needle about a quarter-inch or half-inch away from the edge of the hole. Pull through then insert the needle on the other edge of the hole, putting the same distance between where you insert the needle and the hole’s edge.

    In the midst of darning

    Completing the first set of stitches across.

  4. Repeat across. When you’ve finished, run another line of stitches across that are perpendicular to the first set. Weave through the previously laid stitches as you go across.
  5. Weave in or cut loose ends.
Although this may not be the official way to darn a pair of store-bought socks, they fit well and give my three pairs of socks a little longer to live.
Aug 29 2011
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projects, sewing

Twin Monster Sewing Project Complete

Two Kojis - only one can survive!

Koji 1.0 and Koji 2.0 will soon be unleashed into the hands of babes.

From the silly and sarcastic Muppets to the wild rumpus in “Where the Wild Things Are”, children love monsters. One of my favorite books as a very young kid was “There’s a Monster at the End of This Book!” featuring Grover, one of the most endearing monsters of our time (right next to Sweetums).

I want to pass my monster loving ways to the next generation, and, as luck would have it, I found the first of many an opportunity.

My friend Jessica is due to bring twin boys into the world later this year. While monster adoration is not strictly boy territory, I jumped at the opportunity to work on this project for them and wrapped it up this weekend. The pattern comes from one of my favorite pattern books — Wee Wonderfuls.

There are two differences between these nearly identical twin monsters: One has yellow eyes while the other has pink and the spike colors are reversed. If I could do one thing differently, I would likely machine sew the spikes, tail and mouth before sewing the body together. I loathe hand stitching and although the effect is nice, I’m just not good at it.

Koji Profile

The back and side profiles of the Koji twins.

Never having been a little boy, I asked those with experience in such things if my monsters are likely to win the approval of the soon-t0-be-in-this-world twins. So far, the response has been  ”yes,” with a close friend of mine predicting that the boys will keep them at least well into their twenties.

Whether these monsters will survive that long in the chaos that is any child’s playtime is hard to say, but I certainly hope the boys have fun with them.

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Aug 17 2011
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projects, sewing

Sewn monster seeking brother

Grrr

Koji looks mournfully out the window into Eureka's foggy skies ... He knows he has a brother soon to come.

“Koji” is one of 24 patterns in the Wee Wonderfuls book and is made from corduroy, vintage buttons from my grandmother’s sewing drawer, felt and striped flannel. Angry Chicken mentioned a few times how adorable the dolls in Wee Wonderfuls are (which prompted me to seek out the book) and I have to agree. Blogger Hillary Lang  wrote the book and each doll pattern is unique, not just variations on a theme. Upon first seeing the Koji monster pattern, I knew I would have to make one but I didn’t realize when I bought the book that I would be making two.

My friend Jessica became pregnant with twins earlier this year, and I immediately set to crocheting her a bird baby mobile based on a pattern in Amigurumi Two by Ana Paula. If you want to have a project done by the time the baby shower comes around, you have to start early! I did not know the gender of the babies-to-be when I started the mobile, but I figured birds were a safe bet no matter what the kids would be.

Turns out first-time mother Jessica is destined to give birth to two boys (ack!). I knew immediately that matching Kojis would be the answer for my post-baby shower gift. Jessica and her husband are both lovers of all things tie-dye for their babies, and I happened to find hand-painted corduroy fabric from Arcata’s Fabric Temptations that looks a lot like tie-dye. I still need to add the spikes to the first Koji before he is finished, and then I will cut his brother from the same cloth (and potentially give him different colored spikes and eyes).

Until then, Koji 1.0 waits.

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Jan 24 2011
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update

Finally, someplace to work from.

Insert the sound of my hysterical laughing.

As usual, I come back after a six (seven?) month absence, and my previous post is about how I’m going to make more time for blogging.

I guess this post could essentially be the same as the last one, minus the bit about being able to blog on my lunch hour. I still work at the same place; I’m just not allowed to eat lunch at my desk. Which bites, really. But I don’t want to get into that.

In the time since I last posted, anniversaries and holidays have passed, the Mister and I have finally moved out into a place of our own, and I’m slowly getting used to feeling suspiciously like an adult.

The current desk set-up.

The current desk set-up.

I have been unpacking and organizing and trying to get our household all set up. I’ve got my own desk for the first time in four years, and it’s big enough to hold my computer, the sewing machine, and the serger at the same time–though for obvious reasons I can’t use them all at once.

Pincushion close-up.

Close-up on the badly made pincushion.

My first project in the new place was the Weighted Pin Cushion, from the tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew.

I saw it first over at Noodlehead, and I liked it so much it’d been on the top of my to-be-made list since October.

I really didn’t take the care like I should have for the project, but it started with not especially liking my fabrics. I made it because it was useful and because I wanted to try it with not-good stuff before I ordered fabric specifically for it.

I really like the design, and if I hadn’t half-assed it, I’d really like this one. I could see making this for a few of my friends who sew; I think it’d make an excelent gift. When I’m ready, I plan on making matching machine covers and an ironing board cover (matching in that I’ll make those, and a new pincushion, in specially picked fabric), if only to girlify the office that I share with the Mister.

The hardest thing to get used to in the new place? His interest.

I’ll be sewing and all of the sudden he’ll be hovering over my shoulder, watching what I’m doing. It could drive me batty. I’m not used to anyone taking an interest in what I’m doing. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, though.

And he might hover less if I fix the pocket in his favorite shorts.

Jun 19 2010
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update

A Quick Update.

I seriously can’t remember the last time I posted, which is a terrible, terrible thing.

My life has gotten infinitly busier than it was last time I was writing. I now have a full time job working at a law firm, and an insatiable addiction to World of Warcraft.

Which means that I have barely any time to think about crafting, let alone do it. But I think I’m getting into the groove; I’ve been working for a month now and am not exhausted when I come home. There are things I want to make to add to my wardrobe. And I’m so much happier now than I was for the last year, that I finally feel like it’s okay to indulge in new supplies to make things.

I’m going to try to be more regular around here—or at the very least not dissapear for months at a time. Especially since I have a lunch hour in which to expound upon my recent crafty endeavors.

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