Under Construction

Actually capturing the mythical "evening light" in a photo shoot. Hooray!

Ok, maybe you can't really tell but I thought the light looked cool. I was trying to get some photos of a picnic blanket I made for Handmade Parade. Right now I've got some cards and book clocks up for sale over there but next month will be picnic stuff.

Biscuit kindly did a test run and found the picnic blanket suitable for teddy bear picnics. Even the stripy back was okay.

The blanket is also foldable.

This is one of those projects that came out exactly like I wanted (after I had a fight with my sewing machine over the binding). I have been saving the thrifted sheets for ages (gee, do you think I like yellow?) and I love the stripy sheet on the back. The "batting" is a thrifted flannel sheet making this blanket a perfect weight for picnics. If it gets cold at your picnic, you can snuggle up. Not likely here as it's going to be ONE HUNDRED AND SIX degrees tomorrow. You'd think I'd be used to it. I live in a hot part of the country.

This is the first project in a while that I'm kinda hoping doesn't sell--I really like it--but I DO NOT need more quilts. Especially in 106 degree weather. So it'll be at Handmade Parade in a week or so.

Stay cool, wherever you are!

Team effort (in need of hemming)

This is my favorite project of late. No, not the kid. Or the mess on the deck. The dress.
Last week, inspired by Lotta's book (which I read in the bookstore and really ought to buy) Biscuit and I did some potato printing with some otherwise useless, sprouting potatoes.

We just cut some lines in the potatoes (Biscuit is learning to cut) and then brushed on some dye. I meant to use ink but accidentally used dye and it worked fine as long as you didn't let it pool in the grooves. The brown (above) was dye and the black (below) was screenprinting ink. You can see how the black is crisper.

After stamping along the hem, Biscuit could NOT resist making "dots" with the brush and, thus, the decor on the bodice.

This would have been the only shot of the dress because OF COURSE even though she chose AND painted the fabric she REFUSED to wear the dress. Then tonight she randomly threw me a bone and tried it on. For the sewists among you, I used the patten Simplicity 4206 (it's a Sewing for Dummies pattern). You'll note that the pattern is 1) for a shirt and 2) not for knits. I ignored that, lengthened it and it worked just fine. I do think I should put in a serger rolled hem.

One last shot

And finally, you have about 24 hours to enter the Pay it Forward contest (scroll down) and win yerself some JAM! Mostly because I, like commenter Sassy Pants, do not like eating jam. I only like making jam. So take some jam off my hands people.

Pleasant kitchen curtains

Our neighbors got an adorable puppy. Which has led me to spend a great deal of time in their backyard. And to notice just how well they can see straight into our curtainless kitchen. Where I often sprint past in the morning half naked running from the bedroom to the dryer.

Before (hi trashcans!):

This photo also shows: 1. I should really clean my kitchen and 2. I am not utilizing the decorative shelving I requested in the kitchen remodel to its fullest potential.

For weeks now I've been meaning to work on that shelving and create some vignettes and add some color to our cream and wood and blueish gray kitchen. Then I realized I needed curtains too.

After (sorry for the bad photo):

Details:
I can't figure out the text wrapping thing in typepad since their "upgrade" but let's ignore that and look at some close ups of my favorite vignettes.  You'll no doubt recognize the embroidery as Alicia's  "Pleasant Kitchen Dishtowel" pattern. You can download the free pdf from the sidebar on her blog.

If you need more freebee, cute embroidery patterns, check out Pimp Stitch, a (not quite ready to launch but already offering free patterns) embroidery website started by my cool Craft Mafia friends. 

Ok, back to me and my kitchen ;)

I was trying to only use items on hand but there was a craft show going by the grocery store yesterday so I bought this bowl and saucer (plants included!) for $6.50. I couldn't resist--the blue-gray is perfect.

I bought the Julia Child cookbook at the library book sale a few weeks ago because I loved how it looked and thought it would be a good book to have on hand. It's even perfect now that I am trying to do orange accents. The flowers don't match but they're what's in bloom in the yard.

And you didn't think I'd let you leave without a few shots of the puppy:

See why I've been hanging out next door?

 

Now my sister has a personal tailor (and a bird update)

I don't have any brothers and only have one sister. She is eight years younger than me and has bright red, beautiful hair. When she and Biscuit are out and about I think everyone assumes she's a young mother and I'm just along for the ride.  They look alike those blue eyed, red headed girls.

And I guess they both like the long top/short dress over pants look.  Laura (my sister) found this great print fabric on sale for $10 at Urban Outfitters (it was a curtain) and I had presciently purchased a pattern I knew she would like so we had a little sewing weekend when she came into town Saturday.

Or, rather, I had a little sewing weekend. Laura is not a sewist. She did cut out the pattern pieces and then handed it off to me to stitch while she amused Biscuit.  Mr. H unfortunately spent the long weekend attached to the couch (he's sick, not lazy).

Speaking of daddies attached to couches. When I picked Biscuit up from school today she was playing doll house and had several dolls standing on dressers and tables and one man doll lying across the couch. Needless to say, that was daddy. He wasn't feeling good.

Which brings me back to Laura. Hopefully she doesn't get sick because this coming weekend she's running her first marathon! Rock'n'Roll Marathon in San Diego. If I ever do another marathon (I ran two several years ago) San Diego would be it. I'm sure she'll do awesome!
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no natural segue available
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So my neighbor is back in town and I mentioned the chicken that moved in. Turns out it is a wild hen that tried to adopt her flock but was an outcast. Word is that her eggs are almost certainly not fertile (rooster doesn't like her any more than the rest of the flock) which is a shame since the other neighbor and I had already agreed to split the (EIGHT) chicks we were expecting (8 eggs so far).  Now I'm just going to wait 2 more weeks to be SURE they don't hatch and then remove the eggs. After that, we can start eating the eggs. As soon as we can get her to lay somewhere more convenient than between the air conditioning ducts.

And, speaking of birds, the four baby birds we found in a nest in the front yard are suddenly gone. And the nest is quite damaged. That can't be good :(

Flour Child

Last Friday Biscuit was in a fashion show.  It was sponsored by the food science department and the fashion had to be made out of "food or food packaging." I had big plans involving corn husks but it was a giant relief when I found two vintage flour sacks at an antique store the weekend before the show.  I immediately knew exactly how I wanted the dress to look. And, amazingly, it worked out.

Even though Biscuit couldn't stop talking about the upcoming fashion show being the center of attention is not something she enjoys (see: hysterical crying over happy birthday singing at her party). I knew I would have to walk the runway with her so I threw together a coordinating skirt.

I was very proud that she walked the runway by herself all the way to the twirl. At which point she realized, hey, there's an audience, and demanded to be carried the rest of the runway.
You can see we were surrounded by greatness.The "orange bag" dress to our right won first and "miss sushi" to our left won second.  That sushi dress was AMAZING in it's detail.  That parasol is made on a frame chopsticks with rice bags as paper. The green fringe on her dress is folded twist ties. Even the shoes are handmade.  Biscuit received an honorable mention, mostly for being cute.

Bad photo of Biscuit but let's examine the details (this project took up all my crafting time last week so we need to focus!). The bag, from a vintage sugar bag (same antique store), cotton batting and red lining fabric from Ikea.  Filled with two mini baguettes we made for the occasion. The necklace(s) are strung bread pieces, Biscuit 'designed' the pendant and cut out the little leaf shapes. She also rolled the "snakes" we baked into bracelets. She ate a bracelet before the show and snacked on the necklace post-show.

See? Necklace, partially eaten. You can also sort of see the cool logo from the flour sack.

Here's the back of the dress.

It was so fun to have a project that I was 'pushed' to do (because I signed up for the show ages ago and couldn't let my friends down) that then came out exactly as I wanted. And now Biscuit has another summer dress to wear--just as soon as the weather warms up again.

Collars, sleeves and buttons, oh my!

I consider myself a novice at sewing apparel. I typically avoid anything with collars, sleeves or buttons. In fact, I don't think I've ever sewn a collar.

So this dress was a bit intimidating. I had the mint green striped seersucker in my drawer and yesterday got a bee in my bonnet to make it into an Easter dress.  Is there anything cuter than a toddler in seersucker?

I found a pattern that I'd bought at the thrift store ages ago and it was exactly what I had in mind, poufy sleeves, collar, gather at the yoke.  Perfect.

I followed the directions very carefully and very closely. I practiced my button holes several times on scrap.  And lo and behold, it came together perfectly during ONE (3.5 hour!) nap.  Bright green buttons were a little gift from Peptogirl.

In the interest of full disclosure, I had to bribe her with a cookie to get her to try on the dress.  This is what she wears when I let her choose her own clothes.

And now for the three Pay it Forward winners:
Jill Swensen (her wall decals are SO cute--check them out)
Deb Troti--a fellow Sacramento Craft Mafia member!
Richelle F (who is a apparently a math geek. I guess I am too, I know what an actuary is)
Turns out the first three commenters won but I did have a random drawing.  So, email me your mailing address and a little surprise will arrive soon(ish).  And don't forget to pay it forward on your own blog if you've got one. Thanks for playing!

A second life for the seventies embroidery

Wow, didn't mean to leave that "random things" post up for quite so long. But I've loved your comments and reassurance that we're all a little bit weird. I also enjoyed hearing that readers have the exact same embroidery of the bonnet girl and her cat--how cool. 

My mom is one of the most creative, least crafty people I know.  I can't imagine her sewing, knitting or embroidering so when, during my last visit, she handed me this embroidery she did I knew it was special.

I simultaneously decided that Biscuit's crib quilts really don't work on her big girl bed. So in a stash busting move I made this random quilt. I love using fabrics from other projects, the cotton from her bedroom curtains, the linen from her dress, the pink from her cousin's quilt etc.   I also worked in a small, useless, birth announcement style embroidery I did and a paper pieced quilt square from Angry Chicken's Mailorder.

The whole quilt top took only a few hours. It's definitely wonky but it'll do. I plan to back it one of my childhood sheets (the matching yellow check pillowcase is on the front) and I'll fill it with polyester and machine quilt it for maximum washability. Soon.....
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On an unrelated note, if you could check back here tomorrow, that would be great. One of the things that's been keeping me from crafting and blogging is a business plan competition I'm entering with my friends. We're the long shot contestants for sure and we've also waiting until the veeeeery last minute to pull together our executive summary. We could really use some quick'n'dirty market research so I'm going to try to pull together a fun, online survey (with prizes) and post a link tomorrow. Hopefully.
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Back to crafting. Tutorials seem popular and I have a few ideas up my sleeve but need a kick in the pants to finish them up.  Which would you like to see?
How to make a quillow (lap blanket that folds into a pillow)
How to make a log cabin square
Very basic quilting techniques (videos)
Something else I haven't thought of yet
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I've got the Oscars on Tivo and my laundry heap is calling. Happy Monday to ya!

Bloomers and a list'o'random

I had grand plans of submitting 3 ideas to the Pillowcase Challenge and totally kicking Lauren's butt. But... All I got done were these bloomers (which I am pleased with) but I think Lauren has me beat. Her tote is awwwwwwsome (as Biscuit would say) (side note: I have all the folks at work saying "awwwwwsome" in this dramatically drawn out way that Biscuit has perfected. So funny. Must capture on video)

Anyway, the tote is awesome but the bloomers are ok too. The lacy edge of the pillowcase made a perfect trim for the bloomers and the fabric is super duper soft from years of washings.

The bloomers are a little longer than I was planning, but such is the risk of sizing clothing for a sleeping child.  The serger did a bang up job on these and they will be perfect as my tall little girl's dresses all get too short.

In unrelated news:

• It was a looooong week at work and I'm sooooo happy for a 3-day weekend (that probably goes without saying)
• Mr. H has strep throat (bummer) (also, does not make for romantic Valentine's Day)
• Biscuit had what I might call her first "full blown, I'm two"  temper tantrum last night after I wouldn't let her sleep in her sleeping bag that she got for Valentine's Day from Grandma and Grandpa.
• These songs are fun (for kids and adults)
• I read a lot of blogs that aren't on my blogroll. Here's one: Aunty Cookie
• This is what Biscuit's dream sleeping plan looked like last night (except that she wouldn't go to sleep)

Have a great weekend.

Over and out

Loot

You can read the blow by blow of our trip to Portland here but I can summarize: it was a trip any husband would hate. Three days, four fabric store trips, several kid/toy store trips, one bead store, two yarn stores, umpteen bus rides to the 'burbs for more fabric stores and two trips to the donut store. Well, the boys might have liked the donut store.

This pile is from the Knittn Kitten. Wow is that one ugly website but one fantastic idea for a store. I totally want to open one in Sacramento. Let's call that business plan #687 that will not be realized. (if you are an angel investor, call me, I have several business plans...)  Right, the loot. You can see the prices. The cheater cloth in the back was $3 for 2 yards. Bargain city and who can resist a gingham eyelet?

Then we went to Fabric Depot

If you read a lot of crafty blogs you've no doubt seen the Portland blog crew going on and on about Fabric Depot. It's worth it. It's not inexpensive but they have EVERYTHING (except silicone impregnated ripstop nylon--sorry, dad).  For MLK Day EVERYTHING was 30% off. I think I showed a lot of restraint. The cherry is a baby wale corduroy for a coat or jumper for Biscuit. The muslin and canvas are for a plan I'm hatching to screen print my own fabric. The toweling is just because I've never seen it anywhere but online so had to get some.  The tools, oh, I don't know, 50% off, I'm married to a woodworker, a half yard didn't seem excessive... And no sales tax in Oregon!

All the light colored fabrics are in the wash now. I'm getting better about washing fabrics before putting them away. Nothing more annoying than having inspiration strike and not having your fabric pre-washed.

So it's time to switch the load to the dryer and watch some Project Runway. I love my DVR. Happy Thursday!

Maybe I can call in "rain"

The radio announcer said that "Biblical proportions might be overstating it" (ya think?) but the Iowa caucus coverage was preempted by coverage of the storm that's coming...any minute now. They suggested everyone stay off the roads tomorrow. You think I can call in rain?

If I do, you can bet I'll be home with my new (on loan) serger. Oh, and my husband and child. If I was home, I would also be able to spend the whole day in my brand new orange pajama pants. (not the most attractive photo, sorry) (also, I think I had them on backwards) But they are very comfy!

ANYWAY for those of you out there thinking "hmm, sergers, sound neat but WAAAAAAY too complicated," take heart. The manual looks super duper complicated but I read through (most of) it very slowly, and carefully, with wine and then I slowly, and carefully followed the threading instructions and then I stuck in a piece of fabric and it just sewed. And the edge was all professional looking (if you can ignore the white, blue and gold color palate the loaner machine came with).

The little cutter device seems dangerous but it is so amazing and the fabric cuts right off and makes a neat little pile in the special attachment created to catch the fabric squiggles. I haven't really got the hang of accurate seam allowances or sewing straight but I'm working with forgiving materials and not worrying about it.

If you're in the market for a serger, so far I can recommend the New Home MyLock. I looked online and it looks like it's now sold under the Janome name. It didn't work with heavy twill (but I didn't even try adjusting the tension so that may not be fair) and other than that it's been great.

And, since I can't exactly call in rain, wish me luck slogging through the traffic tomorrow. If you don't hear from me, the house has probably floated away.