These are too fun! I have been coming up with excuses for why I need to make more: birthdays, congratulations, just-because, dental visits, Tuesdays, etc.
Here are the latest additions, in Freshcut by Heather Bailey fabrics.
You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2007.
Great fabric + great pattern = lovely afternoon.
I didn’t follow the pattern exactly (big shock). I left out the Timtex, because I wanted it kind of slouchy (mission accomplished!). I’m considering adding a small tab closure at the top to keep it together. I also skipped the grommets for the straps.
The pattern is the Betty Shopper by Amy Butler. The fabric is Echino by Etsuko Furuya. I bought mine from Reprodepot (or was it PurlSoho?) a few months ago (not sure if they still have it). I lined it with yellow cotton.
Side one
Side two
Lining
Thanks ladies for all of your help! This was really a team effort. You helped and you probably didn’t even know it!
(scroll down for photos)
I could write the following letter:
“Dear K,
I wanted to make something for your sweet new baby, but I wasn’t sure what.
I had a preliminary design. Then I saw some nice fabric in Amisha’s photostream. She told me where she got it. So I made up some blocks, but they weren’t all going together well. I was stumped.
Luckily, Melissa left a lovely little comment. Her words triggered an idea. I then went to Etsy to refine some ideas.
So here you go.
This is a baby-changing mat for the moment. Or maybe a variation on a breastfeeding blanket.
When little P gets a bit older, you can detach the strap (also maybe remove the hooks/eyes…choking hazard?). Then it can be a tea-party blanket. Or a nap time talisman. Or a cape for Adventure Time.
And if you don’t love it, then please pass it along so that someone can get some use out of it. All happiness and good wishes for this new adventure.”
Here it is: finished. Dimensions: 44.5 inches long, 17.5 inches tall. Strap is attached to blanket with hooks/eyes. Strap doubles over on itself and secures with velcro.
Quilted with white thread.
The strap from the bottom (velcro is at far left). I used muslin for the backing. It will soften with washing, perfect for little soft baby backs. My niece had a changing pad that was plastic, which is smart as it was easily washable (she hated it because it was always cold).
Close-up of how the strap attaches to the little blanket.
All rolled up and ready to go!
I was planning on making a baby quilt for my friend K. We knew months ago that she was having a girl, and what the little girl’s name would be. So I knocked together a quilt plan: Lazy log cabin with initials. (Ignore the colors.)
It didn’t quite turn out the way I planned, though. So now I’m debating between making her a wallhanging using just the initial letters (and not the other blocks) or just buying something. I have asked K if there is anything specific she would like…
Plus, are any of you scared to give something that is matched to your tastes? I’m cautious about sending a wallhanging when I know they have the nursery all set up already. “Here is a gift I have lovingly made but am pretty sure doesn’t match.” Does it matter? Is it the thought that counts? Am I thinking about this just way too much?
I finished my first pouch! It is the baby of two botched projects (the outside was a top and the lining was a jacket).
I was going to make some wraps out of the sari fabric. And I did (out of the blue). But I thought that maybe I’d make a little jacket out of the green.
Oh boy did I.
This turned out so funny, I’m speechless. It went together very quickly (it’s obviously unfinished/unhemmed), so there wasn’t much time down the drain. To be fair, the pattern is made for fleece…
(Sorry for the poor quality of the photos on this blog…I’m still getting the what/how of the new camera.)
I have also been hoping to learn how to make a lined, zippered pouch. I keep seeing them on Amisha’s photostream and they are too cute.
I tried one out and it turned out ok, but it wasn’t really what I was hoping for. The good news is that I found this link, and I think it’s going to be great. I’ll post photos of the finished projects.
You know how you can buy some fabric you really love? And then when you try to use it the project keeps falling flat? How many people finish the stuff and send it off to Goodwill? (I have done this.) And how many of you cut it up and make something else? (I’m going to try to do this…I can’t bear to part with the fabric. I also just can’t bear to look at the project for a few days, at least.)
Here’s the top that (apparently) wasn’t meant to be.
I love the mail. It is a daily Emily Dickinson reminder: “I dwell in possibility.” You never know what lovely thing can show up in your mailbox. Yesterday, I received my first Etsy purchase. Also, there is an option to post a customer appreciation photo when you leave feedback! What a great idea!
A side note about the postal service: We had a phone call telling us to expect an invitation. It turned up three weeks later, with the wrong zip code (it was a Spokane address and a Seattle zip code). It is particularly amazing that it showed up at all, considering that neither of our “legal” names were on it. The person sending it put our nicknames on it. And yet somehow the post office figured it out!
I made the card for my friend G. I’m not sure I’m thrilled with how it turned out, but there it is.
Joann did have the fabric I was looking for. However, I ended up deciding against my original choice in favor of these. I cannot help but think of the quote from the book The Namesake: “A nurse offers to fold up the sari but, exasperated by the six slippery yards, ends up stuffing the material into Ashima’s slate blue suitcase.” I can’t imagine what it must be like to wear this amazing stuff next to your skin. It has to be like creme brulee for breakfast, decadent and perfect.
B was born in South Africa (he moved here when he was 10, so he unfortunately doesn’t have an accent). Last year I was reading a lot of Jhumpha Lahiri and wanted to try making samosas. I’m so glad I did. He walked in the door, smelled them, and then told me stories I’d never heard before. One of my favorites: He was about six years old, and went to an Indian luncheon. He remembers walking around amid all these wonderful flowing red and orange and green dresses which were different from anything his mother and her friends wore: “My mom was wearing something tan.” I thought that was such a beautiful picture, being the height of a child among all that flower-like billowing cloth. The hosts had made special plates of not-as-spicy food for their guests…a whole day of generosity and new discoveries. I’m jealous of memories like that. Needless to say, leftover samosas do not last long in this household.
It is approximately 5:19 am here in Washington state (as I begin to type). I have been awake for most of the night, and the good news is that I have made a little progress on my scarf. (When I was little and an early riser, I received very specific instructions about approved activities: Reading (ok), running (not ok). As I was knitting this morning I thought, if only I had known how to knit back then! It’s a perfect quiet activity.
My friend G’s birthday is next week. This particular friend is very creative, and I’m trying to think up a card to make that is worthy of her. Stay tuned for photos.
On another note, I immensely enjoyed this blog post. For the first time ever I felt that I really loved Spokane, as there is a Michael’s within 10 miles of my house. I had good fun and spent only $2 over my planned budget.
My sister-in-law is getting married next month (any Portland, Oregon suggestions welcome). There is a piece of fabric I have long been eyeing at Joann, but couldn’t come up with anything to make out of it. This morning, about 2:45 am, it came to me. A wrap! I wore one to a wedding in March and it was great. It kept me warm in the morning when the wind was up and kept me from getting a sunburn in the afternoon (my complexion tone is approximately “lightbulb”). (That’s me in blue, below.)
With any luck, by the time the store opens the fabric will still be there. If I can get some and whip up a wrap, I’ll post photos.
The house is quiet, there isn’t any traffic on the street outside. People are sliding slowly into their weekends. All will be well.
I had this idea a few days ago to make a quilt wall. The basic idea is a large swath of fabric and static (flannel) or pins (cotton) to hold squares. This allows you to see the quilt as it is being built; a forest rather than trees view. (Remember the 10-foot rule from Modern Quilt Workshop?)
I sat down to make mine (hemming two sides of what felt like an acre of muslin). My measurements were a bit off (I didn’t actually do any). No biggie, I’m lazy not picky. So I’m sewing along happily (not noticing that my bobbin ran out about three feet back…another story entirely) and I see two little creatures playing outside. We refer to them as rock chucks, but I’m not sure what they really are (anyone?).
I retrieved the camera, which is when they sat still and didn’t do anything cute (naturally). Start sewing again, keeping one eye on them while trying not to sew over my finger). They start playing again. Stop, pick up camera. They stop. Etc.
Sorry: this is blurry.
This happened for a very specific reason. We recently got a new camera, and it came with a setting called Kids&Pets. “It allows you to capture subjects that move around, such as children and pets, without missing photo opportunities.” I had remarked that we really shouldn’t have to pay for that feature, since we have neither kids nor pets. Needless to say, I skipped that section when I read the how-to manual.
And this is why two little animals began to do some very photo-opportunic (it’s a word…as of right now) things outside my glass door. So that I could eat some words.
It was really worth it, though, they made me smile.
Sometimes when great things happen people are surprised: they say things like “I never win anything!” Today I’m feeling thankful for some of the little unexpected things that make me happy.
A friend of my mom’s buys old houses. Inside one of them was this bag (full of vintage patterns…which I passed along, keep it flowing). He gave the bag to my mom, who gave it to me. And I love it, every time I look at it.
I love the red wooden handles: They are worn down and smooth. I get the feeling this bag was carried a lot (what was in it? where was it taken? did the person love it when s/he saw it? did they buy it right away or consider/save up? was it a gift?).
It currently holds my knitting stuff. And when I pick it up, I remember that sometimes lovely things happen for which we didn’t even ask.
My first sister-in-law got married in March. I wanted to make some chic-but-different hair ornaments for myself. I attempted the beaded flowers in a Martha Stewart magazine.
They didn’t really turn out, despite my (many, many) attempts.
Lesson learned, right?
Second sister-in-law is getting married in July.
Just guess as to my big plan. And then guess as to how well it’s turning out.
In other news, I got the loveliest bag of all time from Lotta Jansdotter’s shop. I wanted to personalize it a bit (applique a big flower? embroider a design?) but keep the integrity of the original.
It didn’t turn out quite what I had imagined, but I’m ok with surprises.
the original
the dyes (used all of the grey, a bit (too much) of the blue)
dyeing in a bucket
the final color
…including teetering on a ladder to hang up a quilt.
I am really enjoying seeing everyone’s work on Flickr. I particularly love the Quilt pools, where people make things out of one book.
I have a theory that you can tell a lot about a person (crafter) by what mistakes they are ok leaving. I know for myself which things get ripped out and done again and which things give my projects personality.
I just finished a quilt (conceived March 21, born May 31). It was a lot of work, but somehow it didn’t feel like it. The whole thing seemed to sort of take over. I was just a sewing vehicle (smile).
