In Order

January is the perfect month for organization. At least that’s what the covers of January magazine issues scream. I consider myself well organized. However, our den was in need of some additional storage solutions so I jumped on the organizational bandwagon.

The den suffers from multiple personalities. It is our home office, my studio, and our guest room...and all in the space of 140 square feet. It’s a challenge to fulfill all those storage needs in one small closet but it can be done. The solution? Go to the ceiling with the shelving.

When we first moved in we removed the hanging bar from below the original shelf and added additional shelves to within 18 inches of the floor. It was now time to tap into the almost 30” of lost space above that original shelf. After a quick $20 run to Home Depot I had all the supplies in hand to start the transformation.

Relegated to those high shelves are the seldom used but oh so necessary items: Scrabble for word war death matches when Mom visits, other assorted board games, the “old fashioned” phone for power outages, camera bags, the shredder. Below that, in nicely labeled boxes, are extra office supplies, software CDs, cords and cables.

That means that at eye level, well my eye level anyway, is the most exciting portion of the whole closet…my studio shelves. Fabrics have been neatly folded and arranged. All the notions have been corralled on the shelf below the fabric thanks to two previous IKEA trips. (I think those boring wood drawers will be jazzed up in the future.) Just below that a basket holds all the bits and pieces of previous projects with some space to house a small yarn collection for my new crocheting endeavor. On the floor a plastic tub houses the boring assortment of interfacings, batting, stuffing, etc.

I had to leave one shelf for the everyday office items so into another basket went paper, notebooks, envelopes, stationery, mailing labels. It’s a mini-Staples right in a basket. I do keep eyeing it for possible studio expansion. That, however, is just a dream. We’re trying really hard to work under the premise of use what’s on hand because if it won’t fit in its newly designated space it can’t come home. That doesn’t stop a girl from ordering fabric though! Guess I better work on that!

The Gift of Warmth

Part of my handmade holidays included these three lovelies, inspired by the patchwork beauties Elise created for our craft fair. (I realize it is nearly February and I'm just now sharing more handmade holiday gifts...where does it go?)

Each scarf features fabric from one of Joel Dewberry's three fabulous lines for Westminster/Rowan. The patchwork was pieced onto flannel and backed with a wool blend. Measuring 6 inches wide and nearly 60 inches long these scarves perfectly marry beauty and brawn.

Now three friends face the long, cold days of a Michigan winter in style. Well, more style really. These are some pretty stylish ladies I call friends.

chocolate & pink

Birthdays: a great excuse for eating cupcakes for breakfast. These were made from my favorite Dowd & Rogers gluten-free cake mix and liberally iced with peppermint buttercream frosting. Delicious. There was a minor incident during their preparation. I put them in the oven Wednesday night and then left them on the counter to cool while I headed to the basement to start my Project Runway sew-along project. Apparently the cats like them as much as I do because there were only eleven left when I returned. Little rats.

After last week's outcome I thought some redemption sewing was in order. In spite of my un-hip fabric choice, the wide leg lounge pants were actually quite flattering and incredibly comfortable, so I tackled the pattern again. This time I paired one of my favorite Heather Ross prints with yummy Denyse Schmidt chocolate dots. I didn't have quite enough yardage so I pieced together the two fabrics, using the chocolate dots for a wide cuff and waist band.

All that pink and brown is making my mouth water. I think it's time for another cupcake.

Light the Candles

Happy Birthday, Elise...a truly funky & delightful friend and partner in all things crafty!

On Order

With my Singer and I requiring a break after our weekend project and my new and awesome toy on backorder (hints here, here, and here) crafting is on a bit of a hiatus for me. That, however, does not prevent planning for the other projects on my selfish crafting list. I’ve had my eye on fabrics from the Nigella line for my Sophia and Weekender bags and was just waiting for a sale. Luckily, I landed myself at one fabulous sale yesterday.


The top two fabrics (primrose on the left and passion vine on the right) will become the Weekender and Sophia bags. The two fabrics on the bottom (grandiflora on the left and starflower tile on the right) are yet to be determined projects. They coordinate so beautifully with my other choices I just couldn't pass them up. How could I? They combine everything I love: any shade of green, florals, fabrics, and a great deal!

Pillow Talk

It was woman versus machine. At times it seemed that machine would triumph but with enough cursing woman finally prevailed to finish the big dot pillows!

The pattern was easy as can be: make a big piece of patchwork, cut it into circles, attach to pillow tops with Therm O Web, zig-zag around circles....And this is where things came to a screeching halt. My Singer refused to do a zig-zag stitch. It was as if she knew I was thinking of retiring her. I begged and pleaded with her to just finish stitching these eight circles and we'd go back to a straight stitch to finish the pillows. For several hours I struggled with getting the stitching done. In that time the pleading became cursing with a detour straight into threats of launching her out of our top floor window. My stubborness finally wore her down and with fantastic results.


I did make a few changes to the pattern. My pillows are 24" square with four 7.5" circles rather than 28" square with nine 8" circles. I also put my circles on at a bit of an angle. Hardly groundbreaking, I know, but I like the result. For extra cozy softness I also added a layer of flannel facing.

As fairy tales always teach us...good does triumph over evil. In this case good also adds a nice punch of graphic color to the couch, just what it needed.

Paint, paint and more paint

Holy moly, what a weekend. H and I spent the entire three days working on getting his bachelor condo into selling shape. Given the sad state of the market we didn't want to invest a lot of cash but something had to be done. The kitchen is the real problem. H has been in deep denial about it; to him it's a rustic kitchen from a mountain lodge and he just doesn't get why anyone might think it was somewhat lacking. The transformation is not yet complete so no after photos, but here is a peek at it in an undeniable state of before:



See what I mean? Ugly beyond belief. And that brick is cemented to the wall. I toyed with removing it, but we don't have time to deal with the consequences if it destroys the wall. Instead, both the brick and the cupboards have received two coats of heavy-duty primer and two coats of semi-gloss in Country Stove White. One more coat on the cupboards and they will be done. We picked out new white appliances at the Sears outlet store that will be delivered next week. Some brushed nickel hardware for the cupboards and stainless steel outlet covers and I think we will have brought it forward in time at least 30 years.

The rest of the condo is fine, it just needs new carpet and a little paint. After seeing the amazing paint effects happening at Ubercrafty, I am tempted to do something fun but will probably cave to our realtor's wishes instead. Oh, and my new lounge pants? Perfect for painting.

Project Wednesday

So, who thinks that the above photo is:

(a) My mom headed to a dinner party circa 1975?
(b) Me wearing my mom's clothes from 1975?
(c) My new lounge pants made from one of my recently thrifted sheets?

It all started out so well. Project Runway re-runs were on the TV, my In Stitches was opened to the lounge pants page, I had just unpacked my new and awesome toy (hint: it's the dawn of a new age of crafting around here) and had my awesome Echino print ironed and ready to cut. Then I read the directions (for the first time) only to discover I needed 2.75 yards of fabric rather than the 2 yards that I had purchased (fiddlesticks!) With Tim Gunn in the background encouraging me to "make it work," and happy that I at least got to use fabric rather than candy wrappers, I rummaged through my fabrics to find an appropriately sized piece. This retro forest print is a sheet from my recent thrift store tour of the lower mainland.

I used the hemmed edge as the cuff and cut each leg out as a single piece. Five speedy seams and a package of elastic later (I hate drawstring waists) and I had myself a pair of lounge pants. However, as comfortable as they are, I fear that they may be somewhat, shall we say, un-hip. In fact, my first horror-stricken thought upon seeing myself in a mirror was that they looked like hippie patchwork pants. I'm a little surprised that I am showing them, but alas, here we are. Me in all my un-hip glory..



Next week I'm making a pincushion. Sigh.

You Be The Judge

This is my very boring lampshade on my very cool lamp base. It needs help.

With two widths of green grosgrain ribbon and a handful of paperclips I’ve done two mockups of how the lampshade might look. The one on the left is a simple arrangement of thin zigzags with the top and bottom of the shade finished with the wider ribbon. The one on the right is a random arrangement of horizontal stripes using both ribbon widths.

Finally, there is the fabric option. Using a favorite Joel Dewberry print, Sunburst, in what has oddly become a favorite color, pink, I’ve simply banded the middle.

Now for the hard part, making a decision. To put it all in context the lamp sits on a table behind my cream colored couch that will soon wear my big dot pillows. Which option would you choose?

Zap!

Another new bag - I picked it up during our Funky & Delightful field trip to Craftland last month. It was made by Michael Wherley but I couldn't find a link. This weekend was busy; I really needed to channel my super powers to get everything done. I took down the Christmas tree (yes, I always wait until mid-January, but it doesn't go up until the weekend before Christmas so I feel no shame). Saturday involved a Funky & Delightful road trip that included a stop at IKEA where much goodness was purchased, including additional fabric storage solutions for me. We also made another significant purchase, but we'll wait until we have all the goods in hand before we reveal them. Let's just say we hope they will do for our crafting what the Batmobile does for crime fighting.

My brother and I saw I Am Legend when I was home. He is a huge Sci-Fi/fantasy fan and clued me into the fact that the original story is very different from the new movie version. I was intrigued so I picked up a copy at the used bookstore and started reading it Saturday night before going to bed. Very, very bad idea. End of the world, last man on earth holed up in his fortress-like house while vampires howl outside = nightmares. Good book when read by daylight but I am banning it from the nightstand.

School starts again for me tomorrow, providing the huge snowstorm that is currently predicted doesn't cause class to be canceled. I'm already looking forward to my Wednesday night Project Runway sew-along.

Putting it to use

Fabric from my ever-growing stash, that is. Last night was Project Runway which means that it is also project night in my house. It's kind of geeky, but I love the idea of picking a new project and pushing myself to complete it in a single evening with the TV on in the background. So, every Wednesday for the rest of the season I intend to complete an entirely new project.

In the spirit of Tory's selfish crafting month mandate I made myself a new winter bag. I've had this Amy Butler fabric around for a while and the colors finally seemed to fit my mood (plus it was on the top of a pile) so I put it to use. I used the Pleated Beauty Bag pattern in Bend the Rules Sewing and it went together pretty quickly. I didn't have any rigid interfacing, so I used four layers of Pellon 40. It's still a little saggy, next time I'll use something stiffer.


Remember this fabric? Perfect for a lining, don't you think? My only complaint about this bag is that it is gigantic. Much bigger than I expected. Strange, because I made a Charming Handbag last summer and it was much smaller than I expected. Maybe the next one will be just right.

Help!

My sewing machine is feeling its age. When I bought it four years ago its only purpose was to make curtains for my new condo. My mom was going to figure heavily in that endeavor; I just planned to iron hems for her. It would then live in a closet until new curtains were needed or maybe a new set of pillows. Previous experience with sewing involved a machine needle to the thumbnail so my investment in a sewing machine was minimal, less than $100. It did everything and more than I ever thought I might want to do...and I didn't want to do much.

Over those four years I evolved from someone who never sews to someone who sews nearly everyday and wants to do more. In the last four months of craft fair preparation and holiday gift making I've pushed my poor little Singer to the edge. I now spend more time trying to make it sew well than actually sewing. I think it's safe to say sewing has become more than a passing hobby for me...it's time to make an investment.

But, oh, the choices out there! I had no idea! Buying a new sewing machine is akin to buying a new car. Every bell and whistle is available to you, it's just a matter of how much you want to spend. Being a bit overwhelmed by the options, and a big list maker, I set about deciding what I had to have in a new machine.

(1) Automatic or near fool proof manual tension setting
(2) Ability to sew on a wide range of fabrics from upholestry to
knits to sheers
(3) Power to sew through many layers of the above fabrics
(4) Automatic button holes in a variety of styles
(5) Variety of stitches or alphabets to embellish my projects - no
need for embroidery
(6) Ability to lower feed dogs
(7) Reliable, reliable, reliable!

I've taken the Husqvarna Viking Emerald 118, Emerald 183, and Platinum 775 for a test drive at the brand new sewing center in my area. (Very happy about this new store!) At three very different prices I'm not sure what to do. Even the "low end" is a big step-up from my Singer. I want to make an investment to last a lifetime and not regret or wish for more a year from now. I'd also like to take some Berninas for a spin to see how the two brands compare.

So, dear reader, I'd like to hear from you. What do you sew on? What do you love about it? What drives you crazy about it? What feature does it have that never gets used? What feature do you wish you'd gotten? Your comments will be helping me sew up a Funky & Delightful fabric storm in 2008! Thanks!

Piled high and deep

I'm back from Vancouver. What a great trip; lots of time for visits with my family, two sleep-overs with my oldest girl friends, Mom's cooking and endless cups of tea, you get the picture. Good stuff.
Since I arrived with a suitcase stuffed with presents (including a quilt) I had anticipated that I would return a little lighter. Instead, I nearly had to pay an excess baggage charge at the airport for my overflowing suitcase. What sort of retail escapades did I get up to, you might ask? As is usual on my trips home I stocked up on Murchie's tea, new Canadian literature and Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks. But a half dozen paperbacks, 2 pounds of tea and a handful of magazines doesn't take up that much space. There were a few lovely gifts that added a little bulk but there was still room for a small child (a fact that I mentioned to my 3 year-old nephew, much to his consternation).



In fact, I had so much room in my suitcase that I thought I would make a quick trip at the local Sally Ann to check out vintage linens. It was pretty tiny and I didn't find anything, but I had the taste so I kept going. I think I hit every branch within a 20 km radius of my Mom's condo. My mom kept telling me I had "interesting tastes" when I would pull out yet another vintage sheet from the endless racks of linens. All told I came home with 5 bed sheets, 4 pillow cases, 2 table cloths and 2 large pieces of fabric (check the Flickr page for details). A good haul and there was still plenty left for others.



We also finally made it to one of the many Punjabi fabric stores listed in the Surrey yellow pages. Gorgeous stuff. There were bolts and bolts of fabrics for Punjabi suits, saris, men's clothing, blankets and bedding. And then I found the remnant bins. Six dishwasher-sized cardboard boxes overflowing with scraps of up to 3 yards in length for $1.99 per piece. At least, that was what was marked on the boxes, but it turned out it was a "buy one, get two free" deal. I paid $4.24 for six large pieces of fabric. This was seriously the best fabric deal I have ever gotten and you all know I love a bargain.



I now officially have a lot of fabric. As in need more storage space, cannot possibly find more room, must place an immediate moratorium on new purchases, this is getting embarrassing "a lot of fabric". Guess I'd better get sewing.

My first quilt

The finished quilt exceeded my expectations and Mom loved it. So worth staying up past midnight the night before my flight to work on it. I used the three pillow fabrics plus an additional red/yellow and a coordinating striped cotton for the back and binding. I wanted it a little bigger than the measurements in Bend the Rules, it ended up being about 52 inches square. It was tied using six strands of embroidery floss approximately 7 inches apart. The fabrics were so thick that I think machine quilting would have made it too stiff. It turned out super soft and just the right weight and heft for a cozy nap on the couch.


I actually serged all the pieces together which was really fast and solved the problem of the fabrics fraying and leaving threads everywhere. After I pieced it together and tied it, I sewed on the binding and then serged around the whole quilt for good measure (have I mentioned how much I love my serger?) Despite my late night I ran out of time so I took it with me and finished the binding by hand at my Mom's. Holy cow did that take a lot of time - three hours of hand sewing and my index finger was pretty sore by the time I was done (note to self, this is what thimbles are for so buy one already).

It got a little hairy when I was putting the layers together, but I took someone's suggestion that I use safety pins to hold them together and it was a big help, as was stretching and pinning the backing fabric down (to a full sized futon mattress) to keep it flat. The whole process was very pleasing, I loved seeing the pattern emerge and watching the quilt top grow as I sewed the strips together. Yes, quilt #1 was a success and I'm already planning the next one.

Michigan or Bust

It was a big day for Olive and Archie…their first flight! Looking dapper in their scarves they arrived bright and early at Logan Airport. (Though truth be told it was just early as no light is to be found at 5 am!)

After making it through the world’s shortest security line a stop at the Starbucks counter was needed to counteract the effects of rising at 3 am. (Don’t worry, only the adults had caffeine.)

As often happens the flight was delayed. To help pass the time Olive and Archie watched other planes, had a ride on the luggage cart, and caught up on their magazine reading.

Finally, it was flight time! Archie loved the speed of take-off while Olive preferred the roar of the landing.

After deplaning, it was over to the luggage carousel to pick up the suitcases.

For the final leg of their journey a rental car was needed. The driving age in Michigan is sixteen so they pretended to drive while the trunk was loaded.

After such a long and full day a good night’s sleep was in order. (It’s always good to get lots of sleep before seeing the 2 ½ year old Olive and Archie are going to live with!)

Happily, the Lou absolutely loves Olive and Archie. (Or as they are now called…Baby and Boy. Here they are pre-construction.) As she pulled them out of the box she was giggling joyously. Quickly their heads were on pillows and blankets were pulled to chins. Looking seriously around the room we were warned, “Shhh, babies are sleeping.” After their naps Olive and Archie were loaded into a new stroller from Nana and rambunctiously careened throughout the house. There were frequent potty stops for Olive and Archie. I had no idea I had constructed dolls with tiny bladders!

For more photos stop by the Flickr pool.

A Declaration

Crafting has been a crazy whirlwind since September. It started with craft fair preparations that slid straight into handmade for the holidays. Once the winds subsided though the craft fair wares had found great homes and I had a fabulous pile of handmade gifts* for Christmas. A great success!

However, the time has come to focus on my craft wish list. And, oh, is it long! I must finish my big dot pillows, dress up a boring lampshade, and make my own pair of lounge pants. Then I can move along to the new patterns found under my Christmas tree: Amy Butler's Sophia and Weekender bags. (I'll need those to focus on my goal of more weekend travel, right?) And if I have great new travel bags I'm going to need a new toiletry bag. Then there are the projects just beginning to nibble at the back of my brain: a quilted throw for the living room, applique initial pillows for the boring couch in the den/guest room/studio, and some sort of fabulous wall treatment for a wall in the living room. And that, I'm sure, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Therefore, I herby declare January to be Selfish Crafting Month. Care to join me?

*To be revealed in upcoming posts.

A New Year and New Goals

I'm more of a goal setter than a resolution maker. If you peel away the layers of either I'm sure they're the same at the core. I just like the idea of goal setting better. It seems to be more fluid than making a resolution. Resolutions are make or break propositions. Goals provide me the option to change them as necessary to get what I want out of life.

So for now here are my goals for 2008:

• A more funky & delightful wardrobe in my closet
• Be gift ready for every occasion
• Learn to crochet. (This goal will now be easier thanks to these books from my sister. )

• Tackle a quilt project
• Write regularly
• Take more weekend trips, including regular Kripalu visits
• Be more green (with the help of these I'll be stylish too!)

Happy new year and good luck on your 2008 goals!