Monday, June 6, 2011

Shoes for the Summer


Its June!  High time for a banner change to welcome hot summer days.

After my last post in May about making a pair of shoes for Eden, I've taken on making baby shoes for my Etsy shop.  It's kept me busy (and kept me sane), so I've posted a pic of my favorite pair for the summer.  Its fun, cheery and brings a smile to my face.  A palette of my favorite colors - aqua and red.

These are meant for children, infant to toddler age so they are a little too small for Eden.  But they will make a sweet gift for an expectant mother, or a new mom who's eager to dress up her baby girl.

If you're tired of the ubiquitous Robeez-style shoes out there, these maryjanes are a soft, comfy alternative.

But enough about them....they are in my shop here if anyone's interested.  New tutorial coming up next!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Tiny Steps

Eden & Eliot - ballet skimmer prototype for Eden

I'm not a very good blogger.  Good  bloggers write everyday or every other day, no matter what, and no matter how they feel.

I'm not a good blogger because I run out of things to say. 

With the world abuzz with Japan's tsunami crisis, Libya's revolt, and now Osama bin Laden's demise, I feel like I ought not to be writing about things like making felted flowers and baby shoes.  Which, truthfully, is what I'd been doing while the world churned with incredible newsworthy events.

I've also had various batches of guests in my house since mid February.  All wonderful people, no doubt, but talking to people all day leaves me little time to talk to myself.  Which is what blogging really is. 

So excuses aside, there is no other way to get back into the groove other than just taking the plunge.  Hence, here is my offering - one half of a slipper I am making for Eden, Prototype 1.0.

Its a ballet skimmer I designed for casual wear in the house (or outside, since it has faux suede bottoms.)  The sole has been padded with cotton batting and lined with felted wool.  The top is also felted wool - so the idea is for the foot to be completely cushed up in soft wooly comfort.  Add a pretty little bit of ruffle and an elastic strap, and this little puppy is as stylish as it is practical.

I would make the other shoe, except now that I've figured out how it can be done, I might as well move on to Prototype 2.0.  Oh, forgot to mention that this baby is completely hand-sewn!  I dig the feel of needle and thread, kind of hynoptic and calming for the mind.  Plus, the added advantage of no loud whirring to wake up the baby who has hearing like a bat.

Speaking of naps - there are SO many Mom blogs with fabulous tutorials/projects made by mothers during naptimes.  I honestly don't know how that's possible??  I mean, how long do these kids nap?  And why aren't these mothers running around, loading the washer, washing the dishes, folding the laundry, prepping dinner, shooing in the dog, picking up bits of lunch from the floor etc. etc...... oh, and don't forget, finally updating their Facebook status or writing a random blog post?

But I digress.  Back to the subject of footwear.  I'll be posting a few more examples of shoes I've made... working on a few more styles and colorways for a new launch on my etsy shop.  Oh, did I mention the felted wool comes from recycled sweaters?  (See first post on sweater slippers where this all started.)

Friday, April 15, 2011

Happy Little Red Egg and other Yarn Egg Friends

Eden & Eliot Crochet Yarn Eggs
I picked up my crochet hook again recently after a spell of almost a year.   After my son, Eliot, was born last April, I took to learning how to crochet because of many a late night spent nursing him.  The doctor had us put him on a frequent feeding schedule because of reflux, so I figured it would be less painful for me to stay awake between feeds rather than sleep for 45 minutes at a stretch. 

I made a bushel full of amirugumi toys and soon developed my own patterns.  When he turned a month old, I made the first Happy Little Red Egg.

Yesterday, Eliot turned one year old!  Happy, happy, birthday to my dear boy.

So here are a few other companions to the first Little Red Egg to join in the celebration.  I made Happy Little Pirate Egg, Chef Egg, and Cowboy Egg  - all wonderful characters with alot of personality.

With Easter is just round the corner, I thought it would be fun to have plenty of yarn eggs to hunt down instead of the usual candy variety.  They are easy to make and I put the patterns in my little etsy shop.  My sweet husband suggested I make enough eggs to fill a bed so our kids can jump into a a giant nest full of eggs.  Awesome idea but last I checked, he doesn't crochet, so nope I don't think its going to happen any time soon.

But I think if I knit a few every year, my children will have a basketful of characters by the time they're all grown up.  I can tag them by the year so they can look back and see when each little egg was made.  Now that, I can do.  Happy, happy!



Thursday, March 31, 2011

Reverse Applique and Stenciled Hand-Stitched 4-Panel Skirt with Pin-wheel Design


This is what's been occupying my time for a number of weeks past.

I made myself this cotton jersey knit skirt, 100% hand-stitched with a stenciled and appliqued pinwheel design at the hem.  I wore it last weekend, and to my great delight, it was incredibly comfortable and flattering.  (Which, I have to say, is an achievement that cannot be overstated given my post-baby figure.)

So here I am, wearing my skirt in the photograph above - taken a la Alabama Chanin style - thanks to their two inspirational books, Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style.  I read about their stencil and stitching techniques but figured that if I was going to embark on such an laborious venture, I might as well come up with a design of my own.

Eden & Eliot - right side stenciled and stitched before cutting

It took me one evening to design, cut and stencil, but a good many nights of sewing thereafter.  What I gained from all those nights is a lesson that women throughout the centuries have already known - when your hands keep busy, your mind stays calm.

Eden & Eliot - close up of reverse applique, stitched and stenciled

The month of March has been challenging.  And I've needed some calm evenings.  Its brings me comfort to have something to show for it at the end of this time, however small it may be in the grand scheme of things.

True to my New Year's resolution, I have yet to buy any article of clothing for myself this year.  So I'm also glad to have made something I will cherish for, hopefully, a good many years to come.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Spring Rain


I've been quiet lately on the blogging front because of grandparents' visits.  Not that I haven't thought about writing but I can't seem to find the mental space to actually put my thoughts to screen.

Nonetheless, spring officially arrived last Sunday bringing days and days of relentless rain.  Eden turned three last week but it rained on our picnic plans so we celebrated quietly at home.

Last year when she turned two, I threw her a monkey party complete with monkey themed favors, balloons, picnic food etc. I figured it would be her last big bash for a while since I was 8 months pregnant with No. 2.  My son, Eliot, arrived late Spring last year and he will be turning one in a few weeks. I'm not planning any big to-do for him either.

But party or no party this year, I am grateful for my children - who are growing every day into their uniquely quirky little selves.  I'm grateful for the rain, and for the nourishment that it brings to the earth despite the damper that it throws on my plans.  I think about the unspeakable suffering that must be endured by parents and children, separated by the wreckage caused by the tsunami in Japan.  Its good just having my children with me.  So very very good enough.




Monday, March 7, 2011

Hand-stitched Spiral Applique and Stenciled Bicycle Onesie

Hand-stitched Spiral Applique & Stenciled Onesie by Eden & Eliot

I'm incredibly in love with the work of Natalie Chanin, as decribed in her two books, Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style - in which she tells the story of how she came to found a hand-sewing industry among the women of her Alabama hometown, producing couture garments using traditional quilting techniques of the Old South.

I won't go into detail about the books (since there are plenty of rave reviews on Amazon), except to say that the techniques she shares are so accessible that I'm inspired to explore them in my own work.

This little embellished onesie I created for Eden is my first project using one of the techniques in the book - how to stitch a spiral applique.  The design is my own, as is the idea of using the spirals for the bicycle wheels.  I'll share about my own process here.

Materials

Prewash and dry the onesie.  Lie flat and pat to smooth out any wrinkles.  Do not pull or stretch.

Trace the bicycle drawing onto the onesie using the pattern tracing paper.  The lines are pretty faint, so you may want to redraw with a disappearing ink marker.

Figure out how large a circle you need for the wheels.  (This will depend on how large your drawing is.)  Draw and cut out a circle from your scrap cardboard, or use a large circle punch.  This will act as your stencil.


Pour out a small amount of ink on a shallow non-reactive dish.  Dip your foam brush into the ink - it will soak up fairly  quickly.  Tap the brush onto a scrap piece of fabric or cardboard to remove some of the ink.  You do NOT want to load the brush fully as it will cause too much seepage.


Using the cardboard stencil that you made, carefully apply the ink over the two bicycle wheels, making sure you lift the stencil directly upwards when you move from one wheel to the next.  It takes some practice to apply just the right about of ink.  Go slow and dab the brush with up and down strokes, especially at the edges of the stencil.  Do NOT brush sideways or you will cause the ink to smear under the edges.  (You will need to place a sheet of wax paper in between the layers of the onesie to protect the back of the shirt from getting inked.)


This is what you should get when you are done stenciling - the wheels of the bicycle are inked in blue.  Allow the ink to dry 24 hours, and heat set with a dry iron under a press cloth.


Next, cut two circles the same size as the wheels out of the scrap red knit fabric. 


Using a pair of sharp embroidery scissors, cut a spiral pattern from the outer edge of the circles towards their center.


Pin each spiral onto the stenciled inked circles (after they have been heat-set and are completely dry).


Using a straight (running) stitch and 3 strands of embroidery floss, stitch the spiral down starting from the center out towards the edge.  Pull the spiral apart as your stitch, at times overlapping the edges so that you get a "random" effect.  Just make sure the outer edge of the spiral meets the outer edge of the underlying stenciled circle.  That way, you will end up with two uniformly sized wheels. 


There it is, the hard part is done.  Finally, I used a cross stitch to sew the remaining outline of the bicycle, and on a whim, added a little bird on top of the seat. 


A hand-stamped label in the back adds the final personal touch!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Announcing the Winner of our February Follower Giveaway


 The first of March has finally arrived today with a nice thaw in the weather and good news for our blog follower CindiEponaBri.  She has won this blog's first giveaway!  Congratulations Cindi, please send me a note and your gift will be on its way to you in a jiffy.

Thanks to all who've participated.  Now that I've got one under my belt, you may look forward to more giveaways in the future!

Sincerely,
Stephanie

Friday, February 25, 2011

Circle Applique Baby's Mini Quilt - From Re-Purposed Old Baby Clothes


When I was little, my grandmother made me a hand-stitched quilt with a silk panel and a blanket foldover hem.  I remember the quilt to this day, even though its no longer with me, because being all grown up now, I realize just how much work it took her to make it.

The silk panel on the front always felt soft and cool to the touch, perfect for the hot humid nights where I grew up.  The back panel was made of a scratchy synthetic fabric, which chaffed and irritated my skin.

I remember being conflicted about whether to sleep with the silk panel right side up, which was the pretty and proper side, but which left me struggling under the scratchy side.  Or to forgo looking at the pretty pattern and sleep with it side down next to my skin, letting the dull side face the world.

I don't know why I bothered to struggle with this trivial decision every night because it seems like such a odd thing for a child to obsess about.  But I suppose I was that kind of a child.  I wanted things to look good and feel good at the same time.

Now decades since receiving my grandmother's quilt, I set about making my first one for my baby boy, Eliot.

I'm not a quilter, and have indeed, not made one before. However, I knew I wanted it to i) it look good and also feel good next to his skin, and ii) be mostly handsewn and iii) be made from material that he will cherish as much as I did that silk panel on the quilt from my grandmother.

Slowly, I had been saving up particular pieces of out-grown baby clothes from both my kids, thinking that I will harvest the material someday to make new things.  And this well-worn and well-loved fleece pull-over from Eden was the perfect piece to use for Eliot's quilt.  It had blue circles, which is just the kind of simple motif that little ones can appreciate.  And it was cuddly and soft.


I first cut out all the blue circles, and then realizing that there were too few, I traced circles onto the remaining green fleece and cut out as many as I could.  The key is to use up all the material if you can - some of my favorite circles have seams in them from pockets, armholes etc, which just makes them more interesting.

Next, pin the circles on to the top panel of your quilt.  I used a soft blue fleece and I arranged the circles in a free-flowing pattern, concentrating them on one edge and letting them "fade" out towards the opposite edge.  Alternate between the blue and green ones in a random pattern.  Placing some along the edge also makes a more dynamic composition.  Just trim the ones that hang over the border so you're left with some partial circles.


Using 3 strands of embroidery floss, stitch around each circle with a straight (running) stitch.  Knot off after each circle and start the next one with a fresh knot.  It took many nights in the company of the late night news to finish this step.

Next, I made my quilt sandwich with needled cotton batting and a back panel of the same fleece.  There are many great instructions about how to do this on other blogs - I don't know if I did it the right way.  But I just put my top panel with the circles directly on top of the batting material and cut around it.  I did the same with the back panel.


To make the quilt sandwich, I placed the batting on top of the back panel, and the top panel of circles on top of the batting.  Then I made long continuous lines of pins from one edge to the other, around the circles.

These pin lines mark the position of the quilting lines I will later stitch on the machine.  There is no order to the lines since I was going for a free-flowing effect.  I think of the lines as eddies of current moving around circular stones.  This is what it looked like after pinning.


Machine stitch along the pinned lines, removing the pins as you go.  Don't sweat it if you don't follow the pins exactly.  I improvised as I went along, making sure that they were evenly distributed and all the edges had sufficient lines of stitching so that the batting is secure.  I love the finished effect of the quilted lines flowing around the circles.


The final step is to bind the quilt.  I used pre-made quilt binding, machine stitched it on one side and slip stitched it on the back side.  There are good instructions on the Purlbee blog here.  (Coincidentally, Purlbee put up a post today about a Circular Applique Mini Quilt using their Liberty of London Tana Lawn fabrics.)


Here's my first quilt all done!  I am one proud mama.


And here's Eliot romping on his new quilt!


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

When the Ants go Marching

I'm on the lookout for good action songs to lead during music time at my daughter's preschool and this one about marching ants is a good candidate.

However, memorizing the actual lyrics proved to be a tad too challenging for this brain so I made up some of my own.  In case I forget those as well (quite likely), here they are -

(sung to the tune of "The Ants Go Marching")

The ants go marching two by two,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching two by two,
the little one stops to tie his shoe
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching three by three,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching three by three,
the little one stops to climb a tree
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching four by four,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching four by four,
the little one stops to shut the door
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching five by five,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching five by five,
the little one stops to give a High Five
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching six by six,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching six by six,
the little one stops to pick up sticks
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching seven by seven,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching seven by seven,
the little one stops to look at heaven
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching eight by eight,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching eight by eight,
the little one stops to eat some cake
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching nine by nine,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching nine by nine,
the little one stops to check the time
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching nine by nine,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching nine by nine,
the little one stops to check the time
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The ants go marching ten by ten,
hurrah! hurrah! (2 times)
The ants go marching ten by ten,
they're home again, and they shout, Amen!
And they all go marching down, to the ground,
to get out of the the rain
Boom, boom, boom.

The End.



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Do you still paint?

"Sieve" 2006,  Satin, silk thread, ink, paper.
  
We had family visit over the long President's Day weekend so I took a break from writing.

Just yesterday, I was asked a question that caused me to lie in bed awake at night.  And the question was, "Do you still paint?"

The answer I gave was, "Not anymore."  Which was the truth.

I have an extensive collection of brushes that have stayed dry.  Bottles and tubes of beautiful pigments that haven't been mixed for four whole years.  That's how long its been since I was first pregnant with Eden.  And I haven't held a brush since she was born.

I reasoned that its difficult to paint, well, particularly with water-based media, because the medium is so time sensitive.  A cry from the baby, a crash in the kitchen, any form of interruption can destroy a painting if you're mid-stroke or pouring a wet on wet.  

Then there's the effort to set up.  Prepping the floor, the painting surface, laying out the colors, making sure everything is at hand so that intuition can lead without inhibition.  Knowing that I will have to stop, clean up and wait till the next opportunity when I'm child-free kills that free-spirited exploration that is so critical to really good work.

This same person then asked, "Do you really like crafts?"  

Which made me stop what I was doing, look down at my work and think, "Is this what I've done?  Moved from Art to Craft?"  I used to make unique one-of-a-kind work and now I'm making pillows and onesies?  I felt a sadness in my soul.  

I crawled out of bed the next morning and looked up old images of my work

"Firebird" 2006,  Satin, silk thread, ink, paper.








I looked at the circles and strings - which I was fascinated and obsessed with for one long season in my art career.  It occurred to me that my latter work, just before I stopped, was all about printing, sewing, image transfer, and experimenting with fabric.  Granted, nothing I made was wearable, and certainly none of it was functional.  But the forms and the techniques aren't that alien to what interests me now.

I don't quite know how to end this post, except to say that I'm going to take some part of what I had, my circles and my strings and bring it back into my current life.  I'm going to keep going....

 




Thursday, February 17, 2011

Monogram Letter Applique Pillows


My good friend, Mel, threw a birthday party for her sweet little girl a few weekends ago, which gave me the occasion to make these letter pillows that I'd dreamed up a while back but hadn't gotten round to doing.

The birthday girl has the initial C, but her older brother's name begins with M.  So, I thought why not bring them both pillows since in my house, good things always come in twos.

The pillows have envelope backs (see my post on how to make an envelope closure), and fusible-web applique letters.  You can put a whole set together for a nursery, use them to spell a word or just do special letters or dates.  Lots of possibilities here - so I daresay I'll be making more of these soon.

But on the subject of birthday parties -  check out this party favor that Mel put together.


She saved these baby food jars for months and turned them into favors by adding nifty personalized labels.  I totally loved how she found such good use out of an ordinary thing but more so that she was planning and thinking of celebrating her daughter's big day, every day that she would put one of these away.  What better way is there  to repurpose what you've got than by sharing your efforts with loved ones.





Sunday, February 13, 2011

How to make a Simple Envelope Closure Pillow and Blanket Set

Firetruck pillow and blanket by Eden and Eliot


My new year's resolution for 2011 is to make what I would otherwise buy - which led me to sew this pillow and blanket set for Eden, when her preschool teacher said she needed extra bedding for naptime.

Its a cute little fleece set, patterned with firetrucks, ambulances and police cars (which she helped pick out). But after it was finished, she refused to bring it to school. (You see a pattern here re: my post about the slippers.)

So this has gone to little brother Eliot, who is much more accommodating when it comes to wearing or using the things his mother makes.

This was a really simple set to sew up, and experienced readers will not need any instructions here.  But since I've benefited from very basic tutorials -  I thought, why not write one anyway for all my friends out there who don't fancy themselves crafty.  Children's bedding tends to be expensive, so if you're inclined to make your own - read on, its a cinch.

Materials
  • Fleece - 1.5 yards (adjust for bigger or smaller sets)
  • 13 inch pillow insert (Ikea carries a really inexpensive one)
  • Sewing machine & coordinating thread
  • Ball-point sewing machine needle (suitable for knit fabrics)
  • Disappearing ink fabric or chalk marker

Instructions

Lay out your fleece fabric on your cutting surface wrong side up, measure and mark a rectangle 36" x 48" for the blanket . With the remaining fabric, mark a rectangle 14" x (14" + 6") for the pillow.  The extra 6" will form the overlap for the envelope closure.  My pillow insert is 13" square, so the 14" width gives me a half inch seam allowance on each side.  If you want a poofier pillow, make the rectangle 13" x (13" + 6"), and it will give the pillow a nice squeeze.

Make sure you mark both rectangles before you start cutting.  Since mine was a patterned fleece, and I wanted to make sure I got a couple of the firetruck/car images intact on the front of the pillow, I didn't end up with the most efficient/fabric saving layout.

For the Pillow

 

With the wrong side of the fabric up, fold in a half inch seam on each of the short sides of the rectangle, pin and stitch.  If you feel comfortable, you can start stitching and fold as you go along.


When you are done sewing the seams on the two short sides, fold the fabric over so that it overlaps as shown in the photo above.  The wrong side should be facing you, and the distance from the top to the bottom folded edges should measure 13".  Secure the side edges with pins.


You can flip open the flap, to check that you have it folded correctly.  Take the time to make sure that your pillow front will show the pattern that you want to end up with.  The pillow front is the bottom most layer in the photo above.  You can adjust the location of the flap to ensure this.


Stitch a half inch seam on the sides, (where you have secured with pins).  You should end up with a seam as shown in the photo above.


Flip the pillow inside out.  You now have a finished pillow cover, with an overlapping flap as shown (otherwise known as an envelope closure).   That overlap is what allows you to insert your pillow and keep it secure without zippers, buttons and what-not so little fingers don't get into trouble.

 

Flip it over to see the pillow front.  If you've checked on the position of your pattern in the previous step, you should end up with a happy outcome - voila!  One intact firetruck and ambulance!  Stuff your insert and you're done!


For the Blanket

This is the simplest part - just fold in a half inch seam on all 4 sides and stitch.  And there you have it - your finished blanket and pillow set all ready to keep your little one snuggly and warm.







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