Book Reports--Due Monday: Simple Sewing

Another Monday book report! Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing.

Things I like about this book: This book is billed as 'simple' because its projects do not involve anything complicated like a zipper; the patterns and instructions are clear and straightforward; and most of the projects can be completed in a short period of time without the need for any obscure supplies. And, so far, I agree that it lives up to its promises. The projects (and pictures) are also characteristically Lotta Jansdotter with elegant design and a clean aesthetic. Many are playful and inspiring...this is another book that makes me want to sew. I have made seven projects from this book, I'm particularly fond of this apron that I use all the time. And, I have marked several other projects to make in the future.

Things I do not like about this book: One thing I find a little annoying about the book is that many of the projects look so beautiful and appealing because they are made in Lotta's own line of fabric, which is no longer available for sale. I'm not one to replicate a project exactly but I would love to make some of the things in the book from her actual fabric because the design is so nice. That's not really a critique of the book, though. I also found the sunhat pattern to have a ridiculously wide brim. And, some of the project ideas seem very cool in Sweden but not so cool in the U.S. Like her side-of-the-bed organizer would just look tacky in my house but somehow the Swedes make things like this look hip. Again...I'm really just highlighting my own issues here...not the book.

Final Grade: B+ for clean, beautiful projects with just a few glitches.

The Table Gets Dressed Up

The queen anne table runner is complete! And, no drama this time. I just plain like it and I like how it looks on the table. Linen is so satisfying in how it drapes and seems so alive with its subtle wrinkles. The embroidery was addicting and the perfect thing to work on while chatting with the husband or watching Glee or The Office on TV.
The creamer and sugar bowl were a birthday gift from my sister. She snuck onto my etsy favorites and bought something I had marked, isn't that clever of her? It is mikasa and vintage and such a lovely lilac color, I'm using it at every possible excuse.

Messenger Birds

This little birdie is my latest obsession. It's made from a pdf tutorial on Spool Sewing blog.
It's small enough that I was able to pull it off using fabric scraps and as soon as I made it I knew what I was going to use it for...a gift tag. In addition to making reusable gift bags, inspired by At The End of This Row, I decided to make little birds for my holiday gift tags. I haven't decided yet whether to use ink stamping to write the recipients name or a fabric marker, which would obviously be alot quicker. I might even leave them blank. Also, I'm so taken with these little birds that I'm cooking up a holiday banner that uses them as well.

This is the reusable gift bag that this birdie will fly away with. Hmm...I wonder what's in there?

We Are Working on Napkins

Oh yes we are! As much as I believe that kids should be dirty, we have too many t-shirts with tomato stains to keep going with the wipe-it-on-my-shirt routine. And, when the napkins are stored away there was too much..."I need such and such napkin. No, not THIS one, THAT one." and far too little understanding of when one was dirty and so not available. So, I dumped our napkins in a bowl on the table. That way the options are all visible and the choices are what you can see. I hemmed my minny muu fabric into fun, kid napkins. Some of them are hemmed using the serger, my first attempt to tackle the birthday beast. It was great, so fast and easy until the fourth thread ran out and then there was lots of swearing and eventually a full *walking away*. So, I will have to face down the serger again soon. Here is my lovely son discussing all the different trucks and cars and where they are going and how many there are and which one is a snowplow and....all for love of the napkin. He is actually saying "Can I have a napkin!" come dinner time now. Wahoo!

A Thing

I have to come to terms with the fact that I just have a thing for table runners. Despite this debacle I'm back at it, making another one. I do like this one alot more, however. And, it's construction is happening the way I prefer it to happen. No real plan, no pattern. Just starting with one portion, then setting it down, mulling it over, and starting with the next.
The green linen bits are vintage from beautiful living on etsy. They are 4 X 6 inches and have little whispers of queen anne's lace peeking in on them...a stem here, a flower there. I should say they were my true inspiration for this. I bought them on a whim and it was pondering what to do with them. I threw in the bits and pieces of luscious natural linen I have and then I ran across this free pdf on Sew Mama Sew for embroidery of a Queen Anne's Lace, it was great timing. But the image didn't quite fit right and wasn't long enough and that is when I realized...embroidery is little more than stitching up an image in embroidery floss. It doesn't have to be a prescribed image. So, I drew my own with inspiration from SMS. That wasn't the hard part. The actual embroidery is trickier (for me, as a beginner). So, I'm stitching and stitching now.
But, it's a happy stitching. I feel like I've been following other people's patterns and designs alot this summer and I kind of missed just going with my own idea, even if it ends up imperfect. And, the stitching seems a great way to greet autumn. I should probably learn to appreciate summer more but I'm always truly happy to see August pack it up and to feel chilly winds start to blow. Happy September.

Speaking of changes, in a distant way at least, I'm a little tired of my usual crafty blogs. I mostly check Angry Chicken, Soulemama, and Sew Mama Sew's blog and I love them all dearly but are there others that people check on a regular basis that you really like? Send them my way if you get a minute, I'm in need of other blog voices right now.

I should add that I also obsessively check at the end of this row, capers and olives, and ten finger workshop but they already know that!

Little Tablecloth for a little Table

We picked up this table and three chairs for little more than nothing at a local yard sale.  The previous owners has covered the table in contact paper to make it easy to clean up and while I relate to the sentiment I do prefer the regular wooden tabletop.  However, when I removed the contact paper it left the top really sticky and despite three rounds of scrubbing at it with goo gone, it wouldn't budge.  So, I used my minny muu fat quarters from my recent trip to Spool to make this little tablecloth.  (The red gingham is from an etsy site Beautiful Living, full of gorgeous, vintage  mysteries! Do take a peek.)

Makes for a sweet little spot for my little guy's adventures on the front porch, which included a rooster that inspired me to pull together a new banner for the site.  I told the husband, "I like this new banner.  Might keep it for a while."  He just laughed because I really just like to move things around.  We'll see. 

I've got the holidays on my mind alot these days, seems the chill in the air and the long shadows of fall get the mind wandering toward December! 

Iraqi Bundles of Love

I don't know about you but this whole war that has been waging for what seems like forever, frequently ties my heart in knots.  During the time that the Americans have been in Iraq, I've gotten a master's degree, gotten married, had two children, worked at a new job so long it isn't even new anymore, and just generally been living my life one milestone at a time.  For Iraqis, I imagine it is the same except for the constant war raging around them.  I've started to get used to it, as, again I'm imagining, many Iraqis have.  At times, it seems unbelievable and definitely unacceptable.  But, it usually recedes into the background of the day-to-day. 

This undercurrent of frustration and helplessness that I feel was pierced this week when I learned about this project from Sew Mama Sew and At The End of this Row.  It's called Iraqi Bundles of Love and it is catching fire.  It's a short term project lead by a guy, Art, who is stationed in Iraq.  His wife is a quilter and he realized that she had extra fabric and supplies around that she doesn't use. He also noticed that Iraqis, accustomed to living under sanction, have gotten really inventive about using everything from bottle caps to, well, fabric.  So, he started this website to encourage donations of extra sewing (and now even knitting) materials or 'bundles' to be handed out to citizens and shopkeepers in Iraq.  It's an act of goodwill from a soldier to citizens to help them rebuild their lives.  He was hoping to get around 30 'bundles' and he now using a warehouse space to house it all and is thinking it might get closer to a thousand.  It's short-term only lasting until September 7th when he will be stationed in a different location.   To learn more about the project check here.  In short, it's about gathering sewing and knitting materials you already have, bundling them and sending them to Art in Iraq.  I thought I might have a few things and then I started looking and ended up filling a box to the gills.  For specific on how to create a bundle, look here.  Art is adamant that anything is useful, buttons, fabric, needles, thread, etc. and it can all be sent, at least up to 70 pounds worth, for $11.95 because of a military arrangement with the post office.   He will accept anything but says bigger is better (yards of fabric rather than scraps, etc.), green is good, and small prints are better than loud ones but ANYTHING will be used. 

So, me and baby hit the post office this week and sent off our bundle.  And, I know it is just a little something but it feels nice, you know.  Nice enough that I was almost skipping home from the post office.  So, as Art says "Let's do this!" 

If anyone who is local is reading this, I have an extra box so feel free to bring me and odds and ends you might have. I'm betting we can fill up a second box. 

34.

Turned 34 last week, and frankly I feel 34. Not necessarily in a bad way but as in I hear the number 34 and I think about where my life is at and I say to myself, "Yeah, that sounds about right." It's nice, really. In some ways my birthday gift wishes were a huge part of what made the 34 sounds so fitting. What I really, really wanted was to visit a fancy fabric shop and get some time alone to go nuts. And, I did that...at Spool in Philadelphia.

I splurged on some adorable minny muu fat quarters, some Laura Gunn fabric just because I think it is so amazing and fell in love with the fabrics below:

Now, I haven't been making many quilts lately and didn't have any plans to make any but these prints were calling my name and also saying "make a quilt out of me! i'm fun and would help decorate a toddler bed when the day comes!". It is so hard to find fabric that suits boys and these prints are so playful I couldn't resist. The designer was Jay McCarroll and I thought the name sounded familiar so when I got home I googled it. Guess what! It is Jay McCarroll the winner from Project Runway. Oh yeah, he designed this super fun, boyish but sweet fabric for Free Spirit. And, he has a website. It does help explain why the fabric has shrooms on it! So, there you have it. I now have plans to start a quilt to help the little man have sweet dreams.

I had also mentioned in passing to my mother that I was kinda, sorta interested in someday having a serger sewing machine. I really expected this to arrive in about five years BUT a Brother 1034D serger interlock machine was at my doorstep on my birthday. Hello future. So, now I have to figure out how to use the darn thing. Threading it is a bugger, even with the instructional DVD. It might be a slow process but I'm excited to figure it all out.

Now, I'm not complaining but I would like to provide the following story to illustrate what exactly children do to your life: When I turned thirty I spent the day gallavanting around New York City with a half dozen friends and the night eating pizza and singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in a karoake bar somewhere in Manhattan. At 34 I'm in bed by 10pm dreaming of fabric shops and serger machines. Hmm. I suppose it all equals out, what I save on drinks I'm spending on fat quarters.

Feeling Scrappy.

My fabric scraps seem to get awfully friendly when I'm not around because it always seems like they have multiplied! In an effort to pare down them down and simultaneously feel good about myself for being so utilitarian as to use scraps for a real project, I decided to make two things from the Seams to Me book by Anna Maria Horner. The first is her tea towel. I cheated a bit and did machine, rather than hand, applique on the leaves but did my own embrodiery and hand sewed the flower tops (fabric yo-yos). It was actually really fun and allowed me to bring some sewing out of the basement and join my husband as we devoured episodes of Mad Men on netflix. (SOOOO good!)

The second project is this scrappy ball. It's exclusively fabric scraps and was actually easier than I expected it to be. Stuffing it with polyfiberfill took a long time but like I said, Mad Men. It's just plain consuming.
And, the boys are both really fond of it.

You are Looking at a Winner

I won! Sew Mama Sew blog has about a million amazing giveaways and I was thrilled to find I was the winner of one yard of fabric of my choice from their giveaway last Friday. I spent an entire day's worth of naps to decide what I wanted (seriously, we got takeout from a place near my husband's work that night.). No idea what I'm going to use it for but I love it, love it, love it.

Purple and Rust

This bag is for me. It's not for any particular reason. The fabric is not scraped together from my stash, it was bought specifically for this purpose: a bag for me. I don't need a bag, I have bags. But, I needed to make this bag for me at this time. I just fell in love with this fabric and decided it was time that the machine was humming for something new for me.

The pattern is from Lotta's book, Simple Sewing. I found I had to made some modifications. First, it required lots of interfacing to give it some structure (the pattern doesn't call for any, which is crazy!). And, after my nesting blocks I had plenty of experience to make that happen! I also altered the front pocket so I didn't need twill tape. Instead, I used scraps sewn onto twill tape for the handles. I did also manage to make the bag with half yards rather than the yard it called for of both outer fabric and lining. The big front pocket allowed me to patch together scraps for the side underneath the pocket. I literally have one 1/2 inch by 3 inch scrap of fabric left. That would be the only thing frugal about this particular indulgence.

The bag is great. The front pocket fits the paper or a magazine or journal, a side pocket fits my water tin, inside pockets fit pens, phones, and keys leaving lots of room inside for everything else. My husband and I, realizing that we both need an occaisional break, have started taking 'nights' meaning one person on one night a week is free from any dishwashing, tidying, diaper stocking, laundering, or cleaning. So, on my night last week, I took this bag, put everything in its respective pocket, tucked the laptop in the bag and sat quietly in a coffee shop for a good 45 minutes drinking hot tea. Ah, bliss.

One of my discoveries was this: Spoonflower Print. You send them your fabric design, digitally, and they turn it into fabric for $18 a yard (quilting or upholstery weight). You can also choose to sell it through them. So many fun possibilities for really personalizing gifts. I know it is early but I can't help but think of Christmas! You can even get a swatch for $5 to see what it looks like. Here is one of the prints they sell, created by Tamptation.

Public Service Announcements (including a giveaway)!!

Four things that everyone should know:
1) My amazing and talented friend Erin Jane of ErinJane Designs is giving away an amazing piece of her handmade jewelry. So head on over and enter her giveaway, it is open until August 5th.

2) Another dear friend of mine has started a blog about her summer at home with her daughters, Stay at Home Summer. Check it out, she is a fantastic writer and mother with great thoughts and even better articulation of those thoughts about motherhood.

3) I'm a sucker for a grab bag, always have been. Oh, the fun of a surprise. As a child, our local toy store always had them for a dollar. I love the joy of those cheap plastic toys and little parachute men all because of the surprise. So, I was delighted to see that Reprodepot.com, already an amazing fabric site is offering scrapbags of their fabric when you order over $50 worth of material. I'm unfortunately on a fabric diet because I've been overindulging lately (and this is very hard for me already!) so I'm not going to be able to pick up this one but thought I ought to pass it on.

4) There is a great organic movement going on within the fabric world. The designer behind Cicada Dreams is starting a line called Cloud 9 Fabrics and Daisy Janie, who has a great blog and etsy shop. I should add they are not only organic but also gorgeous fabrics and great for the sewing done for little people. If you happen to be fabric shopping, it can't hurt to support a good growing thing.

Repurpose and Refresh

I've been enjoying using old fabric for a new purpose lately. Did finish this Ikea curtain apron for my mother and entered it into the Angry Chicken tie-one-on apron making group--the theme this time is pie making apron (deadline is July 1st, join in it's an easy way to get creative with your stash), which is why this little lovely has an extra blue pocket in the front...for your cherry pitter or whatnot. The other fabric is all vintage from my stash, which always feels good.


Then I refashioned the fabric from these curtains that we no longer need after our house work. I turned it into an art smock for the little man, complete with a front pocket with his name.
This also uses the pattern from Bend the Rules (that book is incredible) and will hopefully come in handy as our little guy ONLY wants to paint these days, coloring is so for one year olds.

Finally, I sewed this design onto a skirt, cut off a Lotta Jansdotter t-shirt I bought ages ago that somehow (I can't imagine how?) grew too small and one portion had a stain. So I cut out what I liked and used the rest. The skirt is a basic jersey from J.Crew, also really old, possibly 5 years but stretchy so I don't have the same problem. This was my first successful sewing with jersey and the interfacing under the design made it easier. Seems tricky to get it so the fabric doesn't pucker up and go wonky. Any advice? I've got about 10 onesies I'd like to reconfigure when I do finally figure this one out.

Crafternooning Time

Finally, the quilt kits have all been sent to my fake sorority sisters, the gammas. It truly did take me forever, which is why I say this with a bit of humility...TIME TO GET CRAFTING LADIES!! Oh yes, you know how it goes...13 X 13 inch fabric squares with an 1/2 inch on all sides that will be sewn into the quilt so don't decorate right to the edge. Send me pictures of all crafternooning (thank you Drea for my favorite new term). All quilts intended for J, H, and K are sent to me and you all have to designate someone to receive those meant for me. And, drumroll....they are due by August 21st because that is my birthday and I think it will be really fun to get them then, like a brilliant birthday gift. And, it's not too close to R's wedding and gives me a bit of time before I head back to work. But mostly, and I say this as a mother, because I said so.

Holy Fabric Sale

Mineymo, over on etsy, is having a clearance on quilting fabric to make room for new inventory. Not only are the prices great but it's an awesome selection. So, go! Expand your stash.

Queuing Up!

Got a chance for some lone fabric shopping in both a Jo-Anns for the basics and my favorite nearby fabric store, Spool in Philadelphia. Yes, sadly, my closest nice fabric store is over an hour and a half away. Hard to believe but it seems the entire state of New Jersey doesn't have a fabric store nicer than Jo-Anns. So, when I get to Spool, I'm a happy girl. They let me pull out all the bolts I need, then change my mind and start all over again. And, they get excited for me, offer tons of suggestions and hearty encouragement. That said, despite the incredible temptation I (mostly) stuck to my rule and only bought fabric dedicated to a specific project. So, here is the makeup of the current queue: 1) This fantastic fabric farmhouse for the little man (as a Holiday gift to give myself some time), 2) The fabric for the Bend The Rules lap quilt, 3) another baby quilt (possibly) to submit to the Make Baby Stuff and Superbuzzy contest and 4) flannel for the Bend the Rules scalloped quilt, which is so lovely but intimidating given my inability to sew in curves. But, it's all feeling a bit ambitious right now.

I'm seeing quilts everywhere!

Here's a bend-the-rules lap quilt swap. It will be a commitment to make something for someone else, but also a lot of fun. Care to join in? You've got until the 14th to sign up.

http://btrsswap.blogspot.com/2008/09/easy-lap-quilt-swap-info.html

Free Fabric Fridays

You all have to enter this contest on Fridays! I did this past Friday and won a free yard of fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew! I picked out this cute flower print from the Park Slope Collection by Erin McMorris. All you do is make a comment on the FFF posts on Fridays and they select the lucky winners.

Good Luck!

Cocktails?

I'm working on a set of table linens for a friend's wedding and finished off the six cocktail napkins first. I'm working off of Bend the Rules (again) but didn't like Amy Karol's idea of printing sayings on the napkins so I went, instead, for a simple embrodiery. The fabric is linen on one side and cotton on the other. All from contemporarycloth.com.
The tips of the cat's feet are also in the picture because she just wouldn't leave me alone this afternoon. She's been kind of needy since the little guy arrived.

Finished Kitchen Curtains

I tried my hand with the new fabric and finished these super easy curtains with instructions from Bend the Rules (again.) Adds a bit more color to the kitchen and provides better privacy from neighbors.

Also in this shot but relatively hidden (behind the electric kettle) is my new love...The miniprep from Cuisinart. I fell in love and had to have one after watching the tutorials on weelicious.com. There is alot not to love about the Weelicious woman, ex-model that feeds her son only homemade, super healthy baby food, need I say more? Anyway, she was whipping stuff up in her miniprep and it dawned on me that I need that. I thought it would mean more baby food but mostly it's just quicker grown up food. But, really, that's pretty important too. I haven't yet achieved a model's figure. But, I will let you know if the MiniPrep is also able to achieve success in that area.