Tag Archives: handmade

exhibit a:

Posted in Craft, Fiber fun, Handmade, Make, Make Stuff, Sew this by

…or how do I get myself into these predicaments ?

 

exhibit a 8x5

 

See these?? These are the piles that have taken up residence on my work table…no, now these piles have nothing to do with my 4 boxes and 2 bins of fabric that are already in residence in the studio (that were supposed to be cleverly sewn/stashed/gifted down to two bins by *sigh* the end of last year) no, these piles are the result of my children conning me into pj pants, my girlfriend finding a steal on fabric pieces and a “can’t resist” sale at the fabric store…

exhibit A:  a stack of too fabulous and super duper cheap to resist fabric pieces from our last foray into Zimman’s Fabrics… next to last on the pile is 3/4 yard of beautiful blue print cotton which is slated to be a cushion for the comb-back windsor chair in the front hall…

evidence:  super-cute snowman fabric for red-bench pillow, orange cotton fleece on clearance for pants for gwen, two pieces of cotton knit on sale to experiment and make tops for myself

exhibit B:  Lily’s stack of fabrics from last week’s raid on Jo-Ann fabrics.  Her pj pants are halfway up her legs so it’s definitely time for new cozy ones…but somehow “pick 2 pieces of flannel” turned into 3 pieces of flannel and one piece of fleece.

look here:  Gwen’s stack of fabrics, same particulars as exhibit B above.

Obviously, this week…it’s a sewing week… otherwise I won’t see the top of my table until spring.  (arrow stamps are from Splendid Fiins Evidence Arrow Stamp and Brush set #2)

Go!

What projects are stacked up on your table this week?

and so we start

Posted in Craft, Crochet, Fiber fun, Make Stuff by

Lily received a crochet kit for Christmas from her Grandpa to make these super cute stuffed animals….except neither one of us knows how to crochet (!)  I knit but never crocheted.

photo 1and so we start….the two of us together on the sofa, my 1970’s era Reader’s Digest “Complete Guide to Needlework” and You Tube videos by our sides…I grabbed some scrap yarn and crochet hooks and we dig in.

photo 2We worked for an hour and honestly, I think we did pretty well considering neither of us had ever done this!  Next it is off to the craft store tomorrow for some yarn and hooks that go together,  my hooks are a little small for the yarns that I had making it difficult to pull the yarn through.  Lily liked it and was working away !  I found it much harder to control the yarn and hold everything than knitting but I’m sure that will come with practice.

crochet-1To make a start…that is sometimes the most important part of the entire project.

Here’s to making more starts this year.

and yes, the top is done!

Posted in Craft, Creative Practice, Handmade, Make Stuff, Sew this by

I realized while reading Amanda Soule’s blog (if you don’t read it, you need to pop over here, right after your done with mine) that I never shared my completed sewing project that I started in … June.  OK in all fairness, it did not take me until November to finish a shirt…it just took this long for me to post the results.

IMG_0509I started with the buttons and buttonholes on the placket…they are my least favorite thing to do so I figured I’d get them out of the way.

IMG_1427This top was a fun one to make, setting in the bib was a bit tricky but going slowly and paying attention (!) it was fine.IMG_2697So please don’t laugh too hard at my photo in the dressing room mirror (at the Gap trying on jeans while the girls were at a birthday party) Charlie is always teasing me about the look on my face in these types of shots.  Anyway, love the top, it’s fun to wear, very easy, love the fabric.  Will definitely make another one but maybe a touch longer (Top is the Tova Top by Wiksten patterns)

I’ve been sewing quite a bit lately, home stuff mostly, hoping to get more posts up soon.  Very happy to be returning to my sewing machine after too much time away!  Thanks for stopping by…what projects have you been working on?

 

 

12.5 hours…not that i’m counting…

Posted in Craft, Handmade, Knitting by

and I’m leaving to head up north to NH for Squam Art Workshop! Squeeee! excited yes!  bummed that it’s p.o.u.r.i.n.g. rain – slightly but the truck is cleaned out and filled with gas, i’m thinking about packing and I’ve decided what to have on the needles while i’m there…

yarn to afghan

was going to start a sweater for Charlie but I cannot find the pattern for the life of me so…afghan blocks it will be!   I have 4 skeins of this yummy yarn so I’ll start with blocks of this and see where it takes me.  Should knit up quickly on size 11’s.

12.4 hours…see you at Squam!

ready, set, sew

Posted in Craft, Handmade, Make Stuff, Project Gal- Memorykeeping, Sew this by

Some days (weeks, months) it seems like progress is slow to nonexistent.  Such is the case with my latest sewing project for (wait for it…) myself (!)  *gasp*  I know, really, I can’t think of the last time I made something for myself…it’s been at least since we’ve moved (which is coming up on 2 years)  lots of stuff for the girls, things for the house and for hubby but me?  not so much.

all ready and waiting

Well…I saw this super cute “Tova” top in a post over at Hawthorne Threads blog and thought…this is it!  I ordered up some beautiful cotton lawn from them  (super super nice people with a lovely shop if you are in the market for on-line fabric purchases, hope to visit their actual shop one day!)  I ordered the “Mariella” in grey/pink

Three fitting muslins later, I have cut out the (altered) pattern, picked buttons and found thread to match…then the girls came home from school.  *sigh*  maybe this afternoon?  Fingers crossed friends, fingers crossed.