Here's the shirt I made with the same Built by Wendy pattern as the dress (photo coming soon) and my hand-stamped fabric. I think it makes me look a little bulky and shapeless so I probably will not repeat the shirt part of this pattern. Thad told me to "put some of those fold thingies in it" which I interpretted to mean darts for shaping and he also kept pushing it in at my waist so you could tell I have one. I'm a little disappointed because I was hoping such an easy and simple pattern would be a great way to show off handmade fabric. Good learning experience though, and I guess I kind of like it because I am wearing it to work today.

Testing, testing!


Testing out my options for fabric print-dying. I mixed the chemical water using directions from Dharma Trading Company: a quart of warmish water, 3/4 cups of urea, and 2 teaspoons of sodium alginate. I left the water for 2 hours at room temperature and then mixed up my colors. For the test colors I used 1/4 cup of chemical water per color. To each color I added a 1/4 teaspoon of soda ash and 1/4 teaspoon of procion dye.

First finding: 2 teaspoons is not nearly enough sodium alginate. The paint did not have enough body to cling to the stamps and was difficult to apply using a paint brush. I added 2 more teaspoons to the remaining 3 cups of chemical water. This is a little too thick and I had to thin it with water so it wouldn't gloop. Conclusion: 4 teaspoons of sodium alginate will probably be perfect in a quart of water.


These are the test strips that were washed after 6 hours of setting. They turned out great and I don't think I need to wait any longer. I will use longer setting times for convenience if necessary. The red colors (jungle red and amethyst) show more bleeding than the blue based shades so I'll have to be careful there. It's pretty clear that the whole 1/4 teaspoon of dye is not necessary for a 1/4 cup of chemical water so I'll reduce that especially with the reds.

And for the grand finale here is some finished yardage that I stamped using a homemade stamp inspired by these. The experiment has been a success.

I made Hamentaschen this weekend to use up a bunch of jam jars that had about half an inch each. The jam was definitely used up but I can't say that these cookies were a success. I am not jewish and I think the cookies knew. The corners acted very pinched together prior to baking but as soon as they got in the oven they turned into the flat cookies you see here. They still tasted pretty good.

p.s. I got a tripod over the weekend and am using it non-stop, low light is no longer an obstacle.

p.p.s. The February crafty roundup has been delayed, but I can reveal that I am satisfied with my output in February.

This is Snuggles helping me craft. He loves to hang around when I am sewing and I really enjoy his company.

I love this cabinet with the white frame and honey wooden doors.

Wonderful evening:

Watched The Science of Sleep.

Cut out this Built by Wendy pattern in a beautiful heavy-weight soft stretch sateen. The color is on the royal blue side of navy. I am doing the middle view.

Well, it's not like we've been doing nothing. There has been progress made and fun had in a sort of slow, Februaryish way.

This is a little bit that will be part of a baby quilt by the end of the weekend. Number 2 in a series of at least 4 baby quilts I will be making this year. Let me know if you are pregnant and I will put you on the list! This is certainly the year of the baby in my circle.

I made granola using Little Birds' easy and customizable recipe. Yum. I used maple syrup, unrefined coconut oil, almonds and walnuts this time. Next time I have a peanuty version in mind. Also, I cut down both the sugar and fat by about a quarter/third without any ill effects (though I'm sure it's better with more!).

This is the Ice Queen's Palace, built by Thadeus when we were in Tahoe last weekend. I can't wait to have babies with this man. Did I say that out loud?

And last, but not least, the skirt. In-progress shot number one thousand.

Liberty of London prints: how could you not love each and every one of these more than anything in the world?

I am making a skirt in slow motion. The zipper alone has taken a week.
My ardent hope is that this skirt will illuminate all future projects. That once I finish this skirt, beautifully fitted garments will pour forth from my fingers in a righteous gush. I'm feeling very biblical about the whole process.

I am feeling the need to make my own clothes once again. I like this back neck button closure. Extra bonus points: it looks great with pigtails.

edited to add: I spent a half hour on Sunday meticulously putting in an invisible zipper flawlessly, but backward. This could be tricky.

for future reference: how to make those big grids of photos

The Annie's Annual Catalogue is incredible! I must admit that I had given up on Annie's, it seemed too esoteric for me (which is saying a lot! hello, rebel without a cause, I love esoteric!). Looking at the website, I couldn't figure out what plants would really look like and they all seemed so exotic but not in a good way. I didn't think they would work where I live and it gets so hot in the summer, unlike temperate Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now the catalogue has changed everything. There's a whole page devoted to plants that like hot weather. There's a few page spread on cottage gardening and each blurb explains exactly what is better about each plant than something else you might use. The catalogue is free and I highly recommend it if you garden in California or closeby.

I made this Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake for a treat for Thaddy on Valentine's Day. We haven't eaten it yet, but I did break my normal rule of no excessive bowl licking, the batter was that good.

I wanted to finally post this baby quilt because it is officially my final project completed in January. This is a "baby" quilt for an old friend who I just got back in touch with when she had somewhat recently had a baby. That was over a year ago now. So this is sort of a toddler quilt at this point. I made it extra large so hopefully he can use it for toddler/little kid snuggling for a few years to come.

I planned the quilt around the back fabric because once I saw it, I wanted to use it. It's this Freespirit print from a line called Follow Your Imagination by Cath Derksma and Kersten Junor. I love the name! Also, the kid is old enough to know what he likes now and I don't know what he's into: dinosaurs, animals, rainbows, firetrucks? So this design is pretty safe but I still think it is beautiful and I hope they like it. The orange quilting sort of helps to keep it from being too matchy. It's still sitting here where there isn't a baby, but hopefully it will get itself into the mail soon.

This weekend I begin Phase 1 of my Super Secret Project! It will involve drinking root beer and I will also make bread. In case you didn't notice, I've decided against my thing-a-day February idea. I've much bigger fish to fry this month.

This part actually made me tear up:

Cook. And if you can, plant a garden. To take part in the intricate and endlessly interesting processes of providing for our sustenance is the surest way to escape the culture of fast food and the values implicit in it: that food should be cheap and easy; that food is fuel and not communion. - Michael Pollan in the New York Times

I had Chocolate and Zucchini's Lentil Apple Cumin salad for lunch today and it was so good. The recipe reccomends eating it cold or at room temperature but I mixed it up as soon as the lentils were done and ate it pretty soon after that. Loved it warm. I only had ground cumin so I just used one teaspoon and it didn't have that metallicy taste cumin can have, just really warm and earthy a little like chilli.

How do you feel about doing this Create a thing a day project in February? I am intrigued, maybe quilt blocks? Small ones, like 6" x 6" or some such? You would end up with a pretty cool quilt and after Julie/Julia I am convinced of the transformative power of The Project.

Here is a bag I made which seemed like such a great idea but now I'm not so sure how I feel about it. Actually, I am sure and I'm pretty sure I hate it. It was meant to be a purse for me but it turned out kind of funky due to a last minute decision to "decorate" the front with some scrap pieces of felt.

Also the color is really blah and icky! I've been really into camel lately and when I bought this it seemed so cuddly and inviting but now it just seems pale and hairy. The lining is really nicely done though, if I do say so: it has my tag and a special magazine pocket. Next time I would like to use a heavier interfacing to give it even more body. I've been trying hard to think of what I could do to make this look like a bag I would actually want to use. What?!

Over vacation I read the Julie and Julia Project and, predictably, loved it. Also, rather predictably, it has left me with a feeling of "what does it all mean." Maybe I should find some bizarre project to throw myself into that could change my life? Does it work like that if you try to make it work like that? probably not . . . in the meantime, just reading about all that butter has started me on a veggie bender.

This is not the clearest picture in the world, but I wanted to show you the squashes I roasted for soup yesterday since I don't know what kind they are. I can't say the results were better than my standby butternut treatment but it is even healthier and I was getting really sick of that other one. This time I roasted the girls like normal (for an hour in a 400 oven with a little butter to caramelize like Alton Brown says), then I drowned the innards in a bunch of homemade chicken stock, tons of dried thyme (thanks Grandma!), and the juice of one lemon to brighten up the squash, plus salt and pepper. Once that was heated through I pureed it then tossed in a half cup of quinoa for protein and so it will stick to my tummy for lunches. I can't say this is the best soup I've ever made but it is quick, easy, nutritious, and actually really good at work the next day.