Hey, wanna see a bunch of ribbons and trims that I sewed onto a vintage sheet:



Check it out! You like that? Well there's plenty more where that came from.

Today's crafty progress, snowflake before and after.

Works in progress for holiday fest 2007! I am simultaneously feeling like I've gotten a lot done and like I'll never be able to make it. These trees are really fun and will make a great display. The ones standing up are made from thrifted materials.

Crafty work day today, I made a lot of progress but still nothing to show for it. I'm trying to realize economies of scale by doing a lot of one thing at at time, right now I'm doing a bunch of trees and dream pouches. I wonder if I will regret this plan when I am sewing in zipper after zipper. The best part about crafty work day is the view:

Hee! This is a little onesie I made especially for a little baby that was born too far away. Hopefully this message will sink in and her parents will move closer immediately!

Do you have trouble with buttons? I do. I really like them and frequently think they would be just the thing to add some texture and an interesting shape to a lot of things. But then when I get out the button tin (just go on ebay and buy one they come already assembled courtesy of someone else's sweet grandma) then I start thinking: is this too kitschy? is it going to look unbearably Shabby Chic? This is a problem I have.

This is a little project that I had some fun with for Thad's birthday. He needed a water bottle for his new work/fitness situation so when I saw these stainless steel bottles on Angry Chicken I knew they would be perfect: Thad has a thing for metal. But I was worried about how hot or cold liquids would feel in a stainless steel container so I decided to do a little protective sleeve thing to fancy it up, also to make a water bottle more exciting as a birthday present.



I've been buying silkscreened patches on etsy to use for little decorations and this is one of those, it looks dragonish and of course I had to add my two cents by writing "love" on it. I did manage to refrain from using my girly handwriting and I'm sure Thad is thankful for that.

It's funny how things work. When I was 13 years old I took a quilting class with my mom, neither of us had ever quilted before but it sounded neat and was something my great grandmother had done so my mom had some sentimental attachment. I made an 18" square that took me about six months (maybe a year!), and vowed never to handquilt again because six months for one square did not seem like a good deal to me. Fast forward to now: by way of embroidery I've started using a running stitch to decorate my quilted items because I love the texture: this running stitch is also known as hand quilting.

Continuing my love affair with the wonderful world of embroidery, I've been embroidering a few sets of pillowcases, many of which are destined to be gifts. This handwork has been very comforting to me because it is so portable and there are very few decisions to be made if you are following a pattern like this. My one big rule with these sets is that I must work both pillowcases at the same time so I don't end up dreading the second pillowcases (knitters see also second sock syndrome).

This one will be for us and is a blend of Sublime Stitching and Aunt Martha's patterns. It's mate has a unicorn in place of the birds and etc. Guess which one Thad wants to use?

My move was pretty disruptive but we are starting to settle into apartment living now so I can show you what I've been up to, trying to keep sane. These are a couple of sets of booties that I've been fiddling with using Heather Bailey's pattern. These are for a little Christmas project I've been thinking about which is where my love of pure wool in August comes from.

Both pairs are made from thrifted all wool or lambswool sweaters that go in the washing machine on hot. I also got a pair of lime green (!) Calvin Klein jeans that are turning into cute cotton versions.

This is a pillow top I put together with some scraps one evening when I needed a little inspiration. This is about to be part of a larger whole, I am putting together a collection of handmade things incorporating my handdyed fabrics and embroidery.

This is the complete gift set I made for my sister-in-law who is having a girl. I used Angry Chicken's instructions to make matching onesies to go with the quilt. These were super easy with the fancy stitch on my new machine. I am inordinantly proud of the whole set.

I used more of my pink hand dyed fabric for this one. This time I divided up the cut squares into a light pile and a dark pile to make two different colored stripes that look like they are actually different fabrics. It's a pretty cool effect that I will use again on future projects, maybe to get an ombre type effect.

Here's a shot that shows the embroidery and the Beatrix Potter fabric I used for the back, the pink toile is also Beatrix Potter. I'm not usually one for licensed character fabric, but this stuff is adorable.

Click here for a rather dubious shot of the whole finished quilt and here for a closeup of the squirrel appliqued onesie which features a Fussy Cut. Hee, that's really what it's called when you cut out a certain part of the fabric design on purpose.

Actually all of this photography is terrible but I wanted to make sure I had some pictures before this is gone forever at the shower tomorrow.

Here's another picture of my adventures in the wonderful world of embroidery! Since I still haven't gotten the iron-on patterns I ordered, I drew these birds based on images of Ms. Hart's patterns that appeared in Adorn. My college contour drawing came right back.

Last night I discovered the wonderful world of embroidery. I am embroidering decorations on the quilt top from my last post. So far just words and hearts but I ordered some of these so whenever they come we will see even more exciting embroidery.

These are the fruits of my weekend. I am experimenting more with my block printing which you can see here under its protective shower curtain. I sandwich it in these layers so it will not dry out during the curing period.
I also made this cuddly little envelope for a dear friend's birthday to hold her tiny little laptop that goes everywhere in her purse. The loop will have a button that it attaches to but I want to see how it fits before sewing the button on. I think the envelope reflects her best qualities because she is quite stylish but at the same time humbly down to earth. It's lined inside with the red and brown flower print.

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.

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.

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?!

This is what my guest room/craft studio bed looks like right now. Many in-process crafts have exploded all over it. I anticipate many finished object in the next two weeks. In the meantime Thaddy and I are off to Mendocino for a romantic interlude enjoying the midweek, off season deals they have on right now. While I'm gone you should try out these two recipes both of which were resounding successes:

1. Brownie Points' homemade marshmallows, amaze your friends!
2. Smitten Kitchen's blondies, I added the jack daniels and some ghirardelli white chocolate chunks.

Weekend recap:

1. Started a scarf using this pattern in Manos del Uruguay yarn in a beautiful purple shade. I would like to make the pattern in a variegated colorway also, but none of them out right now thrill me. The variegation really makes the pattern stand out beautifully.

2. Made my first loaf of whole wheat bread using the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book, a christmas gift from my mother-in-law. It turned out pretty good, which is saying a lot since:
a)it was my first try at whole wheat bread baking,
b)my first homemade loaf of bread that turned out remotely edible, and
c)I forgot to add the yeast! I kneaded it into the dough after I had already formed it with all of the other ingredients.

3. Cut out pieces to make myself a new purse and I even attached interfacing to the applicable parts. Should be able to finish construction this week.

4. Made world peace cookies. These were good but I think I'll keep looking for my personal perfect chocolate cookie recipe. Looking at the blog picture again though makes me think I may have over cooked mine. Also had a lot of trouble with the slice and bake aspect, they crumbled soo much for me. I got Alice Medrich's chocolate cookbook from my sister for my birthday a couple of years ago, I need to try her cookies out.

5. Watched Nanny McPhee which I really enjoyed. The set and costume design are gorgeous with vibrant fairy tale colors, not to mention Colin Firth alert!