well-crafted

Fit for Spring

An outfit has been made. Lauren loves saying it. “My outfit.” She’s really into the concept of two pieces meant to go together. This top took me quite a while, working on it in tiny bits here and there over the last two months. Last Friday I started the pants at Modern Domestic (yeah!!) and by Sunday evening, the whole thing was finished. My little lass helped with the button selection and yelped and squealed and showed off to her brother and father and modeled enthusiastically for the camera when the last one was sewn on. I like the colors of these pieces for Spring, ‘cause that’s more what it looks like around here this time of year: browns, grays, a little bit of dark red and green in the new growth of trees and bark. These colors feel more spring-like to me than the pastels we usually see. (Although I have always loved a beautiful soft lavender dress for Easter. Maybe this is the year for that).

Patterns are both from this book and I would make them again. Cute and easy. The rise on the pants needs to be shortened a bit though, if you make them—views W & U—consider taking out around an inch. And I added the pocket to the front of the top. Lauren has found it to be the perfect place for hair clips.

Auction Quilt

For the last two years that Will has attended our neighborhood school, I have enjoyed working on art projects with his class for the school’s annual auction. This year we made an art quilt. The theme was about their dreams of what they wanted to be when they grow up. Each child was given a muslin block and some fabric markers, crayons and pens with which to create a self-portrait about their future. They all did such a nice job on their blocks (so colorful!) and the final product turned out so beautiful.

I can't say enough good things about the materials we used for the drawings. The fabric markers and crayons are fantastic. They do not wash out or fade at all. And they didn’t bleed into the fabric either—they made very crisp lines. I will definitely use them again for other similar projects. (we’ve already got a family art-quilt in the planning stages).

For the printed blocks with text, I did a lot of research and experimentation to find the best solution which would not wash out or fade because I wanted the type to be really sharp and readable. The final winner was this product. I ironed my pre-washed, Bubble-Jet soaked Kona cotton onto a sheet of freezer paper then trimmed it to fit my printer. Printed out my design, let it sit overnight, then peeled it off of the paper and rinsed it in Bubble Jet Rinse. After drying, the ink was set. I did several test washes without any noticeable fading. Miraculous. Get some and try it! (The weird moire here is a result of the photography. It is not part of the design).

A couple of shots of the quilt in progress:

Close-ups of some of the individual blocks:

Cowboy.

Gymnast.

Soccer player (Will’s).

Cheerleader.

Race car driver.  

Egyptologist.

Teacher.

Entertainer.

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A final note: Kirk surprised me the night of the event and placed the winning bid on the quilt—something I did not expect at all—so we got to bring it home with us! Will was super happy about it and was found spending much of the following day like this:

Happy Birthday, Dad

Thanks, Dad, for teaching me to love art, put family first, get tough when the going does the same, and to always believe in my dreams.

I can’t remember where this was taken, but it’s probably about 15 years old and one of my favorites of my Dad and me together. (And I think I made that dress I am wearing).