well-crafted

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:

Good mail

It wasn’t all bills and tax stuff this week. I’m really excited to get busy using this shirt making book. Purchased here.

And this toy is going to change things around here.

Windowpane top

I have decided to start sewing for myself again—after about 20 years! For a while I thought I needed a dress form first, or to lose a few pounds…but really, that’s silly, isn’t it? I’m pretty satisfied with the way this basic top turned out. I have wondered if it looks at tad too small/tight, but it’s really quite comfortable the way it is. Comments and suggestions on fit welcome. Simplicity 2599.

A few things I changed—or will change next time:

Lengthened the sleeves to 3/4 length.

The bust darts need to be about 1/2 inch lower. Maybe more. (Although it looks like I was trying to stick out my chest in this photo, I assure you, I was only trying to stand up straight).

I added a long curve to the back seam in an attempt to reduce the bunching up of fabric in the back. Not sure it worked out the way I wanted it to. Also, I will make the keyhole opening at the top a bit smaller. It gapes. (See top photo).

Overall? Good.

No Guts, No Glory

I love the name of this fabric from Alexander Henry. It cracks me up. Will wanted a button-front shirt and picked out this fabric at Bolt last fall. The pattern is, again, from this book—a winner. I wish I would have thought more about the placement of pattern pieces before I cut them, so as to avoid the symmetry on the two fronts, but oh well… I was more focused on the back placement.

Update: Look what I found here on Flickr! Fantastic.

Handmade gift report: Jessica’s new clothes (and some oven mitts)

All credit for this project goes to my mom, who made these precious clothes for Lauren’s Götz doll, Jessica. Her new wardrobe builders include a dress, a pair of pajamas, and a top and shorts set. Yeah, Grandma!

[A note about the pajamas/buttonholes. These were made with flannel from my stash after my mom’s arrival here. I finished the buttonholes on the front and promptly began crying (on Christmas Eve, no less) because I am so frustrated with the buttonhole maker on my machine. My mom soothed me, as all good mothers do, by reminding me that buttonholes don’t have to be perfect on doll’s clothes. But really it’s the principle—and she had to agree. I have a somewhat expensive machine and I shouldn’t have to hold my breath every time I make a buttonhole. I’d say for every ten buttonholes I make, I get four good ones. That’s just not right. I am thinking of trading it in for something different. Any suggestions? My machine is a Pfaff 2038 that Kirk bought me for my birthday two years ago and I like everything else about it but this is just driving me crazy. If anyone has the same machine and a similar—or different—experience, I'd like to hear about it.]

And finally, I made a set of festive oven mitts for my mom, using the pattern from Denyse Schmidt’s book. They turned out pretty cute. However I didn’t finish binding the bottom edges so they went home with mom sans binding and she will finish that part. How’s that for a kick in the pants? All I can say is, thank goodness for mothers who understand.

Handmade gift report: Lauren’s Doll

Although I had greater ambitions for my handmade gifts this year, I was ultimately pretty satisfied with those projects I was able to finish.

This was sort of a special project for me because when I was a girl, my mother made a doll for me each year for Christmas. (Perhaps you remember this post?) I decided it was a tradition worth carrying on and so proceeded with a little faith, a lot of excitement and Hillary Lang’s excellent Wee Wonderfuls pattern, Kit, Chloe and Louise. My girl likes her dolls with a bit more sophistication so I designed and embroidered a slightly more “glamorous” face (inspired by these gorgeous girls). In this photo, the braids have not yet been secured to the head—you can see the tell-tale pin head on her right side. I have also not yet finished her shoes (the first one I made looked a little wonky) and I think she’s almost cuter barefoot so the shoes have moved way down the priority list. I think she’s pretty cute and so does my girl. We are still working on a name for her. Her name is Lisa.

More to come, friends…

Best Friend Blouse

Sometime in early October I finished a blouse for Lauren’s friend, Eliza. This would be the second year I’ve sewn for E and the beginnings of what I hope will be a long running tradition. Last year’s blouse was one of my favorites, but I think this one is quite spiffy, too. Like the red dress, the pattern is from Kids Happy Homemade Vol. 2—a great book with lots of simple patterns (what else would you expect?). The sizes are on the larger end of what I usually see offered in most Japanese books and also seemed to be pretty generous so it’s a good choice for those of us who are well out of the toddler sewing phase. I would definitely make this pattern again. Lauren wants  one just like this only a dress. Christmas plaid?!

What I sent

I loved working on this swap project because it gave me a unique opportunity to look at craft materials in a very different way and also re-inspired my interest in vintage items. It was cool to think of creative ways to use beautifully designed old tablecloths, handkerchiefs and other home textiles.

Because I so enjoyed making the Everything Tote a couple of months ago, I decided to make one for my swap partner, Kathi. I used a vintage linen tablecloth which had a cross-stitch design partially finished. I lined the handles with some linen from another tablecloth which I dyed olive green. Actually it turned out to be a bit more like green apple or avocado. I had planned to make some placemats out of that but I messed them up so the remainder ended up peeking out of the handles on this bag. I do hope Kathi will enjoy using it while she’s out and about her southern California town. I’m quite happy with how it turned out and was a bit sad to see it go. I'll have to wrangle up some more linen with half-finished needlework on it and make one for myself.

It was kind of tough to photograph the bag hanging because the linen makes it pretty floppy but I always have to get a shot of bags on a door handle…

I also made some fabric-covered buttons with the little scraps from a really poofy cotton vintage dress I cut up.

I included a couple yards of this home-dec weight linen (or linen/cotton blend)…

…a book of poems for her kiddos (with gorgeous illustrations!).

And lastly, this small set of ceramic teacups—probably from the 60’s or 70’s—which I thought were really stunning in person.

One final and sincere thanks to Heather for her inspiration and all the planning she did to make this swap happen. It was a great experience for me and I hope to participate again!

Deadline approaching

Swap WIP. Hey I like the sound of that!

Red Linen Dress

It is so fortuitous that Mill End and Kinokuniya are right next to each other. Last week after an appointment in their neighborhood, I swung by both stores. At the fabric store I bought some beautiful red linen. It’s color is sort of tomato-ey red and it’s nubby and slightly heavy. And I walked out of the bookstore with this book, Kids Happy Homemade Vol. 2:

By the weekend I couldn’t resist the fabric even though my intent was to save it for next summer. It seemed a little silly to make another summer dress for Lauren as the season is ending. But I really couldn’t help myself. So I made her the larger size thinking she could wear it for the rest of this summer and through all of the next. It is lovely. Sadly though, it’s humongous on her—it looks a bit like a muu muu. Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea. It’s big. 

I had a red dress in college, similar to this one. It was my unofficial party dress and every time I wore it I felt beautiful.

We will wait patiently until she grows into hers. And it will be beautiful on her.

Everything Tote

 

Perfect for errands, day trips and shopping, the Everything Tote from Weekend Sewing is one of the cutest bags I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure if it’s so named because you can use it for everything or because you can fit everything into it. It is huge—in a good way. Despite the problems I had with the binding instructions, I will definitely be making many more of these. I will simply add about 3/8" to the width of the binding and handles. And I’ll put pockets on both sides of the inside—the second one I may make a bit deeper to hold safely the tokens we use at our farmer’s market. Otherwise it is a near perfectly designed bag. This one was made for a friend’s birthday (I really do think it’s the ideal gift) and the next one I make will be for me!

Oliver + S

This is the Birthday Party Dress from Oliver + S. What a great pattern! I love the construction and finishing techniques—they make this dress feel so special. The only potential downside is having to iron those pleats after every washing.

Oh well…I think they’ll be worth it.