Iz needed a new hat, so I found a bag of brown/red yarn at Value Village, threw in some eyelash yarn and knit her up this quick little hat. I used the . Let me tell you, it is my favorite pom pom maker OF ALL TIME. So quick, so easy, doesn’t fall apart, it’s a dream. I’ve made pom poms, just to have them.
I don’t know about you, but I have become a fan of , BIG TIME. You can shop on their if the Japanese site is tough (but so worth clicking around).
Birds. Yep, on the brain, like everyone else. You’ve seen them all I’m sure. I’m working on my own little pattern, a few variations. Thinking about a possible class at when it opens in Seattle. These are so quick and take just minutes to cut out, sew and stuff. Next step – off to to find the fabrics for my little flock.
I found these at too.
I’m going to be using them for the ornaments for the .
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week. Why is there so much Christmas stuff in the stores already! I know why, I just wish those retailers wouldn’t do it. It makes me so crazy, I’m not buying anything this Christmas, I’m making it all from found stuff. So there.
I love those “paint it yourself” pottery places. They are not the cheapest thing to do on a rainy day, but they sure are fun. This one in Poulsbo, had glaze samples velcro’ed to a tile, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I played with the little tiles over and over, and as I look at this photo longer, I want to make a quilt out of it.
Then it I get lost in quilt land. I’ve always loved quilts. Madly. I loved making Iz’s quilt and the little scrap quilt for her doll. Grandma Ruby quilts and belongs to a quilt club which keeps her busy. I love the . When we were working on our Eco Quilts at , We read about the , and I couldn’t stop pouring over the images of each quilt.
I have dreams about making another quilt (jeez, among other things, my list keeps getting longer!), and with , I’m thinking the quilt idea is going to have to wait until the new year. Which is ok, day dreaming about quilts, looking at fabric, working in the notebook is all fun too.
I’m also really interested in. I don’t think I could stick with following a pattern and cutting tons of squares, triangles, etc. But I could make it all up as I go along. I like what happens when you wing it (sounds crazy doesn’t it, coming from a control freak!), but I find I’m most creative then. I guess you could look at it like playing with fabric and stitches and just letting it all happen. (I am so talking myself into this!)
You could think of this post as part of my plan. More lists later…
Every year I talk about doing it, but this year I’m going to talk about it now instead of 2 months from now. I want to make my Christmas gifts this year. I have a list of ideas (not matched up to the recipients mind you..)but a list of wonderful useful projects that I’m using as a starting point. Of course it will evolve according to wish lists and such, but I’m excited about it none the less.
Felted Sweater Coasters : and and , oh and , gosh I love
Blankets: I love , this ,
Napkins: because I LOVE bias tape. Here’s not using bias tape.
Freezer Paper Prints: The ideas have been percolating over here (in my head…), I’m eager to attempt a few….here’s a cute , and a on .
Pillows: In a perfect world I’d love to and make some groovy pillows. But I have other ideas for pillows too. , , and all of these .
Bags: The possibilities are just endless. But this season I’ll probably focus on fabric shopping bags….. I love my , but I think I love my more, it’s easier to carry…., but I also love making bags out of found clothing/bedding/fabric.
Looking for your own ideas? Check out . There are so many , you are sure to find something for everyone on your list. But start now. Or the list over at .
You don’t have to sew to make your gifts either. I’ve been cooking up a storm and have been tossing around food gift ideas, maybe a collection of my fave recipes, or ingredients in a jar for my fave soup or cookies.
The possibilites are endless, so I’m making my list and checking it twice, going through my supplies and doing a little bit every week. I’m hoping to get together with some of my fellow craftettes and plow through the project list so I’m not late!
You might have noticed that part of my evil plan is to get the rest of the world sewing. And that’s everyone. Two of our little friends had birthdays and I thought it was time for them to start sewing too!
There are my first go at little kits. One for Miss A (turning 3) and one for Mr. H (turning 4). Each kit is quilted, so it’s nice and soft. Lots of little narrow pockets, a piece of felt for pins and needles, a happy tie and monogrammed so they won’t be lost. I put in little safety scissors, for fabric only of course, a tape measure, marking pencils, tapestry needles a few glass head pins and a rainbow of embroidery floss. I was so excited.
The kits were really, really easy to make. Each one took me less than an hour. I think the next round will be a little different, The bias tape edge wasn’t as fabulous as I had envisioned, and a little flap over the pockets will make sure the scissors don’t fly out of the kit.
The biggest thank you anyone could hope for? Little Mr. H (is he not just the cutest Little LuckyStitcher you’ve ever seen?), stopped by to show me his stitchery. A kitty and a carrot. Mom helped with the outlines, and Mr. H filled in. Suitable for framing in my book. Happy Sewing.
I find that being the mom of a 3 year old, I am getting much better at dealing with the time I have to do projects. I find myself working through my creative ideas while doing the dishes, preparing meals, driving to the grocery store. I dream about my projects, practice them in my mind, make a prototype in my dreams, all this so when I have the five minutes to try it, I can actually make it.
I’ve been spending the last month on what to make with all our scraps from our Eco-Quilts. I’ll eventually post a list of all the projects I’ve researched – so you can use your scraps too. But I’m really excited about what we’ll be making over the next couple of weeks in our HomeSchool Sewing Class. Week one, we’re making Scrap Flowers (just in time for Mother’s Day). Week two, Fabric Beads. I think the LuckyStitchers will be all scrapped out by then, so we’ll be making a bucket hat during the latter part of the month.
What I really, really love about my classes at LuckyStitches, is that each person walks away with their very own creation. Each quilt we’ve made last month is completely unique. There was no set pattern, only a technique that was introduced. These creative minds can explore cutting and sewing so they can dream about it too and create their very own items, articles and art. Nothing is wrong. Everything is right and wonderful.
At the end of next week I’ll post our Scrap Flowers and let you know how we did it, so you can make your own too (or for the mom in your life…Mother’s Day is coming!). They are really, really quick. In the meantime, go grab your scraps. If you are sewing this week, don’t toss your tiny scraps, keep them. They work perfectly for these next two projects!
I realized it’s been a while since I’ve shared any of my sewing projects, so I thought I’d give you a little update.
I have been sewing quite a bit. A few birthday presents for kids that left before I could snap a shot. A little twirly skirt and a zippered pouch meant to hold tiny horses.
I finally finished the Doll Quilt for Iz. I started it a while ago, and finally finished sewing on the binding. I love her reaction when I make her things. So thrilled and she just loves everything I make, and you know that makes it so much easier to keep making her things.
Remember this hat I made for Iz last year. Well I’ve been noodling with the pattern and have already made this one, then I made this one:
I am really in love this with hat. The brim is nice and big to keep the sun away. I am even thinking of making a few out of felted sweaters for our nice cold spring, or next winter. (the lovely pics are from my HomeSchool LuckyStitchers – thanks guys! you ROCK!
I made a spring coat (), and I am so not in love with it. It’s HUGE! I made it two sizes smaller than what the pattern suggests, and it is still too big. The fabric is wonderful, I love the bright green lining and I am thinking big black bakelight buttons. I haven’t hemmed it yet, I think that I just need to make it the right length and it will be flattering. I’m bummed. I still need a spring coat.
I am almost finished with a lovely wrap dress. I’ll post pictures of it when I’m done (soon, soon, soon)
I am super excited about my next big project. The girls have been wanting to make quilts, and that’s what we are doing this month at LuckyStitches. I’ve also been trying to get everyone to think about their resources and using what they have, so I’ve asked them all to bring a bag of old clothes, bed linens and fabric scraps to share. These items up for swap go in the center of the table and the girls can grab and trade as they cut 3″ strips.
Or tear 3″ strips. Everyone got a bit of practice doing one of my favorite things, tearing fabric. With a little snip at 3″, then a good strong pull on either side and sheets and big pieces can rip beautifully. I love their faces when they make a little magic too.
Here’s the start of mine. From left to right – tweed pants, angora sweater, wool flannel pants. I’m not an earthtone kind of girl, but I am falling in love with these textures and colors. I have a bit more cutting to do as next week we’ll start sewing our scrap strips together.
I’m asking everyone to save all of their scraps from their cutting of the strips and we are going to try to use everything. I’m looking for scrap projects, so if you know of any, please share!
I’ve always been fascinated with quilts. Not only do I love the patterns, textures, pieces, colors but I love that they are meant to be cozy and keep you warm and even tell a story. I’m fascinated by the master quilters who can slice and dice fabric and stitch it into amazing shapes with color placement that makes me swoon, literally.
I think you know that at I offer classes to HomeSchoolers. Well, I’ve declared April to be Quilt month, and we are going to be making quilts! Let me tell you that I am no master quilter, by any means. I can’t stand cutting (but my rotary blade has certainly helped with that). I have made a quilt before, and I loved it! I still love it. Iz loves it too. They make for wonderful keepsakes. They also tell stories. I’ll be sharing resources with the kids so they can understand the history, passion and art in quilts too.
For this class, however, we won’t be going to the fabric store to make our quilt tops, we are going to be looking in the closet. Using clothes, linens, towels, blankets, anything made of fabric or fabric scraps. We’ll be making the ultimate in scrap quilts, turning something that doesn’t’ seem to have a use anymore (pants that don’t fit) into something eternally useful (a quilt!). For years I’ve used old sheets, blankets, towels and clothes and made them into something new, preventing the “old” item from going to waste or ending up in a landfill (did you know that the dyes used in coloring fabric are mostly toxic? You can read more or ). Hopefully, by making these quilts, we can also raise awareness of our use of textiles, how they are made, thrown away or even better – re-used.
Here’s our tentative schedule if you want to participate or follow along:
Week 1 – Cutting. We’ll be cutting our found items into 3″ strips. We’re going to be holding on to all our scraps and perhaps use them along the way or figure out something new to do with them.
Week 2 and 3 – Sewing. We’ll be sewing our strips together. End to end then strip to strip. We’re just going to keep sewing until we have enough for a quilt that’s about 50×50 ish.
Week 4 – Quilting. We’ll be safety pin basting our quilts together, using batting if necessary and attaching a back. Then we’ll quilt it all together either machine quilting or tying.
Week 5 – Binding. Maybe using scraps or linings or something left over, we’ll stitch together strips for a binding and sew it on.
I’ll be posting inspiration, photos and stories along the way.
**Remember, I can sew, but I’m not a super duper quilter. I’ll be showing the kids some super basic techniques. Hopefully, this will give them the foundation they need to go and either take another quilt class or start on another quilt or even make their own pattern. Whatever the outcome, they will have made something that is eco conscious as well as get more practice sewing, and have it for the rest of their lives (as long as mom doesn’t clean up their rooms and throw everything out that’s on the floor…not that these will end up in a pile somewhere…).
I hope you’ll follow along. Even better if there are kids in your life who can follow along too! And if you do decide to participate, please let me know.
Do you remember sewing with your mom or grandmother or aunt or a good friend? Or maybe it wasn’t sewing, but knitting or gardening or cooking? Doesn’t a smile just start to sneak up on you as you remember the embroidery sampler, the scarf, the doll clothes, the vegetable garden? I find that I remember these things with my mom (sewing, gardening crafting), my grandmothers (painting, fashion show lunches, needlepoint, cooking), aunts who stitched, crocheted, photographed, read books, listened to music: the loving people in my life that were so passionate about their craft it seeped through every aspect and into mine? Sifting through their “tool boxes” as they baked in the kitchen. Smelling the oil paint, trying on thimbles, reading the climate maps on seed packets, fingering the embroidery floss and loving the colors, staring at bookshelves, loving the wonderful art books they found inspiration in. Maybe that’s one of the wonderful reasons sewing and these other arts are so comforting to me? The act of focusing on all these activities is so zen like, but how much of it is due to the love in how I learned to do it?
Each month at LuckyStitches I offer a class for kids and their parents to come in and sew a project together. This month, we made bucket hats.
Perfect for Spring. Especially since we keep having storm after storm and more snow (although today it was rain).
Everyone learned how to adjust the pattern to their measurements.
Cutting always takes practice.
Sewing circles takes practice and some advice from mom.
Making sure tootsies can reach the pedal, make for a tear free sewing experience.
Ages 7 and 10 – these little LuckyStitchers, along with their mom, made their very own hats. Together.
**Don’t forget to sign up for the 200th Post-O-Rama Giveaway by leaving a comment on that post by Friday.
starts tomorrow. Pattern is from the wonderful () and arrived in the mail today. Dots are from , which we visited this morning. Even though they have a bucket of toys, I was rushed, but I like the dots.
Sew much has been going on at LuckyStitches, so I’ll give it to you in one long post with pictures and a few words:
HomeSchoolers:
We’ve been working on our sewing machines. Some students have been stitching for a while, whether they started during the classes that began back in December, or earlier. Some have never used a sewing machine. You know what’s great about teaching these kids to sew on machines? They try anything. They don’t give up and aren’t afraid of the machine or to make mistakes. They are thrilled to be making things.
This week it was tote bags. Fabulous practice for first timers, lots of straight lines, hems, corners and straps. For those that are more experienced, they design their own bags.
Above – the kids ages 6 -11 – all sewing on the machine for the first time.
Flannel pups, we put french seams in our tote bags so they wouldn’t ravel all over our books, groceries, sewing projects, dolls, etc.
Dolls watch as we sew straps.
The perfect pocket completed by a first time sewing machine 6 year old queen.
While each child is different, I am amazed by the talent displayed by my youngest students. They sew straight lines. They remember how to wind bobbins and thread the machine. Some parents declare that their 6 year old can’t use a machine (and they could be right), but have they tried? Sure, they shouldn’t be left alone, it is a machine and it can sew over a finger, but why not sew together? If you give them a chance, they can totally do it.
The classes are designed as guidelines. Since everyone works at different levels, I provide the basic idea and encourage everyone to make it their own. This 12 year old decided her tote would be in strips.
After attaching the strips, she pleated every other one. I can’t wait to show you what she does with the bag this week. It’s a very clever bag (no longer the trad tote!).
This is a box tote, that has been quilted and has tons of pockets including a zipper pocket on this side of the bag.
Bag has handles attached with square rings and fabulous batik trim. The inside is lined. More on the bags after classes this week. We’re going to have a bag show.
We’ve also been working on embroidery. We are working in T-shirts. More pictures later.
Embroidery 101 :: I created a sampler and taught the basic stitches (so everyone could create their own!). Here we are using the “window method” to transfer the sampler pattern to our fabric. We are using basic color pencils to transfer the pattern
French Knots, Split Stitch, Chain Stitch, Satin Stitch and Blanket Stitch.
We are still making jeans. Here, the edges of the pieces are being serged (denim ravels like CRAZY). My jeans are just about done, but, and I can’t believe it, but my jeans are just way too big! How did that happen. The muslin fit! Maybe the “Sew Diet” is working. I’m eager to finish my first pair, I have many more in line.
If you have an iron, it’s best to have an aloe plant around. We needed this during a Sew-cial when a 6 year old was learning how to iron (with her mom), and ironed her arm. ouch. If you don’t have an Aloe plant at your home, sewing room or lounge, go get one.
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