Stockings Were Hung

We are very fortunate to live in the same town as both sets of grandparents. At the holidays, family comes to us, and we stay put. We have plenty of time, especially immediately after Christmas, to loll around the house doing absolutely nothing. I haven't even turned on the sewing machine in six days. To make a blog post, I need to trot out the last project I finished. It's a set of stockings (3 of the 4 I made) for my my friend, A. She went against the red and greed grain as she selected fabric that suits the members of her family and the fabrics already in her family room. I banded stockings in natural linen with a strip of a favored Japanese scooter fabric to tie the four different body fabrics together some.

Christmas Chorus Line

I once made an advent calendar with 24 six-inch paper-pieced Santas to represent the count-down to Christmas. It's a fun pattern; while making the wall hanging, I worked out how to keep directional fabric straight, even with an angled seam. An enlarged Santa fits on the front of a decorative holiday pillow, now for sale at the Holiday Market at Lincoln Square. I used colored snaps for eyes. I've made about a dozen Santas so far, but still have in mind trying versions with blue fabrics, dishes fabric and maybe tomato fabric.

Spoonflower Special

My friend G is an elementary school social worker. For the last couple of years, she has imagined a pouch design to take to her annual state-wide conference of fellow social workers. This year the theme is a play on Superman; she designed t-shirts and rounded out the superhero merchandise with pouches. We used Spoonflower to print custom fabric. With some lead time, Spoonflower is a marvelous tool for custom designs on fabric. I have in mind to make pouches with initials on them in some colorful and graphic style.

Stop On By

Lincoln Square's Holiday Market opens this coming Saturday. Running from 8am to 1pm every Saturday through December 15th, the Holiday Market features food and craft vendors on a mission to help you out with your holiday gift list. For sale at my booth I will have items ranging from $2 to $40, including pre-wrapped hostess gifts, Santa pillows and baskets, and purses and pouches of various sizes to organize daily whatnot. You are invited!

Divided Basket

My friend A loves color and pattern. She also wants her things, and her kids' things, to be organized. I've made several fabric baskets for her to contain mail, Legos, and random items. Today I finished a fabric basket with an internal divider for holding board books and toys between the carseats in the back of the car. By piecing the canvas lining instead of beginning with one large rectangle, I was able to insert the dividing panel in partially-sewn seams right before joining the lining to the outside of the bucket. I'm pleased that my puzzling skills yielded the result I intended. That doesn't always happen with fresh projects.

Halloween Bucket

My new nephew is gearing up for his first Halloween. He plans to go around the neighborhood dressed as a penguin. Even though he's only a little over 4 months old, folks are sure to give him candy. He'll need a place to store it until he eats that kind of food, or has teeth, for that matter. I reprised a cute scarecrow applique-patterned fabric bucket for the job. Made exactly according to the pattern, it still looks different from the same bucket I made for my son and another made for an older nephew. Once again, I prove to myself that I really do need to keep buying fresh fabric. That way, when I repeat old patterns, the result still looks brand new.

This Is Why We Don't Have Pets

The month after my first child was born, I got it in my head that I needed a new hobby. It would need to be something I could do while the baby napped, an event I imagined would happen so regularly and in such length that I would need a meaty hobby to fill my vast spare time. So, I bought a sewing machine. I planned to make marvelous quilts and assorted items for my home, so I splurged on a glorious German sewing machine. The truth of young children allowed years of dust to gather on the machine, but I've sewn and quilted periodically over the years. Since launching a farmers' market business, the machine chugs along nearly every day....until now. In one week, the fuse has blown on a circuit board the company no longer makes, and the bobbin hook has failed completely. Somehow, my geeky husband replaced the fuse (after taking this colorful reference photo of the guts of the sewing machine), and the hook was swapped out. The lady at Sew Sassy who replaced the damaged bobbin hook advised me to start researching a replacement machine. I don't want a replacement. I want my regular machine; I know how it works; I know how it sounds. My fingers find the function buttons without my eyes needing to look for them. I am experiencing the hobby version of stages of grief over the impending loss of my best tool and toy, and I don't like it. The whole process of frustration and denial and grief reminds me why we don't have real pets. My sewing machine has been my pet, and it will be some time before a replacement feels as comforting.

Rainbow Room Rest

My niece would like her whole bedroom to reflect her current favorite color scheme: rainbows. My sister has repainted the wooden stuff-and-stuff bins on her shelves in all the colors of the rainbow and clustered multi-hued paper lanterns up at the ceiling in one corner of the room. To jazz up the bed, I made these two-sided chevron pillow covers with piping. They are huge (26 inches square) and will comprise the last layer of pillows on a rainbow-themed bed. I'll mail them in the morning because I know that everything for a 6-year-old is time-sensitive. They are washable (flu season is coming) and generic enough to migrate to another kid-friendly room in the house when my niece moves on to her next theme.

But Wait, There's More

I just couldn't resist. The Urbana Market at the Square runs into November each year. Typically, I commit to the summer Saturdays I will have a booth there during the winter. This year, I'm ready for a little more. I have registered for another Saturday market, this coming Saturday. Expect to see some of my new fabric made into new baskets, pouches, purses and key fobs. I will also have small Halloween-themed baskets for holding the prime candy of the upcoming season.

Maxi Piping

The kids are back at school. The rush of summer farmers' markets is over. The holiday craft market season has yet to begin. I have crafting time on my hands. Sewing is an easy venue for me to employ the life strategies I would wish to use all the time. For example, when I have more time, I'd like divert extra energy to learning something new. Right now, I'm curious about piping. Thanks to the internet and Pinterest for the directions to add piping to pillows and bean bags. When the kids aren't home, my family room looks coordinated and customized with zippered and (even) piped pillow covers and a bean bag piped in turquoise.

Fitted Cover

My friend K is changing the scheme in her family room. Part of the make-over is a slip-cover for a large ottoman she uses as a coffee table. She found lovely fabric online, and I constructed this basic boxy cover. I aimed to have the diamonds on the fabric march around the four sides. They cooperated. Installed in her home with a tray on top, the ottoman coordinates with new persimmon-colored couches and chairs to be slip-covered in painter's cloth (my next furniture project). Photographed here is K's ottoman next to my own gray couch. I like it! As a bonus, I had to pick up the Legos and books from the family room floor to take the picture. Even without a new-looking ottoman, my house is refreshed.

Y2K Pegs

My first child was born in April of 2000. At the time my husband and I were painting the new baby's bedroom gender-neutral yellow stripes and buying teenie diapers and back-up pacifiers, the news ran stories of folks stock-piling general essentials in case computers, traffic lights and banking systems went hay-wire when the century changed. One baby's room project was a peg board for displaying cute clothes. My husband carved frolicking rabbits into the board, then bought pre-made maple pegs to finish up. The pegs came in a box of 50, vastly more than he needed, but much cheaper on a per-peg basis than just buying the 6 he would use. Let's call it his Y2K preparations.

We have been working through that box of pegs ever since. Now that our son is half-way through middle school, we have reached the bottom of the box. I love, love, love my new wall storage rack for oil cloth and laminated cotton rolls. Three rows of stout maple pegs give plenty of support to my raw materials. No trip to the hardware store is necessary; we have the ingredients for countless projects right here at home.

Sewing and Minecraft

Over the long, very hot summer, the go-to activity at my house has been playing Minecraft. All my kids (and my husband, too) have created elaborate worlds, filled with houses, railroads to nowhere, bottomless swimming pools with diving boards and vast farms of wheat, red and yellow flowers and sheep. They have learned that if you put two adult sheep together you will get a lamb. The baby will be the color of one of the parents. My son performed a vast, virtual Mendelssohn pea experiment with Minecraft sheep, all housed in separate pens and sorted by color to prove that traits are passed down through the generations. Lately, my sewing has been working the same way. My so-called large essentials bag is designed to look big enough to be a gift. It can contain bathroom supplies, home office bric-a-brac, or cords and chargers for travel. My sister gives large essential bags filled with baby items as shower gifts.

One of my customers, W, asked for a slightly taller and deeper bag to be made out of oil cloth and laminated cotton to serve as a toiletries bag. (in back of photo) At a recent farmers' market, A asked me to put a handle on a large essentials bag. She saw the shape and size as purse.

Tweaking my standard pattern, these projects push me to move to a new generation of sewing items.

Cover It Up

I love, love, love to sew the same thing over and over again. Varying only the fabric, I relish the productivity of repetition. And yet, there isn't much chance that I'll learn something new if I repeat a pattern indefinitely. This is why it's good to attempt the occasional one-off project. My friend A wanted a cover for her toaster. She knew she wanted the letter and the orange dot fabric worked in. Using my mom's sewing machine cozy as inspiration, I made this. It wasn't difficult, but it was something I haven't made before. It's good to vary the routine.

Christmas in July

My daughter turns 7 in November. She has started her birthday wish list already. It is dominated by various lovelies we have seen at the Eclectic artist co-op on Main Street in Urbana while we add to the stash of pouches and whatnot I'm selling there. My daughter's enthusiasm for approaching holidays is a good reminder that the best time to prepare for special events is when you see something you like. The above Christmas fabric is new; I bought it because it's time to get ready.

Nephew's Luggage

I have a new nephew. Though he is quite small, he needs supplies. This denim and Ed Emberley dragon print diaper bag should hold the necessities for a little boy out and about. The zippered top closes over two open interior pockets, one snapped pocket and a zippered compartment for valuables. Outside is another zippered pocket and an open pocket with elastic across the top to allow some expansion. The shoulder strap adjusts and removes, in case Mom and Dad want to carry the bag by side handles instead. Enjoy, Baby Simon!

Pillows Plus

The magazines claim a few casually displayed pillows bring style to a room without commitment. I look around my house and see missed opportunity. The pillows I have are largely older, possible dirty and even ripped. No more! My friend T has asked me to make zippered pillow covers for her couch. While I"m at at, I'll make some things for myself. The first installment is a Melody Miller fabric on a chair next to our dining table. Maybe a dishes design is too cutsie to be stylish, but for half a yard of fabric and a red zipper, I'm in.

Pantry Basket

I'm motivated to make fabric baskets lately, and I'd like to find the best ways to make baskets that are useful, attractive, durable and fun with fabric. Up to now, I've been trying to improve my baskets by experimenting with different combinations of interfacing and stabilizers as well as fussy ways to trim and iron. Baskets made from pieced fabric offer visual interest and maybe a little commentary, too. I could make a pieced basket with children's book characters. I could make a pieced basket showing the progression of the seasons; I could piece a basket with cats next to dogs. This vegetable basket is perhaps over-pieced. Still, the concept has potential.

Summer Purses

Thanks once again to Pinterest for showing me a new purse design. This shoulder bag comes from Anna Graham of Noodlehead. I am intrigued with the fabric mix-and-match options of a front panel and side pockets and side panels. The curved and multi-panel construction takes awhile, but I think the result is sophisticated and functional. My new bag this summer is made from Japanese Kokka owls and linen.

Market at the Square

This Saturday is my first farmers' market date of the summer. Every other weekend through August, I'll set up under my tent in the Lincoln Square parking lot and pass the morning people watching and chit-chatting. I spent the winter playing with new fabrics; right now I'm drawn to fabric with letters on it, splashy prints with coordinating circle and stripe patterns, organic cottons and fun home dec-weight prints. I made a number of fabric buckets and baskets to see what sizes are appealing to people. I'm also trying pillows this year. Scrappy with home-made binding and a small pocket for something special, I envision the pillow pictured useful for Tooth Fairy visits.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my sister today! She has taken up yoga, so I made her a yoga mat bag for a present. After looking around online for fresh inspiration, I revised my pattern. I like the extra color of a handle made out of fabric instead of cotton webbing. It's stabilized and anchored in the bottom seam for strength. Instead of insetting the zippered pocket, I stitched the whole she-bang to the outside for more color. A cast-off shoelace from the IDEA Store draws through grommets to close the bag.

Almost Summer

It's almost summer and time to get the end-of-year teacher gifts organized. It's a little cheesy, but I'm planning to package thank-you gift cards in fabric pouches this year. I went the literal route for fabric choice. One teacher is a photographer; one just finished a library degree and one I guessed on.

Shower Baskets

My brother and sister-in-law expect a baby boy very soon. I know the nursery has a giraffe on the wall, so I'm going with the theme to wrap up gifts for the baby shower. Maybe someday one of these baskets will be featured in a family scrapbook snapshot of my young nephew wearing a bucket on his head. In the meantime, diapers, p.j.s, board books and the many baby whatnots can be stashed.

A Pirate's Lunch

It can be tricky to find fabric that works for a man. More accurately, I don't spend much time thinking about fabric that would work for a man because I usually buy just what appeals to me. My friend T wanted a cover for his iPad made from pirate fabric. I found a print on Etsy, and made the item for him. Now, with the scraps, I've made an insulated lunch tote for T to take to work. The pattern is from www.sewmamasew.com and calls for a French-seamed lining to extend beyond the exterior of the bag to form a drawstring closure. I worked in as much of the pirate fabric as I had left, along with a red shoelace from The IDEA Store to prove I really do need to buy random items "I may someday use".

Pinterest Pillow

I'm the kind of crafter who knows what I like when I see it. I may have only a rough idea of the kind of fabric or size of project I want to begin before I start poking around my stash of materials or cruising online for something to buy. Pinterest is a fantastic place to browse for things that appeal and that I may want to copy somehow. This bolster pillow is one example. I saw a bolster on Pinterest made from wide stripes of floral fabrics that all had a white background...orange on white, yellow on white, light green on white. The image rolled around in my head for awhile, and now it sits on my bed. I used stripes in two widths, but all patterns from Anna Maria Horner. The pillow reverses to denim with home-made bias binding in the floral Loulouthi patterns I consider the focal fabric.

Guerrilla Sewing

Now that I have my school days free, I am relishing the potential to be productive. I can sew for a good long stretch and keep the laundry clean; I can work a little in the yard and get birthday cards mailed to folks on time. I have noticed, though, that I tend to spend more time than I planned on whatever the first job of each day is. So, I'm experimenting with pre-planning at least the sewing projects coming up. I have made a master list of the items I think I'll need for the next Market at the Square and scheduled what day I'll sew what items. To keep things balanced, some days are set aside for sewing for my own house. Some days are completely open and may include no sewing at all. And some days are for "just because you brought it up" projects. For example, I heard from my mom that my sister might be interested in a tooth fairy pillow for her kids. She didn't ask me for one officially, and may only have been chatting, but no matter. With my projects organized, I can mix-it-up and enjoy getting to some of those "maybe someday" projects. Now the pillow is mailed off unannounced. It was fun to make, and I think I'll make more. But first I'll put them on the calendar.

Moms Day Craft Fair

Meet me this Saturday at the U of I's Moms Day Craft Fair. From 10am to 5pm, over one hundred vendors will display their wares in the ballrooms of the Illini Union. Since it has been awhile since I had a booth at a craft fair or farmers' market, I stuck tape to the floor of my house in the appropriate dimensions and installed a mock booth. I still have a few tweaks to make to the booth, including new matching tablecloths, and then I can load up. I plan to have a good time Saturday.

Safety Leash

My sister knows a lady who has had her purse stolen out of her shopping cart. She asked me to make a leash for her purse, really just a long keychain with hardware for hooking and unhooking. Made in a bright pattern so you can find it quickly in your purse when you arrive in the store, you simply buckle the handle of your purse to the shopping cart. If someone tries to stroll by and help themselves to your bag, they will also have to sneak off with your cart, your bag of apples and the roasted deli chicken for dinner tonight. I made several purse leashes. They go in the mail today so the woman with this fabric security idea can give them to her friends.

Spring Color

Fresh fabric from Amy Butler complements the lovely spring weather we've been enjoying. I find the fabric I choose to cut and sew changes with the seasons, and I'm ready for warm and bright days. I was pointed to these patterns by my friend D. Good pick!

Japanese Rainbow Glitter Unicorn Pouches

Yes, there is a perfect fabric for every pouch project. My niece is 6 today, and for her birthday party she is using these treat pouches. My sister didn't admit how long it took E to choose this Japanese rainbow glitter unicorn fabric, but I'm sure it was a deliberate process. The pouches are jazzed up with purple beads etched with unicorns. I made them at the Community Fab Lab in E's favorite color. Enjoy your big day,E!

Zipper-topped Purse

The winter is a great time to work on longer projects that stretch my sewing skills. A lady in town asked for a copy of a favorite purse. After making a pattern on the computer, I tried to copy the key features of the original bag. The purse has a zipper top, an outside zippered pocket, a slight dip along the top seam and an adjustable strap. I added a lining to the bag and inset the interior zippered pocket into the lining. Waiting until I felt the "sewing mojo" to work on the project was key, and I am pleased with the completed purse.

Hardware Included

My friend G wanted a purse with an adjustable strap. This seemed like a reasonable request. I rummaged around our pile of luggage and duffle bags in the basement to find a sample of a strap to copy. The mechanics of the strap double-backing on itself while feeding through some sort of tension hardware is not obvious to me. When I make another bag with adjustable strap, I'll be back on the floor mocking up the path of the webbing before sewing anything down or (worse yet) cutting anything to a permanent length.

Typewriter

I love, love, love the new fabric line of typewriters and alarm clocks by designer Melody Miller. I bought what I hope to be plenty of the blue and orange typewriter fabric for projects this season. The main image is larger than I expected, but I think it works on the front of a purse. I plan to make a basket next with the print. The pattern for this purse is from the book Bags: The Modern Classics by Sue Kim. I added the coordinating piping because I wanted to see if I could. I can report that it is possible to get passible results from a slight viewing distance. Next time I'll resize the lining of the purse to better fit the exterior with piping. Or, maybe I should just make the thing as the pattern describes.

Clutch Piecing

While surfing pretty pictures on Pinterest.com recently, I came across a strip-pieced purse much like this one. In fact, what made me stop scrolling through images to consider this one closely was noting that I already own one of the fabrics--the Japanese elephants. The original purse was gray and yellow, but I have more green prints, so this purse is gray and green. I also tried the purse with a wristlet handle sewn directly into the bag and a beefier "purse" zipper. I like the look of a more substantial zipper; the handle change is for ease and neatness of construction. Kudos to sewers who have the patience and technique to turn narrow tubes of fabric or install neat sections of reinforcing hand stitching. I am not one of you.

Stash Builders

If you spend any time looking at fabric online, you will note that bundles of smaller pieces of fabric are often sold as "stash builders". The notion seems to be that a well-stocked sewing room contains the fabric needed for projects now and also in the future. Perhaps fabric designs next year won't be as attractive as the ones for sale now. Maybe they will stop making fabric all together! A quality fabric stash is prudent. Of course, the truth is most sewers buy fabric as particular projects come up and also speculatively. Here are some of my new pieces:

Would This Help?

My sons love the Wii as much as I love fabric. They earn "units" of electronics time by completing daily tasks such as homework, piano practice, or picking up a messy room. However, these disciplined routines don't transfer to the way they play the Wii. Remotes get scattered all over, empty game boxes gather dust on the floor right outside the t.v. cabinet while lose Wii game disks take their chances on the couch. I think to myself, maybe there is a fabric solution for this. I will try to teach the kids to keep their video game and DVD materials in baskets. They look both inviting and organized. Maybe I'm the one who will feel like picking up the toys when they can be stored in baskets, but at least the family room will look better.

Pot Basket

I have taken the first fabric pot baskets down to the Shared Space Coop on Main Street in Urbana. In one of the upstairs galleries, I have several shelves of pouches and purses for sale. It's very motivating to have a place to stash projects as I finish them year-round, and not only sew to prepare for the fair-weather farmers' market. I am experimenting with more explicit labeling on my items. So, these baskets have tags detailing not only the price, but also thumbnail photos of potential uses for a basket with a pot inside it.