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.