An award, and a skirt

I saw a sweet blog comment this morning from Johanna saying that she'd found me via Rachel at Darling Autodidact, who had given me an award! It seems Rachel has nominated me for a Liebster. Rachel mentions in her post that she had been nominated twice before actually posting about it, and I must say that I've done the same! I was first mentioned by Ronit of Two Hippos a month ago and did nothing about it (shameful!). SO. Here is my appreciation! Thank you to all those fabulous ladies!

According to Ronit, "The award--whose origins are unknown, as best I can tell--is for small blogs and helps spread the word about them." The whole thing feels a little chain-letter-y to me, but I'm happy to present to you five blogs, below, with fewer than 200 subscribers, according to my reader. This should not be so! 

• A Table in the Shade: Written by Molly, my former assistant who moved away (*sniff* she's legendary, I tell ya) and then found sewing. Her site is gorgeous and her work is impeccable!
• Summer at Grandma's House: Kris is a really great quilter who uses a ton of color to make really fun stuff!
• Ice Pink Stars: I just found this blog, run by Allie, who is super cute! She has a great style, some crafty tattoos, and makes some fabulous garments!
• The Cataloguer: Another new-to-me blog, by Liz, who also makes some fabulous garments!
• Gather Here: A local (to me) stitch lounge full of crafty people and tons of inspiration!

So there you have it. If you don't know these blogs, please check them out! And, because this post wouldn't be complete without a picture: 

Here's a skirt I whipped up on Sunday. I was in a mood to clear out a bunch of my stash fabric, most of which has already been pre-washed and earmarked for garments that I just never get around to sewing. I Tweeted that I wanted to wipe out a bunch of it with some garments; this is the only thing I actually accomplished. Still, it's AWESOME. I'm calling it my Betty skirt; full photo shoot (plus 2 more versions!) to come...

Christmas crafting round-up!

Hey, I know! Now that it's a month past the holidays and the last thing anyone wants to think about is Christmas, why don't I finally post about what I made this year? Yeah? Okay!

First up is this batch of jingle mice ornaments. Aren't they cute? I made them following this tutorial, though I re-drafted the mice to be not quite so tall. I made only this handful, one each for a few of my favorite people. I'm really liking this ornament-a-year kick; here's last year's!

Most years, I try to figure out one handmade gift that I can give to everyone, and then produce it assembly-line style. I also typically spend WAY too much time at the sewing machine, so for whatever reason, this year I decided that everyone was getting body care. And sewn drawstring bags because, who am I kidding, sewing is definitely my strong suit! I followed this tutorial to make the lotions, this tutorial for the cuticle balm, and experimented with these tips to come up with the scrub. And of course, the bags come via the In Color Order lined drawstring bag pattern, which I used to make little bags to the perfect size. I highly recommend purchasing the pattern, but if you just want to test it, the free bag tutorial is excellent!

I've gotten a lot of good feedback on the body care, so I guess they were a win, but man, were they tricky! I didn't want to give anything that I couldn't vouch for myself, so I did a lot of experimenting beforehand to settle on recipes. I'm happy to say that the cuticle balm is AWESOME and definitely the easiest thing to make! The scrub is also fairly easy, though I had separation for a while after it was mixed, and some oil seepage from the top of a jar (not in a bag, thankfully) that freaked me out. The lotion, however, has been hit or miss. My test batch was miniscule and turned out awesome, but all of the ones after that separate out, so I have to keep stirring it for a few hours before pouring into jars. At that point, it takes about a week for the lotion to set into the thick cream it's supposed to be, but once it's there, it's amazingness. Huh. I can't figure out what my issue is, but I've been using grapeseed oil, so maybe that's part of it? It's a lighter, more "dry" oil, and putting olive oil on my skin just seemed... heavy. Let me know if you make some, though!

My parents and the newlyweds each received one of these embroidered state frames, which were a huge hit. I spotted this tutorial via Pinterest, and it's just perfect. Punching the holes with an awl was probably the most difficult part, so they really weren't that bad. And as a one-of-a-kind gift, they can't be beat!

There were two tricky guy friends on my list that I didn't want to subject to my lemongrass lotion (though, really, it's a unisex scent!) so I whipped up these toiletries bags using some Ikea fabric and heavy vinyl I had on hand, following this tutorial. Despite being a real pain to turn right-side out, they are fairly easy to make and look so nice once they're finished. They were also a hit!

And for my very spoiled friend Vanessa I couldn't resist whipping up this bag using the Noodlehead 241 tote pattern and some fun Alexander Henry fabric. Unlike my first attempt at this pattern, I added the outer pockets, which make a huge difference and adds much cuteness! This bag was also a hit.

I hope to be back in this space soon to reveal one last gift made for a very special grandmother. I'm one week into a head cold that has knocked me flat, so here's hoping I get some energy back soon!

30 hexie bag

I've already blogged about my birthday party, but haven't said anything about how I spent my birthday day. It was pretty typical KJo, really. I slept in a little, lazed about all morning with the cat and the TV. Rob had to teach plus had office hours, so I was alone for most of the afternoon. Instead of chipping away at my to-do list (which is full of some doozies), I decided to set it all aside and do something for ME. I'd been needing a new bag for ages. I have some Modern Meadow fabrics set aside for the perfect bag, except I haven't figured it out yet. In the meantime, though, I decided to make a stop-gap bag.

So I started pulling fabrics from my stash, and when I had a bunch that looked good together, I counted. I had something like 26, so I added more to bring it to a full 30 (a little cheesy, I know, but you only turn 30 once). I really liked a bag I'd seen in an issue of Stitch magazine a while back--I can't remember which issue, but it's red, suede, has hardware on the straps, and has a large outer pocket with floral 3D appliqué. Clearly, I made a lot of changes, but I did keep the shape. I should note here that I cut at least 2 of each fabric, so the bag is made up of more than 60 hexagons total.

The hexies I cut to the pattern in Natural Patchwork, then I laid them out and stitched them together, by machine, into the shape required for the pattern. I then ironed on fusible fleece and quilted through the top layer. I added an interfaced lining with a pocket and that was that. Almost. By the time I got there, I wasn't really loving the bag, and couldn't figure out what to do with the handle--patchwork? Solid? ?? So instead of rushing to finish and risking being late to my own party, I stopped, set it aside, and took it into my LQS the next day. Maureen, the owner and a great friend of mine, pointed out that the Lantern Bloom print would make a great not-so-solid-but-not-patchworked-either strap, and she was right. I'm not in LOVE with this bag, but I'm very much in like. Which is fine by me.

Unrelated, I happened to see this Two Hippos post in my reader today and thought it was very interesting. I am lucky in that I have a fantastic LQS that is a great resource--and that is run by a kind and supportive woman. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be put down before you even buy fabric for your creative endeavors. Even though I don't get all of my fabric from my LQS, I will happily pay a bit more per yard to buy locally as opposed to paying less to buy online. I think it's really important to support your community, and the extra customer service I get in person really can't be beat!

So, inspired by Ronit and also by this post, which started it all, here are some things that I think but don't say out loud:

• I am also not a Pips fan (I think it's the colors)


• I was not in love with Innocent Crush, except for this voile, but I did buy some prints because I'd hoped they would grow on me; I am ridiculously excited about her next line, though


• I'm not a fan of the Single Girl quilt (and, in general, not a fan of anything template-cut)


• I hate Denyse Schmidt's Greenfield Hill line, too


• I'm not really big on Heather Ross, though the rest of blogland still seems to be


• I spend way too much money on craft books I look through a couple of times but don't make anything from. Hmm. Maybe that's grounds for a giveaway?

I will just continue to make what I'm inspired to make when I feel like making it, buy fabrics I'm drawn to whether they're trendy or not, and plug along at my Dear Jane at a pace I feel comfortable with. It works for me, and I don't feel any pressure to change anything to make it work for anyone else. Ahh, the fabulousness of 30!

Christmas recap, part 1

I've *finally* downloaded the hundreds of photos from December and January to my desktop, done some editing, and uploaded a bunch to my Flickr page. Wow--that's a lot of work! It's already been a month or more since everything was gifted, so I'd like to whip through this as quickly as possible. Here are the notes:

I made coaster sets (6 each) plus little "boxes" for my grandparents and my brother and future sister-in-law. These are the criss-cross coasters and are easy peasy to make. Everyone can use some holiday coasters, right?

I made potholders for my brother and future sister-in-law to match the apron I gifted them in the fall.

I made a plastic bag holder/dispenser (my second one) for my future sister-in-law; her birthday is in early January, so all of her gifts were bunched together.

My nana-in-law got an apron (my second take on this pattern, from Seams to Me) and potholders.

My intern got a coffee cup cozy (made using this tutorial) to go with a Starbucks gift card.

One of the things I gave my office secret santa was a tea wallet made from this tutorial.

Everyone else got one of these trivets, which were made according to the pattern in Stitch magazine (it was in the Spring 2010 issue). They are stuffed with lavender and smell divine.

Whew! That's the bulk of what I gifted, but there are a few more things I'll get to in my next post. Thanks for reading!

Catching up

Well. That was an unexpectedly long break! A lot of stuff happened with my day job after my last post, and then was the mad dash to finish everything before the holidays, and then my parents were staying with us for a week, and then it was back to work! So, now is time to play catch-up on projects going back to November. Ugh. I'm not one to make resolutions, but I'm hoping to be better about carving out bloggy time this year.

On to the projects... This first one was a birthday gift for a coworker of mine who loves guitars. I thought it would be cool to make a soft version of one of his guitars. As with my latest tattoo, though, it couldn't be just any guitar. I was very sneaky and with the help of another coworker decided on which guitar to make: a Gretsch 6118 Double Anniversary, in Two-Tone Smoke Green. Yowza. You can see photos of my inspiration here. I think I came pretty close, no?

The guitar is made of wool felt, an upcycled linen shirt, and an upcycled (accidentally felted) buclé wool skirt, stuffed with poly-fil, and the strings were machine-stitched using metallic silver thread (left over from this project). I thought that was a pretty cool touch. My coworker loved it, and he knew exactly which guitar it was as soon as he saw it, so that was a big win for me!

This second project is another of the tiny bird in a nest (originally blogged about here). This was a housewarming gift for a friend to give to a mutual friend of ours. Bird in a nest = best housewarming gift idea ever, I think! This birdie was also well received and turned out very well, though the legs are a pain in the neck to do, and I always underestimate how many fabric strips I need for the crocheted nest.

Okay, that wraps up the pre-Christmas gifts. Next up is some decorating/Christmas crafting, and then actual Christmas gifts. And though I said I'm not one for resolutions (I'm not--I always break them), I think it would be good, in this space, to officially put out into the universe that I would really like to try to hold myself to completing one block each week for my Dear Jane quilt. If I can do that for the next three years, I will have the center squares done... Oh my, it sure is a marathon, isn't it??

**Edited to add: I saw this yesterday and think it's a fantastic idea!

Treating myself

As I already posted, I made great progress on my projects last weekend. By late Sunday morning, I was feeling pretty proud of myself and ready for a reward. So...I went to a local fabric store, just to look around. Heh. There are worse things in the world than stimulating your local economy by shopping at a small, independently owned business, right? 

Besides, these fabrics were bought with purposes in mind. Take these Michael Miller fabrics, for example. They are destined to become a Buttercup Bag (which it seems everyone in blogland is making right now). 

And these 2.5 yards of a Benartex Paris Cats blender are destined to become a Trapeze Sundress from Weekend Sewing. I am getting a little excited for the weather to warm up so I can get back to some garment sewing. Because sewing a skirt when it's 30* outside just doesn't seem right...

Adding to the whole "treating myself" theme, yesterday I was alerted by the Fabric Shopper to an amazing sale at Quilt Arts online, where fabric was 50% off! All of it! I have a little something **cough cough 15 yards cough cough** heading my way. I couldn't resist! It was a great sale!

I also want to add that I'm being added to the Quilt Qua bloggy links. There's some great stuff there! Check it out. 

Some Christmas loot

Well, it's the new year and I'm trying to get back in the swing of things, including blogging. For whatever reason, doing anything but laying on the futon watching CSI was next to impossible for me while I was off for the holiday break. But now I'm back to work and, hopefully, back to the blog. I've had a few crafty exploits lately, but first I wanted to post about some of the awesome loot I got for the holiday. I guess for me it was the year of the necklace! From left to right, they are: 

• Teacup necklace by Amy Belanger, via goodEGG industries. This was from my brother. LOVE!
  
• Kitty necklace by Mark Poulin via Shana Logic. This was a little treat I found in my stocking. It is so cute! 
  
• Freshwater pearl necklace, hand-knotted by my friend and coworker Lora. It is so much more beautiful than the photo shows. The irregularity of the pearls is so sweet and makes the color not so uniform--some are more blue or pink than others. It's really lovely. 
  
• Wood and resin necklace by Garnish (home). This was from my husband and is probably my favorite of the necklaces (though that's a hard claim to make!) Just look at how cool it is: 

Yeah, pretty awesome. I've already worn all of these necklaces a couple of times each (and I have the teacup one on today). Also, they were all made by indie artists and crafters, so I am happy to support them with my gift-receiving! 

A gift from my sweet kitty Iris was this awesome shirt via BUST: 

Super cool. I really love the shirt and the throwback feminist screen print, but the tee itself is not so great. It's like a Hanes shirt or something (I was hoping for American Apparel) and has a not-so-great neckline and short sleeves that go almost to my elbows! I may have to take some shears to this and give it a mini-makeover. 

Also, from my mom, this Packer tee. It's really cute. I wore it the Sunday after Christmas while the Pack beat the Lions. The game was much closer than it should've been, but my mom still hopes the shirt will bring the Pack good luck next season. Fingers crossed. 

I also received some wonderful gifts, including: a new robe that feels like a wooby, slippers, a pair of Gingher stork embroidery shears, a Clover mini-iron with all the attachments, Son of Rambow, and a gift certificate to my local quilt shop. Nice. 

What did you get? 

Fall mini-quilt received + link love

Yesterday I arrived home to find a package waiting for me! It's my fall mini-quilt from October's Swap Til You Drop Flickr group swap! It was made by Lish/Sewwunderful, and it's called "The Colors of Autumn." Very appropriate title! 

The more I look at it, the more I love it! The colors in the quilt are fabulous. Each fabric reminds me of something different. 

And adding to the wonderfulness are these two bits of 1930s repro fabrics! Love! These would both work wonderfully in my Dear Jane quilt. I haven't made any progress on that for a while but these new fabrics really have me itching to get back at it. 

In my last week of internetting, I've found some really cool links that I wanted to share, in case you haven't seen them: 

• Ric-Rac's Big Selvedge Project. Wow. When I first saw this, my jaw dropped. Amazing. I am adding her to my crafty links! 
  
• True Up. Another new crafty link. Fabric geekery. Love! 
  
• Handmade Nation. Yet another new crafty link. I bought the book while we were in Portland and I haven't read it yet, but am so excited about it. Even more excited about the documentary! 2009 can't get here fast enough. 
  
• Indie Fixx Shop. There is some great stuff here, and lots of gift ideas. Hint, hint!

Blog update

Yes, faithful reader, I've updated the blog today. Mainly, I've done two things: 

1: used a tutorial I found online and adapted the template to allow for three columns, not just two;

2: added a link in the crafty links to How About Orange, which is awesome. Seriously. 

So, yeah. That's what I've been doing today: editing HTML. Not so much "editing" as "experimenting through trial and error," but still. That's how busy I've been at work :P Although, now that I write that I will probably get slammed. I don't think I'll mind. 

A Taste

Here's just a taste of some lovely Kona cotton solids I've gotten in the last month or so. I just can't help it when they're on sale here. So I go a little crazy and buy half yards of all the blues and greens and even some purples. My friend JJ calls these "water colors" and I think that's appropriate. Anyway, I will be diving into this stack tomorrow to work on a new project I have in the works. 

Speaking of tomorrow, it's National Quilting Day! My plan to celebrate is to pop down to my local quilt shop to ask some advice about a current project I have in the works, then meet a (non-quilty) friend for lunch, and, at some point, get started on aforementioned secret new project. I'm sure in there I'll also watch some On-Demand Party of Five, because who can resist? Seriously. 

And now, some interesting links: 

• I just came across this tutorial for making sew-in garment labels and think it is so great! I'd previously been using a similar technique, but with white felt instead of twill tape. When I finally get around to making the dresses I have planned, I'll have to give this a shot. 
• In honor of National Quilting Day being tomorrow, here's a link to Dear Jane, which is probably the most famous historical quilt (am I wrong here?). I'm drawn to the story and find it so compelling... Maybe it will be something to tackle someday, but I'm just not ready to embark on such a project right now. 

Happy Friday! I will be SO happy when this week is over. Today hasn't been to bad, but I've spent the last six work days in what my previous boss calls "quality control hell" and have realized that it doesn't end, it just has layers. Tonight will be cocktails and movies and forgetting about anything related to quality control--until Monday. 

Links

What strange weather we are having... It poured yesterday afternoon and night (and, sans brelly, I was soaked by the time I got home), and again this morning. Even with my umbrella my pants were wet nearly to my knees, front AND back. The whole morning was the colors of my fan quilt, grayish winter light included. But now... now it is 58* and sunny and beautiful. Who could wear a scarf now?! Aaah, New England.

I have nothing much to share on the crafty end. I am procrastinating on binding my big quilt. I've noticed that I've been doing this lately--attaching binding, then letting something sit for a week before I start hand-stitching. It's not that I don't have time... Not like I didn't sit on the couch with Bellow all last night while Rob was teaching and watch reality TV On-Demand and do nothing. I've just decided to listen to my body, not force productivity, and thus avoid crafter burnout, which usually hits me full-on following the holidays. I have a few projects in mind and this one to wrap up, but it feels really good to not have a dozen things in progress.

So, some interesting links for you:

• On Inspiration Boards there is an interview with Amanda Soule from SouleMama. It's always nice to get a peek into someone else's creative lifestyle, and Amanda is always inspiring.
  
• Crazy Mom Quilts has an entry and a video on free-motion quilting. She's using the pin-basting method, but I firmly resolve to never go back from my spray basting! That perhaps is an entry of its own... But this will give you an idea of what free-motion quilting looks like, though she's a very good stippler and doesn't appear to be having nearly the trouble I do.
  
• Today Softies Central has some really sweet elephants, including the first softie EVER. I particularly adore the vinyl one. Here's the elephant softie I made (from the Softies book) for my friend JJ for Christmas: