Okay, world....

Introducing: Kitty Kitty Crafts, my shop on Etsy. It's live! It's open! It's ready for business! You can also "like" the page on facebook by clicking HERE, and/or join my mailing list by entering your email address in the box to the left.

This has been many many many months in the works, but I am a full-on sole proprietor, with a DBA and a business banking account and an EIN and so many official things! I think I'm ready, world, to send you cuteness (in hippo form).

Little birds in flight

 

This birdie mobile, above, was made for some sweet friends having a baby! The pattern for all the birds is Abby Glassenberg's "Little Bird in Flight", which is a free download / tutorial on her site. It is awesome. The birds are gorgeous; I mean, check out those wings!

 

I hung the birds from really strong fishline, so they have a ton of movement. I tied them to an embroidery hoop, then covered the outside in some ricrac to hide the threads. I think it has a cute, almost circus-y, look. 

 

All of the felt came from a charm pack from National Nonwovens, purchased at Marketplace Quilts (my LQS). The colors are so vivid and the felt is so high-quality that it's easy to work with! Turning these guys right-side out is no easy feat, and with a lesser felt, would probably cause tears of rage. 

This mobile wasn't the first time I made these birds, however. This pink bird was made as a travel companion for my partner-in-craft, Hilary. She's off to a big adventure: quitting her day job to focus on her art! She's beginning an art residency in Colorado, and then...? She has a Kickstarter to help her on her way, and if you support her you get art in return! She's already funded (!!), but if you want to help her buy even more art supplies, click here. Best wishes and safe travels, friend! May this pink bird of happiness lead you to great things.

Better late than never!

 

I am a few days late with this finish of the Colette Sewing Handbook Truffle Dress for the Sew Colette sew-along, but let me tell you: it was worth it.

Before I even stitched up my muslin for this dress, I made all of the adjustments I had made to my Pastille Dress, except for a few random adjustments to the back bodice, to the pattern pieces. Then I stitched up my muslin and--miracle of miracles! It nearly fit! In fact, the front fit perfectly (!!) and the back fit perfectly, too, until about 5" up from the waistline. I am coming to terms with the fact that my back is narrower and shorter than Colette Patterns are meant for, so I went two more rounds to perfect the back so that it was nicely tailored. That is the piece that threw me off schedule to meet the sew-along deadline. (And the hem really is straight; I am just standing with my hips canted in this photo!)

Here's a side shot, where you can see the drape a little better. Because of the print, it kind of disappears into the fabric, but there's movement when I walk, which is very sweet. The fabric I used is a gorgeously soft and drapey rayon poplin. I scored mine at a fabric store in Portland, Maine last summer, but some is still available here (on clearance!) It was my first time working with something like this, and I think I did pretty okay. I cut the fabric with paper underneath, to reduce the slipperiness, and I made sure everything was on grain before cutting.

The bodice is lined with an electric blue quilting-weight cotton, which really did the trick! It's structured and the bodice looks extra smooth, where it would sag slightly if unlined. Because the rayon is so drapey, though, it kept sliding off the table, ironing board, sewing desk... The neckline gapes a little, probably because it could've benefited from some stay-stitching right off the bat.

I love everything about this dress: the shape, the feel, even the skirt drape, which I wasn't crazy about but decided to include because I think Sarai knows what she's doing! I would like to make another in a crisper fabric, more like the example in the book. And then I'd like to make one without the drape, maybe with a fuller skirt (with pleats at the waist?), or maybe another using the skirt pattern from the Pastille dress instead... I dare say, it may be the summer of the Truffle for me!

Psst!

While I finish getting this all set up, I'm happy to announce that I have work available for sale at the ArcWorks Gallery Shop in Peabody! The photo above is of some of my hippos plus a super soft all-flannel baby quilt (one of two) that is for sale there. The photo was taken by my lovely friend Elise, who manages the shop. She also taught the fabulous workshop I took back in October, is a tireless cheerleader for handmade, and super awesomely asked for some of my stuff. And guess what? The "x" hippo has already sold!

Birthday gifts update

Argh, so behind on documentation! I have been cranking away at a little something, plus trying to keep up with my Dear Jane (and failing) and Sew Colette sew-along (doing marginally better), but it seems blogging is the thing that always falls by the wayside. What you see above was crafted and gifted in January. January!

These are versions of the basket from Zakka Sewing: the big one was enlarged by 1" and the smallest one was decreased by 1". What makes them awesome, though, is that I embroidered various designs from this (free!) sketchy cats embroidery pattern by Speckless. The embroidery designs are so cute that I had a hard time choosing which ones to use!

But this bit? This is my favorite bit of all! These nested baskets were gifted to my friend Kate for her birthday. Awesome. I embroidered for that entire weekend (you can see the other embroidery I did here) and totally killed my hand, though. Definitely not something I'm used to working on!

These gifts were made for my friend Sandy, also in January, and gifted before her February birthday. It was a big birthday for her, and she celebrated by going on a safari in Africa! I knew I wanted to make something that she could take along on her trip, so I made the above: a boxy toiletries bag lined in oilcloth and made following this tutorial, and a travel portfolio from Fabric-by-Fabric One-Yard Wonders.

So far this is the only project I've made from the book, but it turned out well and Sandy said it was invaluable for her trip. I don't have a passport (I know!) to test the pocket, but I guess the measurements are spot-on, which was my biggest worry. It is a great gift for someone about to take a trip, that's for sure!

A Crafty Swap

I'm back from 4 full days in Chicago, where I attended AWP for the first time, tagging along with my writer husband. It was SO fun and I'm having a hard time transitioning back to my normal life after spending so much time bumming around with so many awesome people. Part of my transition back includes catching up on my Google Reader and finally blogging some photos I've had marked as "private" in Flickr for what seems like forever. So, I'm getting to it!

What you see above is my contribution to a Handmade 2011 swap with Rita of Mochi Studios. The premise of the swap is that you post on Facebook that you will make something handmade for the next five commenters, but only if they in turn post and pledge to make for their next five. I'll say that I did this with varying degrees of success, but that I was exceedingly happy when Rita requested that we do an exchange. Then came the problem: What do you make for someone so crafty and awesome that she could certainly make it herself?

Enter the Pincushion Caddy from Anna Maria Horner's first book. By all accounts I've read, this is a challenging project. I always thought it was a great idea, though one that won't work for me: my kitty loves to pull pins out of things, so I have to keep mine hidden at all times. Anyway, I'm here to say: YES, this project is a bugger.

Stuffing was HARD. I found it easiest to leave two openings, one on each size. I also found that a jar of Newman's Own salsa was the perfect size to help the center keep its shape while stuffing. And oh, these photos? They are of my third pincushion. The first was not nearly so pretty.

What turns out well EVERY time, though, is the lined drawstring bag from In Color Order. Along with these crafted gifts, I included some crafty books I knew Rita wanted, just to round things out.

And here's what I got in return: two sweet foxes in a log! Squee! They are so cuuuute! When Rita first posted them on her shop's facebook page, I freaked out. I'm so happy that they are mine!

Possibly the best part? Rita embroidered the log with this bit of sweetness. Aww! Check out the Mochi Studios Etsy shop if you'd like to get your own! These owls are also incredibly adorable, as is everything else in the shop! Rita's craftsmanship and embroidery are exquisite; I'm so happy to call her a bloggy friend!

Pastille dress: DONE

Finally. This dress... I will say up front that this was probably the most difficult dress I've ever made. This one dress represents 13 hours of fitting (three muslins, oy) and 9 hours of construction. And I still have to tack the facings to the seam allowances.

Apologies for the dark photos--I'm still trying to figure out my camera's white balance (and I thought I had it!) These were taken late last night, and I am heading out of town super early tomorrow, so wanted to get this posted before I take off!

So, the dress. I was afraid of this dress since I got the book, and for good reason. Here's a brief rundown of the adjustments I made:

• FBA of 1.5"
• short-waisted adjustment of 1"
• removed over 1" of width from the back bodice
• removed an additional 3/4" from the back bodice length, regraded front to match
• sway-back adjustment of 1"
• lengthened back darts by 2"
• used invisible zipper instead of centered one

YEAH. And, looking at these pictures, I realize I probably should've gone at least another round to reduce some width from the bottom of the front bodice, which is looking a little baggy, but...

I used a gorgeous linen/rayon blend for this dress. Pros: the color is a lovely deep periwinkle that is definitely MY kind of color, plus I think is flattering on me (plus it goes with all of my jewelry). Once I pre-washed the fabric, it got really soft and comfy. Cons: the fabric is incredibly shifty, which made it difficult to cut. REALLY difficult to cut. I pre-washed and hung it to dry and it got that soft, rumply look--which will not iron out. And yet, the dress holds its shape fairly well and it incredibly comfortable to wear. For a first try, it's definitely a keeper.

I didn't have time to make the neckline bow, and now I'm wondering if I should or leave the dress without. I do feel it needs a little something there... I'll be interested to see what everyone else does!

In all, I feel like the back is more successful than the front. I'm also wondering about making this as just a skirt. It would probably work well enough. I think the length on me is just perfect, too. Still, I'm ready to be done with this dress and move along, even though I know I'll have these bodice issues for the next dress as well. I'm heading to Chicago for the next five days (AWP! Anyone else going??) so it'll be nice to take a little break from my sewing room and spend some time with my Dear Jane instead.