as promised

I am happy to present Hana's Jump Rope Dress!!! She loves it and wore it all day today! She reports that it does improve one's rope jumping "a lot, Mom!"Most of the time, when I choose clothes (to buy or to make) for Hana that are simple, stretchy, and colorful. However, when/if Hana chooses, she goes for buttons, belts, and bling (I can usually talk her down. ;) With this dress, we have found perfect compromise! There are many great details to this pattern, and they're all worth the extra work and time (and they're all explained beautifully in the instructions). Most important in Hana's view, the belt/sash; I think it makes her feel a bit grown up. The button tabs on the sleeves and pockets are just a sweet way to add detail and another yummy button!Here are one pair of the gauchos I made from an old t-shirt of mine. I turned an existing pair inside out and traced the silhouette of one whole leg/side onto the fabric. I used the hem of the t-shirt as the hem of the pants. This particular t-shirt was very boxy, so I was able to create a very full leg style without seams on the side (I love that for kid's clothes ~ I'm not sure why). I turned over the top to make a casing for elastic. Ta-da! Pants! I had two of these shirts, this pink and a dusty orange, so now Hana has two of these pants. Woo-hoo! She really likes to layer these (I like it too); she's got leggings on too in the picture below, and if you look closely at the first picture of her dress, you can see these pants peeking out. She wore all this all day today! She cracks me up! Hopefully, I'll have more to add tomorrow. There was no sewing today. Lots of playing and lots of sunshine though. :)

kids clothes week challenge

I am participating in Kids Clothes Week Challenge! This should be fun. So far, I've made two pairs of knit pants for Hana from two t-shirts which I don't wear anymore. I used a pair of existing pants as the pattern, and I'm happy to report that they turned out well. I'll post pictures later this week.

I've cut out two new patterns from Oliver + S: the Ice Cream Dress and the Jump Rope Dress. I really enjoyed sewing the Birthday Party Dress for Hana over the winter, so I'm looking forward to these projects. Whenever I've used an Oliver + S pattern, I learn a new technique or tip. Did you know that I have a jig that I dance whenever I learn something new? It's called "The I Learned Something New Today Dance" and I sing the title to the tune of Camptown Races complete with "Doo dah! Doo dah!" Some of you may have been lucky enough (!) to have witnessed this. ;-)

Any way, here's the list for the Challenge:

* knit gauchos/pants for Hana

* the Ice Cream Dress for Hana

* the Jump Rope Dress for Hana

* pj pants for Koji (two pair if I can find "acceptable" prints in flannel ~ he's a teenager ~ tough
audience)

* a slip for Hana (if time allows)

All this thinking about sewing has really got me itching to sew for myself, but I'm going to try to focus on the kids stuff this week!

Are you sewing along? What are you making?

basics

In my last post, I captured a highlight of last week: rollerskates! Good ol' 4-wheelers! (I learned they are referred to as "quads" in the sporting goods world.) Oh boy, are we having fun with these!So, what I wanted to tell you more about was Hana's new sweater. I purchased the yarn online at The Knitting Garden. Buying yarn from Elizabeth is always a pleasure, and the yarn is the softest that I've ever knit (that's saying a lot!). The style is simple; sometimes with all that is going on with her other clothes "stylistically" (ahem), a simple something on top is nice (necessary!) She has worn it everyday that's been cool since it's been finished! She reports that it is soft enough to wear with short sleeves; she's happy that the cuffs don't need turning; the buttons are easy; "I love my new sweater, Mama!" And for that sweet comment, she's probably going to get a variation of the cover sweater come autumn...

I'll tell you about the skirt too. It's a Lazy Day Skirt from wonderful Oliver+S. This pattern is a freebie from the blog (over in the sidebar). I've made this skirt a bunch of times, always with easy success. I've taught to friends with happy results every time. The main fabric I used this time is from CottonBlue at Etsy. CottonBlue is full of beautiful Japanese fabric & zakka (= useful goodies). Each of the little matroyshka dolls is a bit different from the other; one holding flowers, one with a bird, one with a flower in her hair, one with a bundle of hearts. I really like prints with a bit of a story to tell, sometimes if the mood is right Hana will spin a little tale from what she sees in a special piece of cloth. The pattern teaches a clever hem technique which calls for ribbon. If I don't have a ribbon that I like with the fabric, I fall back on this huge roll of chambray double-fold tape I made thinking that I was making double-fold bias tape (much grumbling upon that discovery). The tape has turned out to be very useful, so it wasn't a complete loss. For Hana, I can still get a below-the-knee length skirt from a half-yard of fabric and a half-hour of sewing time! Truely a happy bargain.

Have you heard about Kids Clothes Week Challenge? Meg of Elsie Marley is sponsoring a challenge/sew-along for the second week in May. The challenge is to commit at least one hour each day to sewing some kids clothes! Awesome, right? I want to play!!! Wanna'?!

{this moment}

{this moment} - a Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A single, special, extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause, savor, and remember. This is my contribution to Amanda's {this moment} photo project.

{this moment}

{this moment} - a Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember. This is my contribution to Amanda's {this moment} photo project.

moments of clarity

I've snatched some time in the sewing room lately. Clearing off the work table, discovering some unfinished objects, some much adored fabric, and rekindling my desire to make some sweet duds from my Japanese sewing book pile/collection. But first, in order to provide myself some clarity and future guilt-free sewing jaunts, I finished up a few hangers on...First up, this Birthday Party Dress from Oliver + S. The whole aesthetic of the Oliver + S line of sewing patterns speaks to my vintage-loving-girl-at-heart side; the illustrations (paperdolls!), the silhouettes, the hairstyles on the paperdolls, their shoes! And even though my Girly does not necessarily share my love of all things ol' fashioned, she does love blue and the prospect of a mama-made dress! If I remember correctly, the fabrics are both Lecien, but I cannot recall where I ordered from... sorry. There are many sweet details in this pattern that made it a challenge, but also make for a special mama-made; the box-pleated front, the button tab, the back button placket, and one detail that you cannot see is the faced hem (no pic, whoops). I enjoyed the whole project from start to finish, even though I started in the fall... ;)

Next up, as I was sorting through some old clothes which I hope to repurpose, I came across a shirt that was in the wrong pile (yes, there are more than one pile). This shirt belonged in the "gotta' girly this up if I ever expect Hana to wear it" pile (I'm not kidding)! This was a basic oxford, probably manufactured as a boy's style, but I think the color of the oxford cloth is special enough to warrant the effort of a re-do. So, in order to up the girly factor I visited another little, teeny-tiny pile that exists in my sewing room, the Liberty of London Tana Lawn scrap pile. I think it was my mother who first introduced me to all that is to love about Liberty of London Tana Lawn. I know there are many fellow worshipers, I am in good company! The scrap pile of love is the result of a bit of a splurge at Scarlett Rose (say it with me, like Eloise, "Oh, how I loooooove Etsy!") At Scarlett Rose, there are up for offer many, many Liberty prints in small, but usable scraps. I could pick a whole bunch and not have to decide on just a precious few! Like a kid in a candy shop! Awesome.So, I snipped off the collar first. Then the cuffs. Better already! The sleeves had plackets, so once the cuff was gone, the opening was flappy and simply hemming it would not have tidied it up much, so enter a couple of elastic casings from some pretty teal floral Liberty, et voila! I was careful to keep the elastic on the loose side, because a lot of sleeve length was lost with the cuff removal, so the sleeves are more like a 3/4 length. Now I could have called that done, but then I felt like a bit of applique was in order. A heart of course! While I was at it, a skirt was made also using some of the precious Liberty scrap pile, but it definitely needs to be modelled....

So, I had a good weekend clearing up some real & mental clutter. I hope you had a good one too!

xo

heartfelt tutorial

So today I am going to take you step-by-step through making a felt heart pouch. Brace yourself, there are many photos and directions. I hope you like it!You will need some wool felt and embroidery floss in any colors that please you or your Valentine(s), scissors, a hand-sewing needle, and a heart-shaped pattern.The pattern I use is 2" wide and just shy of 2" tall. I cut it in the good ol' fold-a-piece-of-paper-in-half-and-cut-half-a-heart-shape way. Once I came up with a heart that was just right, I transferred it onto a piece of cardstock (aka magazine subsciption insert), cut it out, and use it repeatedly.Using a ball-point pen, trace around the pattern onto the felt twice. Cut out the two felt hearts.I'm going to show you how my mother taught me to thread a needle a looooong time ago. (If you click on that crazy collage, it will get bigger and be easier to see). Separate out three strands of embroidery floss. Fold the floss over the needle and pinch the floss and needle so you can barely see the folded floss. Slide out the needle. Now slip the eye of the needle over the barely visible fold of floss, and the fold should slide through the eye! Maybe you knew how to do that. That's a bit of Mom Magic that I have never forgotten. A while back, I came across Heather Bailey's brilliant knot technique (scroll down through her sidebar for a tutorial). I had a way I made knots forever before, but now I can't remember it because Heather's way is so great!Now you can stitch a design on one of the felt hearts, or both if your heart desires. ;) I've done monograms in back-stitch or split-stitch, French-knot sprinkles, sashiko type stitches, chain-stitch flowers.... It is really up to you!Here's how I make a French knot. Send the threaded needle through the felt where you want a little 3-D dot. Lay the needle flat against the felt and wrap the floss around the needle. In this case, I went around three times, but two or four could also work. Then carefully point the needle back into the felt very close to where the needle came out in the first place. Tug the floss to snug the wraps around the needle close to the felt. Draw your thread through, keeping an eye on the wraps, maybe use your thumbnail to keep them from going astray. Ta-da!!! A sweet little French knot! Sprinkle them around as you like.

Once you've got the embellishments in a way that makes your heart sing (!), it's time to sew the front and back together. I use blanket-stitch because I like the way it looks and how it finishes the opening.

Let me qualify this back-stitch lesson with "this is how I rigged up starting a back-stitch" because there is probably a slicker way that doesn't leave a double thickness of floss on the first stitch. If you know another way, do tell!

Start stitching at the top of the left "hump" (as you look at it). To hide the knot, start on the inside and draw the needle through the back piece, around to the front, and through both.

So send the needle backwards under the floss of the first stitch.Then come to the front and stitch from front to back.

Before you pull the stitch snug, send the needle through the loop the forms. Pull until the loop lays down over the gap between the front and back. Continue in this manner around the heart until you get to the top of the other "hump".

At this point, blanket-stitch only the edge of the front piece.When you get to the other "hump", send the needle under the very first stich to create the horizontal "laying down" part of the stitch. Now continue with the blanket-stitching on the back piece.When you come to the other "hump" again, send the needle under the last stitch that joined the front and back.To secure the end, send the needle under that same stitch once more, but before pulling it snug, put the needle through the loop twice, then tug slowly. A knot will form; again, you may need to guide the knot with your fingernail to keep it from travelling up your thread away from the stitch. Now, slide the needle through a nearby edge of the felt, keeping the needle within the thickness of the felt (not sandwiched between the two pieces), poke the needle out again, and snip the floss close to the felt. This will bury the floss within the felt. Finally, tuck a token of your affection inside, and you are done! I find these wee dark chocolates at our local food co-op. I vaguely recall finding some milk chocolate pieces too. An old key would be sweet. Or those pewter tokens. A little love note...

If you have any questions, please ask in the comments, and I'll answer there, it'll serve as a reference spot. If you make some pouches, I hope you have fun. Maybe send me a picture. I'd love that!

a toast

Here's to 2009 in craft! {click the photo to enlarge}

Thank you for all your visits here. Your comments put a smile on my face and lift my heart; I really appreciate that reverberation, and I hope that same good vibration echoes over into your place wherever your nest may be. I have made re-connections and new connections, have been reassured of kindness and generosity, and have marvelled at creative beauty in so many forms because of this Woolnest and my travels around the wonderous web. The experience has nourished me in the most delicious way!

So, I raise my needles (tee-hee!) to You, to 2009, and to 2010, bring it, I'm ready! (that is, once I finish those few straggling projects from 2009....) ;-)

xoxo

best - Annri

glad tidings + trimmings

I must be improving my perspective on what it means to be me, because today this mass of "raw materials" might seem like a headache to some, but it really makes me happy. I took this photo this morning before Hana and I started our wrapping fest. It will stand as testament to my commitment to spreading some handmade cheer for the holidays. There are some gingerbread felt ornaments, a top secret red gift (if you're Si, do not click link), a soon-to-be-felted and embroidered bowl, an embroidered snowflake pendant, a beaded necklace, some pom-pons, gift boxes of recycled catalog covers, and a few other last-minute goodies. It's like an I Spy puzzle! My own workshop at my spot at our table; I love it!

So that's the storm, here's the calm:

I love to sit on the sofa and gaze at our Christmas tree (cue the Charlie Brown Christmas music). There are a lot of sweet memories stitched, glued, and folded in our ornaments; the ones we made, the ones made for us, the ones we chose to add that represent a special time or sentiment.

Some of the handmade ornaments hold the memory of a fun crafting frenzy that swept over me and some friends any number of years ago (anyone remember felt gingerbread babies? or beaded snowflakes?). I haven't yet tired of making ornaments; each year I find inspiration for a different few that I must add to our collection and share. Thanks to many blog-friends, I've already got a list of projects to make for next year!

So, again, it seems that I'm recognizing the balance and the teetering involved; keeping my eyes open so I can see all the shades of light and dark, because it's all there. I believe.

bag lady, me

Clearly, I've been working through some mental clutter! By that, I mean more of my things to make someday list! It started a couple of weeks ago with the maya*made buckets, which we are making good use of, thank you very much.

Next to be checked off the list was the blue zipper pouch. I finished it off finally, after it sat and sat on the project table, waiting for some hand sewing. The gorgeous print is from Echino, and it is full of paper-cut-esque silhouettes of woodland creatures+botany+nature. The navy portion is some linen left over from hemming off some pants. It's lined with part of an old chambray bedsheet that I've been slowly hacking away at (stay tuned). I embroidered a running stitch along the top edge, just for handwork's sake. I carry this pouch in my everyday bag to keep a bitty brush, hair things for Hana, lip stuff, arnica, etc. I love to use it and look at it.

Then another box bag. This time my favorite mushroomy fabric! It's lined with the chambray too. I think it's best for me to make several of these at once, because I forget from time to time all the parts to include: pull tabs + handle! I took this one apart twice before it was done... :( This one's a gift, but I'm not tellin'!

The bright blue one is a bag to house our RushHour puzzle/game. I never did like the box it came in but tolerated it all these years (we've had the game since Koji was little, a pillowcase, I think), always thinking that someday it would get its own special cloth bag... someday came last week! The fabric is from when Koji was little and in his vehicle love, the back is the chambray. I used french seams so the insides would be tidy and not fray. Hooray, I'm so glad I don't have to look at that box anymore!

The light blue bag is my new knitting project bag. The main fabric is from Aunty Cookie. It is every knitter/sewers dream because it's knitting-related phrases ("knit" "purl" "count" "recount") fabric! There's a drawing of two hands casting on too. I think I need to get more... Do you have trouble knowing when to stop; as in when is a project done, when does it need more detail or personalization? I always have. I felt I was teetering on the edge of "too much" when I embroidered some steam rising from the tea/coffee cup on the stamped patch, but now I like it. I probably could've left it off, but I was on a roll, I guess. The yarn ball stamp and the mug stamp are from Craft Pudding. We love them!

The sling bag is my new everyday bag. The fabric is an African batik that I ordered from Retrosaria. I first got hooked on Rosa's blog, then her ribbon, now it's just about anything she picks out for her on-line store! She has fabric, tools, books, yarn, haberdashery, and her own creations. It's worth checking out if you're into handwork like I guess you are. Guess what I lined it with?! Right. I used a pattern from Pippijoe but altered the strap to be one long piece instead of using the cute knot at the top (I thought it might bug me). The bag is functioning very well. Yahoo!

Clearly, I have a thing for bags. :)

Also becoming clear, I have a thing for Etsy. Oh, boy! Don't get me started. We'll talk of that another day, there is so much to say. Fun.

So, I'll leave you with this beauty. We're going on a family trip tomorrow, so I won't post until Friday or so. I'll miss the garden while we're gone. Take care!

ETA: There's a new bag that came off the sewing machine tonight, but I'll have to show you that one when we get back from our little family trip, ok? What is it about going out of town and needing a new bag?! It happens to me almost everytime we go away... it might be a packing procrastinating thing, I don't know. Just sayin'!

Ps - About the commenting, if you're still encountering trouble, please try the Anonymous option... I had my remote support guy test this method and it worked for him. ;)

buckets of thanks

Earlier this summer at Camp Michigania, my campmate with whom I sewed (alot!) gave me a "thank you for the pj pants sewing workshop" gift. She gave me a Maya*made coffee sack/burlap bucket! Now, I don't think my friend knew how much I'd been wanting one of those, hovering at Maya's etsy shop, waiting for just the right one, but somehow in that way that good friends (or sisters!) always seem to know, she knew! I gushed thanks at the time, but here's another big shout out: THANK YOU! to K... ;-) You're such a generous friend.

Now, right before camp, Maya made available in her Etsy shop a PDF pattern to make a round burlap bucket, and I did not hesitate to purchase that as soon as I saw it. I set the pattern on the sewing room table for "someday". Well, "someday" happened last week, and look what I made! Speaking of generous people, I think it is very generous for designers/makers to share their patterns for re-interpretation; it is a kind-spirited offering on many levels, don't you think? So, thank you to Maya too!
I made the medium size, without handles, and turned over the top inch or so for show. I used heavyweight linen which I purchased from LinenMe for the outside and quilting cotton for the linings. Since the linen is so sturdy, I only padded the bottom of the buckets with cotton batting, not the sides as in the pattern. I left the selvage exposed because I like the look of the linen strings. The cotton of two of them matches the new bathroom cutain.

The buckets are now housing the lotions+potions in the bathroom. I'm very happy with these! The pattern is very clear, it was smooth sailing all the way. I'm sure I'll make more since there seems to be so much stuff around here that needs to be contained! It might as well be a pretty container, right?!

Just for fun, since I know you'd like to see it:

This threesome visits out apple tree every day. :-)

rainbow

Waldorf mama suggested a week of rainbows. We certainly have enough rainbows in the house for a picture-a-day for at least a week, but I'm not such a regular with my camera yet. But inspiration struck, "Did someone say rainbow?" I do love the rainbow! And a certain spectrum project came to mind. Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson features a roll for colored pencils which went on my must make someday list. I know you have one of those lists too; mine's very l-o-n-g! Anyway, today was the day (the morning to be specific)!

It's hard to say which was my favorite part of this project:

Choosing from the piles in the sewing room? "Oh, I remember this one!" (me)

Drawing out a plan? I remembered my high school desire for becoming an architect.

Slicing them to size? In my youth, I also fantasized about a job in a fabric store.

Sewing together a rainbow? Still amazed at how simple construction can be so satisfying.

Stitching in the ditches? No hard decisions to make.

Hana sitting in my lap for the presser foot job? She smells so good!

Rummaging the ribbon drawers for the right color? "Oh, I remember this one!" (me, again)

Or the way she hugged it to her little self when it was done? "Now I can take my rainbow anywhere!" (Hana)

We trimmed some scrap paper to fit the pockets and rolled it up with a big snap. Et voila! A rainbow to go!
The project will remain on the must make someday list, but now it's edited to add: for myself! ;-)

home, sweet home

Here's the pile of pj pants that I made at camp! Hana scored four pair, and that should last her a couple of years! Koji got the rock star pair to add the the bunch that overflows his pj drawer. In seventh grade he even made himself a hand stitched rubber ducky pair! The hula girls fabric is some flannel I scored at the Parent/Teacher Organization Thrift Store here. That pair has special significance because in Nov '07, the four of us went to Kona, Hawaii for the tropical trip of a lifetime. Well, maybe Brian and I have had more than one, but for the kids this was the trip. Anyway, they both love their new "cozy pants" as they call them.

In the past, I've sewn a small piece of ribbon on the center-back near the waistband to indicate to the wearer which way the pants go (the patterns I use/used have a longer rise for the rear), but noticing that the kids don't usually hang up their pants (ahem!), I opted for a purely aesthetic marker: a small patch of the fabric sewn onto the inner back. If I were using a less busy print, I might use a contrast fabric and put the patch on the outer back for fun.

We are getting into summer vacation gear at home. I love to be at home. Puttering in the kitchen, the garden, the porch, the sewing room, those are my favorite days. I think the kids feel the same way. We throw in a trip to town, a baseball game, the farmers' market, dinner at friends' house, the pool, or my folks house just for happy variety. For extra spice, Brian (hubby) broke his toe! Poor guy. He's an avid runner, so it is sad as well as painful.

Here's a bunch of love for you from our home to yours:

We "heart" home! Can you spot all the hearts in our yard?!

ps - I don't know what happened with that first photo up there, but I got tired of fussing with it, so there you go!

back at it!

So, we're back from a great time at camp! It seems like every time we go, it's the best time ever, and considering that we've been going for eleven years straight, I think we're pretty lucky! It was hot and sunny, perfect to be on+in the water. When we weren't blowing bubbles, playing catch, or listening to the birds, the sewing machines were humming happily making pj's, pj's, pj's! and a couple of adorable unicorn skirts:

That's the best picture I have at the moment, but you get the idea, right? We used the Lazy Day Skirt pattern from Oliver+S. I'd made a few already, but my friend wanted a private camp workshop, so I gladly obliged since I wanted to make one more from this dreamy adorable double-gauze from Heather Ross' new line, Far Far Away. I hadn't used double-gauze before, but now I am hankering for more! It is so soft and sews up easily (I was worried). The gauze ups the dreamy factor of the magical unicorn print, and of course the way Heather does color is magic in itself! Our little girls love the skirts! What you cannot see in the photo is that the girls are wearing self-made unicorn horns! Part of the kids' experience at camp is beckoning and waiting for the magical unicorn who lives in the woods by camp. At the end of the week the unicorn delivers candy for all the kids! I love camp!

Re-entry has been pretty gentle since the hubby is on vacation this week too! We attended a birthday party, watched some baseball, worked in the garden, and had some painting done in and out. The barn got a fresh coat:

And in the mainfloor bathroom the walls got a long-awaited and much-needed fresh coat of sunny apricot! Shortly after we moved into this house, in a moment of diy delusion, I painted the bathroom. It was great until the next day when it was dry, then it began to crackle! A professional painter I am not! Wrong type of paint on top of the right kind of paint... So I made "lemonade" and washed a sunny orange over the white crackle and for a while it worked. Eventually, the cracks started chipping, and so it went until now. Now it's as it should be and pretty to boot! And since I can steal away to the sewing room pretty easily when dad's around, the bathroom window got prettied up too! A simple tabbed curtain from some stash fabric and muslin. I think some fresh towels are in order, don't you?

While at camp, friendship bracelets were the teen craft of choice (I made a few too!). For a while now, I've been ruminating on a crochet necklace w/discs or flowers or tiny granny squares, so since I hadn't put the embroidery floss away yet, I've been crocheting discs. It's addictive! I get lost in the possibilities of color combinations, sizes, and patterns! It feels great to get around to an idea that's been rattling around, you know? The pink+yellow version is Hana's pink lemonade necklace. Here's another one still in progress:


Fireworks tonight! More relaxation tomorrow! It's good to be home!