closely knit

Even though my brothers and I live hundreds of miles apart from each other, I consider us to be a closely knit family. This winter I did a little hat knitting for my brothers so I thought I'd share that, and them with you! 

I used a pattern from Ravelry called Turn a Square. I was able to get 2 hats out of a ball of Noro Silk Garden used with a ball of Cascade 220.

My brother, Scott, lives in Minneapolis. He and his wife, Kris, recently got chickens! He built a backyard coop and pen that coordinate with their house and garage. Mmm, fresh eggs. 

My other brother, Roger, lives in Jersey City. He and his wife, Christy, and little O recently got bees! Here's Rog in his Turn a Square Hat with his backyard hive. We were lucky enough to get some honey from them at Christmas. 

I recommend this hat pattern. It was very easy and is a great *guy* hat, don't you think? Of course it helps to have some great guys to make them for.

I'm looking forward to spring and doing something with my own backyard. Hopefully some kind of veggie garden. I love the idea of making something from what you've already got. Bet you do, too.

zippered bird pouch pattern!

Hey Chickie Babies! Yes, YOU, who've been asking sooo sweetly for me to create a PDF pattern of my Zippered Bird Pouches. Well, hal-ee-loo-ya, it's finally finished!

This is one mega-pattern, I'm tellin' ya. Five pages and 16 step-by-step photos to take you through it. I've hesitated to put this pattern out there because it took me a long time to develop it and get it just right. Plus it's a little unconventional in terms of the process. Don't come looking to me for the "text book" way to install a zipper or line a pouch. It's my way, it works for me and I think it'll work for you too!

The skill level required for the Zippered Bird Pouch is Advanced Beginner to Intermediate, due to the zipper and fiddly little what-nots. However, I have good news for you beginners! As a bonus, I've added an extra project to this PDF: a little Stuffed Birdie! Yes, because writing this up was already taking over my life, I thought, what's a few extra weeks (ok, days) to create something anyone could make?

See the little fellas? Zip-less and flight-less, but no less adorable. Please stop by the shop and check them out! As always, let me know if you have questions.

heads up

I just wanted to *reach out* and give you a *heads up*. Thought maybe we should *touch base*.

Now that my husband and I are both working from home, these things we used to say in the corporate world sound strangely alien and unnatural. I kind of like to say we need to *caucus*, a la Tim Gunn and Project Runway. That sounds completely normal, right?


So, anywhoo...here's a *heads up* for you about the upcoming issue of Cloth Paper Scissors STUDIOS Spring Issue. Inside you'll find the full reveal of my studio space re-do I teased about last month PLUS a fun little refashion/organize yourself project!

It's available for pre-order now, which is good because it's only sold on "select" newsstands, starting March 31!

shoe bag tutorial

Never having had a sister, it sure was nice of my two brothers to marry some awesome sister-in-laws for me. One thing the three of us SIL's love (besides my brothers, of course) is shoes. We share similar tastes in footwear as well as the same shoe size. (They even own a pair of these, my faves!)

Kris, of gingersnap fame, is having a birthday this week. For her gift I made a set of shoe bags out of some yummy thrifted sheets. Kris and my brother travel frequently so having these will come in handy for her when it is time to pack for the next trip. Shoe bags keep your clothes clean and your shoes protected and organized!

These are super easy to make and take less than a half yard of fabric each, plus a yard of twill tape for the drawcord.

1) With fabric folded, cut a rectangle about 13" x 18". The fold will be the bottom of the bag. About 2 1/2" below the top edge, make a 1/4" snip into the one side of the rectangle, through both front and back layers. (metal ruler shown for scale, not to be used with rotary cutter.)

2) Fold the 2 1/2" area above the snip towards the wrong side and hem. Repeat for the back. (Pay no attention to the lack of continuity with the fabric print!) With right sides together, sew the rest of this side seam and the remaining side seam using 1/4" seam allowance.

3) Finish seam allowances by serging or a zigzag stitch. Finish the top edge of the bag while you're at it.

4) Fold down the top edge of the bag to create the casing. Topstitch around the perimeter of the top of the bag from opening to opening.

5) Cut a yard of twill tape and thread it through the casing using a bodkin or safety pin. Knot ends of tape.

And there you have it! Pop your shoes in, cinch up the drawcord and you're ready to travel. Please let me know if I omitted anything or if you have questions about making the bags.

(If you're wondering about the shoes in the photos, they are mine, all mine and are not part of my sister-in-law's gift! I love her but I gotta draw the line somewhere.)

duck

It's been busy around here, yet not at the same time. I have so many balls in the air right now yet here I sit waiting and wondering what'll become of them. Knowing that if they all decide to come down at once I'll have to duck and cover. I'm sure some will stick on the ceiling, some will roll under the book case never to be seen again. Hope to catch a few on the first bounce. Of course I'm speaking metaphorically, but I have this image of myself running around like Lucille Ball (another "ball" for my metaphor!) in the candy factory.


Speaking of candy, these are close to it. They're not pretty (at least mine aren't) but yum! what a nice treat for Valentines Day. They are Red Velvet Cake Balls from Bakerella. I'm a lover of the red velvet cake so I just had to give these a go. Really easy and messy to make but worth it!

Kids off school today for Presidents Day...Happy Monday!

would you care for some delicious felt?

You know me, when it comes to felt, I go for the wool. I looove makin' stuff out of felted wool sweaters. Yup, I pretty much wrote the book on it. (ok, not the only book).

Over the years I have had many a email from folks asking about crafting with felt felt. Not shrunken "fulled" sweater felt, but FELT! I do use craft felt for applique and sometimes for lining things like my journals. Some people have asked if craft felt can be substituted in place of felted sweaters for the projects in Warm Fuzzies. In most cases, I would have to say NO. Craft felt, no matter what the content and thickness, just doesn't behave the same way and the patterns in the book just weren't designed for it.

Ok, ok, but for the projects that can use craft felt, what kind is best? 100% wool felt is delicious but can be very pricey and is sometimes difficult to find in just the right colors. My personal fave is wool blend craft felt. Usually it's a mix of wool and rayon or nylon. It's more readily available and comes in lots of great colors! (My trick: soak the wool blend felt in hot water for 10 min, then put in the dryer on low or air dry. This plumps it up a bit and takes away that hard flat manufactured look!)

Recently I came upon a site called Felt-o-rama. Now they have got some yummy felt options. And look at the sweet way they packaged my order! All wool, wool blend, and recycled eco-felt made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. (I've not tried the last option...my previous experience tells me I won't like the hand. But please to judge for yourself) And look at those adorable felty buttons! I can't wait to use them on something special. Oh, and in case you're looking for some roley poley felt balls, Ornamentea is a great resource, too.

Oh and one more thing, back to my love, felted wool sweaters: I noticed this week that my local thrift store moved out the sweaters in favor of the capri pants (hunh???? It's February!). If you're having trouble finding wool sweaters to felt, don't forget to search on etsy. Many sellers have got the goods if you search under "supplies" for "wool sweater scraps", etc.

couple cuppa

Need a little java to get you going this Monday morning?

These and a few others available in the shop update today!

I'm also excited to be able to offer a NEW pattern (PDF) today: my Cupcake Ornament that I originally designed for Better Homes & Gardens Holiday Craft. The magazine is off newsstands now and many of you had trouble finding it in the first place. These are really easy to make and would look so cute attached to the top of a gift or hanging on nearly anything, not just a Christmas tree.

Are you wondering why that photo is all dolled up with doo-dads and how I did it? I'm having so much fun with a site called Scrapblog.com. It's free to sign up and you can import photos and use all kinds of backgrounds and "stickers" to make cute pages. I haven't used it for scrapbooking but it sure is a fun way to add a little pizazz to your pics!

Happy Monday!

lego my cupcake

This is what happens when you are:

• playing with your kids' new stash of legos

• have cupcakes on the brain

• inspired by the clever simplicity of this

• amazed by the complexity of this

Still perfecting them...they're a little too *house* looking! BTW, small shop update tomorrow! Cup O' Joe Pincushions!

my treat

Sadly, only one lucky person could win my Sew Hip Magazine give-away. But as a consolation to the rest of you, I offer you cookies! (I try not to be the kind of mom that offers sweets to console my children when things don't go their way...but I'm not your mom, ha ha!)

I made these cookies using a special gingersnap recipe. My sister-in-law, Kris, had a very dear aunt that made the best ever gingersnaps. In her Aunt Patty's memory, Kris carries on the recipe and shares it on her blog, Krisapolis.

She knows her stuff, too. I am not a foodie like Kris, but I sure appreciate a good thing when I taste it. You have to give this recipe a try. Super easy and I didn't even have to shop for anything unusual to make them, which is a big plus for me.

Enjoy!

sumthin about knittin

After I made my felted scarflette, one of my commenters mentioned that she sells a similar pattern for a knit cabled neck warmer in her etsy shop, Home Made Originals. I love it! Clean and simple but not the least bit boring. I decided to knit one with some yummy leftover yarn that was just waiting for the perfect project. A few years ago my 2 sister-in-laws and I went to the Taos Wool Festival in NM where we bought the most delicious yarn from Brooks Farms. I had knit a vest out of it and had just enough to make this, too!

Mmmm, so soft and cozy. And it was a quick satisfying knit! I may never take it off!

Sew Hip Mag Give-away

As promised, I've got two issues of The new UK sewing magazine, Sew Hip, to give away!

Issue #2 has my interview (along with bunches of good stuff) and issue #4 has my project: The Lady Bug Tape Measure and Leaf Scissor Case! Both can be made with any kind of felt. The lady bug has a retractable tape measure sewn inside. To extend the tape you pull on the antennae. It's ok, it doesn't hurt her. Plus I think she likes it.

The leaf scissor case is pretty self explanatory. Yep. Me even saying that is not necessary, and yet I go on stating the obvious. Moving right along...

The Give-away rules: This is for issue #2 & #4 of Sew Hip magazine. Due to shipping costs, this is only open to you in the USA. Leave a comment on this post by midnight EST, Thursday Feb 5th 2009. I will randomly choose a name on Friday 2/6/09 and email you to get your address. (make sure I can track down your email either through your comment, your blog, etc)

Thank you to Sew Hip Magazine and good luck you commenters! :)

**edit: comments now closed!**