Felt + Stitch Holiday '09

Announcing my NEW online workshop: October 12th to November 6th!

Join me this fall for my first-ever online workshop! No matter where you live we can gather together online to make wonderful felted wool projects for your holiday décor and gift giving. I’ll be teaching and working with you along the way through a combination of blog posts, downloadable PDF’s, and videos posted weekly, where participants can communicate with each other and with me. Projects will include ornaments, home décor and small gifts, designed especially for this workshop and are not available in my books or anywhere else!

Felt + Stitch Holiday is jam-packed with ideas, techniques and projects you can start making right away. Inspired by my book, Warm Fuzzies, this workshop will focus on small projects made with felted wool sweaters and/or craft felt. You will learn the basics of working with felt, a variety of applique and embellishment techniques, experiment with needle felting methods and more. Each week I will post wonderful holiday projects for you to make applying these techniques. I will share with you tricks of the trade. Even if you have never worked with felted wool before, you'll complete this workshop feeling like a pro! You might also feel a bit like Santa with all of the gifts and décor you’ll create.


The 4-week workshop begins October 12 and runs through November 6. The cost of the workshop is $40. Once registered, participants will receive a password (via email) granting access to a special blog page created just for the workshop. Each Monday I will demonstrate a technique. On Wednesdays I will post a project for you to make using that technique. In addition to the workshop blog, there will be a private Flickr group where you can share your photos each week, ask questions and take part in discussions. Feel free to take the course at your own pace on your own time! All workshop content will be available to participants through the end of the year.

Registration opens today! Visit my shop for more details and to sign up now!

I'm really excited about this and I hope you are too! If you have questions you'll most likely find the answers in the workshop listing info. If you think of something else, please feel free to ask!

***EDIT 10/2/09: The Workshop is now SOLD OUT! Thank you! To find out about future workshops, sign up for my email newsletter here.***

freebies

Hey there crafty friends. My publisher, STC Craft, has put together a collection of 20 free patterns from their books. Plus, a craft book give-away if you comment on their blog by September 28th. Now is the time to get a jump on your holiday crafting!

The Produce Bags, are the freebie pattern from my book, Sewing Green. These would be a great gift tucked inside a shopping "tote trick" tote, don't you think?

And for you knitters, there's a free pattern for this felted scarf from Alterknits Felt by Leigh Radford...

The adorable Meathead pattern from Knitalong by Larissa Golden Brown and Martin John Brown...
Sweet stripe socks from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick...

And some kick-a** arm warmers from Punk Knits by Share Ross and Bam Ross...just to name a few!

Head on over to the STC Craft blog to download these (and 15 more!) free patterns. Don't forget to comment there for a chance to win a book as well. Go now, contest ends soon!

photos courtesy of STC Craft

knit-WIP

Ok guys, after all of your super helpful and supportive knitting comments, I'm back at it. This is the start of my second (ok, third!) attempt at the Shalom Cardi. With some new yarn and the help of my new Squam pal, Laura, I am on my way.


Good golly this yarn is delicious. If I could eat it, I bet it would taste like cinnamon or nutmeg or curry or hazelnut or maybe all of them mixed together somehow. It is called Esperanza from Schaefer Yarn, color: Julia Child. Hmmm, no wonder the color reminds me of flavors! I'm knitting in the evenings while my husband and I catch up on old episodes of LOST on Hulu. That show is like a drug, I had no idea! Hope it doesn't screw up my gauge, sometimes those shows make me tense. We are only part way through season 2, so don't tell me anything! No spoilers, please!

P.S. Don't worry about the fate of the first attempt at this sweater. I have a tall friend I intend to gift it to!

playing with color

I love color. I am working on my next print collection so I am pulling together all of the yummy fall colors that feel so good to me right now. Plum, magenta, orange, brown, a little tealy-turq...and of course lots of green.

Just a litttle sneak peek to get your mouth watering for my fall prints! I hope to have them ready and in the shop by the beginning of October!

Hope it's feelin' fall near you...happy weekend!

some knitting

I got distracted from my honey comb hat and scarf and knit a few other things instead.

These are the sweet little baby booties by Susan B Anderson I told you about. Super cinchy to make! I knit them out of soft soft alpaca and they are for a baby shower gift.

I love the blocky toes, so much like chubby baby feet. I added the felted I-cord for the bow. These are for a boy, but Susan shows little rosettes on hers for a baby girl.

And...here is my Shalom Cardi. I looooved this pattern when I found it on Ravelry. HAD to make it! I didn't have the right yarn in my stash and new yarn is not in my budget...so I compromised and bought Lyon Brand Wool-ease. Made this for under $20! The original pattern only had one button but I wanted three. I also shortened the length a bit.

The jury is still out on the finished result. I'm feeling a liiiittle like the yoke portion is too long on me. If I re-do this (argh) I may shorten each section by a few rows. It's looking a little too much like...I don't know, an Egyptian Cleopatra collar? The original just looks...better. Not liking the 3 buttons now either! Gah!

Oh well. Regardless of my inability to bond with my new sweater, this was a blast to knit and it went quickly due to the nice thick yarn. I wouldn't mind knitting this again. Kinda.

So, what do you do when your knitting goes awry? Rip it out and start over? Give it away?

weird + wonderful

No, I'm not still talking about my hair. We went on a little nature walk this weekend. You never know what you'll discover.

Amber globs of sap, decorating a tree.

Something shed and left behind...

Mr. Toad, chillaxin' in his tree stump...


Bright and amazing looking fungi...

...the size of dinner plates!

I'm so looking forward to fall, my favorite season! Really, the jeans and sweaters just can't come fast enough in my opinion. Speaking of weird + wonderful, my boys are already ramping up for Halloween. Yes, we are well into the costume planning stages and have even started some assembly. And for me this fall? Knitting will take center stage. I've already made this cardigan but it needs buttons. These baby booties are on my needles for a shower coming up next weekend. I'll show you both when they are done.

What weird + wonderful things are happening with you?

friday silliness

I got a badly needed haircut yesterday. Nothing drastic, just a good trim. Seems I have finally "figured out" my hair after 40-something years! Anyway, about 10 years ago I was having a hair identity crisis (one of many...) and decided to go to a salon that had hair-do imaging. They took a photo of me and then digitally mocked up any hair style I chose from the menu. I KNOW! So cool. I don't think it did much to help me make up my mind, but it sure was fun. I can't even believe I am sharing this with you:

Ha! Oh I get such a kick looking at this. It just illustrates why we obsess over our hair, doesn't it? It makes such a difference in how we feel about ourselves and how others view us. I can just imagine the different "personalities" each version of me up there might have.

Have a good weekend and do something silly! :)

Easy Repurposed Pillows

Pillows are a pretty easy and inexpensive way to change the decor in your home. Most of the time when I make a pillow, I sew the cover together leaving a small opening. I stuff a pillow form inside then hand sew the opening shut. This technique has served me well, but it's not suitable for changing covers on your pillow forms. If you 're one for swapping out the covers with the seasons, for example, you're better off with a pillow cover that either zips on and off or has an envelope back.

I made these using nice soft second-hand sweaters for the face of the pillows. They are all wool, but only the blue stripe and the fisherman cable have been felted. Really, you could use any kind of sweater or fabric, for that matter. Cut a square the same dimension as your pillow form (16" x 16" or whatever). If you use an unfelted sweater, overlock or zigzag the raw edges.

For the back of the pillow, cut another square out of an old flannel shirt, denim jacket, suit coat, dress shirt, suede vest, etc! Anything that already has some kind of placket or closure will work as your ready-made "envelope" closure for the back of your pillow.

You can center the placket, off set it, put it at a diagonal, however it works. Sew the pillow front to the pillow back, right sides together, around the entire perimeter. Turn right side out, stuff it with your pillow form, then button it back up. Done!

These pillows look nice, are comfortable and are meant to be used. You can have fun thrifting around for just the right front and back to put together. Or make them a little more meaningful by creating them out of a favorite garment that can no longer be worn. A while back I made one out of my son's long outgrown cashmere fisherman sweater. He loves being able to *keep* his old sweater and to curl up with it on the couch.

Amanda's Handmade Home

Have you taken a stroll through this lovely book yet? Handmade Home is Amanda's Soule's follow-up to her very popular book, The Creative Family. If you love sewing projects that repurpose well-loved items from the home and for the home, you won't be disappointed. Amanda's sweet perspective on life, family and appreciating the little things that we've come to love on her blog comes shining through in her new book, Handmade Home.

I was fortunate to meet Amanda in person last spring at the Squam Art Workshops. We took the rustic playhouse stage together, along with three other authors, and chatted with the attendees about our books, publishing, and what it means to put your baby (book) out into the world. (speaking metaphorically, that baby is Harper, Amanda's real baby)

Amanda's and my path had crossed previous to meeting via blogging and emailing each other. At one point, many months ago, we had compared notes about my then-work-in-progress, Sewing Green, and hers, Handmade Home. Both books with sewing projects, both focused on repurposing and reuse, but from different angles and in our own voices. It's a wonderful surprise to finally see her efforts come together. Amanda brings such a sense of nostalgia, history and an admiration for family past, present and future. She articulates it in a way that makes you feel as though you've been friends forever.

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And now I'm off on a tangent:
I find the act of publishing so fascinating. Creating books (our babies, our labors of love) and sending them out into the wild...they take on a life of their own. I hesitate to keep comparing it to parenting, but I can't get away from it. Seeing your book go forth without you, for better or worse, is like sending your child off to kindergarten.

Will she make friends? Will people see her good traits, the way I do? Will she do well?

As a parent (and an author) there is only so much you can do to prepare, nurture, and encourage your children (books). Soon enough they join the masses and all of your love and hard work is on display for the public. To be adored or to be dismissed. To be revered or to be criticized. I have to say, it is a bit daunting. No, books are not human, but they come from the heart. And like parenting, I consider being an author an incredible honor. I'm pretty sure Amanda would agree.

blissful blogging

Yesterday the mailman brought me a copy of Blogging for Bliss, A Guide For Crafters, Artists & Creatives of All Kinds, by Tara Frey.

Last year when I was asked to be a part of the book (find me on page 24!) I was flattered. Me? I'm no blogging expert! But turns out, that's kind of the point of the book. Blogging can be for anyone that wants to be part of this amazing creative blogging community.

In Blogging for Bliss, Tara guides you through setting up a blog, finding your voice, blogging manners, photography tips and more. In addition, there 50+ profiles of your favorite bloggers as well as wonderful ones you may not have come across before. Even though I have been blogging now for 3 1/2 years (this is my 412th post!) there is some seriously helpful stuff in here. I recommend it for newbies and veterans alike!

I was so giddy, flipping through this for the first time. I felt like I had just gotten my high school yearbook! (What page am I on? Oh, look at her! She's in here...and so is my other friend) And like a yearbook, I feel like this book will hold special meaning for me. It's like a snapshot or a time capsule. Look at how much has happened with the internet and social networking in just a handful of years. What will the next handful bring?