back to business

Vacation is over and it's back to the business at hand. The good news: I love my job and there is so often something fun and exciting to share with you. Today, I bring you the latest in my Make New or Make Do™ Sewing Pattern line, the Isabella Tote:

The Isabella Tote is a great grab-and-go tote, simply made from a fresh yard of pretty printed fabric (seen above in my organic cotton sateen Indian Summer Floral) or from one standard size pillowcase!

The cool thing about the construction of the Isabella is that when you make it out of a pillow case, it uses the whole pillowcase with virtually no waste. Oh, Isabella, you are one smart girl.

And just for fun, I included instructions for a scaled down version, called the Mini Izzy. It's perfect for use as a handbag or for toting along your latest needlework project.

The Isabella Tote pattern, along with my other Make New or Make Do™ sewing patterns, are available in printed hard copy at several online retailers and will be arriving soon at brick-and-mortar locations around the country. Yippee! I will update my website with stockist information as it becomes available. If you're interested in purchasing a PDF version of this pattern, it can be found in my etsy shop.

Why is this tote called the Isabella? I named it after my niece, who also goes the by nickname Izzy!

what I did on summer vacation

Hello sweet bloggie friends! We are home now from our week long vacation at our favorite place on earth! You regular readers know that each year we spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins at our family's cottage in New Hampshire. We had amazing weather. It only rained once and that was at night, so it doesn't count. The kids must've been in the lake 99% of the time...at least it seemed that way.

I was able to get my share of knitting done, yay! I finished my Waterfall scarf in Silk Noros Lite. You just can't go wrong with theses colors, can you? Deee-lish. And you almost can't go wrong with photography up here. The lighting is just magical.

I haven't blocked it yet, but maybe I won't, I rather like the wiggliness of the yarn between rows.

The texture is bumpy and rough looking yet light and lacey and soft to the touch. I can't wait for the weather to wear it.

I also made great strides with my Lanesplitter skirt. I knit in the cottage at night, sitting in the lawn chairs while "life guarding" the kids...

...and out on the dock with my sister-in-law. (She even decided to knit her own Waterfall after seeing me knit mine!) I'm almost done with the skirt now, just a little more and I tackle the waistband. More on that later...

Aside from knitting there was plenty of napping, hammocking and Calvin and Hobbs reading...

Vintage soda drinking and bottle cap collecting...

Excavating and sandcastle making with new friends....

and intricate bridge building...

There was bicycle riding and wild blueberry picking...but most of all reconnecting with family. It's always so so hard to leave this place but we'll hold onto this summer's memory in our hearts until next summer when we'll be back again.

P.S. If you'd like to see how this magical place inspired my first organic fabric collection, Family Cottage, (launched just one year ago this month!) Go to this post from last year to enjoy the slide show.

bizzy bizzy

When it's quiet here on the blog, that usually means that it's bizzy behind the scenes. I wish I could do it all: family time, work time, me time and blog it all the while, but let's be realistic. Layer in the vacation prep (we leave in just a few days!) and my plate is overflowing.

I thought I would fill you a little on some of the bizzy-ness buzzing around the BWHQ. (that's the Betz White Headquarters, heh.)


Still sketching, experimenting, allowing myself to play with color and DRAW. Perhaps a print design will emerge? We'll see...no pressure. ahem.


Knitting and plans for more knitting. (I've got to load up on knitting for vacation you know.) I started this Waterfall scarf, thinking I finally found a home for my Noros Silk Garden Lite that I've stashed for a few years. Hmmm...still not sure, I need to keep at it a bit before I decide.

I've got my eyes on a few lovelies featured in the newest issue of knitty.com. I bought this Mini Mochi yarn for the Coquille shawl. I chose the same colorway, Fern Rainbow, as was used in the original pattern. Click on over and view what these unassuming balls of yarn will become!

Then there's the Lanesplitter skirt. I've been wanting to knit a skirt and this is it! Funny though, I decided that the colors used in the original were too bright so I bought this colorway instead (Noros Kureyon #270). Oh yeah, this yarn will make a subtle understated skirt for sure! What can I say, ordering yarn online is tricky, especially when it comes to Noros colors. Zoo wee mama!


Last but not least, I got my next 3 Make New or Make Do™ Sewing Patterns back from the printer! I'll be packing wholesale orders today and getting these out before I leave. I'll be blogging in full about these new babies when I get back later in July with all of the details and where you can get them. Plus, look forward to a new workshop announcement at the end of the month. I think you'll be excited about this one, I am!

(BTW, are you on Ravelry? I've been a member for ages but have just finally gotten around to adding my projects. Friend me over there, won't you? It's a lot of fun!)

We have a winner!

We have a winner for the Homemade Fun Book Give-away! Congrats to commenter #5, Saltycatco, who said:

I have an art box for my daughter and each afternoon we pick two projects to do. Sometimes it's watercoloring, others it's making masks or collages or stamping. We'd love to win this book to add even more projects to our art box!

Thanks to everyone who entered! Check out the comments for a lot of great crafting memories and ideas for things to do with your kids. Remember gum wrapper chains? I loved making those! I also had a really long chain made from pull-tabs from aluminum cans. (remember the old ones with the tab and ring?) Good times!

Homemade Fun: Review and Give-away!

Rae Grant, author of Crafting Fun and Cooking Fun has just published her 3rd book, Homemade Fun: 101 Crafts and Activities to do with Kids. When Rae sent me a complimentary copy, I couldn't wait to dive in. I have so many fond memories of childhood crafting with simple things from around the house that I want to be able to share that with my kids. Rae's put all of the classics together in this beautiful book, complete with vintage style illustrations. There are sections on:

• hand sewing and embroidery
• paper crafts
• making jewelry
• baking
  
• building things
• toys, games and pastimes

I have to say, I did wonder just a bit if the old-timey style might just be a little too sedate for my 8 and 10 year old boys. But I was pleasantly surprised when my youngest plopped down with the book and started flipping through without hesitation. This book is an easy read and perfect for older kids like mine to take initiative (yay!) and make the projects themselves. Parents will find it provides just enough inspiration to help them guide younger kids through the projects.

My son stopped abruptly on the page with the Friendship Pins. Armed with a bucket of beads and a handful of safety pins, he went to town creating a whole set of friendship pins. He's planning a club of some sort and the pins will be awarded as "achievements".

I love seeing the kids get inspired by a simple idea and then take off with it in their own direction. I think that's just what Rae's book is set up to do. It is simple text and illustration with no photography. Because the projects are so simple, I find that photos are not necessary. The imagination can take over where the text and illustrations leave off, making the project unique to the individual. And isn't that what it's all about?

Exhibit A: Friendship Pin turned hairy legged, winged, grasshopper pin!

Wouldn't you like to have the opportunity to share this book with some kids this summer? Of course you would! Rae's publisher has generously offered to give away a copy of her book to one of my commenters. To enter the giveaway, please:

• comment on this post before midnight EST, Sunday July 11th.
• be sure to leave your email address or another way for me to contact you if you win
• tell me about a favorite summer time craft you either did as a child or do with your kids

The winner will be randomly chosen and contacted on Monday the 12th! Good luck!

In the meantime, check out Rae's blog, My Little Hen. And for extra bonus points, she's hosting another little give-away (something from me!) on her blog. Good luck again!
**comments closed!**

i love green

It's no secret that I love the color green. I was looking around my studio and noticed the repetition of a particular kind of green. Seafoam. Lichen. Celadon. I love color names.

This is a gorgeous ceramic coaster I bought myself from The Broken Plate Pendant Co. a little while back, made from a vintage plate! I met Juliet, the plate breaker herself, last December at the Baltimore Holiday Pile of Craft Show. (I noticed she has some beauties in her shop!) It's the perfect spot for my morning coffee to sit. Coffee + pretty coaster = love.

The next delicious example of subtle greeness is this felted wool potholder/trivet I made. I bought a beautiful wooden loom from Jennifer of Craftsanity with the thought that it might keep my 8 year old son busy this summer. What fun! Our first weaving was made with loops we cut out of some old T-shirts. This time I had to try it out with some felted wool sweaters (of course). I removed the ribbing then spiral-cut the sweater body to create long strips. I love the result! I should make 5 more of them and stitch them together for a super cushy bath mat.

Lastly, my knitting work-in-progress: The Vaya Shrug by the lovely Laura Nelkin (you may remember her from my Summer Duet post). I'm using Anne yarn from Schaeffer and I believe the color is called Sage. It's a fun summer knit. I can't wait to finish it, it'll be perfect to put on in chilly air conditioned places.

Oh I do love green. Do you find that you gravitate towards similar shades of color? Is it intentional or coincidental?