lint in my coffee

Now that the kids are back in school, things are buzzing along in the studio. It's good to have some physical assembly-line type production work to do to get my head back on track. All of the to-do's that have been waiting in line in my brain for school to start are busting through the door all at once, clamoring for attention!

First order of business is getting my workshop kits and supplies ready for The Creative Connection next month. I'm hauling out the felted wool sweater stash to sort, select, cut and organize what will be needed for my workshops. That heap up there? That is merely an ice crystal on a snowflake on the tip of the world's biggest felted wool ice berg! I have a serious sweater scrap hoarding issue. (Note to self: add scrap bags to etsy shop later this year)

These neatly cut little stacks are for my Cup O' Joe Pincushion class. That's a lot of woolly pincushion ingredients. But wait there's more...

Oh yeah, the coffee and the cream. What a way to start the day.

I had to bring in an extra work table to line up all of the coffee bags that the kits will be in. So many to fill! Oh boy the lint is flyin' around in here, watch out!

It's really good think-time for me...preparing the materials, imagining all of the people that will be getting creative and putting together their own woolly Cup O' Joe.

Will you be one of them?

BTW, I have received several inquiries regarding future workshops of the online variety! Yes yes yes! Coming this October, I will be offering my original online workshop, Felt & Stitch Holiday! It was crazy-popular last year so I thought I would bring it back again for those of you that missed it. Look for an announcement later in September. I'll also run the Felted Birdhouse Workshop again, most likely in the spring. Thanks for your interest!

flown

What happened to the last week of summer vacation? Or the whole summer for that matter? It's just flown by me in a blur. When things are quiet on the blog that usually means things are the opposite "in real life". We've been preparing ourselves for back-to-school, back-to-work and back-to-back a lot of things!

The end of this week brings the wrapping-up of my latest online workshop: The Felted Birdhouse. What fun I've had teaching this one! I loved being able to fully explore a project, to break it down into pieces and put it back together again (figuratively) by explaining it step-by-step. There is so much self discovery not only when you *make* but especially when you bring awareness to the making by documenting and illustrating every step and technique.

It's honestly been a luxury for me to slow down and take the time to explore the possibilities along with the participants of the workshop. (Oh little hand stitches, how I've missed you!) The ideas begin to flow more fluidly and I end up pushing myself as I intend to push the group. It's amazing how much you can learn by teaching.

So, the online workshop winds down, the summer winds down, and new things are on the horizon. Next up for me, the Creative Connection Event this September in Minneapolis. (There's still time to join us if you haven't signed up yet!) I'll be teaching "in real life" which will be it's own luxury. And I'm sure I'll be learning a lot.

for the monkeys

* * * * *

[Thanks to all of you who entered the Sew Retro Give-away! We have a winner: Caryn who commented: "Oh this book has my name written all over it :) If I don't win it here I will definitely be buying a copy asap! My fav clothes decade has to be the 50's, also like many things about the 70's as well (just not the polyester!)!" Congratulations Caryn! I loved reading everyones comments about your favorite decades in fashion. Fascinating! Thank you for sharing!]

* * * * *

I spent a fair amount of time in my boys' room this weekend going through outgrown clothes, organizing, and trying to make their room as livable as possible. Those little monkeys of mine, now 8 and 10, are not so little any more. Fortunately, they still love the same things (as long as they are Legos) and enjoy sharing a room. They also share a funny quirk about not sleeping with a top sheet. So awhile back when I wanted some curtains for their windows, I made some with their unused top sheets. Pretty simple: Use the top hem of the sheet as a casing and slide a curtain rod through it! I had to shorten and hem the bottom of the sheet to fit the window.

The sheet I used for this curtain was a Nick and Nora flannel sock monkey sheet. I hung onto the leftover piece (16" x about 40") thinking the print was too cute not to save for something. Well, this weekend I figure out the "something"!

My boys sleep in bunk beds. Youngest sleeps on the bottom. His stuffed animals are suspended above his bed by a hammock (square of fabric with twill tape ties stitched to each corner) tied to the slats on the underside of the top bunk. Perfect. Oldest, on the top bunk, has no such place to stash his stuffed animals. In addition to getting a little old for his plush friends, his growing body needs more space up there! Not wanting his bed to be completely devoid of fuzzy friends, I knew I needed to think of something. (This age is so sweet and funny, isn't it? So much internal growth during those early double digits. Lingering between little kid and big kid...)

So I came up with an idea to make a long row of pockets that would hang from the railing on the top bunk. That way he could stash just a few stuffed animals in the pockets, as well as a book or magazine or two, and a flashlight for reading in bed. (The rest of the stuffed menagerie has found a home in the closet for now.) I retrieved the leftover sheet piece from my stash, hemmed the raw edge, then folded it lengthwise. Then I stitched the short ends along with a few vertical rows of stitching to segment the length into 5-6 pockets. Next I stitched twill tape ties at intervals along the top edge to tie around the top bar of the railing. Viola!

Last night he tried it out for the first time. I think he thought it was pretty cool. He had much more room to spread out yet still had a few favorite things close at hand. When you share a room with your brother, you need to have your own special space with your own special stuff. Y'know?

Sew Retro: Book Review and Give-away!

Months ago I was interviewed for a Q&A to be included in the new book Sew Retro: A Stylish History of the Sewing Revolution, by Judi Kettler, published by Voyageur Press. I was lucky enough to get my own copy (gratís) and now a lucky-one-of-you can too!

Before we get to the give-away, let me tell you about this fascinating sewing book. First the facts, ma'am:

• List price: $24.99, hardcover
• spiral bound for easy use during crafting (lies flat!)
• 25 projects, designed by Judi, including bags, aprons, home accessories and wearables.
• skill level: beginning sewers
  
• patterns/templates included in an envelope in the back of book
• Designer Q&A's throughout the book as well as historical profiles on remarkable "Stitching Women"

While the projects are cute, simple and modern (with a nod to retro style), what I really love about this book is the history. I loved fashion history in college but this is even better. Judi writes in such an accessible and entertaining way that makes it really fun to read about everything from the invention of the sewing machine to thrifty sewing during wartime to the feminism and revolution in the 60's and beyond!

Each chapter spans a few decades starting with the 1800's up to modern day. The pages are full of fun vintage fashion ephemera to look at like Victorian trade cards, magazine covers from the 50's, sewing pattern illustrations from the 70's, etc.

In addition Judi features 6 designer Q&A's including Amy Butler, Judie Rothermel, and little ol' me. :) If you want to learn a little more about the book, watch the video below:



Are you excited about this book now? I am giving away one copy to a lucky commenter on this post. To make entering more fun, why don't you tell me what your favorite decade of fashion is? You have until midnight EST, Sunday August 22nd to enter. I will announce the winner Monday the 23rd here on the blog. (Be sure to leave an email or way to contact you if you win!)

My favorite decade? I love the Lucille Ball looks of the 50's and the mod prints of the 60's. Oops, that was 2 decades...

***Comments closed! Thank you!***

:: inspired by ::

Felted Wool Acorns: Lil Fish Studios
Felted Poppy Necklace: AVA Original
Mushroom Pincushion Terrarium: Woolly Fabulous
Felted Wool Slippers: Grazim

Today I thought I'd share a little inspiration with you from a recent etsy surfing adventure! I simply typed the word "felt" into the handmade search box and found the lovelies pictured above. Ooh, and this was just the tip of the iceberg! The work by these artists and others I stumble across truly inspire me.

Other things I find inspiring:
nature hikes
movies
window shopping
flickr surfing
art galleries
thrift and antique shops
craft stores
watching kids create

By the way, my husband and I recently watched the film Between the Folds on Netflix. It's a documentary exploring the art, science, creativity and ingenuity of the world's best paper folders. It's origami! It's math! It's brilliant! I highly recommend watching it.

What do you do to fill up on inspiration?

knitting report

About a week ago I finished knitting my lovely Vaya shrug. You may remember it from my *I love green* post. This light little sweater will be my defense against over-air conditioned buildings during these last hot weeks of summer. I'll just toss it into my bag and be set, wherever I go. I made a few changes to the original instructions. I opted out of the scallopy edgings and substituted a few rows of garter stitch. You can find all of the details about it on my Ravelry page.

And do you recall this beautiful beginning?

Yes! I finished my Lanesplitter skirt! Crazy bright yarn and all...and I love it! You will have to wait until full fledged fall weather for me to photograph it being worn though. It is just too dang hot out. (or I could just throw this in my purse too, right? Like for when I'm in the frozen food section of the grocery store. I'll bring my camera and ask the butcher to take a pic for me. Ha!)

This also has an alteration from the original pattern on Knitty. I decided to sew in a waistband facing rather than pick up stitches (choke) and knit one. I used a strip of jersey fabric I cut off the bottom of a t-shirt I no longer wore. It looks pretty woodgie, but I assure you, it is soft, smooth and comfy when it's on. Again, more deets on my Ravelry page.

Next I plan to knit the Coquille shawl and then I'll be ready to jump into some sweater knitting! I've got my eye on the Oatmeal Pullover and the Cozy Bolero by Jane Richmond. Any other fave sweater patterns I should know about?

I'd love to knit for my boys, but I'm just not sure they'd go for it. When my oldest was 5, I knit him a beautiful top-down raglan rollneck sweater. He did wear it a few times, but only after I stitched a custom Batman label in the back of the neck! I do like this sporty track jacket from Spud and Chloe...should I go for it? So hard to know. Those little people sure do have minds of their own.

Any cool boy knits out there for ages 8-10? I'd love to know!

little friend

The sunflowers my husband planted outside our breakfast nook window have faded and gone to seed. I will miss their sunny faces bobbing in the breeze.

But oh look, a new golden face greeting us! Hello there little bird. Are you having breakfast too? Please do join us.

Hoping your week brings you sunny faces and friends of gold!

Olive Swing Bag Pattern

***Thank you for your enthusiasm for my Felted Birdhouse Online Workshop. There are still spaces available if you'd like to join us! The fun begins August 16th, visit my last post for details. ***

Today I'd like to share another pattern I've created for my Make New or Make Do™ Sewing Pattern line: The Olive Swing Bag! Like the Isabella Tote, this too is named after one of my nieces, and this bag was designed to be made from 2 pillowcases. (How fun would this look in vintage pillowcase prints?)

Of course the Olive Swing Bag can also be made with new fabrics, such as my Sprig and Sprouts print in organic sateen, seen above. It's fully reversible, so it's like 2 bags in one. It's nice and roomy and has a button/loop closure.

What's more, there's a bonus project included. The scraps leftover from making the bag can be used to make this sweetly shaped sunglasses case, a perfect companion to the bag.

Batting or fusible fleece gives the case a little protective padding and it closes with a magnetic snap. I added a small button on the outside flap as a decorative detail.

Like the Isabella Tote and my other patterns, printed copies are available online and in fabric shops around the country. (If you're a retailer that would like information, feel free to subscribe to my wholesale email list) If you'd like to purchase the PDF version of the Olive Swing Bag, it is now available in my shop.

I can't tell you how great it feels to be able to share these patterns with you. Those of you who visit here often know that my creative soul is committed to celebrating re-use, promoting the use organic fabrics, and mindful design. Each and every pattern is a result of many hours of design, planning, and problem solving. I believe sewing projects should be functional, enjoyable to make and look fantastic. I look forward to hearing your feedback and would like to encourage you to share your thoughts! I've set up a Make New or Make Do™ Flickr group if you'd like to contribute photos of anything you've made from my patterns. Seeing your projects is the icing on the cake. Happy sewing!

Announcing: The Felted Birdhouse Online Workshop!

Announcing my NEW online workshop: The Felted Birdhouse, August 16 - 27th
Join me this August for my newest online workshop! No matter where you live we can gather together in my virtual studio to make the sweetest felted wool birdhouse for yourself or any lover of cuteness. I’ll be teaching and working with you along the way through a combination of blog posts, downloadable PDF’s, and videos, where participants can communicate with each other and with me. The Felted Birdhouse pattern is not available in my books or anywhere else!


The Felted Birdhouse Workshop
Stitch a sweet little bird and birdhouse made of felted wool and embellish them with applique, embroidery, buttons and trims. Learn how to take a well-loved woolly sweater and transform it into something whimsical. A materials list will be provided, but feel free to use favorite fabrics, trims and doodads from your own stash to further personalize your one-of-a-kind creation. Hand sewing will be used and beginners are welcome.


The Details:
This 2-week workshop begins August 16 and runs through August 27. The cost of the workshop is $25. Once registered, participants will receive a password (via email) granting access to a special blog page created just for the workshop. In addition to the workshop blog, there will be a Flickr group where you can share photos of your finished projects, 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 September 30, 2010.



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!