Fabric Sneak Peek: Stitch

So...the Fed Ex man brought some fabric today. Not just ANY fabric, but MY fabric! I'm so excited about it, I thought I'd share a little sneaker peeker! (I'm not at liberty to show it all just yet...)

I will tell you though that my debut collection is called Stitch and it is inspired by all types of stitchers and the beautiful handiwork created by them.

Bold and colorful graphic motifs taken from embroidery, crochet, knitting and sewing come together in this coordinated line printed on organic cotton by Robert Kaufman.

My little name on the selvedge. Crazy exciting, isn't it? Stitch will be available in stores this fall. Stayed tuned for more information and a full reveal next month! In the meantime, I can't wait to get sewing with it. (more backstory here!)

Craft Show Saturday!

If you are in the Baltimore Maryland area, I hope you'll join me tomorrow for the Pile of Craft Show! Lots of great vendors will be there. Click the words above for directions to the event!

I'll have loads of beautiful organic cotton/hemp canvas pillows...

a stack of organic cotton/hemp canvas bucket hats...

a colorful assortment of nest brooches made from felted wool sweaters...

Mini gadget cases made from shirt sleeve cuffs...

sassy wrist cuffs made from thrifted neckties...

hip sling bags made from retro neckties...

...and more!

Hope to see you there!

summer sewing

School's out for the summer and as every mom knows, it is a time of transition. How will the kids fill their days, how will we spend time together and how will I get my work done? And so we begin, trying to find the new normal.

This week my older son is at his first overnight Boy Scout Camp. So younger son and I need to keep occupied. Fortunately, he has sewing plans for the summer! And that suits me just fine. Last fall I was given a book called Sewing School by Amie Patronis Plumley and Andrea Lisle. It made me realize that while I know how to sew, I don't really know best how to teach a child to sew.

This book has got us covered! It has very clear and logical with instructions written for the kids as well as notes to grown-ups. My 9 yr old son was very inspired and empowered knowing he could complete a project start to finish.

To keep his tools handy (and mine where they belong!) he put together his own sewing kit. I gave him an old cigar box, some scrap booking paper and some Mod Podge and he went to town making it his own. Next, he worked on the contents...

At the store he picked out some embroidery floss (Sewing School recommends non-divisible cotton floss, but he preferred these 6-strand floss colors). He proceeded to make his own felt banana pin cushion (upper right) and a little nest brooch because I was making some. :)

For his scissors he stitched a little case...

...and for his needles, a little case made from part of a necktie. See how it looks closed in photo #4. He even sewed the button on it! I'm impressed. These are all his own invention but the book kick-started his creative juices!

Next up, his felty friend, Froggy. Younger son drew the paper pattern for the body, arms and legs, cut out the felt, stitched and stuffed it and glued on the eyes. Not bad! He's a fast study , that boy of mine.

He also knows that every burst of creativity energy requires a little rest and recharge afterward. Like reading a book with a new friend. :)

For other kid ideas, crafty and otherwise, check out the following links:

Craft Camp at Skip to My Lou
80 Things your Kids Love To Do from Whip Up
Shiny Happy World - free how-to sewing videos

If you have more summer activities for kids, I'd love to hear about them!

teacher puppets

My 9 year old is a great gift maker. And by great I mean, he really thinks about the recipient and puts great time, effort and detail into the making of the gift. While I wholeheartedly admire and attempt to foster this quality, sometimes it requires a lot of time and attention from me as well. However! For this year's teacher gifts, I was told that he would make them himself. Really, really by himself this time. (mostly)

Introducing the 3rd Grade Teacher Puppets:

Meet Mrs. S, Mrs. K and Mrs. P! Each teacher is carefully portrayed in felt as a finger puppet. Yep, he really did it this year from concept, to choice of materials to sewing and gluing. I was available for initial needle threading as well as offering a grown up finger for testing the size of the finger puppet. I love the little #1 ribbons he made for each one with a button from my button jar.

The only detail I helped with was the glasses. But how? (These are some of the details that we end up wrestling with, sending me into a wild goose chase, searching for just the right trim, tool or doodad.) Turns out a small amount of crafting wire wrapped around the square end of a chopstick did the trick.

I wish you knew how much these really resemble his teachers. Uncanny! He's giving them out today and I'm sure they will be a hit.

School will be out in just a few days and I am sure there will be many crafting sessions this summer. He and I intend to create his own sewing kit, craft supply bin and station to help foster his crafting independence! I've got a great book, too, called Sewing School, that I can't wait to dive into with him. I'll be sure to blog about that and let you know how it goes!

Firewood Sling Tutorial

Last week I promised to share another *tote transformation* project with you, in time for Father's Day. I hope you'll try my Firewood Sling Tutorial...it's as easy a falling off a log! (sorry, I couldn't resist)

Basically a firewood carrier is like an open-sided tote. We took ours with us on our camping trip last weekend and it was very handy for gathering small branches for our campfire. If you're not the camping sort, the sling can lend a hand when it's time to bring in the firewood this winter. And best of all? It's made from a ho-hum trade show tote so it whips up in a snap! (many of the steps are the same as the BBQ Apron Tutorial, too!)

To make one you'll need:

• One large canvas tote*
• Thread
• Fabric shears
• Sewing Machine w/ heavy duty needle
• Pins or binder clips
  
• Pencil
• Ruler

*The tote I used measured about 18" wide x 14" tall with a 2" gusset. You'll want the construction of the bottom to be gusseted with no bottom seam.

Step 1 - Deconstruct Tote: With the bag inside out, cut along the side seams trimming off the seam allowances.

Step 2 - Shape Ends: Measure 4" in from the side and 7" down from the top. Draw a diagonal line between these points using a ruler and pencil. Cut off the triangles along the pencil line. Finish the raw edges of the angle and sides using a serger or a zigzag stitch.

Step 3 - Finish Edges: Fold angled and side edges in 1/4" and topstitch.

Step 4 - Create a shorter, beefier handle: Fold each strap back on itself as shown above. Pin or use binder clips to hold in place.

Step 5 - Stitch: Sew across the layered handle and down each side of the overlapped area.

Step 6 - Pick Up Sticks! (7, 8 lay them straight?) You can take your Firewood Sling out into the woods (or to the wood pile) lay it out on the ground and fill 'er up!

Better yet, enlist a youngin' to do it. :) It makes the job easy and fast, leaving more time for s'mores and other camping fun.

Enjoy!

Other *tote transformations* you might like:
BBQ Apron
Little Artist Apron
Gardening Apron

knitting sheep(ish)ly

Last fall at the Creative Connection Event I had the good fortune to meet Vickie Howell, *rock star* of the knitting world! You might recognize her from the TV show Knitty Gritty or from one of her many books on knitting and crochet.

This spring I was thrilled to hear that Vickie has partnered with Caron and just released her own line of yarn named Sheep(ish). Vickie asked me if I'd like to be a part of her Sheep(ish) Blog Tour, promoting her new yarn so I jumped at the chance.

Look at these gorgeous colors! Vickie designed a palette for Sheep(ish) that is both retro and modern with a great range of neutrals, brights and softer colors. The content is 70% acrylic and 30% wool (hence the name) so it has a great woolly feel but is completely washable and not itchy one bit. Hooray! I'm always on the lookout for kid friendly yarn and that means soft and washable are a must.

Sheep(ish) is a roving style yarn so it has a low twist and a beautiful sheen. Vickie sent me a ball of Teal(ish) and I got to work knitting up a hat pattern I had gotten on Ravelry. I'm really enjoying knitting with this yarn. I can't wait to get my hands on more of it! It's very affordable and available at Jo-ann Superstores or online at buy.caron.com.

Check out Vickie's free patterns and the rest of Vickie's Sheep(ish) Blog Tour schedule for interviews with Vickie, give-aways and more projects!

for the dads

Hey, Father's Day is coming up in about 2 weeks! Time to start thinking about the dads in our lives and special things we can do for them. Last year I came up with a BBQ Apron Tutorial made out of an average canvas tote. This year it's in print, in the June 2011 issue of Woman's Day.

Here it is in the magazine on page 38. The editors made their own version with a monogram. Not sure what the "H" is for. Husband? Heinz? How do you like your burger?

Here's my original version modeled by one of the best dads I know. :)

I'm scheming up another tote transformation project that will also be a good Father's Day gift and hope to share it with you next week!