Solid Ideas

Reduce, reuse & recycle your craft area.  Here are some things worth hanging onto.

• If your clothes are past donation status, remove buttons, zippers and any decorative detailing before throwing them out
• Save frozen juice cans so the kids can make pencil holders (dad always needs another for his desk) - try gluing a winter felt scene with seed bead snowflakes...think outside the can
• Organize embroidery thread or small skeins of yarn on an old coffee mug rack
• Consider scrapping your worn clothing - one day your kids may sit under a quilt or blanket and reminisce about their old favorites (cut out those adorable t-shirt icons and iron-ons, too)
• Look over your empty laundry soap boxes/containers and all of those tubs from the kitchen - paint them or paper them and store an infinite amount of notions
• Your favorite paper catalog can be cut up for scrapbooking or a tiny paper project - for free!
• Grab something from the trash or recycle bin, drag it into your workspace, and force yourself to be creative (look what those designers can accomplish with car parts or coffee filters on Project Runway).  You'll feel better knowing you've been environmentally responsible.

I'd love to hear more crafty conservation ideas from you.  

You Give Me Fever

A couple of months ago I took a class on Weaver Fever quilts.  This quilt, designed by Jackie Robinson (seriously), is a twist on bargellos (strip piecing and cutting to make a detailed and often illusional quilt).  I chose to create the "weaver fever threever" requiring a light, medium and dark tone of two colors, with a neutral fill tone.  

I signed up for the class on impulse, but I am unable to impulsively select fabric.  This time I dragged my mother and sister along to my local fabric shop, and we spent around an hour selecting the seven beautiful fabrics.  Now, I am a calm and subdued person and so the bright cover of the book was immediately a turnoff to me (I truly only wanted to try out the technique).  Having just returned from a vacation in LA, I channeled my inspiration from the ocean.  I chose very calm greens and blues, with a fill color of grey.  These colors make me sigh and feel at peace.  I could not imagine snuggling up to watch my latest Netflix documentary under a wild mad, mad, mad, mad quilt.  

Now you color theorists are thinking, "she's going to be doing a lot of cutting and piecing and ironing and she's not going to get a lot of visual 3-d out of her fabrics."  And you'd be right, to an extent.  I showed up for the class and the instructor nearly audibly winced.  My fabrics do have shifts in value, but they are subtle.  This presented a clash among the group, who enjoyed predictable and traditional fabric choices.  I think the quilt I am creating is more modern in its color schema and because quilting is such a traditional technique there is this juxtaposition I truly enjoy.  More to come on the class materials, instruction and--God Willing--my finished piece.

Book Report

Twinkle Sews by Wenlan Chia

I was in my favorite mega bookstore the other night and looked though about 20 craft books before deciding I could not live without this one.  Wenlan Chia, who previously authored knitting books, has successfully created a sewing book and pattern disc.  In true Project Runway spirit (she references the show in her introduction), the clothing borrows from the past and is most remarkable in its superbly executed details.

Anyone looking to advance their sewing technique beyond "Sewing for Dummies" would be intrigued by these projects.  I can't wait to try out one of the six raglan sleeved tops, and the diamond pleating showcased on the Balancing Act shirt will be a new technique for me.  Chia uses exquisite fabrics, and reminds the reader the value in spending a little more for quality.  Silk-and-viscose velvet, stretch tweed (wool, nylon & Lycra blend), and viscose-linen are among my favorites.  

Look for more posts to come as I try my hand at a few new looks.  With sizing from 0 to 16, I can reprint any number of times (I'm thinking homemade Christmas).  Bottom line: I would recommend this book to anyone looking to branch out beyond simple sewing techniques.  

Just Around the Corner

In case you're still trying to find that perfect gift for your special someone.  Christmas will be here before you know it.  

Loom Envy

I recently visited the Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln in Hodgenville, Kentucky.  Lincoln's birthplace is no longer standing, however both his parent's cabins have been moved to the site along with a blacksmithing shop.  The log cabins still house several Lincoln family heirlooms including Thomas Lincoln's wood axe, hewn furniture and this loom (pictured).  

Not many bloggers possess a loom of this size and substance (where would most of us even put it?!), but weaving is something we can try on a smaller scale.  

I recently purchased a Beka beginner loom for my daughter, and see real potential for scarves, hand towels, washcloths and napkins.  Of course, pot holder looms are fun and classic, too.  I once even weaved a Native American vest out of brown grocery sack strips weaved over and under.    Make your own loom out of a cardboard box or just weave old newspaper or magazine strips and let your recycled imagination run wild!  

A fast fall furniture facelift

The hubbo and I walked & shopped the Plaza this weekend.  We noticed an obvious recurring trend in upper end retail shops:  inexpensive burlap pillows embroidered or appliqued which are sold for rather exorbitant prices.  I am compiling a list of links that may get your creative juices flowing.  

Pull out some scraps of fabric.  Try:

• Ironing on an image- make your own or buy some OTC, my favorites come from Sukie 
• Applying a single word in a graphic font via applique or stencil using fabric paint
• Weaving fabrics for a pillow top
• Embroidering fall leaves or a pretty quote
• Sewing simple sashes around your existing decorative pillows  
  

Pillows to adore:

Jonathan Adler's orange & pink Union Jack

Restoration Hardware: woven & embossed leather

Anthropologie: linen & jute transfer image pillows

Pottery Barn: burlap cafe pillows

Crate & Barrel 2: embroidered la vie pillow

Blissliving: prosperity pillow

Anyway, keep the $98 retailers are asking.  You can make a custom pillow that truly reflects your home's unique style at a fraction of the cost.  If you make some, email me some pics.  We'll post them to the site.