finger thumb

and the winner is...

So I've got a new set of charm packs in the shop. I'm super excited about this one. I think it really is my favourite.  I call this set Pottery Blues because the patterns and the colours remind me so much of the Delft Blauw (did I spell that right?) china and pottery that is so much a part of my Dutch heritage. I LOVE blue and white. There are so many different traditions of blue and white pottery.

From Ming Dynasty China to India to the Willoware of England. And of course, the Delft blue of my childhood. 

Aren't they gorgeous! I made four sets of these and I am totally stealing one of them for myself. I don't know what I'll make, but I know it will be pretty!

And now to the fun part. Wanna know which one of you won a set of these? Drum roll please:

The winner is: Rachel Hofing!

Congratulations Rachel. Leave a comment letting me know which of the colour sets you want and I will contact you regarding how to get it to you.

vintage sheet fabric charm packs, plus a giveaway!

Ok, I'm excited about this.  My etsy shop has been kiiiind of empty as of late. But you know, the holidays will be soon upon us, and this is the time of year that people start to get shopping, so I figured I should do something about that. I'm always trying to think of something new for the shop, and item that I myself would like to buy. Something this is not insanely expensive to ship. And then I though of the perfect thing. 

Charm packs of fabric lovingly assembled from my extensive collection of vintage sheet fabric! (Please note that I was tempted to use the verb "curated", but realise that it is a much overused term, which people tend to latch onto when they want a "value added" buzzword. I've been around both the art block and the marketing block, and so I will not use that word, lovely though it is. This is not art. It is fabric. You could use it to make art, and then maybe someday someone will curate it into a show. But that will not be me.)

Anyhow, I digress (are you surprised?). Let me just say that I had SO MUCH FUN choosing these fabrics. I really dug deep into my stash and finally cut into some of the more precious of my sheets and pillowcases. I've been hoarding these things forever, and am feeling the need to let some of my treasures go out into the world to be treasured by others. I put together a pink and green colourway, that has just the tiniest bit of orange in it to warm it up. I've called it "Under the Pink". I wanted to call it "Maybelline" for obvious reasons (like the pink and green mascara, in case that does not seem obvious to you) but I thought maybe there might be copyright issues? 

And I love this yellow pallette. Soooo 70's. I call it "Daisy, Daisy".

But my favourite is this one. I adore the olive-y greens with bits of turqoise and robin's egg blue. This one is called "Earth Girl".

So each package has 14 different fabrics in them. There are three 5" x 5" inch squares of each of those 14 fabrics for a grand total of 42 pieces of fabric. This all adds up to 3/4 of a yard of fabric. In case you are unfamiliar with the concept of Charm Packs, this is a way that fabric is sometimes sold in the quilting world. It allows you to get a little bit of a whole bunch of different fabrics from a complete fabric line, without having to buy it is awkward small amounts. You get an affordable little "taste" of everything that way. And since they are precut you can go right ahead and get to work with them. (for more information about pre-cuts and charm packs, here is an excellent little infographic) For example, if you put one of these packs together you'd make yourself a sweet little baby blanket. Or if you added 42 more 5" squares, in a solid colour for example, you could make yourself a very sweet little nine-patch crib quilt. If you bought four of these packs you could make a quilt big enough for a twin sized bed. Or you could make sew them into half-square triangels and make a lovley little pinwheel quilt or something like that. Really, the possibilites are endless. After all, that's why I (and so many other people) like buying fabric. You are not buying just a thing, you are buying potential. So, if you like the looks of these, pop on over to my etsy shop and check it out. Oh, and I almost forgot, I want to give away one of these pretty little packs to one of you to get the ball rolling. In order to be counted in the draw, just do me a favour and share a link to this post on your facebook or blog or whatever. Or share the link to my etsy shop. I'll enter you in the draw if you do either, and you can enter more than once. And if you win, you get to pick whatever colour you want. Good luck!

alphabet blocks

Look what I'm working on:Aren't they pretty?

I got the embroidery pattern for this alphabet from Sublime Stitching. I love their patterns, and I could not resist this quirky little alphabet. 

This is the perfect "in front of the TV during the evenings" project. It lets me do all of my favourite parts of a project. I get to go through all of my lovely vintage fabrics, choose my favourite ones, and then do a teeny tiny little embroidery project on it. Its so quick, and I get this nice little feeling of accomplishment without having to put in too much time. 

And I just do one or two blocks every day. When the whole alphabet is done, I'll put them together with some white sashing and it'll be a little wall hanging or a baby quilt or something. And in the mean time, it keeps my hands busy, but not too busy. Perfect. 

 

A purse for L.D.

So as I said yesterday, the Little Dude was disappointed that all the purses I'd made were going to his cousins, and none to stay here at our house for him. So today, with his assistance, I made him a purse. A satchel. A man-bag. Call it what you will, we just call it handy. Oh, and by assistance, I mean he picked out the fabrics and motifs. So basically he was the designer this and I was just his humble crafts-person. I worked on it all morning, by telling him that if he wanted me to make this, he'd have to play nicely with his brother with no fighting and no crying, because if he wanted me to finish it today I could not be getting up every five minutes to  mediate a toy dispute. And I'm happy to say L.D. saw the reason of this and had a very pleasant morning with his brother with almost no fights (or at least none started by him) and I was able to finish his bag.

And here is the happy recipient now: He's not usually keen to stand and smile for a picture, but he was very co-operative in this instance. 

For behold the glory of his fabric choices. On this side, a Teeneage Mutant Ninja Turtle. (from 1980's bed sheets of course)

And on the other side, Skeletor! Again from 1980's bedsheets, this time staring He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He's quite taken with Skeletor. And funnily enough has no interest in He-Man at all. In fact, he even helped me frame the way I would cut the fabric, saying "From here to here Mom, with JUST Skeletor in it, and his sword. But not He-Man. I don't want any part of He-Man to show at all."

He even chose the lining, (he loves these rainbow stripes, as do I) and the strap colour. He wanted orange, so I had him choose between three different shades of orange, and he declared this one the best, as he felt it looked good with the green that he'd chosen for the TMNT background. Also, he requested a very loooong strap like this, though we have since knotted it a little higher, for practical reasons. 

And the final touch, and possibly his favourite part, the mushroom applique. We spent some time this afternoon drawning and colouring and cutting out paper mushrooms to decorate the Christmas tree with. Because you know, they are so festive. 

It is such fun to sew something for my little boy. And so sweet to be hugged and thanked for it repeatedly today. We even crammed in a quick trip to the library to use his new "book bag" and also so he could show it off to the librarians. Ach, it fills a crafty mother's heart with joy to hear him tell people "I picked out all the fabrics and my mom made this for me herself!". A good parenting moment to sock away and remember for when the bad parenting moments threaten to overwhelm me.

quilt progress

So I've finished my quilt top for the Riley Blake Fabric Challenge from The Modern Quilt Guild. But now, I need a quilt back. And since its a fabric challenge you're supposed to use the fabric they give you, right? So I didn't want to buy any more of that fabric (since I'm cheap) and you are allowed to use solids, so I thought I'd do a quick colour blocked quilt back made of chunks of the last two patterned fabrics I had left, and then some solids to fill it out. But then I got carried away, and started cutting strips instead of chunks and before I knew it, I'd basically pieced another quilt top. Though of course, this one will go on the back. Sorry for the gross photo with all the studio mess and the flash (ugh, I hate flash) but you know how it goes, not much natural light at 10:30 in the evening. Anyhow, its basically two strip pieced halves sewn together to make a whole. It was all improvisational piecing, with no measuring and no pinning. Which is really so much fun. I've done it a bit before, but I really enjoyed making this biggish piece with very little plan, just making decisions on the fly. 

Here's how it will look when I cut it to fit the back.  I just need to add one more strip to the top or bottom because of course I made it just slightly too small. But no matter. I'll get that done soon and then be on my way to getting it all quilted together. Wheee!

finished quilt top

ok, just a quick post tonight. Finished piecing the blocks of my new quit for the Riley Blake fabric challenge from the Modern Quilt Guild. Here it is with the blocks all done and lined up ready to be sewn together. 

And here it is with them all sewn together, quilt top completed:

Hard to tell the difference in these photos. But wait a second..... 

Here's a side by side image, with the one on the left being only completed blocks the one on the right being blocks sewn all together into a complete quilt top. Aside from the fact that it got smaller obviously (because of the seam allowances, right) something is different about them. The top rows are no longer the same. I don't know how I did that? But no matter, it still looks nice and I have absolutely no plans to take the stitch ripper to it. Now I've just got to get to quilting.... And pick a back for it. Decisions, decisions. 

cersi lannister costume

ok, please indulge my inner child for a few minutes here while I post about my Hallowe'en costume. I considered spending a full paragraph here apologizing/justifying my nerdiness and/or narcissism, but hey, if there is any place where it is appropriate for a full grown adult to display pictures of themselves dressed up as a fictional character from another planet, I think a personal blog on the good ole' internet is it. So, without further ado, here is the Cersi Lannister costume I made to wear this Hallowe'en. So, if you don't already watch Game of Thrones, you really should. Unless you are my Mother or Mother-in-Law (hi Moms!) in which case you should NOT. Definitely not. But if you don't, a quick bit of explanation here. Cersi Lannister is the Queen of a place called The Seven Kingdoms, on a continent called Westros in a fictional world created by George R.R. Martin in the series of books A Song of Ice and Fire. To quote wikipedia, "She is physically beautiful and intelligent, but she is also greedy, cruel, manipulative, and amoral; she is also short tempered and quick to hold grudges, as well as often rushing into situations without pausing to consider the consequences of her actions." Yeah, so not like she's my hero or anything, she's actually a pretty unsavoury character and definitely should win some sort of "Worst Mother in Westros" award. But still, I enjoy love/hating her in the show wherein she is played masterfully by Lena Heady, and also, has one of the best wardrobes in any fictional world. Hence my decision to dress up as her for Hallowe'en. Here is the costume that I was inspired by.

Though its a pretty limited image of that particular look, so here's another one. Different lighting and whatnot, but gives you a nice idea of the sleeves. 

And here is what I, with my limited sewing skills and budget, came up with.So basically this is really the first garment I have ever sewed. Its certainly not perfect, but for someone who up to this point has only ever sewn large flat rectangles (ie: quilts) I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

The inspiration for Cersi's costumes in the television series is sort of a blend of traditional Kimono and high medieval styles. Knowing that, I bought McCall's costume pattern 2940, which is a simple kimono style robe pattern, and then I altered the crap out of it. Especially the sleeves.  Because the sleeves are really the key feature of this costume. I tightened up the upper arm, and then majorly expanded the cuffs for that long, rectangular banner-like effect. 

The twelve-year-old girl in me just adores the way that they billow when I walk. 

Also, since this is a Hallowe'en costume, I did not want to break the bank on it. So here's what I spent: $14.99 for a long burgundy high-waisted slip dress from Value Village. It was probably a bridesmaid's dress. I used it as the underskirt/layer of this costume. You can see it peaking out from under the robe at the bottom in the full length shots. Then, at the same Value Village I found a burgundy, jacquard woven tablecloth (in almost exactly the same shade as the underdress), with an acanthus motif for $7.99 which I used to make the robe itself. From my local fabric store, I bought a gold coloured imitation shantung silk remnant  for $4.00 which I used to edge the robe and sleeves. The gold cord tie on the belt was also a remnant, which cost $1.50. The faux leather that I used for the belt was the most expensive fabric, at $24.00 a meter, but I only bout a little bit of it, so it cost me $6.00 all together. For a grand total of, what, $34.50, give or take a few pennies. And I got to wear it three times over the Hallowe'en season, at various parties and of course, trick or treating (for which I paired it with a full length black cape. Yes, I own a full length black cape. Deal with it.)

As far as jewelry, I had to wear a big old ring...

and a big old locket...., both of which are just pieces of jewelry that I happen to already own anyways, so they did not cost me anything extra. Didn't want to shell out for the replica Cersi Lannister jewelry with thier house sigil on it. Would have been cool, but like it said this is a Hallowe'en costume and I had a budget. And barely noticeable under it all, are my sturdy brown riding-style boots. I just had no idea what sort of footwear to use. I have a feeling that Cersi probably glides around the Red Keep in some sort of delicate, soft, silent slippers (the better to overhear the intrigue my dear) but I spent a couple of hour's googling "Game of Thrones shoes" and "Footwear on Westros" to no avail. I mean, you can never see their shoes, so I guess its a moot point, but for such a completely visualized fictional world, I know they cannot have let the ball drop on footwear. I'm sure there is some crazy on-set cobbler making gorgeous made to measure quasi-archaic sandals and slippers and boots for that cast of hundreds, and I WANT TO SEE THEM ya'll! Get on it internet. 

Things I wish I had done better: I'd love to have had an actual metal belt like the one she wears in the show (and which you can see in the source pictures at the top of the post. I heard an interview with the costume designer Michele Clapton, talking about how Cersi often has some aspect of her clothing that is like armour, for both practical and emotional reasons, which is think is so interesting. So a metal corset/belt-y thing would have been nice. But I just haven't had any time to fire up the forge lately. Just a bit beyond my skill set. And I would have LOVED to have put in the time to embellish it with the embroidery as done in the original costume. I actually am a pretty accomplished embroiderer, and could probably pull off a dumbed down and passable version of the hummingbird detail (though nothing as amazing as the original work done by Michele Carragher, which you can see in insane detail here) but again, just didn't have the time to do it justice.  I need to thank my good friend Farihah Shah for obliging me an coming over on a wet, cold November morning to do this little shoot for me. I must say, it was funny to do a shoot and not really smile. Not really a grinner, that cersi. And I had a hard time pulling of Lena Headey's cold, self-satisfied smirk, or glowering disapproval. Mostly I just look gaunt. Could have been the cold. 

And of course, there were some distractions. Namely this guy, who under normal circumstances doesn't particularly care to pose for a picture, but as soon as you tell him to get out of the shot, there's no getting rid of him.
And also this guy: Mr. Action Hero Baby. I was of course, tempted to costume them as the little royal lords of Westros, but seeing as how Cersi's son Joffrey Lannister is the most hateful character in the history of Fantasy fiction, I just could not do that to either of my lovely boys. 

So now that I know I can sew a garment for an actual human body, there is an even bigger world of making out there for me to explore. I don't know if I have the time, patience or passion for it, but I just might have to try out a few simple, everyday things for myself. Though I do love an impractical sleeve.....

fabric challenge quilt

So, I'm working on a new quilt. I'm a member of the Toronto Modern Quilt Guild, and all the Modern Quilt Guilds were invited to participate in a fabric challenge courtesy of Riley Blake Designs. This is my first time doing one of these things, but I love the concept. We are all given a little stack of free fabrics (is there anything I like better than free fabric? Probably not.) and invited to make a project with them. There are very few restrictions (you can make anything you want, it just has to be quilted. You need to use some of the free fabrics, but you don't have to use them all. You can add in any solids you like, etc) so it feels like a really nice, open opportunity. And I've had a few ideas jangling around in my brain, waiting for the perfect opportunity to be used. So I did a bit of mapping out, and a bit of cutting and here is a preliminary layout.  I like the shapes and the movement in this. But we actually got rather small amounts of fabric (one eighth of a meter), not that I'm complaining, but it does limit the size of your final project. So I decided to add a few more solids in there, in different shades of the yellow/blue/orange fabrics, just to see if I could expand it all somewhat. I also re-oriented it a bit, and it worked out pretty nicely. I took these pictures a little while ago and I've since changed it up a bit more (different shades of solids, even larger total number of pieces) and made it even bigger and I'm really happy with how its going. I spent a lovely evening sewing away at it while listening to Craft Sanity Podcasts, and maybe tomorrow when I have more light I'll take some pictures and show you where its at currently. 

All right, now I'm off to bake a quick batch of cookies (for L.D.'s school lunch tomorrow) and go to bed. Even though I want to stay up and keep sewing. Sigh. Ah well, tomorrow is another day!

finished wedding gift quilt

Another finished quilt to share.My friend's wedding has come and gone, so I feel like now I can post the pictures. You'll recognize the front from when I posted about piecing the top, but now it's all quilted and backed and has a bit more going on. 

Here's the backing. Its made from a vintage bed sheet of course. 

Since this was a quilt that I was making specifically for a friend, I got to add a lot of personal touches. Like the four vintage handkercheifs that I appliqued onto the back here. 

My friend Sylwia had collected all these lovely vintage handkerchiefs and then screen printed them with a personal wedding message and then included them at in all the place settings at the reception as favours. But she had a few extra, so she sent them to me to incorporate into the quilt. 

I quilted it fairly lightly, as is my wont. Just followed the chevron pattern on the front.

I love how the quilting intersects with the appliqued hankies on the back. 

And of course, when I make a special quilt to give, I like to include a little embroidered label on the back. It always reminds me how much I enjoy doing hand embroidery. 

I love finishing a quilt. Of course, I lingered over the last few steps (the binding, the label) because I have issues with finishing things. But it was great to have the deadline of the wedding to get it done for. And now I have that lovely "what shall I start next!" feeling, like the whole world of making things is open to me. Though I should probably be working on writing a grant or something. meh. 

new sheets, old sheets

Its been awhile since I've posted a good Value Village round-up. I've been trying to accumulate a little less, and not shop for fabric as often. You know, a bit less. That being said there was a half-price sale day recently, and I've been sitting on these photos for awhile so I thought I'd share them today.  I was pretty pleased to find this one. I've been looking for a Holly Hobbie sheet for awhile now, as I've had a few requests for Holly Hobbie stuff. I think this one would make a really nice baby quilt or child's quilt.

There are all these nice individual images...

...that would make great patches in a quilt.

I'm not a huge Holly Hobbie fan myself, but I do like the quality of these illustrations a lot. 

Though this kind of thing is really my favourite. The colours are much more vibrant in real life (it was a cloudy day when I took them. This one I don't want to cut up at all. Its so fantastic as a whole I'll have to make a one piece quilt, or use it as a back to preserve the integrity of the print. 

And then just some good old 70's stripes. 

Some sweet pastel stripes. You know, you can never have too many stripes. 

I already have a pillowcase of this, but it is very faded and very threadbare, so it was really nice to find this crazy vibrant one. 

Another Gaaaarfieeeeeeeld! But Garfield has been getting a lot of love lately, so I always snap one up when I find it. 

I love these 70's landscape fabrics. I have a bunch of them, and I want to use them for some sort of comprehensive project. I just don't know what it is yet. 

And speaking of landscapes, this one is very 80's, and also very roadrunner in a way. 

And this weird little pattern. I have no idea what this is. A little cloud? Or a tree silhouette? I have no clue. But I like it. 

But I think these last two are my favourites. I love anything with poppies, so obviously I adore this. 

But this one is so sweet, with little dots in the background. I love it!

Now, I should really go make something....