spring fever = itchy fingers

spring is here and the knitting has been packed away in the craftcrap closet. and with the canucks in the stanley cup playoffs i needed something to take the edge off while cheering on my team as i can't take the tension. my playoff plan this year was to load up on linen and embroidery floss and just experiment. these will likely become one of a kind pouches.

i know i'm not the only one to be inspired by the Penguins Classics covers by Jillian Tamaki. so stunning and inspiring. i would never get rid of my dog-eared copies but... maybe just get these to display.

saturday sewing: collaboration

when the weather is a little gloomy i like to do a little saturday sewing. we are going to a birthday party at a pony stable tomorrow and needed a gift for our little cousin. my best girl entirely designed this: drew pictures, chose the fabrics and selected the button. it was so fun to see her working so hard to get it just the way she envisioned. i was happy to supply sewing labour. she's a bit of a taskmaster but to her credit, she let me have lots of coffee breaks. she put a little toy horse in the purse as a little surprise. sweet. but the best part, my best girl asked me to teach her how to sew. my heart is pinching with happiness.

and.... finally, after great deliberation (and much procrastination) i activated my etsy shop. in the near future i will be selling the things i make but for the time being i am selling some vintage Japanese fabric packs. my mom brought these gorgeous linens and cottons home to Canada with her with the intention of me making some quilts. i have a ton of fabric and have saved my favourites but i would like to see these fabrics go to someone who will make something fantastic. a quilt, some zakka goods, a patchwork pillow cover, a bag.... so many possibilities.
ok, now time for another saturday tradition, the saturday siesta!

lady date

my best girl and i haven't had a lot of time together these days. she has been very ill for the last few weeks. but spring break has started and we are healthy and having fun. we made sweet sushi the other day. a little messy but oh so good.

Sweet sushi recipe

- 1" slices of poundcake, cut into 1 1/2" rounds with a cookie cutter
- white icing
- sweetened coconut
- fruit leather (the thinner the better)
- assorted candy: swedish fish, jellies etc.

Ice the tops of the cake rounds and wrap fruit leather around the outside using a dab of icing to hold it in place. (we used real fruit leather and it was so thick that we had to use toothpicks).
Top with coconut. place a "fish" or cut up candy on top. Enjoy.

best girl and i finally had our lady date on saturday - and she entirely decided what we would do. we took the skytrain to the vancouver art gallery and saw the ken lum exhibition - fantastic.



ken lum

 and the WE: Vancouver Manifesto which included the work of Natalie Purschwitz who made all her clothes for a year. even shoes!

once we saw everything (and I mean everything) at the VAG we went for sushi on robson street, then some shopping at h&m, holt renfrew, and sephora. so all in all, a great time. a very girly time. i wondered what would inspire her - the next day she made a maze for her little brother's cars out of all manner of found objects, organized some of her clothes into 'outfits', and helped her dad make dinner. so she must have been inspired and really, what could be better than that?

japan

some treasures from japan

what terrible news from Japan today. i am really thinking about everyone there and their friends and family. my husband's aunt is from Sendai and i'm sure that she is very worried about her family there. and this just weeks after the Christchurch quake. a former colleague from my teaching days in japan was escorting a group of 22 japanese students - he is safe but half of their group was not found alive - so sad and shocking.

i was living in japan when the kobe earthquake struck - there were friends we never heard from again. but japanese people are nothing if not cooperative and resourceful. they will work together to rescue each other and rebuild their communities. our family will be doing what it can by contributing to the Red Cross.

i heart art

for my best girl's 6th birthday (waaay back when it was warm and sunny) we had an art party at Collage Collage for a few of her friends. i made the bag, pencil roll, and pencil case. the apron and art supplies were bought at the local dollar store. it's a real sign of how unorganized i have let things get - i just found the extra goodie bag when i did the 'big craft closet clean out of 2011' the other week!

saturday sewing

one benefit of the rainy saturday was some making time. i made this bag for my sister's birthday present. the pattern is from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. i followed it almost exactly but added a zippered pocket and a magnetic snap closure. it was very straightforward and easier to sew leather than i expected - just need a special needle.
the entire project cost under $20 so i covered three of my 2011 sewing intentions:

1. make birthday presents (and cards, too)
2. sew a leather bag
3. stick to a budget - be more thoughtful of how i spend my money

obviously, the intention to take better photos is a work in progress...                                    

tutorial: towel trimming

here's a quick and easy tutorial for trimming towels. just in case you want to designate your very own towels from all the other towels in the house. after all, who knows how well your toddler is washing his little paws?

supplies:

 - towel (pre-shrunk) - i used an ikea hand towel 15" wide x 22" long

 - border fabric: cotton fabric (pre-shrunk) the width of your towel plus 1" and two times the depth of the border you would like plus 1/2". - my border strip was 3" deep x 23" long and the finished sized was 1 1/2" x 22".

- fabric loop: 3" x 5" cotton fabric (pre-shrunk)

- sewing machine, measuring tape or ruler, scissors, pins, handsewing needle, thread to match cotton trimming fabric, iron

instructions:

1. fold the fabric in half lengthwise and press. press in each long side 1/4". fold in each short  end of fabric 1/2" and press - the strip should be only slightly longer than the towel edge.

 2. lay the towel edge over one side of the fabric strip. the strip should be just slightly longer than the towel.

3.  pin through all layers, keeping the edges of the fabric trim strip lined up.

4. carefully sew along the edge of the fabric trim strip making sure to catch all the layers of fabric and towel. backstich at the begining and end.

5. with a handsewing needle, slipstitch the ends of the fabric trim stitch closed.

ta da! there is your towel, just for you! if you want to add a loop, continue on...

 

6. for the fabric loop: fold the 3"x5" fabric piece in half lenthwise and press. press both long edges in to the centre fold and press again. sew along the long edge.

7. center the loop on the center of the towel edge with about 1 1/2" space between each end. pin and stitch along the towel hem line, backstitching at the beginning and end.

8) fold over the fabric loop and stitch along the edge of the towel, backstitching at the beginning and end.

9) fold it the way you want or hang it from a hook so high no toddler can reach it. make it really girly and chances are your husband or teenage son will not touch it either. just hoping...