The Sewing Geek

So long, farewell...

2010-01-25T17:48:00.004-05:00

Considering I've been letting this poor blog sit neglected for a year and a half anyway, I'm not sure exactly why I felt I needed to wrap it up. But I do, so I am!

I really had fun blogging. I got out of the habit last fall when the free-fall economy had me at work every spare second, and I wasn't in much of a creative mood in my off-time. Since then, my sewing and crafting has taken a different direction, and I'm exploring different ways I can let them intersect with my writing.

So, should you happen to stumble across this - thanks for having stopped by, and I hope your sewing gets as geeky as you want it to! :-)

Musical memories aren't so far away

2008-09-16T11:19:00.011-05:00

For 37 years, I’ve had a girl-crush on Carole King.

When Tapestry came out in 1971, I was a sophomore in high school and “So Far Away” was a staple on KOIL-AM radio out of Omaha. Of course everyone wanted to sing along, but you risked looking like a total dork if you got the words wrong. So it was godsend when the Omaha World Herald printed the lyrics one week in their Friday youth section. Anita Shires brought a copy to the Auburn High School football game and about a dozen of us AHS Pep Club members huddled around her newspaper clipping, staying warm in the stands while we sang “So Far Away” over and over -- blissfully unaware that we were looking like dorks, anyway, even though we were getting the words right.

(Here’s where I metaphorically take my teeth out and rap my cane on the floor and talk about kids today having it so easy, just Googling song lyrics any time they want. Even if you could afford to buy the albums Way Back When, most of them didn’t have the lyrics printed inside, so you had to either be REALLY sure of the words you heard on the radio, or you had to wait for the Omaha World Herald to give you a lovely surprise by choosing your favorite song to spotlight in the Friday paper. On the other hand, my memory is a lot more fun than Googling would have been.)

Anyway, Carole King was just so fabulous. I loved her slightly-husky voice and her piano accompaniments and everything about her. I stopped everything when “It’s Too Late” or “So Far Away” came on the radio, just to marvel at the rich sound of it all – and to sing along, once Anita Shires’ newspaper clipping had allowed that to happen with impunity. I stared endlessly at the Tapestry album cover down at the Western Auto store, the only place in town where we could buy music, and marveled at her photo. She looked shy and uncomfortable, sitting solemnly in the background with her big, curly hair and her cat taking center stage. I decided she probably hated having her picture taken and would have much rather been at the piano, hammering out more wonderful music and adding to her already amazing repertoire of classic American hit songs.

I parceled out enough of my tip money from my waitress job at Wheel’R Inn to go back to the Western Auto and get Tapestry on cassette tape – preferable to the album because of its portability. Over the next few years, I wore out not only that cassette tape, but Rhymes and Reasons, and then Fantasy.

When I went away to college, it was Fleetwood Mac and Emerson, Lake & Palmer who captured my musical fancy, but I always fell back on Carole King as “comfort music,” the auditory equivalent of a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup on a bad day.

Occasionally I’d see a news or magazine story about her and continue to be starstruck. She named one of her daughters Louise (my middle name! Yay, Carole!). She was often painfully shy. She became an environmental activist and headline attraction at Democratic Party fundraisers. And then there was that great Gap commercial where she looks at her now-adult daughter with such unabashed love and pride…(what my own daughter hilariously calls “the uterus look.”) She’s in her mid-60s and still writing great music. I think I admire her classic hits even more now, just knowing the path she’s taken over the years.

It’s so easy now to hop onto iTunes and quickly find and download all the music that instantly reminds us where we came from. For me, there’s nothing like Carole King. What’s your favorite comfort music?

I'd sleep in them if I could

2008-09-14T19:47:00.002-05:00

New shoes. Red. Comfortable. SO comfortable. Great with black, brown, or blue denim. Oddly adorable. Love them.

Is it because I'm staring my 52nd birthday right in the face?

A batch of aprons

2008-09-08T19:51:00.010-05:00

I had such a great time in my sewing room over the weekend! I was looking for a couple of additional quick projects to complete for the United Way silent auction at work next week. I realized I still had a number of thrift store shirts on hand, originally scooped up to make another batch of little girls' dresses. Instead, it occurred to me, why not see how they'd transform into colorful aprons?

Some good-natured co-workers agreed to model them for me today.

It was so much fun to see how many of the original shirt details I could turn into apron features. For the sassy little pink plaid number, modeled here by the lovely Sarah, I sliced the shirt horizontally right below the arms, leaving the button and buttonhole plackets in place along the side edges – and the curved shirttail instantly became a gently scalloped hem.

For the yellow Hawaiian print modeled by Kathy, I used just the back of the shirt for the main apron, then sliced out the only piece of the front that wasn’t marred by old barbecue stains to create a deep buttoned pocket. It doesn't seem to show up well in the photo.

Next up, another tropical print. The front button placket became the waistband, and I couldn’t resist actually using the buttons for something – so I repurposed one of the cuffs for a button-on loop for an appliquéd dishtowel.

The bib apron above in a standard windowpane plaid seemed boxy and frumpy up top until I re-did the seam to make a sweetheart neckline – it added the right touch of femininity (even though it's a tad big on Kathy, but she's model-slim.) I felt better yet about the results when Sarah and Kathy were enthusiastic about them, too.

Besides the four aprons made from old cotton shirts, I made one more apron out of a vintage tablecloth and a little rick-rack and grosgrain ribbon. I didn’t think I’d throw this into the silent auction donation, as it seemed to cross the line from cute and whimsical into the dangerous kitschy-and-approaching-dorky zone. But when Sarah obligingly tried it on, she looked so cute in it that I may reconsider. What do you think?

A necktie backpack

2008-09-02T20:20:00.006-05:00

You'd think that if I were going to take another extended blogging break, I'd have something truly spectacular to post upon my return. Not so, unfortunately -- the summer's been preoccupied with gardening and camping, rather than sewing. However, I did spend the final hours of the Labor Day weekend making this experimental backpack out of a bag of old silk ties I got at our quilt guild rummage sale in April.

I didn't use a pattern or really have any sort of plan in mind with it at all. I just started putting ties side-by-side and zig-zagged them together with gold thread. It almost designed itself. I lined the whole thing with a gold and burgundy cotton, and stitched the wide, pointy end of another tie to the lining to form a cell phone pocket.

I have to say, I just love how it turned out. Bohemian, yet rather chic in a strange sort of way. Here's the back:

And because I had plenty of scraps left over, I made a little zippered makeup bag, too.

These will both go into the annual United Way silent auction at work, which always seems to inspire me to get off my duff and start letting the creative juices flow.

Summer thoughts

2008-06-11T19:20:00.005-05:00

I feel like I'm embracing summer with great big bear hugs these days. It's immaterial to me that summer doesn't officially begin for another week and a half. Summer is state of mind, and it's absolutely wonderful right now.

Our small lawn, which was so scrawny and anemic-looking last year, has become unbelievably lush and thick. I'm convinced it's because of our new little reel lawnmower. I've been mowing about every five days -- frequently enough so the mulched-up clippings are quite small. It's unbelievable what great, easy, instantly-effective fertilizer that is. Our grass has become amazingly green, thick and healthy-looking. What a transformation!

Another unexpected plus I've discovered from the motor-free mower -- you can stop whenever you want! It sounds silly, but that's just not something you do when you're roaring along with a power mower. If I'm mowing and spot a dandelion, I pull my weeding tool out of my apron pocket and deal with it right then. If a cedar waxwing lands in the serviceberry tree and begins to feast, I can stop and quietly savor the scene without having to re-start a noisy engine. If Dan's out in the yard and we feel like chatting in mid-mow, we simply do. It's amazing how much more pleasure that brings to the whole mowing experience. It's so enjoyable that I'm almost sorry when I'm done.

Tonight we had dinner on the back porch and admired the freshly cut lawn and all the recently-planted perennials that are doing so well right now. The lavendar is just starting to blossom out, and the pink bells of the penstemon are so graceful in the breeze. There are no signs of flowers on the monarda yet, but the foliage is thick, slightly fuzzy, and perfect. The junipers planted last fall are heavy with blue berries that the birds love.

All this, and a wonderful partner to share it with. I am truly blessed. And truly grateful.

A denim garden apron

2008-06-09T18:08:00.008-05:00

I’m always leaving stuff like my garden clippers, gloves, and such just lying around the yard and then I spend precious gardening time hunting for them. So since my sewing apron (pictured in my banner) comes in so handy in my quilting room, I thought I’d make myself a gardening apron, too.

I recently ran across this ThreadHeads tutorial (courtesy of Apronista) for an apron made out of old denim jeans. And as luck would have it, Dan had just sorted a worn pair of jeans out of his closet and I had nabbed them for a possible project. So last night, I used some of the ideas from ThreadHeads and liberally adapted them to suit my own needs.

Here’s what I ended up with.

I love, love, love it – especially the re-attached waistband that now buttons in the back.

If you can’t tell, the main part of the apron is actually the pants leg cut off with one seam ripped out, and then turned upside-down. In other words, the end of the leg – the part that would be the cuff, if these were cuffed jeans, which thankfully they were not – ends up at the waist.

I made a deep horizontal tuck to form the large pockets (plenty of fabric for that -- he’s got him some long legs, that sweet husband of mine.) That put the ripped knee right in the front, so I clipped one of the pockets off the tush and stitched it to cover the rip. The whole thing holds together with some stitching along the sides of the two “underneath” layers and a straight vertical line of topstitching along the center seam.

You could do some really adorable embellishments on something like this, with lots of appliques and rick rack and fun embroidery. For mine, I just wanted something really basic and utilitarian that I wasn't afraid to get grimy and that I could throw into the washer and dryer with ease.

I came straight home from work this evening, put it on, loaded up the pockets and had an extremely efficient hour of puttering around weeding, clipping, watering -- with everything I needed right there!

If you have any interest in making this and my description doesn't make sense, leave a comment or e-mail me privately and I'll work up a little tutorial.

Eeek! Thrips!

2008-06-08T12:30:00.005-05:00

This weekend's unseasonably hot, humid weather has challenged my flowerbeds, so I've kept the garden hose handy to do deep watering. And I don't know if it was aggravated by the heat or not, but my wonderful little New Dawn rose came down with a case of the thrips.

I plucked off and crushed all the little critters I could spot, but they seemed to come back within hours. Dan positioned the finch feeder next to the rosebush, so that can't hurt. And in looking online for some natural solutions, I ran across this item about sticky traps.

Instead using yellow posterboard (really, who has that in the house?) I stitched some yellow fabric to a couple of narrow strips of stiff interfacing (OK, I do have that in the house) and added hanging loops of the yellow rick rack which also happened to be handy.

Then I just slathered them with Vaseline and hung them right on the rose bush.

To be honest, the thing looks pretty ridiculous with these yellow dangly things on it. Reminds me of old stories about medieval children with a poultices around their necks to ward off the plague.

But I'll be darned -- the traps actually seem to be working. I haven't seen a single little critter feasting on New Dawn's buds or leaves since I put them on yesterday morning!

Dude, please -- just paint!

2008-06-05T18:14:00.003-05:00

I apologize for being negative, and I truly don’t want to be unkind. But I have the World’s Most Annoying House Painter.

Fortunately he has no reason to suspect that I blog, so he won’t be seeing this. I would never intentionally hurt his feelings. But, just between you and me – this guy is driving me nuts.

He’s a talker. He’s REALLY a talker. Now, I am all for having friendly, collegial business relationships. But this guy is constantly flapping his jaws about anything and everything. We’ll be headed out the door to go somewhere and he decides he needs to hop down off his ladder and talk to us for 20 minutes about some situation with our eaves he’s discovered. Apparently he’s that he’s decided we have some sort of Dreaded Eaves Syndrome that will cause our entire house to self-destruct years from now. But hey, he’s got a cousin that could fix it right away and boy, would we be glad to have THAT little disaster nipped in the bud…

At first we didn’t mind him pointing out this and that, because he is, presumably, someone who knows his way around a two-story domicile and could have some valued professional input on its construction. So we’d listen with a mild amount of interest and assure him we’d look into it at some point. But once he’s got you in a conversation, this guy goes on forever and he always has an angle. He feels our gutters and downspouts are horribly inadequate. His brother-in-law can help out with that. He proclaimed our roof a mess. Surely it will cave in on us one night, but his wife’s nephew could save us from certain doom if only we would call him. You get the picture.

We had an exhaustive inspection when we bought the house two years ago, and while there is always ongoing maintenance to be done -- like, um, painting -- there just is nothing that dire about the condition of our house. But instead of just painting like we're paying him to do, this dude is on a one-man mission to secure employment for his entire family by fixing our home's fabricated ills.

To make matters worse, he’s painting only on weekends so the job is taking forever. Dan generally works Saturdays so that’s when I find myself flying solo in my quest to avoid the World’s Most Annoying House Painter. He’s working on the front of the house? I’ll bolt out the back! He’s run to the store for more paint? Quick, make a break for it!

But when I’m working in the garden, as I was almost all of last weekend, I can’t avoid him. More yappity-yapping. More endless observations of trees that need trimming, and how I'd better get my deck sealed or the earth is just going to open up and swallow my ramshackle hovel.

So you wanna guess my favorite gardening implement of all? Yep, you're right.

Blasting a little Van Morrison into my ears brings me right back to center and keeps the World's Most Annoying House Painter at bay for as long my iPod can hold a charge.

A birdly treat

2008-06-04T18:12:00.008-05:00

My office window looks out onto a small courtyard crowded with trees. This afternoon I was earnestly writing away on something, and a flash of orange caught my eye.

Could it be? Nahhh, it couldn't...or could it?

It flitted about and perched in a more-exposed spot. Sure enough, it was a male Baltimore oriole, resplendent in orange and black and singing its little heart out.

This was an amazing sight, considering this little spot -- as green as it is -- seldom attracts any bird life but the occasional grackle or crow. I grabbed my camera out of my purse and snapped away.

When the bird flitted over to another part of the courtyard, I raced down the hallway and around the corner into my co-worker Mike's office. "Look out your window!" I told him. "There's a Baltimore oriole out there!"

Mike scowled. "You know I'm a Yankees fan," he said.

Y'got me on that one, Mike. Ba-DUMP-bum!

The first rose of summer

2008-06-03T09:32:00.006-05:00

I’ve been anticipating it for days – yesterday morning when I left for work it had almost happened, and I was sorely tempted to walk home at lunchtime just to check. Pesky work got in the way.

And last night – not quite.

This morning’s early light did the trick. And so, I proudly present my garden’s very first rose of the season.

It’s a New Dawn climbing rose, and it seems to be doing very well in one of the sunny corners of my new flowerbed. It’s absolutely covered with more buds. My friend and garden advisor Judith tells me they’ll soon be exploding out like popcorn.

Not knowing much about roses, I was a little hesitant to put one into the garden, but Judith assured me that New Dawn is one of the easiest, most pest- and disease-resistant varieties in all of rose-dom, and that it will grow like gangbusters all through the summer. Guess I’d better start thinking about putting in a trellis so it can go about its business in a well-supported manner.

If I had been home today, I know I’d have been parked in the garden for hours, just staring at the lovely blush of New Dawn. Instead, I just saved the photo as the background screen on my computer at work. Not quite the same thing, but I sure did enjoy it.

From tablecloth to summer skirt

2008-05-27T18:01:00.004-05:00

Nothing says "summer" like a cool cotton skirt, and here's one I plan to enjoy a lot over the next few months.

It started as a circular muslin tablecloth that I picked up at the thrift shop for all of a dollar. It came complete with a crocheted edging and it really called out to be made into a summer skirt.

Inspired once again by those clever gals over at Wardrobe Refashion, I cut a wide arc out of the circle, then cut the bottom off of an old white T-shirt to add a stretchy yoke. A couple of seams and two button holes on the yoke later, the thing was ready for trip through the washer with some Rit dye. I love the soft apricot color that resulted - it's just exactly what I wanted. A ribbon tie through the yoke finished the whole thing off.

It's already proven its worth as fun, comfy weekend wear. Do I love the skirt because it's great, or just because I got it for pocket change? Matters not to me!

Summer begins

2008-05-26T07:28:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Memorial Day weekend.

The main theme of the newscasts this weekend, besides the presidential race, has of course been the high price of gas and its ripple effect on the price of everything. Of course there are tons of extremely serious consequences from this, but Dan and I were talking yesterday about some positives that could come from it as well.

The news has focused on the fact that more people are staying home this weekend and are planning to stick close to home all summer. We certainly are.

And I fully recognize the fact that Dan and I have the option of driving less. We don’t have Little League games to drive to every week, and we live in a small town where we can both walk to work every day. When it comes to avoiding driving, we’re extremely lucky. We can do it.

We were out chatting with some neighbors in the yard last night and everyone seems to be taking a similar attitude toward facing a summer of soaring gas prices. Nobody likes paying more at the pump, but we’ll enjoy being home instead.

And if we're enjoying our homes more, paying more attention to our yards and gardens, reading on the porch and puttering around pulling weeds...this is not a bad thing.

If I'm passing up a quick trip to the mall on a Sunday afternoon because I've realized I'm almost out of my favorite shade of Clinique lipstick -- and instead I admit that I can get along perfectly well with the three nearly-unused tubes of similar shades I already have...this is not a bad thing.

If we wait until a special occasion to try out that new restaurant in town, and instead stock a little extra beer and wine and cheese in the fridge at home so we can spontaneously invite neighbors over when we feel like it...this is not a bad thing.

If we consolidate errands, walk more, budget carefully, simplify, repair instead of replace, and remember to relax and enjoy the natural beauty of our area...these are certainly not bad things.

So I'm not being taken in by the alarmists on the news. Certainly the current economy is having devastating effects on many people, and I'm not meaning to minimize that. But here at our house, we know we've got abundant opportunity to enjoy our own little patch of the earth much, much more. And this summer, that's what we plan to do.

I'm starting right now by going out to check on the new rose bush I planted yesterday. It's laden with buds that should be opening soon. By not driving as much, I'll have the time to stop and smell them!

One word only!

2008-05-23T21:12:00.004-05:00

I always enjoy reading the latest from Devorah over at Squid Knits. I thought I'd pick up her "one word" challenge. How about snagging it to do yourself, too? Just copy, paste, do your one-word answers and post. Remember - One word only!!!!

Where is your cell phone? ………….. purse
Where is your significant other?………………….. kitchen
Your hair? …………………………………….. messy
Your parents? ……………………………….. beloved
Your dream last night?………………….. Uganda
Your favorite drink? ……………………….. Appletini
Your dream/goal?………………………….. retirement
The room you’re in?…………………….. family
Your ex?……………………………………….. forgotten
Your fear?…………………………………….. tornadoes
Where do you want to be in 6 years?…….. RVing
Where were you last night?………….. Charlotte
What you’re not?………………………….. Republican
Muffins?………………………………………..Corn
One of your wish list items?………….. iPhone
Where you grew up?…………………….. Nebraska
Your favorite thing? ................... family
The last thing you did?…………………..yawned
What are you wearing?………………….. pajamas
Your TV?……………………………………….. reruns
Your pets?…………………………………….. Abigail
Your computer? …………………………….. Dell
Your life?……………………………………….. enviable
Your mood?………………………………….. tired
Missing someone?……………………….. daughter
Your car?……………………………………….. truck
Something you’re not wearing?…….. lipstick
Favorite Store?……………………………….. fabric
Your summer?……………………………….. busy
Like(love) someone?…………………………….. absolutely
Last time you laughed?……………….. tonight
Last time you cried?……………………….. Monday
Who will re-post this?…………………….. dunno!

Of Ashton Kutcher, Toby Keith and Baby Gavin

2008-05-22T09:36:00.011-05:00

On my flight to Charlotte Monday afternoon, I was seated next to a couple with a little boy who had just had his first birthday. He was awfully cute. He looked exactly like Ashton Kutcher must have looked as a baby. Considering he'd been cooped up on various planes and airports most of the day, he was handling the trip pretty well -- but was understandably restless and just a tad bit fussy. His young parents, who called him Gavin, were frantically trying to entertain him for the last leg of what they told me had been an all-day journey. And for the most part, they were pretty successful. I doubt anyone besides me was even aware there was such a young child on board.

I tend not to chat with fellow passengers all that much when I travel, so I was knitting and listening to my iPod during the flight. (I've just discovered the KnitPicks podcasts. What fun!) Eventually, the baby became interested in my iPod. His poor parents had already distracted him with every other gadget they had with them, and I told them I certainly didn't mind if some chubby little hands wanted to play with my iPod for a little bit. There was literally nothing he could hurt on it, and nothing that could hurt him. He seemed to have fun playing and watching the images change rapidly in response to his patting and rubbing on the touchscreen. And he very successfully entertained himself for the rest of the flight. I wished his exhausted parents the best and went on my merry way.

About 2 o'clock the next morning, I jumped awake in my hotel room to the sound of Toby Keith blaring "How Do You Like Me Now?" I stumbled groggily out of bed and lunged toward the sound, rummaging through a pile of travel papers and yesterday's clothes. And there was my iPod, with the screen lit up in "alarm clock" mode.

What the...? I didn't even know my iPod had an alarm clock mode. I certainly had no idea it was capable of playing music I could hear without twisting in the earphones (which always makes me feel a little squeamish.) At that hour, I could barely remember how to turn it off, but a few random jabs at the touchscreen did the trick -- and I went promptly back to sleep.

It was halfway through the next day before I remembered Baby Gavin and realized that he must have set the alarm with his own little hands.

So if he could do it, why couldn't I? I managed to figure out the setting that night. I wasn't nearly as cute doing it as Baby Gavin was, but the alarm worked great for the rest of my week in Charlotte.

It's the best travel tip I ever got from a one-year-old.

Quilt guilt

2008-05-18T11:05:00.008-05:00

This weekend I'm exhibiting a quilt in a local show.

I do not love this quilt.

I feel pretty guilty about not loving this quilt, because the two of us have spent a lot of time together these past couple of months. Well, actually, there've been three of us. Me, the quilt, and a seam ripper.

I had great plans for this project initially. My guild's challenge for this show was to create a quilt inspired by a poem or a song. What a great challenge for an old English major! (Which I seem to be mentioning a lot lately, for some reason - maybe because I realized it's been exactly 30 years this month that I graduated from college. But anyway....)

I spent ages searching for just the right verse to transform into a quilt design. I went back through the classics. I dug through anthologies I hadn't opened in years, looking for just the right metaphor, the perfect image, that could then be expressed through quilting. I mean, I really beat it to death to a ridiculous degree.

Then I stumbled across the works of the contemporary American poet Mary Oliver. And without question, I knew "Wild Geese" was the poem for me. It was a celebration of diversity -- that everything has a place in this world. And of course the traditional Flying Geese block would set everything off perfectly. Bingo.

I envisioned a whole collection of traditional American blocks and motifs, pieced in a wide variety of fabrics and "embraced" by a sweeping arc of flying geese, giving a place and a purpose to everything below.

But despite charting everything out on graph paper, I had the darndest time getting everything to fit together. The cohesive, everything-has-a-place-in-this-world effect I was going for just didn't ever click. Even as I was sewing, it started to feel too 80s-country to me. Ick.

I finished it and submitted it for the quilt show anyway. It looks OK -- just OK. But it won't become one of my favorites.

Poor quilt. It's not to be blamed for turning out this way. But now what do I do with it?

A little ragged around the edges

2008-05-15T18:55:00.009-05:00

I went to a class a few weeks ago on the Bull's Eye quilt technique. It was a really fun day.

The actual technique seems to be under copyright protection since it appeared in this book some years ago, so I won’t go into specific instructional details. (Just Google it for tons of examples.) But you can probably figure out just from looking at the photos that basically, you start with a foundation square, then layer concentric circles of fabric on it, stitching each one down and leaving the edges raw. Slice each layered square into quarters, mix them up to re-assemble, and you’ve got blocks that look like this.

No, the edges don’t match. The fabrics don’t coordinate, with the exception of the foundation squares. The stitching isn’t precise. I used up odds and ends of both fabric and thread. This was very much a “let loose and don’t worry about it” sort of project. In other words, definitely NOT designed for the perfectionist!

When the whole thing is pieced, layered with cotton batting, quilted and bound, you throw it immediately into the washer and dryer. Those raw edges fray and curl just a bit, and you end up with a pretty cool-looking, if very informal, little quilt.

I was sort of going for a scallopy look, using half-circles for the border. It didn't totally turn out to have the effect I was going for, so next time I'll break it up with a solid inner border before adding the half-circles.

(And here's Dan, just looking adorable...)

The cheery woman who taught the class said that once you’ve made a Bull's Eye, it will end up being among your most-used quilts. The frayed edges make it so cozy and inviting, always ready to scrunch up with you when you’re sitting on the porch or lounging on the couch. And she’s absolutely right, because that’s exactly what’s happening with mine right now.

Fun with geometry

2008-05-13T19:26:00.005-05:00

I had a bag full of 2 1/2-inch fabric strips in blue and white after a swap last year at quilt guild. I wanted to whip up a quick gift recently and thought I'd play around with some different ways to use the strips.

Years ago I made one of those neat kaliedoscope quilts with the wedges cut out of strip sets and sewn together into octagonal blocks. I had used a special ruler to cut the 45-degree wedges but of course couldn't find the ruler when I wanted to use it again. It was easy enough to just use the 60-degree angle markings on my regular ruler instead, though. Turns out that six equilateral triangles fit together perfectly into a full hexagon, so I guess my high school geometry teacher, Mr. Hutton, really did know what he was talking about!

The gaps between the four 16-inch-wide hexagons filled in perfectly with more strip sets. I sliced one dark-blue strip straight down the middle to make a narrow inner border, then used more strips for the mitered border. It made for a cute, different, and very easy little quilt design and if you're looking for something unusual to do with those 2 1/2 inch strips, I highly recommend it.

The language of business casual

2008-05-12T19:36:00.006-05:00

I'm not a very good "business casual" kind of gal.

I wear suits and nice skirts and high heels to work most every day. On weekends, it's pretty much jeans or a denim skirt and flip-flops. Not a lot in the closet that in-between. And not much need for it, really.

Next week I'm going to an out-of-town conference where the dress code is clearly designated as "business casual." Which, I guess, is supposed to make it easier for conference-goers. But which, instead, threw me into a mild panic.

I'm always game for a little clothes shopping, though, so I cruised around online for awhile tonight to see if I could find a few pieces to get me through. A bright summer cardigan seemed like a good idea, and I kind of liked this cute set from Talbot's. But what's this ridiculous thing about "choosing a concept"?? When did a size category like "misses" or "petites" become a concept? Sheesh. The pretentiousness of it all made me grumpy. Sorry, Talbot's, no sale for you.

Then came J.Jill to the rescue, with a not only some items that were just what I needed, but a use of language that appealed to me just as much as that of Talbot's had turned me off. Consider the sale section, so cleverly named "Summer for a Song." Or the "splendid" linen pants. J.Jill, may I place my order now?

Silly, sure -- but somehow you just never get over being an English major!

Reel exciting

2008-05-10T19:41:00.003-05:00

Last night after work, Dan and I went to Lowe's and bought a reel lawnmower.

Our current house has a fairly small yard, and firing up our 6 hp, gas-powered, self-propelled mower every week was just feeling inappropriate and very non-green. So we thought we'd give the reel variety a try. And this evening, we did exactly that.

We're totally enamored with it! It didn't exactly produce a classic manicured cut, but we're not big fans of that look, anyway. It was lightwight and very easy to maneuver around. The whole lawn was finished in less than 30 minutes, and it felt great to be pushing a mower that wasn't gulping gasoline or belching smoke. A few observations:

It took a much different "hold" than a gas-powered mower -- I had to be conscious not to push downward on the handle, or I'd raise the reels up in front too high to cut.
Rather than taking the classic back-and-forth laps around the yard like I'd do with the old mower, the reel mower seemed to perform best with more vacuum-cleaner like motions -- it didn't leave tracks, so no weird patterns in the lawn from mowing that way.
The mower came with a detachable fabric tray to catch clippings, but it seemed to handle much more easily when we took the tray off. The blades in the reel seem to shred the clippings pretty finely, anyway -- and even though the grass was pretty long, the mower didn't leave any discernable clumps of cut grass behind. So we have the added benefit of leaving those shredded clippings behind as good, natural nourishment for the lawn.

We'll probably have to mow a little more frequently than we're accustomed to in order to keep the lawn looking neat, but this mower was such a pleasure to use that it shouldn't be a real chore. We're pretty easily amused, aren't we?!

Starting up again

2008-05-08T19:01:00.011-05:00

Wow, I'm totally out of practice blogging. But I've missed it and thought I'd start up again after letting everything go stale for the past seven months. A few friends have wondered if I'm OK. Why yes, I'm just fine! I just sort of lost steam back in the fall and didn't feel like writing that much.

And of course once I stopped, I couldn't seem to jump-start myself to pick it up again. But rather than shut things down, I thought I'd redesign a little and give it another go.

I'm also going to broaden my approach a bit and let myself write about whatever I'm thinking about. When I first started to blog, I was bound and determined to keep my content very focused on sewing and knitting for community service, and providing ideas that might be useful to other crafters interested in similiar projects. Very organized, very to-the-point, very English major. But as time worn on, to be perfectly honest, posting only about these projects was starting to feel like a bragfest or a rather tiresome litany of "oh, look! I did this! I did that!" Ugh. I don't know really why I felt that way, because I adore reading about other people's projects, but somehow I was getting self-conscious talking about my own and nothing else.

The blogs I really enjoy reading have lots of crafting content, but others are more general in nature, too -- so I may just relax things a bit and have fun writing about anything that occurs to me. That will include lots and lots of sewing and knitting, of course, but also gardening (because things are coming to life in our yard so beautifully this year), and other general stuff that inspires, perplexes, or entertains me.

That said, I'll return to sewing right now to share the final outcome of the blocks I wrote about last fall. Didn't this quilt turn out great?

Best of all, it's being enjoyed every day by this lovely lady. Happy Mother's Day to the mother of the wonderful man with whom I am so, so fortunate to be sharing my life!

Pinwheel crazy

2007-10-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

Tonight I completed the last of the 24 quilt blocks I need for my current project. I absolutely love this block pattern. It's from Nickel Quilts, one of the first quilting books I purchased when I started quilting four years ago. The pattern is called "Labor Day Madness" -- here's a photo from the author's web site of a finished version.

I chose dusty blues and a range of deep reds on cream background for these blocks, and hope to get them joined with vintage blue sashing strips and a gorgeous striped border this weekend.

I thought the block might be a little tricky with its partial-seam construction, but it really went together quite nicely. I did find, though, that even after doing 24 blocks, I still had to consult the instructions each and every time.

Something about this pattern just really grabbed me. It seemed to have a bit more motion and panache than traditional pinwheels where all the points meet in the middle.

This pattern comes with an added bonus -- leftover combination units that can be used in another project. I ended up with eight dozen of these little jewels that, once trimmed, will be great in yet another pinwheel project. I'm almost getting dizzy already!

Feel-good quilting!

2007-10-07T18:29:00.000-05:00

OK, I didn't really need two weeks to prepare another post . . . but anyway, here I am again. I wanted to share a few photos from the United Way silent auction, which has been the focus of most of my crafting energies through late August and September.

The auction brought in a tidy sum for United Way, and I was really pleased with how my quilts and knitted scarves contributed to the overall effort. And I have to say, it was a real thrill to see people bidding and willing to fork over a little hard-earned cash in exchange for something I'd pulled together in my sewing room. Yes, it was all for charity, so people were perhaps a little more generous than they might have been if it'd been on the open market. But still, it was a lot of fun.

Believe it or not, my boss ended up with the Halloween table runner. Our CFO actually bid several times on the "Tumbling Leaves" table runner, only to be outbid in the end by another executive. (This totally turned me into the equivalent of a giddy high school sophomore - "Oooo! I made an execu-quilt!!!") And my friend Annette in accounting ended up with the scrap medallion quilt -- so I couldn't have been happier.

After a bit of a crafting breather, I'm back to sewing again - so hopefully I won't wait two weeks to post again....!

100th-post drawing winner

2007-09-23T19:25:00.000-05:00

As scheduled, I tossed all the names of last week's commenters into Dan's well-worn Tilley hat this evening (yes, including relatives - this was a scrupulously fair event, and there was no sense in penalizing anyone with whom I happen to share DNA...)

And the winner is...

Candy, this may not equate to winning the lottery, but I'll be delighted to send the little quilted coasters your way! You may be in the midst of moving right now, so just e-mail me when you have a moment and let me know which address I should use.

Candy is a lovely young woman whose blog I discovered about a year ago. She has become a real advocate for the comfort of bereaved parents. Her Emmazing Grace foundation is dedicated to providing size-appropriate garments and other items for tiny newborns who are called to their heavenly home. The foundation also assists with headstones or other burial items for families who need them, to help honor and mark the significance of these brief but precious lives. She and her husband dedicate this work to the memory of their tiny daughter, Emma, who lost her valiant NICU struggle two years ago. Candy's sharing of her family's story has really inspired many people to continue this special service work.

I'll post some photos of the United Way silent auction in the days to come, but suffice to say it was a huge success. I was delighted with the response to my quilted things, and it was really fun to see the bidding mount up for a great cause. More in a bit.

And thanks again for the good wishes on my 100th post! I really have enjoyed doing this blog and will continue to for a long time to come.

United Way quilt - and a prize

2007-09-16T18:51:00.000-05:00

Today I finished the binding on this quilt for Friday's United Way silent auction. I'm so happy with how it came out! The paisley border -- from a long-forgotten piece of fabric in my stash -- seems to set off the scrappy piecework perfectly.

Since every bit of this quilt came from fabric I already had on hand, I decided to indulge in the services of a local professional longarm quilter - something I haven't done in a few years. I'm really glad I did. I hope you can see some of the detail below. Didn't Ellen do a terrific job?

So next week, I'll let you know how the silent auction turns out. It's always a fun event.

In the meantime, a brief aside. This is my 100th post! So, in following the example of several other bloggers I admire, I'm offering a drawing to celebrate.

Between now and the end of day Saturday (Sept. 22), just leave a comment on this post, even if it's just to say "hi." This is the perfect time to come out of lurkdom! On Sunday, all the names will go into a hat, and I'll ask Dan to to randomly select a winner for this set of six quilted coasters.

My sister has already asked if relatives are eligible - of course they are!

Thanks for helping me celebrate my 100th post. And come back next Sunday for the results!

My so-called experiment

2007-09-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

I was digging around for inspiration for a scarf I wanted to knit for the United Way silent auction. I wanted to use up two skeins of Lamb's Pride bulky "Blue Flannel" that I'd had in my stash for three or four years. Such a luscious yarn; such a beautiful shade. Plus, Lamb's Pride and the entire Brown Sheep line is spun in my beloved home state of Nebraska. So I really wanted a terrific pattern for this little love-fest I had going on with the yarn.

I found this pattern for "My So-Called Scarf" and just loved it. An unusual stitch. Even a You-Tube demonstration on the slipped stitches and psso's.

I got into it for a little while, and you know what? I didn't love it. The stitch was great, but I was bothered by the bumpy edges on the scarf. I'm so used to slipping the first stitch of every row and creating that lovely, smooth edge. This pattern didn't allow for that, and I hadn't bothered to do the math to accommodate the additional stitch on both sides of the pattern.

Plus, I realized I really don't like scarves that aren't reversible. Now, I love to admire the wonderful cables on the Irish hiking scarves but I can't get over the fact that they look very different on the other side. It probably doesn't bother most people. It bothers me. I'm OK with that.

Suffice to say, My So-Called Scarf soon disappeared and turned instead into a standard, classic, K2 P2 ribbed scarf.

Boring? Predictable? Sure. But warm? Stretchy? Reversible? Yes, indeed. And I'm OK with that, too.

Going table runner crazy

2007-09-08T17:52:00.000-05:00

At my workplace, we're coming up on our third annual silent auction to benefit United Way. It's always a fun event, ending with a real frenzy of last-minute bidding as the auction draws to a close at the end of day. Everyone pitches in and contributes items for the auction tables - from sports tickets and golf games to jewelry, baked goods and handcrafts.

Last year I made purses and more purses, and they brought in a respectable sum for United Way. The real bidding wars, though, seemed to arise over the quilted table runners, especially one in Christmas reds and greens. So I decided to make more seasonal table runners this year.

Here are a few that I've pieced, but are still in various stages of being quilted and bound.

If you've picked up the Fall 2007 issue of BHG's "Quilts and More," you'll find the pattern for these Tumbling Leaves. They show it as a wall hanging - but I really like its look on the table.

Some vintage-looking Halloween prints came together nicely for this one.

Here's a Christmas one.

And this one's not seasonal, but I ran across the blocks last weekend in my sewing room. I bet it's been at least three years since I've pieced them. It was easy to toss them together and add a couple of borders for another easy table runner.

I'll be quilting a couple of these myself, and a few others are with the long-arm quilter for a nice, professional look. I can't wait to get them back and finish them up with the binding - my favorite part!

This and that

2007-09-03T17:58:00.000-05:00

I can't remember when a summer has flown by as quickly as this one! My projects have mostly been small ones over recent weeks, perfectly suited to traveling and relaxing summer evenings on the porch.

A set of small wool hats for a special Afghans for Afghans baby hat drive...

...a few more pumpkin hats in assorted sizes...

...a couple of warm wool hats for one of my co-workers who's also a volunteer firefighter and paramedic, and can always use some extra warm gear for folks they assist after accidents...

...the binding on a vintage flannel baby quilt pieced by one of my fellow guild members...

...and a couple of test blocks for this year's quilt guild service project.

We'll be making a raffle quilt for the local Humane Society to help fund their spay and neuter assistance program. Guild members will make one of these blocks with the same black as background, using their own brights. Which one is your favorite?

Michael's quilt

2007-08-12T09:38:00.000-05:00

There's a new little fellow in our family who's now two weeks old and doing great (and his parents will be, too, as soon as they can get some more sleep!) This quilt is on its way to Chicago right now, and I hope little Michael James will have some happy hours snuggling with it.

This was great fun to put together. I saw a similiar one made up at my local quilt shop, and loved the combination of scrappy brights and one unifying background of blue and white polka dots. As I cut and pieced this version for Michael, I added in a lot of scraps from quilts I've made for his cousins over the past couple of years. It brought back so many warm memories of all these sweet little great-nieces and nephews. I hope it'll somehow transfer the love a big, warm extended family to this newest little guy in our fold.

There are only two little blocks that go into the making of this quilt - a four-patch and a half-snowball. I can't believe the versatility of this combination. So after I finished Michael's gift, I started experimenting with another version, using a warm antique-y tan as the background color. I like it so much that I think it will become one of my donations for this year's United Way silent auction at my office.

A few of these....

Make a few of these....

Which, in turn, make a few of these....

I'm very excited to see how this one turns out. The scraps seem to sparkle and become almost jewel-like in this starry setting. However, over the next week, I'll be doing knitting instead of sewing -- Dan and I are taking off for a much-needed week of vacation. We'll be taking our first RV trip and camping at Lake Champlain on the New York/Vermont border.

I've been sorely tempted to take my sewing machine along -- I have idyllic notions of setting up a workspace on a picnic table at the campground, and sewing happily away in the great outdoors. However, for this trip, I think I'll stick to the more portable knitting needles and churning out a few more hats. I'm restricting myself to one medium-sized plastic bin of craft materials, but you can bet I'll be cramming as much into it as humanly possible!

Today's shopping

2007-07-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

It's a chilly, rainy evening, so it felt especially good to take yards and yards of warm, fluffy new flannel out of the dryer and fold them just now.

Of course, it would have felt good, anyway - as I wrote about last year on July 23...

Hemming a hat

2007-07-22T12:52:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've ever edged a knitted hat with anything other than ribbing, a band of garter or seed stitch, or a simple rolled edge. This week I discovered how to put in an actual sewn hem, and I'm loving the neat, tidy look it gives -- to say nothing of the double thickness for extra warmth over the ears. Have you ever tried it?

I'm still experimenting, but the trick seems to be to cast on and then knit in the round for X number of rows - on the hat above, I knit seven, but I imagine you could do any number you want. Then purl one round (this creates your turning ridge), and go back to knitting X number of rounds again. Then purl another round or two for a little style, and go back to straight knitting, or whatever you've chosen to do for the rest of your hat.

You then go back and fold your bottom edge under along the turning ridge, thread your cast-on tail into a tapestry needle (you'll have left it a little longer than usual for this very purpose), and do a loose whipstitch on the underside so the curling edge now lies flat. So neat, so tidy -- almost tailored and sophisticated-looking, if a knitted hat can be such a thing.

I realize this is hardly rocket science, but for some reason I was just so excited to learn this. I could hardly wait to share it with my very talented and clever friend Jean yesterday, and while she already knew about this technique, she kindly celebrated my discovery nonetheless. Jean also recommended using this technique at the bottom edge of a sweater if it doesn't need to "pull in" with ribbing.

What's more, Jean advised me, you can create a sweet picot edge along the hem of a little girl's hat or sweater by substituting the purled turning ridge with a simple row of yarn over/knit 2 together. So I'm sure I'll be trying that one soon, too.

Little hats are such great summer knitting -- perfect for those afternoons of sitting on the front porch, and chatting with whatever neighbors happen to stroll by. I believe I'll pour a big glass of iced tea and head out to the porch right now.

Peek-a-boo pups

2007-07-15T09:18:00.000-05:00

Isn't it fun to see what delightful little surprises happen when piecing a quilt?

I only had a small piece of this puppy-dog print, and it seemed perfect to toss in the mix for this happy, scrappy child's quilt. I didn't fussy-cut the squares at all, but somehow these three little pooches found the perfect way to show up. It makes me smile to think of a sweet little one snuggling with this quilt and playing a quiet little game of "find the puppies."

And this little square shows just how much fun I'm having making this quilt:

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Another refashioned dress

2007-07-10T18:23:00.000-05:00

I'm totally hooked on this pattern, which helps turn a Wally Cleaver shirt like this...

...into a cute little dress like this.

I've got a stack of about five other shirts waiting to make similiar transformations. They're really fun to make, and so easy.

My only problem with having made this amazing discovery is that now I'm constantly evaluating the shirt of every man I see. When Dan and I were in Florida last month, I saw terrific summer shirts at every turn. The fellows wearing the shirts adorned with splashy border prints -- the sort they don't tuck in -- had no idea I was staring at their attire. All I could think of was how great those prints would look when transformed into happy little sundresses, all twirly and girly.

I even caught myself staring at the brightly striped shirt of one of our summer interns at last week's staff meeting. The fabric was gorgeous. The back yoke was just deep enough to make the perfect dress bodice. And the kid is tall, so, yay! Enough extra fabric to make a generous ruffle around the hem!

All I know is, I've got to save my shirt-lusting for the racks at the thrift store and keep it out of the office. Can't you just see me trying to explain myself if someone complains about me to HR?!

Little boy blue...

2007-07-08T11:08:00.001-05:00

... and his little hat, too!

July is very special month in our family, with at least six birthdays and a seventh almost certain to happen before the end of the month. This set is headed out to Dave and Kate in Chicago to help welcome their little one who's due in a couple of weeks.

The yarn is "Buttons," which is quickly becoming my favorite soft wool for wee ones.

Today is wrapping up what's been sort of an extended long weekend. I was off work on Wednesday, worked on Thursday, took a vacation day Friday, worked only a few hours Saturday, and am off today. It's been terrific, and very good for my knitting and sewing productivity. Hope everyone else is enjoying these wonderful days of summer, too.

Children's bags

2007-07-05T18:35:00.000-05:00

A few weeks back, I had a great conversation with one of the staffers of the only women's shelter in our county. I had sent her a batch of little girls' sundresses, but was concerned that I was foisting stuff upon them that they didn't really need.

She assured me the dresses would be put to good use by some of the little girls seeking shelter at their facility with their mothers. And when we got to talking about other needs that might be a match for someone who likes to sew, she suggested some small bags to hold personal care items for children.

She told me that they were usually well-stocked with toiletries to give the adult women who checked in, but that it would be nice to have something age-appropriate to give to the children, too.

I was so glad to use some of the juvenile and novelty prints that were sitting in my stash. Here are a few of the drawstring bags, all filled and ready to be delivered tomorrow:

And here's a look at the contents of one of the bags for an older girl:

There are 20 bags in all. Each one contains a new washcloth, bar of soap, toothbrush, toothpaste and a hairbrush and/or comb, as well as a few other dollar-store goodies like hair barrettes, small notebooks and puzzle books, "Go Fish" cards and bubbles for blowing.

Sewing the bags was a breeze, but when it came to shopping for the contents, I knew I needed to bring in an expert, and a good one at that. I enlisted the services of my young friend Rachael, the 11-year-old daughter of one of my friends at work. Rachael was only too happy to join in the project. We spent a very enjoyable evening shopping together, and I learned more than I ever dreamed possible about what sort of ponytail holders pull your hair and hurt, and what sort are just fine. We had a terrific time, and I feel much more confident about the bag contents as a result. Thanks for your consultation work, Rachael!

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Refashioning!

2007-07-03T18:07:00.000-05:00

Inspired by all the clever craftiness over at Wardrobe Refashion, I had some fun making these two ridiculously easy little things. And I'm delighted with how they turned out.

Here's how a thrift-store pair of jeans (with worn knees) turned out after I sliced it right under the zipper and attached a skirt with a happy fish print from my stash.

And once I saw this tutorial that linked off of one of the refashioner's posts, I could hardly wait to cut into an old gingham seersucker shirt. Here's how it turned out:

The back of the shirt becomes the front of the dress. I got ambitious and ripped out the tuck where the shirt back joins to the back yoke, then gathered it for a softer look. Unfortunately, I stitched some pretty serious tucks into the seam in the process of re-attaching. But rather than re-do the whole business, I put some little buttons over the tucks and it almost looks like I planned it that way...

The best part is the back of the dress, made from the front of the shirt.

I guess I could have re-attached the pocket and Izod label somewhere, but I didn't bother.

This was so easy to make! Next time I think I'll make the ruffled shoulder straps a little narrower, as these look a bit wing-like to me, but I'm definitely going to make more of these dresses, and the little skirts, too.

Little pumpkins

2007-06-28T17:03:00.000-05:00

Late last October, I ran across my copy of Ann Norling's classic fruit cap pattern. By just purling every eighth stitch, it was easy to adapt into a ridged pumpkin hat that really did turn out to be as cute as could be.

Unfortunately I started the project so close to Halloween that there was only time to churn out one, so it went to the youngest member of the family, my great-niece Abbey. This year, I decided to start a bit earlier. And last week's trip to Florida provided plenty of time to get started.

I used Dreambaby DK yarn and size 4 DPNs for these cute little caps. I'm not worrying too much about gauge at this point - they're pretty stretchy. I have enough yarn to churn out quite a few more, so I'll make some larger, some smaller -- once the family wee ones are taken care of, I'll have some to take to the hospital. Can't you imagine taking home a newborn in late October, all decked out in a little pumpkin hat?

From big dress to little dress

2007-06-21T04:58:00.000-05:00

I knew when I spotted the Liz Claiborne label on this dress at the thrift store Saturday that I had to do something with all this really good-quality fabric. So, I did.

This pattern is so easy -- See & Sew #3889. And the lightweight denim is just perfect for the soft draping of this little sundress. Best part of all was, I used the original hemmed edge, so no hemming! (Thanks, Ms. Claiborne!)

Well, Dan and I are off to Florida for five days, so I'll probably be offline until next week. Unfortunately, it's not vacation, but a vendor mart for the little retail store we own and that Dan operates. (I don't think I've ever mentioned it on the blog before, but we do love birds!) Even though it's work-related, it'll seem like vacation just having several days in a row with my sweetie. Hope everyone has a happy and crafty few days ahead.

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Placemat purse

2007-06-19T05:22:00.001-05:00

One of my thrift store finds on Saturday morning was this cheery little 13-cent placemat.

It’s become this cheery little purse.

This was a fun project from start to finish. I had the black plastic handles already. The fabric was a leftover scrap from another purse project last fall. Even the closure was a no-cost feature. I liberated the black cord from the chic little paper shopping bag I got when I bought conditioner at my salon last week (I would have declined the bag altogether, but I knew those cord handles would come in handy soon!)

The big pearly button isn’t a button at all, but an old clip-on earring sewn firmly into place.

The bag was a nice summery addition to my drab black outfit for work yesterday. It also gave me an excuse to wear these fun red espadrilles that I got with my sister in Chicago last weekend. I got compliments on both of them all day long.

The reds don’t match very well. Did this bother me? It did not.

Feeling so thrifty

2007-06-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

My daughter said today, "Another great thing about this green movement is that it gives you another excuse to be thrifty."

Wise girl, indeed, although she's never needed much of an excuse. Living in New York City for the past seven years, she's become an expert in rescuing abandoned furniture from curbsides and giving it a new lease on life with a little paint and reinforcement.

But I agree with her that half the fun in reducing, reusing and recycling is seeing what great results you can have for little or no cost. That's one reason I've been utterly fascinated with the projects everyone's doing over at Wardrobe Refashion. Do you read it? I've been lurking there for months, and while I haven't signed up for one of their official challenges, they inspire me almost daily to look at transforming things I already have into something new and useful.

Those clever Wardrobe Refashionistas are always doing things like finding the most amazing printed sheets at thrift stores and turning them into breezy summer skirts and dresses. One gal used an old Harley T-shirt and some ecru crocheted lace and made an adorable baby dress.

I've never actually had much luck with thrift store shopping, but I thought I'd give it a try again as a creative challenge. Lucky me - in the housewares area I found two enormous cotton twill tablecloths in a very cheery lemon-lime stripe. A whopping $3.99 for the pair!

I can't wait to see what these will become. There's nary a stain or worn spot in sight, and they washed up beautifully as soon as I got them home. I may have to make some more little girls' dresses (because, you'll be glad to know, I'm over my angst about sending the clothes I make to the women's shelter. The director there assured me they really do need children's clothes all the time, so I got over my feeling that I was thoughtlessly sending castoff items without regard for need. I really appreciated all of your comments as well. Also, I have another project going for the shelter, too, but more about that as it takes form this summer...)

These tablecloths could also become tote bags or quilt backings - there's a LOT of fabric here -- it'll be fun to see!

I really hit the jackpot on a table filled with other assorted table linens, too. I was particularly excited about these three cloth napkins for 13 cents apiece. (13 cents? Where'd they come up with that? No matter, I was glad to snap them up.)

These seem to go together so well, I'm tempted to slice them up and combine them into one patchwork bag. Hmm....

I won't post all the other photos of my haul today, because I want to save some for before-and-after photos on specific projects. But I was really delighted with the other things I found, too -- including another tablecloth in an adorable vintage-style red-and-white print, a couple of voluminous skirts in cheery florals, and a Liz Claiborne lightweight denim dress that's sort of sack-like on the hanger. But it's not going to be that way for long...

What did I shell out for this big bag of stuff? Exactly $13.71. And this afternoon, I'm going to get started seeing what sort of transformations I can begin with some of it.

Unfortunately, though, I can't start with the striped tablecloths. Abigail apparently has other plans at for them right now.

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Travel tote

2007-06-12T17:49:00.000-05:00

I bought a set of funky, vintage-inspired Moda fat quarters a couple of years ago. I think the collection was called “Faded Memories” or something similar. I loved looking at them, but I really had no idea what to do with them. Somehow, they didn’t seem very quilty.

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Carol sent me this Martha Stewart link for a tote bag made out of a pillowcase.

A great idea, isn’t it? Unfortunately, any older pillowcases hanging around our house are not candidates to become anything but cleaning rags. So I thought I’d adapt the pattern and use four of my fat quarters instead. Worked out great! I loved the slouchy, relaxed feel of the bag. It was perfect for taking along to Chicago last weekend.

Let’s see if I can recreate the process here:

-- Put two coordinated fat quarters with right sides together, and stitch quarter-inch seams along both long (22”) edges. You’ll have a wide tube.

-- Do the same thing with a second pair of fat quarters.

-- Stack the “tubes” on top of each other and make one diagonal cut through all four layers (see the Martha Stewart pillowcase instructions). You’ll have two pairs of wedges, each with a seam down the middle.

-- Put those wedges right sides together, and stitch quarter-inch seams along each diagonal edge. Handle the bias edges carefully. Leave the long, straight edge open – this will become the bottom of the bag. Turn and press.

-- Fold each lined wedge in half again, and follow the Martha diagram to see how to overlap and fit them together. Stitch close to the bias overlapped edges on each side, being careful to keep each side separate. Turn the bag inside out and stitch straight across the bottom (you’ll be going through about eight thicknesses of fabric by this point, so use a sturdy needle.) I also zig-zagged over the raw edge to keep fraying to a minimum. Turn right side out.

-- Martha’s pillowcase instructions just have you tie the pointy ends together, but the fat quarters don’t give quite enough length for that. I just overlapped the pointy ends by about an inch, zig-zagged the overlap a few times to secure it, and then finished it off with a coordinated tie about two inches wide. This gave me plenty of length for slinging over my shoulder.

Besides the basic travel essentials of wallet, lipstick, glasses and cellphone, this bag had plenty of room for my small knitting project and various purchases at the airport during my layover – some Body Shop lotion, a pair of flip-flops, “spa socks” for my daughter, a banana and a Newsweek magazine. No wonder I didn’t mind my flight delay!

Just need 2 buttons and a sleeve

2007-06-11T19:06:00.001-05:00

This blurry photo is me in the Philadelphia airport on Thursday evening. Bad weather extended my layover there by a few hours, but with knitting handy, I had no reason to complain. I still made it to Chicago in time for dinner with my sister, our nephew, and his wife (who is expecting a baby in six weeks -- thus the little blue sweater in progress here.)

And here's how it looks tonight. This DK-weight wool is so sweet to work with, and I'm quite sure that Elizabeth Zimmermann would approve of the simple, neck-down raglan pattern.

I'm glad the sleeves are the final step, because they're my favorite part of all. It's just so easy to imagine those sweet, chubby little fists working their way through the ribbed cuffs. If I calculated right, this should fit Dave and Kate's little fellow by the time he's two or three months old this fall. And just the thought of another sweet little baby joining the family makes me feel warm and fuzzy already!

Reminders to self

2007-06-06T20:35:00.000-05:00

OK, so here’s the thing I’ve been thinking about.

I made these cute little cotton sundresses last week, just because I was in the mood to do so. Nobody asked for them. Nobody particularly needed them. I have no little girls at home. I have some young great-nieces, but didn’t make the dresses in their sizes. I simply sewed, without regard for eventual recipient, figuring that somebody, somewhere, could use them. Because they were really cute, right?

Now let me go get my eyes checked, because I somehow failed to see the giant red flag that was waving right in front of me.

Something just felt wrong to me as I was stitching and gathering and hemming. Why wasn’t I enjoying making these little things? Summer fabrics are a joy, and the designs were simple and wonderful. Why did I feel vaguely uncomfortable with what I was producing?

By the time I’d put in the final stitches, I’d figured it out. This was a totally self-indulgent exercise. A charitable donation, perhaps, but not the sort of charity I feel good about. Yes, some little girls who accompany their mothers to the women’s shelter where I ended up sending the dresses will have something new and fresh to wear. But realistically, their mothers could get much more good out of a Wal-Mart gift card, getting children’s clothes and a lot more, too (and it pains me to say that, because I really loathe Wal-Mart, but if you have to make a few dollars stretch a long way, there’s no sense in going anyplace else.)

And the shelter itself could benefit more from a check to help buy the food and repair the plumbing and hire the counselors.

The donation of three cotton dresses and a skirt doesn’t exactly equate to kicking puppies. But I still felt a little uneasy about the thoughtlessness of it. And it was a good reminder to stay on track with what I want to do with such projects. Note to self: Begin with the need in mind. Contribute to an organization like a hospital or well-run agency where they’ve already determined this need. And if they need something hand-made, you'll know that you’ll be making things that will be truly useful.

Best of all, self, stick to making things that aren’t easy to find or affordable to get anywhere else. Specialized preemie garments, bereavement outfits, chemo caps, even the odd catheter bags a group of us made last year – they all fall into that category. So do cool ties for the soldiers, and warm knitted garments for groups like Afghans for Afghans or the Dulaan project, where international shipping regulations are more flexible for hand-knitted gifts than for factory-made merchandise.

In other words, there’s plenty of opportunity out there to serve. Sometime we do it by crafting, sometimes by writing a check, sometimes by rolling up our sleeves to volunteer with physical work. The challenge lies in matching our actions with the greatest possible benefit. If we’re lucky, we get it right.

On to lighter topics next week. In the meantime, I'm off to Chicago for a three-day estrogen-fest with my sisters and assorted nieces. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Summer dresses

2007-06-05T18:07:00.000-05:00

Summer and blue seersucker ... what a cool, crisp, classic combination for a little girl's sundress. This was the first of several dresses I've made over the past couple of weeks.

This one was a total breeze to make, thanks to the easy "Sunny Day Dress" tutorial offered by Erin at the House on Hill Road.

I had this yellow stripe fabric in my stash with the intent of backing a quilt with it. It's much better suited to a little girl's sundress, don't you think? It looks like the yoke seam is going all wonky on the right-hand side, but I assure you it's straight as an arrow...just nudged upward by the evergreen backdrop.

And finally, a three-tiered skirt out of some sturdy cotton from my stash.

I did a lot of thinking while making these cute little numbers. I should have enjoyed the process a lot more than I did, and I finally figured out why. I guess today is the "Show" part of Show-and-tell Tuesday. Tomorrow, I'll tell.

Blahgging

2007-06-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

I've had a case of the blogging blahs lately. I've actually been doing a fair amount of sewing and knitting -- just not feeling inspired enough to write about it. In casting around for some variety in my crafting, I find I've gotten a little bit away from the service projects that I really enjoy the most.

I've got more to write on that topic later this week, but in the meantime ... this is what I did on Saturday morning:

I wasn't even going to post about these, but when I was catching up on other blogs this afternoon and saw the very excellent Wool Winder's post about dishcloths, I was moved by the cosmic connection. Cotton dishcloths were the very first thing I made when I re-learned how to knit in 2001 (after not having picked up knitting needles for more than 30 years). Once I started making dishcloths, I couldn't stop -- and I churned out so many of them that my family actually requested that I switch to something else!

I hadn't made any for ages, but the cotton is nice to work with on a hot and humid day, and I needed an inexpensive door prize for a club drawing, so these filled the bill. They may have even helped shake me out of my blogging blahs!

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Plastic bag thingie

2007-05-29T20:49:00.000-05:00

This odd, bumpy thing looks like a strange topic for a post, but it's really quite handy and very easy to make. I made it some months ago and it hangs in the stairwell headed down to the basement (a.k.a. litterbox-land). We use it to hold the plastic shopping bags that always seem to show up at home, despite our best efforts to the contrary. You just stuff the bags into the top and then pull them out of the bottom -- voila! -- as you need them for re-use.

I've seen the same sort of thing designed as a hard plastic tube that screws into the inside of a cabinet door. But why purchase that when it's so easy to make one? Just cut a strip of fabric about 18 inches long and 12 inches wide - a trimmed fat quarter works great. Sew the long edges together to form a tube, then hem both top and bottom to form a small casing. Slip enough narrow elastic into the bottom to pull the edge in a little bit, like it's a little cuff on a sleeve. On the other end, thread a cord, ribbon or old shoestring through the casing so you can open it all the way if you need to, and leave some excess for a hanging loop.

We're all trying to live green a little more these days. So when those plastic bags inevitably show up, keep them in a place where you know they'll be handy to use again!

Check out Show-and-tell Tuesday at Wisdom Has Two Parts, too -- adorable little doll quilts!

My seven random things

2007-05-23T22:08:00.000-05:00

I'm still playing with the look of the blog. One of these days I'll stick to one design, but for now it feels like I'm looking for the perfect pair of shoes!

Everyone seems to be sharing "Seven Random Things" about themselves lately, so I guess it's my turn to play along now (thanks to being tagged by Knittymuggins.)

Here are the rules: Each person tagged gives seven random facts about themselves along with the rules of the game, as well as tagging seven others by listing their names as part of the blog post and leaving a blog comment for the tagged individuals to let them know that they've been tagged.

With that said, here are my seven random things -- not particularly interesting, but they are what they are!

1) Dan and I love to dance. We have taken a lot of classes for ballroom and swing dancing these past few years. We mostly dance on vacation, but we often bust a move at home while standing around in the kitchen, too. The cat has learned to stay out of the way. We just finished an Argentine Tango class, which I found to be the most difficult of any dance we've learned -- but Dan was great at it! He's very tall and cuts quite the dashing figure on the dance floor.

2) Speaking of dancing...my favorite movie of all time is Saturday Night Fever. I guess it takes me back to my college years, when disco was at its peak. The cheesy outfits, the platform shoes, the lighted dance floors...I don't yearn for their return, but damn, they were fun at the time!

3) I talk to my daughter almost every day. The cell phone is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

4) I am bugged by inappropriate uses of the apostrophe. I'm not talking about the occasional typo, but rather the repeated use of "it's" as a possessive, or "its" as a contraction. It just drives me nuts. And then there's the ever-popular use of the apostrophe to form a plural. Like fingers on a chalkboard. Years ago when my folks moved into their retirement condo, the nice wooden sign in front of the little complex read "Season's IV." (That's a Roman numeral 4, not "IV" as in intravenous.) Anyway...I'm pretty sure that apostrophe was not meant to indicate a possessive. Of course I was totally tactless in pointing this out. Later my mom quietly went out and put a piece of masking tape over the offending apostrophe. The sign had a tan background, so it blended pretty well and actually lasted for several years. And I felt kind of bad for making fun of the sign.

5) I am embarassingly knowledgeable about 60s and 70s TV shows, especially the Brady Bunch.
6) If I feel like a real treat when we're out, there's nothing better than a green apple martini. Ahhhh. And somehow, one of those always makes me a better dancer, too. Odd, isn't it?

7) Occasionally I bake things, but I seldom actually cook. Dan is the cook in the family. I'd love to sew one of those cute retro aprons everyone seems to be making, but really, what would be the point?

OK, that's it. And while I'm supposed to tag seven other folks, there are so many who have already done this that I'm only going to choose two. And they're two of my favorites, anyway.

Woolwindings

Inca's Sewing Blog

Tracy and Candy, take it away!

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Scrappy skirt

2007-05-22T05:55:00.000-05:00

My wonderful 25-year-old daughter and one of her friends are coming up from New York City for Memorial Day weekend. And that, of course, means: It’s time to make skirts, skirts and more skirts!

I have a couple of them already stitched up and just awaiting a final fitting this weekend. Then yesterday I ran across this link on Craft Leftovers for a patternless, easy-to-fit skirt made out of long fabric strips. I have a drawer full of 2 ½-inch strips from quilt guild swaps this past year. So with just a little adapting of the instructions, they’ve begun to go together into a really dandy cotton skirt.

Two strips joined and trimmed down to 26 inches make this:

Use the seam as a center axis and rotary-cut a symmetrical wedge like this:

Then, just join them. Here’s how it’s starting to look after less than an hour at the sewing machine:

This random combination of prints may be a little on the hippie-chick side, but I think it could look quite sophisticated in just two coordinated fabrics – or super-tailored in a solid, with only the seams adding the visual interest.

I’m really looking forward to the girls’ arrival and having them both dig through bins of fabric to pick out the makings for other fun cotton skirts. What a great way to start the summer!

Mother's Day vest

2007-05-20T20:50:00.000-05:00

So, I'm playing around with images on my Blogger template and have a lot of experimenting left to do with the header and layout -- so this might look like a work in progress until I figure it out. But I did want to post this photo of the vest I made earlier this month for Dan's mother for Mother's Day.

This was really a joy to knit. I used a cotton-acrylic blend called Tatamy Tweed, a great texture for summer wear. My friends at the yarn shop used the same yarn for some great-looking summer placemats, and I conveniently bought enough extra so I'd be able to do the same.

If you enjoyed the photos of Mary's quilt in the last post, check out the comment section - and thanks so much, Mary, for checking in! Great to hear from you, and we're all still wishing you the very best!

On another note, Knittymuggins tagged me to post seven random things about myself...which I will do later this week, as soon as I can think of that many...

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Mary's quilt

2007-05-01T05:44:00.000-05:00

Good thing Tuesday rolls around once a week - at least it gives me a tiny bit of discipline for blogging!

Occasionally I run across a photo of something I made that has completely slipped my memory. Such was the case this week.

I really liked making this little quilt. I made it a couple of years ago as a comfort gift for Mary, an old high school friend of my daughter’s who was recovering from brain surgery at age 23. I think often of Mary, but had forgotten all about this quilt. I had lots of black and white fabric in my stash at the time, and decided to zing it up with some brights. It seemed to suit the sensibilities of this creative and vibrant young lady.

Come to think of it, this is also one of the few quilts I’ve ever labeled. One of my friends had given me some red fabric imprinted with the words “When this you see, remember me” – so that made an appropriate border for a muslin label, where Maureen and I both wrote our good wishes to Mary before we mailed it to her in Texas.

Mary wrote back that she loved the quilt, and said she sometimes even wore it around the house as a cape!

It’s been awhile since I’ve heard how Mary’s doing. Finding this photo makes me want to check in with her. I believe that’s exactly what I’ll do.

Show-and-tell Tuesday: Dance bag

2007-04-24T06:16:00.000-05:00

When I signed up for adult beginner’s tap-dancing class early last September, I did so with four motivations in mind:

-- I wanted to do something quirky and unexpected as my 50th birthday approached
-- I wanted a fun new form of exercise
-- It involved shoe-shopping
-- It offered a chance to sew a fun new bag to tote said shoes to class

Nearly eight months later, the class has filled all my expectations, and then some. And here is the bag. This photo is awfully dark, but you can click on it to enlarge for a better look if you want. Don’t you love the funny vintage shoe print? I found it at a Hobby Lobby in Cincinnati last summer when I was shopping there with my sisters.

The bag is actually a backpack, so it’s easy to sling it on as I walk to the local arts center every Monday evening for an hour of rigorous shuffle-ball-changing and fa-lap, fa-lap, fa-lapping. Next time I make this pattern, though, I’ll make the straps a little sturdier – they’re just extended fabric drawstrings, and are a bit on the wimpy side for actual shoulder straps. Still, quite functional for now.

Oh, and in case you wondered, all the beginner’s classes at the arts center will indeed present a recital next month, with our year’s worth of learning on full display. Our adult tap class goes on right after a bunch of five-year-old ballerinas, I think. We tend to lumber about like so many menopausal elephants, but we do have a great time. And the song we’ll be tapping to? The rockin’ Beatles classic, “You Say It’s Your Birthday.” Which is appropriate, since we have much more experience at birthdays than anyone else in the show.

Be sure and enjoy Show-and-Tell Tuesday with Pieces and Veronica (speaking of birthdays!!) as well.

A fun little hat

2007-04-22T17:59:00.000-05:00

On the first beautiful spring weekend we've had here in Western New York, I don't know why I was itching to knit a wool hat, but nonetheless, I was. So I did.

This Stained Glass Hat pattern had intrigued me for some time, so I dug out a couple of balls of Paton's wool from my stash. I've never done much stranded knitting, other than doing an occasional decorative lap or two around a hat. But I found this hat surprisingly easy to do. I didn't inspect my work very well as I was going along and found a few bungled spots after I finished -- but it was a good learning experience. When I make this one again, I'll also correct one error in the chart (see where the stitches form a little red crosses in some spots and things that look like little red bats in others? If you make this hat, you'll want to shade in the first box on row 2 of the chart for crosses throughout.)

The other delightful thing about this hat is the double thickness it gains from carrying the contrasting stands behind. Why had that never occurred to me before? It should be really warm and fun to wear. All in all, a good experience in stranded knitting -- and it was even more fun to knit out on the deck enjoying the beautiful spring sunshine. I'll definitely do more of these.

Finally, spring

2007-04-21T14:25:00.000-05:00

Connecting

2007-04-18T19:11:00.000-05:00

If you know anyone on active military duty overseas, please consider extending them a little extra TLC about now. These folks and their families got a figurative kick in the gut last week with the news that their deployments are being extended an extra three months. There isn't anything that can really ease the disappointment and frustration they must all be feeling -- but a gesture to let them know we're thinking of them can't hurt.

You may be familiar with cool ties. They're long tubes of cotton fabric, into which you insert water-absorbing crystals. If soaked in water and tied around the neck, they can provide a little cooling action as the crystals evaporate, and they can be used over and over again. This is part of a batch going this weekend to my nephew David in Baghdad.

Here's the easy pattern. And if you want to make some for a soldier but you're hesitating because it's a hassle to get the little crystals, I will send you some. Seriously. I have a whole bag of the stuff, and each tie takes only about half a teaspoon. E-mail me: (annekenlonATstnyDOTrrDOTcom) with a mailing address and I'll send you enough for a nice batch of cool ties to send to someone you know, or to a program like The Ships Project.

Slippers, cool ties, or just a note or e-mail to say hello - just reach out and connect.

A pause

2007-04-17T05:01:00.000-05:00

It didn't seem right to blog about crafting the day after the tragedies at Virginia Tech.

The university's motto is Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). What can the rest of us now do to serve this wonderful place and the families whose lives have been forever shattered?

I have no idea.

Show-and-Tell Tuesday: How I learned to sew

2007-04-10T05:17:00.000-05:00

I'm joining Pieces in her fun idea for "Show-and-Tell Tuesday." I thought I'd share some quirky things around the house that have to do with crafting.

This little apron is my very first machine-sewing project. I made it as a 4-H project during the summer I was 8 years old, so that would have been 1965. Cotton gingham was the fabric of choice for all 4-H aprons, and I remember my mother taking me shopping at Hemmingsen's in our little town of Auburn, Nebraska so I could pick out whatever color I wanted. That's where we also got the plastic "apron ring" to slip through the casing instead of making ties for the waist -- an odd gizmo that I've never seen in stores since then.

I washed and starched this little relic last night in honor of its photo op today, and looked closely at the machine stitching along the casings and hems. Yep, it was still the same as it was nearly 42 years ago. A little crooked, with the thread broken every few inches - evidence of where I'd corrected off-the-edge stitching mishaps while learning to use our old Singer sewing machine. Mother was wonderful at assuaging my angst when the apron earned only a lowly white ribbon at the county fair. I'd sewed every stitch myself, and that alone was something to be proud of, she said - and those words must have had an effect on me, because my white ribbon didn't squelch my interest in sewing one bit.

I entered two other machine-sewing projects in the fair that year -- a potholder to match my apron (that's when I learned what cotton batting was) and a pincushion made out of a scrap of rather ghastly brown wool we had at home. It was one of those triangular pincushions with a strap of elastic on it so you could wear it on your wrist. It was stuffed to the max with cut-up bits of Mother's old nylons -- always our stuffing of choice in those days before easy-to-find fiberfill. The potholder earned a middle-of-the-road red ribbon, and the pincushion earned a blue, so that cheered me up a lot. But of the three projects, the mistake-ridden apron is the only one I've kept all these years. Lessons learned - warm memories cherished.

And that's what I have for Show-and-Tell Tuesday. If you post something, too, be sure to let me know!

Reflecting on Easter and knitting

2007-04-08T14:48:00.000-05:00

It may seem a bit peculiar to be posting about preemie bereavement items on Easter Sunday, but that's exactly what I've been making today - perhaps because they bring yet another good chance to reflect on the day's joyful messages of comfort, hope, and life after death.

At any rate, I guess I was also inspired because yesterday I ran across this gigantic skein of yarn in my sewing room. I vaguely remembering buying it some time ago when Joann's came out with their new line of "Sensations" yarns. I had, of course, forgotten all about it.

It's a fairly ordinary sort of yarn - oh, wait, they refer to it as "classic" - and has that same sort of brushed texture as Lion's Brand Jiffy. It somehow feels a LOT nicer than Jiffy, though, which has always felt super-acrylic-y and unpleasant to me. Not so with this stuff, though - it's truly soft. And its sweet Easter colors made me think it would be beautiful for quite a few preemie buntings for my local NICU.

I started these based on a simple pattern that Tracy adapted and posted on her Woolwindings blog a few weeks back. I added some changes of my own, modeling the little hood after sock-knitting with a heel flap, a turned heel, and picked-up stitches along the edges. It made a remarkably smooth and sweet-looking hood to gently cradle and frame a precious little face.

I haven't written the exact pattern down, but if you're interested, let me know. I'll make a few notes and post it this coming week.

I have two done and a third almost complete - so I'll get back to knitting now. In the meantime, I wish you a very blessed Easter.

Quilters come together for a cause

2007-04-06T18:47:00.000-05:00

Last fall, quilt shops all around the U.S. participated in a Quilt Pink event, aimed at creating quilts to auction and raise funds for breast cancer research. I had a lot of fun spending a couple of hours at The Glass Thimble, a local sewing machine dealer. working on a spectacular Lone Star quilt in many shades of pink.

Turns out that nearly 4,000 quilts resulted from quilters' efforts across the country on that day, and this week you can start to get a glimpse of those quilts on eBay. There'll be a new batch of them up for auction every week for the next six months, with all proceeds going to Susan G. Komen Foundation.

I'm frankly not a big fan of the rush of pink-ribbon retail items that have hit the market in recent years. They may send a few dollars to the breast cancer cause, but to me, most of them just seem to smack of commercialism more than philanthropy.

But Quilt Pink is a project I really liked. Through individuals volunteering just a little bit of time, 4,000 quilts are ready to be sold at a price starting at $150. Chances are good that most, if not all, will sell -- which means at least $600,000 will go toward breast cancer research. A significant result -- and I'm looking forward to participating again next year.

Burping in style

2007-04-03T17:10:00.000-05:00

Babies are even cute when they burp - so why not make the occasion cuter yet with some colorful burp cloths? I saw this post on Barb's blog about some easy-to-make burp cloths and I immediately knew I wanted to make some for a baby gift.

They begin with ordinary pre-folded cloth diapers, which come in packs of a dozen. You embellish by stitching on a wide strip of flannel. Just be sure to pre-wash everything in hot water before you begin, because both diaper and flannel will shrink a bit. Barb's tutorial is great and very complete, so I won't repeat it here - check it out for everything you need.

I was using flannel left over from making some baby blankets, and my center strips were narrower than the Barb's -- but they will still be totally functional and easy to toss over the shoulder while awaiting baby's resounding performance. It just seems nice to be able to dress up the moment with a cheery little flannel print! Thanks, Barb, for a really great idea.

Knitting with white

2007-04-01T08:57:00.000-05:00

I recently observed just how much white yarn I had in my stash, so I've been working on putting it to use. Here's a wee gown and bonnet that will go to my local NICU, and a soft blanket that will go to Amy in Idaho on behalf of the Emmazing Grace Foundation.

For the gown and bonnet, I used Lion brand Microspun. It's a little "splitty" to work with, but has a lovely sheen and feels so soft and sweet when it's knit up, and it showed off the ribbing in the skirt just beautifully. For the blanket, I used a Bernat Baby Boucle for a soft, cloud-like texture.

No sooner had I finished the bonnet than I read this great post about preemie bonnets by Tracy at Woolwindings. I'm absolutely going to follow this pattern and the many ways for adapting it. Check it out for some new inspiration on this very special service work.

So lucky

2007-03-25T08:47:00.000-05:00

I am indeed a lucky gal. I have sweet little nieces who are willing recipients of my urge to knit and sew, and I have friends who are fueling my urges by opening a lovely new yarn and fabric shop, Corning Stitch Works, right here in town. Oh, and they have vintage trims and buttons, too. Isn't that thoughtful of them?!

At their grand opening last weekend I snapped up several balls of this delightful New Zealand wool, "Buttons" by Magic Garden. It came in so many colors I had a hard time choosing, but this spring green finally won my heart.

And here's how it looks all knit up on size 3 needles into another little bolero. This one will head to California this week for little niece Sofia. The blue one from last week is already in Ohio with niece Makenna. I had such fun thinking of these sweet little misses while knitting, and wishing I could see them more often.

In the meantime, it's amazing how knitting needles and a sewing machine can help bridge the distance. Lucky thing, huh?

This and that on a Sunday evening

2007-03-18T16:44:00.000-05:00

Lots of things to think about on this cold Sunday in western New York - some serious, some funny, all grateful.

I got up this morning to find the still-damp bolero had been the object of considerable scrumpling by one Miss Abigail Cat. No harm done, though. (Note to self: Don't block sweaters on the best bird-watching perch in the house.)

Tracy at Woolwindings asked for a more detailed photo of the embellishment, and since this is the first request of this type I've ever received, I am only too happy to comply. Actually, I have so much admiration for Tracy, I would have complied even if I got this sort of request every day!

Next, I really enjoyed making this skirt for Randi's "Sewing Seeds" project. I'll get this in the mail to Randi this week, and her daughter will take it with her in June when she goes to volunteer at an orphanage in Africa this summer. I like knowing that a little girl may enjoy the bright cotton print, but even more importantly, I like knowing that Randi's daughter knows so many other people are supporting her in this volunteer work. We may have done a little sewing on this end, but it's Danika who will make the difference -- not only through the work she'll do in June, but through the way an experience like this may forever shape the way she approaches service. So, thanks, Randi and Danika, but letting us be part of this.

My brother Joe has been on my mind over recent days, as well. He and a group from his church in Indiana just returned from a week's worth of hard work in New Orleans, helping four victims of Hurricane Katrina. His first e-mail to family after his return spoke of the sheer scope of the devastation. It's almost unthinkable that such destruction is still evident a year and a half after the flooding. He may be writing more in his blog soon, so check in there if you're interested.

Lastly, I hope you'll spend a moment on a prayer for Joe's son -- my nephew, David, who is currently serving his second tour as an Army medic in Iraq. You can read a bit more about him here, in my brother's blog. And visit here, too, for a look at Joe (handsome dude, isn't he?) and adorable baby Berneice, the youngest of David and Susan's three kiddos. My special request comes because today is David's birthday - hopefully the last one he'll be spending so far from home.

Hope you are able to hug those dear to you today and be grateful for many blessings. I know I am!

Bolero a-go-go

2007-03-17T16:49:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the little knitted bolero inspired by the Abigail Breslin sweater in the paper a few weeks back. I was just chomping at the bit to see if I could mimic the sweater without a pattern. Fortunately I have a couple of little nieces who might not think it's too dorky to wear one of their auntie's experiments.

Today I finished this, knit on size 4 needles with denim-blue Wool-Ease (not my favorite yarn, but washable and already in my stash...)

Then I couldn't resist the urge to embellish with a little yarn embroidery, using tiny vintage buttons in the flower centers. So this is what's being blocked on my windowsill at this very moment.

I was aiming for a size five, and didn't trust the wide variety of sizing charts I found online. So I bought a little girl's shirt at our local gently-used children's clothing store and sized this sweater accordingly. I really love the way it turned out, and tonight will probably cast on another one in a size 6X. Since we got whalloped with another 10 inches of snow this weekend, it looks like I'll have plenty of sewing and knitting time tomorrow, too.

(I really hope this photos post OK - is it just me, or is anyone else seeing lots of red x's where blog photos ought to be????)

Seventeen quilts

2007-03-11T18:14:00.000-05:00

Last weekend’s quilt guild retreat was so much fun that it’s taken me a whole week to recover. OK, so I didn’t really need a whole week, but it was really fun nonetheless. Imagine a three-day, two-night slumber party with sewing machines. Who could ask for anything more?

We all worked on our own projects during the retreat, but there was plenty of time to put the finishing touches on some of our service project quilts for the county nursing home. I seem to be the collection point for everyone’s work, so I took advantage of a little sunshine this afternoon to photograph most of them.

Don’t start thinking this is all my work – it’s not! But isn’t it neat to see what happens when a couple of dozen quilters compile their scraps and a little time?

This stack of 17 quilts – plus a few more still being completed -- will go to the nursing home later this month. I’m looking forward to knowing that they’ll soon be exactly where they belong – not folded neatly in a colorful stack in my family room, but hopefully bringing a little warmth and cheer to folks who can really use just that.

Packed and ready to go

2007-03-01T20:19:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow begins a three-day quilt retreat!

I'm planning on finishing a number of quilting projects this weekend, one of which has been sitting partially completed for nearly two years. I also want to churn out a stack of receiving blankets, since the flannel's been washed and ready to sew since my mom's birthday in July. I have a number of quilts to bind as part of the guild's service project for a local nursing home. So I think I'll have more than enough to keep me busy through Sunday afternoon.

I had a great time at last year's retreat, and am really looking forward to this weekend. The conference center is only a few miles outside of town, so when Dan picks me up from work at noon tomorrow, I'll be dropped off, checked in, set up and sewing full-steam within the hour.

I was just going through my packing checklist, and was feeling great I had it all done.

Oops. Better add one more small bag -- for a change of clothes, PJs and a toothbrush.

There. NOW I'm ready.

Pink plaid and roses

2007-02-28T06:15:00.001-05:00

Is there any quilting project more satisfying than a big, sturdy, happy-looking baby quilt? If there is, I sure can't think of one.

I started cutting this one on Saturday afternoon and put the last stitches in the binding last night. It went together in a snap. I need to give it as a gift today, but there was no stress at all in meeting the deadline. Easy, easy, easy.

I read in one of Mary Hickey's great quilt books that she favors doing a very narrow inside border in a strong color to frame the piecework, then adding another wider border and repeating the strong color in the binding. I tend to follow that model whenever possible. Takes a lot of guesswork out of the fabric selection. And in this case, I love how the strong pink sets off the fun, quirky combination of the plaid and the rose print.

I love everything about baby quilts. I love picking the fabric. I love how the colors go together - inevitably, I tend to put green with the pink, and yellow with the blue. I love the simple designs that always work so well, like the classic Nine Patch/Snowball motif here. I love free-motion quilting through all the layers in a haphazard, meandering pattern. Most of all, I love thinking about the new little person who will use the finished product.

If I see this same quilt a few years from now, I hope it doesn't look anything like this. I hope it'll be rumpled from frequent dragging around, corner-chewing, naptime scrunching, and peekaboo-playing. I hope it'll show signs of many trips through the washer after inevitable urps, drools, and tea-party spills.

Could there be any better use of a baby quilt than that?If there is, I sure can't think of one.

Oscar-worthy knitting project

2007-02-25T11:53:00.000-05:00

Most movies barely register on my radar screen, but Dan and I did see the DVD version of "Little Miss Sunshine" a couple of weeks ago, and we loved it. So it's fun to see little Abigail Breslin getting so much attention for her Oscar nomination. I have no idea how her performance compares to the other Supporting Actress nominees, since I didn't see any of the other movies -- all I know is, it was nice to see a little girl play a character so completely guileless and genuine.

And when I pulled the Parade section out of this morning's paper, there she was on the cover, wearing the cutest knitted red bolero. Isn't that the sweetest little sweater? The details may not show up in this scan, but if you get Parade as your Sunday supplement, check it out! Looks very basic...raglan increases for the short cap sleeves, ribbed edges, and reverse stockinette for the body. Cute and so appropriate for her age.

I think the pattern looks simple enough to re-create without a pattern. Off-hand, I don't know any 10-year-olds to foist this upon, but I'm sure I can find a willing victim somewhere. This also brings the opportunity to sew a co-ordinating little sundress. Hmmm....I feel a Sunday project coming on....

More wee quilts, etc.

2007-02-20T17:27:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I had time to finish a stack of little items that had been close to completion for a few weeks. I just needed some uninterrupted time to stitch down binding, weave in loose ends, sew on snaps and ribbon trim, and do a few other things. On Saturday I’ll plan to run these -- and a few more like them -- over to the local NICU for the bereavement program director.

The quilt below still needs binding. I want to go with a light blue to make it a boy’s quilt, but haven’t run across the right color yet.

I also read a poignant story online recently about a mother working through a loss. One of her most precious keepsakes was a quilted flannel envelope/pocket folder where she kept her little son’s nametag from his isolette, his only little booties, and a few other items marking his brief life. From looking at her photos, I was able to put this together:

If the NICU finds something like this useful, I’ll make more. I think they could look very sweet and special with a few simple embellishments, flat eyelet trim, etc. And I imagine the soft flannel would be very comforting to the touch.

Warm socks, warm heart

2007-02-19T17:37:00.000-05:00

I haven’t completed any blog-worthy projects the last couple of weeks, although I did have a lot of fun knitting a pair of new wool socks for my husband, who is very prone to cold feet.

It sounds like such an old-fashioned activity, sock-knitting. Felt like I should have been sitting in a rocking chair by the wood stove, knitting away by the light of the fire after having just spun the wool with my own hands, and saying, “I’m a-nearly done with these here stockin’s, Paw, you won’t have them cold feet no more, and yer a mighty good man.”

No, the scene last week was more like this:

Look up weather report on Internet Tuesday afternoon.
Gasp at prediction of 24 inches of snow for Wednesday.
Drive madly to Michael’s after work Tuesday to get a second ball of black Paton’s wool before the snow begins, because the single ball I had on hand, as it turned out, wouldn’t be enough to finish the pair. (He’s got some sizeable feet, that mighty good man of mine.)
Spend Wednesday evening knitting socks while watching double episode of “Lost” and still not really following the bizarre story line that well. Not caring that much about the story line, either, but caring more about the socks, which are looking pretty nice.
Spend Thursday evening knitting socks while watching Grey’s Anatomy, and subsequently worrying that Meredith might actually die, and wishing that Izzie would just stop yapping about everything.
Spend Friday evening looking up three different online explanations of the Kitchener Stitch to graft the toes, then growling because my own execution of said stitch looks bumpy and odd, and I am forced to weave resulting holes together with black sewing thread.
Spend Saturday evening feeling all full of myself because my husband, having walked to work and home again in the cold and snow, reports warm and comfy feet, thanks to his new wool socks. This, of course, warms my heart even more.

So it may not have hearkened us back to Little House on the Prairie times, but gee, it really was fun to knit some warm wool socks for that mighty good man!

Eyelet gown

2007-02-03T12:14:00.000-05:00

This gown is going to the Emmazing Grace Foundation. The pattern is from Newborns in Need. The only change I made was to put a small casing around the edge of the sleeves and put in a little elastic.

There's not much else to say about projects like this that I haven't already written. So I'll just wrap it up and get it in the mail on Monday, with a prayer for the comfort of whatever family ends up needing it.

Mitts in the making

2007-01-31T21:51:00.000-05:00

For some time, I've been admiring the Fetching mitts from Knitty that so many folks are making. I longed to make some for my hip, urban daughter, but didn't know if they were really cool. I'm often wrong about these things.

Turns out the concept of fingerless mitts is not only cool, but uber-cool. So when Maureen was home a couple of weekends ago, she picked out some yarn that would also be acceptable. She selected a lavendar Paton's Brilliant, which was a total surprise to me - not her usual hip, urban black -- but she thought this color would look nice to complement an early-spring ensemble. This was fine with me, particularly since it would not require me to race madly to complete said mitts.

The gauge of my swatch was totally off the Fetching pattern requirements, though. I didn't want to increase my needle size, and I did want to stick with the yarn Maureen liked. So I gulped, drew a deep breath, and decided to just make up a pattern. I've made tons of mittens, after all. I can do math. How hard could it be?

So far, it's not been hard at all.

I'm doing a plaited cable right down the middle, gradual decreases to taper toward the wrist, and a few rows of ribbing on smaller-sized needles at the inside of the wrist to sort of draw it in a little. At this point, I have five to six needles going on the thing, so it's a little like handling a porcupine. Don't know how it'll all work out, but I'm having a lot of fun in the process.

Thanks to Tracy's recent post on Wool Windings about keeping good notes while knitting, I've been doing exactly that...so hopefully the left one will exactly mirror the right one.

They're not Fetching...but still fetching. And perhaps even cool.

What a great day!

2007-01-27T19:34:00.000-05:00

My fingers are sore, my shoulders ache, and I can't remember when I've had such an enjoyable day. Our quilt guild had an all-day sew-a-thon today to work on lap quilts for residents at the local county nursing facility. It was a great example of terrific teamwork and focus on a worthy goal.

We started the day with about 15 quilt tops in various stages of completion. Some had center blocks stitched together, but needed borders. Others just needed to be layered with batting and backing, then pinned and quilted.

We'd all brought some stash fabric along and tossed it into one jumbled pile from which we plucked borders and backing to complete the quilts. It was amazing how quickly they all came together with so many willing hands doing what needed to be done.

I was kicking myself that I forgot to take my camera along, because the finished gallery of nearly-completed quilts was truly spectacular. Many of the members chose to piece together some of the five-inch charm squares that we swapped each month for a couple of years -- so almost everyone could recognize some of their own fabric in our collaborative work.

We ended the afternoon with everyone taking home at least one of our mutual creations to complete with binding. We'll have them ready to deliver to the nursing home by next month's meeting. Here's one I brought home to bind - and I think I have just the right purple print in my stash to finish it off.

Here are two more that another member already finished -- isn't it great how random squares can turn out looking so cozy and warm?

Imagine 15 quilts like these, in a wide variety of color combinations, and you'll have a pretty good picture of what the guild churned out so efficiently today. We had a great time, and I hope some of those good feelings will transfer on to the ladies and gentlemen who will receive them a few weeks from now.

It pays to experiment

2007-01-22T18:52:00.000-05:00

Last time I combined a couple of crafts - by crocheting a purse out of strips of quilting fabric - the results were distinctly underwhelming. So I wasn't expecting much last weekend when I had the urge to experiment once again.

This time, I loved the results!

A pink floral yo-yo with a pearl button in the middle really jazzes up this little baby hat knit out of white Caron Simply Soft. I'd like to try a toddler-sized hat, too, with a cluster of three smaller yo-yos. (Here's a good tutorial for making yo-yos, by the way.)

And for my next trick...some leftover flannel from making receiving blankets was just right for a wide binding around this thick stockinette-stitch blanket. Plus, stitching and trimming the knitted fabric helped make me think I really could try steeking without breaking out in a nervous rash.

Experimentation - where would we be without it?

Some stuff to think about

2007-01-21T19:42:00.000-05:00

I ran across some fascinating posts in the archives of another blog recently. The writers were bluntly critical of what is commonly referred to as charity crafting. The most interesting thing about them was that, with a couple of exceptions, I could totally understand why the writers felt the way they do, and though I might not agree with them, they still offered a lot of valuable food for thought. So I thought I'd share some of the comments here, following up with my own observations.

"As a kid, I was often on the receiving end of "charity" which is why I hate that damn word...There is nothing uglier than the sentiment of "they're poor, they shouldn't be picky" which I sure had enough of to last me a lifetime by the time I was 6."

If this isn't a reminder to us about putting quality at the top of the list with the things we donate, I don't know what is. I also really favor the term "service projects" as opposed to "charity." No wordplay will change the sentiment if it's not sincere, but I really don't consider things like bereavement items for infants or chemotherapy hats for cancer patients to be "charity" at all. Same goes for sending slippers or cool ties to soldiers. They're opportunities to serve fellow citizens who are going through a trying time and need things that aren't readily available except through volunteers. The more important issue is not what word we use to define it, but our approach to quality - and not donating anything that we wouldn't be proud to use ourselves.

"For a lot of people it's a cheap way to feel virtuous and charitable without having to really be so--hence the crocheted afgans for a family that can't possibly need them."

"My personal feel is that if your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And so you get folks sending frilly pink hats to soldiers, just because they 'can.' "

Good reminders to look very closely at what the recipients really need, and the specs that will make those items most useful. It requires some research and communication with the potential recipient, be it an individual, agency or other ogranization. It also requires the willingness to recognize that, as much as we like to think that a handmade blanket can solve everything, sometimes it's better to write a check or volunteer in other ways - like supporting political candidates who can have much broader influence than most of us.

"I am stoutly against the idea of charity knitting (or crocheting). Partly because of the way the donors feel compelled to talk about how very charitable they are because it's charity outof CRAP. Partly because I cannot imagine most of the CRAP is wanted by the given-to."

"I fall into the camp of folks that thinks charity ought to be personal and not broadcast."

Yep, there are some self-righteous crafters out there who are into public piety to a nauseating degree. But I'm sorry if anyone thinks they represent the majority, because I'm convinced they don't. I also think it's unfair to assume that if people share ideas and examples of their service projects on blogs or other websites, they're doing it simply to say "look at me." I know I love to scour other blogs for ideas and inspiration, and if people didn't "broadcast" their accomplishments, I'd be missing a lot of good information that will, I hope, end up really making a positive difference to someone.

"I don't do charity knitting myself, but I have respect for people who do if they do it *right*. Make items that the charity can actually use, to the charity's specs, and you're golden. Make acrylic afghan squares for someone who has no possible use for them, and you're a posturing schmuck."

Unflattering, stinging remarks about what so many of us love to do? Yeah. But why not take a moment to pause, check our approach, and redouble our efforts to make sure we're doing things right?!

Beautiful

2007-01-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

I’ve gotten hooked lately on Neonatal Doc’s blog. His stories – some hopeful, some harrowing – are fueling my recent energy toward projects for NICU babies.

It had been awhile (since July, I guess) that I had completed any bereavement items for the families of babies who have lost their NICU struggle. I was reminded of the need for these items both through Neonatal Doc’s posts, and the blogs of many folks who comment regularly on his missives. Candy, who writes so openly about the loss of her daughter Emma in 2005, has been a great inspiration as well.

Every family’s story is different, but the one consistent theme I’ve noticed – both from health care providers and the parents themselves – is that if a heartbroken family must say goodbye to their baby, they want to know that their little one is beautiful. This may truly be the only thing they will ever really know about this child. Or if they have spent weeks or months dealing with the ventilators, tubes and tests of the NICU, they want to focus on the beauty of their baby away from all those un-beautiful things.

So the little blankets and outfits they use for that last goodbye or memorial service need to be absolutely beautiful as well. No shoddy work, no scratchy fabric, no dropped stitches. Nothing to detract from the beauty of this lovely, innocent child at peace.

With that in mind, I’m choosing soft, clear colors and purest whites for my latest batch of bereavement quilts and blankets. A little embroidery around the edges. Yarn with a bit of sheen. Satiny ribbon to hold the precious bundle. Nothing to call attention to itself…just something simple and lovely that, as the parents' last keepsake, will echo the pure beauty of their child.

I'm really moved by the stories I read in other blogs about parents' experiences, and I thank each one of them for the inspiration for this special service work.

Dapper little dressers

2007-01-07T20:02:00.000-05:00

A few years ago I dropped off a bag of things I'd made for the NICU at one of our local hospitals. The nurse admired one of the little blue flannel coverlets that was part of the batch, and said, "I'm going to take this in to one of the mothers right now. Her baby's doing a little better, but she's tired and feeling low today. This will really perk her up."

I was thinking of that mother this weekend as I worked on sewing this little batch of preemie-sized sleeveless shirts. Often referred to as "isolette shirts" or "diaper shirts," they probably don't serve as a great a purpose for the baby as a blanket or a hat. But the bright prints and stripes are so cheery, and I can just picture a little three-pounder snuggled in his little bassinet, wearing an unexpected bit of humor like one of these snappy little vests. And I can imagine that would be a rather welcome sight in an otherwise sterile environment.

I found the pattern here. It was incredibly easy - the only meticulous part was hand-sewing the bits of baby-soft Velcro on the shoulders and shirt front.

Thanks to Candy, I also found a similar pattern from Ginger Snaps designs, so I plan to order that one and try it out, too.

If these simple little shirts can cheer a tired mother for a moment...or make a weary NICU nurse pause and smile, seeing the wee one as real little kid and not just a patient...then they're a project well worth doing. Plus, they were really fun to make!

It's Red Scarf season!

2007-01-03T19:43:00.000-05:00

The Red Scarf project has picked up incredible steam among bloggers over recent months, and now that January has arrived, it's time to send the scarves in. Here's what I'll be popping in the mail to the Orphan Foundation of America tomorrow - along with a couple of gift cards to Subway (eat fresh!)

My photo is marginal at best, but I really like how the scarves turned out. The one on the left is knit in ordinary Caron Simply Soft, using the enjoyable rib stitch that's my new scarfy favorite. The other is knit in seed stitch out of a double strand of thin red chenille and something really fluffy - it's been a couple of months since I knit it, but I think it was Red Heart Light N' Lofty or something like that.

I just love the whole concept of this project. The Washington D.C.-based OFA mobilizes volunteers to send care packages for Valentine's Day to kids who have transitioned out of foster care and are now attending college. Most have little or no family support. The OFA helps with scholarships and plenty of other resources, too -- but volunteers can salute these determined kids by sending a little extra encouragement in the form of a handknit scarf.

I clearly remember how great it was getting packages from my folks when I was in college lo these many years ago. And as a mother, I loved sending them to Maureen, too. It's great to know that this organization will connect volunteers with kids who probably wouldn't be getting that little surprise otherwise.

For a much better look at some of the fabulous creations that knitters everywhere are sending to this great project, check out the photo gallery on Norma's Red Scarf blog.

Getting a Hedda myself

2007-01-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

Meet Hedda, who recently took up residence in my sewing room after we first met on eBay.

I'd been wanting one of these glass mannequin heads for some time. I thought she would come in handy for fitting and photographing chemotherapy caps, and I put her to use for that very purpose today.

I had enough of this pale blue geometric print to make several of these caps. Blue is a great choice for chemo caps because it's flattering on almost all patients. I want to dig out some more of my newly reorganized fabric to sew a few more hats to take to the cancer center next weekend. With Hedda so ably modeling them for me, I may even experiment with some embellishments on the band...

It's been so wonderful being off work for 10 days, but tomorrow it's time to head back to the office. Sigh. But I'm sure Hedda and Abigail will keep things in line in the sewing room while I'm away.

Visions of blue

2006-12-31T10:01:00.000-05:00

Fellow quilt guild member Jan brought a stack of blue-and-white pieced blocks to our monthly meeting back in November. She'd won them in an online swap. Pretty as they were, she didn't have an immediate use for them. Might they be useful in the guild's current community service project -- making lap quilts for residents of the local county nursing home?

"Absolutely," I told her. And I tucked them away in my sewing room for when I had a chance to do something with them.

Yesterday, while making good on my pledge to reorganize the sewing room, I ran across them. And it was the perfect time to stop everything, pull some marbled fabric out of the growing stack of blues, shove aside other stacks on the cutting mat to make some sashing strips, and get busy sewing. Just a short time later, Jan's blocks had become a great-looking quilt top.

My favorite block of the batch has a lovely Dresden look to it. Didn't the original quilter do a great job leaving a perfect quarter-inch seam allowance around all those points? The sashing framed it perfectly, and I love the thought of an older lady admiring the charming teapot in the middle.

In January, the guild plans a Saturday Sew Day when we'll layer, pin, baste, quilt and bind this quilt and a lot of others. We hope to have enough finished to make a nice donation to the nursing home.

Thanks, Jan, for a great contribution - and we'll never know who made all the blocks, but it's great to think about how a little effort from a lot of quilters will bring a lot of cozy comfort to someone who could really use it.

Quilting in the news - Chicago

2006-12-30T15:29:00.000-05:00

Here's a neat news story about a volunteer quilting program in Chicago, fueled by an interior designer who found herself awash in discontinued fabric samples.

Be sure and check out the video version, which tells the story more poignantly than words can...makes me want to head right back to my sewing machine, which I'm going to do right now!

Scrap yarn and hats

2006-12-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

Turns out the unraveled granny square centers worked well for making skinny stripes around various baby hats. Between those scraps and a lot of other yarn odds and ends, I had several happy hours of knitting with no real plan at all. Here's how a few of the hats turned out.

Three more days before heading back to the office...so tomorrow I'm going to make nice with my sewing machine, which I think is feeling a little jealous of the knitting needles...

A self-imposed challenge

2006-12-28T14:57:00.000-05:00

I guess there was a time when making crocheted granny squares seemed like a good idea to me. Because when I was re-organizing my yarn stash the day after Christmas, I ran across a little bag filled with several dozen crocheted squares about an inch and a half across.

I know a lot of grandmas have made these afghans over the years, and bless their hearts for doing so, but you know what? Granny squares make lousy afghans. They've got big gaping holes in them, so they're not warm. Accordingly, they seem to have no sense of utility unless you want your couch to look like it's straight from the old set of "Roseanne."

So it's safe to assume that I will not, in fact, be converting these long-ago-started granny square centers into crocheted afghans.

Instead, I decided to challenge myself to see what else I could do with them. It's ridiculous, really, because there's not enough yarn in the whole batch to really worry about, and I could have tossed the whole bag and not lost a moment's sleep over it. Still, it seemed like a fun idea, especially as I'm working on this batch of baby hats for the hospital. I've used more than half of the squares already, and I'll post some of the results tomorrow.

I want to use up all the squares in the bag, but I've already subtracted three of them for another purpose. It seems that the charming Abigail thinks they make great cat toys, too.

Have a merry little Christmas

2006-12-23T13:31:00.000-05:00

These past couple of weeks have been too hectic with work to leave much energy for major sewing projects. So it's been the perfect time to pick up the knitting needles in the evening and make a few baby things. Here's how a couple of non-traditional yarns knitted up - I love them!

When I dropped off the "Santa Baby" hats at the hospital last week, I asked the volunteer office if the maternity ward had any special needs for other donated items. Turns out they don't get nearly as many hand-knitted hats as they like to have on hand, which really surprised me - often hospitals are inundated with hats because they're the first thing folks think of making. I figured the Christmas hats would come in handy as a quirky little thing this week, but I really didn't expect they would have an ongoing need for hats.

So I've been enjoying the chance to relax with some of these small, finished-in-an-hour projects, and have been using a lot of brights from my stash. I'll make some pastels, too, but it's fun to use something a little funky as well.

It's especially nice to be reflecting on these sweet babies during this special season of the holy Babe in the Manger. I wish you a very warm and wonderful Christmas.

When mistakes don't really matter

2006-12-15T06:28:00.000-05:00

I broke one of my own rules this week.

The rule is this: Don't ever donate an item for somebody else to use that you wouldn't be perfectly proud to see on your own child or use yourself. In other words - don't turn out junk in the name of charity, because that's not charitable at all.

I still believe in that rule. But when my schoolteacher daughter called Wednesday night to tell me about a family with a lot of children who'd just lost everything in a fire, it seemed appropriate to recalibrate my internal formula of quality vs. utility.

I'd built up a fairly substantial box of stuff that was clearly not my best work. A knitted blanket in double-thick baby pastels, but too large and too heavy for a baby. Another in garishly bright yarn. A winter scarf that seemed a few stitches wider than it ought to be. A bunch of hats that were experiments for new styles and stitches - and close inspection revealed more than a few bungled rows and mis-aligned ribs.

I'm not a perfectionist in my craft work by any means. Still, I hadn't felt right about sending this stuff off to the hospital or the youth center. But it seemed a shame to let vanity keep a bunch of hats and blankets in a box in my guest room when they could, with all their flaws, be put to much better use.

So off the box went to Brooklyn yesterday - along with the little jester hat I completed on Sunday, and a flannel baby blanket a la my mother.

This family will need a lot more help getting back on their feet, but if the children have new blankets to cuddle with at night, I hope it'll help at least a little.

A little color, a lot of punch

2006-12-11T20:56:00.000-05:00

For some reason I tend to hang onto tiny little balls of yarn. I mean, the size of a golf ball. Just left-over odds and ends. It's ridiculous. I have a grocery bag of them and I've been adding to it for years. Lately, I've been meaning to throw the whole thing out.

But yesterday I actually discovered a use for them.

I was knitting a child's cap on standard off-white yarn and suddenly decided to give it more of a ski-cap sort of look by adding a little color. I've never done much multi-color knitting, but alternating every other stitch didn't seem too intimidating, and the little balls of leftover yarn were all I needed. And before I knew it, I had this:

There was just enough yarn left over to make the pom-poms for the corners of this little jester hat. The idea came from a preemie-sized hat in Knitting for Peace, but I sized this one up to fit a four- or five-year-old. I have to say, it's the best use of tiny amounts of scrap yarn that I've found in a long time!

Santa babies

2006-12-03T21:07:00.000-05:00

Last week I read in Tracy's terrific blog, Wool Windings, about some adorable Santa Hats and matching booties she'd been making for The Preemie Project. Her sets were so cute I could hardly wait to rush to my stash and dig out a skein of Caron Red Simply Soft and start some for our local hospital. I didn't have any fuzzy white yarn for the "fur," so I picked up something called "Masquerade," part of the new line of yarns that JoAnn's has come out with. It's sort of chenille-y, with a little wisp of sparkly nylon - just right for the cheerful trim. Here's how mine turned out.

These knit up so quickly that it'll be easy to add to this little batch and get them to the hospital well before Christmas. Thanks so much to Tracy for the inspiration!

Cat quilt completed

2006-11-30T06:16:00.000-05:00

This goes to Carm today - just the right size for her cat carrier. The happy little cat print, I hope, will make a cheery backdrop for some kitties in need of a loving new home.

A simple project for furry friends

2006-11-26T07:44:00.000-05:00

Our friend Carm volunteers most every weekend with the Chemung County SPCA. She takes shelter animals to community festivals and retail stores, and chats with folks about the joys of animal companionship. Everyone always enjoys seeing the sweet cats and lovable dogs the Carm takes on these community appearances, and many a homeless pet has gone to a loving home as a result of her outreach efforts.

For some time I've been wanting to make Carm some sturdy quilted cushions for the animal cages she takes on her weekend tours, and for the pets awaiting homes at the shelter as well. I took the day before Thanksgiving as a vacation day, and found myself with a little time to make these:

Nobody wants to think of these animals as merchandise -- but the fact is, they do catch the eye of a potential new family if their cages are somewhat dressed up and not just lined with a newspaper or an old towel. So I had a lot of fun sewing these 5-inch squares together and thinking about the families that might be welcoming new pets into their homes.

The SPCA likes 18-inch-square cushions for their cages at the shelter, so that's what I made. The cage Carm takes on her weekly road shows is a bit wider and deeper than that, but we stacked the the cushions up yesterday and little Charlie and Jimmy didn't mind one bit. Their sister Lily watched from a distance, but soon all three of them were snuggled into a comfy corner for a nap.

Carm's cage measures 20 x 30, and we both liked the idea of the cushion curling up on the sides, like a padded bumper in a baby's crib. So I'll make her a 24 x 34 cushion and her little fuzzy friends will have a cozy place to nap. Of course, these cushions will stand up to many machine washings, too.

If you'd like to make cage cushions for your local shelter, be sure and call to check their preferred sizes. Some shelters will accept knitted or crocheted blankets, but the fabric seems to make a tidier liner with no potential for snagging on little claws. The five-inch scrap squares work very well for a simple patchwork. I used a high-loft batting I had on hand, but you can use old towels or worn mattress covers, too, as long as they're clean.

I backed the cushions with some leftover home dec fabric for extra sturdiness. For the edges, you can do the right-sides-together, stitch-around-the-edges-leaving-an-opening-and-turn thing. Or, leave your backing about an inch larger than the top, and fold it over to make a binding, machine-stitching on the top side. Make machine bar-tacks at each corner of the patchwork - no handwork at all.

A quick and easy project -- and one that can really help some deserving animals feel cozy as they get a whole new lease on life.

We can all knit for peace

2006-11-21T18:24:00.000-05:00

I was in Barnes & Noble's last weekend, looking for a good book on felted knits. While I was hunting through the amply-stocked shelf of knitting books, another little jewel jumped into my hands instead:. "Knitting for Peace" by Betty Christiansen. Published just this year, it's a lovely compilation of ideas for community service crafting.

Not only does the author share wonderful profiles of many terrific organizations devoted to service projects -- she also includes all the sensible patterns we'll ever need. Simple, warm sweaters, vests, socks and classic hat patterns are all beautifully presented. I was happy to see The Ships Project featured, along with Warm Up America - accurately described as "the mother of all knitting charities."

"Knitting for Peace" is great reading and great inspiration at the same time.

Some warm November knitting

2006-11-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

Since the silent auction in September, I've mostly been making small gifts for various wonderful folks. An enjoyable-rib scarf in red Lamb's Pride for my friend Judith, who bravely left the security of her agency job and to go to graduate school. Another in black Paton's Brilliant for my daughter, who bravely teaches 21 first-graders in Brooklyn each day. Warm wool socks for my husband's mother, who at 84 still braves the Colorado snow to help her ailing friends get to the doctor and the grocery store. Some slippers for my nephew David, an Army medic recently returned to Baghdad, who's got all of us beat when it comes to bravery and honor.

With those projects caught up, I wanted to make a few children's hats for Maureen's classroom stash. I've slightly adapted Norma's Dulaan hat for more shaping at the top, and I really like the results. You won't believe how quickly these things whip up! And they're so thick and cushy, they trap a lot of air and will make little ears feel so snuggly and warm on a cold day. Here's how to make one for a middle-sized child:

Use two strands of any acrylic or acrylic/wool blend worsted weight yarn. On a 16-inch circular needle (size 13), cast on 42 stitches, place a marker, and join. Knit in stockinette stitch until piece measures about 8 inches long. Start your decrease rows, switching to DPNs as needed: K5, K2tog around; knit one row even; K4, K2tog around; knit one row even; K3, K2tog around, etc. etc. Continue decreasing until you've K2tog around, then break yarn and thread your tail through the remaining stitches, drawing tight to close.

Now you've got half a hat - and you'll pick up 42 stitches around your cast-on edge and make the same hat all over over again, letting it "grow" in the opposite direction. You'll end up with a weird-looking thing like this (about 21 inches long):

Then just punch one end in to fit inside the other. Tack the tops together if you want. Fold up a cuff, and you're done! (I did end up making a pom-pom for this one later, which was good mindless activity while watching the finals of Dancing With the Stars this week - way to go, Emmitt!!)

The interior of this hat measures about 19 inches around, but it's really stretchy - so it should fit almost any grade-school child or small adult with ease. Just add or subtract a few stitches to adjust the size. My gauge was 2.5 stitches per inch.

This hat is a great way to use up stash yarn in a hurry, and the results will warm your heart.

Silent auction - a big success!

2006-09-30T18:22:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at work on Friday afternoon with our department's silent auction to benefit United Way. Folks strolled through all day long, checking out the tables of great stuff we had on display and writing down bids. Handmade original jewelry was particularly popular. I had no idea so many of my co-workers were so adept at beading and jewelry-making -- it was a fun chance to appreciate one another's talents as well as raise some money for a good community cause.

I was happy that my quilted bags seemed to be a hit. Here's a shot of one of our two display tables, ready for eager bidders.

Here's a table runner I finished about 11 p.m. the night before. It actually came together quickly after I discovered three scrappy star blocks in warm reds and greens that I'd made for reasons unknown some time ago...

And here's the yoga bag that went along with Kelli's mat and personalized yoga lessons:

In all, we brought in nearly $1,700 to benefit United Way. Not the biggest fundraising event they'll have during the current campaign, but well worth doing - and a lot of fun for all of us.

Oh, and that purse I crocheted out of long strips of fabric? It didn't make it to the auction tables at all. In the end, I just didn't feel good enough about it to include it, especially when we had no lack of really nice items up for auction. I'll snip the red handles out of it and maybe sew the opening closed to make a potholder.

By the way, astute readers (who probably include my brother and two sisters) will notice I have changed the name of this blog to match the URL I chose when I set it up. I have no idea why I didn't have them match up from the very beginning, but anyway, it's done now!

Knitting with the stars

2006-09-19T20:57:00.000-05:00

Sixteen inches complete on the silent auction scarf tonight... and lots of fun watching you-know-what-show!!!

A bagalicious weekend

2006-09-17T19:39:00.000-05:00

My sewing machine was smokin' this weekend, and it felt great. Well, it felt great for me. I can't speak for my hard-working Janome.

I made this bag for the silent auction. The design is from Cindy Taylor Oates' "Purses, Bags and Totes" -- which, by the way, I highly recommend. Great instructions, giving precise dimensions of fabric pieces to cut, and a few full-sized patterns included - none of this "enlarge 245%" business like in most books, which I can't help but find awfully annoying when I spot a design I'd like to start right away. This book is also the source of the yoga bag I made last week (there are a couple of minor errors in the printed directions, but it's easy enough to figure out the "oops" when you're in the process of construction.)

Then, inspired by some of the clever designs I spotted on the Bagaholics blog, I started this little bag in some luscious autumn prints I had on hand. I foundation-pieced the wedges right onto the cotton batting, then put some decorative feather stitching in gold thread along the seams to quilt the thing. I haven't decided what handles to put on it yet...sophisticated black or woodsy bamboo?

On the knitting front, I completed this set of mittens that I had intended for my daughter's classroom supply. They turned out adult-sized, not first-grader sized -- but the wool/acrylic/mohair mix made them nice and soft and surprisingly great-looking. So I decided I'd add them to the silent auction, too, especially if I can get a scarf finished to go with them. I will probably start the scarf Tuesday night during "Dancing With the Stars" -- which, by the way, is absolutely the most entertaining television show to ever have been on the air, EH-VER.

I just have to hope that I won't get so excited watching Emmitt Smith dance that I drop a stitch... but that's a chance I'll just have to take.

Bags, hats and such

2006-09-16T09:28:00.000-05:00

Haven't had much time to blog lately -- have been consumed by an energy-zapping project at work, so I've just been sewing in little bits and pieces here and there. I did manage to finish a yoga bag for the silent auction, but unfortunately forgot to snap a photo of it before I gave it to the yoga-instructing co-worker who's giving yoga lessons (and a mat) for her silent auction contribution. It did turn out great, so maybe I'll remember to photograph it at the auction later this month. I have about three other bags in various stages of completion at home -- with the best of intentions of finishing them tomorrow...we'll see!

I've been doing just a bit of knitting, too, and discovered a terrific pattern for a child's hat. Check it out...the Dulann Hat on Norma's blog. The key is the bulk -- double strands and double thickness trap a lot of air, the key to keeping the noggin warm, so even acrylic yarn will work nicely. With my daughter teaching first grade in Brooklyn now, I knew I had to churn some out for her to keep in her classroom stash. Here's a shot I took of one of the hats, in situ at P.S. 58 before the start of school last month.

I've been thinking about making something similiar in adult sizes, using a more sedate yarn. My only question was whether the bulk would just look dumb. But I think nothing could look as dumb as this $325 Marc Jacobs mushroom hat I spotted in the window of Barney's in Manhattan!

Survey says...

2006-08-26T14:46:00.000-05:00

Well, the purse crocheted out of torn strips of fabrics got the thumbs-up from my co-workers for inclusion in the United Way silent auction ... but just barely.

Kelly said "absolutely" -- she thought it was "fun" and she liked the handles (a tactful way of overlooking possible dorkiness of the purse itself?)

Anna was definitely enthusiastic, saying it had a bohemian, "hippie-chick" quality that would easily draw bids.

Most diplomatic of all was 22-year-old Christie, who listens to edgy music and wears hip, urban black most of the time. She looked thoughtfully at my crocheted offering, paused for a moment, and then said with heartfelt kindness: "I wouldn't buy it - but other people might."

Y'gotta love a kid who can come up with that sort of honest answer on the fly!

When crafts collide, I can't decide

2006-08-22T17:57:00.000-05:00

The jury's still out on my most recent effort for the upcoming silent auction for United Way.

Well, OK, it hasn't exactly gone before a jury. But I definitely need to run this purse past some young, hip sorts to see if it fits into the "fun and quirky" category or in the Land of Eternal Dorkdom.

Here's how it started -- I bought Designer Style Handbags by Sherri Haab in my quest for inspirations for the silent auction. There are some really cute ideas in there, including some wacky decoupage techniques for cigar boxes -- stuff I'll never do, but it was fun to read about them. One purse was a simple bag crocheted out of 3/4-inch strips of fabric. The author points out that the print won't show on these narrow torn strips -- only the color matters. So, it's a good way to use up any oddball novelty fabric that's taking up room in your stash.

Oh....you mean like THIS?????

So a couple of hours later, here's what I had instead:

It's lined with muslin, so it certainly is functional as a handbag. My only anxiety is that it might really look more like a grandmotherly potholder. And since I've been the most vocal advocate of the "no icky crafts" rule for the silent auction, I'd better get some opinions from trusted fashionistas at work tomorrow.

If it gets a thumbs-down, at least I'll know that -- on a rainy Saturday afternoon in August -- I finally got some use out of that enormous size-P crochet hook in my craft drawer!

Getting ready for the silent auction

2006-08-20T19:24:00.000-05:00

Next month, my department at work will host another silent auction to benefit local United Way agencies.

Last year was our first year to do it, and it was a big hit with other employees. They loved all the handcrafted items, along with other things reflecting the personal talents of our team. One of my co-workers contributed a beautiful handwoven basket with embroidered liner; she also brought a set of gorgeous wine glasses with hand-painted embellishments. We had painted boxes, crocheted afghans. There were certificates for rounds of golf, and for family photo shoots for holiday cards. I brought a couple of quilts and a knitted scarf. It was quite a kick for all of us to have other employees wander through the department all day, ooo-ing and ahh-ing over our humble creations and writing down bids that would go toward the United Way campaign. One woman's fresh-baked apple pies brought in $40 each!

With quilted purses and totes being so popular right now, I thought I'd try my hand at making some for this year's fundraiser. I'm having so much fun! Here are a couple that I've completed so far.

I'm not sure I'm crazy about the embellishments, but I'll keep fiddling with them. In the meantime, it's fun to have little easy-to-complete projects to cross off the list.

It'll keep you in stitches

2006-08-18T19:05:00.000-05:00

My recent unpacking of stuff out of storage reunited me with one of the best knitting resources I've ever had: Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns. If you like to knit, it's absolutely worth the investment.

First published nearly 40 years ago, this book -- all 300 pages of it -- has straightforward, easy-to-understand instructions for hundreds and hundreds of different knitting stitches. And lest you feel overwhelmed by the choices, make note what the author wrote in the forward in 1968:

"...suppose that you are a novice knitter or one who has done only 'plain knitting ' for years and imagines that 'all that fancy work is too complicated.' It is important, then, for you to realize that many of the most attractive patterns are astonishingly simple to do. All the pattern stitches in this book can be done by anyone who knows just four basic knitting operations: how to knit, how to purl, how to make a yarn-over stitch and how to use a cable needle."

True to her word, Ms. Walker keeps everything easy. She organizes the stitches into basic categories - from simple knit-purl combinations and color-change patterns to eyelet patterns, fancy-texture patterns, cables and even lace.

Her brief commentary on each stitch (and ways to use it) is both helpful and charming. Few of us will probably be knitting the lace gloves or winter suits she sometimes mentions. But it's great to know which stitches are reversible, have little elasticity (or a lot), or feature "a pleasing texture of horizontal corrugations," as she writes about the Roman Rib Stitch.

In fact, the Roman Rib stitch worked out nicely on the little blanket I knit last week as Dan and I drove to Cincinatti and back. I'm so glad to have this book close at hand again!

To double your fun, check out the Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, too. Both are classics, and you'll never be at a loss for knitting inspiration again.

Helen's cap: It's tried and true!

2006-07-29T20:49:00.000-05:00

I got an e-mail from the volunteer director at the hospital on Thursday afternoon. The cancer treatment center was in need of more caps for chemotherapy patients -- did I have time to make some?

As any volunteer crafter knows, it's easy to snap into action when you get a request like this!

So Thursday after work, I poked around in my stash for some appropriate fabrics and found some long-forgotten half-yard lengths of cotton "blender fabrics" that I'd purchased a couple of years ago. For some reason they never seemed to lend themselves to any of my quilting projects, but they were absolutely perfect for chemotherapy caps - soft tone-on-tone motifs in pretty, flattering pastel shades. I had numerous other half-yards also suitable for caps, so I was good to go.

Friday night I cut out a dozen caps using Helen Littrell's wonderful pattern ...and here are the results of just a few hours at the machine this afternoon:

These caps don't look like much just piled up like this - I think I need to get a mannequin head to photograph them more appropriately. But Helen's Cover Cap design is the hands-down favorite among patients here. And, as I've written before, it goes together quickly and easily.

Tomorrow's agenda includes painting woodwork in the upstairs hallway and stairwell -- with a mid-afternoon break to drop the bag of caps off at the hospital.

A most enjoyable stitch

2006-07-25T19:54:00.000-05:00

I usually rely on the good ol' seed stitch when it comes to knitting winter scarves -- sometimes adding a section of ribbing in the middle so it molds nicely around the neck. Nothing wrong with it, but I felt (gasp!!!!!) a bit of rut coming on.

Then last week, I was visiting a new yarn shop. I saw a great scarf on display with handwritten instructions for the very simple stitch pattern pinned to it. As the friendly clerk was ringing up my yarn purchases, I asked if I could copy down the pattern, and she cheerfully encouraged me to do just that.

It's been too hot to work with the handspun wool I bought that day, so I tried out the new stitch on some of the Caron Simply Soft I seem to have in abundance. I started fiddling around and changing the pattern a little -- and came up with something that instantly pulled me out of my seed-stitch rut. It's good-looking, reversible, and knits up in a flash! I've only done a few inches so far, but I think it'll be perfect for next January's Red Scarf project.

I'm sure there's a name for this stitch somewhere - surely Barbara Walker has long since documented this one - but I couldn't find the official name for it, so I will simply refer to it as the Enjoyable Rib stitch:

***

Enjoyable-Rib Scarf

Cast on 38 stitches on size 8 needles (or any multiple of four, plus 2 for edge stitches, using any size needle that suits your yarn.)

Slip first stitch; *K1, K2tog, YO, P1* till one stitch remains - K last stitch.

That's it. Repeat that same row, over and over, always being careful to slip the first stitch of each row. Keep going for 60 inches or so, and bind off in pattern.

***

My photo doesn't do the stitch justice - in a yarn with a little bit of sheen, the rib columns stand out beautifully and no one will ever believe it's so wildly simple to do. Have fun with this -- I promise you'll find it very enjoyable, too!