Those of you who have been reading my blog for years and years may have noticed my tendency to make one thing and then think how fun to have a series of that thing and then never do it. So in that grand Wee Wonderfuls tradition, here is my first installment of “sewing things from the thrift store on other things from the thrift store”
I just put a coffee in the freezer so I can chug it down and see if I can salvage any of this day! I have a long list, of things I'm actually looking forward to doing, but I can't seem to get out putter-around-craft-room with breaks of looking-stuff-up-on-the internet mode. I'm trying to remember if I've ever crocheted a toy. I don't think I have. I hate searching things on my blog because a. I can never find them and b. when I do find things all the links are broken! This is the downside to blogging for 10+ years. So far today I did sew and stuff and potentially bizarre bunny body and a perfectly acceptable kitty head. If I'm not too distracted looking up amigurumi patterns I will get back to them after the coffee treatment.
Does anyone else feel guilty picking wildflowers from parks? I'm a weirdo. I try to remind myself they'll mow or burn these all off in a month or so anyway. And literally every untended square foot of Illinois is covered in them. Still, I have to run to the car like a criminal after I've picked a handful.
I can remember how to make a circle. Hey! This is reminding me that I need to get my crocheted afghan out again now that it's Fall.
When I go over to get photo links for blogging it's fun to see what random photos come up on my flickr activity feed when people like them. Fall stitchettes! Little mice having tea with an acorn tea kettle. Shot outside against our red fence. I'll have to show this to Tim. Our fence is sooo not that red anymore, crazytown.
I made a deal with myself that I could buy thrifted woolens only if I used them right up and that I couldn’t move on to next pile until I’d done so. I made a little blue bear friend from the rest of this giant sweater vest. I wasn’t sure it’d felted up tight enough for stuffing but it did hold up well.
Now I can start on this pile! This crazy soft gray sweater had the tags ripped out but if felt like angora or cashmere, something super fuzzy soft. It felted up wonderfully and it was an XL sweater so now I have a LOT of very furry gray. I was thinking maybe some kitties. I also found a tweed skirt and a plaid mini skirt to go with the gray. I wish I had more color though. I really want to go back to thrift but am trying to be frugal.
I was good yesterday and confined spending to the farmers market and the health food store. And today I’m busy working my shift at the school library so that’ll keep me out of trouble. Tomorrow though? Friday is a perfect thrifting day! I should spend my day out walking or biking, collecting more wildflowers.
Making a fox has been on my to-do list for maybe 5 years now? I can’t kick the feeling that I did make this already?? It’s the giant tail. I for sure had a prototype going with a giant tail but I don’t think the final toy was never made. Tim thinks the tail is too big but I think it’s awesome. It’s definitely not a feature for a dress up doll but I just sewed it on there over her outfit. What’s a fox without a giant tail?
Here’s my pile of thrift that I used to make her, a merino wool sweater, a ginormous navy speckled sweater vest and a boy’s flannel shirt. I have lots of navy left and I think it may be a bear if I can find a good accent fabric.
Doesn’t she look like she’s headed to a football game? I very tempted to put a letter on that sweater.
Phoebe and I have been watching back seasons of Project Runway. It’s been a very interesting experience. In general we don’t watch much (any?) reality tv. Oh, we watched Master Chef Jr! And Oscar and Phoebe both loved it, which was mildly irritating because they’re still such picky eaters. But the nice thing about that show, aimed at kids, about kids, was there was no drama or fighting. So far we’ve been lucky with Project Runway. I think we picked pretty tame seasons to start with and when the drama does come up we try to make it an opportunity to talk about conflicts. How they’re all very tired and stressed and how you have to watch what you say because it can be taken the wrong way. And then we talk about how the show edits what happens to make it seem like much more of a big deal than it is. Ha! Bet you feel sorry for my kids now don’t ya? Watching tv with us doesn’t sound like much fun! But really, we’re loving the show. Watching the creative process, all the sewing, all the cool fashion moments. And we’re casting our votes for best and worst. Super fun! Especially the really out there stuff, the unconventional materials challenges, the giant puffy dresses made out of greeting cards or parachutes. Phoebe’s 8 yo fashion taste is awesome. The bigger and “fancier” something is the more she loves it, very haute couture. So, anyhoo, all to get to what I’m doing today. I dragged up from the basement all my old notebooks full of pages I’d pulled from fashion magazines over the years. You know, before pinterest. I was thinking Phoebe might find it fun to look through them and find her favorites. And I might take some pics of some of my favorites and add them to my pinterest boards so I couldn’t see them more often than almost never.
It seemed like a silly thing to do, make another blanket/duvet/quilt item in the middle of Summer, but this is the Summer to do it! This thing has seen plenty of use already. I had 2 half yards of cute new Emily Isabella for Birch Organic fabric that had just arrived in the mail and I thought if only I could make something fast and not even put this in my stash. I cut it into 9″x9″ squares and cut out more squares of coordinating fabric and pieced it together on Phoebe’s new HK sewing machine sitting on my dining room table. I wanted it to be puffy so instead of using batting I bought a summer weight twin bed duvet at ikea for $12 and folde it in half to be the innards of this lap blanket. The backing is minkee from JoAnns. My kids paw all over it every time we’re at the store so I finally bought some. I “tied” it together by sewing poms through at the intersections. I meant it to be a sofa blanket sort of deal so I wasn’t too concerned about wear and tear. Although Oscar has taken it for his room so we’ll see how it holds up. Cute, fast, soft, pouffy and perfect for this rainy cool Summer.
Phoebe got a sewing machine for her 8th birthday last week. She's been sewing lots of practice swatches and made a cute little quilt for her doll. Today we made a book bag. We're headed over to the library to get her first library card so she decided she needed a pocket to hold her library card and that it should be a sun. Zippers as straps was a co-decision, mostly hers because she dug them out. The fabric choice though was all me. She is so impatient. She grabs the first thing she touches, yep, that's it. I had to steer her gently.
A captivating gang of 24 huggable, lovable creatures to sew—from classics like Margot, a topsy-turvy doll, and the button-jointed teddy bear Bjorn Bjornson, to irresistible Evelyn, a wool felt inchworm decked out in mod glasses and a kerchief, and Koji, a fiercely cute spiked softie monster. There’s something for everyone here—from kids to grown-ups and from beginning sewers to advanced dollmakers. Published by STC Craft, August, 2010.
