craftastic

My mom came today to hang out and to bring their portable dishwasher to me to have, since ours died. I took advantage of her being here to finish this skirt to wear to a wedding of a church friend this afternoon. I didn't pay a cent for this skirt. The turquoise wool was in my stash that came with a lot of other awesome wool from my great-grandma's attic. And the lace that I sewed on top of it was from a curtain. Like mom said, "You don't need money; you just need clever." I felt really clever, too. The perfect midwinter skirt.

Because it's great blog fodder, too.

Sew, Mama, Sew is one of my favorite crafty blogs. I've been reading them forever. They always have great ideas, tutorials, and, my favorite, handmade holidays!! This month is sewing machine month, and there's a SWEET giveaway of a sewing machine this month.

Anyway, they're hosting a sewing machine meme, so I thought it sounded like a good idea, and needed something to post about since you already know that we went to Ikea for dinner and that Ellis got a new sleeping bag if you're following me on Facebook. meh.

What brand and model do you have?
Janome Sewist 509

How long have you had it?
2 yrs

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
$200

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
All of the above. Everything. clothes, bags, curtains. I sew with heavier weight home dec fabrics, and have even sewn knits on it.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I go in seasons. Sometimes almost daily, others about monthly.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
It's very smooth. I can sew a ton of layers of heavy material, and it just tromps over them like butter. So it's a real workhorse for me. I did not name it. I think of it as "the Sewist" which sounds sort of academic to me.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?
Well, this is a basic, basic, basic machine. I can do zigzag, buttonholes, and straight stitches. And they all work well.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
nope.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
I turned in my master's thesis, and the next week bought a sewing machine. :)

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Yes. This is a very good basic machine. It is reliable, extremely easy to use. The perfect first sewing machine. I had major sewing fear before I got this. And the ease of the machine made it easy for me to fall in love with sewing.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
I wanted to just get a basic machine when I was looking for this, my first machine. I wanted to know myself more as a sewer before I looked for my features. I think I'd be interested in some interesting stitch pattern options, and a programmable buttonhole. For me, though, I don't need much.

Do you have a dream machine?
I'd like something that could do anything. Could quilt, could serge, could embroider and be very good at the "basics" too.

(read more entries on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog)

The Art Star Craft Bazaar is big ol' annual craft show here in Philly. I don't really know how or where to find craft shows, but this one is pretty huge, and I love going. The first year I went it was sprawled through some parking lots in east Philly somewhere. Now it's on Penns Landing, with live music and a festive waterfront. Actually, the live music sounds like a great idea, but after awhile, I found it loud and annoying. I couldn't hear myself think or the people around me. It was just constant noise.

The funny thing is, I kept running into random people I know. First, there was a whole group of people I know from Covenant. They were more friends of friends while I was there, but I knew them well enough to spot them in a crowd eight years later and give hugs and "so what have you been doing"'s. And what's more, none of them live in Philly, but had converged for the weekend. So that was kind of fun. Then we ran into a couple that we actually met in New Orleans, though we're both from here. They live in center city, and we really need to keep in better touch. Sam and Sarah joined us for a little bit, too, which is always fun. (Sarah took some fun pics.)

It's so much fun and so inspiring to see people's work in real life. I wish I could do a whole report on my favorites. I did buy a cute zipper pouch from this seller, who made really awesome bags with bird designs, and who was sharing a booth with this seller, who did really cool Tshirt repurposing work. Both were really inspiring.

This is crossposted on Philly Makes!, a group blog I joined for artists, crafters, designers, and makers of all sorts who live in Philadelphia. The point is to make and post about one thing a week. I thought it would stretch myself creatively a little.

I haven't posted much in the last couple of weeks, because the main thing I had to make was room on my hard drive for more pics. Now my computer is sufficiently backed up, and I can post again!

I could write about the total failure jacket I made out of old Tshirts. The concept was cool and a little a propos for Earth Day--reduce, reuse, recycle and all that. But the jacket turned out really, really dumb looking. So I'm going to post about a little idea I had for my almost 4yo son's room.

We basically have a one bedroom apartment, since we are caretakers for a historic house. The room off the kitchen (commonly known as the dining room) is my son's room. I've done a lot towards making a kid's paradise in the very limited amount of space I have. The door between the kitchen and the room has windows on it, so we've always thrown a blanket over it to block the light from the kitchen at bedtime. But that's a little unsightly. So I FINALLY made a curtain (I hate making curtains) from some navy blue canvas I had lying around.

We can't waste any space, so I put a couple of large pockets on the bottom for storage. But the major addition was a felt board. I had a pile of acrylic felt (from back before I knew you could get/make wool felt, if you can believe it!) lying around that needed using up. I tried pinning and sewing first, but it was a little unwieldy, so I fused the edges down and then zigzagged the finish.

Ellis immediately loved it. He had me cutting stuff out as fast as I could (hence the stars and houses that are a little unshapely as I freehanded them). There's pockets right underneath the felt for easy storage of the felt pieces. I positioned the felt board just high enough that he really has to stand on a stool right now, but he never has to worry about his one-year-old brother messing it up.

The other new book I got was Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, projects you can do in a weekend. I made the Summer Blouse from the book. It was very simple and came together with no trouble at all. I haven't sewn many clothes for me successfully, so I was really happy with this. It was so easy to follow the directions. The patterns (included in the book) are also basic enough that they lend themselves to variation, which I love.

I used Ikea fabric with some red linen scraps as trim. The linen isn't that great for this use, though, because it frays, but it's so nice and soft. I also did 3/4 length sleeves.

Awhile ago I posted about getting new craft books. One of them was First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by Maryann Kohl. I've known about this book for a long time, but never got it, and I'm totally beating myself up about it, too, because it's crazy awesome! And because E is going on four doesn't make it any less enjoyable, though I will probably get Preschool Art for the summer. So if you're looking for a great activity book for your little one, get this one NOW!

We've done a couple of activities so far. The first was prompted by the arrival of a package in the mail. Bubble wrap printing:

Ellis had a lot of fun banging on the bubble wrap. It must've had a cool feeling to it.

The second one called for coffee filters, which we don't have since we have a reusable filter in our coffee machine. Color on them in washable marker and then spray with water.
I used tissue paper, but I think coffee filters would've been better. Ellis had a blast with this. And has appropriated the spray bottle and now there is a Spray With Water portion to every day. He does a pretty good job of spraying only preapproved areas (e.g. the windows, the chalkboard, the dishwasher, NOT people).

Ellis's favorite color is blue right now. So everything is blue.

Recently I found this post on bathtub paint. Since Ellis has been going through an anti-bath phase, I that I would try it with him. It's just cornstarch, soap, and food coloring. It was a huge hit with him. I made it for the second time this evening, and he was in the tub for almost an hour! And it washes off like a dream, too (it is, after all, basically soap). It is so easy and so low-mess-impact, that bathtub paint is my new favorite thing.

I'm so excited to have Heather Ross's new book arrive in the mail today: Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching. I think it's one of my favorite books yet. I've been a huge fan of Heather Ross fabrics, and this book is going to be so fun to combine with them. There are four sections: stuff for home, etc, clothing i can sew for ME, and clothing I can sew for kids, as well as a section on sewing basics, which is really helpful and informative, even for someone like me, who has a bit of experience under her belt. Today I learned, for instance, to finish off a buttonhole with a lockstitch. Didn't know that. I'm most excited about the section on things to sew for ME! Couple shirts, dresses, pants, skirts. Love it! And they're versatile (check out the Weekend Design Challenge on Heather's website). And I love that the kids stuff is beyond just elastic waist pants and aprons. Shirts and little dresses, too. I'm very excited!!

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The other book I got today (so that I would get free super saver shipping), was MaryAnn Kohl's First Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos. We'll be having a lot of fun with that pretty soon.

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ETA: Heather Ross is going to be in town for a book signing. I'm so excited!!! I really hope I can make it!!!

I made two new pairs of pants for Marlowe. I did a combination of an elastic waist/ drawstring. The details are Heather Ross fabric that I splurged on and just love, love, love. Aren't those fishies so fun? (and, yes, he is standing briefly without holding on) And the colors of the frogs and turtles make me think of summer. I'm still perfecting some things, but I'm liking the direction the pants are taking, and Marlowe is a (mostly) willing model.

Glitter glue, stickers, paper hearts. Valentines for a classfull and great-grandmothers, too.

Chocolate chip heart pancakes. I spray the metal heart cookie cutters and make perfect hearts.

Hanging with my lovies. A little shopping. Yummy food.

Pink socks with hearts and anchors.