It only took five years.

I don't knit so often these days.  Sewing is so much faster... and more immediately gratifying.  I do love the process of knitting.  It just takes so loooong.  And, in this case, it really did.  I began this little raglan sweater for my daughter just after she was born.  When she grew beyond the size of the sweater before I had completed it, I decided it would go to my nephew instead, who is 15 months younger.

Fast forward to now.  My daughter will turn five later this month, and my nephew is three.  The sweater went to neither of them.  I finally found occasion to finish it, though, about two weeks ago.  I needed to donate something to a silent auction -- a fundraiser for my daughter's preschool -- and I remembered this project.  So I pulled it out of it's dark hiding place, added the buttons, and sewed the little pocket closed.  It took all of 15 minutes.  And it's finally finished!  At last!

Pretty, happy eggs

I love coloring Easter eggs.  I always have.  I love the way a simple white egg is transformed into something so bright and lovely, so evocative of spring.  As a kid I remember drawing elaborate patterns with crayon on eggs, before dipping them into the dye.  And I remember my dad drawing each of our portraits (yes, on the eggs), then trying to color them just long enough in pink dye to look kind of like our pink skin.  Often, they looked instead like we had been out in the sun too long!  But we loved the effort he put into each careful drawing, my sister and I giggling over the results.

On Sunday afternoon, my son and daughter and I sat down to dye eggs.  My son is careful and meticulous like me.  My daughter loves the transformation, throwing eggs into dye baths with abandon, just to see the surprising results.  This time we used washi tape (regular masking tape would work fine, too), rubber bands, round stickers, and a white crayon to decorate our eggs.  I especially liked the unexpected results, such as the way the pink dye (only the pink!) created a speckled finish for some unknown reason, and the way the color seeped behind the stickers and some of the tape for a tie-dye effect.  My son was pretty disappointed about the latter, since he had a fully formed idea of how he wanted his polka-dot egg to look!

Now my daughter asks every day if we can dye eggs again.  I promised we'd do it again tonight, and I expect we'll find another time, too, before Easter arrives.  It's a good thing my family likes hard-boiled eggs!

P.S.:  My overall favorite is the asterisk egg!  I dyed it in pink first (to get the speckle effect), then in yellow (for a nice warm shade of orange -- my favorite color!).  But, really, I love them all.

Featured in Stitch!

Yippee!!  I still can hardly believe it!  I am thrilled and honored to have two projects featured in the Summer 2012 issue of my very favorite sewing magazine, Stitch!  Stitch is a quarterly special issue modern sewing magazine from Interweave press, and I've been a huge fan since it's very first issue.  I designed the linen Good Day Sunshine pillow cover specifically for the issue.

The Little Apple Apron is actually a few years old.  I designed it as a gift for my son three years ago but it seemed perfect for the Summer issue.  I'm glad they thought so, too!  The image on the left is courtesy of Stitch, the one on the right is my own, of course, with my then-five-year-old hamming it up for the camera!

Again, my Good Day Sunshine pillow cover (photo courtesy of Stitch), and Little Apple Apron (my own photo).

Patterns and instructions for making both of these projects can be found in Stitch Summer 2012, available in select stores, and online, now!

Chai in a jar

Some afternoons, when I'm dragging a bit and I don't want/need another cup of coffee, a mug of chai tea is just the thing to hit the spot.  It's spicy, a bit sweet, and refreshing... but also a wee bit of a pain to make.  Until I discovered a recipe for this yummy make-ahead chai concentrate, made with sweetened condensed milk.  Just mix all the ingredients in a jar and allow to sit overnight.  Then add a tablespoon or more of the mixture to a cup of strong black tea.  The concentrate will keep, refrigerated, for weeks.  If you enjoy it as much as I do, though, you'll need to mix up a new batch long before that!

The recipe below is a modified version of the one in Pip Lincolne's book Sew La Tea Do, and similar to this one.

RECIPE:

14 ounces organic or non-organic sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Enjoy!

Skillz: Bag Construction (Part 2)

Zippers.  Sure, I've sewn a handful of zippers into clothing and a pillow cover, but I've never been comfortable sewing zippers.  I could follow the instructions in a pattern well enough, but ask me to sew in a zipper without a pattern, and I'd be lost.  Until last month, that is.  As part of my goal to learn a brand new skill, I wanted to really learn how to sew a zipper in a bag.  A bag with a lining.

I purchased Elizabeth Hartman's Perfect Zip Bags pattern here.  The pattern has instructions for making three different bag styles, each in a small and large size.  Plus it offers a bunch of strap options and guidelines for adding patchwork details, so you can really make an endless variety of bags from this one pattern.  Pretty cool.

I made this cute little lined wristlet bag (shown in the photos above)... with a zipper!  It's the Style A bag from the pattern, in the larger size.  I love Elizabeth's technique of finishing each end of the zipper with fabric tape before stitching the zipper to the bag.  It makes for a really professional-looking detail.

Once I finished the wristlet from the Perfect Zip Bags pattern, I knew I needed to practice with a design of my own.  I had enough canvas scraps left from my aprons to make this simple zipper pouch.  It's similar to the Style C bags, but I modified the proportions and details to make it my own.

What new sewing techniques, or other skills, do you want to master?

Skillz: Bag Construction (Part 1)

Admittedly, I've been terrible about following through on my first goal of the new year:  to "blog more regularly."  On the other hand, I've managed to challenge myself by learning a new skill (which is goal number four!).  More than one new skill, really. I both furthered my pattern making skills and learned a whole lot about bag construction (including the effects of different types of interfacing, how to sew in a neat and tidy zipper [stay tuned for installment part 2], and more).  My first project was to create a pattern for (and then construct) a messenger bag for a child.

The idea came from a sketch I drew over a year ago, and then found while looking back through my sketchbook.  I started by looking at all the messenger bags in our house, as well as at patterns of bags in my ever-growing sewing book collection (I clearly have an addiction!).  Then I made two muslins:  one with only a front and back panel and a gusseted bottom; the other with a separate bottom/side panel to connect the front and back.  I much preferred the second construction.  I also used the same muslin technique to try out different ways of constructing a pocket that would best hold a water bottle (see the final result below).

Next, I researched different types of interfacings (or stabilizer) and then tested several types on fabric scraps before settling on a woven interfacing for the main denim fabric of the bag and a light-weight non-woven for the cotton lining.  Before this project, standing in front of the bolts of interfacings at a fabric store made my head spin, and I certainly had no idea there was such a thing as woven interfacing.  Now, it's still a bit overwhelming, but not quite as much of a mystery.

So, as you may by now have gathered, the bag features a large appliqued letter which just happens (hee-hee) to be the first initial of my son's name.  Here he is showing off his new bag!  Coming later this week:  more bags, this time with zippers!

Sunday Market

Hey folks!  This post is for all you Chicagoland people.  The pics above are a preview of a few of the items I'll have for sale this Sunday (2/12) at the Urban Folk Circuit's February Market.  Besides aprons, scarves, bottle cap magnets (all maps this time!) and owls, there will be new "thank you" greeting cards, kid's t-shirts, felted wool jewelry, and really cool market bags made from upcycled t-shirts.  Plus... maybe... a Valentine's Day surprise or two.  Oh, yeah.  There will also be live music and 19 other vendors selling their awesome goods!!

Just in case that's not enough to entice you, I should probably mention the theme of this month's market is "Handmade Sexy!" (just in time for Valentine's Day).  You can check out the Facebook event page here.

Hope to see you there!