Bibliosophy: Art, Craft, and Home

Quickest, Easiest Project Ever

 
A sewing machine cover!  While re-working my sewing area, I realized the need for a cover to keep my machine clean, dust-free, and in tip top form.  I knew it couldn't be a complicated project, or take more than 15 minutes really, because my goal was to complete it with both little ones awake!  Ambitious, yes, and kind of crazy.

 
But, thanks to some ready-made materials, it cut my finishing time down, and I emerged from the (messier) sewing room 15 minutes later with a completed project.  Here's what I did:

Gather your materials.  I used a dish towel from Target, which measured 18" x 28."  Add to this a pack of double-fold bias binding in a coordinating color and you're set.
Now, simply cut four ties from the bias binding.  I made mine about 15" long, because I like to tie big bows:)  Fold under each edge of the tie to enclose the raw edge, and edge stitch the open edges of the tie closed.

Fold your dishtowel in half, short edges together, and decide where you want your ties placed on each side.  Mark this area with a pin on each side.  Carefully pin a tie to the marked area on your towel sides, placing the end of the tie on the wrong side of the towel, overlapping about 1/2."      

This is how it should look when the dishtowel is folded...
 
And here's a view of the ties with the towel unfolded.
 
Sew the ties down securely, and repeat for the other side.

Done!  Now you can either leave it plain, or embellish to your heart's content.  Put it on your machine and enjoy!

 

Dyeing Playsilks

 
This was really fun.  I've been looking at playsilks for the kids for a while now, but at $16.00 a pop for 100% silk ones, they may only ever have had one to play with!  But, with a little DIY, we now have 10 lovely silkies to imagine with, each only about $2.50.  I loosely used the instructions found here, and experimented a little with timing and coloring.
After ordering my 22 x 22" silks from here, I unearthed my Wilton cake dyes from a previous yarn dyeing project and made my color choices.  With my very limited selection, I was going for a blue, purple, pink/red, orange, and green. 
Starting with "Kelly Green," I filled my soup pot about 1/2 full and heated to boiling.  Turned it down to med-low, and added my food coloring (about 1 1/2 tsp.) and white vinegar (about 3 Tbsp.).  Mix it all together, and add your scarves (which you have previously gotten wet, so they will take up the dye easier).  Stir them around, and "steep" for about 15-20 minutes.  Rinse in a colander in the sink with cool water, squeeze out, and hang to dry.  Easy.  Do it again for the other colors you want. 

One catch: the cake dye can be completely unpredictable, and colors *often* don't turn out the way you expect.  My Kelly Green scarves?  Where are they?
After steeping, the green color totally washed out in the rinse, and I was left with a pretty turquoise blue.  Lovely, but not what I was going for.  I tried it twice to make sure I hadn't goofed something, but for some reason the blue is all that stuck (hence the four blue scarves).  I plan to try to over-dye the lighter two blue scarves with another green at a later date.  My pinks were a little unpredictable too, with the "Creamy Peach" turning out just a shade lighter than the "Pink" dye I used.  The "Violet" was a rousing success though, and I've got two more undyed scarves to get my yellow/orange color on later.
Great fun overall, and the set as it stands now will be going to the little girl for a first birthday present!  I chose to make playsilks that are 22" square, because I thought the smaller size would be more suitable for my little ones.  They'll probably be mainly used for peekaboo, music and movement, and of course, general silliness.  Because anything you can put on your head is still supremely funny around here.

So, if you've done any dyeing, can you point me to some reliable greens and oranges?

Sewing Bee - Another One

 
Here again with my sewing essentials....some pretty Anna Maria Horner voile this time, water, and an empty bag of peanut M&M's.... 

I'm a little late to the cotton voile party, and boy is it gorgeous.  Beautiful to work with, fantastic drape, and it will be so cool when the hot weather comes.  I was trying to illustrate in the above picture how perfectly it gathers too, without any interference.  I just set my stitch length to the longest setting, basted, and voila: perfect gathers.
This was the same maternity top I made last time, from the Japanese craft book Lovely Maternity Dresses.  I like it even more this time with the same fabric on the yoke and the rest of the body.  The dark colors of the voile made a lining unnecessary, and I can't wait to wear it come spring!
 
Please come Spring!

It's all Japanese to me

  In my desperation to find some cute maternity patterns, I turned to a sewing book in Japanese.  Eek!  It was risky, but I've seen some beautiful garments created from these sewing patterns.  You can see some great examples on this site.  With my pattern book, Lovely Maternity Dresses in hand, I read up on how exactly to succeed with these instructions.  Two useful websites came up in the search, The Purl Bee's tutorial, and Label-Free's tutorial.  If you've used American pattern books before where the pieces are all printed on one page, it's an easy jump to using these patterns.  You still trace all your pieces onto tracing paper in your chosen size from the master sheet, except with Japanese patterns, you have to add your seam allowances.  This is very important of course to achieve a garment that actually fits.  Thank goodness I did read all this before I started, as I have a tendency to jump in first, check later.
There are some very sweet patterns in this book, and the diagrams are fantastic.  All you really need are the schematics and measurements, and, if you've sewn before, it's pretty easy to figure out what to do.  I almost like it better than regular patterns, as the schematics are all on one page, it's perfect for glancing down quickly in the middle of sewing.  I've always hated wrestling those extra-wide, folded pattern instructions.
Some sewing essentials: pins, needles, and peanut M & M's....
And a finished spring maternity top!  The fit is wonderful, with plenty of room for a growing belly, and I'm looking forward to making more, next time in a voile.  The fabric used here is quilting weight cotton, which is a tad heavy for a flowy shirt like this.  The fabric used in the book design looks like a voile or lawn, or perhaps even a knit jersey?:
  In any case, though my choice of fabrics could improve, I'm extremely pleased that the pattern fit and works, and all that hard work of tracing the pieces and deciphering (guessing) at the Japanese paid off.  Can't wait to make more...

*If you want to see what others are sewing, visit Adirondack Mama's Sewing Bee...

**Special thanks to The Prairie Girl for sending me her copy of Ottobre Magazine with maternity patterns!**

Around the workroom

 
 
 
 

 
"Workroom" has become a loose term around here, as I lost my very own space in our move.  There are now at least 4 different areas housing art and craft supplies strewn around the house.  It works much better this way though, as I can easily access a work-in-progress in whatever part of the house I'm in at the time!  Our bedroom has a lovely sunny corner that houses my sewing table, just awaiting a three-prong outlet so I can set up my machine (we'll see when that happens!).  Until then, I'm knitting furiously, and quickly pull out my sewing machine during naptimes.  Some baby kimonos are in process, a *secret* project, and that big pile of fabric destined for maternity and post-partum wear.  Very exciting!

Does anyone have experience sewing maternity clothes?  I purchased a Japanese dress book (which I hope to share soon) with maternity wear, and it has some great patterns.  The Joann Fabrics-type stores have about one maternity pattern per book, so I'm out of luck there.  Any other good resources you have to share?

Tiny Things

 
I was looking back through blog pictures of the kids this last year, and came across a post where I sewed something with both babies around.  What?!  I can't even imagine that now.  My boy is much too much interested in the sewing foot pedal these days, and now that the little miss is crawling, sewing is just not happening much.

I managed to squeeze in one tiny dud though for the new baby one evening, so at least #3 will have a coming home jacket. 

 
This is really very small, it will probably only be worn the first week or two, but it is always nice to have some clothes that actually fit those little newborn bodies.  I went out on a limb and used a free Citronille pattern, in French, and muddled through.  I did the Manteau pattern from the Marie Claire Idees website, found here.  I'm really dying to get my hands on some of the little summer top patterns for girls, and simple shirts for boys, but I can't quite justify the atrocious shipping costs for a few paper patterns.  yet.  Maybe if I wait a few months I'll become more accustomed to the idea:)  This little jacket is made from some thrifted linen napkins, with a stash neutral lining, and a vintage doily and button to dress it up.

The new babe will also have this summer sweater to bum around in:

 
A 4 Seasons Jacket by Just Jussi.  This Koigu Mori has been in my stash for years, and found its perfect place in this little sweater. 

The pile has started; now I'm on the lookout for yarn for the baby blanket!

A little problem

Do you see it?  Yes; the just-finished Milo vest is entirely to big for the girl.  It is even too big for Little Guy, so my hopes of her wearing it this fall and winter are gone.  But of course it will fit eventually; just hopefully not in the heat of summer.
A new one will be started in a much smaller size...
And other plans are being made for fall wardrobes.  I always seem to be a season behind, knitting spring sweaters in summer, or sewing long-sleeve tunics just as it gets hot.  These stash fabrics will become Quick change trousers, from Handmade Beginnings, and I'm hoping to have at least 4 wool vests to match, again, all from stash.
 In the end, I should just have to buy some long-sleeve onesies, and perhaps socks, and the little girl will be set.  Then on to the tougher challenge of outfitting Little Guy...

finished quiltiness

A finished Big Stitches Quilt, just in time for a trip to the northwoods of Wisconsin!  The batting is a thrifted wool blanket, so it will keep us extra warm on those still-chilly spring nights.

Yes, we are going to make our way to my parent's cabin, in the car, for 13 hours, with two babies.  We are crazy.  DH expects them to do worse than we think, and I expect them to do better.  Hopefully he's the one who's surprised, and pleasantly.

So all you more veteran parents, any handy tips and tricks for keeping the progeny content on long car trips?

a busy day

We did a lot of creating yesterday:

A surprise gift for a grandma....

Some new prints...

And more stitches on the Big Stitches Quilt; with a few more, we'll be done!

What have you been making lately?

loving this yellow

...especially on the boy with the milky, cookie-crumbly face!