Bibliosophy Handmade

loving this yellow

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

elevating dinner

Growing up we were fortunate to always eat dinner together as a family, and we are happy to continue that tradition with our kids.  While meal-times these days usually consist of one (or both) babies fussing/crying, I know there will come a day when we will all sit in our own seats, and converse civilly with each other.  Little Guy will say, "And how was your day, Mother?"  (This would be right after he rises up and calls me blessed:)  Inspired by this post, and in anticipation of that day, I made this set of place-mats.

All made from the stash with some vintage quilt squares and rick-rack for embellishment.  The rick-rack is strategically placed to give little helpers a reminder as to where napkins and forks go.

A very fun, quick project, for the nap times when I'm too tired to fall asleep!  And one of my favorite parts, the back of the place-mats is fabric from a tablecloth from one of the babies' great-grandmas.

A little remembering of family past, and much hope for our family's future! 

What meal time rituals does your family enjoy?

summer skirt

 

Inspired by Dottie Angel's apron skirt.  This was very fun to make, since it only took about 15 minutes (minus the hem, this still needs to be done once I've got my post-baby body back).  The underskirt is white linen, with a vintage apron overskirt, and vintage tea towel and doily embellishment.  For the underskirt, I used Angry Chicken's 5-minute skirt instructions: fantastic, and the fold-over-elastic is very satisfying!  Now I just need a lacy slip to go underneath, and I've started my summer wardrobe!

back in the swing of things

The babies and I did some sewing on Monday, and it worked quite well!  Little Guy played happily, and Miss E. did her normal sleeping thing.  I had wanted to make them both Easter bunnies, and started one with a pattern from The Purl Bee, but it wasn't a cute bunny; in fact, it looked a little odd and threatening.  So, we changed plans and went with a clearly-cute bunny pattern from Wee Wonderfuls.  The Wee Bunny, and it's free, and it's very easy; like, you-can-make-one-in-20-minutes easy.  This version is for the little girl, and Little Guy is getting a more masculine version:)  If you make one yourself, I would definitely weight the bottom with some beans, as it's a little too flimsy to stand up with just stuffing.

These are going in their Easter baskets along with a book, and, since they're babies, no candy!  Isn't that great?!  You can not give them candy and they don't even notice or care!  There will be a token chocolate bunny for the tired parents though:)

What are you putting in your Easter baskets?

still gestating

Our baby, that is, but thankfully, not this quilt!  Apparently some of my projects take as long to cook as my babies; this one was started right after I found out I was pregnant.  It's been sitting, fully quilted (by a lovely local lady, not myself alas) in my workroom for months; all that remained was the binding.  With an hour and a half of babysitting by the girl across the street, the binding was made, sewn on that night, and I've enjoyed handstitching the rest in the evenings.

I love these little girls all over the quilt, there are twelve of them, all different, and someone really poured some love into the applique and embroidery.  I purchased these squares last summer on an antiques jaunt, and they are still one of my most favorite purchases! 

What great finds have you made recently?

skirt collage

Apron Skirt, by Dottie Angel

Isn't this wonderful?  It is inspiration for my spring and summer dressing.  Elastic waistbands will my friends, and skirts are just so much more comfortable in the heat than pants!

 

by Saidos da Concha on Flickr

From Green Wellies Flickr

I have a modest collection of vintage aprons, and am always sorry that I can't wear them out of the house.  So, I will be putting them to use on some "skirt collages," soon to be undertaken, as soon as I can get a realistic measurement of my presently non-existent waist!  (I may have to cheat in my eagerness and measure a skirt from last year post-baby!  It is an elastic waistband, after all.)

And a couple of goody piles for my inspiration....it's fun looking through the stash to find embellishments and odds and ends.

 

What styles are getting you excited for Spring dressing?

I'm off to a quilt show tomorrow; hope you too have something fun planned for the weekend!

big stitches

My quilting ethos is very different from most modern quilters, I think.  I prefer to use large patches of the fabrics that I choose, to let their full color range and pattern make the impact, rather than cutting them up into tiny pieces to make a new design.  This was the approach I took with my Spring at Siebenthaler's quilt, and this new lap blanket turned out somewhat similarly, except this time the design was more of a modified log cabin.

I decided to hand quilt it myself, with large chunky stitches of pearl cotton, so that the stitches add another dimension of color and texture, kind of like these quilts by a Danish designer, Rie Elise Larsen: 

This is kind of a budget quilt in that the fabrics were all Kaffe remnants that I've been collecting, and I used a thrifted wool blanket for the batting, with the backing from an old sheet of ours.  The wool makes it very warm to work on, and I'm enjoying the long, slow stitches.

Fabric Valentine's Book Tutorial

I've put together a little tutorial in case you want to make a lasting Valentine to give your Sweetheart on Sunday.  The complete tutorial is in this post, or you can access it as a PDF in the sidebar.  Enjoy!

Materials:

o    2 pieces of fabric, 25” x 6”, for the front and back of the book
o    4 pieces of cardboard or book board, cut to 5 ¼” x 6”
o    Scraps of various fabrics
o    Fusible interfacing
o    Ribbon, approximately 1 yard
o    Fine point permanent marker, such as a Pigma Micron


Step 1:  With the 2 pieces of 25” x 6” fabric for the front and back of the book, pin them right sides together around all 4 edges.

You can see how your 4 pieces of cardboard line up nicely along the length of what will be your book.

Now, stitch a ¼” seam around the two long edges and one short end, leaving the other short end open.

Clip the corners, turn right sides out, and press.

Step 2:  Now, slide your four pieces of cardboard into your fabric tube; they should fit nice and snugly.

With the cardboard supports in, your book can be set up in an accordion fold arrangement, as above.

Take the open end, and carefully tuck the raw edges down into the book, and pin the seam closed. 

Fold your ribbon about 1/3 of the way down, and tuck this folded edge into the pinned end, centering the ribbon in the middle of the side.
Hand stitch the opening closed, incorporating the ribbon as you go.

Step 3:  Now the fun part!  With your fabric scraps, take pieces that are at least 4-5” square and iron them onto the fusible interfacing.  With the new fused fabric, cut out some freehand heart shapes of different sizes.   Layer the hearts to make two sets; you can include as many as you want; I did three layered hearts in each set.  If you own a pair of pinking shears, these would give a cute finished edge to your hearts.

Now, pin one set in the valley between the first two pieces of cardboard:

Pin the other set in the valley between the last two pieces of cardboard:

Stitch in the valleys between the cardboard to attach the hearts, going all the way from the top of the book to the bottom:

Also stitch into the valley in the center of the book without any hearts; you will have to fold the book up slightly and finesse it into your sewing machine because the cardboard makes it a tight fit.

Your book is complete!  Fold it accordion style and tie it closed with your ribbon.

You can now add other embellishments if you wish.  I wrote a poem for my baby son on the inside of the book around the hearts using a Pigma Micron pen.  The poem is Baby by George Macdonald.

Or, write a letter or other sentimental message to your sweetheart!  Enjoy your heirloom Valentine Book!

Pretty Slouchy Bag

Last week I decided a new bag was in order, and I had pretty specific criteria: it had to be large enough to hold a big book, keys, wallet, and any other little items; one that was cute and stylish; and it had to have a pocket where I could put any papers to keep them flat.  This is what I came up with: the Pretty Slouchy Bag.  So far it's working great, keeping my papers intact, and holding all the other various and sundries.

The pattern is now on my sidebar so you can make one yourself!  If you do, please let me know how it turns out and if there's anything I can do to improve the pattern.

Happy Sewing!

(And did you notice I finally figured out how to center my banner?  Turns out to be much simpler than I thought!)

Wool (and cotton) gathering

I'm brainstorming this morning about starting a prayer shawl ministry at our church, and I want to solicit your advice.  Does anyone have any experience doing this, and, if so, what are your recommendations?  I have been working on a prayer shawl with the Lion Brand Homespun since the last time I was pregnant (I'm embarrassed to admit!), and I am not impressed with the yarn.  It is difficult to knit with, and not very soft.  Also, knitting a shawl takes such a long time.  I'm thinking that the answer may be to make lap quilts instead of shawls, which would also be more suitable for men and boys.  Quilts are faster to put together, and they can involve crafters who don't know how to knit or crochet, as there is always cutting and pinning to be done.  It could be a great way to get teenage girls involved in the process.

One parish member suggested knit dishcloths, and as we have a lot of African refugees in the neighborhood, these would be useful as they set up households.  Also, dish scrubbies, made with yards of tulle knit or crocheted together.  And of course baby blankies, made from soft flannel, could be given to new baby arrivals...

Any more item suggestions, or suitable patterns for knitting or sewing lap quilts/blankets?

P.S.  Isn't that little tablecloth above lovely?  My mother-in-law brought if for me yesterday.  It was made by my husband's grandmother when she was a newlywed.  It's going in the hope chest for any future daughter:)