The Toof Teef

I'm a couple of weeks slow getting over here with our latest 6 year old rite of passage. After weeks (and weeks...and weeks) of gum pain and wiggling and then last minute tears (because 6 years olds get really hungry and eating with a 1/2 attached tooth sucks) Little Gal has finally lost her first baby tooth. However, I'm so slow about getting around to sharing, that even this picture is out of date - so we can now officially make that 'lost two of her baby teeth'.



And with this big event comes the loaded series of choices regarding the toothfairy. Given a certain girl's love of fairies there was no way the ritual lie (and happy imagination fodder) wasn't going to continue. The big question was "So, how much does the tooth fairy leave these days?" My husband voted for a quarter based on his childhood memory (and the fact that it used to buy him a bag of chips and a drink). I told him he was getting old and overruled with $5 - (and yes, I did actually google the phrase "how much does tooth fairy pay" and consensus seems to be in the $2-$5 range - and a parent who leaves iTunes gift cards).

Future playground discussion will either prove that I'm not keeping up with inflation or seriously overestimating the fairy reserves. I decided to leave myself some wiggle room by quickly whipping up a special pouch for the exchange of tooth and reward. The great thing about 6 is that the process is as exciting as the payout.

*I thought about taking pictures along the way for a tutorial, but then it would have taken more than the 15 minutes I had free and really this is such an easy peasy project. If you do want more detailed info though, just drop me a line.

I started with a rectangle of fabric approximately 8" x 5"and used 1/2" seams around the outside and a 1/4" seam for the drawstring top.

With wrong side of material facing you set ribbon or string in place.  Fold material over ribbon/string leaving plenty of room for a hem stitch.  Fold hem under, finger press and pin in place.  Stitch straight hemline (I used a 1/4" seam) being careful not to stitch over ribbon or string.  NOTE: You could also stitch without the ribbon/string in place and then draw it through aftewards - I'm just lazy and find it faster this way.  Fold fabric in half with right sides together.

Stich an L shape (I used a 1/2" seam) to complete your pouch, leaving the string/ribbon opening unstitched so that you can cinch the pouch closed.  I chose to go back around the edges with a zig zag stitch and to trim the corners with an angled snip just to make it cleaner.  Turn pouch right-side out and you're ready for a visit from the fairy!

 

My Albatross

Here's the thing about handmade gifts - you have to be prepared for the reaction, and it will seldom be the one you anticipate.  I've seen a range, from joyful to luke-warm to no response at all.  I suppose it's the same for any gift, but it somehow becomes more personal when it's something you've invested your free time and energy into.  A new reaction for me though, is the 'custom order'.

Remember this?



Let me start by saying it was very joyfully received and has found a welcome place.  However, a day later it was followed with a message: "You know that thing you made.  It's great.  What I need is something big enough to cover the whole table. 48" and can you stick an elastic in it so that it tucks underneath."

We'll just skip past the colourful series of thoughts that went through my mind and move on to part where I gracefully take up the challenge.  While we're tracking, let's fast-forward even beyond the logistics of sourcing out batting and material wide enough to get started on this ridiculous thing that I was beginning to resent more with each passing effort (since there was no way I'd be making another patchwork - plain Jane and that would be it).  So here I am over the past several weeks, finally getting around to cutting this beast and pinning it together (and resenting it more...and more).  And after no less than a dozen attempts, the stitching just isn't coming together.  Is it because it's unwieldy?  Is it because the material isn't designed for quilting and is bunching against the feed dogs?  Is it just because the very sight of the big ivory beast sends me spiraling into a whirlwind of frustration?



Whatever the reason, I'm casting this albatross off my neck.  Craft time is supposed to be something I enjoy (or at the very least, is spent on something I want to make).  I'm going to say what I should have been forthright enough to have said from the very beginning. "Sorry.  No custom orders."

Race Against the Bunny

One of my goals for 2010 is more handmade gifts. Projects that are fun and functional and a compliment to something bought for special people and occasions throughout the year. I knew that a table topper would be first up and I managed to finish it (with breathing space for a change) for a special someone's birthday/Easter this weekend. Ta Da.

The pattern is adapted from the Pinwheel Cushions included on Amy Butlers Softwares CD (one of the gifts I received for Christmas). Love this package and I've become a huge fan of CD patterns and the ability to browse and print exactly what I want when I want it (along with some great customization and sizing options).

details here

I wish I could say that the fabric was also Amy Butler - but I do love it. The green jumped out at me instantly when I spotted it, and the blue and brown are just a perfectly sweet combination. If it looks familiar, that's because it's the same fabric I've shown for the Patchwork Quilt which I've cut, pieced together and...ummm...set aside (blush). Back to bigger pursuits now that this far more manageable goal has been reached.

Pins and Needles

The day started with vaccines and the quick reminder that a 5 year old facing a needle (even hours before the needle) becomes a cross between an emotional Oscar winner and an ultimate fighting champion. Little Man on the other hand just voiced his displeasure, shot me an accusing pout and then just as quickly moved on at the sight of a few gummi bears (when it comes to needles, 2 isn't so terrible after all).

After the drama and ouchies had passed, the better part of the afternoon was spent twisted and sprawled across the living room floor pinning fabric for my patchwork quilt. This is my second quilt (ever...and in the past 4 months) and I am once again struck by the realization that I love love love the piecework part, and am completely daunted by the giant assembly part. I'm definitely feeling less trepidation this time around, but am blown away by the size. Somehow, this "throw" has grown way bigger in reality than it seemed when I was cutting isolated pieces. It's safe to say that "throw" is as big as I ever wish to go (famous last words - please feel free to stage an intervention if you ever seen the words "quilt" and "king" in this space).

P is for...

Patchwork (Amy Butler's Patchwork Throw to be exact).

Planning in Publisher (it took the better part of an afternoon but was such a helpful roadmap when cutting and prepping).


And P is for lots of lovely pieces, cut, ironed and waiting to be placed.

But as usual, the most important P will be for progress. It should be coming quickly now.

Result

Ta-da. My first official quilting, finished in time for the first weekend of December and the first flakes of snow spotted fluttering outside today.

A few of the things I've come to appreciate along the way (if not always tips that were followed).

• Rotary cutting is extremely addictive. Squares, rectangles, angles...all fun.
• Measure twice (three times if a glass of wine is involved). Then cut (or perhaps wait if more than a glass of wine is involved).
• An eighth of an inch does matter, which leads me to...
  
• Stars are way easier to make than Christmas Trees (to be read as 'I need to work on lining up my straight pieces').

• Trim, iron, trim, iron, trim, iron. Trim trim trim. Iron iron iron.

• After spending a good chunk of time making lots of lovely little stars and trees, I have a healthy fear of messing it all up with quilting.
• Quilting isn't nearly as scary after the first row is in place. Quilting can also make up for an eighth of an inch where you need it.
  
• Laying a quilt out on the floor for binding is a sure-fire invitation for very cute rolling and lounging bodies. (Wouldn't you?)
  

• It was totally worth forgoing a proper tree skirt for 10 years. I finally have exactly what I wanted and a post complete with cozy home-made rolling and lounging memories.
  

Nightly

This has become a familiar sight. A familiar corner. A familiar time of day.

A quiet point, when one little boy is tucked into his crib, and one little lady is busy conducting online research and narrowing down her top holiday wish list pick.

Night sewing to meet my goal of finishing a certain tree skirt in the next few weeks. With the exception of the occasional stitch picking and realigning of fabric strips, it has quickly become a favourite time of day (especially when accompanied by this).

A Crafty Case of A.D.D.

My brain is awhirl lately and I have little to show for it besides piles throughout the house and very little cleaning taking place around them. So which one should I tell you about today? (Get ready for a whole lotta linking!)

I could talk about all the squares and rectangles I've cut for the Amy Butler patchwork quilt that I was so excited to begin.

Or I could tell you about the stack of fabric that I just bought an hour ago after seeing this tutorial over at Sew Mama Sew last night. A festive tree skirt that has now pre-empted the patchwork quilt.

Picture a whole lot of white pulling this together.

Then again, I could post about the latest book that frequently has me curled up in a sunny corner daydreaming about a wardrobe overhaul.

Of course, I really should be updating you on the no-longer-such-a-Mystery sock which seems to have stopped in it's track at the 90% mark (and yes, that's just the one sock). But then I would have to confess to cheating on said sock with a certain shrug which I've managed to keep on the down-low up until now.

You can see my predicament; blog-hopping is a dangerous thing. The gal who is usually true to her 'one project at a time' rule has somehow gone way way way off the rails (and I haven't even brought up the baking, decorating, and kids play ideas that are circling in my brain).

So I think I'll just set all of those things off to the side and spend a couple of hours cleaning the house and contemplating some sort of direction for finishing a few things before the end of the year. Then I'll feel completely without guilt when I fall into craft-busting mode for the rest of the week. After all, this November that I'm loving so much is going to be a quick one.

In a tornado situation, call Amy Butler

“Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, there's no place like home.”

Year two of themed family Halloween costumes! (insert squeals of delight from the household majority and a stifled groan from those who will be coerced)

Finding 'wicked witch' and 'cowardly lion' costumes months ago pretty much sealed the deal for the Wizard of Oz. It was also the perfect excuse to try out the apron pattern from this terrific book. Have gingham, will sew.

This is my second In Stitches project and I am completely in awe of Amy Butler. She has a magical gift for designing patterns in such a way that every seam is cleanly enclosed or covered when you're finished - it's like a puzzle that comes together at the end once all the pieces are fit together just right. The trick (for me) is not to question the instructions or let instinct get in the way - just do exactly what the directions tell you to do and a few fold-overs and reverses later you'll be amazed to see where the road has led you.

I'll now get back to work on something for a 5' 11" Flying Monkey (by coercion)

Look Toto! Pleats!

Blue and Brown

Well hello again Fall. You're suddenly here; blue skies breaking out between raindrops and the hinting splashes of red and brown that mark your return.

Your sights and sounds followed me all the way to the fabric store and this combination appeared right on queue. The inspiration for my first patchwork quilt.

Built By Me - Simplicity 3835

After seeing this simple top popping up time and time again on the "Built By Us" Flickr pool, I knew it was the first Built By Wendy design I wanted to try.

Incredibly quick and straight forward (about 3 hours total time I think) and cursing only occured while I was guiding the elastic through the gathering neck.


With Fall around the corner and given my dislike of working with elastic I had already planned on making the sleeves a little longer and straight.


You can go ahead and picture it layered with a splash of colour, because that's how this crazy September of yo-yo temperatures has me dressing.

Another of these tops is definitely in order and perhaps the dress pattern variation now that I'm sure of the fit. With a success under my belt I'm also anxious to get started on a project from Sew U which I bought back at the beginning of the summer.

If anyone has any favourite Built by Wendy recommendations, tips or successes, I would love to hear about them here or over on Flickr.

Getting Ripped

Thoughts of Fall drew me into the closet recently and out came an old pair of jeans and my trusty seam ripper (I love this little kit that I found out of the blue at Lee Valley).

A while back I bookmarked a few jean skirt tutorials like this one and the one over here. This is such a great way to give new life to an old or ill-fitting pair of jeans, not to mention a project that promises high-success with very little time and effort.

With so many great tutorials available on the web I won't add more to the count, but here are the adjustments I made for my own version.

I cut my jeans around knee length for a great all-season skirt - from t-shirt and flip-flops to chunky sweater and boots. Don't worry about being exact but do make sure you give yourself enough length to begin with - once the seams are out and the skirt comes together you can cut shorter if you like. For my own skirt I decided to leave the bottom edge raw, but obviously leave an extra inch or so if you plan to hem. Then start ripping away at those inner seams.

For the front panel, I cut along the centre of the pant leg so that I could include the seam (from the outer leg) in the centre of the patch. I found that this detail streamlined the skirt and created a nice balance between the DIY look and the original stitching.

At this point be prepared for lots of trying-on and readjusting. These jeans were baggy and distressed to begin with so I found that it took several pinning and repinning efforts to make sure that the overlapping ripped section (formerly the inseam) was sitting flat. Remember to check the side view!

I played around with a panel for the back, but in the end decided to just overlap the ripped section and leave the exposed triangle as a slit. I also used the original seam fold (you'll see what I mean once you take yours apart) as another visual effect by sewing along the inside of the fold and then leaving the edge raw so that it will fray overtime.

And, as the last steps I trimmed and tidyed up the lower edge and added a zigzag stitch (high width, short length so that it created a tight decorative line) about 1/2"-3/4" from the bottom (if you click on the picture below you'll see it better in the zoom). After the first washing it's already frayed (trim to your liking after the first wash or two) but will never fray above the stitch line.

And voila - a new skirt that's as comfortable as an old pair of jeans!

Field Trip of Dreams

Well folks, the week didn't make any more sense as it went on (although I did eventually manage to get on top of that calendar situation). And now that Friday has arrived, I don't honestly know what we did with the week? It was busy, it was loud, it was action-packed, but I'm not really convinced that a single thing managed to get finished (including a certain sweater that I was sure would be).

So I'm going to wave the white flag for the day, focus on making it through to the long weekend ahead, and daydream about field trips.

I had a passing thought this morning (somewhere between the shower and my first load of the laundry, and definitely before my first coffee) about a field-trip to here to take one of these and buy some of this and that. New York, here I come. Back in the rat race, I at least had a yearly conference or two to charge my batteries; doesn't Home Management come with the same perks? Oh yeah - lack of an expense account and I am the on-site daycare.

I guess this field trip will have to wait a few more years as well (damn mortgage!). But HOW amazing would that BE!

While I work on coming up with something at least half-as-exciting and within 100km, here are a few shots from one of my favourite Summer '09 field trips - Tobermory, Ontario and one perfect family outing. It was less about what we did and more about needing a sunny afternoon with lots of inspiring sights and sounds.

Stealing

By some remarkable alignment of the sun and planets and fate, the house fell silent for three hours yesterday afternoon. Wow!

I was just about to put boy-child down for his afternoon nap when I looked over and found...get ready for it...his big sister asleep on the couch (french fry still dangling from an exhausted pincer grip).

Stolen time is a pretty rare commodity around here (although I seem to be on a lucky streak this week) so of course I started creeping around the house very quickly and quietly doing a bit more stealing. (Am I the only mom that gets all giddy and starts tiptoeing around like a hyperactive pixie in these situations? Didn't think so!)


I started with the last cup of coffee in the pot. Ok, not a technical steal, but actually getting the chance to drink that second cup felt like I'd cracked a safe.

Next, I scurried down to the basement where I raided hubby's tool box. I was originally just going to steal an awl (or two), but when I caught sight of his magnetic-stretchy-picky-uppy-thing (yes, that is absolutely the technical term) I decided to swipe that too. Why not. If he wants to find them again, all he has to do is read my blog (mwah ha ha - they are totally mine now).

And no, I don't randomly go around stealing awls without any apparent crafty purpose. I go around stealing awls with premeditated intent to use them as marking tools. And that's an idea I stole from Wendy Mullin's "Sew U".

"This pointed object, which you can find in any hardware store or handy person's tool kit, can be used to punch holes to mark dart points. It's easy and fast, but be careful not to damage the fabric." p.27

(She said it! Tool kit. I found it.)

See. Stealing. Makes for a perfect afternoon.

Getting Cozy Again

When I put out the open offer for coffee cozies I didn't know I was going to end up being raised a challenge.

Another sewing project = Temptation
Making something for someone special = Of course the answer is yes!
A challenge = Irresistible


Measurements were taken (and lost...and retaken...and lost again...and resent).

One blissfully quiet afternoon was spent sewing (while boy child was marathon-napping and girl-child was caught-up in a computer-game-induced trance).

And in the end a quilted laptop cozy was created. Since I don't have to hand it over for another week, I'm thinking a few more embellishments might be in order, but I'll save an element of surprise for the in-person reveal. : )

Remake

Rainy summer days.
Grab something from the back of the closet - turn it into something else.

Too-short-pants. Just right shorts.

A perfectly beach-worn shapeless dress from far too long ago.
Now the perfect tank.

I've got my eyes on a stack of old jeans next.

Releasing

The last day of school. Big stuff. Very exciting, and inspiring and mildly terrifying.

And then there's the plain old 'shake my head and wonder where the last 10 months went' thing. I think I was more emotional at drop-off today then I was back in September - now I have a five year with a whole year of school under her belt. Say what?

I stole some crafty-brilliance from the always amazing Erin and whipped up coffee cup cozies for Julia's teacher and the special ladies who are her extra pairs of hands (we should all be so lucky). With gift cards hidden away inside the cups Julia loved carrying her tray of secrets into the school yard. Erin's tutorial made this such a quick and truly fun little project and they are addictive once the assembly line begins. It's fun to sew something that causes no frustration and lets you walk away with a finished product in one evening.

And since I've been on a roll and releasing handmade goodness to others, I shamefully sent out a very belated package to another special lady. So embarrassingly overdue (especially since it's been ready to go for about 2 months now). 1 part me rarely making it to the post office + 1 part second guessing what I made since I've never actually knit for anyone outside of this house + 1 part plain old lack of 'get er done'. But hopefully she'll like it and maybe the delay will just add to the surprise! (ha ha)

Pattern details to follow. Right now, this post has given me a wicked coffee craving and the urge to go make summer dream lists.

* Oh, and also on my list for today - Search for my camera card which I recently took from the chewing monster and put somewhere so secret that even I can't find it! A 16MB card and my grainy old camera just isn't working for me.