kit and caboodle

The easiest skirt ever? Maybe...

In my quest to find things I can make in an hour or less which are both wearable and good-looking, I came across this pattern from Oliver and S. It's a simple idea - the skirt is a rectangle cut in one piece across the width of the fabric and the length is up to you, based on the look you want to end up with.  The waistband is gathered with elastic and it's hemmed with ribbon to make it look a bit special.  Here's my attempt for child #4, made in about 45 minutes. Perfecto.

Sewing for Sleepovers

I spent a few hours each week in April and May preparing for and teaching a 'sewing for sleepovers' class for second through fifth graders.  It was fun!  The group sewed and stuffed pillow liners and then made knotted covers from fleece or wool melton. They   added little pockets to the front of their pillows to carry stuffies which they also designed and made. 

A few examples of their creative work!

   

The group especially enjoyed digging through my scrap box of fabrics, felt, sequins, buttons, beads and cut shapes and I was very impressed with the variety of ideas they came up with.

We made small bags to hold toiletries - here's my (rather wrinkly) class sample:

We finished it all up by decorating canvas tote bags with fabric paint, felt shapes and buttons and packed them full of our handmade goodies.

June! How did that happen?

That was an unintentional blog break but lots to write about! I'll put up a few photos of some of the events these past couple of months:

Much of April was gobbled up by the annual school plant sale - one of our big fundraisers for the kids.  My pal Wendy and I were the organizers for the third year running. A lot of work but fun and rewarding.  We did well, despite the poor economic climate - I guess folks are happy to spend money on plants and we bought heavily into veggies, berry bushes, tomatoes, herbs and a great selection of Northwest Natives.  These plants looked kind of dull next to their flowering neighbors, but do great in yards round here. I added a selection into our teeny yard - mostly sword fern, salal, and flowering currants which do well in the shade.

This wall panel is made up of tightly-packed sedums and was on display when we visited one of our suppliers - it was quite amazing.   Look at these heucheras - they're a pretty good investment. I brought a few three years ago and they've come back each year in all their marmalade glory.

And a couple of scenes from the sale - these lanterns added a festive twist to the event!

And yet more sedums - I love 'em....

Fabric and Yarn Scraps: Horace the Hedgehog

Inspired by Molly Chicken's tutorial we fired up the sewing machine again and made Horace out of scraps from the box, then we adapted him slightly and turned him into a neck-purse.  At the moment he has a small fabric heart tucked in his pocket, but may go to school with #4 carrying an encouraging piece of candy or the like. I'm making one for myself too, which will also have an emergency bonbon within reach, or perhaps my coffee card which has finally earned me a free cup of coffee. You never know when it will come in handy.

And the skies are blue in Seattle.  Happy weekend.

Scrap ideas : Felt Critters

Spring Break is here! And it's pouring again! Aaargh!  Actually yesterday the temperature dropped to 35 degrees and it tried to snow, which looked a little incongruous falling on the Spring blossom.  This has to have been the longest winter ever in Seattle, which sounds melodramatic I know, but the view of grey skies every day makes my lips curl downwards. Spring is trying so hard to get going with flashes of daffodils and crocuses, and signs of perennials coming back to life. Winter just needs to let go and return to the North Pole so the rest of us can enjoy blue skies and a touch of warmth.  

The girls have wanted to sew and create, so I let them delve into the scrap box. #2 had made a pattern for an owl a while back which was the starting point for these:

#4 has a small collection of Uglydolls clipped to her backpack along with an enormous one who lives in her bed. She wanted to design her own, and so did T who was visiting. Back to the scraps:

Codenames Ugga and Oxalina.

New girly skirt

A simple skirt for #4, sewn in a couple of hours.  It twirls well, as all good skirts should.  The pattern is from here (thanks, Liz!),  with the optional ruffle added onto the bottom.  #4 is an average-sized 8 year old and I think I'd add a centimeter onto all sides next time I make this for growing room.

The birdy fabric is Woodstock Birds Teal from Fabric Worm and the blue dotty is a Moda fabric from Reprodepot.

Scrap ideas : Felt Beads

What to do with all those itty-bitty scraps of felt, fabric and yarn? I can never bring myself to throw them away, but I now have a mini mountain of fiber which needs to be put to good use. 

Good thing there's a ton of inspiration for teeny objects which only use up a wisp of material. We especially like these books and have made quite a few felty critters.  I thought I'd post a few more ideas as I work my way through my scrap box.  Here's idea #1 - making felt beads:

1. Begin by cutting out felt rectangles from your scraps - most of these are about 2.5cm x 6cm. Wrap the felt around a bamboo skewer, or something of a similar width.

 

2.  Wrap some embroidery thread or yarn around the wrapped felt to hold it secure. This wrapping also serves as decoration, so be creative!  We used feathery eyelash yarns and sparkly threads.  When you've finished this stage, don't remove the felt bead from the skewer because it's easy to lose the hole. Wait until you're ready to string the beads before removing. 

 

3.  You can now go wild and add on beads or embellish with embroidery.  We found that using a beading needle worked best for this because it's thin and a bit flexible, allowing for tight turns and teeny stitches.

Voila - here's a finished bracelet.

 

Seeing circles

Today was spent putting together bookmark kits; in this case lots of boxes of circle bookmarks in various funky colors:

The bookmark kits are great first sewing projects - lots of wool felt to fiddle with and arrange artistically.  Available here.

Doggie Bag

I finally dusted off my sewing machine today after too-long a hiatus. I think I left my crafty inspiration lolling in the sunshine on another continent, so I turned to the trusty Bend the Rules Sewing to make a birthday gift for a just-turned 8 year old (happy birthday, Fiona!).  I'd made one of these totes before but I love this fabric combo - the doggie one is called Canine Chronicle (can't remember where I got it from) and the red dottie is by Moda. 

And once the sewing machine started clacking along, I felt more enthused about additional projects.  Like sewing up all the holes in various kid garments, for instance - all that crawling round on the ground, swinging from trees and other activities in these categories have taken their inevitable toll. 

Goldfish I have loved

I do love good stationery and keenly promote the dying art of letter writing. An email is all well and good, but you still can't beat opening up a fat letter covered with handwriting. It feels as if you are much closer to the person who is writing to you. My kids especially love receiving mail and are constantly sending little missives off to friends and relatives in the hope that something will come back!   

I was mooching around online this morning (as you do) and came upon Heather Ross's website. I have some of her fabric from the West Hill range, and the russian doll colorway is one of my favorites.  So I was thrilled to find this funky paper - I think it would make a great birthday gift too, popped into an adapted version of these gratitude wraps.