Spreading it around

Well. I hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving vacation. Aside from Thursday itself, the weather here has been spectacularly unseasonable. We spent the long weekend catching up on some sleep, eating delicious food with some dear friends, and taking a couple of local trips (i.e., all the way across the river to Brooklyn on the subway: you'd think we were going out of town!). We even made time to install the track lighting that's been sitting patiently in the bedroom corner for months. Yea for mini-vacations at home!

But there just isn't enough time in any given day, is there? If I try to catch up in one area, I fall behind in another. Thus my lack of blogging. And I've been meaning to follow up on my earlier post about re-coloring vintage prints, so let's forget my messy living room and get going, shall we?


(By the way, today's photos have absolutely nothing to do with anything, but what's a blog post without something to look at?)

First of all, if you haven't seen it yet, I thought I should mention Amy Butler's description of the process and background behind her fabric line. It's an interesting and informative explanation for those of us who have been wondering about the use of older prints in new fabric collections.

Once you've digested Amy's explanation, I encourage you to read this post from Alex the Girl, who has done some visual design work with Anthropologie. She makes an excellent point regarding drawing inspiration from various sources and the tendency we might have to make quick judgments about knocking off other people's work, whether in the case of Anthropologie or Amy Butler or anyone else. (And by the way, I love those trees!) Which is why I am so pleased that we could hear directly from Amy about her design process.


"[Anthropologie has] always disclosed, however, that they are so often inspired by people, places and things from around the world."

"It's why I, like so many others, blog - to share ideas and information that perhaps someone will find useful or interesting."

These two quotes, also from Alex, sum up my primary reason for blogging. I both get and (hopefully) give ideas and inspiration via blogging and reading other blogs. (Plus, it helps me to actually finish the projects I start: must feed the blog!) So thank you for being part of this community. I really love the whole process and appreciate sharing it with all of you.

I was thinking about the sharing of ideas and inspiration when I noticed the leaf garlands that Twelve22, WiseCraft, and Pink Trees were making for autumn and Thanksgiving. They were inspired by each other and by Martha Stewart, and I love how they each interpreted the garland in their own way. It reminded me that we should give credit where credit is due and also keep in mind that crafting and blogging really aren't competitions. We do it because we love it!

So if you ever see something here that inspires you, go for it! I'd love to hear back from you about it. I'm certainly finding inspiration in the same manner. And thanks again for being part of the crafty network!

Maybe this is why I sew more than I knit

I'm a bit disappointed with Debbie Bliss right now. It was bad enough that I had to knit this cardigan in a larger size than I wanted: the pattern was written for every size excepts the Kiddo's (The size options were 9-12 months, 12-18 months, or 24-36 months. Where's the 18-24 month size?). But then, despite adding extra length to the sleeves, they'll clearly be too short when the rest of the sweater finally fits.

Plus, the shaping just seems sloppy. It's nearly wide enough for me to wear: chest measurement on the 24-36 month size, according to the pattern, is 30 inches. That's huge! I should have trusted my instinct and made a smaller size. Perhaps it will fit when she's ten years old?

But to top it all off, I substituted the recommended yarn (Debbie Bliss wool-cotton, which is no longer available) and used Debbie Bliss Cathay (50% cotton/35% viscose/15% silk). I really like the yarn, and converting the gauge was easy. But despite carefully following the care instructions, the red color ran into the pale blue at the hem when I washed and blocked it.

Yes, I'm officially annoyed. The pattern and the yarn have both disappointed me.


I made numerous changes to this pattern, but I clearly should have made many more alterations. I knit the body and sleeves on circular needles to eliminate most of the seams, and I replaced the ruffles at the sleeves (can't you just see them dragging through everything she eats?) with a simple garter stitch. The garter stitch at the hem became this cute little eyelet trim from a Nicky Epstein book.


I think that I can probably rip out and add more length to the sleeves someday without too much trouble, but I can't really do much about the other fit problems or that bleeding color.

Fortunately, the Kiddo seems perfectly happy with her new sweater, but that might also be attributed to the fact that she was eating her absolute favorite food, Pirate's Booty ("Ah Boo-dee!"), when I took the photos.

For the love of sewing

Hooray for Jane and Rhea, my first two sewing students! Yesterday we finished our class, and we've had lots of fun together over the past three sessions. I really appreciated their enthusiasm and graciousness, plus I was grateful to dip into the teaching pool with just two students rather than jumping off the diving board with a full class. The December class is fully booked, and now I feel ready to make the leap (to the deep end of the pool, if we're going to keep that metaphor going).


This sweet little tomato pincushion was a gift from Rhea. I just love it! She used the instructions from Martha Stewart, and I think the floral print is so perfect. See that gorgeous wool felt on the top? New source I hadn't heard of before: Brooklyn General Store. The Kiddo and I will be making a field trip soon. It looks like a fun shop.


And the best part about Rhea's pincushion? I had just decided it was time to treat myself to some nice pins: the really fine ones with the glass heads. I've been using industrial dressmaking pins since school, which are really thick and strong so that you can push them into a dressform. I'm eager to find some time with the sewing machine so I can try out these fancy, extra-fine lovelies. And the new pincushion is a perfect place to keep them so I can admire them all together.

Anyway, I had no idea I would enjoy teaching as much as I have. My sincere thanks to my first students, and I'm excited to start the next class. I think we'll be adding a few other courses to the roster. A scalloped hem skirt, perhaps? Stay tuned...

Graphite, coal, silver

Seems like I've been reminiscing a lot lately about my old career, doesn't it? I was just thinking about how we used to name the colors in our palette every season, and names couldn't be re-used. If "grey" (which wasn't a very sexy name anyway, was it?) had already been used for a previous color, we couldn't name another color "grey" because it would confuse the vendors. So instead we would call our greyish colors "concrete," "slate," "steel," or "asphalt." You get the idea. And rather than sit at my desk trying to materialize a new name with no inspiration at hand, I started to keep a list of possible terms in advance. On my way to work I was constantly looking for inspiration in shop windows, on signs, and on the delivery trucks that passed me, hoping to find another new word for grey or pink or brown.

So if you're ever wondering who named the light green t-shirt in the J. Crew catalog "endive," chances are it was someone like me. (Although I've never worked for J. Crew, so don't blame me for that particular name.)


And speaking of grey, it's another slate-colored day here. The Kiddo and I both happen to be wearing pewter and black, perhaps in a subconscious nod to the weather. Of course, when it's this dark out it's also difficult to take photos, especially with our old automatic camera.

Don't you hate that delay between the pushing of the button and the actual taking of the photo that occurs with many digital cameras? I had forgotten how annoying that pause can be. But sometimes I just can't manage to carry the big camera along, particularly since I don't seem to be taking many photos lately. My Photo-a-day plans are failing miserably. Many days I tote the camera along and just never use it. Or I take the photos and don't upload them to Flickr. Perhaps I'll try again with the new year. Or maybe I just have too many pots on the stove right now. And should stop taking on new projects. (Yeah, like that will happen.)

In any case, today Kiddo is sporting her new tunic courtesy of an old wool/cotton t-shirt I never wore. Loved the fabric, hated the fit. So I chopped it up, making use of the existing raglan sleeves and the hems to create this much cuter top for her. As always, I'd make a few changes to the pattern for the next one: the skirt would be a little longer, the width a bit slimmer, and the sleeves a bit wider. But I like how the short sleeves on the original shirt were exactly the right length to become longish sleeves for her.

I think we'll take a little walk down to the library this afternoon, hoping that our carbon-colored skies don't result in a downpour. A charcoal-colored day doesn't necessarily mean our moods need to be a matching pewter, does it?

TGIF

Poor Todd. He goes away for a week, misses his birthday (yesterday), and returns tonight to a completely rearranged apartment and a wife with a totally different hairstyle. And he has to leave again on Sunday afternoon. I'm concerned that he'll be afraid to come home next week. Who knows what will have changed during his next absence!


Meanwhile, the Kiddo has been enjoying her new room. She especially likes pulling all the books and toys off the shelves. And she has recently become obsessed with babies. She's been carrying around various dolls, pretending to put diapers on them and feed them bottles. I think a small cradle might be in order for Christmas.

Here are a few things that have caught my eye lately


Remember when I was thinking about making lunchboxes using Insul-Bright and iron-on vinyl? Well, this is the lunchbox that originally inspired me. I wasn't able to find it when I wrote the post but came across the photo the other day. Cute, hmm?


Forget the votive candle; wouldn't this make a great bracelet? As far as I can tell it must be crocheted, not knit, right?


And I love the proportions and silhouette of this sweater. So great with really wide-legged trousers and flats, the way the model is wearing it.


This dress will be part of a textile auction at Doyle. I love the color combination of the creme with the three shades of orange. Wouldn't that be a gorgeous color story for a quilt?

Ok, one last thing. If you've already seen this I apologize. But I think it's so clever and funny and creative! I laugh every time I watch it. And did you notice that it runs continuously? They didn't splice portions together; they just let the camera run.

Number two

Thank you all for your kind comments about the quilt! I've been enjoying it, especially in the early mornings when the apartment is chilly. It's the perfect size to use as a throw until I get moving and start warming up.

For those who were wondering, my quilt is similar to the Denyse Schmidt Strings Attached baby quilt, but I didn't use a pattern. I pieced it freehand, cutting the strips with the rotary cutter as I went. The back was also pieced freehand using muslin and all my leftover green fabric for the project, which wasn't much.

And making that quilt was so much fun, I'm ready to get started on quilt number two.


My inspiration is the above image, a postcard from this book.


And now I can finally show you the fabrics I'll be using. I'm so excited! I'm leaning toward making either a simple log cabin or another string quilt similar to a Gee's Bend quilt I've been admiring. This one will be queen-sized (yikes!), and if we take another long vacation next summer I may just do the quilting itself by hand.

But now I'd better get going. Yesterday, on a whim, the kiddo and I completely rearranged the bedroom, dividing it into two smaller rooms. She'll be needing a toddler bed soon, since she can almost climb out of her Pack 'n Play, and the new bed won't fit into her old room. Her new, larger room is really cute but still needs some work. And the rest of the apartment is littered with detritus from all the rearranging.

The side benefit to all this rearranging? Her old room will become my teeny tiny workroom. At last, a place for all my sewing supplies! But I suppose I'll have to paint over all those dogs. Too bad, since I really like them. Woof.

Little shop of horrors?

Photos from another favorite neighborhood shop, Obscura Antiques.









Box of glass eyeballs, anyone? I love the aesthetics of this shop. The contents are truly obscure, ranging from taxidermied dogs to taxidermied fish to taxidermied armadillos. (The kiddo totally loves the dog. It looks perfectly real and friendly but doesn't make any quick, unpredictable movements. Perfect for a toddler to admire and exclaim over. We stop in to visit frequently.)

Ok, not everything in the shop is taxidermied. For example, you might also come across a mummified head or a real skull or two.

I love the mad scientist quality of the shop, and the displays themselves are wonderfully appealing, seemingly random but artfully arranged. Along one wall a Howdy Doody ventriloquist dummy perches on a shelf near black and white sports photos from the '20s and '30s, and a taxidermied fish head sits on a small table next to a bright pink plastic male torso. Nearby you'll probably find well-worn wool uniforms; ancient medical or scientific charts; a naturalist's extensive collection of butterflies, rocks, and beetles preserved inside a tall wood cabinet; and perhaps a collection of teeth.

I think part of my attraction to this store must be its resemblance to my dad's lab where, aside from the computers, time seems to stand still. (Not that that my dad is a mad scientist, mind you. Although, come to think of it, I don't know too many other people who are willing to spend time in the arctic circle and in Antarctica on a regular basis. And in the winters when we were kids he used to ride his bike across the lake to the university when the ice was thick enough to hold.) I love the old National Geographic maps on his walls, the glass beakers in the cabinets, the wood drafting table and slate countertops, the rock samples along the windowsills, and all the grease pencils and brittle old wheel erasers with the little brush on one end.


I thought of Obscura the other day when I ran across this photo in Elle magazine. The old glass and metal cabinets and ancient oak office chairs are practically chic now! I knew it would happen sooner or later.


Obscura must be one of those Only-In-New-York phenomena. And although I'm unlikely to take home a mummified head or that taxidermied dog (much as the Kiddo loves it), I'm oddly attracted to the shop. One of these days we may find ourselves bringing home a beaker or two. Or maybe a few glass eyeballs. I just can't help myself.