A bag for Gaia

This, too, was meant to be a Yuletide gift. Boy, was I late.

My friend was pregnant at the time - she's since given birth to her son, and fortunately I did manage to get this to her a week or two before the birth, which was my aim (the "hard deadline").

When I started in November; she was quite pregnant already (big baby this time around!), and I was thinking how wonderfully suited my friend is to pregnancy. I think of her as a water spirit, but she was so perfectly at home as this grounded mother, growing heavy with child. So I began to bead a sort of mandala pattern for her, all in blues and greens, studded with lapis and jade.

I stitched together a kind of medicine bag from softest back suede; the bag is maybe ...5 or 6 inches wide by about 8 inches long, I think? I don't quite remember. The entire bag is edged in tiny seed beads of palest lavender. One on every stitch.

I made a very long, 4-strand braided strap from leather, so the bag could easily be slung, messenger-style, diagonally across the body and hang at the hip. I left long fringes hanging and weighted them with silver beads to help them swing just right. My fingers turned black from working all those dyed skins.

I wanted it to be a gift to bring sweetness and light, so I stuffed it with a sage smudge, palo santo sticks, lavender balm and special soap, tea for breastfeeding mothers, etc. And off it goes. Not much to say about this; it's just a pretty thing I made for a friend whom I love and it turned out quite perfect!

Finally.

Hello!

Wow, things have been quiet around here. April (and May) are, as it turns out, really busy months for my new professional career. In fact, I've been pushing myself so hard at work that I've actually been sick (very sick) for the past two weeks with a bad headcold.

While it's rather boring to sit around blowing your nose and coughing and drinking tea and binge-watching Netflix because you're too tired and worn out to read a book or think or go for a walk in the beautiful sunny weather, the whole sitting-on-the-couch-under-many-blankets business is very conducive to finishing small handicrafts like handsewn felt rabbits.

This rabbit's name is Maggie.

Maggie is actually a kit made by the clever, magical Alicia Paulson of the blog Posie Gets Cozy. (one of my all-time favorite corners of the web; I've been following along with Alicia for, gosh, maybe even 10 years now? Time flies.) Here's a link to go scope the pattern out if you'd like to make one for yourself. There are a whole bunch of other animals now: a cat and a mouse and a deer and even a fox, each with their own charming little outfits. Maggie's ears are lined with cute pink Liberty fabric, and she wears a Liberty peasant dress and a little handknit capelet (I got help on that one from my MIL) and lace-up felt boots.

Maggie is rather patiently enduring being folded a little tightly and stuffed in a box at the moment; she's headed up North to meet the youngest member of my husband's family this week, whom I hope enjoys playing with her even more than I did this afternoon! =)

More works-in-progress being finished up this week; I have at least another post ready to go. Is this my return to blogging? Yeesh, let's hope so. I can't believe how dusty it's gotten around here.

handmade holidays 2014: leather medicine bag with labradorite pyramid

So here's the thing about sending your presents out late: you can't post them 'til even later. This is ridiculous; December was kind of a non-event on the blog, huh? I don't often go in for New Year's resolutions, but maybe I should this year, and strive to make the blogging a more regular thing again. I really want to get back to blogging at least once a week - and not drop off the face of the earth and ride the coattails of a few super-productive weeks earlier in the year!

But let's get down to business. This turned out beautifully. I was so pleased with it. My inspiration was this "Miakoda Medicine" bag by Three Arrows Leather. My version is made from heavy wine-colored suede (the prettiest option of all of the scrap-leather bags at my local Tandy Leather store) that I hand-sewed together with a glover's needle and heavy waxed thread, with braided black leather lace for the necklace and fringe. I mounted a labradorite pyramid with pretty blue fire that I found on etsy into the flap (golly it's big - and kinda sharp at that point!), and worked silver-colored metal beads onto the fringe.

I loved making this - and I love the look of the pyramid stone set in the leather. I'd love to try my hand at making a big bag with multiple stones set in the flap sometime, like some of the purses that Three Arrows has for sale. It's such a great, simple idea for embellishment - and it looks amazing!

a personal touch

Okay, these have been opened, so I can post them now. My dad has started using handkerchiefs regularly lately, or so my mom told me when we chatted about "what to do for Dad's birthday?" last month. But you know, handkerchiefs you can buy at a store these days are pretty flimsy, made of cotton so thin as to be transparent. The nice thing about making handkerchiefs is the opportunity to indulge in quality materials and traditional (and time-consuming) construction - and starting in advance meant that I could still give a nice gift even though money's tight. These are made of hanky-weight linen. They look a little thin and crisp right now, but once the fabric has been through the washer and dryer, they'll fluff up and the texture will be a bit rougher and thicker. I made a 1/4" hem all around (really, a 1/8" hem, rolled twice), and hand-stitched the blind hems. Then I monogrammed them, in two different styles: one a little fancier, and one a bit more casual.

And that's it! I hope he likes them; I hope whenever he's got a cut or a runny nose, he enjoys pulling out and using these workhorses that his daughter made and embroidered for him. 

months and years: Rabbit in the Moon quilt

a couple of months ago, I was approached about designing a table runner. Above is a sketch that was rejected. Even though it wasn't my client's taste, I liked it.

I liked it a lot. I wasn't going to let it go.

So instead, I added a gibbous moon to the mix and shuffled the moon phases around and made a quilt out of it. Or rather, I'm making it into a quilt, for the Months and Years shop. It's 36 inches wide and maybe 42 inches long - more on the measurements when it's all done. It's made of cotton canvas and two silk fabrics: the lighter colored one is a crosshatched medium-weight 100% silk suiting fabric in ivory and gold. The dark navy is silk dupioni (which I also used for the backing). The cotton canvas is the "sky" behind the moon phases. I treated the canvas with cyanoprint (sun print) dye and then scattered small branches and leaves from my garden over it and let the light develop. I overdyed this with a weak solution of purple and seafoam and spritzes of a saturated solution of warm black and navy. So, between the speckles and washes of purpley-blue-green, you can find outlines of cedar fronds and rose leaves on the sky.

I haven't quite figured out how I want to do the outline of the rabbit in the moon; for now, it's sketched in with running stitches. I think I'll couch a heavier thread so it shows up a bit better - for now, I'm just not quilting around it, so that I can still pull the layers apart and work on the rabbit without quilting it to the quilt back before I'm ready. There's a little flower quilted into the rabbits hip there, that you can just make out. I might do more of this on the rabbit...haven't decided yet. So many decisions!

What do you think I ought to do with that rabbit? Heavy thread, couched on? Embroidered leaf stitches? Or do you like it that the rabbit is so light and barely-visible like this? I'd love to hear your two cents!

flax for a friend

A friend of mine recently polled her facebook friends, looking for seamstresses who would be willing to sew up some flax packs for her new massage business. Eager to help out (I'm still grateful that she's letting me paint her - you'll see her here in the next month or so!), I volunteered, and was asked to produce two 6" X 16" packs for wrapping things and one 12" X 16" pack for backs.

It's a very simple construction, basically a pillow that is filled about halfway with flax seeds, and sewn shut. So, with the two rectangles right-side-together, I sewed three sides of each rectangle with a 1/2" seam. I turned them right side out, and pressed the unsewn edges under (to the inside of the pack). Then I topstitched around the three sides I'd already sewn at about 1/4" from the edge, for added reinforcement (flax seeds are small; you don't want them slipping out between your stitches!).

The image my friend shared as a sample showed channels, so I followed suit and made 2" channels, sewing from my topstitching line at the base to within 1/4" of the open side. I think the channels help to distribute the weight and warmth of the flax evenly across the pack, and prevents overstuffing, so that the pack is flexible.

Then I used a funnel to fill the packs, one channel at a time. I only filled each channel approximately half-full, so that the pack would be flexible. I pinned the top of each channel shut right above the seeds. When I had filled a full pack, I took it to my machine and stitched the open side closed, stitching 1/4" from the edge so that it would match my other topstitched edges.

These are made with almost the last of one of my favorite fabrics, a toile-print cotton canvas (I read that tightly-woven fabrics like canvas were preferred for these). I guess you just warm them up in the microwave and they hold their heat for hours. All in all, the cost to me was about $4 for a big bag of flax (I didn't quite use it all), and I suppose I'll wind up paying $5 or $7 for priority shipping - and I used up more of my stash of leftover fabric scraps.

My friend asked how she could repay me and I requested a surprise in the mail. I am excited for this exchange! I love barters, trades, and sending delightful little gifts in the post -and who doesn't love to get a package? It's always like Christmas, when that happens!

a new venture

Later this year I'll be opening an etsy shop called Months and Years. There I will be selling heirloom-quality handmade baby clothes. Each will be unique; I will not be making multiples or runs of sizes. Each piece will have its own inspiration drawn from mythology, poetry, folklore, song, something; I'll include the story of each piece in each posting. I will post items in batches, a half-dozen at a time; and they'll be priced to move. My goal is to hopefully empty the shop almost as quickly as I fill it.

I'll be sure to post a quick preview shot of each of the six items here, as I finish them, and then I'll post an update about when they'll finally be available for sale.

Why am I doing this? Well, earlier this winter, I realized I wasn't satisfied with how I was spending my time. My evenings were long vacant swaths of TV-time - and I was feeling bored and a bit stifled. Sewing and embroidery are - I think - ideal evening activities. They require a kind of engineering-brain, able to follow instructions, and pay attention to details of measurement and construction, but they don't require the draining focus and observation and judgment of painting. So it's a good evening activity for morning-bird me, who is already pretty much done for the day, cognitively, by the time I'm having dinner.

So, what to sew? Well, my own weight is in flux, so I'm not really sewing for myself right now - better to wait and find out where my body will settle, THEN sew. And to boot, I have a lot of scraps in my fabric stash, as I tend to buy fabric in 3-, 4- or even 5-yard increments (so that I have flexibility when I sew - I can make whatever I want!). This leaves significant scraps - and as I only buy natural fibers, we're talking yards of silk, wool, cotton and linen here. This is not the kind of thing you just throw away.

So I settled on baby clothes. Plus, I've always LOVED baby clothes. I've always loved working in miniature in any medium; I love the fussy perfection of it, the detail, the smallness. I love that with very little material one can create a very rich effect. I even love the excess of it; what newborn child needs a hand-embroidered, herringbone silk twill dress (above)? No child, not really. Antonin Artaud, one of the French Surrealists, author of The Theatre and its Double, theorist of the Theatre of Cruelty, once wrote that excess without cause was the beginning of art. That pretty effectively describes the power of fascination that beautiful, artistic, tiny clothes hold for me - and why I like to make them; there's a potential to make the simple act of dressing into an art form.

So. Months and Years will be a kind of repository for periodic tiny collections of unique handmade clothes in a variety of sizes. The first piece of my first collection, above, is the "When the Violets Return" dress. It is inspired by an Irish prayer spoken when the gentians bloom in the Burren - and more on that when I finish the rest of the collection. It is a size 0-3 months, made from a warm and soft 100% silk herringbone twill (it has the weight and softness of a nice flannel shirt) with a cotton calico collar. The bodice buttons up the back, and the embroidered violets wrap over the shoulder and continue on the back of the yoke.

The next dress is inspired by line that I found very striking in a story from the Brothers Grimm; I'm still figuring out how I'm going to execute the ornamentation, but I'm excited to start cutting the fabric tonight; I have to measure my scraps and make sure I've enough cloth, but it should be a size 2T or 3T and made from fuzzy navy wool.

the tiniest baby dress

Isn't this darling? I think this is the smallest baby garment I've ever made. It's a size  0-3 mos. dress. Thank goodness my friends are both rather on the short side; if they were tall, I might worry that their baby would be too big for the dress from the get-go.

I've always liked sewing little clothes; when I was a child, I'd sew things for dolls and teddy bears. I am a meticulous person; I enjoy the precision required to churn out miniaturized things, and I love the fact that making smaller versions of things makes it possible to indulge in more ornamentation (like this embroidery) because there is less space to cover.

Anyway, a note on this pattern. It's a vintage 1950s pattern that Simplicity has reissued, Simplicity 2392. I picked it up on a day when my local fabric store happened to be having a great sale on all Simplicity patterns, knowing that eventually I would have an opportunity to make this darling dress with its Peter Pan collar. It's a nice pattern; the collar and collar facing are particularly ingenious. I used french seams on the skirt and picked up some hem tape to bind the seam where the yoke meets the skirt, just to give everything an extra bit of polish and finish.

I made my dress of cotton and tencel: cotton brocade for the yoke, a tencel crepe in gingham for the sleeves and skirt (it was sheer, so I decided to do a double-layered skirt), and cotton eyelet for the collar (though I wish the eyelet pattern was a bit denser so it would be more obvious). I used little yellow flower buttons on the back and trimmed the collar and yoke edges with rows of palestrina stitch in a dark slate grey cotton thread (the colors reflect the palette in the parents' registry).

I've decided that I need some hand work to fill my evenings. I don't draw or paint at night; I'm usually too tired to give proper attention to that kind of work. So for now, while I'm still unemployed and have my daylit hours to devote to painting, I'm going to try and "bust my stash" of fabric by making some more baby clothes, and then post them on etsy for a song. I'll probably wait until I have a half dozen or so pieces, and post them together. No rush here; I'm going to take my time. Each piece will be completely unique (so I won't do any "runs" of sizes - because that would get boring and the whole point is to enjoy my evenings more while also using up some of my fabric AND hopefully making some pocket change to boot), and I plan to take my time embroidering and adding special trims and details. I've already registered an etsy shop and set up an email account just for this purpose - and I'll be sure and post here when I have my first items up for sale. 

I think it'll be fun, a nice way to reduce my possessions and spread some special heirloom-quality items around to a wider community. =) I've already cut the pattern pieces for my first item: I'm sewing this dress up again, also in the tiny 0-3 mos size, but this time I'm making it from mauvey-pink silk herringbone with a deeper plum collar. It's going to be lovely!!

moon phase blouse

 

Here it is: my moon phase blouse! As you may recall, I carved a lino block with a made-up print of moon phases a couple weeks ago. I used it to print one of my brother's birthday postcards in project 52, to make some of my holiday wrapping paper (I'll post that tomorrow; I didn't realize I hadn't shared it here!) and then on all the pieces of this blouse.

 

The pattern is Vogue's V8598, the same one I used to make my "peacock" oxford shirt in 2010. I'm not convinced that I like it as much without sleeves; I might rip the sleeve facings off and print a couple more pieces of cloth and sew up sleeves in another week. We'll see. 

 

The ink I used is Speedball's Fabric Block Printing Ink. It's a water-soluble oil-based paint, which means it cleans up with soap and water. This ink (more of a thick paint) is not heat-set after printing like most fabric paints; instead, you let it cure for a week before washing. I did find, as some others have reported, that even though I waited 10 days before washing, that there was a noticeable fading of the ink. I tried hand-washing this at first, but the shirt still felt a little powdery, and I noticed some of the ink was rubbing off on my fingertips as I handled it. So, into the washing machine - and that's when the colour faded. However, it isn't coming off on my fingers anymore, so I really think it was just a matter of time. I don't mind the faded look for this project; I think it works. But this is something to keep in mind if you are going to use this ink!

Finally! My Irish Triple Chain quilt

 

I swore I'd finish hand-quilting and bind the edges before November was out this year, but I didn't quite make it; still, December 1st isn't bad. Finally, my Irish Triple Chain quilt is done. I was inspired to make this by Alicia's work over at Posey Gets Cozy, one of my very favorite blogs that I've been reading for years (Alicia's sweetly thoughtful and optimistic posts got me THROUGH grad school). I bought fabric and started cutting it up at the beginning of my 2012 summer vacation; I decided to take a whole week off from the dissertation at the start of the summer and just make things again. I managed to put the whole quilt top together pretty quickly, but then there was still the task of hand quilting the whole thing. And of course, that was my last summer writing the dissertation, and this task got shunted to the back burner pretty quickly.

But this weekend I knuckled down with lots of BBC period dramas (both films and TV miniseries) and cranked out the last of it. The results are lovely. The photo above was taken with the quilt thrown over a curtain rod; the sun glinting through makes it look quite yellow, but I do like the stained-glass effect of seeing some of the seams through the glow. The photo below gives a better idea of the colours: grey blues, a little turquoise, and then warm rose pinks, a touch of bright red, and deep burgundy and brown, on a creamy ivory background (it's backed in a gold calico with a print of delicate sprigs in coral and soft brown). It was always meant to be an "early autumn" quilt. 

And now that I've finished it, of course I've convinced myself I should do another one;  I even have images saved to a file on pinterest, of a vintage quilt someone found and posted about on their blog. I want to recreate that original.  We'll see; I have plenty of holiday gifts to finish (I'm still tying tassels for scarves) before I embark upon another big project like this. There's also the expense of it - making a quilt is not an inexpensive undertaking! I might just spend this winter stalking fabric sales and trying to accumulate the yardage I'll need.

handmade holidays: merry and bright

I've had a remnant of Ralph Lauren red plaid kicking around in my fabric stash for years. I bought it to make a shirt for myself, but I felt the plaid was a little too small scale (though I still have enough leftover to make a sleeveless oxford, so I may do it after all!) for an adult's garment. So I made this little 2T dress for a friend's daughter (pattern is Butterick's B-4054). The only change I made to the pattern was in the sleeves: I made a separate casing, rather than turning up the sleeve's hem to make a casing for the elastic, as I knew I wanted to trim the sleeves with bias tape (in a contrasting white/blue/green/red plaid) that I'd fallen in love with at my local fabric store. I used it to trim the skirt, neckline, sleeves, and to bind the seam where the skirt meets the bodice. This dress is full of careful details: most of the seams are French seams, the skirt seam is tacked down, invisibly, by hand, and the invisible zipper is the best one I've ever done. Children's clothes are so small that I always feel like I have time to indulge in the special finishes.

After sewing the dress, I embroidered a little laurel garland to the chest in ivory cotton sashiko thread, using a chain stitch for the stems and herringbone stitch for the leaves.

Here's another picture: it's a bit less romantic with the light filtering in through the window, but it'll give you a better idea of the dress. I can't wait to wrap this little cutie up and pop it in the mail for a special little girl's Christmas!

wiksten tank

I've been meaning to try out Jenny Gordy's sewing patterns for a while now; I finally got around to buying her downloadable .pdf pattern for the Wiksten tank a couple weeks ago and thought I'd try it out in this knit fabric first. It's a nice organic bamboo rayon that I dyed orange (the bias trim is 100% cotton interlock knit, dyed in the same dye bath). I did make some slight adjustments to the pattern - as it looked a little oversized to me in the photo, I created some shaping through the waist by nipping the pattern in from the medium (my size) to the xsmall just below the bust and then gently curving the seam back out to the medium at the hip.. The fit is perfect: a little slouchy, but not quite so shapeless (though I suspect the silky, lightweight jersey helps there). If I have enough fabric, I'm going to try cutting one out of some remnants of chartreuse coloured silk charmeuse I have in my stash - and cutting it on the bias, so it will drape nicely. I'll report back, if I do try it and if it works!

harvest 2013: lavender sachets

back in July, I cut my lavender, just as it was starting to fully open. I tied it up and hung it to dry for a week or two. After they'd dried, I worked all the flower buds off the stems and placed them in a big brown paper sack.

I knew I was going to make sachets, and I wanted to stretch the lavender buds a bit further. So this year, I combined the garden lavender with a couple ounces of dried meadowsweet that I bought at Dandelion Apothecary in Ballard.

Meadowsweet is a traditional strewing herb. It was used in the medieval era to sweeten linen cupboards and floors, so I knew it would be pleasant. Its scent is sweet and grassy, about what you'd expect, based on the name.

Then one afternoon I cut out a bunch of rectangles from my favorite toile-printed cotton duck fabric. With right sides of the fabric together, I stitched three sides of the rectangles together, and then turned them right side out. I stuffed each one tightly with the lavender and meadowsweet before turning under the top edge and hand-stitching each closed.

Then we tossed 'em into our drawers. Every time I'm pulling out a shirt, if I can see one of the sachets, I grab it, squeeze it a bit, and toss it into another part of the drawer. The other day my overshirt smelled of lavender and meadowsweet all day. It was wonderful to inhale!

keeping my word

 

Years ago, I promised my friend Jo that I'd make something pretty for her daughter. Her daughter was two years old at the time. Now she's four, is starting to wear a size five, and I figured I'd better cut into this pale mint green raw silk before she got so big I no longer had the yardage to make her a dress!

 

This is Simplicity 2320, a Project Runway pattern. I wanted to make a pretty dress that felt like it belonged on a little girl in a Slavic fairy tale: just add a furry vest and some thick stockings and boots, and she's ready for adventure! I washed the raw silk, which roughs up the hand of the cloth, but I love the nubby softness of raw silk. It's like wearing a beloved childhood blanket or something. I also like the look of embroidery on fabrics with a more organic, home-spun feel; it just seems right. Pretty, without being too precious.

 

I cut a size six, in case anything happened and I got delayed in this project. I'm estimating little S. should be able to fit into this dress by late winter or early spring next year - and won't it be perfect for that time of year? As Cass said, when I first showed him the dress,  "Oh! It's more of a winter dress than a summer dress" (I think he was surprised)

 

 

 

I found this embroidery pattern via pinterest. Seriously, I love pinterest. it saves me the hassle of so many downloaded images, stored on my computer. I did these abstracted flowers up in straight stitch, french knots, and lazy daisy, with satin stitch for the leaves and stem stitch for the stems (there's a real surprise, eh?).

 

Even before I had figured out what I wanted to do with the yoke, I knew I wanted to embroider the sleeves. It just gives the dress that extra oomph! - don't you think? I cut the pattern with the wide three-quarter-length sleeve option, and simply turned the hem 1/8 inch and then 1/4 inch to make a narrow channel for some 1/8-inch braided elastic. Unlike the full-length sleeve option for this dress (which is also elasticized, at the wrist), this version doesn't have a ruffle below the elastic. I like this simpler silhouette - again, I think it's a nice contrast to the precious-ness of the embroidery.

The flowers here are done in lazy daisy, with French knot centers, and the leaves are all done in herringbone stitch. The stems are in stem stitch, again.

Well, now it goes into the mail and hopefully I'll get a picture of little miss S. in her fancy new dress in the months to come. It's definitely too hot to wear during the summer, but hopefully soon!

tiny petals

Oh, baby clothes. They kill me. Never really wanted children of my own, but I do SO LOVE the exquisite tiny clothes. Always have. When I was a girl, I wanted to make doll clothes. As an adult, baby clothes totally feed that same drive to indulge in the details.

 

One of my professors just gave birth to a baby girl, Elitsa. She's only been at our department for a year and a half, but she is so generous with her time, so down to earth, and so supportive of us doctoral students. I contributed to the collective fund for the Ph.D. baby gift, but I wanted to do something more personal. So I made this adorable romper, out of a linen and rayon blend. It buttons up the back and the criss-crossed straps are adjustable - there are buttons on the inside of the back placket and each strap has two buttonholes.

 

The embroidery pattern is something I saw on a beautiful Japanese baby romper. I sketched one half of it, scanned it and mirrored it in photoshop, then printed it out and traced it onto some water-soluble stabilizer and embroidered it in basic DMC floss, using colours I already had on hand.

I really really really love how this turned out. I think, sometimes, that I might be happy making gorgeous, one-of-a-kind kids' clothes forever. No. Joke.

clothes for little people III: three little pigs

This one is already out and received by an expectant mother. I will confess, that when I saw this adorable Japanese linen with its print of the three little pigs, I was smitten. I snapped it up and made a dress, on the off-chance that my talented, graphic designer friend would, indeed, be having a girl. And she is! We are girls, girls, girls from here to the horizon - I don't know anyone having a boy right now. Which is weird. But then, I'm just happy that I only have to buy one set of patterns, and I can make all the different variations for all the little girls about to come into our lives. Congrats, K+J! I LOVED making this adorable thing for you and cannot wait to continue to shower your little one with special bespoke clothes!

clothes for little people II: an outfit for an autumn day, when one is 6 months old

my friend natalie gave me a fat quarter of the most adorable acorn-print fabric once. I recall her saying, "I saw this and wondered what you would do with it." Well, I've clung to it for a long time, because nothing seemed to quite do it justice.

then I realized I had just enough to eke out a diaper cover that could pair with this pretty floral-print that I had purchased to make a little dress out of.

I had originally intended to embroider the front of the dress with acorns to match, but after I sewed on all this chocolate velvet ribbon, I realized ... it's just enough. I stopped before it got busy.

I think this is my favorite so far. I wonder if the mother-to-be will like it? Is it too traditional a design? Is the palette too muted? Well. Fingers crossed.

More to come; I've got some linen cut, and I'm lingering over an online shopping cart filled with single-yard pieces of adorable knits that could make enough tees and rompers to gift all the new mothers on my list right now. It's just the expense of it all that is staying my hand - well, that and (I confess!) I've spent a bit here and there lately, culling ebay for old odille and elevenses pieces from back when anthropologie was still doing girly/vintagey stuff - though it's still just a bit cheaper than buying cheaply-made, mass-produced items, sewing isn't a terribly cheap hobby, even when one does stalk the fabric sales. It's the notions - all that snap tape and all those little buttons! - that really pushes the figures up.

Still. I always wanted to have friends for whom I could sew these little dresses and pants and things (though I have never wanted children of my own). I have a feeling that I'm going to have more opportunities to indulge these whims in the next few years than I ever dreamed of.

it's not for me. (clothes for little people I)

... as if that needed saying

it seems that everyone in the world right now is expecting a baby girl! Time to get a'sewing! I can't believe all the adorable patterns out there these days; I was even able to order patterns to make up costumes modelled on Cicely Mary Barker's drawings of flower fairies. Do you have any idea how desperately I wanted such a costume as a child? Friends, if you are interested, I bought the larger-sized patterns (to buy myself time). Let me know and let's talk. I have a deep desire to make up the almond blossom fairy's dress in silk and hand-paint the skirt to match Barker's gorgeous watercolour hues. I think the little vest/doublet should be done in pale green velveteen, with voile fringes at the sleeves and waists. Oh yes, I have a strong desire to live vicariously through someone's child. Will it be yours?

Also, I bought a child's cape pattern. Who wants a Red Riding Hood outfit made from quality fabrics that can actually be worn on a cool autumn day - for trips to grandmother's house, perhaps? =)

this is Laura Ashley (!!) pattern M4424 for McCall's. It's quite easy to make up, and it even has adjustable straps (they button to the waistband; there are two buttonholes). Inspired by a vintage diagram of embroidery patterns for hems of garments/pillowcases/etc., I decided to start whipping up baby dresses, and used one of the patterns to trim the waistband of this garment.

I've got a set to show you next, but there are a few finishing touches that need to be put on first. It's going to be quite cute, I think. It even has a theme!

and once again, in case anyone is getting any ideas: no, these are not for me. Sorry. I'm set in my non-maternal ways. I just enjoy the tiny sewing!

breath of fresh air: alabama chanin corset top

here it is! So, we had a snow-week back in January. Or rather, we had half a snow-week, following on the heels of a Monday holiday and a Tuesday where I did not have to go in. It was like a mini-Christmas break. I was, in fact, overjoyed. I'd spent my winter break editing and organizing and emailing and freaking out with nerves before reading at the MLA ... yeah, not so much fun. I didn't paint, I didn't do any of the things I normally do that feed the other parts of my self.

So I enjoyed the heck out of the snow week. Cass took two days off work and we played like kids. We went sledding - my first time ever, if you can believe it! - down some of the steep hills over Lake City Way in Seattle. We made Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes and ate them after every snowy outing for several days, enough that I finally started getting sick on them (in my book, that means you've just had the right amount). I made gingerbread scones studded with chunks of apple for breakfast with lattes or afternoon cups of tea. We made big pots of tea. We made snow angels. We soaked in the hot tub under falling snow (the best!).

When Cass went back to work, I put my favorite Christmas carols on (so as not to drive him crazy) and I started this project. I've wanted one of these Alabama Chanin since I was in high school, although back then it was Project Alabama that made them. A few details, in case you are curious, Project Alabama (you can find their pieces at some anthropologie stores from time to time now) has abandoned Natalie Chanin's founding values and relocated operations to China. Since then, Chanin founded Alabama Chanin which continues to operate here in the US, where they keep American stitching/embroidery/quilting traditions alive, pay a decent wage to women who are needed at home - often to help raise grandchildren in an intergenerational living situation, use organic cotton jersey dyed with natural dyes and strive for zero waste in their business.

In short, Natalie Chanin is one of my heroines. I have great admiration for her ethics, and for her aesthetic vision - they really do create beautiful garments. However, as these garments are one-of-a-kind AND sewn entirely by hand, I've never been able to afford one of these tops. Imagine how excited I was, then, when Chanin started putting out craft books with PATTERNS for her clothes in the last few years. I own all three. I'd been intimidated about the time involvement, but with a week of falling snow outside my window, I was happily bundled on the couch and well stocked with cocoa and movies, sewing away. It came together remarkably fast, really - even with all those eyelets, which did take more time to sew than anything else on this top.

I made a medium, but used the length from the size XL to make sure the piece was long enough for tall me. The medium's a little bit too big, but I like that it doesn't squeeze my hips. I think I'll use the size small for the tank dress, which is the next piece I intend to make from Chanin's new book, Studio Sewing and Design. I'll use my burgundy merino jersey for the outer layer and grey rayon jersey for the inner. Cozy and warm - it'll be a beautiful winter dress.

I'll probably start this in May or June; I want to be able to take the panels with me when we go to Paris (I'm giving a paper at a conference at the Sorbonne in July - isn't that crazy??), because I love embroidering on planes. Handicraft is such a fascinating way to meet people, especially (I've found) from other countries. I have had the nicest conversations over the years (and over an embroidery project) with a Korean woman in Santa Barbara who sat and had coffee with me one summer morning while I embroidered a linen skirt for Midsommar, with a German lacemaker at our local coffeeshop, with the stewardesses of Iceland Air who cheered me on as I stayed up through an entire transatlantic flight embroidering my friend's wedding veil (it was a photo finish, that project - I was working until 10:30pm the night before the wedding!). There's just something about it, it draws people in.

And apparently it draws me in, too. Hello? Still there? Bored to tears yet? Okay, back to (real) work, then. I'm almost done with that scarf (the tapestry-weave in undulating twill); I should have that to post soon. And then, I think, on to some machine sewing for a change. It's snowing here but I have the spring fashion bug - and a new/old Anna Sui blouse pattern that I think is just the ticket for some springy pastel-striped silk I've had in my stash for years.

handmade holidays: jokes among nerdy friends

Good guesses, Jen - it's actually David Garrick, the most famous of 18th Century English actors, renowned for his performances of Shakespeare (Garrick helped bring Shakespeare back *into* fashion after he had fallen out of vogue). The little card includes the portrait on which the monkey's outfit is based. Sent to a friend who just finished her phd (well done, your ladyship C!!), with a dissertation on theatre in 18th century England. I still owe her a pack of trading cards of Great Moustaches (spawned by our observation in a theory course we took together that all the great theorists and philosophers we were reading had really *unique* facial hair).

So. It's mid-January. And it's snowing here in Seattle. The U was closed for MLK Day yesterday; but I have no classes on Tuesdays, so it's officially a 4-day weekend for me. Which is nice; I've been feeling a bit sick after the MLA, as if all that stress and worry were finally expressing itself in the most drawn-out process of getting-sick that I've ever had. So I'm sitting here, watching the snow fall, hoping we do get those 5-10 (preferably 10!) inches that were a possibility in the forecast this morning, as I'd love to sleep in again tomorrow and sit here and drink another liter of hot tea and just rest. While Cass is at work, I'm listening to Christmas carols and stitching my first-ever alabama chanin reverse applique corset top (I have wanted one of these since high school, when I first learned about project alabama!) by hand. It's really nice. I think it counts as "resting" (for the sick) and it's doing wonders for my state of mind. I needed this. I really needed a good stretch of days (I find that four days of any particular activity/location/work is what it takes to kind of "reset" my brain) to actually be still, be worry-free, be nightmare-free, sleep in, contemplate the sky. Perhaps the snow is just the icing on the cake, but somehow, I feel like I needed it, too. It didn't feel much like the holidays around here this year, and I was willing to accept that and move on - but this weekend has actually gone a long way toward satisfying what I crave from the "holiday season."

Well. Back to it. Happy Tuesday, all. Back with pictures - hopefully soon - of the corset top. I've already done all the reverse applique. Now I'm adding embroidered "eyelets," to use Chanin's term, to the pieces before I sew it up. Two of eight panels done already. Hoping to have finished five by the end of today - though I suppose I have to get to some real work today as well. So long as it keeps snowing, I won't mind. =)