Here's a glimpse of what is on the cutting table in my studio. These are bags all cut out and ready to be sewn, folded neatly with all the pieces inside. Large, reversible bags with key hooks give you two bags in one! It's time to make changes, and I feel like having one thing that serves two purposes is a good change, a practice in doing more with less and loving it.
Look at this groovy shadowbox, made by my good friend, Ann Edens. She is a talented artist, and she made this with goodies from my grandma's sewing box! It's so thoughtful, and I love how it turned out. It will look great in my studio, and I'll treasure the white sunglasses especially - I wore them for my wedding - in memory of Gram's stylish white sunglasses. Any Grandma that can waterski, slalom no less, when she is over 70, has to be cool!
studio update! Thanks to my wonderful friends, I now have shelves upon shelves in my studio! I couldn't wait to put stuff on them, so maybe this summer there will be time to paint them.
While many people were kind enough to share their children's clothes with us, we have chose not to have clothing with cartoony or cutesy characters on them. Here is my solution - sew a wooly patch over the offenders! This little gnome is simply a triangle of fair isle wool (felted), with a cashmere oval for the face. Inspired by the little gnomes from Fyn's birthday party. It took a little figuring to make sure the whole image underneath was covered by the new wooly gnome. Since the wool is felted, I just sewed it on my sewing machine with a straight stitch! And, it didn't take long at all. I've washed it a few times in cold water and it worked great!
What does it do? Think of it as a special sewing machine. It has needles, just like a sewing machine. But it also wraps and cuts the seam, with a few more threads and a blade.
Why is it so great? It's fast! It also finishes the edge of the fabric, so instead of two pieces of fabric with a stitch line, it's right on the edge. And it looks cool, so you can use it on the outside, even make it part of your design. Some machines can do a rolled hem too.
For things like pants, you can serge the raw edge of the fabric, fold it over once and stitch it down. That's one less layer of fabric inside your waistband, so it's more comfortable and less bulky (what a funny word...).
What if I don't have one? Good question. That all depends on what you want to do. Making a simple pair of drawstring or elastic waist pants? it's a piece of cake, just a few simple modifications.
Here's a way for you to revamp your own clothes, or perhaps something that has been handed down to you. Wooly patches add a little homemade goodness to everything from clothes to jackets and bags. Great for covering up logos or characters! You stitch, either by machine or by hand onto anything!
More good news! My blog is being featured today on one of my favorite blogs, resweater! Check it out at www.resweater.blogspot.com
Since we still have snow on the ground here in Northern Michigan, it seemed appropriate to show you what we've been wearing to playgroup. A nice brown wool sweater was the start for the wool longies, which I made with an extra long "waistband" that can be rolled down or worn up (you can see it here b/c he's reaching). The sweater is made from a few sweaters, but my favorite part is the stripe added to the sleeves. You can't see it, but there's a squirrel on the front! The hat is made from T-shirts, made with a pattern that was traced from another hat that a friend brought over. I love how it has the little knots on top! Shoes came from another etsian, baby bug designs, and were custom made in brown ultrasuede. What will I do when Fyn wants to choose his own clothes??? I hope he thinks his mom's work is cool!
Clothes for little boys are so hard to find! Either they are way too "cutesy" or the colors don't work for me. One of my friends found these Guess coveralls and passed them along to me. I added fabric to the collar and cuffs, with extra fabric inside the bottom 3" of the hem, so they show when turned up. To cover up the wording on the back, I made a scenic patch from felted wool scraps on the back, showing our favorite spot at the river.
Fyn has grown an inch since his birthday, so we pulled out the next size jacket. It was torn, so I camouflaged it with an arctic hare. Seems appropriate, and hopefully it will inspire you to make some animal sweater patches. Boy clothes need some creative revamping almost all the time!
The fabulous scarf was knitted by a friend, Elara, as a birthday gift. You can her work on www.plinkplink.etsy.com. She made me a sweet enamel/silver necklace with leaves on it!
Hopefully, there will be another snow day this week and we can go sledding!
Happy Birthday, Fyn! One year has passed and so much has changed. Thank you to all our friends and family for being part of our lives.
Fyn's sporting his very own version of the rockabilly cowboy shirt, complete with pearl snaps and faux wood grain fabric, made by his momma. I hope he thinks it's cool someday.
It started out innocently, clad in a tight-fitting canvas cover made from painter's dropcloths. But with a party on the calendar, and an idea from a friend, some recycled office furniture scraps and old wool sweaters merged to make our sofa new again!
special thanks to Kris at resweater for the groovy wool sweaters! I miss seeing her on etsy, but you can find her on artfire now.
Silk flags on grosgrain ribbon, made from old fabric swatches that were rescued by a friend before they were tossed! They are already serged on the edges, but the ones that aren't are just cut for now (it was a day before the party project), folded on top and stitched on with a straight stitch. Before stitching, I measured with the ribbon to see how long to make the strand of flags. We like them so much, they are staying up for a while.
Mostly, this is for everyone who has eaten this corn casserole and loved it. It shows up every year at Thanksgiving, and it's also good with chili. My sister even made it for our wedding celebration! Please adapt as you would like, but if you need more than one pan, make two!
Scalloped Corn 1/2 stick butter - melt in glass 8x8 pan Add: 1 small package Jiffy cornbread mix 1 egg 1 can corn - drain about half of the liquid 1 can cream corn 8 oz sour cream Mix and bake 45-60 min at 325 degrees until golden brown. It might even take longer than that... Works well if you make it ahead, keep in fridge, and put in oven as it's preheating to warm it up.
This idea was introduced to me by one of the "wise waldorf women" in our county. Gnomes are made from felted sweater pieces and stuffed with wool roving. The pattern is basically a triangle, with a half circle cut out of each side. Then you stitch them up the front, with an "X" stitch. If you leave a little room at the bottom, you can use it for a finger puppet too! Put it on your finger and sing this little song!
I met a dusty little gnome, he said we should clean our room, round, round, round, whisk, whisk, whisk, clean our room.
Since I have become a mom, I have met some of the most wonderful women! And felt an incredible outpouring of love. Speaking of love, this gratin, mmm, loves kale! A little Gruyere cheese loves kale too.
its adapted from a version that uses chicken broth on epicurious called swiss chard gratin. You can use kale or really any kind of green - swiss chard, curly kale, etc.
KALE BAKE 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs - use the stonehouse fishtown ones otherwise you should add some fresh spices like parsley, chives, tarragon. 3 oz Gruyère cheese, grated (1 cup) (sometimes I do a mix of gruyere and parmesean 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 cup veggie broth 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 medium onion, finely chopped 4 lb Swiss chard or kale cut into 1-inch pieces (I normally just use 2 bunches)
Melt 2 tablespoons butter and toss with bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, herbs, half of nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, whisking, 1 minute, then whisk in broth and boil, whisking, 1 minute. Season sauce with salt and pepper. cook onion in remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a wide 8-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened. Increase heat and Add chard/kale, remaining nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until vegetables are wilted but not browned.
Transfer to 12-inch oval gratin or 2-quart shallow baking dish, spreading evenly.
Top vegetables with bread crumbs and bake in middle of oven until bubbling and topping is golden, about 20 minutes.
You might have heard about this new piece of legislation being considered that will make testing mandatory for all children's products. It's bad news for crafty people like me! Voice your opinion and help support handmade crafts!
Here are my brother-in-law, Doug and my stepmom, Kim, showing off their holiday goodies. Doug's cuff links were made by my friend, James Blanchard. They are fordite, a material made from the paint scrapings at the Ford Automotive plant. Very cool. Jim sells his work at my friend Christie's Gallery 50 in Traverse City. I traded him for revamped clothing for his little guy! Kim's purse is a custom design, with one shoulder strap, pockets on both sides inside, a key hook, a cell phone pocket outside and a vinyl pocket on the back for photos of her grandkids. There a camera case and a makeup bag to match, all made from recycled fabric. Somehow I managed to stitch it up while Fyn and Tommy were playing together on Tommy's christmas vacation.
Here's a glimpse of what is on the cutting table in my studio. These are bags all cut out and ready to be sewn, folded neatly with all the pieces inside. Large, reversible bags with key hooks give you two bags in one!
Look at this groovy shadowbox, made by my good friend, Ann Edens. She is a talented artist, and she made this with goodies from my grandma's sewing box! It's so thoughtful, and I love how it turned out. It will look great in my studio, and I'll treasure the white sunglasses especially - I wore them for my wedding - in memory of Gram's stylish white sunglasses. Any Grandma that can waterski, slalom no less, when she is over 70, has to be cool!
All I want to say is that Jennifer rocks! Here's the newest version of my logo.
Better than a granola bar any day! I'm loving the sweetness and the texture of figs! Such a yummy snack. Fyn really likes them too!
Meet my serger. It's a faithful machine, of which I am very fond.
Here's a way for you to revamp your own clothes, or perhaps something that has been handed down to you. Wooly patches add a little homemade goodness to everything from clothes to jackets and bags. Great for covering up logos or characters! You stitch, either by machine or by hand onto anything!
Since we still have snow on the ground here in Northern Michigan, it seemed appropriate to show you what we've been wearing to playgroup. A nice brown wool sweater was the start for the wool longies, which I made with an extra long "waistband" that can be rolled down or worn up (you can see it here b/c he's reaching).
Clothes for little boys are so hard to find! Either they are way too "cutesy" or the colors don't work for me. One of my friends found these Guess coveralls and passed them along to me.
Fyn has grown an inch since his birthday, so we pulled out the next size jacket. It was torn, so I camouflaged it with an arctic hare. Seems appropriate, and hopefully it will inspire you to make some animal sweater patches. Boy clothes need some creative revamping almost all the time!
Happy Birthday, Fyn! One year has passed and so much has changed. Thank you to all our friends and family for being part of our lives.
special thanks to Kris at resweater for the groovy wool sweaters! I miss seeing her on etsy, but you can find her on artfire now.
This idea was introduced to me by one of the "wise waldorf women" in our county. Gnomes are made from felted sweater pieces and stuffed with wool roving. The pattern is basically a triangle, with a half circle cut out of each side. Then you stitch them up the front, with an "X" stitch. If you leave a little room at the bottom, you can use it for a finger puppet too! Put it on your finger and sing this little song!
Here are my brother-in-law, Doug and my stepmom, Kim, showing off their holiday goodies. Doug's cuff links were made by my friend, James Blanchard. They are fordite, a material made from the paint scrapings at the Ford Automotive plant. Very cool. Jim sells his work at my friend Christie's Gallery 50 in Traverse City. I traded him for revamped clothing for his little guy!
