Another cushion to round things out

All week I would look at my sofa and think there was something missing and I finally realized it needed a spot of bright color somewhere.  I like my colors to be neutral and serene for the most part, but touches of something red are a must for me to feel happy.  Fortunately, I'd acquired some rosy fabric from Joann's when I was in San Diego over Christmas and it was just the thing.  I thought I had enough fabric to make two covers, but alas there was only enough for one.  In the end, I think that's ok because two might have been too many for one sofa.

I also acquired an ugly end table from the sidewalk yesterday.  I only dragged it home because 1) I needed an end table and 2) I needed one that was narrow enough for the space between sofa and window.  My lamp had been sitting on the windowsill since I moved in and it's nice to have it on another surface so I can close my blinds.  I have to sort through my available fabrics to find something to cover over it, until then, no photographs!

Living Room Decorating

When I was in LA for a day over Christmas holidays, I asked my mom to turn out her fabric stash for me. She'd acquired a bunch of random fabrics from an Indian neighbor of hers who moved away. I turned the numbby velvety blue stuff into fresh sofa cushion covers, which is a nice update from the red ones I'd made ages ago. Now it doesn't look so matchy matchy with the red file cabinet that I'm using as an end table and the red wastebasket.

The wall above the sofa (which looks gray here but is actually a very pale sea-green) is also super big and kind of curved so I'd been at a loss for what kind of wall hanging would be most appropriate without breaking the bank. I finally recalled a white Ikea frame I'd had lying around forever and thought that several of these sprinkled across the wall would look nice. It's not evident from this photo, but the frame is quite deep and has a nice 3D aspect to it (although technically everything in real life is 3D). I will fill them with various fabric swatches for easy decorating. This is just the first one, filled with fabric from my mom's Indian stash.

City Bag II

I've been meaning to make a city bag for my aunt forever and bought the appropriate fabric at Joann's ages ago. One thing led to another though and I somehow never got around to it. Since I was a person of leisure these last two weeks and was fueled by the admiration of the Mother for my first city bag, I decided to tackle this project. It ended up being surprisingly enjoyable and simple; I had forgotten how much I liked to sew. I vaguely remembered my first bag being a bit challenging to cut and assemble, but I think it was because I was doing everything on the floor. Since then, I have acquired a slightly wobbly but overall wonderful cutting table and this time around I was astounded by what a difference this makes. Patchwork squares were cut easily and neatly and all the pieces posed no difficulty at all.

This yellow wasn't what I had originally chosen at all. I believe it had been earmarked for a city bag for the Bunny, but I ended up making a rabbit stuffy for her instead. I forget what I had chosen for this bag, but I'm very happy with how the yellow fabric looks against the pinks.

The interfacing gave me a bit of trouble. I don't know if it was because the stuff was cheap, because it was old or because it was creased, but I know that my fabric had some trouble sticking to it. I also somehow ended up getting the glue all over my iron and had to spend some time cleaning it off. I plan on finishing the straps tonight (I will add interfacing to the straps, which was something I did not do for my own bag) and then the bag will be all done.

One thing I always like to do is put in a pocket. The pocket is looking more red and orange than pink, but you can tell by the pattern that it is the same fabric as the outside patchwork. The lining fabric is different of course and the straps will be made from the same material. Unfortunately I had cut out my first strap piece oddly so the second strap had to be cobbled together from two pieces. Hopefully this will not be too noticeable. Overall, a very fun project and I will be making one for the Bunny in the future.

Fall Domesticity

I've been all over a new blog I stumbled upon recently: wise craft I can't tell you how much I love this blog. I found it when I was looking for quilting ideas and have been spending almost all of my free time reading it. In addition to being well-written and thoughtful, the blog is full of gorgeous pictures and craft ideas. I've been adding links from her posts to my tumblr account so I'll remember later.

Anyway, so I have been feeling inspired to sew and make things again. Part of it is the changing weather I think. Ever since the ORS deadline I've just been settling in and feeling domestic. I started piecing together patches for a summer quilt I am making. I'll take a picture soon, but I'm envisioning a simple blue and white quilt. I've decided to hand quilt it because I think it'll be a fun thing to have in my lap all winter long while I watch movies and such. I always like the tactile experience of working on something with my hands, whether it be knitting or hand-sewing. Speaking of hand-sewing, last night I started making a new set of cloth napkins for myself. I had some pretty green quilting cotton I bought from Joann's ages ago so I sewed one up and did a little embroidery on it.

It was so fun that I made another one this morning while waiting for my upside-down plum cake to bake. (Why was I not at work you ask?? Ek bleh.) The colors are kind of washed out looking, it's actually a brighter green than it looks like. Everyone knows I'm awful at taking pictures and my old camera doesn't help things much. But I love these guys and I can't wait to use them.

I'm planning to make a couple more so I have a set of four. I wish I could say they were all the same size but I'm not terribly consistent about folding under the edges the same amount. Oh well. Still pretty! For the next two, I am thinking of embroidering a snail or butterfly.

Needle Book

I've been keeping my three needles (the same three needles I've had since college, and before college, these needles were owned by my mother) stuck in a shoulder pad.  This shoulder pad is usually stored in my "sewing kit" which is really just an old chinese tea canister.  It's served me well over the years, but I realized recently that it might be time to get some new needles.  I picked up a little pack at Joann's but there was no case for them.  Today I decided to sew my own little needle book.  I saw a couple of examples online, and came up with my own "pattern."  I think in retrospect I could have thought it through a bit more, but I'm happy with how it came out and my needles are all happy now.

Here is a picture of it closed:

Here is a picture of it open with needles inside:

I topstitched the felt on the inside before closing up the top.  Unfortunately, I had to topstitch the top closed so it looks a bit off.  Next time, I would add a tab or button of some kind to hold it closed.  I would also sew something decorative to the outside, it looks a bit plain.  I'm really fond of how the red felt looks against the blue fabric though.  This is the same fabric I used for my bag lining.  I'd like to make a skirt or dress from this too.  The color is so pretty.

Patchwork City Bag

A few weeks ago, four animals made their way back to the suburbs for some Arby's and shopping. Our first stop after lunch was Joann's and R and I went to town. Or really, I went to town, with R helping me along. She already had a lot of the stuff I wanted so she was able to offer great advice. During the visit, a little pattern for a bag caught my eye. I convinced R to make one with me and we spent a happy time choosing appropriate fabric. I got three fat quarters and some blue fabric for the lining and straps. The pattern calls for 36 5"x5" squares, assembled in a 4x9 rectangle. Cutting was very slow for me because it took me a while to get used to the rotary cutter and more time to try to measure them with some degree of accuracy. Here are my squares laid out on my bed (I'm sure Jess will take issue with the quality of my shot):

Bag sewing took several days. I was worried that the interfacing we had chosen was too heavy for the bag, but now that it is finished my happy with it. It's a large (enormous) bag and I tend to cram it with a bunch of stuff plus groceries so I'm quite happy with the heavier lining. I only wish I had interfaced the straps too. Overall, I'm very pleased with it and will get a lot of use from it this summer. Here is a picture of the finished version, hanging on tony's cat tree:

I made a little pocket and sewed it to the lining before sewing the lining to the bag. Next time, I would make the pocket larger. As it is, I can fit my keys and chapstick in there. I cram my wallet there also, but it doesn't really fit. Here is a bad picture of the pocket, sadly you can see the can of tomatoes I bought and a tissue, oh well:

Knitting Needles Bag for Double Pointed Needles

 

The sewing bug, long dormant, first showed signs of reviving at Joann's (of course). The very talented R and I were busy feeling up every piece of fabric in the store and I decided to try my hand at dress-making again. My first attempt (several years ago, back in Brooklyn) had gone quite well and so I managed to forget the subsequent attempt (an awful skirt made from this retardedly stretchy fabric) and decided to go for it. While at Joann's, I also picked up a remnant for $1 and decided to make a case for carrying knitting needles around. I remembered seeing a pattern for one in my stitch n bitch book and it didn't seem very hard. This morning I checked out that pattern and realized that it called for three pieces of "funky" fabric, preferably upholstery, each 3/4 of a yard in length. So I chucked the book and decided to wing it. That might have been mistake #1. I didn't have any plans to actually make anything tonight until I saw an extremely wonderful bag R made for tortoise. It is beyond excellent. I will try to get a picture to post. Anyway, after seeing the bag my sewing bug was wholly revived, leading to tonight's adventure. It is 1am and my house is brightly lit with pieces of thread and fabric everywhere. I'm just going to make a laundry list of subsequent mistakes to get it over with:

mistake #2: should have kept my sewing machine covered, it was filthy. much time spent industriously scrubbing with combo of paper towel, windex and swiffer dust wipes. next project will definitely be some kind of cover for sewing machine.

mistake #3: having not touched my sewing machine in two years (last thing I made were pillow cases for my sofa pillows), I probably should have practiced on something. in any case, i had to fish out the manual just to figure out how to thread the machine. this mistake led to some of the more interesting and wobbly stitching that appears on the case. I like to think it gives it a rustic air.

mistake #4: not having any thread in bulk besides white and blue, I decided to just go with the white because what the heck, the polka dots were white. sadly, white shows up extremely well against the green fabric, and all the irregularities of my sewing are immediately apparent.

mistake #5: since my sewing supplies were completely disorganized, I could not find some key items, including a measuring stick (otherwise known as a ruler) or chalk. my fabric wasn't cut perfectly straight but I couldn't really fix it precisely (more eyeballing) and this led to some trouble with hemming. I also had to rip out some of the stitches as they were embarrassingly crooked. subsequently, I used an envelope containing italian parsley seeds to make some light pencil marks around the places that needed it. GHETTO.

Despite this series of disasters, I think my case came out rather cute. I've already developed a sentimental attachment to it, just because I made it and they do hold my needles perfectly. I need to attach some kind of strap to it so that I can roll it up and keep it tied shut. Overall, this was a huge amount of fun and I can't wait to make something else!