Bedwarmers

So, my back went out on Day 2 of the family visit this year. And not just let-me-take-some-Advil-and-we'll-be-good out. But boo-hoo-you're-gonna-have-to-put-my-socks-on-for-me out. And also things-were-kinda-improving-until-I-sneezed why-did-I-get-so-cocky out.

Ok. Fine. It is what it is. Lucky for me, I have a loving family who is not only understanding but is also insistent on comfort at all times. This is truly a blessing. (Hydrocodone is also a blessing. It won't rub your back and tell you it loves you, but it will quite willingly take the edge off.)

I was of many minds about the whole thing. I took it as a sign that I needed to slow down and as a reminder of the importance of flexibility (both literal and figurative). I was reminded that stress will sneak up on you whether you like it or not. And I also remembered that it's hard to stay fully engaged when you're in pain/on painkillers, even if you're really wanting to be engaged.

We were all handed an exercise in balance because of it, and I think we fared just fine.

One of the hilarious parts of the ordeal was that, in the midst of this fuzzy-brained, stabby-backed situation, I decided it would be a good idea to go buy a sewing machine.

What? Why not? I'll tell you why not. Because fully medicated, I was easily persuaded by the aforementioned loving and understanding people to accept a gift of one of the fanciest sewing machines in the world.

That whole excursion is worthy of its own post, and its own post it shall get.

What I really wanted you to see were the rest of the bedwarmers. (The Rest of the Bedwarmers is also a lovely modern dance I've choreographed and will be performing once my back is all better -- the dance has lots of bendy parts.)

This one was for my SIL and brother. I made it well before Christmas, using the old machine.

My SIL and brother loved it so much, we agreed they needed a second one.

So, my SIL and I went through all of my fabrics and made this one together. We used the new sewing machine/super-computer/waffle-maker. (As I mentioned, I'm convinced my new machine is so fancy, it must also make waffles.)

Those bears kill me. Particularly because they're in the woods.


I'd like to give myself credit for the improvement in the sewing of the piping, but I'm afraid I have to credit the waffle-maker. In fact, I have a sneaking feeling I'm well on my way to complete obsolescence because of the machine. That's OK. I'm pretty sure it isn't very funny. And, as far as I can tell, its fabric selection skills are weak. Weak!

Pattern: Bedwarmer. By Ashley Shannon.
Fabrics: Some deliciousness from Superbuzzy that was on sale back in August.
Piping: Wrights Maxi Piping (Mocha 765 and Olive 590) bought at my local fabric store.
Sewing machine: Waffle Maker 3000.

Post-frenzy reveals

Remember when I sewed piping?

This is what it was for:

Please disregard the unfinished edges. They were totally finished when I gave this gift.

A bedwarmer for my mom - pattern brilliantly designed by Ashley. (Free pattern is here.) It's such a great invention. You heat up the little rice pillow inside, put the pillow in the cover, and put the whole toasty mess at your feet (or on your neck or head or wherever, really). Toasty and cute!

Here is the little rice pillow:

And another close-up of (my first attempt at) piping:

Not bad!

I went on to make two more bedwarmers that I will show you later. Just so you know, the fabric may very well be too much for you to handle. Consider yourself warned.

Other warnings/A peek at some information I plan on sharing with you:

• My back goes out more than I do.
• I was gifted a sewing machine that might also make waffles.
• If I hear one more conversation on my phone line that isn't the one I am having, I may give up on telephone technology altogether and rely solely on the Pony Express.

Happy New Year, everyone!

My new friend - Polar Fleece

Like all you crafters out there, I have lofty dreams of giving handmade gifts to my loved ones for Christmas. And like many of you, I ended up needing to make one particular thing quickly and last-minute-ish for an 11 year-old niece. So, rather than knitting a hat, I sewed one out of my new friend, Polar Fleece.

The joke was kind of on me, though, in that it took me longer to cut and sew this (and the scarf I then decided I needed to make) than it would've taken to knit something. Aw, who cares? I made a new friend!

Pattern: Martha Stewart fleece hat. Pattern can be found here.

Fabric: Two colors of polar fleece. I bought 1/2 yard of each color, and that was enough for this child's size hat, the scarf below, and probably a whole other hat.

Crazy important thread tip: Use heavy-duty thread on the top only, and regular thread in the bobbin. Martha won't tell you to do that. But the very nice and helpful lady at the fabric store will. "If you use the heavy-duty on both," she said, "you're going to have a big mess." I used Gutermann 100% Polyester thread in color 257 - dark blue, and was grateful every step of the non-mess way for that nice lady.

Sewing needle: Size 18 for heavy-duty fabrics. The bulk of the fleece -- despite it being quite light and fluffy -- requires some heavy-duty tools apparently.

Mods:

(1) I embroidered a snowflake on it. I used 3 strands of DMC embroidery floss in light blue and free-handed it. It's just some backstitching and french knots.

(2) Instead of seaming the hat so that the front is 2 panels of color next to each other, I sewed it so that the light blue panels wrap around the sides, like this:

Then I figured that a hat alone might be a lame present, and I had lots of leftover fleece. So I made a matching scarf. (It looks quite grey in the photo, but it's the same fabric. It matches in real life.)

For what it's worth, here's the info on sewing the scarf:

Two-toned scarf "pattern": my own.

Specs: Finished scarf measures approx. 42 inches x 5 inches.

If I were really adept at this sewing thing, I could've done this very quickly, cutting two long strips (each one measuring 42.5" x 5.5") then sewing them together. I am not, however, adept at this sewing thing, so I pieced the strips. Whatever.

All you should know is: embroider the snowflake first, then sew the scarf -- right sides together-- leaving about a 3-inch opening on one side to turn it right-side out again. Again, I used heavy-duty thread in the top only, and regular thread in the bobbin. No problems there!

After turning the scarf right-side out, I blind-stitched the opening closed. I knew the next step would be to top-stitch around the scarf about 1/4" away from the edge, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I was so sleepy.

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful experiment. Not as speedy as it could've been (or as it would be for you, probably), but good nonetheless.

Now. Let the gift-wrapping commence!

Tender reputations

Reputations are a complex thing. Sometimes based on thorough information, sometimes just a few incidents strung together, the reputation is a tricksy thing for sure.

Some guy you work with is always crabby and kinda mean? I'd bet that guy has a bad rep. What if it turns out dude has chronic back pain, and once that's fixed, he's perfectly lovely? You might change your mind about the guy, right?

OK. So. You could jump to conclusions about me if you simply knew that I have failed time and time again to get a handmade gift completed on time. You could. Jump away.

However! I've realized that it's not that I wait until the last minute. It's not. It's more that I tend to underestimate how long a gift is going to take to make. So, instead of calling me a procrastinator or shirker of deadlines, you might just call me a bad forecaster of the future. But then you'd be the one who'd look silly. Because who among us can tell what the future holds? Right?! OK, then.

This brings us to the top-secret item I was working on: A birthday gift for a good friend. I started working on it well in advance, and it took longer than I'd expected. More on that in a moment.

The birthday girl had once told me a story about how her grandmother and her mother, as they got older, would enter their bedrooms at night and say warmly, "Hello, bed." Like they were being reunited with a loved one. My friend thought that this -- being so pleased to collapse into bed at the end of a long day -- was a sign of aging, until she suddenly realized she'd started doing it, too. For her 40th birthday, I designed and embroidered a couple of pillowcases for her.

The pillowcases were store-bought (good thinking there), and I had originally planned on embroidering an identical set, both just like the one above. Except.

These took so much longer than I expected. So very much longer. And not just because of the do-over. That fishbone stitch or herringbone stitch, whatever it's called, takes forever. (So I'm a perfectionist. And, yes, it would go faster if I weren't. I'm aware. There's no need to yell.)

So, the second pillowcase -- made an hour before her surprise party -- looked like this:

You can even still see the outline of the embroidery hoop there, that's how fresh it was (how short on time I was) when it went into the gift-wrap. It's pretty and simple, but it also took me a very long time.

Obligatory photo apology: I managed to shoot these pictures while putting on my make-up, blow-drying my hair, and figuring out what to wear to the party. It was getting late. This was the best we could do.

Take-home lesson? You can't accuse my friend of being old, and you can't say I don't try. Because she's not, and I do. Sometimes you just have to make modifications to an original idea, that's all. (And truth be told, sometimes you have to admit you dabble a little in the perfectionism. Meh. It is what it is. Rock on!)

Super cute wall decals

You know I generally prefer the handmade gift over the store-bought gift. On principle, I think doing a make, and then giving the make away are key to everything.

However.

Every now and again, I've gotta give props where props are due. And these Blik wall decals are so prop-worthy, it's not even funny.

My PIC and I saw some of these in person in Vancouver recently and just couldn't bring ourselves to buy them. Even though they are re-positionable, removable, and downright adorable, we couldn't justify the purchase.

But, let me tell you, they are not making it easy to resist. Go over there and see what I mean.

P.S. Don't miss the Rainbow Poops.

(I also highly recommend saying that P.S. as often as possible. It might just be the very thing your life has been missing. No? Just me? Ok, then. Just me. Well, me and probably my wasband.)

(via not martha)

My SIL turns good things into great things.

My brother and sister-in-law were just here for a visit.

We were all out to lunch on Saturday when suddenly she squealed with delight. Kind of out of the blue.

"Oooh! I have something to show you when we get back home!"

As you may recall, she is fantastically cute. I have never known anyone whose style is so unrelenting in its cuteness. So, you can imagine my interest was piqued.

Once home, she got her backpack, unzippped it, and slowly -- very slowly -- began pulling something out of it.

My inside voice: I recognize that green polka-dotted fabric. Did she make something with the fabric that I made something with before? What is that?

"Look!!"

She turned it around, and it was the heating pad cover I'd made her for Christmas.


But there was something in it that was not a heating pad.

"Look!" She put the whole thing down flat, opened the velcro side and slowly (she will put on a good show) pulled out an adorable laptop computer.

"It's the PERFECT bag for my brand-new laptop!! This way I get to use it and look at it all the time, not just when my back hurts!! Isn't that great?!! For my laptop!!"

Dudes. That heating pad cover is also a laptop bag. Because my SIL is a genius.

Heating pad covers were the new scarves. Now, it turns out, they are the new laptop bags.

You can read more about the heating pad cover/laptop bag here, here, and here.

Thank you to Denyse Schmidt for the Hold Me Close heating pad cover inspiration. And thank you to my SIL for being such a genius. Something to show me, indeed!

Super-buzzy, you're the one!

You make crafting lots of fun!
Super-buzzy, I'm awfully fond of you.
Boo boo pee doo.

(If you weren't singing all of that to the tune of Sesame Street's Rubber Duckie song, I highly recommend going back and doing that now. And, if you're interested, clicking on the song link will take you to a delightful mp3 file of the original song. But I digress.)

My most recent set of purchases from Superbuzzy arrived today! The package consists primarily of items that will be birthday gifts. Having just looked at all them closely, I can tell you that the giftees have many fits of glee to look forward to as a result of the outstanding cuteness and glory of these gifts.

I shall provide you with a link for one item in the package. This might minimize the grief I'll get from a one Nora of Black Dog Knits for my withholding ways. But it might not.

However! Do not click on the "this is the one thing in the package" link below if both of the following are true: you and I know each other and your birthday is May 18th. Also, do not read the comments if you are that person. Don't. If you are not that person (which should be the overwhelming majority of you), feel free to do as you like.

This is the one thing in the package that is still available. The other items I bought are sold out, so there are no links to them anymore, but I promise I'll show you pictures laters. And you will cry. And be mad at me. And maybe take up a hobby you never intended to take up. But, that's the way life is, people. Don't look at me.

Edited to add: Sorry. That one thing is gone now, too. Hang in there. Photos soon.

In the meantime, the longer the Chevron scarf grows, the harder it is to photograph. Let's see... how about long-ways?

Nope.

Sideways?

Nope.

I'll have to get more creative and/or look around the world wide web and get back to you with a better photo. By the way, I'm not even half-way done with this scarf. Slow and steady may win the race, but who'll be interested when I finally cross the finish line? Boring. Harumph.

But or chunky

This might get addictive. The title of this post is the subject of another piece of spam I got.

I couldn't decide whether to feature it or "I concordville this colo". They're both really good.

Ok. But seriously.

I mean, but or chunky seriously! Ha HA!

Moo cards? They're killing me. I will easily spend twelve thousand hours making some of these. (Thanks, BDK.) Great gift item. Great gift tag. Great thing to spend half your life making.

If only the Moo cards weren't on the list of lists of fun things to do, because that list is taking a back seat at this time to other lists of lists -- ones wherein I drive all over creation, make more phone calls than anyone should, and try not to explode from crabbiness.

Good thing I concordville this colo. One can always take comfort in that.

Oh, Artoo.

You know what's fun? Embroidery.

You know what's even more fun? Embroidering something pleasing.

But, what is pleasing? What what what... Oh yes, of course. Star Wars.


I have a friend who really appreciates hand-made gifts. Seeing as it was this friend's birthday, I was going to embroider some tea towels for him using the completely adorable patterns from Sublime Stitching. In particular, I thought spaceships with little creatures in them would be great.

Enter my wasband, who kindly accompanied me to the local needlecraft store to get more colors of embroidery floss.

WASBAND: It's too bad you don't have enough time to knit him that Star Wars hat.
ME: I'm gonna embroider these tea towels for him. They'll be great.
WASBAND: But he loves Star Wars.
ME: I know.
WASBAND: You should embroider C3PO and Darth Vader on those tea towels.
ME: What?
WASBAND: He'd love it!
ME: But I have these iron-on patterns --
WASBAND: We'll go on the internet and find a pattern. It'll be great! Come on! Here's some bright blue embroidery floss for R2D2 right here! Look!

My wasband loves to come up with things for me to make. Loves it. And when he locks on an idea, he gets really enthusiastic and kinda can't stop mentioning it and how awesome it is. He's all good ideas, my wasband; however, he rarely realizes what's involved. ("You should make a rocketship so we can go to the moon! The moon is awesome! You could totally do it! It'll be great! Do it!") There have been many times I've crafted into the wee hours of the night in order to finish one of Mister Big Ideas' projects. This was one of those times. (Proof? The wee-hours lighting in these photos.)

In all fairness, my wasband did help me find and re-size a drawing from the world wide web. I then traced the drawing onto the tea towel with a pencil and hand-embroidered it. Backstitch for all the outlining. Satin stitch for the colored-in parts. And a few french knots for the red and white dots on the front top part.

I also machine-sewed a little "Made with Love by Dr. B." cloth label on one of the edges (labels courtesy of my SIL).

I particularly like the back of the towel:


I think it looks like a cool drawing.

Hey! Wouldn't it be great to have a whole set of these towels? You know, with tie fighters, and the Death Star and all that stuff? That would look so great in a dude's kitchen!

Oh God. That last part sounded a lot like my wasband. Only it was me.

Huh. Well.

That was awkward.

Hey! Fetching mitts! Shiny!

Everyone but every last everyone has made these Fetching mitts from Knitty:


And yesterday, it became very clear that I too must make these mitts (MustMakeMitts!). While I should've been taking care of applique business, I was figuring out what to knit. Who's with me?

Everyone says these mitts are really fast. And I like fast, especially when coupled with yarn. And especially especially when every other work-in-progress around me is of epic quest proportions.

So in wandering through my yarn stash, I saw that I have the exact yarn that's called for in the Fetching mitts pattern, only in powder pink.


Ahhhh. Lovely, soft powder pink. Isn't it pretty? Now, can you imagine mitts in this color? What would begin as delightful, angelic hand-coverings would assuredly become crappy, dirty mitts in about half a second. Awesome!

Well, I guess if you're willing to walk around with your hands in the post-scrub, pre-op surgeon position all day, you could do it. And, if your lifestyle allows for that, then you should! "Excuse me. Would you mind opening that door for me? I've got these powder pink mitts, and I really can't." "Would you be a dear and carry this purse for me? It's just too dirty for my mitts." "I'm gonna need you to pour that latte directly into my mouth. Yeah. Mitts!"

Not having that lifestyle, I realized I'd need to go a different direction. My lifestyle is less of a soft powder pink, and more of a this:


It's more of an elephant-foot, multi-colored, who-can-tell-what-you've-been-up-to lifestyle.


So, I'm making these mitts, thinking the heating pad cover is great as is, and fantasizing about my next heating pad cover.

Dude, heating pad covers are so the new scarves.

Heating pad covers are the new scarves

Opening presents at my house this Christmas went a lot like this:

Family member (holding a wrapped gift): A present from Dr. B.! (unwraps gift. pulls out ball of yarn. looks puzzled.)
Me: That's gonna be a hat.
FM: Oh.
Me: Yeah!
FM: Um.
Me: Just give that back to me.
FM: So... it's a placeholder? Or... am I really getting a hat made of this yarn?
Me: I thought I'd use that yarn.
FM: Oh.
Me: No?
FM: I was hoping for a Star Wars hat.

Well. That was just my wasband. Other family members got other gifts in various states of completion. Sock tubes for some. Half-made heating pad covers for others. People really got the hang of it after a while, and I didn't even have to tell them to give the stuff back to me. They would just say, "Wow! A sock!" and hand it right back over, needles sticking out and all. I think it went swimmingly!

One of those gifts-in-progress was for my crafty SIL. I've been showing you bits and pieces of it for a little while. I can now reveal more, since she has kindly performed the requisite oohing-and-ahhhing-and-returning-it-to-me ritual.

Here's a full (pre-quilting, pre-applique) shot of the top:


This is my second "interpretation" of the Denyse Schmidt "Hold Me Close Heating Pad Cover" from her book. The last time I made one, I vowed not to wing it the next time. I think I said I'd be much better off just using the pattern.

You know what I rarely do? Learn.

A couple of months ago, on an episode of Simply Quilts, a genius lady was demonstrating how to make these log-cabin style flowers that are all wonky. No pattern. No measuring. Just easy. Addictive. And, if done well, the perfect heating pad cover.

(That last one was all me. She was making actual quilts.)

So, I went back to Denyse's basic specs for the size of the back. But, rather than follow her pattern for the top, I used that genius lady's technique and made a pink "flower" in the center and then surrounded it with "leaves." See that up there? Beautiful! I cut the top to size, per Denyse's instructions. And, so far so good.

But when it came to the quilting part, I was stumped. The customary stitch-in-the-ditch didn't seem right here. So, I poked around and came across this. See all the irregular circles in the stitching there? Well. I thought that'd be perfect. Uneven circles with maybe some leaf-type shapes would be awesome. If Denyse can do it, why can't I?

Oh, yes. I took another step that could've proved disastrous. Faced with indecision about what marking tool to use for said circles and leaves, I decided to quilt freehand. I stitched right into the quilt sandwich (in this case: pieced fabric top, batting, and muslin) without any lines drawn on to follow.


One woman's brave is another's lazy. Please don't be confused. This was all lazy.

Oh, and any real quilter will tell you that my stitches are about twelve hundred times too long. The real quilters make tiny little stitches that you don't even really see. But I'm not a real quilter. I'm but one woman.

My limitations aside, some of the circles didn't come out that uneven -- which freaked me out, frankly.


Ok. Let me be clear here. This project should've taken about three and a half seconds. But, with this kooky idea of quilting circles and leaves all freehand-like, it's taken a great deal longer. Look. Here's the back:

One piece of fabric. Marked with that Hera marking tool I told you about (which is great, by the way!). Hand-quilted along the lines. Super quick. You could very easily make the front and back simple, and you'd be cranking these things out fast, mister!

So, the next step for me is to sew the front to the back and see how I'm feeling about the applique part. That would be the part wherein I would use things I've never used like "Wonder Under" and "needle-turning" and who knows what, adding that extra cut-out flower and leaves to the top. I may skip that part. We'll see.

Here's what I'd say, though. Who doesn't need a nice new heating pad cover? Think of your own. Do you even have one? How does it look? Well.

I think it's the gift to give in '07. There. I said it.

Unless of course, everyone in your life wants Star Wars hats. In which case, I can't really help you with that one.

'Tis the season to [help yourself to a feeling]

Live consciously. Buy wisely. Make a difference.

That's the way they rock over at New American Dream.

These good folks have put together a brochure called Simplify the Holidays. And who wouldn't be interested in that? Just people who despise simplicity, I suppose. (Only tiny downside -- if you want to think of it that way -- is that you'll need to sign up with them to view that particular brochure.)

Below are links to specific, short articles of theirs that you can read without having to register or anything. These are sure to put you in the holiday spirit -- only you may not recognize it as that, because it will be a spirit where you aren't collapsing under the weight of your own chest pains and panic.

Holiday Tips and Resources

Good gifting: Spending time instead of money

Inexpensive, Creative and Eco-friendly Gift Ideas

Ho ho ho, it's the holidays!
(How come it's not pronounced hole-idays? Or is it?)
Peace!

The Glorious Haul from NYC: Part I

BEADS?!

I made some stitch markers while I was in New York. There. I said it. Now you know. So, whether this makes Hobby 99 or not is inconsequential. What's important here is that I told you, and now you won't be surprised or confused (surfused? conprised?) when I show you the photos. Angry, maybe. But not surfused.

(Non-knitters: In knitting, stitch markers are used to flag a particular place in your knitting. You slide them on to your knitting needle between stitches, and they serve as a signal for something or another. For example, you're knitting along, la la la, and when you get to the stitch marker, you might change to a different kind of stitch or realize you're at the end of a round of knitting or something. Anyhoo, the markers can be as simple as a small plastic circle, or as elaborate as a circle with things dangling off of it. You know. For fun!)

My lovely sister-in-law (SIL) and brother live right down the street from a bead store. Who cares, right? I don't bead. I don't even wear jewelry, so what does it matter to me?

Well. Here's what I think happened:

1. The other day, Nora over at Black Dog Knits posted a photo of some stitch markers she'd made.
   
2. This image snuck its way into a wrinkle in my brain.
3. That wrinkle in my brain was activated the moment I arrived in NYC, causing me to blurt out to my SIL, "I want to make stitch markers while I'm here!" (This was just part of the blurt. The rest of it had to do with fabric and yarn and tasty Thanksgiving treats, but that's for another post.)
   
4. My SIL shopped with me at the cute little bead store.
   
5. Google sent me to Wormspit and Sheep in the City for detailed instructions.
6. My SIL jumped in with her mad jewelry-making skills and tools, and then...
   

I made some stitch markers.


How about that sparkly donut bead there at the bottom? It's particularly cute and disco-like in person.

The bead store only had three toggles (those pre-made sturdy circle things that are on the top there). So for the second set of markers, I had to make my own circle things out of sterling silver wire. (I think it was 20 gauge, if that means anything to anyone.)

Sure. I could've wrapped the wire around something to form a true circle shape, but then I would've been giving in to Perfectionism and the idea that I should be more like a machine, and that's just tantamount to doing The Man's bidding, and who wants that?

(Ha HA! See what I did there? Crappy worksmanship = political resistance. Woo hoo!)

Anyway, if you look at the blue ones (not too closely), they don't really look handmade. Those there with the flowers? You can really see it: Hand. Made.

I haven't tested them out yet to make sure they don't snag or eat yarn while they're on knitting needles. At this juncture, I'm afraid to admit, their sole purpose may just be to juke the stats and make it seem like I really have 99 hobbies. (My favorite TV show The Wire has taught me many things. "Juking the stats" is but one of them.)

But, I kid. I may give them away as gifts. Or I may use them myself. After all, who doesn't need a cute little reminder every now and then that it's time to do something different?

This concludes Part I of The Glorious Haul from NYC. Parts II and III will include gleeful tales of fabrics and yarns. Here's a teaser:

Knit animals (and robots) hurt my teeth

If you also have sensitive teeth when it comes to adorable things, go get yourself some kind of tooth protector before you proceed here. (I don't know how Meg over at Cute Overload can stand it. Maybe she has dentures.)

I kinda want to make this:


For some reason, I thought it was crochet at first, and then I looked more closely at the free pattern, and saw it's just garter stitch. Knit, knit, knit. Simple!

And then there are all the Jess Hutch items, like this pink bunny, for example.
The also-free pattern is here. I'm so sad that her book of patterns is no longer available. She truly takes the cake when it comes to adorable creatures. When you're the mastermind behind adorable knitted robots, you are pretty much the most genius genuis of all times as far as I'm concerned.

Kate, the cat with britches from knitty - also tooth-achingly cute with her little striped sweater and solid pants:


Cute, right?

Bear, bunny, and kitty. Free knitting patterns. Awesome.

OK. So, what I'm gonna need you to do now is just relax. Just calm your mind. Take a deep breath. You might feel a little pain here. Just breathe.



Ouch. Ouch! OUCH! Look at that frackin' MONKEY! His name is Cedrich. And Winston and Radley? Equally cute! Those muther...AARGH! How did they make crochet so SO CUTE?! That pattern is gonna cost you a little money, but it's for all three of those. Where is someone so I can sock them in the arm with how cute these are?! DAMN IT!

Oh, in addition to my teeth hurting, I sometimes also feel the need to smash things when I see something cute. I don't actually smash things. I just feel the need. But, I have a frontal lobe that assists me in higher-order thinking, so I rethink the smashing and generally just lie down.

A final note: I don't recommend eating a chocolate croissant (a.k.a. a candy-bar sandwich) while viewing these items. It really kicked it over the top for me. Now I go night-night. (The fact that it's 10:45 in the morning may make it challenging, but I'll do it. I'll close my eyes and go to sleep and then you'll see. You'll all see.)

If you can't make 'em, buy 'em!

I've mentioned before that I think giving handmade gifts is a way to do a pretty great thing. But sometimes, there's just not the time. I realize this. But! If you live in or around Los Angeles, this is where you are, once again, in luck.

I give you: Felt Club.


Handmade crafts with the added bonus of ass-kicking, all in one place.

I've never been to Felt Club, but I've spent many hours on many blogs of crafters who sell or have sold their lovely items at Felt Club. (Ok, that last link, the "lovely items" one? She may not have anything to do with Felt Club, but her items are so great they make my teeth hurt. So, I thought I'd throw her in there.)

October's is fast-approaching. It's this Sunday, in fact.


Here's yet another nifty way to get a jump on any winter holiday shopping needs you might have without giving your money to oh, I don't know, some evil corporation. (There, I said it.)

You may not have the time to make it yourself, so these awesome artists and crafters have done all the work for you. They make it. You buy it. Somebody gets a one-of-a-kind gift. Everybody wins. Felt Club!

Wash up. Be well.

This squid soap looks awesome! From their site:

SquidSoap works by applying a small ink mark on a person's hand when they press the pump to dispense the soap. The ink is designed to wash off after the hands are washed for about 15-20 seconds, which is the time recommended by most doctors.

Wash 'em up, people!

(via, as always, boingboing)

Little list of cool items to make

I'm not gonna say that you should get started on any winter-time holiday gift-making at this juncture, because that would just be ri-donk-ulous. But, these are v. awesome items worth considering when the time comes.

Leia buns. All the knitters out there have seen this by now, I'd imagine. But for those of you who haven't and love you some Star Wars, check it.

Subversive Cross Stitch. I made the one about cancer for my partner-in-crime. The bunnies make it extra adorable. Very quick to make. I'd never cross-stitched before, and this was super easy and fast. Great gift for friends who like it subversive-style.

Knitted Converse sneakers on Craftster. (via boingboing) Ok, you're not really gonna make these, but check them out!

Fingerless gloves. These are so great. You can embellish them any way you'd like. But those embroidered tree ones? Jeez! Those are beauties.

Giving handmade gifts just feels like a right thing to do (not "the" right thing. One of many possible right things.) Don't you think?

Put that coffee down

Need a coaster?

Listen up:

Purl really knows what they're doing.

They start by telling you they'll take care of the pesky chore of coordinating fabrics for you. "We know about your commitment to your craft, and we've got some amazing bundles of delicious fabrics that we just know you're gonna love. Looky here - just pick some bundles from our site, and we can send them right out to you. You can have them in a matter of days! Just give us your credit card number, and we'll...mmmm...yeah, we're only in town overnight and then we've gotta hop on a flight to Cleveland first thing in the morning. But, we'd hate for you to miss out on this amazing opportunity!"

Then, instead of actually getting on that flight, they casually mention on their adorable blog that there are these coasters that are so easy and quick that you could make them "the day of the party!!"

(I'm looking at you with a very dead-pan look right now. Some might call it a "slow burn.")

Let's say I were the kind of person who threw parties. Let's just say that. I'm fairly confident that, even if that were the case, I still wouldn't have the constitution for crafting "the day of." I might fall for a good pitch from some smooth-talking folks, but that doesn't make me a fool.

Be that as it may, these are some really fracking cute coasters. The pattern as written yields 12 coasters that are 3.5" square (or square-ish) when finished.






I chose not to do any quilting on them once I'd turned them right-side out and stitched them shut, and it did take me quite a while to make the set of 12. But it was an enjoyable while.

They're quite nifty, and I think the set also makes a darn cute gift. (Better than a set of steak knives.)

Now, will you go to lunch?

Look what I can do

I haven't yet figured out what exactly I want this blog to be. I don't know who I want to be writing to or what I want to be writing for. But, I do know I made this yesterday at a class with Amy Tan of Amy Tangerine:

The design is hers, and the class was at Sweetpeas and Snapshots in West LA.

We learned a reverse applique technique, chain stitch, and lazy daisy embroidery stitches. It's hard to see, but the bird's legs are particularly cute.

This took about three hours to make, with the learning of new stitches accounting for some of that time. A fear of accidently slicing my shirt accounted for the rest. Also, the t-shirts she provided were very soft, but are only available wholesale.

I really like the idea of handmaking gifts, and this is a great and relatively easy way to make a one-of-a-kind present for someone.

Oh yes. And welcome to my blog.