Quince and Quire

Mother Love

This bear needed clothes, a warm blanket and a pillow--or so I was told. You see, the seven-year-old has a best friend. The best friend just had a birthday. And this was my daughter's idea for the gift: a bear (which we bought) dressed in clothes, which we made. SImple!

Unless you, like me, are no good at patterns. How does one tailor to a furry, fat lady with a tail? 

I made a pattern from some existing doll clothes, which almost fit the bear. I kept the clothing shapes simple. And I ignored the tail, which meant no pants. 

 

A ruffle was required on the dress, naturally. 

 

My daughter, who wanted to sew much of this project herself, couldn't get the hang of moving the fabric along in time with the machine--so her job was to run the pedal (I am afraid for her future driving skills) while I stooped above her, guiding the fabric.

 

It was a good time to forget about my advanced degree, useless for this sort of motherly teaching moment. It was a good time to forget about health worries, school worries, house worries: it was a good time, in short, to shut down all the nonsense that typically exhausts me each day. 

 

It was a good time to be pleased with my daughter's generous heart and love of bright colors. 

 

And the dotty scraps we have left? They are just waiting to be made into coasters for our Moomintroll mugs. The successful completion of one skirt, one shirt, one dress, a pillow and a blanket: that was quite a good time for a coffee. 

Momentum

I'm back to working on a variety of projects--some neglected longer than others--after another round of stomach flu at our house. WInter's little joke just never seems to end here: now we've got another 3 to 6 inches of snow forecast for tomorrow!

Well, even if I haven't completed anything of note in the past week, so many other people are doing amazing work. I'll have links to beautiful projects, new-to-me design sites, and lots more for you tomorrow. (Unless, of course, a snowstorm takes out our internet.)

Small bath spruce-up

We have a simple and quirky upstairs bathroom. It was constructed from half of a much larger room in our 1817 house. It has great natural light and a nice view of the barn and fields. 

The shower has this pretty tiling in it. 

We use a weathered vintage chest of drawers for storage. The chest would benefit from refinishing or a coat of paint, but at the moment I don't have time to do either. Then I remembered this fabric, from the lovely Adrie. It has a bit of the block-printing look to it, and the colors work nicely with our shower tiles.

So I made a runner for the top of the chest. As you can see, I had only thin strips of the patterned fabric, which I used to frame a natural cotton in the center. So much nicer! And our little lidded Senegalese basket looks very cheerful on top. 

It may seem like a silly project, but one has to get through the winter doldrums somehow! This is my approach: fun, easy projects that make corners of the house feel renewed.

Love in linen

I've talked about her before. You remember, perhaps, the rose petal beads, the summer dresses sewed in calico, the homemade root beer. Maybe you don't remember the paper collage valentines or famous hobo bread, but I do. You must remember the quince tree, and the quince jelly. And of course, all the ephemera of a century gone: bookmarks, postcards, needle books, brittle photographs. Having survived the depression and the wars, she saved everything.

She still does. But now my grandmother lives in a small apartment, and I have received many of her beautiful vintage things. She sent me a nice stack of linen handkerchiefs. Knowing that I would never use them for the original purpose, and knowing my grandmother wouldn't mind if I re-purposed them, I used one to sew a little gift for her. 

If it looks grandmotherly, well, it is, of course. A small sachet in rose-colored linen, filled with lavender, edged in ivory lace, backed in a tiny star-print cotton. I thought she might like a summery smell for her bureau. I am happy to have a small gift, from the heart, to send to her in two weeks. I'll be including some of the children's art in that package, and a collage valentine, too, just as she always sent to me.

The handmades

Before we get into a week of winter sky-inspired crafts, I wanted to show you a few little things that I made this Christmas for the kids. 

I wanted to avoid buying more, more, more. I thought about how I could extend the play value of things they already had and, when possible, use materials that I had on hand. Here's what I came up with. 

I made this dress from my own pattern for one of my daughter's favorite dolls. The fabric was left over from a quilt project. I was so happy to finally do tidy, tiny seams on the arms and neckline. I know the beads are a bit much, but when you're six, the more the better!

For that same doll, I made a little sleeping bag to keep cozy on cold winter nights. It has been very popular so far for having play dates at other dolls' houses. I put that big pleat in to make it easier to get the doll in and out. The diamond-print fabric is by Lecien. 

Little brother got a sleeping bag for his friends too, and I'm showing it to you in all its rumpled reality. He really likes it so I'm happy to find it crammed next to his pillow with a gnome tucked inside. I made three berths to accommodate the many small friends he likes to carry around. The handles are good for swinging the friends around as though they are on the ferris wheel, which is important in my son's world. My mom made that wee cat on the left back in the '80s. The map-print fabric is Japanese and came from an off cut of a different project. I had no pattern and made things up as I went and it turned out fine.

And then I made a little scarf for my son using upcycled plaid flannel pajamas. The seams on the pjs were worn out and frayed despite repeated mending, but the fabric itself was still sound and soft. I added some star print flannel and a band of red. 

The last project was one my daughter and I did together for our local friends. We grew herbs this summer, dried them, and packaged them in glass jars to give as gifts. My daughter was so proud of this long-term project! It was fun and easy and brought so many nice memories of our summer garden.

Merry and bright

This tiny tree is made from scraps of wool felt that my late great-grandmother used to make all the family stockings. She did most of her crafting 30 to 60 years ago, and that felt is still bright and beautiful! I made this little tree, a mere 6 inches tall, based on the pattern in this book. I just cut a series of circles, starting with the smallest and gradually increasing the size, using the previous circle as a pattern for each level. I stitched through the stack with needle and thread, leaving the tree intentionally loose so that the layers can move a bit. This is another great last-minute project, and one that can be done easily with children participating. 

It makes me so happy to look at it! 

Child's Christmas scarf

I was given one of those stacks of pre-cut fabrics: charm packs, they are called. This one is Moda's 12 Days of Christmas. I'll be honest that I was not super excited about this fabric.

But you know, once I started on this idea of a patchwork scarf, I had a lot of fun with it. I made a brick pattern with the squares by cutting a few of them in half to get rectangles that were 2 1/2 inches wide and 5 inches long. I sewed one narrow rectangle to one full-size square for each row, alternating my layout as I went (see the first photo). Then I backed it all with bright red polka dot flannel, added some bobble fringe, and called it a day. 

This is a quick project that makes a nice gift for kids--or adults! 

Autumn comfort

Our chilly, grey days make for somber light in which to photograph. They also make one turn to projects of comfort. I'd had a vintage quilt square, provenance unknown, rattling around in my sewing room for years. I finally turned it into--what else--a cushion cover, because I was obviously never going to make a set of matching blocks for a quilt. I used a medium-weight organic cotton canvas for the back. I do love the cheery colors and patterns.

Meanwhile there is a certain young man who will be turning three soon, and I have begun (rather late, yes) a small quilt for him. I finished cutting all the wee blocks yesterday, after hours and hours with the rotary cutter. (Now I know why I haven't tried a quilt before!) It may not be quite finished by the birthday, but I do plan to have it done no later than Christmas. I hope . . . 

Gifts, and a giveaway

A box arrived the other day. A big box. A big box from the amazing Adrie, and it was filled with surprises. Adrie, for those who don't know her, has a blog called Fields and Fire, where she writes about sustainable farming and baking, intentional homemaking, and sheep, among other things. I especially appreciate her menus, which give me much-needed inspiration for feeding my family. 

So, Adrie was just, you know, cleaning out her sewing room and happened to amass a pile of fabulous crafting treasures, and she decided to send them on to me! Wow! Those little vintage spools of thread, seen with thimbles so that you get a sense of their size, were just a few of the many she sent. Adrie also sent a lovely handful of wool, unprocessed, and it smells so good and clean and sheepy. Yarn, too, and fabric--lots of fabric!

That's a close-up of some iridescent green silk that she sent. Isn't it gorgeous? I decided right away that I needed to make something with it. 

I made a scarf, using the green silk from Adrie and adding dupioni silk from my stash in shades of cobalt and soft jade. I am very pleased with how it turned out and I have plans to make at least one more.

But for now, I'd like to send this to someone, to pass on the lovely feeling of getting a surprise in the mail. I bet this scarf would look great on you! Or your sister! Or a friend! Please leave a comment so that I can enter your name in a giveaway! Go ahead, right now! You have until next Tuesday, the 16th, at the end of the day. 

And don't forget to enter Pat's giveaway for a beautiful professionally-printed calendar! And go see this amazing art by Jackie! So many talented people in this world . . . 

And thank you, Adrie, for your generous heart and thoughtful actions. 

Let's talk about lunch

My son saw his big sister heading off to school with special lunch napkins and decided he needed his own set. (You can see sister's napkins here and here). He and I chose some special fabrics from superbuzzy and got to work. What do you think? I think it's hard to go wrong with pop art strawberries and bento box doggies. The almost-three-year-old is very pleased. I am too; this was the perfect project to get back into crafting: easy, colorful, and quick.

On another note, we took a cue from maya*made and got Planet Boxes for on-the-go lunches this year. They are great! Streamlined, sturdy, stylish and plastic-free! We love them. 

A week of vintage: needle book

Here is another useful treasure from my grandmother. Don't you love the many curves incorporated into the design of a simple piece of cardboard? And the image of those needles on the cover, like the rays of the sun, with their threads ready at each new day to be a force in the fabrication of modern life. Why do you suppose the package included 79 needles, instead of, say, 75 or 80?

A week of vintage: my grandmother's thimbles

This week I am showing a few of the vintage treasures that have come into my life recently. As always, I like to contemplate the design and beauty of made things. Today I share these two sweet thimbles, which my dear grandmother sent to me.
 

Spring garden play mats

Here's something fun to share with you, after the rather gloomy post yesterday: spring garden play mats. I made them for a children's party at which there will be dancing. The friend who volunteered to lead the dance happens to be a classically trained ballerina, and so when she suggested that we needed props for a garden-themed choreography, I was happy to get to work. I was also inspired by the colors and stylized blooms in Kevin Henkes' new book, My Garden.

I made the mats at high speed and with no pattern--I literally sketched on the back of the fabric with chalk before cutting and sewing. (The mats are quite large; the laundry basket made a good template for cutting some of the round shapes.) It was the only way I could convince myself that it was no big deal to make eight of these in two nights. (The eighth mat, a pink tulip, isn't pictured here). I also panicked at the thought of turning corners inside out (why? I don't know) and so I chose an odd construction method, which was to sandwich the layers of fabric and batting and then sew around the edges with a zigzag stitch, leaving raw edges. I suppose I could trim the edges closer, like faux serging, or perhaps even bind them with bias tape, but for now I like the rough look. Most of all, I like that they are finished in time for the party. 

My kids love these: so far the mats have served as blankets, table cloths, hopscotch mats, capes, picnic mats, yoga mats and, of course, a giant garden. That's not bad for two nights of speedy sewing.

Scraps, and what to do with them

My daughter received a Kathe Kruse doll for Christmas, and it has quickly become her favorite. While I prefer cloth dolls, stuffed with wool, my daughter really responds to the hand painted face and life-like features. (I like the fact that while the doll has vinyl components, it is certified phthalate-free and is made in Germany.) 

So, we are getting used to having Estelle Clara Rose, as she has been named, with us throughout the day. She sleeps in a cradle next to my daughter's bed; she sits in the high chair next to our dining table at meals, and while my daughter is at school I am left with detailed instructions about when to put the doll down for a nap, give her a snack, etc. etc.

Miss Estelle Clara Rose came in a lovely pink-and-green frock, but clearly she needed another dress. Aside from being unable to afford official Kathe Kruse doll clothes, I really wanted to try sewing some of my own. My daughter searched through the scrap bin to find this multi-colored polka dot fabric, and I made the sleeveless gown that you see above. I am not used to sewing garments, and I made it without a pattern, so this dress has issues. For one, it doesn't quite snap up in the back. Two, my sewing machine was having thread tension problems, which made  some ugly top stitches. And three, for some reason I have many sturdy seams along the hem and only tiny, tenuous seam allowances along the arms and neck. Oh well. I am considering it my mock-up, from which I hope to make other, more elegant gowns for this busy doll. 
 

For the birthday party of three-year-old twins, I made two half-rainbows worth of bean bags. My son did not want to part with them, even after I reminded him of the basket filled with mama-made bean bags just like these. 

I have been busy with scraps of another kind as well, and I'll have photos to share soon!

Also, I have just updated my weekly favorites (in the right column), after a spell of, well, about two months. Do go see the wonderful stuff that others are doing!

Sparkle

 These are vintage wool felt stockings that my great grandmother made. The one on the left is around 64 years old--and it still looks beautiful. I guess great grandma liked sequins by the time I came along in the 1970s; the one on the right is mine, and I treasure it.

Wishing you all happy holidays!