It seems perfectly timed that I spotted this Guerilla Knit Up on my walk down Brock Street to work this morning. A lovely blast of pink in a grey landscape. So pretty and cheery.
The feeling of that stayed with me all day and then tonight I went to see the Toronto premier of the indie craft documentary, ‘Handmade Nation‘, by Faythe Levine. What a fun time seeing so many of you out at the screening and sitting packed in the Lennox Gallery together. I’m going to have to sit down with the Handmade Nation book over the weekend. There were so many people featured that I want to learn more about.
I was particularly inspired by a patchwork dress they showed. It reminded me that I’ve been wanting to make a piece of clothing out of patchwork, so I’ve just put that on my list. Also, the opening credits were pretty fun and you can watch bits of it here.
There was a crafty chat after the film, but I had to leave to pick up Maisy. Did anyone stay to discuss? Did you have favourite bits or people from the film? It really made me feel very proud to be a part of this community that is just bursting with talent and creativity.
And thank goodness for Google! I just found out that this Guerilla Knit Up is the handiwork of Martha Brown. You’ll notice that she even added paper tags and a pencil, so people have been adding their comments. You made my day today, Martha!
It’s all business over here, so I thought I should dress the part today. It’s tax time and it’s one of the things I do not love about having my own business. All the accounting, paper work and tax stuff really eats up a lot of time.
Nevertheless, it was a good excuse for me to throw on this blazer that I got at the Love & Rummage Trunk Show from Jen. It’s so crazy cute. I just love the angular pockets and the tailored look. I’m not sure how old it is, but all the lining is stitched in by hand and there are weights inside the hem and tiny darts on the shoulders. It feels so great to wear something with such lovely workmanship.
Andrew bought us a huge full length mirror recently and I’m just realizing how amazing it is not to have to jump up and down or stand on a chair to see my entire outfit at once. It also means I can take much better photos of the clothing I make.
Okay, back to work for me!
I’ve finally started hand quilting my queen-sized quilt. Hopefully I’m going to get better as I go along. I’m pretty sure any practiced quilter would frown on the size of my stitches – they should be much smaller, but I just can’t seem to manage a tinier stitch.
When I first started out I didn’t have a great thimble, which made things much harder. I finally got one of these Clover thimbles. It’s leather, so it feels comfortable. It also has a metal coin on the pad of the finger that allows you to push the needle through pretty easily. I really like it.
I’m just hand quilting straight vertical lines that are about 1.5 inches apart. I use a piece of low tack painter’s tape as a guide for my stitching line. This was a tip I got from Johanna. It works like a charm.
The quilt is set up on a 17″ square Q-Snap frame and I try to do an entire 17″ square in each sitting. The frame fits in my lap and the rest of the quilt takes over the couch. It takes a couple hours, but I think I’m getting a bit faster. At this rate, I have about 32 more sittings. So perhaps in a few months (and dozens of dvds) I’ll be done!
In the meantime, I’m starting to think about picking a colour palette for my Double Wedding Ring quilt class in March. Greys with pastel brights? Browns with purple tones? Aqua with pinky reds and cream?
This is “Buttons”, the sock monkey. I made him a couple weeks ago at the Sock Monkey workshop with Lindsay of Operation Sock Monkey. He’s been hanging around, making me smile which seems to be what sock monkeys do best.
It’s Thursday and the weekend is almost, but not quite here. It’s still winter and it’s been rather dreary this week. I’m thinking that now would be a good time for a little laugh. Something silly. Something perhaps involving a chimp, named Jonny?
I was tagged a couple weeks ago by Leslie. It’s actually the first time I’ve been tagged and I wasn’t too sure what else there is that you don’t already know about me by now, except…
1. While I lived in New York, I designed Joan Collins‘ family holiday card one year. She was a friend of a friend. I met with her several times in person (She was really very nice) and put together a montage of photos of her children, her new husband and her. Actually Joan designed the card and I was just the hand that clicked the mouse. She also specified a very gothic font and a red gradient background to top it off. Eight hundred copies of the card were printed and mailed out to all her dearest celebrity friends and family. Let your imagination go crazy with this one, as it will never see the light of day through me.
2. I do no use an alarm to wake up. I used to have to drag myself out of bed every morning after hitting the snooze button thirty times. About four years ago, I just started waking up automatically early in the morning. Just like that, literally overnight my eyes just started popping open early in the morning. It’s harder in the winter with less light, but having a couple hours in the morning to start my day is so lovely. (although somehow I still end up running late for work)
4. I really enjoy movies with monkey characters in them. Especially older ones. My favourites include: The Barefoot Executive (with Kurt Russell) and Monkey Business (with Marilyn Monroe & Cary Grant). I still haven’t seen Monkeys Go Home and I really want to.
4. I keep a photographic pillow journal.
5. I was terrified of public speaking when I was in elementary school. Every year when ’speech time’ rolled around, I would dutifully write a speech and every year, I would be ’sick’ on the day I was supposed to give my speech. My grade eight teacher wouldn’t let me get away with this trick and forced me to do my speech in front of the class. I cried through the entire speech, so I doubt anyone could understand a word I said.
6. One of my favourite things to do is have a bowl of ice cream in bed before I go to sleep. Actually, I just like eating in bed. Sweet things are best – pie, candy, jello or cake.
I’m sure I’m supposed to tag someone else, but how about any of you sharing just one thing that I don’t know about you? That seems fair.
The quote above is from ‘Twilight’. I read the first book on Monday and last night I read the entire second book, “New Moon”. It’s safe to say that I’m completely hooked and that my day job is currently interfering with me spending more time with Edward Cullen. I haven’t seen the movie yet. I’ve decided to wait until I’ve read through the rest of the series first. The premise of the books is that a young teen girl falls in love with a hot vampire and misadventure ensues. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but I’m so pre-disposed to teen drama. My So-Called-Life, Dawson’s Creek, Felicity, Gossip Girl – you name it, I love it. I’m curious if this obsession will ever end or will I still be hooked on the lives of fictional teens in twenty years?
The quote is typewritten on muslin and stitched to the inside pocket of my new Birdie Sling. I forgot to press the space bar between two words, so it’s not perfect, but that’s the charm of the typewriter. There is no delete button.
It was definitely time for a new bag. After six months of daily use, Birdie Sling #1 needed to retire. Plus, I wanted to be a bit matchy and make something to go with my new coat.
I did a couple things differently this time. Instead of fusible interfacing, I just basted a layer of washed cotton muslin to all of the bag’s pieces. I really like how this turned out. I often find fusible interfacing rather frustrating when it bubbles and doesn’t stick properly. For the pockets, I turned the small pocket into a zippered pocket to add a secure spot to keep my ipod, phone charger and lip balm.
I also made a matching zippered pouch for my Shinzi Katoh agenda. This way I can keep my pens, cheque books and business cards altogether. This system is working out really well for me and makes me feel like I’m making progress with my life-long wish to be more organized.
But really – Twilight, anyone?
Oh dear. Look at what happens when someone leaves a tray of delicious cupcakes in my possession!
1. I pretty much eat them all
2. I figure out a way to eat both flavours at once
Thank you, Heather. They are so delicious separately and together!
Has anyone else done this? Do you have weird flavour combinations that you like together?
The grand finale to my weekend was the much anticipated Love & Rummage Trunk Show. I don’t think we realized how enticing the ‘rummage’ aspect was going to be. Everyone was so excited to scoop up the vintage fabrics, buttons, clothing, housewares and trims. I have to admit, so was I. I got the sweetest vintage hankie with squirrels and bunnies on it and a lovely piece of vintage floral fabric from Claire. I also got a super colourful Vera scarf from Margie, which I think will bring a little spring to these last winter days and a darling grey vintage blazer from Jen.
I think I now officially have a Trunk Show bunny tradition. I can’t seem to resist the bunny! At this show I picked up one of Sarah McNeil’s crazy cute knit bunny brooches. Of course, I also got one of Margie’s (Resurrection Fern) crochet sea stones. I have been coveting those stones for a very long time.
We were blown away by the crowds that showed up right at noon and had a steady stream of people until we started closing up the trunks at 5pm. It was pretty incredible and exciting.
We got a lot of great press for this show, including that lovely article in the Toronto Star and mentions in The National Post, BlogTO, and Toronto Life. Many of you early birds also heard me on CBC radio’s Metro Morning on Friday with Jane Hawtin. It was a live chat, so I got up at 4:30am to be in the CBC studio for 5:30am! I didn’t realize that so many people listened to the radio so early in the morning. (while I’m usually fast asleep for a few more hours) It was really wonderful to meet all the people who discovered us through these mentions.
Since we never rest on our laurels over here, the end of a trunk show means the start of planning for the next one!
I almost didn’t head out to this show, but I’m so glad that I did. There is no way that I would have seen Grant Heaps’ textile piece otherwise, it’s absolutely massive. A few months ago Grant put out a call for vintage cross stitch patterns and now I know why. His piece is an interpretation of one of those patterns, made up of one inch squares of fabric loosely stitched together. It’s absolutely incredible.
Grant is a regular at the workroom’s Quilt Sunday and each month he brings in one of a series of quilts he has been working on for over a year. They are each magnificent, using only scraps of fabrics and detailed embroidery to depict a narrative in imagery and text. You can read a great profile of Grant on Toronto Craft Alert.
Bev Hisey’s hand-tufted carpet representations of various diseases and bacteria in petry dishes was my other favourite from this show. Who knew that SARS could be so beautiful?
Take a look here to read about the other participants. Radiant Dark is organized by MADE and is now on my list of MUST SEES for next year.
Of course, there’s one last thing to report on from the weekend – the Love & Rummage Trunk Show! But since today is my day off and I worked extra hard last week, I’ve scheduled in a few hours of seriously indulgent relaxation. I’ve just made a pot of cheese fondue and I’m going to curl up under my quilt and read a deliciously trashy novel. I won’t admit just yet which novel it is, but I’ll give you a hint – it was very recently made into a movie. (MB – Yes, it’s THAT novel and I’m swooning already)
{NOTE: WOW, a huge thanks to Grace for posting these photos on Design*Sponge. Welcome, to everyone who is visiting from one of my all time favourite blogs! Also, Grant Heaps has posted some comments below speaking a bit more about his textile piece. Be sure to check them out to find out exactly how many little squares make up that huge piece)
Saturday night Angelune invited me to have dinner with a few of her friends and Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge. Grace was in town to speak at the Interior Design Show. Over french fries and beer (orange juice for me) we chatted about favourite tv shows (I really have to get a hold of some Arrested Development episodes), rent prices in Toronto vs Brooklyn vs New York City vs Hoboken, and what a real poutine should consist of. We ate at the Gladstone Cafe and after dinner headed upstairs to see the Come Up to My Room show.
It was super crowded and quite hot, but we elbowed our way into each of the rooms, which were designed and decorated by different designers. It was awesome to see the show with Grace (who is just so incredibly sweet) and to see how excited she was by our local designers. Design*Sponge was the first blog that I ever read and it has been especially inspiring for me to watch the blog grow from something that Grace did part time to something that is now her full time job and business. She has been a major influence on me and my decision to make the leap to having my own business. It was definitely a thrill for me to meet her in person.
Angelune also introduced me to Derrick Hodgson who is my favourite local artist. His room was a delight and so was he. I took one of the free posters (so did everyone else) he was giving away as a placeholder until I buy myself one of his original paintings. (one day!)
