2009 September Archive at make something

Archive for September, 2009

STYLISH DRESS BOOK : DRESS ‘J’

Published

on September 30, 2009

. 43 Comments

I don’t think I’ve ever studied a book as much as I’ve studied the Stylish Dress Book. Every week or so, I pull it off the shelf and carefully flip though it, examining the photos and the technical drawings looking for my next project. The crazy thing is that I always find something that seems ‘new’ to me.

A couple months ago, I had tucked away a couple metres of the nani IRO fuwari fuwari double gauze cotton in purple when it had arrived. The entire bolt got snapped up within 24 hours. Within a few days both Ayalah and Melinda had whipped up cute frocks from the Stylish Dress Book, but I just couldn’t decide what to make.

The incredible thing about this particular nani IRO print is that it changes as it moves across the width of the bolt. This plays out in interesting ways depending on how you choose to lay your pattern out.

With the colder weather approaching, I’m switching to making shirts and tunics that I can wear with jeans (my cold weather uniform). I decided to change Dress ‘J’, into a shirt that could also double as a cute cardigan.

One of my favourite details in sewing in using variegated thread. I get so much pleasure from seeing the thread colour change along my stitching line. Seriously, it makes me so happy. I used it to sew my buttonholes on this shirt and I just love how they turned out. Little coloured rainbow buttonholes! This particular spool is called ‘Water Lilies’ (clearly a reference to Monet) and it changes from purple to pink to blue to green.

I’m going to Houston, Texas next Friday with Jacqueline for Quilt Market! Does anyone know anything about Houston? Is there anything I should see? I’m pretty excited to go check out all the new fabrics and maybe meet some of the designers. My two missions are ‘Japanese imports’ and ‘felt’.

WARDROBE REFRESH #4

Published

Karyn

on September 27, 2009

in natural dyeing, textiles and the workroom

. 9 Comments

Last night I dreamt about natural dyeing. Stirring big black pots of coloured liquid with fabric swirling all around. To be fair, before I fell asleep I was looking up information on logwood. Logwood is my favourite natural dye, it gives you shades of black, grey, purple and everything in between. Right now, I am in love with all of those colours. I can’t get enough.

I don’t have a “before” photo, but this button-down shirt used to be white. It’s just a simple fitted cotton shirt from Abercrombie. The problem was that it got some mysterious yellow stains after a washing that made it unwearable. Rather than toss it, I kept it hoping that someday I might be able to revive it back to life.

The second run of our Natural Dyeing class just finished and we had a logwood dyebath just hanging out at the workroom. After mordanting the shirt, I dropped it into the pot for a half hour. The resulting colour is a subtle greyish lavender and now the shirt is back in my closet.

I’ve been thinking about doing a quilt from natural dyed fabrics. There is something so incredible and rich about fabrics that are natural dyed. Even the slight unevenness of the colour adds to the charm.

I’d love to do a quilt with all different shades of logwood and a bit of pink cochineal thrown in. I’ve started a list of future quilt projects I hope to tackle. I have a feeling this list is going to grow quickly. You’ll find it at the bottom of My Crafty List of Things to Do.

SNOW BUNNY

Published

Karyn

on September 25, 2009

in reading, scraps and stitchery

. 6 Comments

I’ve been slacking on my ‘Crafty List of Things to Do‘, so I finally decided to tackle one of the easier projects. There are so many great patterns in the ‘Softies‘ book, but of course, the sweet Snow Bunny caught my eye. My bunny collection is coming along nicely. Thank you for asking. I’ll do a group shot of my bunny family soon, if I can get them all in one place at the same time.

Snow Bunny was designed by one of my favourite softie designers Tamar Mogendorff. The construction is quite simple and I enjoyed all the hand stitching. I was quite inspired by Tamar’s embellishing and pretty much tried to replicate it as best I could. I was happy that I hadn’t gotten rid of my bead collection so that I could give the Snow Bunny a little ‘bling’. She’s a pretty posh bunny.

For the pom pom tail, Debbie donated some gorgeous, chunky cream yarn from her extensive stash to the cause. I took this opportunity to try out the Clover Extra Large Pom Pom maker. It was easy and fun. I wanted to make more, but what else can I make with pom poms?

I used the same wool stuffing we use in the Animal Softies class for filling. I will never use anything else. It feels so wonderful, it molds nicely and feels slightly heavy. The wool will also deter dust mites and mold. Plus, if you’re making dolls for children or babies, the wool will retain familiar scents that can be very comforting.

the workroom received oodles of new books and patterns this week, so I’ll be updating My Crafty List over the weekend with some new projects. Baby Stuff by Aronzi Aronzo has some definite bunny possibilities!

CHUCK, THE CHIPMUNK SOFTIE

Published

Karyn

on September 23, 2009

in stitchery and the workroom

. 9 Comments

This little chipmunk guy was made back in April in the Animal Softies class taught by pupa pupa designer, D’Andrea. In this class, D’Andrea helps each student design, draft a pattern and create a softie from their imagination out of the softest french terry stuffed with wool from a local farm.

I had originally wanted to make a squirrel softie, but then I saw this adorable chipmunk photo and changed my mind. Can you see the resemblance? I couldn’t decide whether or not to make him an outfit – a little vest? or bowtie? and before I knew it, he had scampered off into the woods for the summer.

Designing something with a personality is challenging, I felt much more critical of my work than when I’m making a piece of clothing. I miscalculated seam allowances and worried about his tiny little limbs. I thought he looked nothing like a chipmunk and jealously eyed my class mates’ cuter creations.

I think we all have this dialogue with ourselves when we’re creating. As often as possible, I look at ‘mistakes’ as opportunities to be extra creative or to learn what not to do next time. I know that I find this easier to do when I’m making clothing, since I have so much practice making mistakes and fixing them there. It can be especially hard when you are learning something to allow yourself the freedom switch off the expectations and focus on exploring the process. The process was actually really fun. From a photo (loosely), I had drafted a pattern and created a three dimensional little animal, something I had never attempted before. Not bad.

As I was stitching on his face (feeling subpar about my embroidery skills), Chuck looked up at me with his funny smile and I saw how sweet and wonky and perfect he was.

With fall approaching, Chuck has been gathering acorns and berries in the woods and enjoying afternoon naps in soft mossy patches before the cold weather sets in. It’s a pretty good life for a chipmunk.

MISC. SIX

Published

Karyn

on September 22, 2009

in gardening and misc.

. 6 Comments

I waited all summer for my hibiscus plant to bloom and finally it did! Next year I’m going to make sure I plant more flowers. I should start this fall by planting some bulbs, which I say I’m going to do every year but never do.

Today is the official start of fall. My mind seems to be preoccupied these days with thoughts of making fall-appropriate clothing and getting mentally prepared for holiday gift making. Is it too soon?

i must be thinking about fall. i’m sewing black clothing and wanting black shoes. like these.

nikole posted her first recipe, peach cream cakes! i can not wait to make these.

you can never have enough terrariums. it might be time for me to make another!

i’ve been thinking a lot about making a skirt with a zipper down the front… this one has two!

wonderful patchwork post

just discovered Jessica Marquez via heart handmade. instant love, everything is so beautiful!

this is the coolest calendar i have ever seen.

i want to make mini pies shaped like apples!

cutest thing. slinkachu’s clothesline in italy. (via notcot)

i especially love the stuffed toys from lucky boy sunday (via Oh Joy!)

great find! via Giant Dwarf: custom woven sew-in labels. old fashioned cuteness + super cheap!

oh my yumminess! nikole posted a recipe for blackberry sangria

clever becky is sharing her security envelope project with the world in fabric form

coolest pockets i’ve seen – navy blue draped pocket dress (with pink cardigan!)

lovely design has reprinted her beautiful conifers & beautiful leaves posters! i can complete my set now.

how a sewing machine works. very enlightening animation.

i miss fashion week. Karen Walker’s S/S 2010 collection is full of fun prints.

loving the cape, but those shoes!!! WOW.

skirt inspiration in blue

SCHOOLHOUSE

Published

Karyn

on September 21, 2009

in patchwork, stitchery and the workroom

. 8 Comments

I’ve added another block to my new brown, orange and grey sampler quilt. The schoolhouse block is very traditional block that makes a really fun quilt when repeated. One thing I especially love about quilting, is that every block teaches you a new technique or trick. Schoolhouse block has intersecting angles, which when you learn from someone like Johanna are a piece of cake to master.

IPHONE COZY

Published

Karyn

on September 14, 2009

in accoutrement, scraps and stitchery

. 16 Comments

I finally decided to get myself an iPhone. My first priority was make a cozy for it, as I have a tendency to knock things about. I had a mental list of features it needed to have – interior credit card/money pocket, closure, wrist handle and clip.

This summer I often found myself heading out the door to walk Maisy with my cell phone and keys in hand, since most of my dresses don’t have pockets. (note to self : start putting pockets in your dresses!) We also walk to and from work everyday and often times I couldn’t hear/find my phone in the depths of my birdie sling. I had been inspired by this pet pouch to make something that might attach to the handle of Maisy’s leash.

My original plan was to do a zipper closure. However, when I was designing this pattern, I quickly realized that having a zipper would mean that the cozy would have to be much bigger than I wanted it to be. A magnetic snap was out of the question, so a button was the logical solution. The clip came off an old bag I had a long time ago. I try to scavenge hardware off anything I might be getting rid of. I used a scrap piece of cotton batting off one of my quilts to add a layer of protection in the middle of the fabrics. That sweet piece of lacy crochet trim is from Melinda. She used it on her zippered pouch and gave me the rest. I have decided I need to have more trim in my life.

The cozy is perfect. When I head out the door, I just clip it to Maisy’s leash. I even clip my keys into it. No more fumbling around in my bag!

I’m loving my iPhone and have already tricked it out with:

Bunny Blossom Gelaskin by Kozyndan

my favourite app is Things. I’m constantly writing lists in my head, on scraps of paper and generally, worrying about getting things done. Now, every time I think of something I need to do, buy or remember, it just goes into my Things list where all the items are sorted by priority, tags and projects. I have it on my iMac also and they wirelessly sync to each other. I feel more organized everyday.

i just downloaded the Style.com app yesterday and I love it. It’s fashion week in New York right now and I can watch all the shows easily on my phone.

i love anything Polaroid, so I had to get Polarize to change my photos to look like Polaroids that you can even write notes on.

i really wanted to have bird songs for my ringtone, so i recorded all kinds of wonderful birds from enature.com and created my own… i love hearing the Purple Finch, Northern Mockingbird and Sage Thrasher when people call.

CANNING TOMATOES : PART TWO

Published

Karyn

on September 9, 2009

in delicious

. 15 Comments

Gayla had mentioned that Fiesta Gardens was selling bushels of San Marzano tomatoes that were perfect for canning. Pumped up from the canning workshop, I got it into my head that I might attempt to can some tomatoes on my own. I had an extra day off over the Labour Day weekend, so Sunday we drove over to the nursery and picked up a bushel. Actually, Andrew picked it up (literally), hauled it into the car, into our backyard and washed all 300ish tomatoes.

Once you have that many tomatoes in your possession you are committed to doing something with them as quickly as possible. Over the course of two days, I canned 28 pint jars, made 3 bottles of homemade ketchup and oven dried four baking sheets of halved tomatoes sprinkled with sea salt.

The phrase, ’slaving in the kitchen’, certainly came to mind several times. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy myself but it’s a huge time commitment. With each batch, I became more efficient and I also fell into a good rhythm with all the different tasks that need to be done. By the end, I was pretty accurately calculating how many tomatoes to blanch and peel to fit my seven jar batch without leftovers.

The one problem I ran into was having some of the jars leak when removed from the hot water bath. This was super frustrating. I thought I hadn’t tightened the lids enough, but it happened again with the next batch. Googling the problem didn’t give me any clear insight, but luckily a quick tweet to Gayla was answered with the suggestion to leave the jars in the hot water bath a bit long to allow for a longer ‘calming’ period after the forty five minute processing time. This was exactly my problem. The very last batch was allowed to calm in the hot water for a longer period of time and they turned out perfectly.

All the jars sealed, but the ones that leaked I’ve put in the fridge for consumption now. I like the idea of preparing for winter like a squirrel and stashing away my little jars of food. I’m very much enjoying the dried tomatoes now though. The concentrated flavour is so delicious. I made myself an omelet for dinner last night with dried tomatoes, goat cheese and green onions. YUM!

A few of you have asked me if I’ve made my pear jam this year. I just received a bundle of pears from my mom, so this weekend will be all about preserving pears.

NOTE : Gayla sent me a message regarding my leaky jars, that I thought you might like to read. Canning can be a bit nerve wracking when you’re worried about potentially poisoning yourself and your loved ones. It’s great to have a mentor who gives reassuring advice.

“Personally I think the jars that sputtered will be okay. As long as they are properly sealed they will be fine and the sputtering was just that they were hissing in the water and pulled out before they had stopped. When this has happened to me I just wipe them all down carefully with a warm wet cloth so I knew they were clean before putting them away. I then check for any further leakage a day later to be sure.” Gayla also did a post today about her love affair with canning that also links to some of her great recipes.

CANNING TOMATOES : PART ONE

Published

Karyn

on September 9, 2009

in delicious, gardening and the workroom

. 13 Comments

It’s a particularly fun time to shop for fruits and vegetables in Ontario. For a short period, there is an abundance of lovely locally grown produce available to us. I try to savour each peach, tomato, berry and corn on the cob. Here and there I kept hearing Gayla Trail tweet about making pickles, buying canning jars and ‘putting up’ all kinds of fruits and vegetables. It hadn’t really occurred to me that preserving some of this fresh food will allow me to enjoy it in the cold winter months. I was over the moon when Gayla agreed to share her experience and teach a workshop on Canning Heirloom Tomatoes at the workroom.

Firstly, Gayla is a fountain of incredible knowledge. Her book and website, You Grow Girl, have fostered a community of gardeners and provide endless inspiration. She is an amazing photographer (check out her ‘daily botanical‘), crafter and she lives right here, in Parkdale.

To start off the workshop, Gayla laid out a beautiful collection of her preserves, pickles and syrups. Just seeing all the colourful possibilities laid out in glass jars was enough to get me dreaming of starting my own collection. We were even allowed to sample her peaches in brandy, oven roasted tomatoes in olive oil and cherries in red wine. So delicious!

Then, it was down to work. Canning is definitely work. The jars need to be sterilized and the tomatoes need to be washed, scored, blanched, peeled and cored. Food preservation is pretty serious and safety is a major concern. As we worked on getting the tomatoes ready, we chatted and asked about a million questions. I felt that each of the students was like a sponge trying to soak up every word Gayla said.

It took us longer than expected, due to the slow heating elements on our electric stove, but we canned fourteen beautiful pint jars of tomatoes. Two jars for each student! More importantly, we learned from someone who loves canning and has been doing it for over ten years. The little tricks, words of advice and anecdotes are why I love taking classes so much. Gayla is a fantastic teacher. So much so, that I went off on my own this past weekend and bought myself a bushel of San Marzano tomatoes. (that’s over 300 tomatoes, people!)

There was an article on Saturday in the Globe & Mail about the popularity of canning right now, featuring Gayla. She also has a new book coming out in February called “Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces“, just in time for us to plan our gardens for next year. She’ll be sharing some of her recipes, including her pickles. I’m crossing my fingers hoping she might want to teach a pickling workshop. I don’t think I can wait until February to learn more of her secrets. I’m addicted.

I know for a fact that many of you are making delicious jams and pickles. Maybe you’ll share your trusted recipes?

Gayla Trail : website / flickr / shop / book / new book

STYLISH DRESS BOOK 2 : DRESS ‘S’, AGAIN

Published

Karyn

on September 7, 2009

in stitchery, textiles and the workroom

. 15 Comments

Liberty of London Summer Challenge : Project 6
Stylish Dress Book : Dress “S” in Zain Liberty of London Tana Lawn

If you have a sharp eye, you’ll catch that I’ve done this dress before. It’s not often that I repeat a pattern, but I have fallen in love with this style. My “Little Stars” version has become one of my easy favourites. It is perfect for dressy nights out and comfortable to wear every day.

Your sharp eye might also catch that I’ve used the Zain Liberty fabric already, for my camera strap. I thought it would be great to make a ‘black-ish’ dress to transition to fall that I could wear with tights when the weather got colder. I love how some of these Liberty of London prints seem so wild and crazy up close, but from far away read as quite sophisticated.

The dress exactly is pretty much exactly the same as the other one. I didn’t end up taking the sides in at all, so the skirt is slightly more full. I like this. I also repeated my modification of adding several lines of shirring just above the waistline. It’s like wearing an invisible belt. I feel shapely without feeling restricted.

Keep your eye out for at least one more version of this pattern, I’ve decided it will make a great top with some minor modifications.