these are the treasures that i brought back from the richmond art fair. one of chase's owl pin cushions, a little bowl, and that giant cone of soft soft lace-weight yarn was a bargain at 50ยข.
the little bowl found a place near my new little oil + vinegar birds (design by carol Jacobs).
my friend chase had a table with some friends sylvia and Jill at the richmond art center holiday craft fair. doesn't chase make the cutest things? you can see more of her work over at her etsy shop.
the richmond art center was really neat facility. they had a great classrooms, including pottery wheels + kiln and looms! the looms were really neat, i want to take a weaving class now!
this tutorial for embroidered mitered napkins made me think i need to take my napkin making to the next level.
a really lovely kitchen before/after, but more importantly a hot pink kitchen aid! scroll down to teh last photo.
this classy camera bag is tots cute.
a clever use of measuring tape twill. i have seen this measuring tape trim around, and thought it was cute, but a little too kitschy for my tase, until i saw these linen dish towels.
This one has been done for a while, but it is one of thoes things I needed help photographing. I started it in april '09 (ahem) and finished it at the end of september. I am embarrassed to say I had left it lingering with the snap tape sewn 3/4 of the way sewn on for over a year.
It was inspired by this snap-up cowl I saw on etsy. Despite that it took me so long to finish, I really like the result.
photos courtesy of christopher.
now that i have have the jam, i've been getting inspired by pretty packages for holiday giving.
- classic jars and labels via angry chicken
- bright and fun via birthday girl (bottom right photo).
I made these booties for maggie's new little one. I started these ages ago, finished the first bootee, started the second one... and then I couldn't find the first. I am blaming it on carlton the sock thief. When little Kole was born, I realized I better get these done before he out grows them, so I knit a third bootee.
I wanted to include big brother kai, so I put together a little gift for him too. When I was out shopping I found that most kids stuff was covered with ugly designs. I think it is never too early to impose good taste on the young, so I decided to transform a crayola drawing pad into something a little cuter.
I used spray adhesive to affix a pattern paper to the cover, then added a cute robot sticker, and finished it off by personalizing with k's name. Simple and fun. I also included some fun robot colored pencils, and a tucked a bunch of stickers inside.
With the booties done, my list for the "finish it!" challeng looks like this.
1) snap cowl
2) stripy baby sweater
3) green socks
4) stripy baby legwarmers
5) slipper socks
6) baby kimono
7) booties #1
8) booties #2
9) toddler top
10) wedding quilt
everything here is wonderful wonderful map posters
up-cycle scarfs into a diy blanket
how to make a diy poloroid magnet.
dimond famly tree from martha. such a great graphic representation of old family phots. via happy mundane.
old tom foolery is a local print shop selling clever letter-press cards.
the lovely photography of K. Miller
My friend's daugher turned two recently, and the occation required a gift, of course. I knit her a little sweater dress, and decided to include a little something extra that would a bit more excited to a todler then just clothes. I found some toy pots and play food that were just perfect. Then I decided that I should whip up a little tote to put it all in, so that her mom wouldn't go mad trying to keep all of the pices together. Once I got started at the sewing machin, I got a little carried away, and made an itty-bitty appron and little pot-holder.
The appron insperation came from this titorial. I simplified it by making the wasteband out of a wide piece of ribbon. Then, added a cute pocket. The pot holder is a mini version on the one found in Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. It is about 5" square and super cute. I used two differant fabrics, one to match the appron pocket, and a contrasting yellow veggie print, for the reverse.
I had all of the veggie fabrics on-hand. They are fabrics samples, that came from a friend who is a fabric sales-rep. The sample swatches are usally quite small (the black piece used for the appron is an exception), and I really enjoy the challeng of figuring out ways to put them to good use.
I have a bunch of tomatoes now, but I am concerned that they won't ripen all of the way before it starts getting cold. I may end up having to make fried green tomatoes!
I didn't get as much basil as I was hoping for. Three of the 6 plants got diseased. The healthy plants started to flower so I had to go ahead and harvest them. I was hoping to have enough to freeze pesto for winter and that didn't happen. It is still super satisfying to eat a meal cooked with your own home grown ingredients.
I am proud to say that I have completed two of the items from my list for the finish it challenge.
first is this tiny stripy baby jacket made up of odds and ends that have accumulated. Here I am holding it up for scale. Like everything I am knitting these days, it is of my own design, knit from the top down, and in the round.
the little guy i made this for won't be arriving until fall, and taking
pictures of flat baby sweaters is getting old, so i put it on carlton.
Secondly, I have finished up this little kimono style cardigan for the same little one who is receiving the stripy sweater.
Again, it is knit from the top down and is my own design. All the details are on my raverly page.
Here is what my list looks like now:
1) snap cowl
2) stripy baby sweater
3) green socks
4) stripy baby legwarmers
5) slipper socks
6) baby kimono
7) booties #1
8) booties #2
