sew and sox: Favorite things

Showing posts with label Favorite things. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Even More Miscellany

More things I love about my house...This dining room window is pretty high up the wall and long and narrow. I think that's iron between the panes of glass. And the metal and glass is very wonky...flat in some places, leaning forward in others. This photo angle really exaggerates that. Looking at it head on you wouldn't notice as much. Oh, and ignore that chipped paint on the trim outside...we're working on it.

A sick day off from work yesterday equaled lots of blog reading. And it must be that everyone is excited about spring or something because there is a lot going on...

1. Stefani at The Blue Yonder blog is having a contest with lots of nifty prizes. To enter, just visit this post and comment on your most creative re-purposed project. On the first of every month she's going to have a new contest with a new theme.

2. Michelle of Cicada Daydream Studio and blog is having a giveaway for her birthday. Just add a comment to this post by April 6th to win a tea light embellished with one of her beautiful fabric prints. It's battery operated so no open flame to fear.

3. Sew, Mama, Sew! is also having a contest. A little more challenging though...Submit a new tutorial (must be posted on a blog or on flickr after April 1) for the chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Sew, Mama, Sew! online store.

4. CraftStylish.com is a new craft website that will be starting up soon. In the meantime, you can sign up for their email newsletter here. The new site is from the publishers of Threads and SewStylish so I am going to bet that the projects will be fun, include great instructions and have lots of design ideas for personalizing your creations.

Everything Patchwork

(Just so there is no confusion, the projects above are not mine. They are from a flickr group called Everything Patchwork. If one of these pictures is yours and you would like me to remove it, please send me an email at sewandsox [at] earthlink [dot] net.)

Patchwork and quilting have a bad wrap. Be honest, quilts + patchwork = grandma. And I'm not talking about your new young, hip kinda grandma (hi mom!) but the smelling-of-mothballs kinda grandma. Time for patchwork to get hip with the kids. Hang out at the mall and Txt Msg BFF.*

So here's some fun and modern projects that incorporate patchwork. Did you ever think you would see a women's skirt that looked so cool while featuring patchwork? Or how about those wristlets and note cards? Love 'um.

Click over to see larger images and lots more inspiring patchwork projects:

1. Curtains
2. Coffee Cosies
3. Little Girl Dresses
4. Pillows
5. Skirts
6. Coasters
7. Bath Mat
8. Photo Album Covers
9. Pincushions
10. Bracelets/Wristlets
11. Pot holders
12. Notecards

* "Text message best friends forever" -- I had to write this in or my mom, the hip grandma, would email me to ask "What does 'Txt Msg BFF' mean?"

Monday, March 31, 2008

Miscellany

Izzy in the old sewing room.

Ug, what a weekend. I moved my sewing room (pictures to come) and caught a cold.

So rather than the typical "what I did this weekend" Monday wrap-up post, here's a little list of what's going on outside of my cold-infested and disorganized blog world:

1. The Humming Cat is having a pincushion giveaway. Cute pincushion too, so go take a look and comment on her post by this Friday.

2. I've been enjoying visiting, voting on and submitting to Craft Juice this week. Most people submit their own work and mostly items from Etsy (so they are trying to sell it as well). And while those projects can be inspiring, I've been trying to balance it out a bit by submitting works from other people's blogs that I find inspiring or that have a tutorial. If the site is supposed to work like Digg, it should be about what's current and wonderful in the craft blog world right?

3. Rather than doing my very long Bloglines list, I thought I'd start just featuring one or two blogs on random posts. Getting swamped with a big list probably isn't going to inspire you to visit them, eh? And yet some of these craft blogs are really amazing.

So, for my first installment, may I present Little Bits 'n Pieces written by Tamara. She's currently blogging on raising her cute little kids, preparing to sell her house, and some really beautiful embroidery-enhanced patchwork. Go take a look.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Mini Post: Craft Juice

I just found a new networking site for crafts. Very similar to Digg.com, CraftJuice.com allows you to vote for, save, comment on, and email stories about crafts. You can also submit stories -- your own or your favorites from others.

I gave it a try and registered for a profile. I even submitted one of my own blog entries to try it out.

You can see my profile here

Or just get started voting for the great crafts featured: http://www.craftjuice.com/

More ways to have fun with crafts online rather than in the real, material world.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Fancy Pants

Made my second pair of summer PJ bottoms this weekend. I got a bit fancier this time with different fabric cuffs and ties.

And continuing in my series of 'things I love about my house', here is a picture of one of our living room radiators. I love the radiant heat and the marble toppers.

To see my collection of photos of Things I Love About My House visit my flickr set.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

I got nothin'

...just some pretty pictures.

These are old thread spools. They are from my grandfather's sister. After she died I helped my grandparents clean up her house and my grandmother gave me a lot of little things like this that were my great aunts. Most people probably would have thrown these out but I really like to have them.

Glass door knobs and tiny black and white tiles.

I'm going to work on a mini photo essay on things I love about my house. The sale of the house is on hold for now but while we were still planning it I was looking around and re-saw everything that I fell in love with when we first found the house five years ago. It's funny how you can 'go blind' to your surroundings once you've been there a while.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Special Day

Today is my parent's 40th wedding anniversary! Honestly, I forgot to send them a card on time so this is my shout-out to both of them: Hi Mom and Dad! Love you!

And, wouldn't you know it, I can even make this sewing related.

My dad gave my mom a Singer sewing machine just after they were married. My mom generously gave it to me quite a while ago when she upgraded her machine. And I'm still using it. Even for machine quilting which it's totally not made for...they don't make 'um like they used to. This baby's solid.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Tunes while you work

I like background noise when I sew. The TV is fine but I prefer music. But I'm bored with most of my music now. So I was very happy when I found Pandora Radio . Pandora Radio is a free online radio which plays music based on artists you like. Just type in the artist and they will play songs by that artist and others that are associated with. So if you dig Bob Dylan, they will also play songs by Townes Van Zant or John Prine -- artists you may not have ever discovered.

The Pandora Radio site says it best though: The site will "scan its entire world of analyzed music, almost a century of popular recordings - new and old, well known and completely obscure - to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice."

Perfect for sewing background music.

Enjoy your weekend!

Red

I started a flickr group for two-color quilts and, while all are welcome, I have to admit that the red and white ones are my favorite.

1. "Stepping Stones", 2. Red & White Candy Cane Quilt, 3. March 2008 002, 4. hop skip jump 4, 5. White and Red Star Quilt, 6. Hawaiian Quilting Detail, 7. Geometric Red and White, 8. red & white logcabin blocks, 9. Kyrill

Go figure these are my Dear Jane blocks:

I'm not sure what inspired what...I guess it's a chicken and the egg kinda thing.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Bloglines, Part 3

As I've said, I'm addicted to craft blogs. I have so many blogs in my Bloglines now that I've added subcategories. Here is part three of the list that just keeps growing and growing...

Crafts:
Anemone
Anknel and Burblets
Be*mused
Betz White
Blue Yonder
Clementine's Shoes
Craft Magazine
Crafting Japanese
Creative Everyday
Distressed
DIYnamite
Erleperle
Feed Dog
Futuregirl Craft Blog
Geraniums and Potatoes
GirlReaction
Good-ness
JC Handmade
Joyful Abode
Knitting is Kneat-o
Lil' d
Lovestitches
Pincushion Points
Polka Dot Creations
Supafine
The Long Thread
Tiny Happy
Two Little Banshees
U-handblog

Embroidery:
Feeling Stitchy
Sublime Stitching

Quilting:
Camp Follower Bags and Quilts
Canton Village Quilt Works
Live at AJ's
Mama Urchin
The Merry Church Mouse
Moving Hands
Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt
Seven Stitches
Tallgrass Prairie Studio
Twiddletails

You can peruse the first list here and the second list here.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Thank you

This pile of goodies is from Jessica of the Heads Carolina, Tails California blog. She was getting rid of some of her stash and offered it up to anyone who wanted it. My stash is pretty small so I took her up on it.

And this pile is from AJ of the Life at AJs blog. Another destash attempt which made it's way to me. This is not even everything she sent to me. See those two red fabrics at the top of the pile? They are perfect for the Dear Jane blocks I'm working on.

And finally I'd like to thank Pamela of Coquet's Cache for tagging me. I resubmit my previous tagging post to cover the rules (is that legal?).

Thank you Jessica, AJ and Pamela!

Monday, February 18, 2008

I'm Blushing

I have been tagged AGAIN! I'm very surprised and honored to be called-out by Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio. Thank you Jacquie!

Jacquie's blog is full of quilting inspiration. I love reading about other people's projects in development and seeing the in-process pictures as well as the final pieces.

Since I don't want to bore you all with another list about me. I thought I would skip to the tagging part. And even that I'm going to do a bit differently. I am the administrator for two Flickr groups (Denyse Schmidt Quilts and Everything Patchwork) and I'd like to show some of the really nice projects that people have been posting there:

1. quilting- coloring book_kantha, 2. emma series :: nele, 3. Vote Pillow, 4. new heart medallion by Jen Anisef, 5. Dissappearing 9 Patch Lap Sized Quilt, 6. Five, 7. cormac's quilt, 8. Early Easter project - available in my Etsy Shop, 9. Square Motion Completed, 10. Slippers from Denyse Schmidt pattern, 11. denyse schmidt oven mitt pattern, 12. eye pillows, 13. heating pad cover, 14. my take on a denyse schmidt quilt, 15. latest bib, 16. a new little pouch

And if you aren't yet a member of these groups but have patchwork or Denyse-Schmidt-inspired projects to share...join and show us your stuff!

Happy Presidents Day you Americans!

Friday, February 15, 2008

IKEA, I love you

(Prices a bit hard to read here. From left to right: Fabric $7.99 per yard, Twin flat sheets $2.99 each, Fabric $2.99 per yard. All 100% cotton.)

Here's to IKEA fabric on sale and long weekends! Sean (husband) will be playing a gig this Saturday which will eat up some of my time...but in a good get-out-of-the-house way. (I'm just realistic. Sunday probably won't be a very productive day after a night spent on a pub stool.) But I hope to get to a couple more blocks of Sean's quilt. I'll have the Sew, Mama, Sew! Block-Along to work on. And, as always, will try to get more of my cross stitch alphabet done...and now my new hexagon project.

I think I like new projects the best. Their kinda like initial love. I get all excited by the lust and dream of the perfect outcome. But then it looses its thrill and just feels like work.

(But not with you, Sean. I'll love you always. You too, IKEA.)

What a post for the day after Valentine's Day, eh?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Tagged

Jackie from Canton Village Quilt Works tagged Sew and Sox as one of her favorite blogs. I think it has more to do with being a fellow Red Sox fan than anything else but I still do appreciate it (Thanks Jackie!). Turns out, when called out by a fellow blogger, you have to complete a short assignment. Here's my go at it...

The rules are:
1. When tagged, place the name of the person and URL on your blog
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 7 things about yourself
4. Name 7 of your favorite blogs
5. Send an e-mail letting those bloggers know they have been tagged

Helen, who tagged Jackie, had a nice format that I will follow:

1. Living arrangements
I live in New Haven, CT, USA with my husband. We are planning to move as soon as we can sell our house (which is taking longer than expected. Damn that sub-prime mortgage fiasco that is freaking everyone out!) We'll be moving to my husband's home town not far from here.

2. Schooling
I have a BFA in graphic design. The extra "F" makes it sound fancy but it just means I took a few extra academic classes.

3. Favorite food/drink
Pizza. Definitely pizza. The perfect food. It is delivered to my door, tastes great with soda, beer or wine, and is even better the next day when reheated in the oven. I am also spoiled living here in New Haven, though often disputed by those with less discriminating tastes, we have the best pizza anywhere.

4. Morning or evening person?
Neither. I go to bed early and would sleep late if allowed. I can also fall asleep anywhere and at anytime, just about. In fact, pajamas are my favorite clothes and my bed is my favorite place in my house. Excuse me...zzzzzzz....

5. Since when have you been quilting?
I'm not sure. My mom may be able to help out here (Hey, Mom, leave a comment if you know). She took quilting classes when I was a kid and I know that I asked her to then teach me too. I remember working on a log cabin block that I was going to turn into a pillow. I think I started hand quilting it but I don't know what came of it after that. I certainly haven't been quilting consistently since then. I started a nine patch quilt about 5 years ago that is lost in a box somewhere...not yet fully pieced. And then this fall I made a couple of quilts for Christmas gifts.

6. Pets
We have three cats. Casey and Rauiri (pronounced roar-ee) are sisters and were adopted from the pound. They are both black and about three years old. Izzy is a calico cat that I saw walking in a cemetery near our house. She was far too young (about two months old) to be out by herself so I brought her home. She is now one and a half and, as far as I can tell, very pleased that she found a nice home with other kitties to play with and warm radiators to lay upon.

(left to right: Casey, Rauiri, Izzy)

(See that big smudge of brown on her nose? She was so dirty when I found her that I tried my darndest to wipe that off as well! Poor kitty.)

7. Vacation
We've been to Ireland twice and France once in the last three years. We'll probably stay continental for the next few years since those European vacations can get expensive. We have had some really nice trips to Boston (for a week that included two Red Sox games and a tour of the park...really fun), Washington D.C., Las Vegas, and Portland, Maine. A friend just moved to San Fransisco so hopefully we will visit her soon.

And now for the blogs I have chosen to tag, in no particular order. It was hard enough to narrow it down to seven:

1. Anina of Twittletails - because she may not have been the first one to post a tutorial on paper piecing hexagons but she posted it at the very moment I was contemplating trying it. And I love it when bloggers read my mind.

2. Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts - because she just organized an online quilt-a-long and is planning another one. And I think that is what this whole online thing is about really: leading, tutoring, encouraging, sharing, etc.

3. Mette of Erleperle - because she is making the cutest little patchwork pincushions. And the latest ones have vintage embroidery as well.

4. Peg from Ivy Arts - because she is posting on a quilt she is working on as-she-goes much like I am. It's fun to see someone else's creative process at the same time.

5. A joint tag to Jennifer of Moving Hands and Alex of Moonstitches- because they both went to the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival and posted lots of excellent pictures.

6. Melissa of Tiny Happy - because hers was one of the first craft blogs I stumbled upon. I was inspired to make this bag from her tutorial in the fall and, while I haven't finished it yet (all my fault, the tutorial is very easy to follow), I appreciate the pattern. And she takes really nice photos.

7. Ellen of The Long Thread - because she has been posting Valentines Day project ideas almost everyday so far this month and that's just really nice. (I love the heart shaped soaps. They look like candy.)

Thank you all. I'm sure I forgot someone.

(I was unable to email Ellen of The Long Thread and Peg of Ivy Arts. I'll leave comments on your blogs.)

Friday, February 8, 2008

Ready for the weekend

I don't get much sewing done during the week since I have a full time job and just don't have time/energy at the end of the day to do much. So, you may have noticed that my posts tend to be very project-centric at the beginning of the week and then more inspirational towards the end. I'm fine with that...it seems like a good pattern.

So, I think I will now officially dedicate Fridays to what has been inspiring me over the week (more like 'this instant and subject to change any moment') and what I have planned to do over the weekend (Haha, we'll see on Monday's how close I get.).

First, some Flickr love:

1. Quilts, 2. Embroidery Detail of Frenchy Bag, 3. Untitled, 4. Molly's Sketchbook: New Liberty of London + Amy Butler's "Anna Tunic", 5. The Big Day Finished!, 6. Sea Glass Necklace, 7. Checkers Quilt Detail, 8. Antique log cabin quilt, 9. Green Elephants and a Ladybug

And for this weekend? I have three things in mind:
1. Start cutting the husband's quilt and sew one block together to be sure it'll work out.
2. Sew Mama, Sew block-along continues! I think I'll do the Shoo Fly AND the Ohio Star in the same fabrics as my Disappearing Nine Patch.
3. Finish up that cross stitch alphabet project. No excuse for how long that's taking me.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

You call that a craft site?!

Unusual sites to help with your crafting
Beyond blogs and forums there are lots of other sites online that can inspire and inform your crafting.

For Information:

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
So I got all into Sashiko recently and wanted to find more information. Craft blogs are not the best for searching and Google tends to list store sites first. So I tried this online, collaborative encyclopedia and got a pretty informative article with some links to more information at other sites. Now whenever I have a question about a technique or want a little background on a craft, I go to the Wiki first.

Yahoo Answers - http://answers.yahoo.com/
I can ask or search for questions...and hopefully get answers. Nada? I'll post my own questions and other users will answer them.
(Note: Need to register to ask or answer questions. You can search and read the information without registering though.)

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/
Sometimes the words in a tutorial just don't click. I need someone to show me how to do it. YouTube has lots of videos showing basic to not-so-basic techniques. Check out this short video demonstrating hand quilting.

For Inspiration and Information:

Google Image Search - http://images.google.com/
So I found out some information about Sashiko from Wikipedia but there weren't any pictures (some entries do have pictures but usually not that many) and I like to see LOTS of pictures. Google Image Search results offer only images found on web sites. My search for "Sashiko" gave me almost 10,000 results. You may end up with some random volleyball pics but you will also see some really cool new ideas. (Turns out the volleyball player's first name is Sashiko.)

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/
We crafters like to show off our stuff. Flickr not only lets you post your pictures for free, you can join groups to share your photos and information with other users. When I have a craft question, I go to Flickr first to ask other users. I get lots of good information and ideas really quickly.
(Note: Need to register to post pictures or participate in the forums. You can search and view images without registering.)

For Wanted Items:

CraigsList - http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html
Need a new sewing machine? Shelves for all that fabric? I often forget to look in the classifieds for items I need. Here I can search the biggest classified section out there.

For Organization:

Bloglines - http://www.bloglines.com/
There are many other 'feed readers' - Google Feedfetcher, My Yahoo, Firefox Live Bookmarks, etc. I just happen to use Bloglines. I'm able to collect all my favorite blogs in one place and I'm notified when they are updated. Makes my blog addiction much more manageable.
(Note: Requires registration and an initial set up.)

What unusual sites help you out with your crafty endeavors?

Thursday, January 31, 2008

A few of my favorite things

I love Flickr. I love that people post their pretty pictures up there for me to enjoy and be inspired by.

From left to right, top to bottom:

French knot sheep from incy | wincy, Alphabet sampler and Bee button from miss woolly's things, Log cabin pin cushion from moving hands, Stocking from make it snappy!, Pin cushions from Joanna's Scraps, Light and dark log cabin squares from twiddletails, crowns from SouleMama.

(Note the many log cabin items...I think I may have a crush. We'll see if it turns into anything.)

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The very talented Alex of Moonstitches has posted pictures from the 2008 Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival here on Flickr. The quilts are incredible even in the little pictures. I can't imagine what they look like in person.

(This little pic on the left is from her Flickr pool as well.)

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And here's a good way to waste time between Flickr surfing and blog reading: FreeRice.com

A vocabulary quiz where each word you get right, 20 grains of rice is donated through the United Nations to help end world hunger. Saving the world can be fun!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Crafty Space, Part 2

The Domestic Diva has an impressive collection of posts about sewing room organization. You're going to need some time to read through it all! Lots of great info, tips and ideas.

Here are her different topics:
• Getting Started
• Part I - Fabric
• Part II - Thread
• Part III - Needles and Stabilizers
• Part IV - Laces, Trims and Ribbons
• Part V - Sewing Library: Patterns, Embroidery Designs, Magazines and Books
• Part VI - Notion Commotion

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Photo: A corner of my craft room. From left to right, very old thread (too old to use)in a jar, safety pins, and very small button collection [note to self: find more buttons.]
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