Sewing Confetti

Clipping corners before turning the Rainbow Girls beanbags.

Back From An Unintended But Unavoidable Break

My husband was gone for a week, during which time any progress on my own creative activities came to a screeching halt. Like anyone else with a full-time job, I mainly do my own projects at night and on weekends. When I'm the only parent responsible for three kids 24/7, my weekends disappear and by the time the kids are all in bed I'm too tired to be much good for anything. My husband arrived home Friday night, and Saturday I dove into some projects.

The first thing I did was work on finishing a book from the printmaking/bookbinding class. I had an idea that one of the ghost prints, which had some big, light spaces, might work with text. I wanted to try out transferring the text to a clear label and applying it to paper. I've only done this process with labels to glass, so I wasn't sure how it would work. Complicating things is that the ink we used in class kept rubbing off, so I wanted to try to seal it at the same time. I should have unfolded the book (it's another maze one) and applied the text and sealer while the whole thing was flat. Live and learn. This book has quite a few problems, but parts of it are quite nice, and it's a pretty little learning experience.

The print had a bit of an ocean thing going on--the sea star stamp, the bubble wrap, the wavy lines--so I decided the perfect text was maggie and milly and molly and may by e.e. cummings. I typed this out using Rough Typewriter font, made a photocopy, transferred the text to clear tape (using the process described in Print Workshop), and then arranged the text into the book.

It was all a good idea, and I know how to do it better next time. The cover sits a little too wonkily (is so a word), and I had glue issues. (Stupid glue issues, because I should know better by now.)

The next thing I did is cut out the Rainbow Girls and get them ready to be sewn onto their beanbag fronts.

I bought the swirly fabric a couple of years ago and only realized recently that I'd bought every color of the rainbow except for yellow. I was buying it for two cloth books for babies, and I was thinking about the individual book's color schemes. G and I agreed that while it would be nice if the yellow fabric matched, I don't have yellow swirly fabric and we're going to be happy with what we've got. So--beanbags. It's really nothing but beans in there? That seems like an awful lot of beans...

Finally, I made my daughter the embroidered wrist cuff she'd requested. I'd managed to doodle a butterfly, cut out fabric, and trace the butterfly earlier in the week, but Saturday night I sat down to embroider the butterfly and sew it all together. I accidentally made it too short for a snap, though, so I improvised by sewing on a button and elastic loop.

The girl was pleased.

It feels so good to make things!

In Progress

I feel like I haven't completed anything in quite a while. However, I've started my latest knitting project three times, and it's presently still a ball of string. I'm trying to make le petit sac. The first time I cast on, I missed a plain knit stitch on the first pattern row and had to start again. I struggled mightily trying to make do with the only pair of size 2 needles I have, an Addi Turbo circular that's too slippery for linen and too long for the project, and finally after messing up too badly to fix it, I gave up and bought a 16" bamboo needle. Then I messed up because the frogged yarn has lost its twist and is splitty. I'm going to cast on a fourth time with fresh yarn and bamboo needles because I really want that bag, although I plan to line it because even though it's knit at a small gauge, the pattern stitch still has yarn overs, and not lining it seems a good way to ruin it way more quickly than I'm able to knit it.

So fighting with that yarn has eaten up quite a bit of my crafting time, with nothing to show for it. I did finish one thing, but all I had to do was install a snap.

I really, really like it! This fits more snugly than the first one I made. My daughter immediately tried to claim it, so I agreed to make one that's toddler sized, using the same blue fabric but embroidering one pink and purple butterfly in the center. "Do that right now," she said. I swear, my kids think I'm some sort of short-order crafter. I've told my boys that if anyone asks what their mother does, simply to say, "She makes things."

Speaking of my daughter, I was making quick progress on her rainbow girls (until I took a break to ruin some nice linen yarn).

I picked it up again last night and began the blue girl. The plan is to make bean bags with them, sewing each girl onto her own bag. That way, G can carry them around with her, which is what she wants to do. (Thanks so much to Wendi for the bean bag suggestion!) So you can see that when I'm done with the embroidery part, I still have some work to do on the sewing machine.

I'm also waiting for an order from Dick Blick that will have way more stuff than I have time to use. While I wait, I've been reading Making Monotypes Using a Gelatin Plate. The instructors from the printmaking class I took had a copy and said it was THE book on the process, but it's out of print and used copies start at about $60. So I requested a copy through our library system--there are three copies in the state--and I read it straight through then started again at the beginning, in hopes that it sort of buries itself in my brain. I plan to take notes too, of course. A gelatin plate is just that, a printing plate made from unflavored gelatin. In other words, something easy enough to do at home and safe enough to do with kids. I do a lot of art activities with my kids (although school is a huge time suck, in my opinion). I am brewing lots of ideas for all of us.

Now, though, it's time to turn on some baseball and decide what to work on tonight. Another go with the yarn? Or the satisfaction of finishing the blue girl first? I think I'll go for the sure thing...

Guest Post at Sunflower

With my kids in the studio hat on, I'm guest posting at Sunflower Creative Arts today. I was delighted to be asked to contribute to their "I Was That Kid" series. How to choose what, in our childhood, most shapes the adult we become? I'm not sure. I could have written a dozen very different pieces that were all accurate. You can read the one I did write here.

Tutorial: Sewn & Embroidered Wrist Cuffs

I had an idea in my head for a fabric cuff bracelet, and the only way to get ideas out of my head is to try them out. On the third try, I got something I was happy with.

One of the things I like most about this project is how customizable it is, not to mention easy, and you don't need a sewing machine. In fact, my first try was machine-sewn and I didn't like it at all, so I switched to hand-sewing the entire thing. At any rate, without further ado, here's what you need:

Materials:
Fabric for front of cuff and back of cuff--these can be the same, or not
Interfacing--I used thin flannel in a neutral color
Thread, needle, pins
Cutting mat, straight edge, and rotary cutter--optional, but they help make clean, straight lines
Embroidery floss

1. Decide how big you want your cuff to be. I have thin wrists, so I decided on 9 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide, and I think I could have gone shorter. Add 1/2" to each measurement to account for 1/4" seam allowance on all sides, and cut strips from your front, back, and interfacing fabric. So I cut three strips each 9 1/2" by 2". If you want your front to be two fabrics, like in the photo, cut two coordinating strips for the front, for a total of four strips.

(Note: I have one extra strip, the muslin one, in this photo.)

2. For the front of my cuff, I wanted both green and purple, and I wanted them stitched together. So I sliced up a strip of each color with a straight edge and my rotary cutter.

3. Then I arranged the cut pieces on the alternate color strip until I was happy with it. Line up your side edges neatly. I used four strands of embroidery floss and the blanket stitch to sew the contrasting pieces to the main strip. I didn't turn the edges under; I was after a bit of raw edge. The blanket stitch isn't going to let it fray dangerously, just enough to give it a nice slightly deconstructed look. Use whatever edge-appropriate decorative embroidery stitch you'd like.

(Here, I was stitching purple onto green. Remember, I did this three times before I was happy!)

4. Sandwich your strips to prepare to sew them together. You want your right sides facing and the interfacing on the outside, so it will end up on the inside when you turn your tube. I like to arrange it with the interfacing on the bottom, the bottom piece right side up, then the top embroidered piece right side down. Pin it all together with a few pins and sew around both long edges and one short edge, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance all around. (I used the two leftover strands from the blanket stitch, because I hate having stray strands lying around!) Don't stitch right to the end of the open edge; it will make it easier to turn the edges under later if you don't. I like to sew with the wrong side of the embroidered piece facing me. It helps me keep everything straight, since I'm (sort of) looking at the public side of the cuff while I sew.

5. Turn your tube right side out and press the seams flat. Turn the raw edges under, press, and slip stitch closed, burying the loose end in the seam when you're done.

6. Fit it around your wrist to figure your snap placement and then use this wonderful tutorial to attach your snaps. Think carefully about orientation. This is what the snaps look like on mine, front and back.

(When I realized I'd be working this idea out a few times, I switched

to muslin for the back.)

Alternately, you could use a button and a buttonhole, or a button and a loop, or some other method of closure that I haven't thought of. And instead of piecing the top, you could use one solid piece decorated with buttons or embroidery or anything else you want. (Lace? Ribbons? Rick-rack?) I recently finished this slightly shorter one (although I haven't installed the snap yet).

It's the same fabric front and back, with a spring-like doodle of flowers embroidered on the front. Although it's so easy to turn your own doodles into embroidery, I'm including my doodles here for you. (This is the first time I've linked to an uploaded PDF in Google Docs, so let me know if you have problems with it.)

I think I will be making many, many more of these! I hope you enjoy this tutorial. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments or email me: SalamanderDreams21(at)gmail(dot)com.

Happy Sewing!

A Trio of Books

Three finished books from the printmaking and bookbinding class I took over the last two Saturdays. I have one more in the works, but it will take a little longer, I think, and of course I have loads of ideas! At any rate, from left to right... the little one is made from one of the prints from last week.

It's a very simple construction, made by folding the paper and cutting along some folds but not others. The instructors called this version a "maze book." I found instructions for it in one of the bookbinding books I own, How to Make Books by Esther K. Smith, where it is referred to as a variation of accordion book. Here's a photo with my hand in it, to give you a sense of size.

One of the really nice bits about making this book from a larger print is discovering the compositions that result when you cut it up and make it small. Different parts of the whole are isolated, revealing (hopefully good) surprises. It's quite liberating to slice up your artwork.

The spread-out book in the main photo is an origami book made from three sheets of folded rice paper glued together so they form one larger tricky-looking folded construction. But it's not tricky, of course, once you know how to do it.

These pages were printed twice, first in a gelatin print process and then using the press with a plate made from drawing on an acetate plate with a hot glue gun. When the glue dries, it's hard and raised, so you can make a print from it. The "ABC" images are from the glue plate. I love this idea, and it's something we can definitely do at home. The origami book folds up flat, and its front and back covers are made from boards covered with two more prints from the series.

The third book is another accordion fold book, with pockets. This is made simply by folding the paper back and forth.

It's meant to hold pieces of prints, as a means of displaying them, but the pockets are empty right now. I glued a few pieces together to increase the number of pockets. If I were to do this again, I'd attach three short lengths of ribbon in between the covers to form a hinge on the back spine so that it opens more like a book. I suppose then it wouldn't strictly be an accordion anymore?

If you're unfamiliar with bookbinding, I can tell you that all three of these books are very simple to put together, requiring only boards, paper, and paste. (I learned a new trick! Applying the Yes Paste with half a credit card, to scrape on a thin, even layer. Much easier than using a paintbrush to cover the boards, although I still like a brush for the flaps of paper that fold over the edge on the inside.) None of these have sewn bindings. The maze-accordion book can be folded up in a few minutes.

If you're interested in bookbinding, the book linked above is a good place to start. My kids and I also like the same author's Magic Books and Paper Toys.

(Nearly) Nothing But Mitts

It's been a while since I've seen something I really wanted to knit, so in the meantime, in between sewing and embroidery projects, I've been using up leftovers of Cascade 220 to make fingerless mitts. As long as I have 55 grams, I can make a pair of Evangelines, modified just the way I like them (a little bit wider, and with a thumb gusset).

(Really, these mitts look so much better on hands.)

This picture is missing the ruby red pair I already dropped off to school for the silent auction. I've lost count of how many times I've knitted this pattern, but it's so many that it's basically mindless knitting for me, even with that cable chart--which is very intuitive and not that hard to begin with. I tried another pattern recently, and I'm sure the pattern itself was fine, but it wasn't this pattern, and I lost track during the thumb gusset increases and missed a cable cross and finally admitted to myself that, darn it, I like the pattern I like and I really don't need to branch out. So I frogged those and used the yarn to make the blue mitts at the end of the row there.

So what am I going to do with them all? (Because I still have leftover Cascade 220 in a couple other colors.) I put them in the bin to save until December, when they make good teacher gifts or bus driver gifts or oops! I need a last-minute gift gifts. I already gave a pair to each of my boys' teachers, and my younger son's teacher had them on almost every day at pick-up (doesn't a knitter love that!). She told me that in all her teaching years, no-one had ever knitted her something. I sort of have the idea that by the time my youngest is out of this school, I'll have given everyone with significant contact with my children something handknit. I have twelve more years, so I think this is a completely reasonable goal.

I did knit something else this past week. For the second printmaking class, we were told to bring something in with texture to use while making gelatin prints. So, of course, I figured I'd knit a bit of lace.

That's Roman Stripe from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury, knit in, I think, some Euroflax Linen, and after Saturday it will be completely useless as a piece of knitting, because it will be inky and, I assume, gelatin-y. Quite okay. It seems right that my prints should reflect my fibery interests as well.

But just recently, a pattern finally caught my eye, and the yarn to make it is winging its way here. So I'll probably abandon my stash-busting mitt-making in a day or so and start something new.