hand print for clara

I saw this project some time ago floating around on the internet, and thought it was such a great way to capture a moment in time. I’ve been wanting to do something like it ever since, and the perfect occasion came up when the babies turned one in May. This may confuse you a little bit because first of all, it’s now November, and you’re probably also wondering since when did I have more than one baby? But Bee spends so much time with her baby friend, Clara, and their brothers, Otis and Emmett spend so much time together as well that I find myself always talking about “The Babies” or “The Boys” in broad, sweeping ways. As for the November part, well, let’s just move on.

Clara is just 6 days older than Bee, and on their birthdays, their little hands were traced for when I finally had time to get to work. Although I love the simplicity of the prints from plumpudding, I wanted to add some texture so I filled it in with stitches. I’m not convinced that I like this any better than just the simple outline, but I like how the lines make me think of the lines on one’s palms. I feel like those lines tell such stories about one’s lives, and I spend an awful lot of time wondering how the stories of our kids’ lives will play out so it felt appropriate. I also used some metallic coated linen to indulge my recent love for sparkly things.

I not only refer to our kids in pairs, but I also seem to make things in pairs for them. Matching scarves, capes and costumes have popped up in our lives because when you make one, it always seems just as easy to make just one more. I’ll make one of these hand prints for Bee too, hopefully by the time she turns 2. And Emmett’s birthday is coming up, and I think I see another vision of matching craftiness in my future.

 

Some time ago, I bought this book about sewing knits, and it made me feel brave. (I loved the book, by the way. I would definitely recommend it to beginners.)

It made me feel brave enough to attempt this:

And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Then yesterday, I finished this tunic/dress:

(Those leggings are from H&M, by the way, and they are fantastic! A 2-pack for $12.50)

 

I used an old dress of Bee’s, traced the upper part of the dress, and fudged the rest. And it was fast! easy! Life changing, I tell you. While I was making it, I realized how it could be possible for Target to sell t-shirts for $5. I think I’ll be branching out into knits now. And you wouldn’t know this from looking at our house full of neutrals, but I seem to have developed a love for sparkly things. The fabric from Bee’s dress is actually covered with tiny bronze sparkles, which is so lovely to look at, but has covered just about everything in its path. This afternoon, Bee actually woke up with a thin film of glitter on her face and eyelashes. Between the bright costumes and the sparkles, I feel like I’m going a little Liberace here.

 

present idea: on-the-go doodle kit

It feels like I spend a LOT of my time thinking about presents for kids, and I’ve been so happy that lately I’ve been making craft kits, sticker books, and t-shirts instead of buying toys that may or may not ever see the light of day. I recently came up with another idea: an on-the-go doodle kit. We have a little flexible plastic pencil tote that contains a lightweight sketchbook (I bought a ton of them at Muji when we were in Taiwan) plus some oil pastels or crayons. I usually throw this kit into my purse or under the stroller when we go out to eat or when we are running errands that require waiting. It has saved us tons of times during long and otherwise restless waits at restaurants, and I thought other kids/parents might enjoy the same.

I wanted to have something a little special in our kit, though, and I decided that it needed a fun drawing tool. Otis and I recycled some crayons that we acquired at East Bay Depot by breaking/cutting them down to small chunks and melting them in a star-shaped silicone cake pan. It’s a great way to use up old, broken crayons, or even the crayons that you get free from restaurants. You can use any shape you want – use an old muffin tin, or even melt it in a big sheet and cut them into shapes while still warm with a sharp cookie cutter (though I’m not sure you’ll want to bake anything edible in the pans afterwards). We broke up the crayons together and Otis arranged them in our cake pan. Then we sat in front of the oven and watched them melt very slowly. (We baked them at 200 until they were melted, about 15 minutes.) It was a fun project to do together, and he found the cutting of the crayons quite satisfying:

yes, there he is with the superman outfit again

I found a great substitute for our beloved Muji notebooks in these fantastic little sketchbooks from Moleskine. I love their regular sketchbooks, and they make these thinner versions in a variety of wonderful colors. They fit just right into a clear plastic “binder pouch” that I found at Target (I need to go back and buy a bunch before all the back-to-school supplies are gone!) and I added a star shaped crayon tucked into a little sewn drawstring bag. I will attach a little tag that will inform our gift recipient that the crayon was “Made by Otis.” I know some prefer to limit their use of plastic, and you can definitely sew a larger drawstring bag instead; there are so many possibilities.

I love this little doodle kit! And I hope our gift recipient will, too.

 

skirts!

I’ve made my latest lazy sewer’s discovery: elastic-waist skirts. I came across a free pattern from Oliver + S, who makes really adorable kids’ patterns. It’s not a pattern, exactly, but more like rough guidelines for how to make an elastic band skirt from a simple length of fabric. It was really fast and easy.

Here is it is with a Etsuko Furuya fabric that I love:

I think I used maybe 1/2 yard? It’s a great way to use a small amount of pricey fabric. Their directions call for using ribbon on the hem, which makes things fast, but I used my serger and a blind hem stitch instead.

I also made a variation:

Instead of sewing the entire width of fabric into the skirt, I first cut out strips to sew straps. This makes for a dress that is a less full. I used a longer piece of fabric (I happened to find a 7/8 yard remnant for $1.80!) and used a wider width of elastic. I added buttons and the straps to make it a jumper. The straps have a few different buttonholes so hopefully we’ll be able to use it as Bee gets taller.

 

getting back into sewing

Thank you for your supportive comments and emails about my hair. Since I’ve cut my hair, I’ve exchanged hair stories with just about every woman I’ve encountered, and I’ve heard many sympathetic comments that were just so right, in the vein of It looks great, but I know how you feel. It’s interesting how our identities are so closely tied to our hair, and how we express ourselves through our hairstyles.

Anyways, a change of subject. I’ve actually been spending some time in my studio, which you may be surprised to hear since I’ve been quiet about it. A couple of days a week, I wake up with Bee and then head right to studio, leaving F to get the kids ready for the day. I love the quiet couple of hours that I get and it feels like a productive time. In the beginning, though, I found that I just sat here and looked around, not sure what to do. I think the collages, for now, are done. I don’t feel inspired to pick up my scissors and paper, and I just need to take some time away from it. It might be a short time, it might be a long time, I don’t know. It feels sad, like breaking up with an old friend, but maybe I’ll feel more inspired when I return to it.

Instead, I’ve been sewing. My lovely new sewing machine had been glaring at me accusingly for some time, its optional functions glowering uselessly, and I was staring back blankly and guiltily. Finally, I just had to make something, anything. I started with this:

Kind of silly, but it was extremely satisfying to make something fast and easy, that I finished in a couple of hours. I used a tidbit of a piece of fabric that I’ve been hoarding forever, and I love seeing that little splash of color every time I reach for my scissors. There’s definitely something to be said for making things that serve to personalize and beautify a space. It got things moving, and I felt inspired to make more. Next I moved on to this:

Another silly and extremely easy project. Have you ever heard that you can tell a lot about a woman by looking at her purse? I hate to think the conclusions one would come to by looking through mine — it’s usually filled with crumpled receipts and napkins, scattered bits of money, multiple snacks and occasionally, an old New Yorker. Sometimes, my wallet isn’t even in there because I took it out to do something and forgot to put it back in. This cinched snack bag is one attempt to tackle my little purse problem. At least I know where to look for wipes and pretzels now.

Now I’ve been sewing as much as I can. I’m having fun figuring out some of the different functions on my sewing machine and serger, and projects are actually getting finished. I’m using some store-bought patterns, but also trying out some variations. I took a pattern-making class a million years ago, and I’d really love to get back some of those skills. But for now, I’m concentrating on the sewing part.

I’ve been thinking about how getting into the practice of sewing was, for me, like the process I went through when I first started making collages. It took me a while to get into it, felt slow and unnatural in the beginning, and then things started to feel good, and more creative. I’ll share more projects soon.

 

present idea: shirts for kids

We’ve been thinking a lot about birthdays here, as we are ramping up for Otis’s birthday party this weekend, and I wanted to share this idea with you. I find present buying absolutely torturous, as it would be for any criminally indecisive person. But for kids, it’s especially hard since 1. kids have such specific interests; 2. I hate buying junky or plastic toys, but feel self-conscious about buying old-fashioned toys because of reason #1; and 3. I always feel guilty if I don’t give a handmade present away yet I am pretty sure that kids would prefer something junky and plastic. How does buying a birthday present for a 4-year old devolve into a circle of guilt and self-hatred?

One day, I was thinking about the birthday of a fashion-conscious classmate of Otis’s who is very dear to my heart. She always engages me in discussions about my clothes, and was particularly interested in me when I was pregnant, since I wore dresses all the time. I proposed designing a shirt together that I would then sew for her. She came up with a design, I let her choose her own fabrics from my stash, and then mere weeks later, she had this:

Word to the wise: if you’re doing a project with a pre-schooler and you want it to have meaning, don’t wait four weeks to finish your project because they will forget. She looked blankly at the shirt when I gave it to her, but soon after, with some prompting from her mother, she was very appreciative.

And then I made one for our good friend, Emmett:

He’s obsessed with the Cal Bears (from UCBerkeley, from those who don’t know). Happily, I’ve seen him wear it a few times. Evidently, it is one of the few things that he will wear that does not bear the Cal logo. I got lucky, I guess. The kid won’t even wear red socks anymore — you know, because of the old rivalry between Cal and Stanford.

What’s amazing is that the kids are so impressively decisive about what they want. And they stick with it, too. Totally foreign to me. If you’re interested, I drew my designs backwards onto iron-on adhesive paper. Then I cut them out and pressed them onto pre-washed shirts (I found Target to be a good source for cheap, basic shirts). Then I topstiched the designs down. Simple and easy, and it was fun for both me and for the kids to work together on a project. This is the perfect age to start doing projects like this.

 

tuxedo pants

Otis has been growing like a weed lately, and all his pants are starting to look like gauchos. Luckily, I’m still having my love affair with sewing pants, which are so fast and easy to make. Pajama pants are perfect for Otis – he will try to force any and all pants down his hips no matter how tight they are and really, who doesn’t want to be in pajamas all day long?

I find the standard pajama pants a little too tapered, so here’s how I altered them to make a straighter leg:

Trace the original pattern (I already cut out the new pattern in the picture above, but just wanted to show you how they are different). I used pattern paper here, but here’s a tip: the huge rolls of kraft paper near the exit at Ikea works PERFECTLY for patternmaking. And it’s FREE. Grab a cinnamon roll while you’re at it.

I started straightening the pattern at the hip. Since they are pajama pants, you don’t need to worry too much about precise fit, so don’t wring your hands over the exact location of where you start. I added width to both the inside and outside seams, making the leg much straighter (refer to the picture with old pattern on top of the new to see the difference).

Finished. Easy. I think I might try to try another pattern, making the pants a little more slim cut, too.

You know that old adage “Measure twice, cut once”? I think I need to have those words tattooed on my arm or something since I seem to spend a whole lot of time either with my seam ripper or in the car, returning yet again to Home Depot. I ran the pant legs through my serger before I realized that I sewed the wrong pieces together. So I had to cut them apart serge them together correctly. At which point, these pants were headed straight for wedgie city. So the solution:

I added a strip down the side. Since they were too tight on top but OK down the leg, I made a pattern for a wedge so as not to add too much fullness to the bottom. It is the same length as my pants pattern, and 4″ on top and 2″ on the bottom (these measurements include seam allowance). I used a contrasting denim for the stripe and topstitched with denim thread. Although these pants took much longer than they would’ve if I’d just been more careful, I actually love the way they look. And this would be a great way to extend the life of any pair of pants that have grown a little too tight.

 

how to: sticker book

Remember the fantastic sticker book that my friend, Carey, made for Otis? Well, she’s been kind enough to work out some of the kinks, and together we worked on a tutorial for the new and improved sticker book (so SO much fun to craft together). It’s a really great present (Otis adored his) and as an added bonus, it’s actually a pretty easy project. Put your hands together for Carey!

materials:
cover stock for the cover of the sticker book, cut to 7.5″ x 12″
contrasting cover stock for the pocket
plain white paper, cut to 6.5″ x 11″
waxed paper
fabric to use as a press cloth (I used some extra flannel I had sitting around)
binder clip (optional)
ruler
x-acto knife
awl
bookbinder’s thread (although really thick, durable sewing thread might also work)
needle with a long, flat eye (like a tapestry or chenille needle)

to finish:
stamps
stickers

directions:
(I give you directions for a 7.5″h x 6″w book, but it’s pretty easy to adjust the measurements if you want to make changes – just cut the white paper 1″ shorter in width and length than the cover stock.)

1. Sew pocket onto cover, using long stitches when you sew. (This prevents weakening the paper by punching too many holes) Use an old needle for this job, because sharp needles are not required and the paper dulls them very quickly.

2. Layer your white paper between two sheets of wax paper. It doesn’t matter what size the wax paper is now because you’ll trim them later. Iron the pages on medium heat between press cloths. Ironing from the center towards the edges will help you get rid of bubbles that may form. I found that ironing both sides of the paper helped me get the smoothest results.

You may choose the number of pages that you’d like for your book. I used 4 sheets of paper to make an 8-page book.

3. Match up the corners of the white paper inside the sticker pages and fold them in half.

4. Stack the pages inside of each other, matching up the edges and keeping the pages as close to each other as possible. You may use binder clips to help hold them tightly together at the spine.

5. Trim all the pages at the same time so that they are straight and even. Make sure to leave at least 1/4″ of wax paper – it’s what’s holding the pages together.

6. Unfold your pages and lay them flat, making sure they stay lined up. Use an awl to punch 4 holes at the following measurements: 1″ from bottom of wax paper; 2 5/8″ from bottom; 1″ from top of wax paper; 2 5/8″ from top .

7. Fold your cover in half. I find it easier and more precise to use my awl to score the cover before folding.

8. Use the holes from your sticker pages as a guide for making holes in the spine of your cover, making sure that everything is centered.

9. Sew the cover and inside pages together, using the diagram below as a guide for how to sew. Make sure your stitches are taut, but not too tight.

The diagram above was taken from this book. His whole series on non-adhesive binding techniques is amazing.

10. When you finish sewing, tie a square knot and snip the thread, leaving an inch or so of thread so it doesn’t come unraveled.

11. Stamp the name of the gift recipient on the cover and insert some stickers.

12. Give your sticker book to some lucky kid and bask in the glow of all the accolades you will receive for your genius.

 

inaugural sewing project

F and I went to see Coraline in 3D over the weekend. Would you believe that it was the first time that I’ve ever watched a movie in 3D?? Next I’ll be telling you that my hometown didn’t allow dancing or rock and roll, either. I really enjoyed it, but I can’t imagine taking a kid to see it. It was kind of scary! One of my favorite things about it is that the dad is voiced by John Hodgman – he’s most famous for playing the “PC” in the Apple ads, but I’ve also heard some of his stories on This American Life, and he’s really amazing. Oh be still my beating heart, will my love of the nerd never end?

I finally sat down on this very rainy day and sewed on my new machine. Consider my world rocked. Before my old sewing machine broke, I was working on some designs for bibs, taking into account your collective hatred of the ties. I’m excited to get back to work, so consider yourselves warned about the flood of bibs that you’ll soon be seeing here.

bib 001:

AND…. tutorial for the sticker book coming soon.

 

a quilt for the bee

F was out of town this week, and for some reason, I just couldn’t get myself to turn off the lights and go to sleep at a decent hour. Late one night, I came across this etsy shop selling Japanese fabric, and I saw one of my favorite fabrics! Then that reminded me that I never even told you about the quilt I made for Ms. Bee during my last frenzy of crafting before her arrival.

Some time ago, my friend, Takako, brought back some of the loveliest fabric from Japan, including two precious pieces that I crowned my favorite and swore I would never, ever use. Not only were they exactly my taste, but they were just small enough to make it so that if you messed up one project, then you were finished. What pressure! I could never think of anything special enough to make with the fabric, until it suddenly came to me that they could be incorporated into a quilt for Bee. She had sent me the same pattern in two colorways, and coincidentally, they matched perfectly with an aqua fabric that I had actually purchased for a totally different fabric. It was meant to be, especially since I had a good week or two of pure adrenaline before Bee arrived.

Here’s something I learned from quilt making: math is hard! Even for a kid who was the “Around the World” champion in 7th grade. Turns out we should’ve spent more time doing real math, and less time playing Around the World for lunch money. But what do you expect from a teacher who was swingin’ single man in his thirties who spent an inordinate amount of time fluffing his hair, and whom, it was rumored, actually slept in the Ferrari that he roared to school in? Oh, Mr. Shannon, you’ve doomed me to a lifetime of challenging quilt making! And this isn’t even one of those quilts with teeny, tiny pieces; that would drive me absolutely mad.

Despite some frustration due to the math and to the varying stretchiness of the fabrics that I ended up choosing, I’m actually pretty happy with it. It’s thick and very wrinkly (curse you, eco-friendly fabric!) and is filled with all kinds of weird kinks and mistakes, but I like the colors together, and I like how handmade it all looks. It was definitely a labor of love that pretty much used the last bits of my residual pregnancy energy. And I love that I finally used up my favorite fabric to make something that Bee will use and hopefully keep for a long time.

And here, I even finally snapped a shot of Ms. Bee’s new pearly whites while she was lying on her quilt:

"Hey you, yeah you. Come here. I want to show you something. Just put your finger in my mouth. No, wait, what? Bite you? Me? Do I look like I would do such a thing? I think you're just projecting here."