Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts

Monday, November 16, 2009

crafting ≠ lanyards and leaf plaques


despite my crazy period of work, this has been a pretty prolific craft period. (ok, that word "craft" connotes crocheted toilet paper roll covers, découpage plaques, bedazzled sweatshirts. i'm trying to get over this) over the years i've made several pairs of the above booties for friends with babies. they are a hit b/c kids can't pull them off. they are also good gifts b/c they are about the size of kids' feet when they are 5 mos. old. good for a gift procrastinator like me. :)

i knit the above pair for my friends marsha and charlie's daughter, nora. i used two different colors of koigu. koigu is handpainted marino wool. so beautiful. the yarn came out of my koigu stash. i started another pair last night in two more colors of koigu pulled from the closet.

while taking a class at sew l.a. i spotted some terrific fabrics that inspired me to make an apron for my friend, uyen, using sew liberated's "emmeline" pattern.
(the name of this pattern had me humming jonathan richman's "emmeline" for weeks. which is a-ok.) it's reversible. the two bigger pieces of fabric were each a "side" of the apron. the floral strips hanging there were the ties.

my pics are pretty lousy b/c i took them at night using the camera on my laptop (this is comedy all its own.) also, the apron is being modeled by my less-than-shapely ironing board.
i'm hoping the recipient can hook me up with a good pic that i can post later.























here, my pal, sea, graciously agreed to model the apron so i could photograph the ties in back. she did insist on props. that whisk and spatula are working kitchen utensils. no rental props here.

of note: much of this sewing was done while listening to the new yorker's fiction podcast and an assortment of comedy records.
**please pardon the layout of this post. i didn't take the time to figure out just how to balance the lay out.**

Monday, July 6, 2009

no way to finish something


for the last year and a half i've been on a slow and steady mission to clear out some of my languishing craft projects and use materials i have in my apt. this really is the m.o. i've been applying to my entire life. i'm chipping away at the list of tasks, chipping away at the piles of paper, chipping away at debt, chipping away at clutter.

it's been working well, but the urge to start new projects is strong. about a month ago i stood staring into the closet of fabric and yarn, wanting to start a new sewing project. i pulled out a plastic container filled with cut fabric and scraps left over from more than a decade of quilting projects. i started sewing together all the pre-cut squares and cutting more from the fabric scraps.

even if i pack all these bits of fabric back into that box and put it back in the closet i've done enough piecing to reduce thier number by 75%. what was once 4 pieces is now one.

this may not be any way to finish a project, but it's a great way to get something started. :)


fun facts: among the fabrics in these pix: there are pieces from a quilt i made my brother during President Clinton's impeachment trial, a quilt made for Vinnie's baby son --who is now a junior in high school, another quilt made for a friend when i was cutting Animal Planet shows.

surprising the little bits of personal history and context that bubble up with this kind of stuff.


in this pic: bowling pin & candy corn fabrics!
these pix are representational of conditions in my dining room: both desks and two chairs covered in fabric stacks and sewing equipment. if my bicycle wasn't dirty i'd likely have fabric piled on it, too.

further craft note: am also in the midst of a knitting hanger marathon. will have used 8 balls of yarn from my stash, and 10 hangers from the box in the closet when all is said and done.

HELL.
YES.



snack of note: while sewing: leinenkugel's amber ale, pita chips & hummus quartet; while typing: triple vanilla late and mango slices.