Sewing - Fabric! Books! Bliss!

My dear, kind husband surprised me with some early Christmas presents... It's funny because this is probably the BEST present I've ever received from him, and he's given me a lot of thoughtful things over the years (not to mention the never ending love and emotional support!).

I know these books are 'older' in the world of seamstresses and crafters, but they're newer to me, and I couldn't be happier to own them now. I was checking the first two out of the library often, but now they're sitting next to me on my own shelf. And now I won't feel compelled to trace all of the patterns either!

Simple Sewing with a French Twist by Celine Dupuy

Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones

Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol

Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

I was so surprised when I opened the package and found not just one book, but all four books that were on my wish list! I've been reading them constantly and making little (big) lists of all the things I want to make and what fabric I'll use.

I was also very excited to pick up a freecycle drop this week - a woman gave me a box of fabrics (some stretchy knits that I might use for a baby sling...) and a huge bag of yarn. Many project possibilities... If you haven't freecycled yet, I highly recommend it!

Happy Christmas Eve for now - we're away from school and work for another week, so I'll be back to share more soon!

Inspiration - Grandma Reese

I love this photo that Michael took in 2005. We were visiting my Grandmother Reese in Seattle, the winter before Sam was born.

She was and is an inspiration to me - an incredibly creative person, in everything that she did. She raised five children, managed a busy household, and still found time to create gorgeous clothing, quilts, needlework, and stained glass. Not to mention the gardening, the canning, the cooking, the baking... I'm probably missing something else creative that she did, that I didn't even know about! She taught sewing classes for years at their church parochial school, and when I was old enough she taught me some sewing basics.

To top it all off, she spent many years volunteering her time translating children's textbooks into braille versions. This made a huge difference in the lives of many students, in the Seattle area and beyond. I remember her carefully thought out braille projects sitting on the side counter of her dining room. She specialized in translating social studies and science textbooks, because she would use her creative skills and knowledge of textural materials to create perfect diagrams, maps, and illustrations - all to make the information accessible to students.

Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed by the layers of life that I've taken on, I'm reminded of her, and what she was able to do with her life, despite many challenges.

It's time to choose some of her Christmas cookie recipes to try this year, so she's on my mind this week...

Sewing - I'm a little biased..

about some of my finished projects! Pardon the pun, but I finally got it together and made my own 'French' bias tape, for the little kimono project I was working on. It's not perfect, but I got past my mental block about it, and just did it. I know you can buy a little gadget to make tape, but I was glad to learn how to do it from scratch too. The pattern for the kimono is from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones.

I used a thrifted table cloth for the main fabric, and some of the vintage Indonesian fabric from my Aunt Dorothy for the bias tape and borders.

I used that same Indonesian fabric for a special project for Sam - his own apron - for art projects and cooking projects. There's no bias tape on the apron, but it is reversible! The other side is made from one of Michael's old dress shirts - I used the collar to create the neck strap on the apron, and I used both sides of the button placket to create the tie around his waist.

Blocks - Synchronicity, painting, drawing, stamping, and... Italy?

Hmmm. Interesting 'things' are in the works. I haven't been much for photography lately, so this is an old shot of the name blocks project that has been percolating.

In addition to the name blocks, I've been sketching in my little leather sketchbook. And then, out of the blue, I get a package in the mail from one of my dearest aunts - she sent fabric, and the Vogue pattern that she used to make my wedding dress, AND a bag full of stamps! Like for print-making, not for sending letters! Sam and I were both beyond excited.

That was one example of synchronicity... It's everywhere, I tell ya! Not just coincidences, but something that seems much deeper. Something that says, it seems as though God and the Universe are conspiring on a plan that's infinitely more complex than I ever could have imagined. I really can't put into words, what that plan might be, but I just have a feeling that it includes a trip or two to Italy...

Toys - The Marble Chute

This is the marble chute, which lives at Grandpa's farm. An older version existed, that we played with when we were kids, but it has disappeared. Thankfully, my older brother constructed a new marble chute a few years ago, so that generations of Roth kids could continue to roll marbles for hours at a time.

I know there are probably snazzy plastic chutes that are similar on the market, but I've got it in my mind to make my own wooden one, down the line.

Photography - Photos of the Day

My mini-assignment for today was to try to capture mood and action, without showing faces. Sam and Ella were working on building an amazing fort on the lanai - I wasn't allowed to help, so taking photos was a good second option! Painting was also a big hit today, which led to talking about abstract art, and viewing a you-tube clip of Jackson Pollock painting. We love having Ella over to visit!

Sewing - The little shirt dress!

As I've heard from others, I learned a lot from making this dress..

These were the biggest things I learned:

1. Next time, I'll use a sturdier shirt! The fabric on my thrift store find was pretty thin and threadbare.
2. I'll use the expanded pattern from Dana next time - the armpits are pretty tight on this one.
3. It would help to have a real child in mind for the dress, so that I could use actual measurements!

The waistband is from a pillow case that my Grandma Reese embroidered. Because it's her embroidery, I'm kind of reluctant to give the dress away. No remedy but having a baby girl of my own :)

Toys - The Littlest Birds

I've started making these birds from scrap fabric and old sweaters, after seeing the cool ones at Spool Sewing and Sew Liberated. So far I've made three little guys. And Sam and I chose a branch from the back forty that the birds are going to sit on. But before I got to glueing them, Sam had so much fun playing with them and making them talk to each other. So they might not ever make it to the branch.

The big fuzzy purple one is the dad, while the other two take turns being the mom or the child. My husband tried to convince him that the fuzzy one should be the mom, since I'm the one with crazy curly hair in the family, but he's not having it. The big fuzzy purple one is, and always will be, Dad.

Toys - Some ideas work better than others...

The 'snow globe' we tried to make using a peanut butter jar and crunched up egg shells :) Back to the drawing board...


The coffee filter flower bouquet Sam gave me for Mother's Day, co-created with Auntie Cheryl. So beautiful!

Photography - B&W Botanicals for Block-Printing Inspiration

Inspiration - My art day...

I already posted a little bit about this at yo-yo reggio, but here are a few more photos of the fun I had today. I'm officially in love with block-printing. I've got my block-printing wish list to make and buy brewing...

As you can see, I'm having some trouble with the photo orientation tonight, but you get the idea!

Sewing/Toys - We Love Crowns!

I've finally finished the yo-yo reggio give-away crown that I started for Fiona in Denver so many weeks back! There are so many cool crowns that you can see on-line and in a variety of books out there. Amanda Blake Soule shows a nice version in The Creative Family. I got my original inspiration from the tutorial at Juicy Bits and the blog posting at Koala Brains.

I somewhat followed the Juicy Bits tutorial, but as usual I changed it up according the materials I had on hand. In some versions of the crowns that I've made so far, I've used cardboard or a thicker felt inside the crown body, instead of interfacing material. The pictures you see here show several layers of felt to make a sturdier crown body. I've also played with machine stitching and hand stitching. Fiona's crown is primarily hand-stitched, just because I liked the way it looked and I felt like hand stitching. For better or worse, I think I'll always be an improvisor! You might want to follow the more formal tutorial, or just follow along with my improvisational photo essay.


Playing with the initial layout. I just didn't like the look of those yellow stars...


These colors worked better!


I used a simple running stitch to sew her initial onto a felt diamond.


I stitched the square to the front of the crown body and added some embroidered spirals. Because I really like spirals.


I sewed a strip of the butterfly fabric to the bottom of the crown body. I made a fabric sleeve from the same fabric, to make the back elastic holder. These are the seams that I machine stitched.


This shows the fabric sleeve with the elastic inside of it. I machine stitched both ends, to make sure that the elastic would stay in. You can see on the crown body that I added gold/brass buttons.




After I sewed the elastic onto the crown body, Sam graciously modeled.

I don't have a picture of the wand, but I made it with the same butterfly fabric that's on the crown. I cut out two free-form stars (because I like free-form stars!) and sewed them together. I stuffed the star with quilt batting, then attached it to a wooden dowel. Finally I tied on a variety of ribbons and finished it with some glue. I hope Buffy will share some photos when Fiona gets the package in the mail!

Sewing - Pillow case from baby t-shirts

The title says it all :) Oh, except there are two 'secret' pockets incorporated in, cut from a pair of Sam's little shorts. And I was going to make it as a quilt/blanket, but before I stitched up the fourth side, I realized that he might enjoy it more as a pillow case and bag. I was right!

Photography - 3 Goals, Completed!

I had three really simple goals for photography today.

1. Take photos using Michael's SLR camera, instead of the little digital.
2. Use the tripod.
3. Experiment with using a slow shutter speed to capture movement and action.

Here are a few of the results...


The power ranger suit was a gift from a 4-year-old friend at a party we went to last night...


I really like the saturated colors in this shot.


Here's an example using the tripod and slow shutter speed. I like the action, but now I need to work on keeping rich colors at the same time...


Like this!


And this one, that just captures the spirit of my guy.

Toys - Elephant from Vietnam

Michael brought this lovely stuffed elephant for Sam. I'm in love, and planning to learn to make them myself, so I can give one to every kid I know.