March 19, 2012
A robot backpack
I thought Isaac needed a toddler backpack, now that he’s moved up to the toddler room at day care. I used the Made By Rae pattern and some imported Japanese robot fabric that I picked up on sale this winter.
I am super happy with how this turned out, it could not be cuter 
I made just a few modifications to the pattern: making the side panels in the same fabric as the bottom, making the backpack 1/2 inch wider so that his lunch tin can sit flat in the bottom of the backpack, and I used a lot of interfacing to make sure the bag keeps its shape. I put two pieces of pellon 50 in the bottom, which I whip-stitched to the seam allowances before sewing the lining in. For the front and back panels I quilted a piece of pellon 50 and a piece of quilt batting to the outside fabric, and a piece of quilt batting to the lining fabric. Hopefully all this interfacing means the bag lasts through preschool. We’ll see!
August 27, 2011
Broadside
The project for Letterpress I was a 10×10 broadside – text with a corresponding illustration. I chose a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, one of my all-time favorite authors. I had the opportunity to see him speak at the University of Iowa many years ago and I feel fortunate to have been there. I remember sitting in the lecture hall listening to his stories and thinking, wow, this is amazing.
I’ve had a lot of opportunities that I’m really grateful for, I have an amazing happy baby, great family and friends. I often pause what I’m doing, whether it’s playing with Isaac, reading a good book, or taking a walk outside in the perfect weather we’ve been having lately and think “this is nice.” I resolve to do that even more often, because I don’t do it enough. I’m going to frame this broadside, because I am so proud of it, and hang it up where I’ll see it every day as a reminder.
You can see some of the process here – proofing the text, carving a linoleum block, proofing the block, and the final print. There is a whole stack of proofs and goofs that you don’t see here. This was a time consuming process, but the nature of setting text and pulling prints is almost meditative and gives you time to think “if this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”
Type: Stymie 24pt
Paper: Rives BFK
August 2, 2011
Wheel of Mystery quilt – done!
I’ts finally finished!
My friend Julie did an amazing job quilting this! I started this thing way back in 2006 and just finished sewing the binding on this month. It’s super nice to be able to cross this off my to-do list and hang it up on the wall!
July 22, 2011
Vacation
We took a little family vacation to San Francisco over the 4th of July. It was fantastic. We made some quick stops at Dynamo Donuts, Daiso, and In-n-Out Burger before we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to visit family. I highly recommend all three places. We had a really relaxing time north of the city, took lots of walks, played some croquet and visited Muir Woods. I snapped a few pics with my phone.
An old school Land Rover.
Super tall redwoods.
Giant clovers in Muir Woods. Can’t really tell the scale in this picture, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
June 24, 2011
Take that, mosquitoes!
I made some beer bottle torches, following this tutorial, for the summer. Thanks to the cool weather and lots of rain, our backyard is so full of mosquitoes this year it’s ridiculous. The torches help a little but not enough. It’s kind of a bummer since we just got a fancy grill installed and were looking forward to spending a lot of time in the backyard this summer.
But on the plus side, our yard has never looked nicer – also thanks to the cool weather and rain. All the plants are flourishing – hostas are huge, groundcover is spreading, fruits are ripening – and all we’ve done is weed a few times, scatter some seeds and plant a few annuals.
I was able to find all the parts for this project in only one trip to Home Depot. That is amazing. Usually projects that take a trip to Home Depot require at least 3 trips to Home Depot. I did make one trip to my local Ace store where I bought materials for the torches themselves, but Ace did not carry the hardware to hang the torches.
June 3, 2011
Fruit trivets
Pattern: Crocheted fruity trivets and pot holders by the Purl Bee (ravelry)
Yarn: Rowan 4-ply cotton
I doubled-up the yarn and used a smaller gauge hook than the pattern called for. I did have a problem with the sides of both the trivet and the potholder curling up, so I sprayed them with spray starch and ironed them on high heat. Problem solved!
It was hard to find a cheap yarn line that had both a light and dark orange. I have quite a bit of the dark orange left over, but none of the light orange. I hope to make a matching set, maybe of lemons or limes, if I can find suitable yarn.
June 2, 2011
Getting ready for summer
In preparation for warmer weather, I made Isaac a sun hat using the Betz White reversible bucket hat pattern. I made the smallest size, and it fits him just perfectly. He hates it though. He hates all hats. He spent most of the time he was wearing it trying to get it off. I did get a picture before the fussing started.
I used a cotton quilting print that I got on clearance from a local quilt store, and some denim that I had in my stash. I was a little intimidated by the idea of sewing curved pieces, but the pattern was actually pretty easy. I’ll be making a few more for Isaac in different sizes and maybe one for myself as well.
May 4, 2011
Monsters
I’ve been wanting to knit some of Rebecca Danger’s toys for a loooooong time, and I finally set time aside to do it. I opted to embroider the eyes and mouth on with duplicate stitch, and then use a felting needle to make sure Isaac’s little fingers can’t un-ravel them. I used bamboo fiberfill, I’m curious to see how it holds up compared to the polyester stuff.
Pattern: Coco the Canister Monster, by Rebecca Danger (ravelry)
Yarn: single ply worsted weight wool
Needles: US5
Pattern: Tony the Toy Box Monster, by Rebecca Danger (ravelry)
Yarn: miscellaneous sock yarn
Needles: US2, 2.75mm
January 8, 2011
Back to work…
After 2 months of maternity leave from my day job, and almost a year after my last post, I’m getting ready to go back to work. I start my day job again at the end of the month, and I’m restarting the blog this month.
Here’s what was keeping me busy the last 10-ish months:
Isaac just celebrated his 2 month birthday.
March 22, 2010
Falling Oats Cowl
After half a dozen attempts, I have finally completed my first cowl:
Pattern: my own
Needles: US4 and US6 circular needles
Yarn: handpainted Louet Gems fingering weight
