Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Preschool Halloween Party
Now I'm off to make more costumes and finish up this little fox before Sunday. Hope you're up for it, little borrowed Singer!
Monday, October 25, 2010
My New Favorite Sign

There are many legit reasons, medical and otherwise that women choose to formula feed, and I'm passing no judgment here. But can we please become a society that accepts, even embraces, that breasts are lovely and intimate and alluring and wonderful playthings but sometimes the girls've gotta work too?
Friday, October 22, 2010
Utter Chaos
Thursday, October 21, 2010
All Clear

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Books and Some More Books




Monday, October 18, 2010
Halloween Decorations
Friday, October 15, 2010
New (to Me) Winter Sweater
I'm up to my eyeballs in an apartment rearranging jigsaw puzzle. I have great Halloween decorations to post and I'm one seam and a bit of ribbing away from being done with all 7 projects!!! Ah! But first I have to finish #7, and to do that I have to move my sewing table, and to do that I have to move my steamer trunk, and to do that I have to move a few bookshelves, side tables, toy boxes... you get the idea.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Acorn People
He, very diligently, drew tiny faces on the balls, and sorted through his acorn tops looking for perfect hats, then picked out an acorn body for each one. Obviously we had to make a little world for them. B painted the inside of this box, then we added twigs and dried moss.
Monday, October 11, 2010
"Little Brown Specials"
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Baby Animal Hats Tutorial with Pattern
The hats are about size 6 mo but they stretch. If you're looking for a different size you could trace an existing hat or enlarge the pattern. It's my first pattern, so please be patient and don't hesitate to ask any questions. I'm not going to make a full blown tutorial, but the instructions are below. First of all, here's what you'll need:
-Less than 1/4 yard of cotton interlock knit, in coordinating colors. I like the thickness of interlock for these. Mostly it just needs to be something that won't fray. If you use a lighter weight jersey, old t shirt etc, you may need to use interfacing or extra layers on the ears to keep them from flopping over.
-Ribbed knit in coordinating color. Less than 1/8 yard.
-Either have matching thread or a coordinating color if you want to get decorative with it, this project is pretty topstitch heavy.
-Freezer paper and fabric paint or extra coordinating fabrics if you choose to applique the features instead.
The basic steps are as follows
1- Wash, dry, press your fabric. Cut out pattern pieces and your freezer paper stencil.
2- Applique, paint, sew buttons or stencil the eyes (and beak for the owl) onto the face pieces. I used freezer paper stencils and I included my stencil design in the pattern. If you've never used freezer paper to stencil, I highly recommend it. Here's one of many great tutorials.
3- Let your paint dry fully, and then heat set it. Be sure to use an ironing cloth or scrap of fabric to protect your iron.
4- Topstitch the face pieces onto the front of the hat. Use a zig zag, serger or some other stitch that a) will stretch and b) looks decent as this will show.
5- Sew ribbing to the bottom edge of both sides of the hat. Here's my ribbing tutorial, if you've never used it. (For the owl hat, skip to step 8)
6- Take 2 ear pieces, right sides facing, and sew the top 2 sides of the triangle, leaving the bottoms open. Turn right side out and topstitch. Repeat with the other ear.
7- Pin ears to front side of hat, pointing down, right sides facing. Take your time and make sure you like the ear placement.
8- Pin both sides of the hat together, right sides facing, and sew. Trim any scraggly edges and turn right side out.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
In the Meantime- Tutorial on Sewing Ribbing
We might as well take advantage of the technical difficulties, so while we wait for the animal hats pattern, how about a down and dirty tutorial on ribbing?
First of all, let me reiterate that I have a very basic sewing machine and therefore I use a basic zig zag stitch when working with knits. I hope to someday own a serger, and on that day I anticipate many tears of joy. But until then, I zig zag. Those of you who have a serger, an overlock machine or one with a stretch stitch, use it!
Next I should say that I leave the edges of my ribbing raw. I know it's not the most high brow way to do things, but it doesn't fray or unravel and it makes it softer. And as long as you cut it cleanly it looks great.
-Wash and dry your ribbed knit fabric (available at most fabric stores.) It comes in pretty great colors so have fun with it.
-If your cutting counter professional's cut leaves something to be desired use sharp scissors or a sharp rotary cutter to clean up the edge.
-Place your ribbed knit on your ironing surface, right side down. Fold up one edge to the width you'd like for your trim. Press.
-Next cut the back of the trim about 1/16" wider than the front. I usually lay my pattern piece (in this case, a sleeve) out next to it and eyeball the length I'll need so I don't cut too much ribbing.
-Cut the length you need. Ribbed trim needs to be stretched tight so it needs to be shorter than the edge you're sewing it to. Some people cut the ribbing to 2/3 or 3/4 of the total length. I cut the whole length because it gives me the freedom to choose how tightly I want to stretch it. It's a little wasteful, as you end up with a little scrap to cut off, but it doesn't keep me up at night.
-Unfold your ribbing, put the edge of your garment inside, and refold. Pin one end.
-Time to sew. Put the pinned end under your presser foot, make a few stitches and backstitch. Then pull the ribbing toward you, being careful to keep the garment fabric well inside the ribbed trim. How tight you pull determines the tightness of the trim. Too loose looks sloppy, too tight is uncomfortable and bunches.
-Zig zag stitch about 1/16" from the top edge of the ribbing. Backstitch at the end and cut off the extra trim.
-Done and done. I hope this helps, I'm pretty awkward at writing tutorials, so if anything needs clarification or expansion please leave a comment and I'll happily fix it/ get back to you.
First of all, let me reiterate that I have a very basic sewing machine and therefore I use a basic zig zag stitch when working with knits. I hope to someday own a serger, and on that day I anticipate many tears of joy. But until then, I zig zag. Those of you who have a serger, an overlock machine or one with a stretch stitch, use it!
Next I should say that I leave the edges of my ribbing raw. I know it's not the most high brow way to do things, but it doesn't fray or unravel and it makes it softer. And as long as you cut it cleanly it looks great.
-Wash and dry your ribbed knit fabric (available at most fabric stores.) It comes in pretty great colors so have fun with it.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Baby Hat Menagerie in Limbo
We're experiencing technical difficulties around here. So typical. Our scanner kicked the bucket and a new one is being shipped as I write. The baby animal hat tutorial is going to have to wait for a few more days. Bear with me, I'm working on it! Sorry for the delay folks, and thanks so much for your interest!
Moomin Mania
Friday, October 1, 2010
Happy Birthday
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