How the Knittn' Kitten Made My Holiday

The holidays may be long gone, but I have to tell you that I'm still getting a lot of joy from what the holidays brought me. There is, of course, the extremely lovely hand-knit hat and scarf set from my great-aunt Billie, a print of my dear friend Leslie's painting Divide, a super-cool t-shirt from the Sweetie that says "And Buffy Staked Edward. The End." Oh, and let's not forget the air compressor and hand-beaded necklace from the in-laws! EEEK! All my crafty, arty, and geeky bits were well taken care of.

The real joy, though, is that I had a little bit of time to make some gifts for family and friends - of course, that also meant that I didn't post on the blog at all in December! I was way too busy making things like the tea towel in the picture above to blog about it . . .

Back in the fall, you may remember me talking about local crafters getting together and coming up with free project sheets to support our favorite craft supply thrift store, Knittn' Kitten. There were a lot of cool projects that came out of that effort. In fact, you can hop right on over here and pick up a FREE .pdf that includes all of the projects! The one that caught my eye, though, was a stash-busting, tea-towel decorating project from Sister Diane over at Craftypod. I picked up a huge bundle of cotton dish towels from IKEA and the Dollar Store, and started hunting through my fabric stash. Look at the cool bird and handwriting fabric in these!


I made at least one for almost everybody on my list, and even had energy left over to make a few for myself! I'm so glad to find a way to feature the vintage kitchen fabric in these! Check out those cups!


Now, with any luck, I'll be able to get back to a more regular posting schedule . . .

The Last Free Knittn' Kitten Project: It's all about the Doilies

I wish I could crochet.

But I can't. I've tried to learn, and someday, I will, but it's just not happening right now.

I did get this amazing book by Linda Permann called Crochet Adorned - which is just chock full of the most amazing ways to incorporate crochet into pre-made garments as embellishments - and by following her instructions - which are very good - I managed to do a chain stitch. And I started trying to crochet into it. That pitiful little chain has sat ignored now for at least two months.


What happened next is that I picked up Generation T: Beyond Fashion by Megan Nicolay after a trip to the Knittn' Kitten (Portland's own crafty thrift store - I go on about it in depth here) and had an incredible brainstorm - a way to make myself a scarf that incorporated crochet - totally recycled, and without crocheting a stitch myself!

Doilies my friend, the answer is doilies.

And the result is this nifty doily scarf made from crocheted doilies from the Knittn' Kitten and a bunch of old t-shirts.



And yes, you can learn how to make it by dropping by the Knittn' Kitten and picking up the free project sheet - and while you're there, you can buy a few doilies or other other lacy tidbits and maybe some knit fabric at incredibly low prices. Ethel, one of the owners, showed me some knit velvet and velours that I think would work very nicely for this project . . .

Of course, the project sheet has a few bonuses - 'cause, well, doilies are just utterly inspirational. See, you can use them as stencils. . .

How could I resist?

And, if you missed the other free project sheets available at your favorite local crafty thrift store, it's not too late! I was in the other day picking up a few things . . . and found project sheets for all the projects to date (I picked up Sister Diane's tea towel pattern) - as well as some nifty beads and baubles:


For those of you who are just dying for all seven of the amazing Knittn' Kitten tutorials from such local luminaries as Heather Mann of DollarStoreCrafts, Teresa Sullivan, Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod, Joey Groendes, Christine Blystone, Susan Beal, Lee Meredith, and well, me, but don't live in town - you're in luck! Towards the end of November, all of these projects will be available as an e-Book from Sister Diane.

Or, if you're in a hurry for the crafty goodness, check out the e-Book Crafty Tree Trimmings - it's another collaborative of crafty instructions benefiting a good cause - 15% of sales go to Project Linus!

Art & Soul 2009: The Eye Candy Edition

I didn't get to teach at Art & Soul in Portland this year, and considering the amazing classes I got to take and the marvelous teachers I met, I think it may have been a blessing in disguise!

Check out this amazing scarf I made under the tutelage of Lorri Scott . . . hand-dyed silk ribbons and other miscellaneous fibers stitched together into a glorious wrapping of yumminess!

I was a little nervous at first about the colors I chose, but then I just went with it, and I love the way the scarf turned out.

I also took a MacGyver Silkscreening Class with Traci Bunkers . . . I won't reveal any of her secrets here . . . but we made some shortcut silkscreen stencils and it was oodles of fun - though I don't think I got my fabric stretched tight enough! I made a few prints of scissors and tape on old book pages . . .

I had so much fun in Katie Kendrick's class . . . her spontaneous painting techniques are very liberating. Here's my painting station . . . it's a wonderful mess, isn't it?

And here are some of the painting starts I made . . .

And here's what they began to turn into. Katie encouraged us to look for images in the spontaneous pools, drips, and squiggles. Here, I saw a pregnant goddess figure:

And a little house on a hill:

And finally, the amazing hippo-dog, Harold:

I also got to take yet another resin molding class, this time with Jane and Tom Wynn. You learn something new with each teacher, and I'm getting a bit better at molding and casting each time. I'm loving the teeth (yup, the originals were mine) and the seashells. The hands are getting better, but still need a little work.

Oaxaca Craft Round-Up: Part Two

Part two - fiber! I got to visit a very cool rug workshop - here's the gigantic loom:

It's so big he has to step from pedal to pedal and work it section by section.

They spin and dye all the wool themselves, and use all natural materials to dye the wool. They use cochineal, a funky parasite that grows on cactus, to get the red color. They use indigo to get the blue colors.

And here's some nifty animal cross stitch from the Oaxaca Textile Museum.

Rows of ducks and geese and birdies. On a cloth.

And here's a blouse with roosters.

I got a couple of cute blouses, too, but none with this kind of detail . . .

DEMO! 3D Fabric Butterfly Ring

I started making some 3D butterflies to add to the No-Sew Soduko quilt for my mom, inspired by the ones Martha made for one of her quilts. And while I was playing with the printed butterfly fabric, I thought "Wow! This would make a great ring! Or a pin!" And the project would probably work with just about any fabric that has an image or pattern between 1" and 3" in size. Sadly, I don't have the link to the exact fabric I used, but here's some that might be fun. And I thought it would be fun to share the DEMO with you . . . no matter what fabric you choose. So, here's my 3D Butterfly Ring Demo!

DEMO!! 3D Butterfly Ring

What you'll need:

Butterfly fabric
Sharp scissors
Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 fusible webbing
8" of 22 guage copper wire (or other thin wire)
Thin cotton batting
Flat top ring blank
E6000 glue
Iron
Parchment paper or press cloth

1. I started off with some fusible webbing - I like the Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 brand because the thin layer of fusible webbing is slightly sticky on both sides, and comes with a removable wax paper on both sides. This makes it easy to position your fabric on the webbing and to cut it out. Prep the fabric by ironing it and roughly cutting the shapes out - don't try to cut them out precisely at this point - it'll be difficult and there's no need to do it at this point. Then start by pulling the protective wax paper off of one side of the fusible webbing.

2. Position the fabric on the webbing. It'll stick to the surface.

3. The butterflies will be easier to cut out once they are gently stuck to the sticky surface of the webbing - it helps stabilize them, as does the fact that the backing is still on the webbing. So now's your chance to cut them out in excruciating detail.

4. Now cut out two butterflies for each ring, one for the front and one for the back.

5. Cut two pieces of thin guage copper wire (I used 22 guage wire here, and I cut each one about 4" inches long - I eyeballed it, based on the size of the butterfly). Then, leaving about an inch and a half for the antennae, twist the two pieces of wire firmly together. This will form the body.

6. Take the other ends of the wire and form them into wing shapes. This wire will make the wings moldable.

7. Now that the wire's ready, and your butterfly is cut out, peel away the backing. Now, you should just be left with the fabric butterfly and a thin layer of sticky fusible webbing.

8. Now, lay the wire down on the sticky surface and position it.

9. Now cut out two little pieces of batting slightly smaller than the wings - you want to be sure that there's still room around the edge for the fabric to fuse.

10. Now, add the batting to what is rapidly becoming a butterfly sandwich. This will give it a little more dimension.

11. Now peel the backing off a second butterfly, and add it to the stack. I chose two butterlies that were exactly the same for the front and the back, though you could use plain fabric for the back. Squeeze it all together so it sticks.

12. Heat up the iron. Place the completed butterfly sandwich between two sheets of parchment paper or a press cloth (to protect your iron from the wire and any sticky reside from the fusible webbing), and . . .

13. And iron, pressing firmly on each side.

14. Let it cool (the antennae will get hot!) and trim any edges that aren't lined up right.

15. Use a pair of round-nose pliers and shape the antennae into curly shapes. At this point, you could also whipstitch around the edges, maybe in a pretty metallic thread. Mine felt pretty sturdy, though, so I decided not to.

16. Bend the wire to shape the wings. Take a dollop of E600 glue and place it on a clean, dry flat top ring mount. Place the shaped butterfly on the ring and press it into the glue. Use a toothpick to clean up any excess glue. Of course, you could also attach the butterflies to a magnet, or a push-pin, or a pin-back, or you could even attach them to earrings!

17. Let it dry for 24 hours, and wear!

I made a few extras, too, and pinned them to the no-sew quilt.

Art and Soul: Day Four

First of all, if you're my Mom, back away from the blog. Go to another place. Why? Christmas spoiler ahead . . . if you're not my Mom (and frankly, this is more likely) please! Come on in!

My last class of Art and Soul was a No-Sew Sudoku Quilt . . . . now, I don't want to give away the whole class here because instructor Martha Sparks went to a lot of work developing this one!! (And besides, Ms. Crafty Manners knows giving away another teacher's class is a no-no). Martha had an amazing array of fabrics and ribbons and other embellishments for us to work with, and did a great job preparing everything. The pattern we used to organize the fabric was a completed sudoku puzzle (a number logic puzzle thingie that leaves me feeling a bit intimidated - thank heavens she gave us correctly completed ones!)


And instead of sewing, we pressed the fabric into dense foam . . . I brought the flowers, and the fabric with the little doggies . . all the other fabrics were hers!


Mom loves dogs, enjoys quilts, and likes happy colors, blues and yellows.


The butterfly fabric kind of brought it together (I think it kind of looks like the dogs are chasing the butterflies and vice versa). So, the plan is to make some 3-D butterflies and scatter them among the flowers! I'll let you know how that turns out . . . Mom really liked the embroidery I did for her birthday (at least, it was hanging in the guest bathroom when I went to visit last month) so I've got high hopes!

An Experiment

I can't remember where I found the link to this great rolling pin fabric printing tutorial on Craft Chi, but I finally got around to trying it a few weeks ago! I cut craft foam into a pattern and glued it to a rolling pin . . .


Then I inked it up with thinned fabric paint, and rolled the pattern onto the fabric, once in each direction . . . Amazingly, it really looks like coral! It will be a nifty background for something ocean-inspired.

The Family Fabric Stash

I'm in Boerne right now, deep in the heart of the Texas hill country, just outside of San Antonio. I'm visiting my mom, and my mom is the Keeper of the family photos - and the family fabric stash. One of the main reasons I had wanted to come back for a visit was to scan a bunch of the family photos - like this tin type of my great-great-grandmother Minnie, taken during the 1890's (we think) when she was about 10 years old.


An unexpected side benefit to this visit is the fact that mom decided to share some of the family fabric stash - including 30 12 inch quilt squares that Minnie made during the late 30's or early 40's!


I love the fabrics - and her wonderfully quirky sense of color as she put the squares together!

I wish I had more of that brown floral for a dress!

Look at the little circus tents on this one!

This one's a crazy mish-mash of fabrics and colors, but it somehow works.

And I love how these florals go together - it's nice to think that some things are hereditary!
Now, I just have to figure out what to do with the squares . . .