I've been meaning to make this tote for ages now, and last week I finally dove into my fabric stash and came up with enough odds and ends to make it! There is such a great sense of accomplishment when you finally finish a project that you've been procrastinating over for a long time, isn't there?
This little beauty is actually a mail bag--I swear, we receive more mail than anyone in the country, and I always go to collect it when I go for a stroll around the neighborhood with my Charlie Dog. I'm all about multi-tasking, but we run into problems when I have Charlie's leash in one hand and my phone, mail bag, and keys in the other one. If it is really hot and I'm wearing a skirt or shorts, I usually don't have a pocket to use, so I was in dire need of a multi-functional tote where I could stash my phone and keys as well as the mail. And here it is! I used a natural heavy cotton twill for the body of the bag and lined it with a pretty summery blue paisley, then added a contrasting stripe of the lining fabric around the outside. I liked the blue paisley so much that I ended up using it as contrast for the handles as well, and placed them so they would be visible on the right side of the tote. Inside I used a repurposed blue shirt pocket (my husband's old shirt has been reincarnated in countless projects now!) and also attached a long grosgrain ribbon with a key fob to attach my keys. I had originally planned on using pink floral scrap fabric from Sophie Kitty's little tent, but when I went to cut out the lining, I realized that I didn't have enough of it for this project... so I had to set aside my crochet cutie flowers in shades of pink and purple and whipped up a few new ones in blues and peach with some embroidery floss I had hidden away. My sewing and crafting stash never ceases to amaze me--I swear, I have things in it that I'm sure I have long forgotten! I'm so pleased with this tote--I debuted it last week, and it makes my life so much easier when it comes to mail time! I love the fact that it's kind of pretty and girly without being too 'every little girl is a princess'-esque. I confess I have issues with that. I have to admit that I've had a terrible time trying to photograph it... the colors just aren't coming out true to shade, and every shot seems to look dull and lifeless. Apologies for that. As Charlie is my constant mail-collecting companion, when he decided to photo bomb my little snapshot session, I decided to include him--he gives this project his seal of approval! Here we are in another week again... what are you working on this week?!
Happy Crafting!
Any of you who have been with me for a while will be aware of my love of all things patchwork. I have been doing a ton of projects lately that involve enjoyable ways to use up some of my fabric scrap stash, and this week I've completed two projects that I am so pleased with! I have always loved playing around with a modified log cabin pattern, and I put that motif to good use in making a beautiful quilted pillow cover. The backstory of this unassuming pillow is a turbulent one... it belongs to a set of three comfortable feather pillows that came with our big 4-piece sectional sofa two years ago. Sadly, the aesthetic of the pillow coverings just didn't match their comfort factor, and I kept hiding them away in a closet never to come out unless we absolutely needed them. Here it is, the before: See, I told you! The ugliest pillow covering ever made. It doesn't even deserve photo embellishment. So finally, after two years of procrastination and trying to decide how I wanted to cover those sad pillows, I pulled out my fabric scrap stash and went to work. (Totally off-topic, but I've been eating a lot of oatmeal lately, I chalk up my sudden burst of creative energy to that.)
The pillow is 27" x 17" and I used 2" fabric strips and made a random pattern. I confess that I ran out of scraps that were long enough to finish the last few rows of the patchwork, so I broke down and bought a couple of quarter yards to finish it off.
It'll be our secret. I used polyester batting and a plain cotton backing and machine-quilted (stitch-in-the-ditch style) the pattern. I had some natural cotton twill kicking around, so I used that as the pillow cover's reverse side. It's very durable and will wear nicely. I am ridiculously happy with the end result--even though our household aesthetic is neither shabby nor cottagey, I snuck in my own little bit of rustic charm and it makes me smile every time I glance over at it... which I have been doing a lot since I finished it several days ago.
Am I the only crafter who does that? Glances lovingly at their creations... leaves them out in a conspicuous spot just to be able to catch sight of them...?
I think not :-)
Happy mid-week-day everyone!
I've been seeing everyone's beautiful crocheted creations lately and it has inspired me to take ten minutes out of my day and whip up a cute little ornament of my very own. I found this particular double flower pattern online and followed instructions that were more complicated than they needed to be, so I'm not going to bother sharing it with you, because seriously, I found it really confusing. Suffice it to say that it involved making the smaller flower and flipping it over to create the larger flower on the back side... It was not really to my liking, so I think for my future endeavors I'm going to wing it and come up with my own design. I will however say that if you have a favorite crocheted flower pattern, this is so cute and easy! I used MADEIRA silk embroidery floss mainly because I have a bunch of it in my stash, and it is the loveliest shade of dusty rose... plus the silky sheen is a nice addition. You could use literally anything that takes your fancy--it's your party! The center is a shell button and the leaves are from my fabric scraps. Oh, how I love my collection of fabric scraps! I whipped it together quickly and have a little round of brown felt attached to the back with a bit of hot glue. I definitely plan to make a few more of these to use as brooches--very simple with the addition of a little brooch clasp sewn onto the felt backing. This little cutie is going to grace my next project--coming soon!
Happy weekend, everyone!
Spring fantasies have popped up all over the blogosphere in the past few weeks--everything from whimsical DIY and crafts for the home to light and frothy clothing confections. I confess that I too am guilty of looking toward the coming months with a silent anticipation of colorful flowers and longer days, even though I wake up every morning in the land of eternal sunshine. I think it must be a vestige of my Canadian heritage and many years spent living in a cold climate where spring meant a blessed end to the endlessly long, dark, chilly days of winter. I am still creating in the digital realm this week, and in the quest for the perfect Pantone gold color, I ran across their Spring 2013 trend color collection: I am enthralled with the Emerald and Grayed Jade tones, and definitely plan to incorporate those shades into my wardrobe in the coming months--probably with some custom-made accessories! It's been a while since I made a handbag...
Until I have a bit more time for more involved 'me' projects, I used the Pantone spring colors and made a pretty little homage to spring with a Carl Friedrich Gauss quote. It seems quite appropriate considering the context :-)
What colors are enthralling you this season? Please share--I so love to be inspired!
Lately I'm really loving flowers... the beautiful bougainvillea are flourishing all around our neighborhood and their cheery shades of pink bring a big smile to my face as Charlie and I take our daily strolls. He seems unimpressed by their tropical hues, but I find them enchanting. My recent Happy Scrappy Flower endeavor sent me into fanciful imaginings of a garden of fabric scrap flowers, blooming happily indoors to be enjoyed year-round. I've been coming up with new projects to create using my fabric scrap stash so that I can look at the pieces I so loved when I bought them, and enjoy them every day. During the past week I've squeezed a bit of creation into my endless days spent in the digital realm, and I picked out my very favorite prints to be used.While getting all the prints together, I ran across the remains of my husband's old shirt that I have torn up and used for everything from Sophie's Kitty Quilt to my favorite Framed Patchwork Memories. It was still sporting its collar, which had lovely multi-colored stitches at its edge... perfect for a unique fabric flower! It's amazing what you can make when you look ordinary things with just a bit of imagination! My stolen handwork moments added up to a whimsical garden of fabric flowers, and I decided they would fit beautifully on the grapevine wreath I had kicking around crying out for embellishment.  I didn´t realize it when I posted this pic.... but can anyone spot the lizard? I am so pleased with my 'breath of spring' wreath--it makes me happy to see so many of my favorite fabric prints all snuggled together where I can see them every day! If anyone is interested in creating their own fabric flower wreath, you can take a look at my scrap flower tutorial and just let your imagination run wild--make a bunch of the flowers in different sizes and colors, and attach them to your own wreath. A great weekend project to brighten the winter days. Voila--instant spring! Happy Crafting!
I was reminded today of one of my all-time favorite photos--and memories--from my old house back in Canada. Those of you who have been with me for a while will remember that my hometown flooded last year, destroying pretty much all of the properties adjacent to the beautiful river flowing through the center of the village. My mid--1800s home was one of them. The kitty in the photo is my girl Bella... aka 'Bingy'. I rescued her when she was a 6 week-old kitten living rough behind someone's woodpile with her Mum, Aunt, and three siblings. Sadly, one of the kittens died before the rescue, but the rest of her furry family all went to good, loving homes. Miss Bella is one of the nicest kitties I've ever met--always loving and playful, never a scratch or hiss... an absolute sweetheart. She was always a household favorite, and every time my Mum came over, she would call her 'Bella Wella Bing Bang'. With time her nickname became 'Bingy', and the name stuck--somehow it suits her.
Each year a groundhog family used to take up residence underneath the porch of my house. Groundhogs are rather curious creatures I always found, and they would come up onto the big brick porch steps for a spot of sun and a nose around. At some point they came to realize that there were other furry creatures inside the house... and they were as intrigued by the cats as the kitties were by them.
This particularly handsome little fellow was a young one, and after he and Bingy caught sight of each-other, it was fascination at first sight. Each day, Bingy would roam the porch and spend long periods of time staring out the glass door, waiting for her furry little friend to appear. A few times I was fortunate enough to capture their 'through the glass' interaction, and every time I see this shot, I can't help but smile all day long!
The groundhog came to be called 'Edward'', and I wonder what has become of that family of subterranean dwellers... My beautiful house was contaminated with fuel in last March's flood and sadly it had to be demolished last August as it was no longer safe. So many wonderful memories were made in that house, and so much of myself went into renovating it. I swear, I touched every square inch of it during the years I called it mine, and it's loss was a terrible blow. The basement was filled in, along with their burrows. I hope they managed to rebuild their underground empire...
I am so thankful to be able to look at photos like this one and remember the happy days spent by the river.
Happy memories and definitely one of my favorite things :-)
Confession: I am a fabric hoarder.
Well, not technically a 'hoarder' because I have no problem entering and walking through my house... but I have a massive fabric stash (a situation which I'm sure more than a few of you have in common with me?).
I have fabric from all sorts of sewing endeavours that I put away to do something with later... and some pieces are so very special to me. There are certain favorite pieces that I periodically take out and look at, wondering how I should use them. Then after much deliberation I end up putting them away because I like them too much to put them into just a 'so-so' project.
So, the other day I took out my pieces again... and decided to make something pretty that I could look at and enjoy all the time! I started out with 1 inch strips like these, and started adding them onto a 'base' block measuring 4.2cm x 4.8cm.
(...yes, that is a kitty ball-in-a-donught toy in the background... that's how we roll here!) And before long I had 12cm x 12cm squares. See that dark brown and blue paisley print fabric? It's my all time favorite! I assembled three color themes: pinks, blues, and greens. I had three RIBBA frames from IKEA kicking around, so I added strips to the top and bottom of my modified log cabin blocks to allow them to (kind of) fit into the matted openings. Overall I'm delighted with the results. There is left-over fabric in these from everything from clothing for myself to shirts for my husband, and even Sophie's little kitty hidey hole. And some much-coveted fabric that I saved from my sewing room in Canada after the flood. The darker greens in the above shot are a couple of those pieces. I love the fact that I can look at these and recognize all of the different patterns and it brings back memories of many happy projects, and the happy times associated with them. They are now living in the downstairs bathroom (which accounts for the weird lighting in the above photo), and I smile every time I look at them. As Martha would say... these are a 'favorite thing'!
It was a mild and sunny weekend here in Miami--the perfect time to start thinking of spring planting and adding a bit of color to our back garden. For ages now I've been wanting to figure out some sort of 'window box' contraptions to hang on the backyard fence, and the other day when we were at IKEA the solution jumped out at me: BYGEL containers and the BYGEL rail. My own interpretation... I love the Swedes! Technically they're 'wall storage solutions', but what a simple, easy, and inexpensive way to create vertical plant holders! I picked out some happy, vibrant geraniums and with less than half an hour's work, I have a couple of lovely, inventive, and visually interesting fence planters. The containers cost an extravagant $0.99 each and came complete with little holes in the bottom which are perfect for plant pot drainage! The rail retails at $2.99, and appears to have a coating of some sort, so I am really hoping that it won't rust in its new outdoor home. When I started working with the rails I realized that they would also make great mid-century style towel rails (I used to have original mid-century rails in my old house that looked very similar to these). IKEA--this is why I love you!  My lovely new Touch of Class Grandiflora Rose I was quite taken with the selection of rose bushes during my Saturday morning session at Home Depot (am I the only person who can spend HOURS there when I'm not even involved in any big project? Surely not!?) and came home with two beautiful ladies--a 'Sonia' Grandiflora and a 'Touch of Class' Grandiflora. I suspect they'll both be a similar coral-pink color, which is a lovely addition to a formerly-drab corner of the garden. My DIY weekend continued with repairing two sections of drywall in the upstairs guest bathroom in preparation for a fresh coat of the most gorgeous grayish-blue paint (post to follow) which seems to be an extremely popular color this season--it's everywhere, and I love it! It reminds me of stormy days by the beach back in coastal Scotland... wonderful memories of cold salty air and warming my hands around a steaming cup of coffee while seeking shelter from the relentless Baltic winds. Unfortunately my DIY adventures have ground to a screeching halt today as I managed to grab onto a red-hot oven rack this morning and burn my dominant hand in no less than EIGHT places. Impressive, non? Aloe leaf is applied... now I wait :-)
 Beach-inspired shell, hemp, and bead bracelet. Every time I end up at the beach I find my attention immediately focused at my feet, scanning the sand for the best bounty of the sea--interesting shells, sea glass, geodes, and bits of coral and pottery. I am an intent beachcomber and always come home with my pockets full of sandy treasures. I have jars full of shells and sea glass collected along beaches from Scotland to the Caribbean, and I can pretty much tell you where I found each and every piece. I'm funny like that.
 South Beach, Miami view of Ocean Drive South Beach was insane last weekend--the 36th annual Art Deco Weekend was on and there was no parking and not much room to move around on the streets, or eve the beach!
Everyone picked a spot and settled in... Which was fine for a little while... But with a view like that, and all that gorgeous turquoise water calling, who could sit still?!  Is there any better feeling than your feet buried in the sand? I doubt it! I love walking barefoot along the beach, just inside the water line so the waves crash against your legs... it's so refreshing. This weekend the water was cool and lovely, and the waves were brisk, a wonderful contrast to the sun's healing intensity beating down on my shoulders.
There were people of every nationality and race all smiling, laughing, and playing like children, and it was a wonderful thing to walk along and drink it all in. I find that I always feel like a child again when I'm barefoot walking along in the sand--it's okay to splash in the water, collect 'treasures', and chase seashells into the ocean as the tide pulls them back out on the currents.... pure bliss. There were some wonderful finds... And as usual I came home with a beach bag full of sand!
It would be so nice to capture that beach feeling and pull it out whenever I feel like it... so I pulled together a few simple materials and made a beach-inspired rustic shell bracelet. This is so simple--if you have a few shell buttons lying around, you're pretty much set! These snazzy pink shells are from a Canadian dollar store (my favorite!), the hemp rope is a fine to medium weight for jewelry-making, and the glass beads were from my (excessively vast) bead stash. Really, this can be made from anything you have in your odds and ends of crafting supplies. Essentially, the most important thing is to make sure you measure your wrist and figure out how many buttons it will take to create the bracelet (make it a bit loose so it is comfortable on your wrist!). One strand of the hemp rope is fed through the buttons and beads, and it is knotted with the second strand of hemp rope to create a smooth line with the shell buttons laying nicely side-by-side. The end loops are slipped over the button at the end of the opposite side of the bracelet, and it's almost unnoticeable when it is on your wrist! A happy, sunny, colorful homage to a great day out! And a reminder to be thankful for the joys in life--today in my hometown back in Canada the schools were cancelled due to the -39C temperature outside. I guess I won't complain about it being a 'cool' 21C here today!
There are 'movie moments' in all of our lives when the wide shot pans in to close-up focus... when the world around us goes fuzzy, sounds become muted, and everything seems to happen in slow motion.
I had one of those moments this weekend.
Time seemed to stop, all of the ambient energy around me seemed to be drawn to my head and it washed down over me in a wave of prickling electricity. It was Art Deco Weekend here in Miami and we gathered up our houseguests and headed down to South Beach to spend a few hours of salt water and sun worship before wandering Ocean Drive to take in all of the incredible talent and interesting vedors' wares lining the blocked-off street. With so much activity and so many beautiful colors, smells, and sounds swirling all around me, I have no idea what drew my attention to a whole table full of vintage post cards, other than the fact that the vendor next to the table had a really cute dog (named Winston--yes, we made friends). I drifted over to take a look through the interesting selection and in amongst the perfunctory Yosemite National Park and NYC postcards, there was a tiny 'Canadian' section. I thought I might find a souvenir to remind me of our journey to Niagra Falls last autumn... or maybe even something from my old university town of Halifax, NS. Never did I imagine what was waiting for me. I pulled out the postcard and thought that the yellowed black and white image looked vaguely familiar. My gaze dropped to the caption, and my knees almost gave way when I read the name.
It was my own home town circa 1930s. To explain why this is such a rare scenario, remember that it would be quite normal for someone from NYC or Chicago to randomly find a vintage postcard of their home town in a city thousands of miles away. Big cities always have souvenirs that travel far and wide, and those vintage postcards are generally quite plentiful. My town, however, is home to only several thousand souls, and is quite small and insignificant to the rest of the world apart from its scattering of proud inhabitants.
The buildings you see in the image mostly no longer exist--thanks in part to a fire in 1976 that swept through Main Street and took half of the buildings to the right, and the river that took all of the buildings on the left during various bouts of flooding. My town currently is desperately trying to regain some sense of normality after the worst flood on record last March, which completely destroyed not only my own 1850s house but countless other historic homes and businesses in my area. The shock of seeing the history that was lost, and the beauty it once held was overwhelming, and I confess it brought tears to my eyes. Such an amazing gift, and at a time when the area is in such turmoil... I am so thankful.
I really enjoyed the day out and the 36th annual Art Deco Weekend, but the best part of the entire experience for me was finding that little rectangle of paper. It is now framed and will hold a place of honor here in my Miami home, far from the mountains and river of my childhood world that will always hold such a special place in my heart.
Gracias a Dios.
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