Swap: gathering the fabrics

I wrote before about a swap I'm participating in. I'm usually very inspired by these types of things and was super excited to get started. When I was in grad school writing papers, I spent a lot of time doing ATC swaps to keep creative. For me, working on different projects helps keep my brain working in other areas too. So I thought this would be no exception even though I haven't done a swap with fabric before. I really love everything that's in the flickr pool and can't wait to see what comes in the mail for me. But I have to admit to being absolutely stumped on this one.

I pulled out some fabrics that I think will match my partner's house. I am going to piece something in strips like the image above from Heather, one of the swap moderators. I especially like what she's done with the one on the right. My plan is to cut 2" strips of fabric from what I've pulled from my stash and see what happens. I don't want to plan too much -- I really want to see what happens more randomly. I want to reference this fabric by Anna Maria Horner.

Teeth

I've been very busy and thinking a lot about teeth.

In my search for an image, I found a somewhat disturbing blog all about teeth.

Image by Tiffany Liu.

Back in a couple of days.

Rewind: Frosted Silhouette Mirror Tutorial

A few months ago I wrote a tutorial for the online magazine Modern Handmade Child. I thought I would share that here in pdf form since these would make great Christmas presents too. It's a very simple way to make a gorgeous and timeless gift.

You can download a the tutorial here.

Monkey on the go

This has been one very busy October. I knew I didn't have it in me to make a complete costume this year. Heck, I haven't even finished the Jump Rope Dress (although I seriously only have to sew on a couple of buttons, pockets and hem it).

So when I saw a Scooby Doo costume at a yard sale, I knew it would be my monkey. I cut out an oval-ish shape of felt for the snout (?), hot glued on a piece of red bias tape for the mouth, cut out some circle-ish shapes for the eyes and ears, and hot glued the whole mess on. I think it took me about 30 minutes. So it's homemade and handmade and better than anything you can buy at Target (no matter how hard they try to put us down!).

I will say this: I have bought Halloween costumes at Target. I have spent lots and lots of time making various Halloween costumes for myself over the years. I have sometimes spent a lot of money and sometimes very little. But I will never, ever, ever, ever buy a costume from Target again. No more after holiday 90% off sales for me (although I used to love them so, sniff), no more pigtails or chicken hats for my cat (yes, it's true), no more fleece pumpkins, no more stripey socks or witch hats. You and me, Target Halloween aisle, we're through.

Goodwill, my love, we'll see you next year.

Upcoming Reviews

Due to the surprising interest in my previous dollhouse post, I decided to post some reviews of the actual furniture sets as they arrive. When we asked Zadie what her panda dolls would want if we bought a house for them, she said, "Outside...sky!" I love that about her. I plan to get a vegetable garden, a gazebo, and a tractor (she seriously asked for a tractor for the pandas, I don't know where she gets it). The dollhouse comes with a few pieces of furniture so we won't need to buy a living room set, rugs, or barstools (we'll call them tall chairs).

The dollhouse above is the amazing Villa Sibi Dollhouse. It costs $850. It's just a little bit out of my price range but I think given an unlimited budget, this would be the one I would get. I also love the Plan Toys Chalet. It's more realistically priced but still way out of my price range. I think I'm spending too much on the one I've chosen from Ryan's Room but I'll be supporting a local business with my purchase and that is important to me. I've also spent a lot of time researching the different dollhouses and I just keep coming back to this one. I like its simple shape and that it can be closed up. One reviewer said that her 1-year old had been climbing up it and it was still surviving.

The first couple of reviews will come from CSN stores. I first saw CSN when Rue Magazine linked to some of their products. I spent some time browsing around the site looking for a platform bed (still unpurchased). When they contacted me to do a review, I thought it would be a good way to see some of the items before Christmas.

I'll also review the Enchantmints mushroom stuff (specifically the bathroom because Zadie is obsessed with the potty like every other 2-year old), a Ryan's Room set (the patio furniture to meet our "outside" requirement), probably the Le Toy Van kitchen (how amazing is that teapot?) and hopefully a couple others.

Interview with Nicole Vos van Avezathe

I am thrilled to present today's interview with Nicole of Follow the White Bunny. We first "met" when she posted about my little yeti dress on Feeling Stitchy. Now she has a yeti of her very own that was featured in Fat Quarterly magazine. Nicole is a very talented designer and does amazing embroidery. I love her whimsical imagery. Her designs are delicate and quiet but very powerful.

My favorite pieces of yours are those stitched on non-traditional fabrics like Joel Dewberry’s Woodgrain, the faux bois in bright colors, from the Aviary line (see the White Rabbit image below). Why do you sometimes choose these unusual backgrounds?

Generally I think that if you use the right fabric, whether it’s patterned or not, it compliments and adds to your embroidery work. When choosing patterned fabrics I only use subtly patterned fabrics so the print will not ‘overpower’ the embroidery work. And Joel Dewberry’s wood grain fabrics fit that description perfectly, especially the light yellow and green versions. I’m still clinging to a small stash of these! Lately I have also been using a lot of linen to embroider on, both ‘solid’ linen and patterned.

You recently collaborated with fabric designer Lizzy House, one of the first Project: Project interviewees, developing embroidery patterns for her Castle Peeps collection. What was that like? We use a LOT of Lizzy House around here.

I was so surprised when Lizzy contacted me! I had no idea she even knew who I was and what I was doing. I had already been admiring the sneak peeks of the Castle Peeps earlier this year so I didn’t have to think long when she asked me if I wanted to team up with her and work on some Castle Peeps Embroidery Patterns. Lizzy is very talented and her Castle Peeps designs were very suitable to translate into Embroidery Patterns. I found the whole thing very inspiring, especially to work with the simple shapes of which these Peeps are made up and the vibrant colours.

Why do you base some of your patterns on fairy tales and children’s stories like the Princess and the Pea and the white rabbit from Alice in wonderland?

I find inspiration in many things, including tales and books! I must confess that part of the reason I chose the Princess and the Pea was because with all those 20 mattresses it fit my idea for an embroidery sampler so perfectly. I had no idea that this was such a popular tale though. I’m pretty sure it’s not all that popular over here.

I also like to make up my own stories around the patterns that I’m making or at least make my patterns look like they are part of a story. Like my Bear and Fish pattern, they are an interesting couple aren’t they? First I had just drawn the Bear but I found him a bit uninteresting on his own so I added the fish. The bear looks like he is gently stroking the fish but then…don’t all bears love fish… to eat I mean? The idea for the pose of the Bear with the Fish came from an old early 20th century French postcard. On the postcard people, not bears, were holding the fish though.

I was surprised to read that you are relatively new to the crafty world? Your style seems so refined.

It’s true I am quite new to the whole crafty scene. I studied Medieval History and after that I had a rather unexciting job at a Health Insurance company for a couple of years. Four years ago we moved to Norway (but I’m back in the Netherlands now) and there, having some time on my hands, I started to sew. Soon after that I started embroidering too. I’ve always enjoyed drawing so within a year after I held my first embroidery hoop I had drawn, made and sold my first embroidery pattern. I’m not sure if I would call my style ‘refined’ but I guess it’s recognizable and rather consistent in style and theme. Personally , I see a lot of difference (and improvement) in the stuff I did before and the things I’m doing now.

Your blog is a mix of both craftiness and home life. Is it hard to juggle a family and a business?

No it isn’t hard. It’s too small to cause any stress! I’m just making my patterns and sometimes I spend a couple of hours a day on drawing, embroidering or pattern making and on other days I buy groceries and do the laundry. If possible I try to plan ahead and take plenty of time for special projects or commissions and if things get a little busy I guess the housework suffers the most from it.

Thanks so much to Nicole for the insightful answers! I love learning more about my favorite artists and designers. You can buy her patterns here and read more about Follow the White Bunny on her blog. If you need the Castle Peeps embroidery patterns, Lizzy House has them here. All photos are courtesy of Nicole.

Giveaway winner announced

Congrats to Katie of Hippos and Dinosaurs who won a panel from Connie Lou Fabrics! You will be getting an email soon.

Many, many thanks to Constance for doing the interview and offering to give away one of her panels. I've really enjoyed having all these cute pictures on the blog.