Southwestern Shell: simple summer sewing

This is the post script to the sewing binge I went on a couple weeks ago – a sleeveless shell made from the aqua southwestern print from L.A.

I traced the pattern from a turquoise Banana Republic shirt…it’s one flat back piece, and one front piece with bust darts.

I was stumped as to how to finish the edges, especially the neckline. I love the loose tie on the turquoise shell, but my machine was having trouble finishing the raw edges of this fabric…all my attempts looked shoddy. Then I remembered that a coworker had recently handed me a package of black bias tape in the office kitchen: I meant to buy iron-on hem tape, but instead I got whatever this is. Someone said you sewed so can you use it? 

Yes! It was just what I needed to tidy up the armholes and neckline…

While I had the machine out I started going through my scrap pile and playing around with the beginnings of a quilt. I haven’t pieced a quilt in a while, but so far I like where this one’s going…

My new side hustle

side hustle: work that brings in cash; something other than your main job

The side hustle is a common topic of conversation at my office. Having one is a point of pride. Spin instructor, bartender, weekend retail, selling designer stuff on Ebay…anything to make some money.

I believe that everyone needs a hobby. My office believes that everyone needs a side hustle. This week I found a way to make those one and the same.

I walked past this solid oak four-drawer file cabinet on the curb. Beautiful! I already have one just like it, and Read said that our house really has enough furniture and can I please not put more in it? So I brought it home and posted on Craigslist.

It came with old file folders and everything.

And just like that, a nice woman in a minivan came by yesterday and gave us $250 for the cabinet.

BAM….SIDE HUSTLE!!

The woman said she especially liked this Craigslist picture with Edith:

Curb Finds: Refinishing a small dresser for Tami

Turning thirty might have triggered a lot of self-reflection and deep thoughts, but it also brought the best present ever…a carefully-orchestrated surprise visit from Tami.

What a sneak.  She and Read secretly schemed to plan a visit from Oregon, and she flies in this week! When I found out I texted her a hundred exclamation points, which I felt appropriately conveyed my excitement.

Tami’s visit inspired me to spruce up our spare bedroom. A couple weeks ago on my morning walk with Sam, bleary-eyed and cold, I passed this wooden dresser out on the curb.

Ten minutes later I sort of registered what I had seen – an extremely ugly, but nonetheless apartment-sized piece of solid wood furniture. FOR FREE. In the time it took me to circle back someone had stripped off all the hardware. Weird. But I lifted and limped it home all the same. I ended up with two big hip bruises, but by god I got it up the porch steps (I imagine that in times like this I resemble one of those burrow-dwelling ants, slowly dragging something backwards into the front door).

What was under that hideous and non-ironic olive green? Yesterday, armed with paint stripper, gloves, and a scraper I found out…

The green paint bubbled and puckered and scraped off to reveal a dusty rose.

Under THAT was a layer of shiny varnish. Geez this thing was like a gobstopper.

The little neighbor boy wandered over, curious. “Is that boring?” he asked, and I had to confess (to him and myself) that it’s actually incredibly satisfying. I like to pick things and pop zits and scrub grime. So an afternoon with a can of paint stripper is great fun. After a few hours I had gotten it down to this:
And then I brought in some rough sandpaper and took off what remained of the old varnish.

After running tackcloth over everything I applied a dark walnut stain, waited 5 minutes, and rubbed it off. The wood grain was really starting to shine through.

I added about $20 of new burnished brass hardware and rubbed Pledge furniture oil over everything. How’s that for a curbside makeover?

A simple poncho

We used to host these great outdoor movie nights in Oregon where we projected the movie onto a bedsheet and everyone stretched out on blankets. It was my favorite. The best warm weather activity. In Boston we bemoaned our lack of a backyard for over a year before realizing that we could project the movie in the living room if we turned the couch around. So last night we grilled with friends and enjoyed a double feature – Hugo and Be Kind Rewind…very different stories but both about the magic of movies.

By the time the credits rolled, I’d finished my poncho! About a month and a half ago I was inspired to make an updated poncho, and I perfectly synched its completion with the weather. Walking to the bus stop this morning I was cozy but not sweaty. Just enough wool to cut the chill.

Pattern: Easy Folded Poncho by Churchmouse
Needles: Size 7
Yarn: more of the frogged yard sale sweater
Mods: Increased the width by 2 inches and the length by 4 inches
Ravelry Link 

What do you do for these kinds of photos? Clearly my go to move is to fiddle with the hem or my hair.

A New Sewing Nook

After bringing all that fabric back from Los Angeles I’ve been hell bent on creating a sewing station. Wall space is at a premium here, but there’s a connecting door between our bedroom and the spare bedroom and I figured that by permanently shutting it I could carve out a few feet. To the left of that, where Read has his keyboard set up, I wanted to make a cutting table out of two used kitchen base cabinets and a big board covered in cork… like this.

I drove the streets of Boston for miles yesterday, stopping at Habitat for Humanity’s Restore in West Roxbury, a ginormous Goodwill, and the Reuse Center at Boston Building Resources. Turns out everyone sells used cabinets as a set…you have to want a whole kitchen’s worth.  So sad. The only things I found were random bits of architectural beauty that have no place in our apartment, like this intricate metal gas fireplace for $200:

The trip was a total bust. At home, mopey and disheartened, I searched furniture on craigslist. And there it was.  Two blocks from our house. A kitchen island, solid wood, for $30. YEs! I could feel my project adrenaline returning!

The island had these castor wheels on the bottom so my big plan was to wheel it all the way home. Only the wheels weren’t attached, so every time it hit uneven ground one or more fell out of their sockets. I was putting wheels back in every few feet. The woman who sold it to me looked very confused when I declined her offer to have her husband drop it off on Monday when he got back from his work trip. “He has a truck,” she said. I thanked her politely, but inside I was like, MONDAY?! MONDAY?!!! HAHAHAHA ARE YOU CRAZY? I HAVE TO BUILD THIS THING TONIGHT LADY! I have zero patience when it comes to projects.

Read helped me carry it home. He even stopped watching March Madness to help me carry it home. I know, he’s too nice sometimes.

Here’s what I made with it…

I extended the table workspace with a 1/2″ board from Home Depot, and I painted the bottom shelf and the top board a deep navy. Three rattan baskets from Target hold all my fabric underneath and notions fit in the drawer. I put a little cloth on top and hung an IKEA paper light overhead. It needs some artwork on either side of the door, and I may hang a long curtain in front to hide the mess.

Project Budget
$30 – kitchen island
$13 – 2′x4′ board
$39 – three rattan baskets, 17″x10″
$0.50 – a pint of navy paint from the “mess-up” shelf at Home Depot

If I can find a curtain for less than $16, then the whole thing will still come in at less than $100. As for the cutting station, I might just get a big roll-up Xacto mat to lay out on the kitchen table.

I leave you with a portrait of a gentleman:

Convection Mittens: another free foxflat-illustrated pattern

Check out my guest post today on Whipup.net. This pattern is a little project I’ve been working on and am so glad to team up with Whipup to share. It’s another illustrated sewing pattern, this one for Convection Mittens. They’re felted wool with full fleece liners…your hands will stay toasty no matter what!

Who wears your handknits?

You know what’s a sad sight for any knitter thumbing through the racks at Goodwill? Handknit sweaters. Poor sweaters! With their tagless necklines and lumpy seams, the hours of love and attention that went into their creation reduced to $3.49.

Some have obvious shortcomings: lime acrylic, stiff fit, gimmicky patterns. Others must have clashed with their owner’s taste: allergic to wool, hates pink, looks plump in cardigans. Were they ever worn?

The plan to keep my sweaters from living out their golden years at Goodwill is two-fold:
1. Try and knit classic shapes in practical colors.
2. Knit sweaters for no one but myself, with one exception: hypothetical future children who are too young to have a say in their wardrobe. I think of it as efficient use of my precious knitting hours. Better to make mittens, socks, or a shawl for others…something that if they don’t like, they can hide in some tall boots or take off when they get in the door.  A sweater has to be the right color and style and fit to wear around all day, which is much too much responsibility when trying to make a gift.

I suppose the second exception to rule #2 is my mom. She and I are both notorious for handing over a gift and saying, “If you don’t like it just tell me and I’ll wear it.” Which means, “I bought/made this with both of our tastes in mind.” It’s really a very handy system. This Christmas I gave her a shawl made from handspun, which she kept. She sent me this picture last month of her all styled up. I wouldn’t have thought to put the cowl with the shawl – nice, mom!

Who wears your handknits? Do you gift many of them? And only certain articles or everything from accessories to sweaters?

A handmade holiday

Buying handmade for the holidays is kind of like eating organic – even if you really believe in it, 100% compliance rate is really hard. But every bit matters. The Handmade Gift Guide is asking people to sign this online pledge: at least half of the holiday gifts I give are handmade (by me, a friend, or a super cool artist). 

Let’s do it! Remember, handmade doesn’t have to look like it was made in a camp craft room. It can be sleek, functional, classic. For  inspiration, here are ten pledge-qualifying gift ideas.

1. Ruffle gold & silver hoop earrings  - $28

2. For the techie, a clever ipod/ipad charger made from a book – $55
(looks like they’re sold out for Christmas, but I still had to include it. It’s too cool. Maybe you have a January birthday to plan for?)

3. Coasters made from Turkish rugs – $36 for a set of 6

4. 8×10 winter scenery print (can’t you feel the crisp cold air?) – $15

5. Instructions for how to upcycle an old frame into a chalkboard serving platter for your favorite host or hostess – $ a few dollars

6. 2012 cityscape letterpress desk calendar - $30 (cut along the dotted line at month’s end and voila! it’s a postcard, ready to send)

7. Instructions for turning a photo into a paint-by-number (paint it yourself, or package it with paint as a kit for a crafty friend…yeah it’s kitsch, but everybody’s got a kitsch-lover on their list!) – $ a few dollars

8. It’s probably too close to Christmas to make an entire blanket from felted sweaters, but this felted ipad cover is doable.  - $ cost of goodwill sweaters

10. And if someone’s been very, VERY good, perhaps this handmade leather bag – $140

What handmade things are you giving this year? What are you making yourself and what are you buying from others? Whatever you gift, handmade or not, you can snazz up the wrapping with these free gift tag  printables from Eat Drink Chic.  Happy gift-buying, making, and giving!

Herringbone Mittens for a knit-appreciating friend

Our first snowfall of the season is predicted for late this Saturday night. I’d say I finished the herringbone mittens for the snowfall, but in fact I will probably mail them to Rachel C. for her 30th birthday. She’s received a series of Katie knits since 2004. Even in the beginning, when the items were super simple and/or wonky, she was very appreciative (or pretended well enough that I was convinced).

When I was just graduating from “scarf land,” it was encouraging to have friends like Rachel who gladly accepted knit gifts. Who’s been in your knitting fan club from the beginning?

Rachel, I hope these mittens help make up for the weird scrap-yarn hat I sent you that one time in 2007. They’re warm…I tried them out on my walk this morning to get an egg & cheese bagel.

Scrap/Lap/Nap Mini Blanket

Did I miss any other rhyming describers? Hmm. I’m mentally going through the alphabet (…D,E,F,G…). I think I got ‘em all.
This is a mini version of the Missoni Inspired Chevron Blanket.  It’s made mostly from leftover project yarn, although I supplemented with mill ends and a fresh skein or two from some sale bins. After binding off I still had yarn in a few colors, so I gathered every circular needle I had in size 6, 7, or 8 (buying new needles for a reuse project just seemed counterintuitive – the perfection is in the imperfections on this one) and added a 12-row stockinette border.

Even while adding width and length with the border, I wondered about the functionality of a mini blanket. Could an adult fit under it for napping on the couch? Would it turn into an extravagant dog warmer? Does my lap actually need warming?

I joked to a coworker that it could just be a blanket for a hypothetical future baby. She completely ignored the key word there - hypothetical – and got going about what the baby would look like and what would we name it and ohmygosh she’s going to be its stylist and teach it Spanish.

Needless to say, she is my favorite person at work.

 

Turns out the mini blanket is more versatile than I thought. Today I took the blanket to work because they keep cranking up the AC in our building, so much that I was shivering yesterday as I typed. Below, Read kindly demonstrates its usefulness for afternoon couch napping, and our rocking chair demonstrates how dressy she can look in stripes. I’m sure Sam will have a turn or two under the mini blanket too.