Mending

My younger brother asked me if I could patch his jeans, which were slowly falling apart all over the place.  Like all projects, this one was slow to come to completion for many reasons, including no time and lack of inspiration.  I lucked out when my sister snagged me two fabric sample books from the side of the street and flew with them half way across the country.  Inside one of the books were a bunch of elegant dark fabrics, which I knew would be perfect to patch the jeans.  I wanted use fabric that my brother wouldn't hate, so that he would actually wear them.  I thing my choice worked out well.


I've included this second photo to show that you don't need a fancy work area.  This was the long and narrow kitchen/dining room in the apartment I stayed at during my rural rotation.  It had this fabulous window that let in lots of light and faced the mountains.  It was usually where I ended up when I was eating, reading, writing letters and working on projects.  You can see my houseplants that came on the rural rotation with me since I couldn't find a plantsitter.

Natural beauty

I took the photo below at a neat grocery store in Nelson, BC.  It was inside an old warehouse, and still had the exposed brick, wooden beams and even a large floor mounted scale.  I love squash and really liked the way they were displayed here in the wooden crate, with their beautiful colours contrasted against the brick walls.

The second photo is from Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, on the coast of Vancouver Island.  I was walking there one morning and saw logs along the edge of the beach.  This one struck my eye because of the intricate texture.  I have so many photos like this, of natural objects with complex and intricate colour and texture.  I take the photos and would like to do something more with them, but I haven't figured out what.

Felt ipod case

When I first got my ipod two years ago I wanted a case, but I was living in a community where I didn't have access to ipod accessory stores.  So I made one instead!  It has served me well over the years, but the felt is getting fuzzy and a bit ugly.  Time to make a new one.  My first design had a strap that came over the top to hold the ipod in the case, with a snap, but I never closed it.  Once the headphone cords were wrapped around the case, it didn't go anywhere.  This second redesign no longer has the strap.  I found a cool black felt with glitter (who doesn't like glitter?) and used a charcoal felt for the inside.  Felt is so fun to sew with since you don't have to worry about unsightly edges.  Here they are, old and new:

Jostaberry Jelly

During a stop at the local fruit stand I noticed jostaberries in the fridge.  I'd never heard of them.  Turns out (according to Wikipedia and other internet sites I found), they are a cross between currants and gooseberries.  I bought some to make jam or jelly out of.  Unfortunately, the pectin package didn't have a recipe, but I was able to find a recipe online for blackcurrant jelly and basically made it up as I went since the amounts and pectin were different than in the recipe.  Here are the jostaberries:

I mashed them up with a potato masher I picked up at a local second hand store.

They had little twigs attached but I figured since I was straining them, it wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of  things and left them in.

After a couple false starts, I was ready to tackle the actual jelly.  More and more when I do canning I'm trying to use jars I have around, since they often work just as well as commercial jam jars, they are free, and then it doesn't break your heart when no one reuses them or returns them.  Isn't it a motley collection?  Sure, they don't look as pretty as commercial jam jars, but I'm not selling the jelly!

Every time I make blackberry jam, I think 'wow, the stuff has such a beautiful colour' and keep meaning to try dyeing with it.  I even found a website that had some helpful tips to dyeing with blackberries.  This time I just went for it.  I grabbed a white T-shirt that was starting to look grubby, put it in a pot with the berry remnants, some salt and brought it to a boil.  It turned a lovely fuschia colour, but more importantly, where there were those horrible yellow armpit stains (like I said, the T-shirt was grubby), the dye was a blue colour.  That prompted me to recall that alum is used as a mordant.  I grabbed my stick of antiperspirant and slathered some on randomly across the bunched up fabric in the pot.  The dye in those areas turned a blue-purple colour.  I've since washed the T-shirt and it has remained a faint blue-purple-grey, with darker areas where the antiperspirant was applied.  Neat!

Above is the front of the T, and below is the back :

Colourful Fabric Sample Purse

I'm doing a stint in a rural area for two months as part of my program.  To fend of the antsies, I brought scissors, thread and a few needles.  I also brought a booklet of fabric samples that I had picked up from a local interior design place for free.  This was all just in case I had free time, and the itch to sew.  I had no idea what I might make.  One Sunday morning I was up early and felt like I should make something.  As I watched the movie 'Big' (the one with the big piano keyboard), I cut out the pieces of fabric from the paper backing.  It's too bad about that paper backing since it wastes a lot of usable fabric, but obviously the design companies aren't intending their samples to go to any use other than as a sample.

As you see, lots of garbage.  Oh well, at least I'm using a portion of the sample, right?

I decided I would make a bag, because I love bags!  Here is a photo of the design process, figuring out the pattern and colours:

I sewed the entire thing by hand.  First I stitched the short ends together to make strips and then I did the thick black detailing on those short ends.  Then I sewed the longer strips together, going over it with the darker thread.  Then the fussy job of joining the ends of the strips into a U-shape and trying to keep everything smooth and matching.  Thankfully it actually worked out.  Then I added the lining.  Since I didn't have the straps, I sewed most of the lining in place and then added the straps later.  Ugh, I do not recommend doing it that way.  It would've been so much easier to sew in the straps and then add the lining, but I really wanted to use the bag the weekend I was getting the straps, so that's why I did it the harder more backwards way (though some might argue that I'm just backwards!).

Here is the finished bag:

The other side, which I don't love as much:

The lining:

A close up of the detailing, which I think really adds something to the bag:

I really like it.  It's a good size, the straps fit nicely under you arm, and it's soft.  

A beautiful day

It is so beautiful out - cool enough that you can comfortably wear jeans, but sunny and warm.  Here is my found shelf, all painted up and sitting in my living room.  I thought about finding some means of hanging it, but that just involved too much work and tools I don't own.

I like it - I think it looks a bit elegant with the off-white grey 'colour'.

Here is a little quilt I made with scraps, and sewn entirely by hand.  It is small - maybe 6 x 7".  A fun project to work on while I watched movies or listened to tunes.  Even the batting is from scraps, I was able to piece it together into a workable patch.

The finished quilt:

Oh, and another project I made a few months ago:

Again, this is made entirely by hand.  Cross-stitched 'brown bowl' with fabric surround and driftwood hanger.  I made it for a friend who is a potter...I guess there is something special about brown bowls (despite having done pottery, I don't entirely understand the reference).

My first crochet project

I've tried knitting and found it wasn't for me.  I decided to try crocheting since I covet crocheted blankets and have no one to make one for me.  I got out the Crocheting for Dummies book from the library, it's really helpful with great images.  I used a small ball of yarn and a crochet hook that I picked up from a second store in town and I gave it a try.

I've been meaning to join a learn to crochet course, but it just hasn't worked with my schedule.  I'm sure I will eventually, in part to meet other crazy crafty people, but also to pursue my goals of blanket making.

Here is my first project.  I guess it could be a coaster.  Notice the random widths as I drop and add stitches.

I also put the final coat of paint on a little wooden shelf that I rescued from the side of the road.  I had to nail the one foot back on, but otherwise it is in great shape.  I took a can of brilliant white enamel paint back to the hardware store and the nice man there put a drop of black in and a drop of brown, so it is now a soft off-white.  I'm not sure what the ultimate destination or use of the shelf will be, but I might put a lamp on it in my living room.  This is the shelf pre-painting:

Cute baby bib

This is a bib I made for a friend who is expecting her first baby this fall.  I didn't come up with the idea, but I found it so long ago that I don't know where it came from.  You can buy terry cloth in a roll at the fabric store.  It is a bit of a pain to embroider on terry cloth since you can catch the loops and pull them through accidentally. Eventually you get the hang of it though.  

I made a similar bib a long time ago, but I like this one more with a warmer yellow as the edging.

Quilt for Grandma

I learned how to sew from my mother.  She in was taught by her mother, my grandmother.  For a long time I had wanted to sew something for my grandmother, but I never knew what I should make.  During my last visit with her I noticed two wooden end-tables in her living room.  I sneakily measured them, tucking away the numbers for later use.  I thought that I could make her a little quilt for one of the end tables.

I don’t remember where I found the cut-out below, I think it came from a design magazine.  I liked the colours, the shading and the shapes of the leaves and flowers.  It became my initial inspiration, leading to the embroidery.

My grandmother’s place is pretty stereotypical grandmother style: pastels, a bit dated, but cozy and welcoming.  I wanted the quilt to fit in, in her living room, but also show my style (a mixture of organic and geometric).  Rooting through my fabric I found some suitable pieces; pastel cottons, the strong green and some old floral remnant that I inherited from my other grandmother (it just goes to show that you never know when you’ll use a little piece of some fabric, so you should keep it!).

For the quilting, I did mostly in the ditch along the seams.  To add another level of detail and reinforce the organic motif I added some hand quilting copying the flower shape.

I pinned the paper shape to the fabric and quilted around it, cutting away pieces as I went, using it as a guide.

The quilt has been mailed off and through the grapevine I heard that my grandmother really likes in, in fact she suggested that I make her a matching one for the other end table!

Great books!

I've been reading a lot more lately.  I'm not sure why.  Probably a combination of more time and wanting to escape into something outside my regular world.  I'm really enjoying it, especially since I don't have a TV to distract myself with.  Here are a couple books I've read lately that are excellent and that I've been recommending to everyone.

I heard about this one on the CBC.  It's called Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay.  The main character is a famous ballerina who defects from the USSR.  The story jumps back and forth between the present and the past, tying together a man trying to learn about his past, a young woman who works at an auction house and of course the main character.  It is really well written and so easy to sink into, but also very intelligent and informative.



The other book is one that I happened to pick off a shelf at the library (why I love the library - you can try a book with NO risk).  It is called People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.  This book uses an ancient Jewish text to move between the past and the present, much the way the movie the Red Violin used the violin to connect past and present.  An Australian woman is called upon to mend this text and as she does she uncovers clues which are used to transport us back in the book's history.  These jumps bring us to various times where Jews have struggled under external oppression.  Again, a great story and a minor education into an area of history I knew little about.

Paris Cemetery inspired cross-stitch

In my Lonely Planet guidebook for Paris there is a beautiful photo showing the gate to a crypt in a Paris cemetery (probably the big fancy cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried).  For whatever reason it inspired me to design and do a cross-stitch.  In the end, I bit off much more than I needed to, but c'est la vie.

I often brought the cross-stitch to class, to the surprise of classmates and the probable chagrin of lecturers, but it made such a difference in my ability to pay attention.  When I have something mindless to keep my hands busy, my attention span is much improved.  I may come by this genetically, since I've been told that my grandmother knit my security blanket during meetings!

As with any project, there are things I would change about this one, including being more attentive to where I wanted the shadow to be so it was more consistent.  I also mis-counted the squares, and towards the end I had to modify the top to make it fit (oops)!

A cool bag for my cool bro

I like sewing.  I really like sewing bags.  I really, really like sewing things for my peeps.  Sewing for my mom, kind of easy.  Sewing for my dad, impossible.  Sewing for my sister, really easy.  Sewing for my brother, near impossible...UNTIL...I came up with an idea.  You see, I had bought him a cool, old-school travel agency bag from a Salvation Army type store.  Only, the bag was old and within a year the vinyl lining was peeling away, rendering the bag see-through and not structurally sound.  I finally had something I could make him - a replacement!  Next problem: my brother is VERY minimalist.  He's not into fun fabrics (well, in all fairness most men aren't) or crazy appliquéd detailing.  My solution was to make him a bag modeled along the lines of his old one out of natural cotton with some simple black thread embroidery.

This is the pencil drawing I made before I started the embroidery.  The design is a tracing I made of a plant shadow.  Organic, yet simple.

This is the front of the bag.  

I don't know what they treated the fabric with, and I probably don't want to know, because whenever I ironed it, the steam smelled like urine.  I warned my brother that he should try not to get it wet, or it'll stink!

This is the back, with a pocket.

This shows the side.  

I had a couple issues sewing this bag.  The one problem were the corners.  They are okay, but I wasn't 100% happy with the way they turned out.  The other problem was sewing through so many layers of thick cotton to attach the straps on the side.  My sewing machine was not very happy.  I eventually reinforced it with a bit of hand sewing.  

The zipper is one that I recycled from an old backpack.  Same with the plastic D-rings.  I'm all about recycling stuff.  

Lady Marmalade

I'm a big fan of going out for breakfast.  Most of the time I order a simple two egg breakfast, since I'm a simple pleasures kind of gal.  Going out for breakfast is a great way to catch up with friends before the day gets busy and its especially great because it is so inexpensive.  I recently moved to Victoria, BC and have slowly been checking out the various breakfast places in town.  A couple weekends ago I went to Lady Marmalade with a friend.

I had heard mixed things about L.M. - good food, poor service and I decided to check it out myself.  In Victoria going out for breakfast can mean long lineups, which really sucks when you're hungry.  My friend and I are morning folk, and we arrived early enough (8:45 AM) that we had lots of choice for seating.  This is what it looks like inside - a bit eclectic, but in a homey (homy?) way.

I ordered (of course) the two eggs breakfast and my friend ordered the huevos rancheros.  I had been excited to see breakfast poutine, but then had those hopes dashed when the server told me no poutine on weekends. Here is my breakfast:

The presentation is super.  Overall I'd say that the ingredients were great: real butter, crunchy bread, real eggs (look at that yellow), good temperature, and decent portions.  The potatoes were a bit grrrrr, by which I mean tough.  The salad was a nice touch but the pieces could have been a bit smaller and therefore easier to manage.  Here is my friends breakfast:

He was a bit more disappointed.  His comments included the following: the beans tasted like they'd just been dumped out of a can with no flavouring added, the tortillas were sitting in the salsa and getting soggy, and overall it just wasn't easy to eat, unlike other huevos rancheros he'd had in the past.  Again though, great ingredients.

We both agreed that while L.M. was decent, neither of us would make it a favourite for breakfasts.

Fun Fish Patched Jeans

I’m always happy to find projects that allow me to use my sewing and creative skills in new ways.  Some time ago, I noticed a friend’s jeans – they were old, softened and well worn.  He’d already put a couple of patches on them with his sewing machine (I know – a man who owns a sewing machine, awesome!).  I offered to make him a patch to cover a slit in the knee.  This picture shows the patch I made (the fish) and his patch (the red square).

Up close you could that the pants still needed a lot of love.  Really, they were so worn that a lot of the fabric needed to be shored up.  Thus began a minor labour of love.  I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be able to access many of the areas with the legs intact, so I split the jeans down each outside seam.

I wanted to somehow blend my fish patch and his red square patch, since red squares and fish don’t usually coexist!  You can see in the next photo how I did a mock up of what I wanted to do.  I went online to find different types of fish to use.  At least one was inspired by a photo from National Geographic.

To make the patches I used an unbleached cotton as a base and sewed coloured fabrics onto it with a zig zag stitch.  For a couple I also did some hand embroidery.  Here’s the beginnings of the flying fish patch.  You can see the pencil outlines of the other patches.

Here is one of the fish where I did some hand embroidery for the eyes and the gills.

I made up some squares in red to match the original red square.  Here I’ve tacked them onto the jeans before I sew them on using my machine.

Here is the finished look of the front of the pants.  Under some of the areas I also sewed in a reinforcing layer of jean harvested from another soft old pair of jeans he gave me.  I didn’t want to go to all this work only to have the thighs rip open.

Having done all that work I decided that the back needed some attention even though the fabric wasn’t very worn out there.  I was at a loss about what to do fish-wise when I came up with the idea of a school of fish crossing across both legs.  Here is what it looked like before I sewed down my school.  You can see the split side seams.

This is a close up of the little fish.  I used some leftover slinky silver fabric and sewed it on with rainbow metallic thread.  [Side note: I think I was a bird in my past life and I love sparkles, so my sister bought me this spool of metallic thread even though I wasn’t sure what I’d ever use it for.]

Here is the back once it was completed. 

My friend has worn these jeans.  It takes a strong man to wear jeans covered in fish patches, but he’s got the personality to pull it off.  Unfortunately he’s a bit concerned to wear the pants in case they get damaged.  I guess he’ll just have to treat them like the work of art they are.