craftlog: April 2003 Archives

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April 30, 2003

Lil Kim scarf

I like the scarf Lil Kim has on in the Jumpoff video. It has her name in pink on it. I bet it would be pretty easy to replicate.

Posted under Inspiration at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2003

American Folk Art Museum

I just got back from New York City. The American Folk Art Museum was pretty neat. Their gift store had all sort of neat things. lanamano.com finger puppets, very nice letterpress stationary from Brookfield Press, and ironic days of the week dishtowels (Monday: business meeting day, Tuesday: social activism day, etc.). Most of the exhibits in this museum seem to change regularly, so I will certainly go back.

Posted under Inspiration at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2003

eggs

The Martha swirled eggs are not as easy as they sound in the magazine. It works if you break up the oil a whole lot and then roll the egg around the dye just until the whole thing's coated. Even then they don't look quite like the pictures.

Posted under Martha at 11:17 PM | Comments (1)

April 19, 2003

Armadillo cross stitch

Do you think it's funny that an armadillo cross stitch pattern exists? I think it's funny.

Posted under Crafty Links at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

April 18, 2003

Applique

The little purses at cutxpaste make me want to learn applique.

Posted under Inspiration at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2003

Cork Doll

Extremely silly Cork Dolls.

Posted under Inspiration at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)

photobooks

These little felt-covered books

or those nice ones with the card covers and the window and the ribbon ties should be pretty easy to make.

Posted under Inspiration at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)

little felt things

I'm looking through archives today. Loobylu has some awful cute felt dolls that I might just have to copy. The ones at Orange Mushroom are also very cute (harder, though). Not to mention Scary Stories, Shawnimals, Goblinko, Spasmodica, and these guys. I invoke my little neice and nephew as good cover.

Posted under Inspiration at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)

neat illustrators

Ran across Erica Mulherin's site today and noticed I've got a bunch of illustrator-type people linked. Some of my other favorites: Lealand Eve, Jan Brett, Exploding Dog, Children's Books, Jotto, Loobylu, Miss LJC, Nathan Jurevicius, Seonna Hong, Jim Flora.

Posted under Crafty Links at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)

duvet cover

Another one from before I started this log. Man, duvet covers are expensive! I got Mark a feather comforter for Christmas last year, and the covers are rediculous. Sewing together 2 sheets works pretty well (I swear I did this before Martha suggested it). I got 2 king sheets (of different colors, oooh reversible) on sale at Ikea and spread them out on the floor. Then I laid the comforter on top and pinned the two sheets together around the periphery to get the size right. If you use the finished edges for 1 of the sides, then you won't have to hem up the edges of the hole. Sew it up on three sides, and on the 4th sew in from each corner about a quarter of the length, strengthening the seam where it stops before the hole. Cut off excess material from along the seams. At each corner, on the seam allowance, sew down the middle of an 8 inch length of ribbon to make ties. (It turns out that I rarely use this feature of the duvet cover.) Turn right side out. Unless you used the finished sides of the sheet, you'll have to finish the edges of the hole to avoid fraying. I sewed sections of ribbon along the hole as fasteners, but they don't tend to stay tied real well. I will probably use buttons on the next one. Finally, stuff your comforter into the cover, tie the corners with the corner ties, and tie up the hole.

Posted under Sewing/Fabric Crafts at 02:00 PM | Comments (0)

Pottery Barn Catalog

I got a Pottery Barn catalog today, and, although there's no way I would buy most of the stuff, there are a few things which might be worth imitating. For example, the Tassel Bedding (white sheets with colored tassels for $119?!?),

or the Espadrille Towels (there's got to be some similar ribbon you could just sew on).

The wire wall decor system might be a little harder to make, but I bet I could figure it out.

Posted under Inspiration at 01:49 PM | Comments (1)

Nice cross stitch sites

I might actually buy something from some of these sites. They will at least be inspiration to make my own charts: Odds and Ins Online, The Prairie Schooler, Sheepish Designs, Artecy Cross Stitch, Cross Stitch Kits UK, Mystic Stitch, Homespun Sampler, Pomegranate Tree Needlework Company, Cross Stitch Collectibles

Posted under Crafty Links at 12:59 AM | Comments (1)

free patterns

I'm generally pretty picky about patterns. Amidst the vast wasteland of Sept 11 tribute freebies, I've found some I might get around to doing one day. Download ones you like before they disappear! Nice free charts (cross stitch unless otherwise noted) available at:

www.rainbowgallery.com/freechart.cfm
www.kreinik.com/HTML/freebies/kreinik_freebies.html (crochet and cross stitch)
www.oldewillowstitchery.com
www.stitchalley.com
www.cross-stitching.com
www.classicstitches.com
www.birdcrossstitch.com
www.drawnthread.com
www.elizabethsdesigns.com
www.lizziekate.com
www.caron-net.com
www.embroiderersguild.org.uk (embroidery)
www.neonflamingo.com
www.somethingincom.com

Posted under Crafty Links at 12:44 AM | Comments (4)

April 15, 2003

Poppies

Poppies around a mirror. It's mounted in a cool frame I found at Ikea. The pattern's really for a clock and is from Spray and Stitch by Sally Harmon.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 12:14 AM | Comments (0)

April 14, 2003

Doily

Crocheted doily. This object has no reason for existing except that I wanted something to crochet and I was tired of granny squares. Now I've switched to more practical snowflakes.

Posted under Crochet at 11:38 PM | Comments (2)

Journal

Former crafting journal before I started up this thing. It was a present for Christmas some years ago, and I didn't really like the picture in the window on the front, so I cross stitched a little picture to fit in there instead. The flowers are cross stitched and the pot is painted, out of Sally Harmon Spray and Stitch. Then I cut the fabric a little bigger than the window and slid it in under the edges. It stays in place without glue.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)

Savon de Marseille

Dumbed down Savon de Marseille from Martha's TV show. I melted a couple of bars of unscented glycerin soap in the microwave and stirred in some Burt's Bees Green Goddess Clay Mask (which they don't seem to carry anymore). It clumped somewhat, but a lot of stirring and pressing the bigger lumps against the side of the dish seemed to help. I molded it in a little remekin lined with saran wrap, which worked pretty well except that the bar has wrinkles all over it. If I weren't just making it for myself, I would find a better mold (Martha recommends milk cartons.)

Posted under Martha at 10:23 PM | Comments (0)

Orchid

Orchid picture for my mother-in-law. I forgot to take a picture of it, so I have borrowed this image from Solaria, a highly recommended site with very nice free charts. This was stitched on a napkin and then framed.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)

Tulip Napkins

Two napkins with tulips on the corners. My cross stitch medium of choice is evenweave napkins from Cost Plus World Market. They are $1.99 each and come in a bunch of different colors. I got the tulip patterns from 100 Cross Stitch Gifts from Nature by the Vanessa Ann Collection.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

Bead Box

I found an old tacklebox at a yardsale that's perfect for keeping my beading supplies. I'd been coveting one of those little tins with the little glass-topped watchtin containers, like the ones Martha sells. We have these little 2.5 cm petri dishes in lab that look just like them (although the lids don't screw on and they're all clear plastic, but I don't mind). The beads I have came in nice little vials, so I use the petri dishes to pour out little piles for easy accessability when I'm making things.

Posted under Fun with Lab Supplies at 08:47 PM | Comments (0)

Rope Bag

Mark has recently taken up rock-climbing. We made a rope bag to carry his climbing rope in. These things are $40 at REI, and it wasn't too hard to make. This one zips up into a tube around the rope, and cinches at each end. When you open it, a tarp folds out to make a nice size area to throw your rope.

Items:

1 yard x 4 feet piece of waterproof fabric (Joann's only had one type), on sale: $5.50
several yards of webbing: $0.89/yard at Joann's, but similarly cheap and of better quality at REI
2 pieces of yard long webbing with clip buckles on it (cheaper than the buckles at Joann's): $2.00 each at REI
strong thread
buckle for adjusting the handle: $0.80/3 at REI
2 yards of shot cord: $0.15/foot at REI
2 cord holders, like you might find on the strings on a jacket: $1.25/2 at REI
2 foot long zipper: $2.00 at Joann's

The fabric is really up to you. Mark wanted it waterproof, so we chose a flimsier fabric than we might've if Joann's had a better selection. Their waterproof fabric is a piece of nylon with a coating on one side of some rubber-like substance (which is empirically not ironable!). A piece of canvas would be nice, too.

First, cut the fabric into 2 2 foot x 3 foot pieces. This is exactly in half if you got the yard of Joann's fabric. One piece is for the bag and the other is for the fold-out tarp. Fold under and sew down 3 sides of the tarp piece to make a nice edge.

cord sleeves and fold-out tarp

Fold down about an inch on each long side. Pin it so it makes a nice seam. It is ideal to pin the fold-out-tarp piece under one of these seams so that you only have to make 1 seam. (When I made this one, I neglected to think that far ahead, so it has an extra seam.) Since you can't iron the seams before sewing them down, try to keep things even as you go through the machine. These are the sleeves for the cinching cord. If you want to use grommets or buttonholes for the cinch cord holes, you need to put them in before you sew the channels. Since my fabric doesn't fray, I just cut slits (see cord part of instructions).

zipper and internal webbing loops

On the short ends of the bag-piece, position the zipper so it topologically works out. Fold the piece around to make sure that it's right. (I managed to sew mine on inside out, and Mark had to undo the little metal rivit to get the zipper part off to turn it around.) It's easiest and strongest and looks nice if you first position the tape edge flush with the edge of the fabric, sew down that with a zipper foot. Now, fold it back so the zipper teeth are facing the right way and you have a nice folded-over area next to the zipper. Top stitch this part down, again with the zipper foot. At the same time, position a couple of webbing loops under this seam so you can tie in your rope if you wish. If you burn the cut edge of the webbing, it won't unravel.

webbing for handle reinforcement

You want to put the handle about a quarter of the length of the fabric in from one short edge (i.e. parallel to the zipper). This puts the zipper and the buckles on the side of the bag when you carry it. Pin one piece of webbing (with burned ends) along the length of the bag (not including the cord channels) and sew it in place.

cinching straps

These straps run perpendicular to the piece you just sewed on, and are for cinching the bag around the rope so it's snug. Use the 2 pieces with the snap buckles, or use 2 normal pieces and put the buckles on later. These need to be loose for some of their length so the fabric can gather. Start with the buckle end close to the zipper and pin it about a quarter to a third of the way in from the cord channels and about a quarter-length from the other end of the fabric. This should leave long tails. When you sew it down, reinforce the ends with a little crossed square since these will take some stress.

handle

Thread a short length of webbing through the adjustable buckle. Fold in half and sew down both ends flush with the end of the reinforcment piece. Cut a piece of webbing long enough for a handle, with a tail for adjusting it. Sew one end flush with the end of the reinforcement opposite from the one with the buckle on it. If you want, you can buy a piece of padding to put on the handle.

If you didn't sew on the tarp earlier, you can do it now, along one of the cord channel seams.

cinch cords

Cut the rip cord in half. Cut a little slit in the middle of each channel for the cord to come out of. Thread the cord into the slit so the end's all the way at the zipper seam. Sew back and forth over this to secure it. Do the same 3 more times until there's a length of cord in each channel, secured at both ends. Thread a cord-holder on each one to use to cinch it.

Pictures to come.

Posted under Sewing/Fabric Crafts at 08:42 PM | Comments (1)

Spice Rack

Labs are always throwing away random stuff. I was wandering around the halls a while back and found a couple of boxes of perfectly good scintillation vials. They're the nice glass ones with the bakelite screwtop lids, in 2 sizes. Normally, these are used in conjunction with a scintillation counter to measure radioactivity. It turns out you can also find very similar vials at the Container Store, but they aren't nearly as cool as my real scintillation vials!

With the help of a Christmas present gift certificate from my aunt Andy, I found a nice rack at Cost Plus World Market. I also got a Xyron sticker machine (the little $10 one, you don't need the big expensive one for this) from Margie (my mother) for Christmas. I had some pretty labels I got somewhere, too. I scanned these into my computer and resized them and typed in the names of the spices I have. I printed them out on normal paper, then covered the paper with clear contact paper. Then, I put the sticker backing on with the sticker machine and stuck them on the (sterilized) vials. I have one row of leafy herbs and one row of more powdery spices. The rack I got has little screwholes on it to hang it by. They're little bottles, so they generally don't hold an entire bottle of stuff, but I keep all the extra up on a high shelf, so these are much easier to rummage through and refill when necessary. I'm very pleased with it.

If I were to redo it, I would put the labels on the tall bottles higher up, so they show over the little bottles. Oh well. Also, be sure to keep the file with the labels in case you buy a new spice.

Posted under Fun with Lab Supplies at 08:36 PM | Comments (2)

Foxy Woxy

My sister-in-law Cynthia, a quite accomplished knitter, recently taught me to knit. I had to learn when I saw the Vegan Fox Stole in Knitty and decided my sister Ariel required it. I had a hard time finding the exact yarns, so I bought the kit sold by Fuzzy Galore, in the Savannah color scheme.

This was my first knitting project, so I was pretty happy that it looked even close. There seems to be an error in the pattern at the transition from tail to body that caused a switch in which side the knits and the purls are on, so my body curled the wrong way (although it was easy enough to sew it right anyway and the yarn's so fuzzy you can hardly tell). I changed the legs, too, because my I-cord didn't look right. Instead I made little rectangles and sewed them into tubes, cinching up the bottoms with a drawstring. I also added claws, since what kind of fox stole doesn't have claws? They are little claw-shaped beads I found after searching every bead store I came across for 2 weeks. (I eventually found them at that bead store on University in Palo Alto, in a giant mixed bowl of venetian beads.)

I grew rather attached to FoxyWoxy. I started wearing him around the house, and dreaming about him moving around. Mark thought it was a little weird. Finally, I shipped him off to Ariel, who seems fond of him, too. She's taken a silly idea to its silly conclusion in The Adventures of FoxyWoxy.

Posted under Knitting at 08:32 PM | Comments (0)

Macintosh Roses Bookmark

Macintosh Roses "bookmark," front and back. It's way too thick to be a bookmark. This is another one I saw done on the web and rederived.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 08:27 PM | Comments (0)

Tree

Tree of Life on linen band. Pattern from Cross Stitch for the Very First Time.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 08:22 PM | Comments (1)

Asissi bird

My first Asissi picture, on perforated paper. Pattern rederived from a picture in a book by Van Zandt.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 08:20 PM | Comments (0)

Groundhog Day

Very silly Groundhog on linen band. I found a picture of this on the web and rederived the pattern. (My husband and I got married on February 2.) The linen band is from a very cool store in Alameda, Needle in a Haystack.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 07:45 PM | Comments (1)

Penguin Bookmark

Silly penguin bookmark on perforated paper.

Posted under Cross Stitch/Embroidery at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)

Plans

The main purpose of this site is to share my craft projects and to procrastinate from writing my thesis. I've had such a good time over the past few months browsing other people's craftlogs that I decided to put up my own. I'm going to put up my collected works in the next few days and then add things as I do them after that.