This little chair is 20 years old now. I made it in high school crafts class. I'd envisioned the back design to be more tulip-shaped, but my teacher convinced me that I didn't want to make the design too delicate. Which has turned out to be true, considering how rough this little guy is with it:

While I was making the chair, I envisioned my child using it. I don't think I could have imagined how adorable he would be in it, though. I'm glad I didn't paint it pink.

I'm thinking of painting it red. What do you think?

It's a Sweater!

Voila! My first colorwork sweater! I am so pleased with how it turned out. Here's a closeup of the color work. The yarn for the pattern is a slightly different weight from the background, so there are a few puckers and overall tension problems, but they're not so bad that I wanted to start over. And Atty couldn't care less, so we're calling it good.

I had to reknit the body and sleeves after I discovered that I couldn't get anymore of the yarn I'd purchased, even though the lady at the store said that they were getting more and that the dye lots were pretty consistent. Apparently she doesn't do the ordering and has no idea what she's talking about. So I went to a different store and bought yarn that I liked so much better anyway, and bought enough to actually finish the sweater. Lesson learned. Now I'm looking for a cute vest pattern for the first set of yarn.

The pattern is officially size 4T, so it's a bit big on him now. The hope is that he'll get more than one season out of it.

Overall, I've decided that knitting with two colors isn't all that bad. The trickiest parts were the two rows where I was trying to hold three colors in my hands and keep all the floats tacked in place and not getting tangled. Yikes. But it was only two rows, so we survived.

Rejection Dejection

I applied to sell some of my goods at the spring Beehive Bazaar, and I was rejected. Or should I say "not accepted." Doesn't sound quite as painful that way. Not that I'm heartbroken over it or anything. It would have been a lot of work to get enough product ready, and I would have had to spend more money than I wanted to buy supplies. But it would have been fun. I like making little birds. Here's what I was hoping to sell:

Birdie Mobiles

These are the same style birds I made for Atty's mobile (still not assembled), but without the embroidery. For Atty's mobile I want to use an interesting stick, like maybe curly willow, instead of beaded wire for the frame. And maybe I'll add some felt leaves. Maybe that will be my project this weekend.

Birdie Ornaments

I really like these little birds. I want to get a bare tree branch on a stand and hang them from it, again with some felt leaves. And maybe a little nest. Who knows.

I plan to put these up in my Etsy shop soon, with the option of personalization. I've also made some smaller versions of the ornaments above as pins. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but they have words on them and will come with corresponding quotes. So the one that says "hope" will come with the lines "hope is the thing with feathers / that perches in the soul" from Emily Dickenson. And the one that says "faith" will come with the quote "Faith is the bird who feels the light and sings while the dawn is still dark." Once I get the packaging done for those I'll post them and let you know here.

My next projects are going to be a growth chart for Atty and more fused plastic. I got a boatload of bags from Lara and a couple other sources, so I plan to have fun with those. Whatever I make will probably end up on Etsy as well. Just don't go looking now, because I still just have my Christmas stuff up. Maybe next week. I'll let you know.

A Confession and a Request

I finished this bag today, and I'm really quite proud of it. It's made entirely from fused plastic shopping bags, which I then sewed together.

Here's the back (above) and the side (below).

Here's the confession: I made this for a "valentine-themed reusable grocery bag" swap, but now I think I'm going to keep it. But I feel kind of guilty because my reasoning is lame. I got mine in the mail yesterday, and it's really lame. It's a store-bought canvas bag with puff-paint hearts all over it. The woman who sent it admits she's not artistic, just crafty, and it was still fun to get something in the mail, but after putting so much thought and effort into my bag I feel kind of cheated.

I don't send my bag to the same person, so I was briefly tempted to just send the puff-paint bag to my recipient, but why spread the disappointment? But I still don't want to send her my fused-plastic creation, so I'm sending this one instead:

I had most of it already made as part of a project I abandoned a long time ago, so I just had to hem the top, put on the handles, and add the heart. It's still a nice bag, and probably more functional, but not nearly as cool as the other. Am I being totally lame by not sending the fused plastic?

Now for the request: I'm kind of addicted to fused plastic right now, and I'm running out of bags. If you're willing to part with yours, would you please save them/send them to me? I'd even reimburse you for postage. Grocery store bags work ok, and I'd be happy to get some from stores other than Albertsons, Wal-Mart, and Smiths, but the thicker bags from clothing stores or even Target work a little better. I don't want you to go out of your way or anything, and I don't want you to ask stores for unused bags. But if you happen to have some, I'd love it if you'd send them my way.

I may have a new addiction

Meet Gertie, my first real softie creation. I absolutely love her. Most of the fabric is recycled clothing (Kristina, do you recognize the fabric on her beak and feet?), and I got the pattern for free here. I sewed through my finger sewing on her beak (it's like a tiny shirt sleeve), so next time I'll do that part by hand. But other than that, she was easy to put together.

I knew the pattern would be cute, but I was totally unprepared for the thrill I got when I finally sewed all the pieces together and turned her right-side-out. Even without stuffing, this little goose was brought to life and had a name: Gertrude (though she prefers Gertie). I'd thought of other names, but as soon as I saw her all put together, I honestly couldn't remember what they were. I think one was Stella. But this wasn't Stella, this was Gertie.

I'd heard other stuffie artists say that each piece "tells" you what it wants to be, but I thought that was a bit too precious and cute. Now I get it.

It's been snowing here lately, so I made Gertie a bonnet and scarf. But she hates winter. Winter requires sensible shoes, and Gertie hates sensible shoes. She's a summer girl who loves color and warm breezes and fresh produce and green grass. She doesn't like parks, though, because there are usually dogs at parks and she doesn't like dogs.

I told all of this to her new owner, who lives in Bountiful. I made Gertie for a handmade swap, which was designed to celebrate handmade goods and bring awareness to proposed legislation that threatens to destroy the market for handmade toys and other children's items. The bill is intended to protect kids from products tainted with lead, but the testing requirements are so steep that smaller manufacturers that use high-quality, natural materials wouldn't be able to afford them or compete. Revisions have been proposed that would ameliorate this, but we're not in the clear yet. Learn more here.

First Project of the Year

I made a calendar! The cross-stitch pattern came from here, but my linen was too fine to try to count the threads, so I enlarged the pattern and transferred it to the fabric with carbon paper. The fabric is 100% linen from a wrap-around jumper that never fit well. I backed it with heavy interfacing to give it some stability. The calendar is a Word template reduced to half-sheet size, then sewn to the linen with a blanket stitch. I sacrificed a wire hanger for the top, then used matching embroidery floss for the hanging loop and to attach a pencil.

I'm planning to hang this in the living room, so I wanted it to be nice and discrete while still being useful. I think I reached a good balance. It will be part of a larger organizational system that I'll blog about once I get it put together. It was a brainstorm I got in the shower (for some reason I get my best ideas in the shower), and I'm hoping it works as well as it did in my head. I'll keep you posted.

I'm officially on Etsy!

I've talked for a while about selling some of my Christmas stockings and ornaments online, and I finally got it all put together. Check it out here: http://www.bennetthp.etsy.com/. Let me know what you think!

Ornament Exchange

So I'm trying something new this year--I joined an ornament exchange. When you sign up you commit to send one other person a Christmas ornament worth around $10. You can make it or buy it. Once everyone has signed up (deadline 25 October), the "moderator" pairs people up. I'm excited to get something pretty in the mail.


If you want to sign up or just get more info, click here.

And Yet More Birds

I stumbled across this beauty here. It's screenprinted, but it would also be cool as a papercut in a frame. Actually, all of their patterns are papercut-y. The frustrating thing is the website doesn't say anything about where you can buy them or how much they cost, though I'm sure it's more than I'd want to pay. Maybe I need to start thinking more seriously about getting into papercutting.

More Birdies

I totally dig these mobiles. I found them here, and there are more cool designs in both mobiles and jewelry. I don't particularly like their prices, but I love the crisp silhouettes and the not-too-cutesy design.

I've been admiring the intricately cut paper designs on angry chicken and other sites (check out this tutorial, which I found via curbly), and I've been thinking about doing some myself. I know plagiarism is bad, but if I'm not going to sell it, could I get away with copying one for myself? I don't think I want to cut through museum mat board like these, but maybe heavy black paper matted and framed? Or some other easier-to-cut material stabilized somehow?

I don't think I'm going to start on these anytime soon, but they're definitely on my list.

Birdies and More

This was a crafty weekend for me. Here are the fruits of my labors.

Birdies
These are the felt birdies for the mobile I'm making. James will make the frame, and we'll hang it from the ceiling rather than try to attach it to the crib.

Once we get it put together I may add some felt foliage to the center to give it more punch. But it might be fine with just the birds. We'll see.

I did the embroidery and beading freehand, so it's not always symmetrical or well laid-out. (These are the "good sides" of the birds--the other sides aren't as pretty.) I had the hardest time finding the right fabric for the red bird's wings. I still don't love it, but it coordinates with the other birds and I'm ready to be done with the project.

Tie-Dye
I had the holiday off yesterday, so I decided to do some dying while James was at work. He tends to get stressed out when I undertake complicated and potentially messy projects like this, so I thought it best to get most of it done while he was gone. (I tend to jump into things without figuring out all the details first, and he's very much a details person.) So he was happy to help when he got home and I was halfway done and had a better idea of what I was doing.

I dyed my diaper bag (no, I didn't make it) and nine onesies:
The colors are a little brighter than in this photo. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. My favorite is the dark blue one with stripy arms. It was one of the last I did, and I got that effect by using tiny clear hair elastics, the kind I would use to tie off the end of a braid.

I plan to embellish the diaper bag a little bit. I'm planning an appliqué yellow bird on the bottom right corner of the front flap, with maybe some swirly embroidery around it. Now I just have to find the right fabric.

Bibs
These are the fronts of some bibs I'm working on. I dyed the flannel backing for some of them at the same time as the onesies. They're all a little wonky because I haven't ironed them yet, but I just wanted to show you a work-in-progress. I really like the sock monkey fabric. (Pattern is from Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol, aka angry chicken.)


My next project is a "tummy time" play mat. I haven't drawn it out yet, but I have some ideas. It will have a plain quilted (flannel?) center, with "activity" squares around the outside: different textures of fabric (furry, silky, bumpy), a shatterproof mirror, and various dangly things to chew on or make noise with. I'll also have a "crinkly" square, and lots of ribbon "tags" to suck on. I already have a lot of the textured fabric, and I have a bunch of canvas I can back it with. So it's just a matter of laying it out and deciding what goes where. Do any of you moms out there have other suggestions of what could be added? What attracts your babies' attention? I see this as a pre-crawling toy, and I'm assuming he'll be able to grab things and maybe scoot a little. What do you think?