Xmas is Coming - to time to get crafting!

I LOVE autumn, always have. Growing up I didn't care for school much and so September was depressing as it meant a new school year and new miseries. There was however a silver lining to the massive grey cloud of school and that was Halloween, Bonfire Night, my birthday (which was on Friday) and then Christmas. The weather would be crisp or wet and foggy which was mysterious and thrilling. Now that I am grown up I still love autumn and it's nice to be in a country that gets so excited about the season. People decorate their houses, go crazy for Halloween and although Americans don't celebrate Bonfire Night, I plan to bring it to my circle of friends. AND now there's another holiday to celebrate - Thanksgiving!

Additionally there is the anticipation of the holidays and if you're into making handmade gifts and crafts it's time to get organized. Making things for the holidays is part of the fun of it, but I recommend starting early so you don't feel rushed and panicked when December comes. So here are some ideas from my Pinterest boards.

Xmas Decorations
So many ways to decorate your pad! I have a penchant for red and white with Scandinavian patterns, but as you will see there are many diffrent little projects you can try. With expecting a baby, for me it's all about creating traditions. When I was growing up certain decorations and rituals were what made Xmas important to me. So many decorations are made from plastic and are poor quality, making ones that will serve for years to come is a great investment especially if you do them with friends and/or family.

Follow Liz's board Xmas crafts on Pinterest.

Homemade Gifts
Maybe after making all your great ornaments you get a little tired of sewing, this board has quite a few ideas for different homemade gifts, including making tea blends, natural cosmetics and more.

Follow Liz's board Homemade Gift Ideas on Pinterest.

Wearable Gifts
This board has cool ideas for accessories to make for those in your life who like some original style. Be brave and try the Star Wars pumps!
Follow Liz's board Make Your Own Accessories on Pinterest.

Book Review - Zakka Sewing: 25 Japanese Projects for the Household

If I remember correctly, this was one of the first books to come out in English about Zakka.
Often with sewing books, you tend to find some obvious projects (totes, etc.) some ingenius ones and some odd ones that seem to be about doing a project for the sake of it. This book definitely has, what seems on the surface to be a mix of these. However when I read about the projects in more detail I was charmed by the snippets of Japanese culture and how it influenced the projects. For example, there's a piece about how people in Japan like to cover their paperback books with a sleeve to keep them clean and private. True it has a tote project but I think the real beauty of this book is that in presenting these ideas, it also teaches the reader about the ethos behind Zakka. I am fascinated by Japanese culture so find it really interesting.
I also loved the esthetic, so fresh and contemporary. It's well organized and I found the directions clear, with useful illustrations.

Creating a Handmade Childhood: Log Cabin Pillow

I am so pleased to get another nursery project finished! It's getting harder and harder to get on the floor to measure and cut fabric these days. I actually did the design for this pillow over a year and a half ago then stuffed it in a draw.  It's funny to think that one day it was to end up as an accessory for a nursery. 

Log cabin is the pattern and it's a lovely one to try, especially if you are new to quilting. You don't need a template or even a rotary cutter. Here are some good resources on doing log cabin from about.com. The pink fabric with cocktail olives is one of my own designs, and you can by the fabric at Spoonflower.com, it's called 'Cocktail'

Repurposed Flour Sack Laundry Bags

This project is so easy and requires so little skill, I am not even sure I can call it a craft project. Yet it is the simplest ideas that are often the best. These laundry bags are the perfect size for baby clothes and because they hang up save you much needed space.

I have a love of vintage flour sacks, the designs are usually fun and random, I mean look at the ones below. I bought these at a local vintage store for $7 each, but you can get them cheaper (and more expensive!) from EBay or Etsy. I personally would never pay more than $10 for one and even then it would have to be a pretty special flour sack!

You also need an embroidery hoop. I used an 8 inch because I happened to have one lying around. You could easily stretch to a 9 or 10 inch.  These sacks were  inches in width.
Ok here's the hard part :)

- get you embroidery hoop and separate the two pieces 

- put the hoop over the sack at the top

- open up the sack and fold a couple inches of the opening over the loop

- play around with how it gathers so that you can see the picture most clearly

- put the outside piece of the embroidery hoop over the opening with the screw at the back

- tighten the loop

I found that the screw sat perfectly on my door hook but you might need to add a loop depending on where you hang the bag.

You may wonder once it's full whether the bag might slide out of the hoop. I checked, it doesn't. The friction of the cotton and wood from the hoop create a nice grip and you just have to make sure you fold enough of the opening over. See below.

I plan to make a second one so that I can divide light and dark laundry. I will post more ridiculously easy flour sack projects soon!

Window Treatment Solution # 1

Problem: Kitchen window needs a blind. Cheap blinds are ugly.
Solution: Cover blind with fabric.
I used this tutorial: http://jacquelynnesteves.com/featured/fabric-covered-window-shade-tutorial/
I got my fabric here: http://www.kitschfabrics.com/kitsch/Home.html

The De-Stash Project

It's time. Time for what? A massive de-stash.  I am terrible for holding onto fabrics for some future time. Well it's time.  I am going to be bold and try and use up as much of my stash as I can with different projects - pillows, table runners, throws etc.  Watch out for new items, tutorials and a new Etsy shop.  Yes, ANOTHER one!

TV Project 1: Kimono Coasters

Kimono silk is just something I can't resist, it's sexy makes me think of geisha.  It's also awkward to work with, since it is so sheer and thin.  I like to always have a project on the go that I can do while watching TV. So this is my TV project du jour.   

NOTE: The instructions for the rosettes can also be used to make the ones you saw on the boudoir pillow.  Imagine a pillow with kimono silks! Ooh la la, get your Valentine's horny on!

Level: Beginner
Time: 2 hours per coaster
Cost: $2 (approximately
Materials and Tools:
Hexagon template, size: 1 inch per side
Kimono silk scraps (or scraps of cotton quilt weight fabric) in three different patterns in similar colors.
1/2 yard of grey felt
Thread in contrasting color and matching color
Pins
Scrap paper
Needle
Iron
Scissors for fabric
Scissors for paper

- First cut seven hexagons out of scrap paper
- You are going to need one hexagon from one patterned fabric then three each from two additional patterns
- Place your paper hexagon onto the wrong side of your chosen fabric and pin in place
- Cut around the hexagon with a quarter inch seam allowance
- Fold the fabric seam over the paper and tack all the way round with the contrasting thread
- Remove pin
- Do this with all seven hexagons
- The one hexagon cut from a different fabric to the other six is the center of the rosette
- Take this hexagon and a hexagon of another pattern place them with right sides facing each other and sew the seams together with whip stitch
- Continue doing this until you have all six hexagons of alternating pattern sewn to the center one
- Iron your rosette so the seams are nice and sharp
- Remove the paper from the center hexagon and pin to the felt
- Cut out the felt so that the rosette is pinned to smaller piece of felt with some excess fabric around it.
- Remover one paper from an outer hexagon and pin to the fabric with the seam folded under
- Sew the edge with a running stitch
- Do this hexagon by hexagon until all edges are sewn to the felt
- Trim off the excess felt
- Press with iron
- DONE

Make Your Own Notebook

I have been trying to find a new notebook to take away with me to Zambia. Some ppl can make their notes and sketches on any old paper but I am a bit selective. The cover should be plain so I can choose to decorate it or not, the pages should be thin so that it is light for travel, but also means you get more pages per book (essential when I am out there where nice notebooks are hard to find) and the pages should be unlined. I succeeded on the first two but not the last requirement. Infruriatingly, all plain pages were in sketchbooks which meant they were heavy and thick. In the end I opted for Muji notebooks which are very nice, suitably nondescript but LINED! I am putting up with it and then found this amazing How To for making your own notebooks on Instructables. Will definitely try it when I have more time. It's a great website BTW, and you can download a lot of the How Tos as PDF files.


Make a 100 page Notebook - More DIY How To Projects