A Crafternoon in Asheville

I spent last Saturday afternoon showing crafters how to make silkscreen adhesive totes and notecards with Darned Ideas and a room full of fun, crafty people.

As a tribute to my former employer (*snicker*), I broke out the Martha Stewart silkscreen adhesives for my station. Crafters made totes, greeting cards, and even drawstring jewelry bags. Here are a couple of shots from the awesome crafters who silkscreened with me. You can see more photos and projects from the crafternoon over on Darned Ideas's Facebook page.

Some crafters got creative and started layering the silkscreens on the tote. Even though this tote used some of my favorite colors, I didn't try to steal it. Really dug that lace border, too.

Sew a Retro Christmas Ornament

When Katie over at Sew Woodsy asked me to participate in her annual 12 Days of Handmade Ornaments series, I had visions of all kinds of things in my head like cookies, pies, -- and oh yes, polyester and French knots!

Out of that mess of ideas was born this retro Christmas ornament made from my great aunt Maude's stash of 70s polyester. Check out the retro ornament tutorial to sew your own. And yes, there are French knots involved.

Don't forget to enter the Cricut giveaway while you're there!

Sewing with Knits: The Miz Mozelle Dress

I've been pushing myself more with sewing lately, working with slippery fabrics and learning techniques I normally don't try. My latest challenge? Sewing with knits.

It took a while to get a decent shot of me in this dress because I had a cold and my nose kept running. Do you see any snot running down my nose in this one? Or maybe you're seeing my gross watery eye. I was not feeling glamorous.

Pattern: Miz Mozelle Dress by Jamie Christina
Fabric: Blue and silver metallic fabric on clearance at Joanns
First worn: To see the Wham Bam Bowie Band (David Bowie cover band, obviously) and it totally held up for comfortable dancing.
Make it again? Definitely! I'd go one size smaller, though. I know it's supposed to be loose, but mine felt kind of wide in the shoulders.

I don't have a serger, but after making a polka-dot knit pencil skirt over the summer I was pretty confident I could sew an entire dress on my sewing machine. I even made my own binding (gasp!) and hand stitched it to the inside.

Emma's post on Spoonflower about sewing with their new performance knit was very helpful to me. She talks about what the zigzag stitch should look like -- which was really important to me since I was previously using a narrow zigzag that was making the hem draw up the knit fabric.



My zigzag stitch test swatch

Do you have any tips for sewing with knits?

Sewing Pin-Print Clutch

I've been on a bit of a clutch kick since I made my Flowers and Butterflies clutch a few months ago -- and since I discovered how convenient clutches are when you don't live in NYC and have to carry your entire life in a bag.

I needed to make a bag that was a little more fall and winter-appropriate.

The fabric from this clutch came from the Anything Fiber Sale & Swap I attended last month. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I feel like it was around $1.

 

In other news, my sewing machine became ill after I finished this project. I took it to the sewing machine hospital/fabric store to be repaired today. I just hope it comes back safely and without emptying my bank account. Oh, how I miss it!

 

What do you do while your sewing machine is getting repaired?

Sea Coral Crochet Necklace

 

It's funny what can happen when you're just messing around without any creative direction. I was getting burnt out on knitting and sewing one day, so I grabbed my trusty crochet hook and just started crocheting. This necklace is what came out of that.



 

A day or even a necklace like this would've never happened when I lived in New York. Since moving, I've been feeling so much more relaxed and creative. That's why this necklace really makes me happy.

 

Have you ever started creating without a project in mind?

Win 9 Craft E-Books with Chronicle and Craftsy

From Amy Butler's Style Stitches

Do you ever buy digital craft books? In honor of Craft Month at Chronicle Books, I've teamed up with Chronicle and Craftsy to bring you a giveaway that'll make you swoon and shake in crafty anticipation: 9 craft e-books! The collection includes everything from Amy Butler to Jenny Hart, so enter to win by September 28th -- and if you don't win, check out the awesome deals on the e-books anyway.

Decorating with Books

via Instructables

 

Ahhh, books. I love to read 'em, but I find it so difficult to cut them up for crafting. However, seeing things like this colorful book headboard makes me rethink that decision. Head over to Quirk Books today to see my post on 8 Ways to Decorate Your Home with Books.