Sewing Green slippers

Sewing Green slippers, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

Here are the slippers I was working on in the '5 Minutes Peace' post. My brother-in-law Ewen requested a pair for Christmas after seeing Mat's - which is very flattering! They're made from the pattern in Betz White's 'Sewing Green' book. I originally made myself a pair, and then Mat liked them so much he commissioned some, and now I'm on to the extended family!

It's a bit tricky making them for someone who's not around because all I had to go on was a tracing Mat made of Ewen's foot and it seemed improbably long and skinny. Well I know the long bit is right anyways, big feet run in the family!*

They're made from an old woollen jacket (woven), unfelted, and cut on the bias to give them stretch. They're a bit tight at the ankle getting them on, but works well elsewhere. The cuff is wool knit, also unfelted. The main reason they're not out of a sweater is that none of the ones I had were large enough (after felting) to get the pieces cut out! I had to enlarge the pattern 105% to get a size big enough. :P It's also why they have the leather on the bottom as the pattern called for and not the whole sole as I'd prefer - no leather long enough. Like I said, big feet are impractical! I'll leave the blanket stitch around the edges until he's tried them on and I've made any size adjustments.

They look so lovely and Christmassy, unfortunately they probably won't get worn for another 5 months or so until our winter kicks in!



*And no, this does not refer to the usual jokes on this subject, I just want to know why do guys have such big feet? They seem impractically big. It's not like either of them are a third as big again as me, while their feet certainly are!

What I'm up to at the moment

2+2 blouse, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

Amongst the many projects I have on the go at the moment is this Oliver + S blouse from the 2+2 pattern. I bought the Lecien 'My Foklore' fabric a fair while ago for this exact purpose and I can honestly say I think it's one of my favourite fabrics ever. The photos don't do it justice, but the little pops of red are just sublime in their perfect redness.

Mat said "that's too nice to give to Hazel!" and of course what he meant was that she may very well refuse to wear it and I think that would break my heart (again). But what else was I supposed to do with it? It needs to be worn by a little girl in some shape or form, and if I didn't make the size 4 now I wouldn't have had enough fabric to make the next size up. It was close as it was! I had initially thought that I'd put it in her stocking as I'm confident that she would wear it if she thought it was from Santa. But I'm not sure if I can bear her not knowing that I made it. It's totally an ego thing I know! I'm still really undecided about this - any advice would be welcome.

All the potential angst aside, just look at that fabric, the gathering, the sweet little ties at the neck. I might have some quibbles with the technical aspects of Oliver + S pattern construction at times, but you can't deny they make the cutest kids clothing patterns around!

Christmas frustration

Christmas WIP, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

I knew that this would happen, but it's still driving me nuts. How can I blog about my marvellous creations when the recipients might read about it? It's frustrating, so I'm going to pass on that frustration by taking mysterious (or not so mysterious) photos and hopefully that will restrain me from blurting it all out and ruining someone's surprise. Some of you may recognise what this is, if you do just smile knowingly and enjoy your superiority in silence. :)

Christmas to-do list

Making the list, checking it twice... The only way I'll stay even vaguely organised to get things done this year! We're off to the in-laws for Christmas on the 17th, so I get cut off then - though I'm taking the sewing machine down with me so I can work on a shirt I'm doing for Mat. He's been waiting for it for so long and is quite desperate which is too flattering to resist! It's going to be out of Heather Ross's Glass Beach fabric from the Mendocino line. It's nice he likes it as much as I do, though I suspect it's more because he's very interested in archaeological fish bone than that it's just fabulous design! I'll take what I can get though.



You'll notice on the list that I've been very bold and scheduled in some clothes for me! All very simple knits I think. I had visions of getting something done from Twinkle Sews but that's probably best left until after Xmas when time moves a little slower! The things I'm going to work at are: a couple of tops, a dress and maybe a wrap/cardie. One top will be based on a favourite I bought last year from H&M but that has seen better days. I'm going to take a big deep breath and cut it up for the pattern. The other one is 'Our Fave Top' from Sew Tessuti (link top right of their sidebar) which looks fabulous and easy to make. The dress is View C from McCall's 5423

The cardy/wrap is the Origami wrap sweater from UN Journal. I want something fairly light just as a cover-up for cooler evenings and days and I think this could be just the ticket. I certainly plan on making it again for winter in something more snuggly!

So we shall see how I go with this list thing, so far so good! Except I noticed this morning I neglected to add blogging anywhere in there so I'm taking some time away from designing a course to teach at Uni next year to do something completely unrelated to the 'Bioarchaeology of Death and Burial" That's not a very fun title though, I'm toying with something based around the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pestilence and...ummm...Conquest (thank you Google!). I think this would be the first image I'd put up, it's been a favourite since Art History days!

Cross stitch for Christmas

This is the end result of the cross stitch plants I've been doing - a small bag and a larger shoe bag for my sister-in-law in the States.



I'm really pleased how it all turned out! I made the shoe bag following the tutorial over at //Between the lines//, complete with french seams and all! It looks great. The little bag was my own pattern, hence its slightly blobby lines, but hopefully she'll be so distracted by the embroidery that she won't notice :)

Dog pull-toy

This has to be the quickest present ever!



I think it's fairly safe to show this as my brother's dog Duncan probably doesn't read my blog on a regular basis. I followed the instructions here, and it took me about 20 minutes to do after I located the fleece and sherpa in my stash. I did a four braid which I thought would give it a bit of bulk (Duncan may be small but he's fierce) and it ended up being beautifully striped, just like a candy-cane! A pleasant and totally appropriate outcome. It's lovely and stretchy and should provide at least a couple hours of fun on the day. I have no idea how sturdy it will be though! As I said, he's fierce.

Quilty goodness

Actually I'm not sure if it really qualifies as a quilt per se, I haven't pieced it or anything. It's more like a tied something-or-other, but not with ties!



Whatever it is, I'm quite pleased with it, particularly the binding which I made myself! It's not quite as intense a colour in reality, and it matches the pink side perfectly and the blue side ok, which is probably all you can really hope for I guess.



I used the printable fabric sheets to make up a label for the quilt à lá
Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts and I was so impressed with the quality of printing! I was expecting it to be a bit fuzzy around the edges but it's crispy and the colours are perfect. The Epson inks seem to be be colourfast as well, I didn't have any run or fading after washing or ironing. It's certainly an argument against going for cheaper refilled ink cartridges, although to be honest how often am I going to be printing this kind of thing?



After that was done it was straight on to Mum's boxy little pouch. Amy Butler fabric in Lotus (from memory)



and lined with some old silk I made a shirt from years ago. I love being able to use up old fabrics like that, justifies my keeping everything!

Yay progress!

Despite the late night last night (or this morning) made it through the day ok and find myself finishing up for the night just before 11pm. I washed and ironed the cot quilt and will take photos tomorrow, and just finished up the little box pouch for Mum. It's very cute although has an annoying tendency to squash up and not return to shape when you pinch it to open or close the zipper. I used iron-on interfacing to stiffen the cotton a little and I suspect that was a mistake as it already looks like it might be separating a bit and has that funny wrinkly look to it. Perhaps a heavier fabric might retain shape better without the stiffness. I like the pattern though, it's infinitely adaptable and you could have a lot of fun with it. Mat's put in an order for a really long one to put his photo scales in, although he wants all sorts of fancy additions, including weights to stop it blowing away. Will have to ponder this a bit I think!

Tomorrow is massive running around trying to get presents for the in-laws wrapped and boxed to send down to Marton for Xmas since we're not there until mid-January. I'm nervous about the postage!

Insomnia

I'm posting at 12:52 AM (AM!) because I'm having a wee bout of craft-induced insomnia. I can't stop thinking about what I've done today and what is still left to do and what it will look like and how I'll do it, and what fabric and how it will be constructed and...well you know how the brain works in the wee hours of the morning, even if it's not craft you've got on it. Sigh. I'm looking forward to tomorrow because we're going out to get the Christmas tree, and that's going to be so much fun with Hazel, but I'm dreading how tired I'll be. Must try bed again after I hit the "publish post" button.

One thing that I did wonder while lying in bed pretending to myself that sleep was just around the corner, was exactly how cheap this drive for handmade holidays actually is. On the surface it seems like the answer to these difficult economic times, tightening the belts, getting in touch with our thrifty selves, the things our grandmothers took for granted and all that. But really, isn't this a bit wanky? It's a bit like all the secure middle-class kids at Uni going all hippy and pretending they were poor. Maybe I'm going about it in the wrong way, but when I add up all the bits 'n pieces that go into making something I wonder whether buying something wouldn't be cheaper. I suppose we're meant to be buying our way out of this global recession... But seriously, what do you count and what don't you when you're adding up how much you've saved? Not that I'm going to, but even the fabrics I'm using out of my stash have been paid for at some point in the past, they weren't free. Same with the thread, the electricity the sewing machine uses, and say a zipper you had to go out and get, or another spool of thread, or all the makings for an advent calendar. I can honestly say that one was much more expensive than anything at the shops! :P I just feel like a bit of a fraud sometimes with all this pretend economy. I know this completely disregards the happiness that doing this sort of thing brings me and (hopefully) the recipients, but I do think it's a valid question to be asking.

What have I accomplished from my Christmas to-do list so far:
Monster for Isabella - done and handed over
Pillow for mum - done
Little bag for mum - everything assembled but not started
Quilt for Rebecca - finished but needs to be washed tomorrow
Stuffy bunny for Hazel - done and hidden in closet
Monkey for Hazel - done and hidden in closet (I'm so screwed if she figures this out)
House for Hazel - inners done, fabrics sort of decided on.
Nightie for Hazel - fabrics and pattern decided
One monster - sewn but not stuffed
Two monkeys - one head partially done, body cut out, other one has a few face bits cut out.
Nightie for Alex - same stage as Hazel's.

Man, I wish I'd never written this list out, I won't be getting to sleep until at least 3am now!

fabric print

I fail at crafting - nothing for two days. Two vital, important pre-Christmas days and nothing is accomplished. Well I did actually craft on the computer last night, working on a file to print off onto my insanely expensive printable fabric.


fabric print, originally uploaded by Ansis68.

The bunny is from A Print A Day and a time-limited download she has with the most adorable bunnies. I'm going to make a small stuffy to go in the pocket of a nightie I'm making for Hazel's stocking. I altered the second bunny image to be a back with a fluffy tail instead of the original Janus concept. I've just realised that heads turned sideways have an eye and half a nose on both sides so have put them back in again. The tag is to go on Rebecca's quilt and yes, she's a Rebecca without an 'h'.

So tonight is all about the monkeys, two of them.