2008 Made: A Year in Review

1. Kureyon Scarf, 2. solstice08, 3. red, 4. chicken fabric (vintage), 5. embroidered_skirt, 6. Kids Sweater Apron Tutorial, 7. house, 8. red, 9. walk_like_an_egyptian, 10. crochet, 11. crochet_sweater, 12. archie_olive, 13. coral5 after, 14. pizza_my_heart2, 15. solstice06, 16. purse400, 17. ball2, 18. hint, 19. 3, 20. big_little_hedgie, 21. akimbo, 22. hedgie, 23. Sweater Apron (orange), 24. crochet_hat2, 25. grey_tunic_detail, 26. raincloud, 27. black2 after

These are some of the things I started, continued to work on, and/or finished in 2008. You can find the whole shebang here. Thanks to Knitsonya for the inspiration — I hadn't planned on doing a mosaic. The organizing and subsequent reminiscing was quite enjoyable. I ended up spending all of today cleaning up a half year's worth of photos (oh, the disorder!), taking a few photos (including my first racy craft pic, ooh la la!), and trying to post. Now we're all neat and tidy, backed up, and posted. Whew!

Here's some things I'd like to do in 2009:
— Wear lipstick more often
— Take scary craft photos
— Have more fun
— Be in the moment
— Take more racy craft photos
— Make more chutney
— Learn to make goat cheese (Yo, blender?)
— Learn to like exercise
— Find more mushrooms

Thanks for hanging out at Green Kitchen. Y'all keep me going. Mwah!

Is someone trying to tell me something?

All my Bloglines feeds have vanished — all 600 of them! The clippings, too. Gone. I think someone's trying to keep me working, instead of vegging out, which is what I want to do right now. I'm already tired of Christmas.

This morning, one hour into school holiday, my oldest was crying and digging himself into a very dark place. I was trying to explain to him how to make a potato stamp. He does *not* want me to teach him. I don't even know if I can explain all he's feeling. He's tired, filled with anticipation, not sure if he'll like what he gets — the unknown factor doesn't sit well with him. I don't think he needs surprises. He's happily watching me knit him a scarf, watching the color changes.

The other day he told me he wanted me to be mad at him so that he could do what he wanted, which was something like hitting me or running away. I never got mad at him that day. It was really interesting to watch him process his feelings. Mad, sad, mad, sad. Food helped. A visit with grandpa turned everything around. At the end of the day I'm was totally wiped out. Tired. Too tired for holiday spirit.

Anyone else riding the emotional crazy train with their kids right now? I find the holiday season completely overstimulating. Where's the balance? How can I make it better for my children? For me? I used to think holidays with kids would be the funnest. Now I just think they are hard.

Cool Yule: A Holiday Tutorial

DISCLAIMER: This project involves melting paraffin, which can be dangerous on several levels. Please read all the instructions and safety links, then proceed with caution (i.e. do use proper ventilation; do use a double boiler instead of direct heat; don't stick your hand in the wax when it's still very hot; don't leave the wax on the stove unattended, etc.). This is NOT a craft for children. Please read the paraffin box and/or online for safety precautions. I used paraffin because it's what I had at home. Here's the Materials Safety Data Sheet for paraffin. Seems less benign than what the soy folk report, but it does seem like a good idea to stick with a non-petroleum-based wax if you can. Here's someone who reports to have a neutral view on the Soy vs. Paraffin debate. In the end, I'll let you decide which wax is right for you. Now, let's talk about Christmas, or Yule as it were.

I saw a cute, kid-friendly Yule* log from The Toby Show, via The Crafty Crow that reminded me of the ones that we used to make many years ago. This is a simple and inexpensive craft that makes a beautiful center piece, hearth decoration, or holiday gift. People really seem to like receiving them. The best part is that the recipient gets to enjoy a cozy, Yule fire when they are tired of having it around — a consumable gift with no caloric intake!

Step 1: Gather the Materials (clippers, log & nature bits, paraffin, and two craft-only cooking pots)
Go for a walk in the woods with a pair of clippers — or, perhaps your street or backyard — and collect bits of nature. Moss, lichen, acorns, pine cones, holly and some tree branches are the kind of things you'll be looking for. At home, melt the paraffin (I used a whole box, but had about half left over) in a designated craft-only cooking pot or can that is placed within another pot that has water in it (not directly on the heat source) — or a double boiler — following the safety precautions on the box of paraffin. Protect your work surface with newspaper or tarp. It's best to do the assembly outside.

Step 2: Rough Draft
Lay out the tree branches that will be the base of your decorations on the log. I used Douglas Fir clippings from our Christmas tree. Fan them out to the left and right so the stems get buried in the "snow" that will anchor them to the middle of the log.

Step 3: First Snow
The most complicated thing about this project is getting the wax to be the right temperature and consistency. When it starts to cool it will develop a skin on the surface. This is about the right time to start testing to see if it's cool enough to touch and hold some of its shape. I use my fingers to scoop the not-too-hot-but-still-malleable wax. Put a clump of it under the branches in the center of the log, then press the branches into it and added more to the top. Holding it in place as it cools helps cement it to the log. If things don't stick just add more wax — it conveniently looks like snow. Many happy mistakes can happen on this project.

Step 4: Lay Out Your Design and Secure
Lay out your various woodland bits in a pleasing manner. Odd numbers look better sometimes. You can see I put one big pine cone and three of the cedar rosettes. Rearrange until you are happy and then use more wax to secure each piece. Your pot of wax will probably have hardened by this time, so you'll need to reheat it. It doesn't take long to reheat, maybe thirty seconds to a minute. Always attend the wax when it's on the stove. It can catch on fire!

Step 5: Embellishment
You can stop at Step 4 with great success, but if you want to make it even more woodland-y cute, you can make little critters to live on your log. I made this hedgehog with a seed pod (not sure what kind) and some Fimo.** I didn't heat set the Fimo because it would just cook/crack the pod — I'm treating it as a short-term craft since it's the nature of these pods to open up and release their seed. I also want to make some logs with mushrooms, of course. I'd still love to make a Bûche de Noël someday, but until the kids are bigger this is as close as I get.

* The Toby Show post has info and links about Yule.
**My gifts will have a tag that recommends removing the Fimo pieces before burning, because I don't think it would be good to breathe the fumes.

A Few Things in The Works

Take a left at the giant candy cane

We used to go to a long-gone, local amusement park called Santa's Village. This old photo tricked me into thinking it was a winter pic, but really it was my sister's birthday in April, 1976. We Californians have this winter business all mixed up.

If you look on the ground you can see my mom's purse — we used it as a chair when there weren't any toadstools to sit on.

Now I use the purse to hold embroidery floss. Alicia Paulson has me jumping through ye olde embroidery hoop as I try to get my handmade presents done asap. Check out Alicia's set of felt ornament patterns here.

This ornament is going to my sister because she just went ice skating for the first time in a long time, probably since 1976. This is where she went. I told you we have this winter business all wacky.

Heather Ross Sneak Peek & STC Craft Giveaway

Edit: You have to go to the STC Craft blog to leave the comment to possibly win a book. Good luck!


If you haven't checked out Heather Ross' sneak peek of her upcoming line, Far, Far Away — it's extra special good with sprinkles on top. Makes me consider a third in hopes of spawning a girl child.

and

Melanie Falick over at STC Craft is wanting to know what you are making for your Handmade Holiday. Five lucky commenters will win an STC book of their choice. I've got my eye on AlterKnits Felt. That rug! Oo la la, as my two-year-old would say.

Kid Snippets: Casts and Kisses

The tree is starting to remind me of The Giving Tree. I used some of Simmy's wool for his hair. I was thinking of Salley Mavor's Wee Folk while stitching — wishing I could be as lucky as Mimi.


I took some photos of C sitting in a chair and then drew this sketch. I traced it onto felt, cut it out and started stitching. He chose the colors.


Thanksgiving day surprised us with a visit to the on-call orthopedist — green breaks on both the radius and ulna, but consolable with a lollipop.


Love is a powerful muse, even for six-year-olds.


Crazy hair day at school.

Glue-Set Zipper Tutorial

[I'm doing a little blog organizing and finally posting this zipper tutorial that I wrote up for Sew, Mama, Sew! last year. Enjoy!]

The Pep Talk

Learning to install a zipper changed my life.

Sewing for myself gives me control of what my clothing looks like and how it fits - how empowering is that! I'm so in love with the process and result of garment making that I've been averaging about two pieces a week. I can make a skirt in a couple of hours! It all started with the book Sew What! Skirts, which was written and packaged in such a way as to tempt me to overcome my fear of the zipper foot.

Around the same time I read a blog post by a woman who had gained ten pounds over the holidays and had made herself a cute new skirt to fit her increased size. This concept rearranged my thinking. No longer was I going to wait to lose weight in order to reward myself with new clothes. I was going to draft a skirt pattern (learned from Sew What! Skirts) to fit my body as-is; choose a fabric that I love; and sew myself some tailored clothes. Custom-fitted clothing looks and feels better than off-the-rack, especially if your body shape doesn't fit the industry standards.

The ruffler foot is not the zipper foot.

I was afraid of sewing in a zipper for about 30 years because I thought my mom's ruffler foot was a zipper foot. A zipper foot is actually just a simple little foot that looks like half of a foot. One side is missing so that you can get close to the zipper teeth without bumping into them. My zipper foot (#4 Bernina) has two positions, left and right, so that you can sew up either side of the zipper. The zipper foot is not complicated and should not scare you away. The lesson here: get to know your sewing attachments, they are your friends. Be sure to read up on your own model of zipper foot.

Don't hate me because I'm a beautiful zipper.

The most difficult part of zipper installation is making it look good. With the glue-set method you eliminate most of the challenges. The process becomes quite easy. The idea behind the glue-set zipper installation is to use adhesive to hold the zipper in place, while sewing, instead of pins. This allows you to top stitch the zipper without having to wrangle with the pins. And, since you are top stitching it into place, you have more control on how it looks on the outside, thus, more chances at zipper success.

The Glue-Set Zipper Tutorial: A basic side zipper for an A-line skirt

Step 1: Rough Zipper Layout



With the front and back panels of the skirt right sides together, lay a zipper on the side seam about 1/4 inch down from the stay stitching to get an idea of where the bottom of the zipper will be. A zipper between seven and nine inches is considered normal for skirts. The shorter the zipper is the harder it will be to get over hips. Got a big back side? Use a longer zipper.

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Step 2: Mark Zipper Bottom



Place two pins at the bottom of where the zipper will end. You want these to be about where the zipper teeth end, not where the zipper fabric ends. The goal is to get as close to the zipper as possible without running your sewing machine needle into the zipper teeth or bottom closure. Continue to pin the two skirt pieces together in preparation for sewing.

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Step 3: Sew and Baste Zipper Side Seam



Starting at the bottom of the skirt, sew with a regular stitch up to the two pins that mark the bottom of where the zipper will go. At this point back tack a little for reinforcement. Continue to the top of the skirt waist with a basting stitch. These stitches will be ripped out after the zipper is installed. Press the seam flat with an iron.

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Step 4: Glue Zipper



With a regular glue stick apply glue to the right side of the zipper avoiding the zipper teeth. I have read that there are sewing adhesives, but have not tried any yet. The glue stick seems to work fine.

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Step 5: Rough Zipper Placement



Gently place the glued side of the zipper onto the pressed side seam about 1/4 inch from the stay stitching. This isn't the final placement so do not press it into the fabric.

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Step 6: Final Zipper Placement



Starting at the top of the zipper, roll the zipper into place doing your best to center the teeth along the line of the seam.

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Step 7: Set Glue



When you are happy with the placement and alignment of your zipper set the glue by pressing with an iron. Make sure it's not too hot.

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Step 8: Top Stitching (part 1)



On the right side of the fabric, with zipper foot set to the outside position, sew across the bottom of the zipper. You'll be starting at one corner and sewing across the seam to the other corner of the bottom of the zipper. Stop at this corner, leaving the needle in the fabric. Make sure that you don't hit the bottom closure of the zipper.

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Step 9: Top Stitching (part 2)



At the corner of the bottom of the zipper leave the needle in the fabric and lift foot to turn the fabric for the ascent back to the waist. You want the distance from the seam to the stitching to be as far away from the seam as you can go without running off of the zipper fabric. This is one of the challenges of the zipper. If you are too close to the zipper teeth it's harder to make a neat looking stitch. If you get to far away, your stitching falls off of the zipper, which looks bad and messes with functionality. This photo shows the distance that I normally use, I think it's about 3/8 inch from the seam. Make sure to leave the threads long enough to work in when finished.

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Step 10: Zipper Pull Work-Around (part 1)



One of the problems with putting in zippers is sewing around the bulk of the zipper pull. It tends to make for wonky stitching up at the top, with the stitching taking on a Y-shape as you sew around the pull. One way to fix this is to make the top stitch far enough away that the pull doesn't affect the stitch. Another trick is to stop short of the pull; leave the needle in the fabric; and pull the zipper down a bit, so it's behind the zipper foot.

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Step 11: Zipper Pull Work-Around (part 2)



With needle still in the fabric and the foot up the zipper is opened to move the zipper pull behind zipper foot. Put foot down and continue sewing to the top of the skirt.

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Step 12: Move Zipper Foot



Switch zipper foot to right side of the needle.

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Step 13: Top Stitch Other Side



Starting in the bottom corner of the top-stitching, place needle in fabric. Lower zipper foot and stitch along the bottom of the zipper following the previous stitches. At the corner leave the needle in the fabric. Lift foot, rotate fabric, put foot down, and top stitch up other side of zipper as before.

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Step 14: Check Zipper



After top stitching is done check the underside of the zipper to make sure that you have sewn all away around the zipper without running off of the zipper fabric. I moved the zipper pull up and down according to where I was sewing in order to avoid sewing around it.

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Step 15: Rip Out Basting



If you are happy with your top-stitching you are now done with the hard part. If the top stitching looks funky, or the stitches didn't catch the zipper, then you should probably rip out the stitches with a seam ripper and sew it again. This sounds difficult, but it's really not that hard. Once you are satisfied with your work, you get to do the fun part: ripping out the basting to reveal the zipper.

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Step 16: Pull Out Threads



Because it's so fun to rip out the basting I took another picture. Don't forget to pull out the little bits of basting thread.

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Step 17: Sew in Ends



You should now have a working zipper. If a little glue has gunked up the zipper teeth, just wash it off with a damp rag. The last step in the zipper installation is to work in the threads at the bottom of the zipper. Use a regular hand sewing needle to run the threads to the inside of the skirt, tie off, and clip excess.

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This is what my finished skirt looks like. When Kristin asked me to do a tutorial for Skirt Month I immediately thought of the glue-set zipper. As I planned the skirt and the tutorial I realized that I wasn't sure which step to start the zipper tutorial with. I ended up making a start-to-finish photographic tutorial of how I sew an A-line skirt with glue-set zipper. Since it took 47 photos to document the process I'm paring this post down to the zipper-only tutorial — a mere 18 photos. The rest of the skirt tutorial can be found in this Flickr set.

Good luck and happy sewing.
— Michelle