oh fransson

Saturday Morning Baking

I haven't posted about anything but sewing in a while, so I thought I'd post some photos of my baking from this morning  This is the Cherry Struesel Coffee Cake from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook.  The recipe is also on her website.  I'm a little nutty for Martha's recipes.  I have eight of her cookbooks and they're always the first place I look when I'm making something new.

Here's a side view.  The struesel topping came out well, but I think the glaze is a little thin.

Here's another recipe from the same book.  (Also on Martha's site.)  It's a Marble Cake with a white chocolate glaze.  I'm not crazy about the way that glaze looks.  If I make this again, I'll probably make a regular chocolate glaze.

Now I have to go back to sewing.  The deadline for the pillowcase book projects was moved up by more than two months (and one of my projects is a quilt!) so I'm rushing to get everything done.  I just had two more projects accepted for another book by the same publisher, so that's exciting news.

Lunchbox Swap Wrapup

These are just some of the fabulous lunch carriers from the recent Lunchbox Swap!  Check out the Flickr Pool for even more great photos. 

It was so much fun to see what everyone made!  The bags in the mosaic above were made by: (Top Row) Anna, Tab, Regina, Solidia, and Teddi (Second Row) Sherry, Jessica, Stephanie, Renee, and Lauren (Third Row) Tammie, Heather, Michelle, Amy and Stephanie (Fourth Row) Jackie, Heather, Melinda, Ellen and Heather  (Fifth Row) Marcia, Donna, Amanda, Susan and Christina.

And check out the blogs/photos of our other swappers, Claire, Cie, Joey, Laura and Laura.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the swap!

Swap Information Sent

We have more than 75 swappers, which is very exciting!  I cut up a bunch of sheets for the swap this weekend and posted some photos here.

Swap information was e-mailed this morning.  If you signed up for the swap, but didn't receive an e-mail, please let me know via e-mail or by commenting on this post. 

Thanks!

Vintage Sheet Patchwork Swap

I’m taking a break from my quilting project to . . . start another project.  Yeah.  That’s just how I roll.

 

I had a great time participating in Lisa’s Summer Skirt Sheet Swap and it got me thinking about how many people have commented and sent me e-mails about how difficult it’s been for them to collect enough different vintage linens for patchwork.  It occurred to me that, even if we don’t all have a great thrift store nearby, we probably can each get our hands on one really cool sheet and, if we then cut that sheet into fat quarters, we could keep one or two and then swap the rest for different prints.

 

If you participated in Lisa’s swap, you’ve probably noticed that this is basically the same idea, but for quilting/small-item sewing.  (Thank you, Lisa, for letting me copy you!) 

 

How does it work?

Each swapper will send me return postage and as many fat quarter (18” x 22”) sized pieces as she wants to swap.  Once I have everyone’s pieces, I’ll send each swapper a package with an assortment of fat quarters (the same number she sent).  The picture above is of my initial contribution to the swap -- 11 fat quarters cut from a Wabasso fitted sheet I found on ebay.

 

What constitutes vintage?

I’m not a purist.  The goal here is simply to reuse and share fun prints of the past.  That said, I’m going to suggest that we try to avoid anything overtly 1980’s or later.  I will do my best to accommodate requests for particular styles and colors. 

 

Does it have to be a sheet?

I’ve used sheets as an example because they’re an easy way to get a good amount of fabric, but I would say that pillowcases, tablecloths, curtains, napkins and even vintage yardage are great, as long as they’re made from cotton, linen or 50/50 percale.  Let’s also avoid solids, quilted fabrics, and licensed images (Strawberry Shortcake, Star Wars, NBA Basketball, etc.). 

 

How do I sign up?

If you’d like to play, leave a comment on this post before midnight (Pacific) on Monday, May 26.  I will then send you an e-mail with specifics.  If you can, please mention your favorite local thrift store or other vintage linen source in your comment.  This might be helpful to some people who’ve been having trouble finding one. 

 

ETA: This swap is open to swappers all over the world. (Shipping for both US and International addresses will be via USPS Priority.)  I will need to receive your fat quarters by June 30.  Hopefully that will give you enough time to hunt down a sheet if you don't already have one.

Patchworks in Progress

I finally used my Botanical Pop fabric to make a quilt top.  I used the new pattern I've been fine-tuning, and I'm really pleased with the results.  The sashing is made from a dark gray chambray-like shirting fabric.  (I actually bought the fabric a long time ago to make a shirt from one of Simplicity's Built by Wendy patterns, but it was too perfect for this quilt, so I guess I now need to find something else to use with that pattern!)

Here's a full shot.  When I have a chance, I'm going to make this up again with lighter colors and linen sashing.

In other exciting news, I received my Summer Skirt Sheet Swap package last week.  Aren't they great?  I especially love the one on the far left.  (Thanks, Regina!)  I'm hoping nobody is going to be too mad at me if I use these to make something other than skirts!

I also spent a lot of time this weekend cutting.  Here are the pieces of what will be a pillowcase quilt with white linen sashing.  (You'll have to wait for the Pillowcase Challenge book to see the final product!)

And here's another one I'm making with the same pattern -- this time with madras and natural linen.  I'm going to be busy, busy, busy working on quilts this week and probably won't have a chance to post again until next Monday.  Happy sewing/crafting to everyone in the meantime!

Save the Whales

These are the buttons I made for Michelle's Embroidered Button Swap.  I had never made embroidered buttons before and it was considerably more challenging than I'd expected.  As you can see, they're not particularly uniform!

I ended up making them like this:

First I cut a little whale out of fusible webbing-backed wool felt and pressed it onto some linen.

Then I wrapped the felt shape with perle cotton floss . . .

. . . until it was completely covered.

Then I backstitched around the whole thing.

Next, I added an eye and spout.

To create the "water," I sewed a little scrap of fabric directly under the whale embroidery.

To create the "waves," I hand-stitched a row of baby ric-rac along the top of the "water."  Then I used a little template to cut the whole thing into a circle before stretching it over the button form.

 

They kind of remind me of those animals that JCrew embroiders on everything (which cracks me up).  Hopefully whomever receives them has a preppy project in the works!

Wristlet Mania

I just finished a bunch of wristlets and wanted to show them off.

Made with, from left to right: 1) Jackie Shapiro's Botanical Pop with red satin, 2) Alexander Henry Noguchi and Necco with black satin, 3) Alexander Henry butterfly rint and Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope basketweave print,

4) Jennifer Paganelli's Bell Bottoms & Girlfriends with chocolate satin, 5) Amy Butler's Nigella and Lotus with teal satin, 6) Michael Miller Ginger Blossom with Kaufman floral with kiwi satin,

7) Kaufman Origami Flower with Bell Bottoms check with turquoise satin, 8) Amy Butler's Midwest Modern with aqua satin, and 9) Amy Butler's Midwest Modern with cornflower satin.

(My lawn somehow changed color for this photo!)

Here's a shot of the quilted satin backs. . .

. . .and here they are all lined up.  I love making wristlets!

Pattern Questions

I wanted to take a minute to answer a couple of questions that were asked about the "Paper or Plastic?" pattern/tutorial.

How long does it take to make?  It takes me less than an hour to make the Plastic version and about an hour and a half to make the Paper version.  I would imagine it would take anyone else (i.e. anyone who didn't make up the pattern) a little bit longer, but they're both pretty basic designs.  The Plastic version is slightly easier than the Paper version, but I wouldn't say that either project is particularly challenging.

Are pattern pieces included?  Much like my other tutorials, this one doesn't use pattern pieces, but provides a list of the different sized pieces you'll need and from which fabric they need to be cut.  It's been my experience that, for a project like this where all pieces are rectangular, rotary cutting is considerably more efficient than using patterns.   

Can you really use the bags to carry your cat?  That depends entirely upon your cat's level of cooperation.  My cat doesn't like to be carried -- she just likes to sleep in the bags.

May I sell bags made with this pattern?  Unfortunately, no.  I realize these are sort of generic bag styles, but I want to keep "not for commercial use" consistent across all my work.  There's big IF though.  IF you want to sell these for a non-profit event (school bazaar, church fundraiser, etc.) please contact me. 

Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll add the answers to this post.

Paper or Plastic?

Just in case anyone is interested, I wanted to announce that my first "for sale" pattern/tutorial is now available in my Etsy shop.  It's called "Paper or Plastic?" and includes directions for making two styles of grocery bags: the plastic-style bags pictured above. . .

. . .and these paper-style bags.  This is my first attempt at selling a pattern I've made, so I'm a little nervous.  We'll see how this goes! 

"Paper" Grocery Bags

I've been getting a lot of use out of my "plastic" grocery bags, but I wanted to make something a little bigger and more sturdy.  I used a paper grocery bag as my model for size and shape.  From left to right, these are made from canvas, twill, and denim.

I added little pockets between the straps on both sides.  The pockets are lined with the same fabric as the interior of the bag.

And here's a shot of the interior of the natural twill bag.

And here's the interior of the gray canvas bag.

Maeby thinks the denim bag makes a good bed . . .

 

. . .or hiding spot.  This bag is lined with part of a pink floral sheet.

And, for good measure, I'll end with a photo of another "plastic" bag I made today.  The outside is part of a pillowcase and the inside is part of a sheet.  Speaking of pillowcases, I was very excited to learn that both projects I submitted were accepted for an upcoming book about making things from vintage pillowcases.  Very exciting!