Archive for the 'Crafty' Category

the next quilt

Published on September 17, 2008 in Crafty and Quilting. 1 Comment



I bought this fabric in July in preparation for the next quilt we are going to make. I mentioned earlier that we were searching for pattern ideas to make a quilt for N’s brother for his wedding — we finally settled on a modified version of “Drunk Love Two-Tone” from the Denyse Schmidt Quilts book. Instead of two colors we are going with 3 (two blues and a green) and some patterned/colored highlights.



Making this quilt with more than two colors has really complicated things. Since the pieces have to be cut individually I had to plan out ahead of time how many of each color I would need. I laid the quilt pattern out in Adobe Illustrator (image above) to get a good balance of the three colors and then made spreadsheets to keep track of what had been cut. Cutting pieces seemed to take forever but we have *mostly* finished (I still need to cut the highlights) and I am finally on to the sewing.








Can you see it? There is a pile of sewn pieces on my desk and a pile of cut pieces on my work table. I’ve done a fair amount of crafting this summer but I haven’t written much about it. I think I can attribute this largely due to the lack of good lighting in my apartment. With N’s new job and long commute our evenings are more condensed and progress on the quilt primarily happens after 9pm (which doesn’t help the lighting situation either).




Even in the dim evening lighting (and less than perfect focus) I still love my desk. I can’t get over how cute the sewing machine is. Apparently other people agree with me, they put the same machine on the cover of ReadyMade for the August/September issue! It is working like a champ too which is good because my singer 301 is skipping stitches. I don’t know if I need to find someone to take a look at it but all of my attempts to modify tension controls and change needles and thread have failed to solve the problem. I’m not sure what we are going to do when we get to quilting everything together because there is no way the whole quilt is going to pass under the arm of my tiny featherweight! Does anyone have thoughts or suggestions for my ailing machine?

Tile

Published on July 2, 2008 in Crafty. 2 Comments




I was doing some blog reading a few weeks ago and came across some ceramics that triggered a memory. I really enjoy the designs over at Skinny laMinx. She regularly creates wonderful images of household items such as spoons and mugs, and a few weeks ago she showed a design she made for Heath Ceramics of their signature ceramic vases. She even got paid partly in tableware! The Heath factory is located only a short drive from here in Sasualito and I’ve been there a few times with my Mom. I love the look and feel of their dishes but I’m not sure I should be allowed to own any as I would probably break them immediately. Maybe if I find a teapot or mug at their factory…

Speaking of going to the Heath factory, the reason the name Heath catches my ear in the first place is from the work I did with my parents re-tiling their kitchen counters and bathroom floor. Below is a blog post I wrote for a diy-home type website, but I think it is time the story came to my blog to live. The following was written more than a year ago (March 2007) and we started with the kitchen counters in summer 2004.
——-
In the last two years I have helped design and install a tile counter and bathroom floor that is less than traditional. It was a lot more time consuming and involved than a tile installation with only one or two types of tiles but I think the results are very rewarding.

The background:
My parents built their house in 1980 and it is just getting to the time where things like counters are needing replacement. The original countertop was made using seconds from a local handmade tile shop which were pretty but, after 20 yrs, a bit boring. They hemmed and hawed over what kind surfacing to put in. There were granites they liked but with a 4′ by 8′ island and a 3′ by 12′ counter a slab was out of their price range and tiles had a lot of variation. They liked the handmade tiles but they were somewhat bland over such a large area. They were really looking for something dynamic. I took my mom to a tile mosaic shop for some inspiration and we ended up walking away with boxes and boxes of tiles. The colors! The variety! It was wonderful. So we decided to make the counter a mosaic, albeit not your typical broken tile type. In fact we designed it much more with quilts than mosaics in mind. We made it all up as we went along and my parents like it so much we did the bathroom floor too!

Here is how we did it:
Shopping for tile
We shopped for tile at a tile mosaic store and also at factories near by. We happen to live close to two tile manufacturers: McIntyre Tile and Heath Ceramics. Heath had a whole room of seconds and overstock that were at reduced prices. McIntyre has one large sale of seconds etc. each year, usually in the fall. The mosaic store has since closed but stocked overstock, seconds, glaze samples and experimental tiles from several tile makers. Most of the tile was sold by the pound. We bought a large variety of colors, sizes and textures (including one box of matching tiles for a border) using a very rough estimate of what we needed and headed home. With this method you really need to buy more than you will use so you have some variety and choice while laying out the design.

Design
The first thing I did was lay all of the tiles out arranged by color and size.

The 6″ tile color pallate.  Notice the old tile counter underneath (tiles also from McIntyre)


3″ tile color pallate

We set some basic parameters for our layout by deciding that the kitchen counter would have a 6 inch border of large matching tiles and then a 6 inch grid. The back splash and the bathroom floor were much more free form. I made a scale layout of the counter tops out of paper in another room and then walked back and forth choosing tiles out of the color arrays and placing them onto the paper layout.

Mock-up of the kitchen counter on paper.

The grid on the kitchen counter was done with interspersed 6″ tiles and then collections of other shapes and sizes to make a 6″ square. When we abandoned the grid in the bathroom it became much more difficult to account for the proper grout sizing but I was more comfortable with laying out the design by then and I was able to compensate. We had a tile saw available and we used it to cut down tiles to fit in obscure sized holes in the design. We made all of the border tiles (6″ by 12″) from 12 by 12 ” square tiles. With a little more planning (and different border tiles) we could have done without a tile saw at all.

Laying the tiles
For the kitchen we built the counters first using plywood sheets glued and screwed together and then covered with cement board. I drew a grid in directly onto the cement board with a sharpie for guidance. We laid the tiles in thin-set cement which we mixed in a 5 gallon bucket.



Laying the kitchen counter

Since the tiles were all laid out on the floor in the living room we had to transport them before putting them into the cement. We used a small plywood boards (3′ by 4′ ?) and would transfer small sections at a time to the board and then move the tiles from the board into the cement. This process didn’t work as well in the bathroom where we had no grid in the design. It was hard to account for the necessary grout thickness in the design phase so we had too many tiles when we went to put them on the floor. I was fairly comfortable with the shapes and sizes by then so I just re-designed that part of the floor as I was laying the tiles.


Bathroom Floor before border tiles and grout

There was a large variation in thickness of tiles since we were using anything and everything from a variety of sources. We accounted for this by applying a compensating thickness of cement to the back of each tile. Very thick tiles had almost no cement on the back while thin ones had a generous layer. After all the tiles were laid we used plywood pieces (the same boards from before) to apply an even pressure across the surface and push down any tile sticking too far up.

We let the cement set and then grouted using a neutral gray which went well with the range of colors represented. That’s pretty much it! Here is the bathroom floor complete (ok, the tiles are done but the baseboard still isn’t on).


Bathroom Floor with border tiles and grout

the Kitchen Island




And the backsplash

I would love to hear about other people with similar projects, my parents have never seen anything quite like it!

Thinking about quilts

Published on June 21, 2008 in Crafty and Quilting. 1 Comment

It is hot today. Not soul-sucking humid and dirty New York City hot, but unseasonaly and uncomfortably hot. The National Weather Service has the official condition listed as “Hot” with a red picture of a sun. I am hiding in my cave-like apartment and the cat is sleeping in the darkest place he can find. I went outside to water my plants (poor things) in spite of the fact that we are in a drought and under water rationing. And yet I am sitting here thinking about quilts.

The last thing I want to do right now is turn on an iron or sit with a quilt in my lap sewing, but N’s brother is getting married in the fall and we have been planning to make them a quilt as a wedding gift. The quilt we made last summer was a rare opportunity where N wanted to make something crafty together and the couple seemed to really appreciate receiving a handmade gift of such a scale. The wedding is in October and while that is not quite around the corner yet I have a feeling summer is going to be over before I blink my eyes so I need to get moving on the project. Here are some thoughts I’m having:




1. Run and Fall, 2. amy butler doing turning 20, plus some, 3. Orange / Yellow Joel Dewberry Quilt: Front, 4. conran quilt - part of top, 5. coin quilt - top finished!, 6. sprout quilt mockup, 7. belle quilt - quilt top, 8. IMG_6008, 9. quilt front, 10. Amy Butler Happy Hour quilt, 11. Orange & Brown Quilt, 12. 19th Century Sampler, 13. Flying Geese Quilt, 14. Queen Size Love Bead Quilt Top, 15. orange, yellow, and green baby quilt, inspired by DS “couldn’t keep it to myself”, 16. finished Ice Pops quilt, 17. Roots, 18. Hop, Skip, Jump Quilt, 19. quilt top, 20. finished brick road quilt, 21. handkerchief corners quilt, 22. Big Zig, 23. what a bunch of squares quilt, 24. red and white Hop Skip and a Jump baby quilt, 25. Zig-Zag Quilt Top, 26. On the big-boy bed, 27. Horizons Quilt Front, 28. quilt, 29. skyline quilt, 30. Run and Fall, 31. Drunk Love 2-tone, 32. On and On, 33. Roots, 34. Coulden’t keep it to myself, 35. Ice Pops Baby Quilt - Front, 36. Completed quilt - Optical Squares

lasers

Published on May 7, 2008 in Adventures and Crafty. 2 Comments




This past weekend I attended the Maker Faire. In addition to being a fantastic people watching event I had a few excellent conversations with folks showing off their creations. The people at the Instructables booth were even willing to laser engrave my vinyl bag for me. Fantastic! Epilog Laser was also in attendance and for a mere $8000 you can buy your own laser engraver. After learning this n spent the rest of the day asking how much he could charge me for engraving each of my bags and wallets. Considering my current sales numbers I am unlikely to help him pay that off…

I walked briefly thorough the Bazarre Bizarre but I was so over-stimulated and it was so crowded in there that I couldn’t calm down enough to actually check anything out. It is too bad, but the day really isn’t about shopping anyway.

I was also excited to see Ponoko there. I’m fascinated by the idea of being able to produce goods on fancy schmancy machines from my own designs. And locally no less! They are just getting started with shops in the US and I can’t wait to design something and send it their way. As an added bonus, I had a nice chat with the guy manning their booth (I’m sorry, I can’t remember his name!) who told me that he wanted to start Ponoko after he was involved with a climate blog called Celsias. I haven’t spent too much time looking around yet, but the site looks like a combination of science & policy news and discussion as well as networking for projects to reduce the impact of global warming. Yay solutions!

Every time I have been to the Maker Faire I spend a good part of the day thinking about how much my dad would enjoy it but I’ve yet to get him to come along. This year I spied a three wheeled car with a motorcycle license plate. Lets just say there has been some experience with that around his house. The ride may or may not look something like this:

(video from Karrie)

spun

Published on May 7, 2008 in Crafty and Spinning. 1 Comment




Twist set.







Pewter polwarth locks from A Verb For Keeping Warm. 3oz yielded 192 yds of navajo plied sport-ish weight yarn. It is nice and soft and squishy… I cant wait to spin the other two bags!




Mixed batt from Tactile Fiber Arts including alpaca, merino, bamboo, silk tussah, silk noils, angora and I can’t remember what else. Purchased at Stitches West 2008. 2 oz, 128 yards, two ply.




Merino-Silk (80-20), dark blue. 69 yards, navajo plied. This is a test skein to see how I like this fiber spun. I have lots left to make more.

The last skein in the top image is just some white domestic top. Handspun tweed chickens anyone?

color: a fiber festival

Published on April 29, 2008 in Crafty and Spinning. 2 Comments

This past Saturday I spent the day surrounded by beautiful, wonderful fiber, and in my own town no less! It was the inaugural Color: A Fiber Festival bringing out the local fiber community for a day of classes, fiber tastings, shopping, and spinning. I spent the day working at Girl on the Rocks’ booth helping her sell roving, stitch markers, and of course, moustaches. I snuck a few of my recycled wallets and tweed chickens onto the table as well.



This is me with my entire inventory in a small tin standing in front of several car-loads of yarn and fiber being unpacked for the Tactile/A Verb For Keeping Warm booth next to us. Their stuff is not only fabulous but also voluminous! Here they are setting up, and this was just the beginning…


The event also hosted classes on drop spindling, hand loom weaving and fiber tastings. I participated in the rare wool breeds fiber tasting with Maia from Tactitle Fiber Arts. We tried 8 breeds/preparations including Icelandic (two ways), California Red, California Variegated Mutant (my favorite name!), Gotland and Polwarth. When I get myself organized I’ll add some finished yarn to the card in addition to the raw fiber sample.


I really enjoyed the Polwarth, so, though I yearn for chocolate colored Polwarth, I bought some Silver and Pewter locks from A Verb For Keeping Warm to tide me over until more chocolate is available. I also enjoyed the Gotland and bought some Indigo dipped roving from Kristine. Last, but not least, I bought some Wensleydale roving from Tactile. I didn’t even get a chance to check out the rovings from Krista at Piegonroof Studios because she was nearly sold out within an hour!









On Friday I spent some time over at Karrie’s getting all of her things ready for the show. I helped her start a new product: the ‘Stache Sachet. Aside from nearly asphyxiating ourselves with volatilizing essential oils (which we mixed with cedar chips and lavender) we also gocco-ed up some muslin bags. I just have to say, I loves me some gocco-ing. I wish I could think of more opportunities to print 50 copies of things!


I think the event owes a lot to those who organized it, thanks especially to Sara and Ted for keeping it all running smoothly. It was a wonderful day and I hope we get to do it again soon!

now with dreadlocks

Published on March 31, 2008 in Crochet. 1 Comment

Yesterday I attended an internationally themed bridal shower. No, I’ve never heard of such a thing either. What is more, in what is truly *not* a logical move, I was chosen to represent Jamaica. I found a crochet pattern on ravelry (on ravelry | on the web) to make a big, floppy, Jamaican colored hat to wear to the party.

the hat


now with dreadlocks


I made the dreadlocks by spinning some large diameter yarn from naturally colored brown wool roving. I lightly felted it by soaking in hot soapy water and then running the entire length of yarn though my fingers a few times. I broke apart the yarn into appropriate lengths but then trimmed the top end with scissors to make things neater. I sewed the dreads down to a piece of fabric (with my machine) so that the ends were tucked inside a double fold tape situation and then sewed the fabric into the hat. That seemed to work well and was easier than sewing each individual dread into the hat. It looked creepily like hair…

The event itself involved several sticker-based activities. It took me a while to put the pieces together, but I eventually figured out that the bride’s great-aunt is Mrs. Grossman. What crafty lineage!

red

Published on March 19, 2008 in Knitting. 0 Comments

My first flower of the spring came out a few weeks ago. By now the cherry and magnolia trees have past their prime but the bright red Nasturtiums on my porch are still going strong.


I brought my camera to knitting last week to do some long overdue documenting of the oh-so-fabulous wallpaper at the Mel-o-dee. The bar was opened in 1969 or so and has clearly been untouched since. I found three different flocked filigree patterned wallpapers between the two rooms of the bar and the ladies restroom. My photography does not capture the atmosphere of the dimly lit establishment, but just imagine this wallpaper surrounding tufted vinyl built in benches and lounge tables.





Finally, after drooling over sweaters cut like jackets all winter I’ve decided to knit myself one (with a nice moss stitch front, pattern from DROPS in Ravelry). I ordered a bunch of bulky handspun from handpaintedyarn.com in a color called Caoba.



I wound up some skeins and started swatching last night. Hopefully I will finish before next winter!

busy busy

Published on March 12, 2008 in Knitting and Spinning. 2 Comments

but not with crafty things… There has been a real sense of urgency around the office lately. It has good effects by motivating me to get work done but I don’t enjoy the elevated stress level. I’m starting to feel a bit more relaxed now, at least enough to show off a few photos.

Spinning:



Merino dyed by Girl on the Rocks in colorway Europa. I navajo plied it and I’ve been pawing at the skein trying to decide what to make. It’s soft and squishy and probably bulky weight. Any suggestions?




Yak! I spun yak! Locks were from A Verb for Keeping Warm.




Romney single-ply also dyed by Girl on the Rocks this one is called Apollo (after you know who). It is a pretty good match to his kitten years, but he is a bit browner now.

Knitting:



A hat! I knit a hat using my bruised handspun. I never did pick a pattern but I eventually figured out a size that would work and remembered to write it down (hooray!). I have enough yarn left over to knit two more hats (or something else). The hat is lovely and soft but it has already gotten too warm around here to need it. I guess I’ll just have to wait until summer for those cold foggy nights.




I have also mostly completed a sweater. It’s made from Debbie Bliss Alpaca-Silk (mmmmm soft) and has been in the works for at least a year now… I have a real problem following directions (or even choosing directions) and my pattern-less knitting projects always require some adjustments. This one is now seamed and awaiting a button band and collar. The neckline is a little funky and I might have to re-knit it but I guess thats what I deserve for trying to make a short row neck without even keeping track…

And I have new toys on the way too… A Beka rigid heddle loom and 30 yards of seatbelt webbing. Isn’t that every girls dream?

Get ‘em while they are hot!

Published on February 17, 2008 in Etsy. 0 Comments

The Tweed Chicken had a photoshoot today out in the lovely spring sun.

Why so much attention? Well, I’ve opened an etsy shop. Thats right, now you can get your very own tweed chicken via etsy and the US Postal Service.

I’m also selling wallets made from recycled tyvek envelopes and vinyl banners from the bart station.

You can even get a button to show your tweed chicken pride.

I havent actually sold anything through etsy yet, but I know there are a lot of people out there who could use a little tweed chicken in their lives and hopefully this will help spread the love.

abmatic on etsy