Torch enamel - fun with fire!

Three weeks ago, I took a class at my local bead shop (Bead Inspirations). I haven't done any beading projects for quite a long time, but I love making jewelry. It's just another great craft that I don't have enough time for. But I have a pendant from Lisbon that is copper enamel with these great details including what looks like fused wire - almost a cloisonné. I should take a photo and amend this post later but right now I'm writing from a hotel room in Olympia WA. It is move-in weekend for Teen Wonder and today is her birthday. I have some work work to do too, but we are going in to Seattle  for fun this afternoon as per her birthday request.

But I digress...

I get the emails from Bead Inspirations regularly even though I haven't been such a regular customer. I haven't ever taking a beading class or metalsmithing either, so even the stuff I've done in the past has all been self taught.  I have always wanted to take a proper class to learn wire-wrapping the right way and expand my skills. A pair of nice earrin gs is such great instant gratification, you know? But last month a different kind of class caught my eye - Torch Enamel! Cool! I did copper enamel as a child at church camp. The craft lady was Hazel, and she was awesome! We did all sorts of things that probably a summer camp couldn't do anymore due to insurance and liability issues. Like using a kiln to fire copper enamel (Hazel did that part for full disclosure, at least most of the time). I didn't
know anything about using a butane torch to fire copper enamel.

The class was terrific! We used pennies as blanks and jumped right into it with thorough but minimal lecture to learn. Very hands on.

Cool huh?

I'm attempting to post this using my iPad. First time, and I had to figure out how to get any photos on here. There is probably an easier way, but hopefully I can do this once in awhile for a short post with not too many pix!

And I'm also going to attempt linking to Sarah's Whoop Whoop! Friday party

T-shirt quilt finish! (finally...)

At long last, I have finished Teen Wonder's T-shirt quilt!
Yay!
A few weeks ago I was ready to have a nervous breakdown over this thing - It's long so it can cover her dorm bed...and I had a heck of a time basting it. bleh.

But here it is in all it's glory! I'm happy with how it turned out, and Teen Wonder loves it.

The shirts in this quilt were collected over many years.  

The backing is the Polka Dot extra wide backing fabric from Moda - I like it, and it looks great; however, it was less substantial feeling than regular quilting cotton. Maybe partially because I pre-washed it which is a step I do or don't do for the backing depending on whether the front fabrics were pre-washed.  I did a very simple organic (i.e. not marked or straight) "straight" line quilting at 2-4" apart running up the length of the quilt. I mainly want it to hold together and I didn't leave any negative space for fancy quilting (not that I know how to do fancy quilting!). Plus I like that the minimalist approach doesn't distract from the random T-shirt themes and motifs.

Teen Wonder takes off tomorrow with her dad to drive up to Portland. I'll fly up Thursday and move her into her dorm in Olympia next Saturday.

I'm excited for her, but it's starting to dawn on me all the little ways we will miss her here.

I'm linking up to some of the Friday finish parties - it's been quite awhile since I've posted. Busy times for me lately! Please follow these links to find more awesome projects posted by talented people:

Whoop it up with Sarah!

TGIFF is hosted at Quokka Quilts this week!

Marimekko tablecloth

We have a Crate and Barrel Outlet store nearby in Berkeley. I don't get over there very often, but it is fun to go for many reasons. A couple of times I've bought really nice fabric there and used it for projects.  They usually have yardage of Marimekko designs, and I usually love love them...

Like the huge bulletin board/wall in our kitchen:

This nook area looks WAY different today, but I don't have time at the moment to take a new photo.  We love having a whole wall to pin things onto!
(btw: I used a tutorial here for a fabric covered large homasote bulletin board)

I used a similar fabric to cover my ironing board last year. I had picked up a few yards of each not knowing what I'd do with them, but they were ?? I don't remember, but less than $5 a yard I think.

More recently I did the same thing, but I had a specific project in mind - a new table cloth.

Now, this is exactly the kind of project I had in mind when I got my serger for a birthday present a couple of years ago. I figured I could whip out new tablecloths and napkins like crazy with a rolled edge stitching.

 And I serged the edges of the seams to prevent any unraveling since we wash our tablecloths a lot.

I was making placemats with the scraps, but I made a mistake and had to abandon that project for now.  Between kid stuff and a HUGE increase in my job responsibilities added to travel to 3 cities in the past 3 weeks...well. Let's just say that I took photos of this table cloth at least 3 weeks ago. And I don't have any other finishes lately, or much activity in the craft corner.

I did find a bunch of photos on my Blackberry of a yarn bomb project that I saw last time I was in Basel (late June) - I will download and post some here after my vacation this week. It's pretty cool.

I hope everyone is having a great summer! I will try to hook up at some linky parties, at least Sarah's Whoop! Whoop! Fridays

And also TGIFF! (where there is also a little giveaway!)

Last minute Whoopursepalooza!

Last minute entry to the Purse Palooza! (button on your right!)

I made a cute little framed clutch using U-Handbag's Fortune Cookie pattern (and frame).

The fabric is matching the piece I used for my messenger bag makeover posted last week.  It's from the Laura Gunn Lantern Bloom collection. I love this fabric!  The lining is a bit of Denyse Schmidt to coordinate.


I didn't enter the messenger bag in the Purse Palooza because strictly speaking, I did not make the bag - I just gave it a lovely facelift. But I will say that the Palooza inspired me to make some bags in the past couple of months, so even though winning a contest is always a longshot with so many talented people out there - this event was quite effective!



I will also link up with the fabulous Friday linky parties, as usual:
Whoop! Whoop! with Sarah 

And TGIFF over at Quilt Matters

Show-off Friday with Elizabeth at Pieceful life

15 minute messenger conference bag hack (upcycle)

Every time I go to a scientific or medical conference, there is a "conference bag" included that holds the program, abstract book, sometimes a special publication, and a bunch of industry symposium flyers telling you when the competition special sponsors will be telling you what's the latest.

I have gotten so many of these, that I've donated several, or even left them behind in the hotel room if they are particularly poorly made or too big to take home (like wheelie backpacks from China, for example). Once in a rare while I will save one to use, usually as a beach bag or something where I don't mind it getting ruined.  This past April, at the European liver congress ("EASL"), we got pretty decent canvas messenger bags. Sponsored by Roche and all Fair Trade and organic and stuff (hey, good job employer - it's nice to be proud of your conference bag!).

(Before)

I immediately thought "hey, I should just hack this to somehow not look like a conference bag anymore 'cuz it's actually pretty decent and a good size with a good length strap for cross-body carriage". Wel yl, last weekend we went to the Alameda County Fair, and I wanted a bag with a long strap for the day. Why couldn't I use one I already had? Well, that takes away my excuse for spending an extra 15 minutes (okay, it may have been a little longer) to transform this bag.

Inside is simple with a single side pocket, but all completely finished with a full lining (not the norm for most conference bags).  The strap is a little scratchy and did shed a little on my black jacket at the conference. I might make a cover for it later, but not within this15 minute window of time.

Like any project, gathering up materials takes longer than you plan for. But it didn't take me long to locate this  piece of fabric in my stash - just a FQ or so size scrap. I also found some brown bias tape in the huge stash of trims and tape that my mom recently brought me - my grandmother's old stash (I need to make a post just about that soon).  I used Heat&Bond to fuse it to the outside cover of the bag by 1) cutting a piece of each to fit the front of the bag with about 1/2" extra at the top edge. I fused the interfacing to the fabric, trimmed it a bit to fit, and then pressed the 1/2" under to give a clean edge where I wouldn't be able to attach binding tape.  Gotta love Heat&Bond! I haven't used it much before, but I just peeled off the paper and pressed the fabric onto the bag - easy peasy!

After fusing the fabric on, I just stitched the binding tape onto the bag, and then stitched across the top to secure the edge of the fabric. I just folded the ends of the tape under on each side before stitching so I wouldn't have any raw edges.  And Presto!

(After)

I love me some instant gratification - don't you? And not only do I have a new messenger bag that I love, but I saved something from being tossed out.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I'm actually in Pacific Grove (Monterey) for a few days with the kiddos - Mr. Wonderful's birthday present this year is a little time without us to do whatever guy stuff he never gets around to when he's busy being a family man. We kinda miss him though.  But the fog is getting lighter so it must be time for us to go to the beach!

Linking up with Whoop! Whoop! at Sarah's




and TGIFF at Quokka Quilts (I can't get the button to work properly today, oops!)

Class of 2012 - party on with DIY cupcake stand and more!

It's actually been 2 weeks since Teen Wonder graduated - yay!  It has been a bit of a crazy month all in all, since end of school year always involves a lot of extra kid-ventures and parties. I didn't take enough pictures of any of it...but that's usually because I'm living in the moment, right?  That's a good thing.

Anyway, we threw her a graduation open house party the day after graduation and invited all manner of family and friends - anyone who played a big role in Teen Wonder's life. After a lot of preparation, and an unnecessary amount of anxiety on my part, and help from my mom and Mr. Wonderful, it all turned out quite fabulous!  So, I just wanted to share some of the DIY bits that I put into the party...

First up? A cupcake stand. I decided early on to have cupcakes rather than a big cake because for an open house that made more sense. I found a great place that made and delivered the cupcakes, but I realized after ordering them that I didn't have a cupcake stand. I didn't want to just lay them all out on a platter, so after looking at cupcake stands on Amazon I looked for tutorials on making your own.  I didn't follow a specific tutorial, because I decided to go the easiest route possible. A trip to the Thrift store scored me all the materials for about $10 - three white plates (one a little smaller than the other 2), 2 candlesticks, and a little class dish for the base.

Assembly was super easy - I just put the E6000 on the bottom of the glass dish and stuck it on the bottom of one of the larger plates, then did the same for each of the candlesticks.

After drying for a few hours, I put glue on the other end of the candlesticks and stacked the plates into 3 layers. Dry overnight and voila!  But actually I was glad I made it a week early because the E6000 took a couple of days more before the smell was not detectable.

And here it is loaded up with cupcakes!

The dessert table looked awesome! I made the banner by printing the letters on yellow cardstock and my mom strung a ribbon through two holes in the tops to hang it.

Teen Wonder and my mom made the sugar cookies, and I made the little grad caps using mini PB cups and little dark chocolate wafers (there are a few tutorials out there about these caps too - not my own invention!)

And how much fun is it to order custom M&Ms? A lot!

Lots of good food, lots of balloons, and a little crepe paper made up the rest of the party prep indoors.

Outside to greet people were more balloons (including a mylar bouquet that attacked guests when the wind gusts came through), and my mom (calligraphy artist) decorated the front window with window chalk markers.  I made a Class of 2012 flag with a scrap of muslin, and iron-on design made in Word, and some Washi tape.

Finally - when the open house started and no one was here yet, we broke out the photo albums and champagne and had a few minutes to relax! 

 I do wish I'd taken a photo of the punch bowl too - I made punch with orange sherbet, tropical juice blend, and sprite - it was a HUGE hit!

Since it's Friday - let's link up!

and TGIFF at Sparrow in Flight this week

The J Bag - a beloved sweater re-purpose project

Edited on Friday June 22nd with a J. sweater "before" picture! How fun is that?  And since it's now Friday and I'm under the weather I'm going to some linky parties at the end of the post too!

Last weekend I finished this bag. It's been crazy around here, and I actually became obsessed with finishing it I think because I had so much stress about Teen Wonder's graduation and party plus all the end of year activities with Wild Thing's school, baseball team, etc. But also it had to be really awesome because this isn't just any bag. This was a sweater re-purposed. And not just any sweater - but a sweater made by a good friend. A sweater made with love and numerous hours and lovely Icelandic wool yarn. My college room-mate J. made this sweater for me back in the mid-80s. I thought I took a "before" photo of it, but haven't located it yet. If I do I'll amend the post to include it.  But I'll tell you it was big and roomy (and I'm not small!), with a shawl collar, and it was covered in bobbles (those things are not easy either - well, at least they are way time consuming to knit).

The J. Sweater before - the lighting is a bit green because the photo was taken in our basement right under the fluorescent lights. But you can see the amazing work it took to knit this up!

The thing is, after I moved to California in Fall, 1988, I probably could count on one hand the number of occasions that I could wear this sweater. My sensitive skin meant that I had to wear a full turtleneck underneath, and did I mention it was nice Icelandic wool?  I think I took it to the mountains a few times and played in the snow fully warm and protected from snowballs in this sweater.  But I rarely traveled with it even when I went places I could use it because it was pretty bulky to pack.  But no way could I get rid of such a special gift!

After I learned to knit in 2004 and also learned about felting, I wondered if there would be some way to convert all the lovely knit fabric of the sweater into something else. I made a couple of felted purses, and liked how the knit fabric transforms to a strong bag worthy material. But I didn't have the nerve to suggest this to J. until I had some clear idea how it might look like.  Anyway, this bag design emerged after felting the sweater and spending a few months looking at it and trying to imagine how it would look in various forms before I would even make a single cut. And now this is the end result:

I cut the sleeves off first, and then opted to flip the sweater upside down and make the ribbed bottom band of the sweater the upper edge of the bag. I ended up cutting the sweater at the arm pits, and I snipped out the collar to use for the purse flap.  I did a modest box shape at the bottom corners of the bag to give it some shape.


The handles and lining were constructed using some ultra-suede leftover from my dining room re-upholstery project back here. I will say that I probably wouldn't opt to do this again even though I love the look. I just don't have an industrial strength machine, so multiple layers of ultra-suede and felted wool were extremely hard on my machine. And my fingers!
Inside there is a full zipper divider pocket, so the bag can be more or less a zippered bag with my wallet and any other valuables. I added a smaller patch pocket inside with a pen slot and space for notebook and cell phone. 


I love the look of the hardware details on the handles, and there is a magnetic snap in the flap.  The flap looked nice alone - the angle at the bottom of the ribbed flap is a nice detail. But still a little unadorned, so I made a little fabric flower to finish off the look.

I hope J. will approve - there are a lot of mistakes that I learned from, but none that diminish the end result significantly.  It's a good size for a laptop or folio and books. It's less suitable to a number of fat lumpy things just because the depth of the bottom is not very large. It's also seasonable most of the year here in the Bay Area.

And there is still some bobbly felt that I may be able to use in a second smaller bag or something!

I am entering this bag into the Purse Palooza over at Sew Sweetness . If you are a fan of hand-crafted purses and bags, check it out!

Friday Linky parties!

with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

 at Pretty Bobbins this week

and Show Off Friday at pieceful life !