Going for a Green Xmas!

Inhabitat had a neat post a few days ago about using silk scarves to wrap Xmas or Chanukah presents this season. It's win/win--no wasted paper that's simply going to end up in a huge garbage bag on the curb, plus you gift someone a present and a silk scarf!

Too bad for me I have no silk scarves, and I'm too much on-a-graduate-student-budget to go get any. So instead my ever-patient J! drove me to Jo-Ann's and I picked up some very soft red fabric, on clearance for only $2! I couldn't believe someone hadn't already snatched up a yard or ten of this stuff! Some stitching later, plus a little gold ribbon, and all my gifts were swathed in red (and reusable!) bags. Well, all the wee sized gifts, anyway. I'm going to have to make some not-so-wee red bags later.


I'm very, very excited about my gifts this year! Our local grocery store, the fabulous Nugget Market, has been selling salt plates. Turns out, you can cook on them, freeze them, scrub them--do pretty much everything except drop them on the floor! Well, you can do that too, but it would tend to ruin their usability as plates. I can already picture that somewhat shocked, but valiantly-trying-to-be-polite-look that my sister will get when she opens up her gift and finds herself staring at what appears to be a large salt lick. In all seriousness, though, I think she'll love it, if only for the sheer uniqueness. How many people can say they've cooked veggies or made ice cream on a block of salt?

My sister and her husband are also getting a handmade gift for their pug, Rocko. He's devoted to my brother-in-law, except when football is on, at which point he deserts him for my sister. Ha! We're all heading up to Northern Arizona this weekend, where it has been snowing, and as pugs aren't exactly "mush, dog, mush!" animals, Rocko is getting a little cape to keep him warm.


Sadly, from this angle, it looks a lot like a giant, football-themed tick. I'm sure it will be much cuter when he's actually wearing it. If it fits him. I was pretty generous with the strap length, but then Rocko is of a pretty generous girth.

Crewel Intentions

Last year, around this time, I discovered crewel. This is what you do as a grad student--you spend a good amount of time teaching, a good amount of time researching, and a very great amount of time poking around on the Internet for hobbies to keep you sane while you finish your dissertation. Anyway, crewel became one of those hobbies. So I stocked up on yarn, had wonderful intentions to make all kinds of samplers, lavender sachets, and pillow covers, and then I got distracted by my dissertation and forgot about crewel until this fall.

Last year we had a home break-in while I was staying with my parents and among the stuff that was taken was a hand-stitched (pa ndau) Hmong tote bag that my mother had bought a long time ago. She loved it and missed it sorely when it was gone, so on the anniversary of the break-in I gave her the one above. It looks nothing like the Hmong bag she lost, unfortunately, which consisted of really beautiful cross-stitch. Still, the daisies are fun!

Deutsche J's Bag

I wanted to make a bag for our lovely friend J (from Germany), who recently came to visit. Since the Smyca practice bag came out pretty well, I decided to use that pattern with the Echino fabric in cream. I trimmed the pattern a bit, though--the practice bag was a little too long, and I wanted to shorten it up. I also used interfacing this time, since this is a "real" bag, to give it some oomph. It came out pretty well. I think if I make another one (and I probably will), I'd make the bag even shorter still, and widen it a bit.

The finished bag--it is about 11" high, 14" wide, and 2" deep. Doesn't look nearly that big, though.


Interior of the bag.

Practice Bag

I decided to make the Smyca bag, just for fun, using some old fabric I had laying around. I only had about 2 yds of this striped decorator fabric, and it was so bland I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I figured it would be perfect for this project. The bag is super easy. I hand drew a muslin pattern--it is only three pieces: back panel, front panel (both exactly the same) and a bottom piece that looks a lot like a canoe. I sewed the back and front panels to the bottom first, and then stitched up the sides. Then I made some edging out of the fabric to form the "handles" of the bag. It came out fine--kind of cute--but if I were to do it over again I'd use the lining fabric for the handles. It would spice up the bag a bit, I think. I didn't do it originally because the lining is just a simple cotton (Robert Kaufman, I think) and I was afraid it would have much substance to it. However, if I'm not too lazy then I might create some edging out of the lining fabric, and simply sew it on top of the already existing handles. Might look cute to have it layered.

the finished bag


lining of the bag--quite a contrast!


detail of the lining

More Lotta

I know, I've already copied one of her bags, so I should leave the others alone. But I can only find the Smyca bag in purple, which I'm not crazy about. So why not make my own? I've seen this style bag around, and I even have a similar bag from H&M, so I don't think it would be too difficult. I like the minimalist fabric LJ used, but I almost think the bag is simple enough that a busier pattern would also work. Even a light cotton print, if reinforced, would probably make a really fun spring or fall bag. Maybe this "apricot" print, with green edging?

Kitchen Floral Apricot, by Robert Kaufman

And for the interior of the bag--this green polka dot pattern? The outside is so busy, that I think something calmer would work for the inside. Plus, I'm also a sucker for green and yellow together--I think it comes from reading Strawberry Shortcake books when I was growing up. Didn't Lemon Meringue always wear yellow and green?

Pop Parade, by Metro for P & B

Wanted: Single, Floral Fabric looking for Full-Skirt Sundress; 40s or 50s only!

This fabric is just dying to be made up into a sundress, possibly for your next Red Hat Society dance party? You can't tell from the above photo, but there are even little candles on the chandelier! Perhaps the little number in stripes would do, with a cream belt and cream edging to break up the fabric pattern a bit.

From the Vintage Pattern Wiki

Lotta Jansdotter Bag

For Xmas last year, my siblings bought me a Lotta Jansdotter bag, in yellow, that I will undoubtedly use to pieces. The thing I love about her bags is that they are so simple, and yet so stylish. Simple enough that I decided to make one for myself when I went to a conference at the beginning of November; the cheery yellow of my actual LJ bag didn't quite scream "business casual," so I poked around online for a while and finally discovered Bird Balance, from the Echino line by Etsuko Furuya. It was perfect--clean design lines, a nice mix of open and patterned spaces, and a large print repeat, so that the bag wouldn't be too "cluttered." I liked it so much that I ended up buying some in the cream, as well as the blue.

The bag was quite easy to make--it is essentially rectangles sewn together. I decided to line mine since I was going to reinforce the bag with interfacing. I didn't think I'd be able to find a complimentary fabric in the same style, so I just went with an orange floral from Moda (the Loft 1800 line). The oranges match almost perfectly (although this is hard to tell from the photos), and the contrast works nicely together. This has turned out to be a great fall bag, with the dark brown, cream, and orange--it was perfect for the conference; sophisticated without being stuffy. Well, I enjoyed it, anyway!

The finished bag.

Detail of the birdie.

Inside of the bag, filled with my stuff. It will hold quite a bit, including a folder, books, etc.