Accessorizing

I was satisfied with my last sketchbook wallet until it got pooped on. Ironically, I stuck in under the baby to keep it away from the two year old.

It had a piece of chipboard in it, for sturdiness - which meant I'd have to take it apart to wash it. So, I just made a new one. This took maybe 20 minutes (although I planned it all out the hour before while I sat holding the baby). It's even simpler than the last one, but still holds the same stuff.

I just had the littlest bit of this beautiful vintage sewing fabric left, and I thought this would be a nice use since my sketchbook is half full of sewing ideas. Actually, I still have a few square inches left - so it'll probably pop up as a little applique somewhere.


These are the things I like to carry:

• a pencil, a clicky pen, a good eraser, glue dots. I know some people like fancy fine point pens, but honestly, those give me the ickies. I like a nice bic ball point pen. Preferably one that clicks.
• art cards - I have an assortment of postcards I've picked up at museums, some of Amy Karol's art quilt post card, and some cards I made from extra art history text books with my favorites like Vuillard and Byzantine art.
  
• an envelope with creativity prompts from Keri Smith
• craft recipe cards from the small object.
  
• small cheap scissors and transparent vellum for cutting and making layers - think photoshop but tangible.
  

I'd really like to get some fancy markers, since much of what I do now gets scanned into the computer and markers play nicely with the scanner. Any recommendations?

On a side note, I'm resolving to stop saying "a lot." I say it often, and really should have given it up in high school. Nothing like typing your thoughts to make you self-conscious about your vocabulary.

Chintzy Turtle Bandanna and Flying Pig Wall Paper?

I'm sure you know, since I've gone on and on about Spoonflower, that I loved designing my last set of prints. Whoa, fun.

But the learning curve is steep. One big thing I learned is that, even though I like my fabric, it isn't the kind of print I usually work with. Usually, when I'm doing patchwork, quilting, or making a stuffed animal, I like a print - but I want a single dominant color with an overall design. I grabbed a couple of examples. Here you can see some of my favorite vintage prints that I've used in my little animals:

I love the teeny red flower print - any tiny flower print usually makes me happy. And this pink (okay, that picture is hardly readable, but I had to give it a try!), is a little bigger print, but one dominant color and simple geometric design.

Also, I was thinking about the different kinds of repeats. I never use the mirror repeat, and usually I hate the way it looks. I like an all over pattern, so I think the mirror repeat spoils the all over balance. But I started thinking about what kinds of prints would work with the mirror repeat - and as I started to doodle, something really cool started to happen: my irregular doodles became geometric designs. It reminded me of a bandanna, or those neat old fuzzy wallpapers.

So here' s what I've been working on. I'm still in the tweaking phase. To see them in repeat, you'll have to click on the image, then below the image select "view in repeat." Be sure to choose mirror repeat - although these look nice in some of the other repeats as well.

What do you think? Do you like the mirrored repeat, or an all over pattern?

Flipping out

I meant to make some patchwork placemats this week - to encourage a particular little one to sit at the table. I even got a little started. Great tip: one regular old pillowcase can be cut into 4 placemat size rectangles - perfect for a foundation fabric.

But instead, John and I have been throwing out all the possibilities for great flip dolls - and I think I'm hooked. I was up until 1 am last night sewing. It will probably take me at least a week to finish each one - but I've got about 7 great ideas. Legends, folk tales, alter egos...

The one above is an itty bitty one that I hand sewed while thinking about different construction possibilities - a goose and seal, to go with my Goose Girl and Seal Wife theme.

Look for a legendary one early next week.

Who would you like to see in a flip doll?

Bunny and Fox Flip Doll Pattern

**update Wednesday, 8/26: The bandwidth is all used up and the downloads are gone! Thanks everyone for your comments and interest in my new pattern. It can now be found in the shop.
**update 2011 - this pattern has been retired because my new flip doll patterns are just better.  Check those out first, but if you're really interested in this one you can contact me. ;)

I may not be back to blogging full time, but it seems like I'm already sewing full time. I feel like I've already said so much about these little dolls, I don't know what to say about them now. I adore this idea, and just couldn't get it out of my head until I made one... or five. Anyway, here's the final product. I meant to put a couple of dolls in the shop, but I just don't have the time to make them now. I'm also thinking of making some versions with other animals. If there is some interest, I'll try to do a few before Christmas.

The bunny and fox flip snugly, so it doesn't appear to be anything other than what you see at first. I like that - it makes the surprise more fun. The pattern is a bit more difficult than some of my others - definitely not for the faint of heart. It involves embroidery, sewing in elastic, and sewing many layers and small openings. Each step is explained with lots of pictures and tips to help you through it. Once you get it finished, it makes a very satisfying toy.

Here's the spoiler shot. Kind of weird looking - a little like childbirth.

Below you can download a 15 page pdf with pattern and instructions. Materials Needed: a fat quarter or less of two different fabrics, and smaller amounts of 2 accent fabrics, a sewing machine, pins, thread, scissors, stuffing, low loft quilt batting, embroidery floss, embroidery needle, elastic, and a little bit of time!

Here's the drill: 300 free downloads are all claimed!

I love feedback on my patterns - please let me know what you think. Happy downloading!

Triumph!

I've been working on this pattern for a long time. A long time. I first attempted a flip doll for L for her first Christmas. It was cute, and everyone loved it. But I was disappointed with the flatness of the animals, and I knew the construction probably wouldn't hold up very well. It was kind of tricky to put all of those pieces together in the right order - so I hand sewed part of it.

I've been reworking this pattern it in my head ever since. I've thrown out three prototypes in the last few months. I wanted to make one for J for her first Christmas.

But today, I finished a really satisfying design. And, man, that feels good.


The improvements: the arms and legs are now 3d instead of embroidered on, the heads are more shapely instead of flat, the constructions is much neater, and completely done on machine, so it will stand up to the pulling of little hands. Also, it's bigger - about 10" tall.

I have just a couple of bits I want to improve - teen tiny tweaks that are so insignificant they don't take away from this victory at all. So I'm planning on making another one or two this week - but then you can expect to find the pattern here sometime early next week. So here's the heads up for you loyal readers: I'll be doing my usual pattern giveaway for a short time before I move it to the shop. So if you're looking for a fun, but tricky little pattern, come back on Monday!

Your Sewing Machine Doesn't Hate You

I've been sewing here and there since I was a kid, but I only started taking it seriously about 5 years ago. The more time I spent with my machine meant more phone calls to my mom whining that my sewing machine was going crazy. It was always doing this - I thought it hated me.

With a little experience, and a lot of help from mom, I finally think I'm getting the hang of this thing. So I thought I'd share the top 5 most helpful tips I've learned, for other sewing beginners still in the getting-to-know-you phase:

1. When your machine starts messing up, first rethread your machine and make sure your needle isn't dull. It helps to review the sewing machine manual every year or so to make sure you're threading it right. Also, I went a couple years before I realized I needed to change my needle - don't wait that long. If you don't have a new needle on hand, you can sew over a little piece of sandpaper to sharpen up the one you've got - but this is just a quick fix, so get a new needle soon.

2. If that didn't work - it's your tension. It usually is. Anytime you change fabric, thread, needles, or toothpaste, you'll probably have to adjust your tension. Check your manual for suggestions, but this is how I remember it: if the bumps are on the top turn the tension down, if they're on the bottom turn it up.

3. For regular quilting cotton or similar medium weight fabric, your tension should be somewhere in the middle of the dial. If it's way low or way high, your bobbin tension is probably off, which you can't adjust yourself (unless you know about those kind of things). So you'll need to take your machine for a tune up. Yep, just like a car. If you treat your machine right, hopefully this won't happen too often, but if you, say, sew with a bobbin that doesn't fit in your machine for a year, you'll have to fork over 70 bucks for labor.

4. Use the appropriate needle for your fabric. Your sewing machine manual should have suggestions for this, but here's how I remember it: a heavier fabric needs a higher number, a lighter fabric a lower number. An average weight fabric should take an 11-14.

5. Keep your project neat! Clip threads and iron your fabric. Wrinkly fabric and loose threads will agitate your machine. You may have figured out by now that when a pattern says to pin something, you can really get by without it. That's so true. But not with ironing. Really. The iron is your friend.

It turns out my machine wasn't mistreating me, but the other way around. Show your machine a little love and it'll work for you. Good luck!

Front Page and More Pigs

We went out of town this past weekend. Usually, I don't like riding in the car - but it meant roughly 7 hours of sewing time since the girls were snugly strapped in. You can't beat that. I made three new little pigs - well at least I did the by-hand stuff. These two have been added to the shop.

Plus, my pink giraffe made it to etsy's front page on Friday - which, you may not know if you aren't into etsy much, is pretty exciting. She's off to her new home today, and I'm a little sad to see her go. But I'll just have to make some more!

Pigs and Turtles

I made another pig and turtle for my shop. I just can't get enough of these pigs right now - I'm working on some more for next week. I love the way wool stuffing feels - all soft and squishy. And these are some of my favorite vintage scraps. I have a big piece of that pink that I'm saving for something - just don't know what yet...

When Pigs Fly softie pattern

I've been working on a new pattern for a long time now - I've finally got the assembly all figured out, but I just can't get it to work right. So I set it aside and decided to make this little pig who's been flying around in my head for awhile. I'll get back to the other one eventually, but it's nice to finish something and feel good about it - even if it means staying up until two in the morning so I can sew! (whew, I don't think I'll do that anymore.)

The pig is just a regular pig - but then you can button on his wings and he becomes a flying pig. He's a nice little reminder that anything's possible.

I'll be adding the pattern to my shop soon, but first I'm going to share it with 200 of you. You can download the pdf here until it's gone. The pdf has instructions and a pattern that measures 8x10 so it can be easily printed. This pattern would be great for a beginner or intermediate sewer. It's a sweet project for all those little scraps, and it comes together pretty quickly.

*UPDATE* 7/29/09, 7:40
Thanks for all of your interest in the pattern! It has been moved to the shop now: wilsons.etsy.com

I appreciate feedback on the pattern. Hope you enjoy! Share your pigs in the flickr group.

Flip Doll as Self Portrait

If I was wise enough to know I needed a break from blogging, I should have known better than to try to complete an art project before J is a month old.

But, you know, I did. And it's probably in part because I want to assure those people who ask if I'm still painting (and look disappointed when I say no) that I'm still an artist and designer even though I stay home with my children. I guess I want to assure myself, too.

This flip doll is the result of several ideas coalescing. With the birth of my second daughter, I was already thinking about motherhood and identity. Also, I was working on a new flip doll pattern (I'll share it when it's done!) when I read my sister's blog about the stories of The Goose Girl and The Seal Wife. Then, I saw the deadline for the Renaissance exhibit approaching, and I knew that if I didn't enter something in this show, I probably wouldn't do anything professional for the rest of the year. I guess it's nicely ironic that my insecurities about being an artist/mother motivated me to make this project about women's identity.

Still, now that I've finished this flip doll, photographed it, and mailed off my entry; I'm really glad to have a little "down" time to be a less distracted mom again. That's a good thing to be, too.