Becka’s Project Journal

We are having a lot of fun with the halloween photo.  Thanks for all the comments!  For the costume geeks out there, I thought I would talk a little about how I made mine.

The fabric is polyester faux suede.  It had the advantage of being a little bit warm (it is MN after all).  I wanted double knit, but it didn’t come in the color I wanted, so this was better.

I started with Simplicity 4675.  The original uniforms had dolman sleeves and strange curved seams.  I am not that in to authenticity.

I wanted a basic princess seam because I knew that would look nice and
fit well.  This pattern had a princess seam and a pleated skirt, so it was a good basic place to start.

What did I change?

- added long sleeves.  The photos from the series always show them “bracelet length” aka just a bit too short.

- Instead of two large pleats like the pattern called for I just made one and lined it up with the seam from the top.  Faux wrap skirt.

- Shortened the skirt.  Also not so authentic as mine is too long.  Original Series length is not really appropriate to wear to work.  And I did wear it to work.

- For the back, I just extended the top down and made the top and skirt all one piece.

- Neckline.  I made the pattern neckline to start, tried it on, drew in the new neckline with a disappearing ink marker and cut the new shape.

- Collar.  A 4 inch wide piece of the same fabric in black, folded over twice. added gold ric-rac and an insignia made with a scrap of gold satin and some zig-zag stitching

(For anyone who noticed that this post was here and then disappeared and then here again, my darling hubby accidentally deleted my first post.)

The official release of the book is today!  For anyone that missed me talking about it before, I have 2 projects in the book: a laptop sleeve with a dog applique and a bear-shaped pillow.  To celebrate the release of the book and to celebrate Halloween, I have a freebie for you!

My laptop bag has a dog applique that you can add on.  Rather than trace and enlarge the pattern from the book, I made it easy for you.  Click on the graphic above and download a printable version of my little daschund with bonus costumes!  You can put him on other things too!  Make a weiner dog t-shirt!  When I was making the sample project for the book, I had this great fabric with airplanes on it to use for the sample.  I kept thinking of Snoopy and the Red Baron and really I wanted to give the dog some aviator sunglasses.  Now you can!

What already?  Yes, the first of my holiday art & craft sales starts next week so I have been sewing like crazy to get some things ready.

Because of the CPSIA, I have put the regular puppet making on hold.  CPSIA is a new law that required lead testing in children’s toys.  Great idea, however the way the law is written now, there are materials that are exempt from testing and there are materials that have to be tested.  Everything for my puppets is exempt, except the little black eyes.  The test to get certified lead free is about $300 and the really frustrating part is that there is no “component testing”, so I can’t test just the eyes but the whole puppet.  And it can’t just be one representative puppet, but every style I make.  So, I have just chosen to put the puppets on hiatus.  They are constantly revising and updating the law and I am hoping that it will work out so that it makes sense for me to do puppets again.

So, I have been making new things!  These little bears are all exempt materials.  They are made from fulled wool, have embroidered faces and they come with a patchwork quilt and fluffy pillow (not shown). The bears are about 6 inches tall.

I am going to do a variation on these for my etsy shop using some lovely wool cashmere blend fabric in bright colors.  Those will be the “Artist Bears”.

Faithful Hound Ornaments.  Wool felt.  I machine stitched the ones for the sale - this guy was a prototype.  They have embroidered eyes, a bead nose, a tiny ribbon collar and tag.  I made 4 colors - caramel, brown, black and grey with black spots.  I will post more pictures of them, they are adorable.

I had the enormous pleasure of attending a networking meeting with the regional arts council that was also a hands-on art activity, namely weaving on a floor loom.  First a huge thanks to MRAC and the Weavers Guild of MN for putting it together and sponsoring it.  You guys rock!

Our workshop was based on the Weavers Guild’s “Try It” classes.  You show up, a very kind volunteer has “dressed the loom” (aka warped it) for you and you get to just sit down and weave.  What a deal.  These were warped with Harrisville Shetland wool.  There is a whole wall of it in the Guild in gorgeous colors.  We had a few minutes of instruction, a demo and then chose a loom. Mine was set up with stripes of blue-violet, raspberry pink and two shades of green.  The weft yarn was a heathery purple.

The warp threads were set up at 10 per inch and our goal was to weave 10 weft threads per inch, to make a balanced weave.  That meant that your woven piece should look like a windowscreen.

Believe it or not, that was actually easier than it looks.  So we wove and wove.  I think I worked on my scarf for about 3 hours.  I chatted a lot while I was doing it.  When I took it off the loom it felt like burlap.  Yeah, I know.  Yuck.  But never fear, I saw finished samples and they were totally amazing.  Why the burlap feel?  The yarn is full of lanolin and it makes it feel kind of yucky and scratchy.  I suspect it makes it easier to weave with because there’s not a lot of fuzz to get caught on the other threads as you go.  So then I took my scarf home and gave it a bath.

Warm soapy water.  Squishing and scrunching.  Within half a minute the yarn is already softer.  The goal now is to “full” it.  Letting the fibers shrink a little and fluff up to fill in those holes you left when you wove it.  Why make holes and then fill them up?  Why not just weave it tightly?  The answer is drape.  If you pack it tightly together, your scarf is like a board when you get done.  The looser weave lets it be soft and drapey.  Mine started out about 8 inches by 75 inches.  It’s now 6 1/2 by about 66 inches.

Out of the bath, roll it in a towel and squeeze out the extra water.  Then I spread it out on the guest room bed and brushed it.  I used a nylon nail brush.  Brushing the surface fluffs the fibers up even more.

The bottom part of this has been brushed, the folded over part not yet.  See the ugly orange yarn?  That’s the fringe.  We wove about a dozen rows of that from an acrylic yarn that doesn’t shrink.  After brushing everything, then we unravel those fringe ends.

The last few rows of the wool yarn (before the ugly orange stuff) is a little extra tight, to make a stable edge before the fringe.

Finally, I stretch it all out to dry.

You can now purchase my designs on fabric from Spoonflower!

Go to Becka’s Spoonflower Profile and you can see the 6 designs I have available.  Order a swatch or even several yards to use for your projects.

• I have 2 designs inspired by 1930’s quilt fabrics.  Myrtle is my favorite.  The colors are warm and cheery.
• Two are based on my Animal Outlines embroidery designs (which you can find in my etsy shop.)  You could coordinate a hand embroidered t-shirt with a pair of pants all with a wild west theme!  How cool would that be?
• The oboe print is for Andy.
• The fishes are because, well just because I always have to have fishes.
• More on the way soon.

I am participating in an event called “The Goods” at the Dahl Fine Arts Center in Rapid City, SD.  This is my “hometown” art center, where I went for classes and things as a kid, although I probably haven’t been there in 15 years.  I got on their artists’ mailing list and when they sent me the info about this event, I thought I had to participate.  Artists donate a piece for a sort-of-silent-auction style sale.  Each piece is 8×8 inches (or 64 square inches or the equivalent).  The pieces are anonymous until they have been purchased, so although you know you are buying an original piece of art, you don’t know who the artist is.  So I can’t show you a picture of my piece.  I will later, I promise.  For those in and around Rapid City, I think you will be able to see the pieces from October 30 - November 12 in the lobby at the Dahl.

A friend of mine is opening a new fabric/yarn/crafty shop in Stillwater MN this weekend!  She is carrying beautiful bright colored wool roving handdyed by the newly created “Strawberry Moon Fibers” (aka my friend Jen).  Grand Opening is Saturday.  Come and say hi.  Jen will be doing spinning demos.   I might be there shopping.

I am going to be teaching a couple of classes for them a little later in the fall.  (They aren’t on the website yet.)

Become a Fan on Facebook.

Baaaa.

I was going to post a picture of a sheep from the new pattern in my etsy shop, but WordPress (my blog software) is being stubborn.  So, no sheep.

We had a weekend that was actually weekend-like here.  Andy cleaned the gutters, I did laundry and vaccuumed.  We played games with friends last night and I knit.  Homemade applesauce.  Bath for the dog.

I made Andy this Pumpkin Oatmeal for breakfast this morning.  Big hit.

I rescued a beautiful piece of embroidery and made it back in to a pillowcase.  I got a bag of odds and ends at the Textile Center Garage Sale this last spring, including the cut-off embroidered edge of a pillowcase. It’s all french knots and hand crocheted lace.  I have been playing with it for a month - Should I edge a skirt?  Maybe I could make a ruffled top?  What about adding it to a tote bag?  It finally dawned on me that I could just make a new pillowcase.  Why not? So I found a pretty blue floral, stitched the embroidered band back on to the edge and I have a great pillow for the guest bedroom.

Hope your weekend was full of simple pleasures, too!

I managed to get two yucky colds right in a row (thank you to small children and back-to-school open houses.)  I think I am finally getting better, but I have a whole bunch of projects that are sitting around and getting nowhere.  We had a big gallery fundraiser last weekend.  Great music, but many hours and details to deal with.

I mentioned briefly in another post that I am working on a book.  It’s a how-to with patterns and instructions for 12 different holiday ornaments.  Everything from easy ones you can do with your kids, to more involved beaded and embroidered things.  Nothing is “Christmas-y” - no snowmen, no Santas, no angels.  These are all silly and off-the-wall like the goldfish sneak-peak you can see above.  I adore making ornaments for the Christmas tree, I love the excuse to make something small and beautiful.  I say that the things I would save if my house caught on fire would have to be the dog, the hubby and the ornaments.  (I have a huge collection of almost entirely handmade ornaments.)  My mom started making ornaments with me when I was less than 2 (that one is in the book!) and she made something every year I can remember - clothespin dolls with lace tiaras, paper mache apples, pom pom teddy bears, flowery bonnets.  So I am working on the book.  Slowly, but I am hoping it will be done mid-October, just in time for your holiday crafting.