Geo Cool Fabric Collection

Well, I have another new thing to share. I've put up my first collection for fabric (and even wallpaper or decals if you want) for sale via Spoonflower! I've been working on getting these up for a while. They have actually been ready for a bit now, I just needed to get brave enough to actually click something to make them public. I guess today was the day!

So, here it is! Geo Cool - a  collection of 8 simple, slightly retro and super cool patterns for your sewing pleasure. 

The samples shown above are printed on Spoonflower's basic combed cotton. 

If you are interested in any of these patterns you can click here to or on the banner to the right to visit my Spoonflower shop!

Cut and Sew Bestie Bears

Holy cow, I can not even believe I haven't posted this on the blog yet! I feel like March just flew by and was so much busier than I expected. BUT HEY.

Have you ever wanted your own little S. Jane bear to love and hug and take on adventures? And did you also want the self satisfaction of having made it yourself? I thought you might have! Introducing the Bestie Bear cut and sew fat quarter now available at Spoonflower!

Bestie Bears has two little 8 inch bears for you to sew. Here is an example of how one looks sewn up by someone (me) not so great at sewing things that aren't straight lines:

See? Still super cute! (Also the real life colors are much much much closer to the image, it's just a little dark in my apartment this morning)

So go, run! Get your little bears and sew them up and show me!

Hand Printed Coasters - DIY Project

I have a fun little project for you guys today. It's simple, you can easily customize it, and it's useful!

I think that these would also make a great gift along with a nice glass or mug, some tea or coffee or, well, you get the idea. Oh and that drink in the picture, I'll be doing a post on that later. It's a little somethin' somethin' I made up today. 

The fabric was printed using hand carved stamps that I made a few years ago. If you'd like to learn how to make your own, you can watch my video tutorial. And! If you like to use the same shapes for your fabric you can download the template here!

There are two different .pdf versions of the tutorial. One has quite a few images and other only has one! I figured since it's such an easy project you might not need the images. Just click on the links below to download the .pdf of your choice!

PDF with images

PDF without images

Ma's Craft Room - 1

I've decided that every time I go to my mom's and I bring my camera, I'm going to take a few pics of stuff in her craft room. I think I spot something new every time I'm there!

So here's a little peek for today - Antique crazy quilt block made with some incredibly bright silks and some antique buttons (not even a tiny fraction of her collection).

Trivet

Well! First of all, we've been back in Maine for a few weeks now and we are sooooooooo happy! We move into the great apartment we found next week, which, oddly enough, is next door to the last apartment we lived in in Portland.

Alright, moving along! We've been staying at my mom's house in Bath and if you've ever been here then you know about her craft room. (you can see a peek of it here) Since I really haven't had much time to craft the past few months, and all of my supplies are currently in storage, I'd kind of been itching to make something.

I decided on some paper piecing and after digging around some buckets of fabric my mom pointed me to a bin of scraps from my grandmother. The bin is filled with all kinds of crazy fabrics, I think mostly from the 60's and 70's that my gramma used to make herself little house dresses and aprons. I might have to scan some later because some of them are kinda crazy!



After I picked out a few of the less crazy patterns and the plaid, which was a pretty awesome pair of pants I had when I was much younger, I decided I wanted to make a trivet. I like making things, but I really really like making useful things!


I used 7/8 in hexagons and then top stitched them onto a thick piece of tan wool. The wool will add some extra protection from heat and adds a great sturdiness. I also started stitching diagonally along the top but the bobbin in my mom's machine ran out and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to replace it. And yes, I looked at the book already.


I see a lot more paper piecing happening this year!

Love, a very happy Sarah in Maine

Tomato pincushion

I came across a cute tutorial recently on the Martha Stewart crafts site for tomato pincushions. I decided to try it out last night with that cute fat quarter I got yesterday.

It was super easy and came out cute but I think it looks a little more pumpkin than tomato!

Pillow

A peek of a simple pillow made as a gift.

I might have to go get more of the Cloud9 fabric in the middle. It makes me want to be at the beach, combing for shells and sea glass.

I made a quick trip to Joann's today to get a backing fabric for the pillow and found this pretty little fat quarter caught my eye:

It's pretty crappy quality but I'll find some pretty little thing to make with it!

So that's all. It's cloudy and damp and dark here today and any time not spent being productive has been spent trying to fight off the sleepies. 

Carmen quilt top

What! That was fast!

I put together the Carmen quilt top today.

I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm kind of surprised how nicely it came out! This was my first time doing half square triangles and I was a little nervous. The whole 7/8 inch thing was kind of freaking me out while I was cutting the blocks yesterday. (Real talk: cutting the blocks kind of freaks me out in general!) Now I need to decide what color to use for the backing and how I want to quilt the top.

So, I'm feeling really proud of myself right now. I feel like I have a hard time following through on larger projects and just getting started has given me so much motivation! I plan to do a post soon about what these quilts/designs are about. But I think I'm going to hold off for a little while until I have at least one of them completely done. Of course, some of you already know!

Picnic Blanket

When I was little I had a blanket that I loved. I don't know where it came from, or who made it but I remember I really loved it. I don't really remember napping with it or cuddling with it or anything like that. It had a purpose that was almost always for me to sit or play on. I remember dumping Legos out on it, playing with Barbies and most importantly taking to the park to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July.

I asked my mom months ago if she still had the blanket and was so happy when she said yes. She sent it to me along with some fabric and some squares she had cut and kept to make me a quilt someday. When I saw my old blanket I was surprised to see how ragged it looked with lots of tears and worn down spots. I decided almost immediately that I would use the squares my mom sent me to make a new one.

Old (and loved!) blanket on the back of the chair, new one in progress on the table!

Well, I finished the new one last night and I'm pretty happy with it. It was super simple, just a bunch of squares sewn together for the front, a single piece for the back and some cotton ties. 

And guess what I plan to do with it when it's not totally soggy out all the time anymore? (So I have to wait a few months...) Take it for picnics and adventures! Make fun memories with my new little blanket. It's so simple but it makes me so happy!

A handmade wedding - some decor

As a lot of you know, Adam and I got married six months ago. We received a disc of the wedding photos from our lovely photographer, Erin, on Friday. Since then I have been anxious to make a post about the handmade elements of our wedding and a few tips for those of you doing the same. So! Let's do this!

Like I already mentioned, all photos were taken by Erin of a love supreme. If you need photos for your special day, engagement, portraits, whatever - I super mega totally recommend her! I'm lucky to be currently working with her on a project and she is just the greatest! She is based in Maine but is looking to travel.

The first thing I have to say about having a lot of handmade things in your wedding is: enlist as much help as possible. It's really easy to think that you can do it all yourself, but trust me, you probably can't without losing your mind. Plus your friends and family will most likely be excited that you've asked them to help with such a special day.



The little birds in the glasses were all sewn by me using this pattern from Spool. I designed the fabric and had it printed on a cotton/linen blend through Spoonflower . The patterns matched the patterns used on our save the dates and invites. The birds were wedding favors and had little tags around their necks to let people know where to sit.



The napkins, oooh the napkins! My mom sewed all of them! After months of sending me swatches of fabrics she was collecting I picked three that I really liked and she got to work. I'm not sure how many she ended up making, but I think she is going to make Adam and I a quilt with them.

We spent months collecting pieces of milk glass and other glass pieces in the wedding colors for the tables. Big discovery - milk glass vases cost about $2-$3 less at Goodwill/Salvation Army per vase here in Eugene than they did in Maine. Weird, huh?

The lanterns were purchased from Luna Bazaar. Some of the colors were kind of off from what they were supposed to be, but in the end, it really didn't matter at all. My brothers hung all of them and they did such an amazing and creative job. I think I suggested how they hang one set of them and the rest was all them and perfect! Thing I have to say #2: you don't need to be in control of everything. Trust your helpers and remember, if something doesn't get done - your guests totally aren't going to notice unless you tell them!



Remember all those crochet pieces I was making in the spring? I crocheted about 100 pieces in different shapes and sizes. That is, and isn't a lot of pieces. This brings me to the third thing I have to say: be flexible with your design ideas. You'll more than likely have to change or completely throw out some of your ideas. And I promise you, it won't ruin your day! My initial idea for the crochet pieces was completely different than what we used them for but in the end, I think they looked great and some people even took some home with them.




These garlands were my mom's idea and what a great one! She sneakily started collecting paint swatches in the wedding colors, which is really not hard for her. The woman L-O-V-E-S paint chips. We sat my dad down with a glass of wine and some paper punches and set him to work punching out shapes. Then my mom, dad and brothers took turns sewing the pieces together and creating the garlands.



My brothers also made these tissue paper garlands. (I can't remember the site we got the pattern from right now!) They hung them from the trees outside of the hall where we had the reception. They looked so pretty! They also made flowers for the tables and my friend and bridesmaid DeAnne and I made some fabric ones.



The last thing I am going to share in this post is the drink stirrers that we enlisted my dad to put together. I don't think he hated this project, but I'm also not sure he loved it. We made them from crepe streamers, bamboo skewers and floral tape. Oh, and we also made the delicious sangria!

I'm going to do another post after the holiday about a few more wedding things. I hope that for those of you planning your own wedding my little suggestions are helpful. I know it can be stressful! And if anyone needs any ideas, I still have SO many!

Oh, and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Simple Blanket

Last Friday I got a couple boxes from my mom. One had a bunch of bulbs to plant and one of my favorite blankets from when I was little. The other one had a plastic box with cut fabric triangles and then a bunch of cut 4.5 in squares. Both of which where for quilts she wanted to make for me at some point.

I felt like sewing this weekend so I picked out the squares I liked the best and just started sewing strips.

My plan is to make this in the style of the blanket she sent me. It's basically a front piece like in the picture above and a back solid piece sewn right sides together, flipped and then tacked. Super simple and light weight, no quilting or batting. 

In other news I have DJ school today with my bro-in-law, Paul. He wants to teach me how to DJ and really all I'm hoping for is that it doesn't go horribly! I need to pick out some fun jams! Who wants an Edyie Gorme remix? Nobody? Just me? Ok.

Buddy Monday - Casie Brabham

I am proud to return to Buddy Monday with one of my bestest buddies! Casie and I met a few years ago when she contacted me to do some design work for one of her shops, Bebe Babies. Soon after that she asked me to join her and another friend in starting up a PDX Craft Mafia chapter, which ended up in an eventual fail but that's ok because we became really good pals. She is super fun, a really hard worker and awesomely creative and talented. I am in awe of her ability to come up with all kinds of great new ideas for plush and then just make them a reality. I always love getting to see what she's up to at her tiny house, hanging out and trying to get her dog to pretend bite me! So fun! 

And so, without further ado, the return of Buddy Monday with Casie "Super Cool" Brabham!

1. Tell us about yourself?

I am amazing.  The end.  Ok......I am 28 and I make plush dolls and toys.  I have been making dolls for around 10 years and have been making exclusively plush dolls/toys for about 6.  I am definitely a fabric addict and I collect it with an obsessive urgency.  I am the same way with toys.  I can’t have enough of either and I have no space in my house to prove it!  Other than sewing I am in school studying to be a middle school teacher.  I went back to school last year after working too long at an insurance company.  I love school but it has seriously cut into my sewing and gelato time.  Let’s see what else...I have a dog who is cute and funny and just all around the best doggy ever.  If I keep going I will have to tell you how I like long walks on the beach and a glass of wine by the fire while looking longingly into your eyes....

2. What do you make?

I have two shops on etsy.  One is called BeBe Babies and Friends and the other I just opened is called Boom!Plush!  BeBe Babies are soft baby dolls for children and adult collectors.  I opened Boom!Plush! because I have been participating in more and more online plush challenges and I needed a place to sell the creations that really didn’t fit into the BeBe Baby theme.  I am hoping to really work on Boom!Plush! and create more interesting, intricate pieces.  My current favorite things to make are plush inanimate objects.  Right now I am working to finish a plush turntable monster and a boom box.

3. How did you come up with your shop/business/blog name?

BeBe Babies got their name because on the larger dolls I weight them with BBs and my boyfriend said “how about BB Babies?”....I thought that was good but added the e’s to confuse everyone into thinking it is BeBe (the french or something word for baby).  This type of confusion works well for me because people say my name wrong already so they should probably also say my business name wrong.  And then Boom!Plush! got it’s name because when I am working on a difficult piece I will generally yell “Boom!  Done!” to anyone around or just to myself.  So there you have it.

4. Influences?

I am influenced by a barn I saw driving to the coast that looked like it had a face on the side of it or by my nephew’s love of sharks.  I am constantly influenced by everything around me whether it is the color of something or the shape.  As far as other artists influencing me there are a lot of people I really admire and are inspired by.  Generally the people I like to throw out on these types of questions though are those that seem to tirelessly work to advance the art they make.  Because of that I would like to say the Plushteam is one of my biggest influences collectively.  It is a group of some of the best plush makers in the world but more than that they are hardworking, organized and some of the most giving people I have ever met on the internet. 

5. Who would you like to collaborate with?

You (Sarah)!!!!  Mostly because I think it would be the most fun.  If it can’t be Sarah then it would probably be super hard to pick one person.  There is one thing I really wanted to do with someone a while ago but I can’t tell you because I still might do it if I can find someone else and I don’t want anyone to steal my idea.  Oooooh secrets....!

6. 5 songs you like to work to?

Oh boy lets see what I got cookin’ on iTunes right now...

Undercover Martyn Flexin’ It (Passion Pit Remix) by Two Door Cinema

Something Bigger, Something Better by Amanda Blank

Cold Act III (Extended Mix) by Classixx

Go Outside by Cults

Dance Yrself Clean by LCD Soundsystem

Listen here!

But when I remember I mostly listen to Pandora radio because I don’t have to change anything or think about what to listen to.

To learn more about Casie visit BeBe Babies, Boom Plush, her blog or click on any of the images in this post to go to her Flickr accounts!

Pillow cover

I finished this pillow cover today. I started it on Sunday and quickly realized I wasn't measuring things right and felt pretty frustrated. But today I finished it, and I kind of cheated but shhhh. I've been sewing a bunch of little things like coasters the past few days, trying to get up the courage to start a big project. I'm such a wuss!

Wedding bird mobile

I was supposed to be setting up my side of Adam and I's workroom (and I did, a little bit!) but instead I made this!

My mom sent me the left over birds I made as favors for the wedding and I'd been trying to think of what to do with them. This was a nice quick way for me to have some out as a memory. The bird pattern is free, from the Spool website and the fabric was designed by me and printed through Spoonflower. 

First quilt is DONE!

I finished up sewing the binding on my quilt yesterday and here it is!

TA-DA!

We're through, sewing machine!

Ok, we're not through but I sure am mad at you. Remember how I was all excited about sewing yesterday and I was all psyched about all the cool stuff I was about to make and you were all going to be super jealous? WELL. My machine is being a total jerk. I'm not even going to go into all the dumb things it suddenly started doing yesterday. (Thanks, Mom and Amanda for all the suggestions!) I keep trying to poke around with it but it just makes me mad so I'm just designing more color palette stuff for future sewing projects.

Adam and I had dinosaur chicken nuggets and crinkle cut fries for dinner last night. It's funny sometimes how a silly dinner can make you feel so much better!

Quilting the quilt!

I spent most of Monday finally quilting my quilt. I was really nervous that I had forgotten what went into sandwiching and basting etc.  My kitchen table was just slightly too small for the whole top but I think I did alright. I know for sure I should have trimmed my batting down a little more but like I said, I was so nervous!

It took me a while to figure out where to start with the quilting. Really, I'm not all that used to sewing, let alone trying to wrangle a bunch of fabric around and through my machine. I got the hang of it after a little bit. I definitely need some practice getting my stitch straight, but overall I'm happy with what I ended up with.

I decided to just stitch diagonally across the dark blocks and the little yellow ones. You can see it a little better in the next pic.

So it's alllmost done. I am still stitching the binding in the back. You can see along the left side and a teeny bit on the bottom where it's not done yet. 

I can't even tell you guys how excited I am be really close to saying "I'm done with my first quilt!". SO DAMN EXCITED.

Apparently I have a lot of pillows that need covering.

Sometimes I think one of my favorite things about making stuff is how excited Adam gets. I mean, I made this envelope style pillow cover today for a throw pillow and it was like magic to him!

I've been hanging onto that Echino fabric forever and occasionally pulling it out and looking at it and just assuming I'd never use it. I think I also assumed that I just never would get into sewing but I guess that's not true!

Man, you guys, who knew that making stuff for your home felt so satisfying! Oh and p.s. the back of the pillow is a plain, natural colored linen.

Pillow cases!

The other day I was determined to do some sewing. I wanted to do a fairly simple project that could be something for our home and had been really wanting to try out this pillow case tutorial for quite some time. I didn't have any fabric big enough so yesterday Casie and I went to Joann's and looked for something cheap to do a kind of practice run. It took me a little while to find something because I'm picky (I have no illusions about this and I am sure that my Mom, Adam and Casie will back me up!) and decided to take a peek in the bargain/clearance fabric section and just like when we were picking out quilting fabrics there was a little ole' colorful $3/yd bolt of cotton just waiting for me! I scooped it up, Casie was all.."Duh, I knew you'd find something here." and we left.

So I just spent the last few hours making some pillow cases. The first one is kind of wonky and the second one I had to do some seam ripping on because I'm a bonehead and didn't pay attention to what I was doing..BUT! I'm still really happy with them!

The fabric reminds me so much of my Gramma, the lilac colored bedroom she had when I was growing up and most of her sheet sets. If she were still alive I would have given these to her in a heartbeat! I'm so excited that I know how to make these now. I haven't done a whole hell of a lot of sewing and I feel like I definitely learned some stuff while working on them.