Camera Strap

Recently my mother passed on one of the things I remember most fondly from growing up, her Nikon.  It was made in the late 1970s and it has real heft, something I miss in newer cameras.  The camera is in great shape, all of the gears and buttons still operate and there isn't even much wear on the body.
While the camera itself is in fantastic shape, the strap was another matter entirely.  The two layers of the strap had separated and the leather/faux leather (I am not sure) was looking pretty beat up and worn out.  I decided to do a little revamp.

What I ended up doing was tearing out the remaining stitches between the two layers and tidying the loose threads left over from wear and tear.  I then covered the leather strap with a beautiful red cotton with a sunburst pattern, and reattached the two layers.  I left all the original hardware as is, including the two leather ends of the strap.  I think the effect is nice.  The strap retains the character to match the camera, but the color is bright and the strap is secure.
What old things could you give a lift?

February

It's February in San Diego, and I feel like I have a lot going on.  It doesn't feel like February in any other place I've lived.

I just got back from a week in Portland with my sister, brother-in-law, and their now five week old baby boy.  It was so nice to see them all, and to feel really useful, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of that little boy.  When I got back, it was to a pile of reply cards from our wedding invitations.  The wedding is coming along.  It is less than four months away and I am really starting to dig in now.  In fact, one of my major projects for the month is sewing tablecloths and napkins for the reception.

The checked fabric is for the tablecloths, the solid blue for napkins.  How do you like my makeshift ironing board.
John and I are also considering a bit of redecoration in order to create better (read tidier) storage, and to maximize seating.  My sewing projects have kind of gotten out of control, even taking over some of the floor now.

I'll let you know how that comes along.
I have a sewing date for tomorrow, so maybe I will have something fun to share after that.

Catching Up

Hello all.  It has been quite a while since I wrote a serious post, and I am sorry for that.  I have been running around the last few weeks and it has been hard enough just crafting, without writing about it.  First off, I spent a weekend at my sister's for her baby shower.  The whole family is very excited for her son's arrival, so a lot of my crafting has been baby-centric for the last few months.  My mother came for a visit after that, and we played tourists for the week, visiting art museums in Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo, and of course the beach.  Then came Thanksgiving which ate a week of my life so easily, and finally, John's parents came to visit at the beginning of December.  While all the visits and trips were exciting and fun, the near month of hosting or being away was exhausting, and I feel like like the ground is finally under my feet again and I have space to share what I've been up to.

I've completed two paintings, this abstract one, and one of the San Diego skyline at night.  I haven't been satisfied with the photos of the skyline paintings that I have been able to take, but I do have these two detail shots:

I am really happy with both paintings, and hope to list them both on my etsy shop when I can get some better photos.

I have also been enjoying making baby clothes.

This cute cardigan.

And this onesie.  The great thing about baby clothes is that they are so quick to make that I finish one and can move onto the next quickly.

I also make a paper mache box and painted it to look like a Super Mario cube.

I expect that we will be using this as our ring box for the wedding because the companion cube is too big to really put in a pocket.

Well, now you are pretty much caught up on my recent crafts.  What have you been up to since I last posted?  Any big Christmas crafts?

Handmade Skirt

When I was a kid, I made a few pieces of doll clothing from patterns as well as making at least one dress with the assistance of my mother. After that, most of the sewing I did were modifications of garments I already owned, or making home-goods like pillows, tablecloths, napkins, quilts, and stuffed animals. I hemmed pants or altered the neckline of shirts. I have never sewn an item of clothing all by myself, that is until this week. I thought I should start with something simple, so I found this pattern from fabric.com for a very simple 8 paneled skirt. I figured that as long as all I had to do was cut the panels, sew them together, hem the skirt, and insert the elastic waist, that would give me a good idea of if I was cut out to make more complicated garments.
 I got some lovely red cotton crepe and started work. Once I had cut the eight panels I realized that the fabric was very sheer. Being me, I decided to modify the patten, and not in a small way. I decided to make a short underskirt to make the skirt a bit more modest.

I ended up cutting the pattern and cutting eight more panels. I joined the panels at the edges and hemmed the bottoms of both the under and over skirt. I then inserted the underskirt into the over-skirt with the seams facing one another. This had the somewhat unintended consequence of making the inside of the skirt tidier.

 I then followed the pattern instructions, folding over the top of the skirt and creating a sheath for the elastic by stitching almost all the way around the top. Next time I will try to create this sheath while also folding under the raw edge of the fabric. As it is, the inside of the waistband has an unfinished edge that I finished with zigzag shears so it won't unravel. The instructions called to pull the elastic through using a large safety pin. I couldn't find one (until, typically, 20 minutes after I needed it) so I used a paper clip. I just had to carefully push the end through between the strands of elastic. At this point, the pattern instructed to "join the elastic", since it was no more specific, I consulted the internet and found some advise saying to zigzag stitch the two ends to a piece of ribbon, so that doubling it doesn't create extra bulk. I did this, pulled the ends up into the skirt and sewed closed the opening, being careful not to catch the elastic in this seam.

 All that was left was to trim the rough edges and any stray threads I missed earlier.

 It think it came out very well. What do you think?

Today's crafting

I have been sewing all day, that and reorganizing my scrap stash.  I have way too much fabric at this point, and I am not sure how I am going to use it all.  Anyway, I made a pillow case to fit an 18" throw pillow for my etsy shop.  I plan on listing it tomorrow, but I thought I would preview it here first.

Stuffed Dino

I made a prototype stuffed dino.  Further versions may be a bit more simple.  I pieced and hand stitched each panel.  I feel like I made a fearsome predator a bit over cute.  Anyway, the pictures say it all.

And while it was in progress:

Sunny Day Sewing

I don't have much to share today beyond a bit of sewing on this beautiful, sunny day.

There is something about drinking tea and ironing pattern pieces that I find fits with a sunny morning.  Like the world is new and I am making something new myself.  I am working on a few new projects, the ones pictured being brush rollups for my etsy shop.  I'll let you know when they are up.  Oh, and I also got a new basket from Marshalls to store my yarn in.  Sure beats the cardboard box!

I love the circular handles because I can pull the yarn through them and the ball stays put.  No more balls of yarn going on walkabout!

Bright and Cheerful Apron

My mother brought me this beautiful plaid fabric at Christmas.  She got it in Saint Lucia.

I finally got around to figuring out something to make with it.  Paired with some green and blue fabric I had in my stash (which is entirely too large) I thought it would make a nice accent for an apron.  I wanted to highlight it without being overpowered by its brightness.  Here was my original plan:

I ended up switching the green and the blue from my original plan because I was a bit short on the green fabric.  Here it is finished:

Doesn't John make a lovely model?  I listed it on etsy as a men's apron because the shape is more pleasant on him than it is on me.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/125215633/green-yellow-and-blue-mens-apron

Exciting news!

I may be a bit late, but Etsy has gift cards now!
And to add to the excitement, I am having a Black Friday to Cyber Monday sale on my etsy shop.  I am offering free domestic shipping and discounted international shipping.  Here it is.
To celebrate, I have two brand new items in my shop. 

I found an absolutely amazing herringbone wool in the form of a suit. It inspired me to make a new wallet.

Isn't it just a great pattern?  Anyway, I put the wallet together and I am really pleased with the result.

 I also made a brown and green plaid wallet.  I think it's real cute.

Purse

Hello all!  I just thought I would show off one of the purses I made last week.

 I made it with the intention of being able to carry around the book I am keeping all the information about my wedding plans in.  It has pockets for my wallet, phone, and keys as well as two pen pockets, one of which is large enough for my epipen.

 It is super comfortable to wear, and I used scraps from other projects to make it, so I didn't even have to buy any more fabric.
You can see it here sporting two of my new pins from a cool etsy shop you should check out, beanforest.

Increased productivity

Leaving work was bittersweet for me.  It's been almost a week and I miss my regular customers, I miss my coworkers, and I miss my boss.  On the flip side, I have gotten so much done.  End of last week, I came up with a new wallet design, and made two new wallets for my etsy shop.  Listings for the pink lined one, and the white lined one, are up. They are made from an old pair of wool pants that were my father's in the 1970's, and a few silk ties a regular customer gave me when he retired.  Check it out.

Both wallets have six card slots, and two cash pockets.  They are very standard men's bifold size, but the wool gives them a really luxurious feel, and the silk ties inside are a really unexpected splash of color.

And that is not all I've gotten done!  I also launched my food blog, The Hungry Griffin, made two purses (photos still to come), and made a rollup for my makeup brushes.  Not to mention all the packing I have done for our upcoming move.

Anyway, the rollup.

As I have been packing, I have noticed that my way of storing things is not always optimal. For example, I was just leaving all of my makeup brushes on the bottom shelf of our medicine cabinet, with our toothpaste and John's various shaving tools.  It isn't the tidiest option, so I decided to make a little rollup for them, so they could all live in one place together.

Isn't it cute?  And the best part is, I made it to fit perfectly in the little clinique bag John's grandmother got me for Christmas.  So now all my brushes have a safe place to live.

So I hope you enjoyed my little update, and expect some photos of purses to come.  (Oh, and if you have a father or grandfather who needs a new wallet, you know where I am.)