Fairy Godmother

Recently, Phoebe has decided that she really has no interest in wearing anything I sew for her. As you can imagine, my heart is nearly broken. She needed a princess and the pea skirt! I mean, how can a girl start Jr. Kindergarten without one? Who could make Phoebe one that she would wear?

Luckily, her Fairy Godmother answered my call. I think she used a 1/2 yard (because that's all she could get her hands on) of Heather Ross's wonderful fabric. Looking at it, I'm sure it's the Oliver & S Lazy Days Skirt pattern.

The night before her first day of school, there was a package sitting on her bed with the skirt and Lauren Child's Princess and the Pea. The pretty package had a note attached signed by her Fairy Godmother. Phoebe was excited and then realized that she must indeed be a "real princess." (she has always suspected as much)

Phoebe is now wondering what her Fairy Godmother will make next....maybe something more twirly?

Useful Sewing

One thing Amie and I like to emphasize when we're coaching young sewers is how useful their projects can be around the house: Hot pads, cloth bags and eyeglasses cases always seem to be in short supply, especially in my home.

Over the last few weeks, I've been on an organizational rampage -- which, of course, means taking a break from cleaning every hour or so to whip up one project after another on the sewing machine.

I modified Amie's Treat Bag Tutorial to make a drawstring bag, which I filled with rags (i.e. cut up scraps from stained dishtowels, worn-out t-shirts and threadbare pajama bottoms) and hung from the pegboard in my laundry room. I paired two strips of Kerchief Girl fabric, imported from Japan (I purchased mine from ReproDepot, but they seem to be out of stock) with larger pieces of cotton ticking, and used a foot of blue rik-rak to create the drawstring. Using a machine, the entire project took less than 10 minutes, and I smile every time I see my rag bag hanging in the laundry room.



Next, I whipped up a series of baskets using a pattern Amie discovered earlier this summer: Orange Flower Sketchbook's Fabric Basket Tutorial. I put square plates in the bottom of several baskets so I can use them to store farmer's market bounty, such as onions, garlic, cucumbers, and dried peppers, in the pantry and in the fridge. I even made a few more baskets to organize the samples of face and hair products I hoard from Sephora.



What I really love about both these projects is that they require just a little bit of fabric, so I can delve into my favorite yardages without feeling too guilty. They also make great gifts for friends, and it's easy to make several at once.

Hold: A Felt Camera Case

I am always amazed by the level of creativity out there. For instance, I was just finishing my lunch (a bowl of cereal topped with yogurt and blueberries, if you're wondering) and browsing Modish, one of my favorite blogs, when I dropped my spoon at the sight of this post.

Apparently, Hine, a Canadian sewer who has her own Estsy storefront, hand-stitches these lovely digital camera cases, using thick Japanese wool felt, colorful cotton fabrics, and new and vintage buttons. Right now, they're going fast.

Hine's stop-motion animated video about the creative process is below. It features a sewing snail!

From the linen closet

Just the other day, Amie and I were discussing fabric as we sorted through our piles and piles of it. One thing we both love about Sewing School is that it doesn't have to cost a lot of money - while it's fun to buy new fabric (here's Superbuzzy, one of my favorite online shops for imported Japanese fabric), you can recycle and reuse stuff around the house like old sheets, outgrown clothing, and even raggedy beach towels. I'm always removing buttons from stained shirts, and repurposing my worn-out blue jeans for new denim-friendly projects.

Just be sure to ask a grown-up for permission first. One year, I narrowly escaped big trouble when I destroyed the slip for my Easter dress to make a wedding gown for my stuffed rabbit!

Also be sure to keep your eagle eye open for items like this Matryoshka Tapestry, offered by Urban Outfitters. It's $36, but as you can see in the photos, it's big enough to fit a queen-sized bed, so it should provide enough fabric for dozens of projects! And it's incredibly cute...

I Heart Little Red Riding Hood

First, I fell in love with this Japanese fairytale fabric imported by Portland, OR mail order haven Superbuzzy. It's such an adorable pattern that Amie used a yard or so to whip up some of the Crayons A Go Go kits she sold last year at the Cooper-Young Festival. This cotton print comes with red, pink, or ivory backgrounds; Superbuzzy also has a Riding Hood canvas print that's a little more cartoonish, which you can view here.

Then I discovered this super-cute drinking glass, now on sale at Urban Outfitters for $2.99. What little girl (okay, 39-year old woman) can resist?

All this blogging about Little Red Riding Hood also reminds me of the doll my mama bought me when I was about 8, when we lived in South Louisiana. She found a mass-produced 3-in-1 doll that has Riding Hood on one end; flip the doll over, and discover Grandmother and the Big Bad Wolf, who are hiding underneath. I wasn't as intrigued with dolls as I was with my stuffed animal collection, but this particular toy kept me busy for hours and hours. If you're curious about what the doll looks like (I still have it!), here's a link to a very similar toy, called a Topsy-Turvy doll. My circa-1970s version is the Dippity Flip.