bricolagelife

i made something!

whew!  i've been struggling with my time management at home since i started my new job.  it really was bugging me that i couldn't seem to attend to my own art projects on my time off.  and then a wise young friend reminded me after our dinner thursday night that shooting photos and writing posts everyday counts as accomplishing something, creative-wise.  thanks, ab.  

so friday i scooped up some little scraps of fabric i'd brought home from work and finally made a much-needed band for my timex.  the original band was black and stiff.  it irritated my wrist and the velcro closure snagged everything it brushed up against.  after much puzzling and mental preparation (i have to picture the process before i begin), i found myself inspired by these gorgeous linens.  layering them up with all the raw edges exposed, i stitched a new cuff that is so lightweight, i forget i have it on.

and that sense of accomplishment (and relief), it lasted all weekend long :)

for inspiration...

my friend ab suggests checking out the work of ann hamilton

my friend sk suggests checking out the work of george morrison

clicking around on sunday morning

i spilled the coffee this morning.  which is leading me to seriously reconsider... everything.  while i was on my hands and knees cleaning up i turned to see the dusty spattery spots and messes in the corners and low down just out of everyday sight that one finds when one is on their hands and knees in the kitchen.  i thought again of a constant daydream of mine.  a dream of a seamless home.  a place designed without all of the dead space between walls and fixtures, without many surfaces where dust can build up or hide away.  a place with hidden closed storage everywhere.  a serene place so seamless you could hose it down in ten minutes and be finished cleaning... aaaaaah.

but of course i don't live that way.  i like details and pleasing objects arranged in pretty groupings.  i like baseboards and crown mouldings and old wood floors and paneled doors.  i like curtains on the windows and shears underneath.  i like art on the walls and i like books and bookcases.  i collect things.  i have a lot of dusty corners.  and my dream home looks more like this.

after visiting my dream home i found a personality quiz at smosch i had to take.  i like quizzes.  but they always ask a lot of either-or questions that i want to click both answers to.  both answers are sometimes truer than one.  but still, you might like to take it too.  see my results here.

besides spending time spilling things on the kitchen floor and clicking around the internet, i have been getting things done around here.  

this is almost finished.  i led all those threads thru the eye of a needle and back thru the fabric where i tied each one off in knots underneath.  and then i made a lot of layered prints.  see them here.

what are you finding while you click around these days?  send me links with your comments!  i love links.  and comments :)

happy sunday!

friends and news

back detail of the daisy brooch i made for a trade with helen.  

she's wearing her daisy in her curly hair, which i imagine looks lovely!

something new and exciting and beautiful can be found here!  my friend gigi of road side scholar has opened an etsy shop full of her gorgeous photography.  if you're like me and you've been enjoying her sunday snapshots, you will love clicking on each image and reading her descriptions.  she has a great eye for the humorous, the odd and the beautiful in everyday life.  and her color sense is brilliant!  congrats pal!

{sorry if my links aren't linking... typepad is wonky again today}

new layered print

exploded view.  showing stroke sequence.  i like that.

i almost left the apartment today... but then i made this instead.

and it's nice to be right, even if it's only about this.

another tea towel pillow cover

one of my most favorite lotta jansdotter prints ever.  her color sense kills me.  and the linen is so soft and crinkly.  everything about it is just right.  (my dream job... if only i lived in brooklyn)

i laid it right-sides together with a small remnant of a japanese print we call "time of healing" (because it says that on the fabric, among other things like "handmade space" and "time of sweets" {thanks pr!}), folding about a third of the tea towel in against itself.  straight stitch together around three edges leaving the folded end open.

when you flip it right sides out it looks like this.  i managed to get the tea towel hanging loop to end up on the flap end.  when the pillow is set inside and the flap folded over...

sew a button in place to fit thru the loop!

i'll be curled up here this morning with a pot of coffee and the complete works of jane austen.  it's pretty lame that i have only seen the movies and never read the novels so i am reading them all this summer. the penguin edition is mighty hefty.  i should have some nicely toned arms come autumn just from holding it up while reading :)

what are you reading this summer?

my slipcovermania

i seriously considered this combination when i realized i was short on fabric to finish the long sofa slipcover.  but i managed to piece together the leftovers to finish the cushion covers after all.  i like having the souvenir rugs around so much i think they will become pillows or floor cushions soon...

the 1940s vintage bark cloth was not my first choice for this project, but my only choice.  since my personal challenge was to see if i could make three slipcovers without consuming anything new the thread, fabrics, trims and closures all came from my current supplies.  this just happened to be the only piece of fabric large enough to cover the couch.

my final project was this wing chair.  bark cloth again, the piece big enough to fit.  i love this fabric and have been afraid to cut it for years.  but i got over it.  i wanted this cover to be kind of slouchy and rough looking, like it just spilled itself over the chair.  kind of careless.  instead of making a pattern, i cut the pieces against the chair and sewed without a plan, scrunching and pushing the fabric under the needle to make a looser fit. i'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.  making the first two covers was a chore, but making this was like breathing out.  relaxing and pleasant.

i am so very happy to be done.  i am taking the day off.

i can't get enough of this.  i keep watching it over and over...

tea towel pillow covers... how to

while working for two years as a buyer and merchandiser for a scandinavian import shop i amassed a much loved collection of linen tea towels by some great designers.  i like to use my tea towels for more than just drying my hands.  you may remember this for example.  yesterday i turned a few favorite tea towels into pillow covers to brighten up my freshly slip-covered love seat.  it only takes about ten minutes to make one and i thought you might like to try it, too.  here's how i did it... 

 

first, choose two tea towels.  this is the hardest part.  here i have one from bengt & lotta and one from maija louekari for marimekko.  you may want to use two matching tea towels.  that works well, too!

lay them right sides together and run a straight stitch around three sides, inside the finished hem, leaving the last long side open... like a pillow case.  back stitch a little at the ends to secure your seams.

turn the pillow cover right side out and stuff with a pillow.  i used an ikea pillow from my stash in the closet, but you can use one you already have around the house.  just measure before you begin and adjust your seams to suit your pillow size.  the great thing about slipcovers is they don't have to be perfect.  you can adapt as you go.  then tuck the excess fabric on the open end down one side and - voila!  a zipperless, buttonless, ten minute pillow cover!

using two different patterns allows me to reverse to a "new" pillow by simply flipping it over...

i like that.  they're easy to remove and wash and best of all, when you want to replace these you can pick out the stitches and use them as tea towels!  how cool is that?

if you make a tea towel pillow cover leave me a comment with a link so we can all see how it turned out!

thanks :)

 

birthday brooch

my friend biz had a birthday in april but everyone was too busy to get together.  we will be celebrating on thursday night and i made her this daisy brooch.  i used the pattern from my bunny ears to make the petals in wool felt and embroidered french knots in the center.  i hope she likes it! 

more beautiful wool fleurs here 

and french knots here

and a wool pompom ring!

diy slipcovers

it's not perfect but it's finished.  the opening in the back (with ties for removal and washing) didn't match up and i sewed the velcro on the seat cushion cover to the wrong side (i do that a lot) and had to redo it, but it's finished! and i honestly don't mind the imperfections.  no one notices them but me.  and it's still an improvement over the old slipcover.

the six yards of fabric i used was a gift from my brother, who rescued it from one of his family's donation bags headed for the salvation army.  thanks bro!  this luscious pale green upholstery weight woven chenille has a beautiful selvedge that i was able to use as a sort of fringed edging.  i love selvedge. another feature of chenille is that every time you cut it, it releases tiny fuzzy bits of fiber that literally cover everything in the vicinity.  including me.  it seems as if the entire apartment is sprinkled in the stuff.  i tracked it from room to room as i worked.  now i must wait for a decent hour to rev up the old hoover.  i have neighbors above and below me and my machine sounds like an airplane engine preparing for take off. i swear i go a little more deaf every time i use it.

after the clean-up i start a new slipcover for the long sofa. hoping to complete it by the end of the day...  

what are you making today?

home improvements

it's a big job.  but much progress has been made.  photos of the first finished slipcover will be posted with the morning light.  for now i'm off to bed, exhausted.  and covered in thread.