I'm really enjoying this photo project by Jason Powell, bringing the past to life:
I might be slow to blog these days, folks. My beloved grandmother passed away a few days ago, and creativity (not to mention productivity) seems a bit harder to find. As many of you know she was my biggest crafting and personal inspiration, having taught me to sew as early as I can remember remembering. There's lots of remembering going on these tough days...but I'll be back soon.
Would you like to know my favorite fabric and craft stores here in London? They're different from American craft stores because they're much more expensive, with generally much higher quality goods. When you buy a meter of fabric or a skein of wool in one, it will come taped in tissue, and make you feel like you've bought something really special. Here's where I buy my specialty supplies:
Kleins sells trimmings, buttons, elastics, and other haberdashery. When I paid with my debit card once, the nice employee said, "This is your shoppe, Ms. Klein!" Yes, please!
Beautiful fabric, vintage french clothes pins, and old English knitting needles. What else could you want in a cloth house?
Loop sells very posh yarns. Every other weekend, I will be there selling them to you!
The 3rd Floor is Mecca to any fan of Liberty fabrics. Besides that, it's the most beautiful department store in the whole world. Come and visit, and enjoy these great places!
What can you do with your leftover Easter Peeps? Abracadabra cupcakes!
I made these from a cupcake, a cookie, a Peep, and a Mikado for the magic wand. The cupcakes and the cookies are homemade, though I'm sure you could use store bought if you can cut out the center of the cookie carefully. Great for a magical-themed birthday party!
I hosted a baby shower! It was fun, and it gave me a chance to bake again, and to use my vintage kitchenwares. I found these lollipop molds at a Portland Goodwill and decided just to melt some high quality chocolate, pour it in them, sprinkle some nuts on the back, and wrap them up.
Love for baby:
Because they're British:
In honor of the baby girl, due in a couple of weeks:
Wrapped up on the party table:
There's a few more molds, but I'm going to have to use them on other occassions. I'd like to try to make hard lollipops in various flavors, and the old box came with a recipe. Since I can only make one at a time, though, I might make them as toppers for gifts. Sweet!
I'm still making things for babies! It's not my fault; the people around me won't stop having them. I present to you "Baby's First Jeans", by me:
I did two varieties, one with buttons, the other with snaps.
They're in denim, of course, with linen linings, though I think printed cotton interiors would be even cuter. Or what about flannel, like those turn-ups I used to wear when I was a kid?
I'm toying with the idea of faux front pockets, that V-back yolk, or a fake fly-front. What about my own custom-label pocket, with my signature? OK, a bit over the top... I think these two pairs have enough details to start.
If there's interest, I might make some for my shop, or maybe a craft fair. I haven't done one of those in a while!
I made these socks while on my trip to Chicago. I had to beg the security guard in Heathrow to let me take my needles on an 8 hour flight and, in the end, my sad little face won her over.
I'm a sock fanatic . I will rarely sleep without any, and even at the beach I'm known to have a pair to slip on when a breeze comes by, or for after swimming. I also think unique socks, handmade or not, are one of the best gifts you can get. It's such a treat to go in a drawer and pull out an exciting pair, is it not?
I knit these for an upcoming birthday. I was just going to try them on to show them off, but now they might become mine after all.
This was my outfit for the 4th of July. It's a homemade pleated skirt from a vintage pattern (made of ticking), with an H&M shirt, and vintage shoes. 
Do you like the man standing in the street, asking himself why there is a girl looking ecstatic on a pole? Anyway, I worked yesterday, and wondered if anyone would 'get' the outfit. I did get some "Happy Independence Day" wishes, but only, I believe, after they heard my accent first. I'm still taking that as a wardrobe success.
Now that the campaign has gone live, I can show you my famous hands! I made an ad for EDF energy recently, where I sewed a Union Jack flag beneath the camera, then manipulated the speed to make this advertisement that appears before internet videos in the UK:I also developed a font (3 whole alphabets!) of stitched lettering. It's the same font that appears at the end of the video spelling "Team Green Britain", but will be used in further elements of the campaign.
I've never developed a font before, and I got really into the attention to detail you need with graphic design work. Go, Team!
Kleins sells trimmings, buttons, elastics, and other haberdashery. When I paid with my debit card once, the nice employee said, "This is your shoppe, Ms. Klein!" Yes, please!
Beautiful fabric, vintage french clothes pins, and old English knitting needles. What else could you want in a cloth house?
Loop sells very posh yarns. Every other weekend, I will be there selling them to you!
The 3rd Floor is Mecca to any fan of Liberty fabrics. Besides that, it's the most beautiful department store in the whole world. Come and visit, and enjoy these great places!
There's a few more molds, but I'm going to have to use them on other occassions. I'd like to try to make hard lollipops in various flavors, and the old box came with a recipe. Since I can only make one at a time, though, I might make them as toppers for gifts. Sweet!
I did two varieties, one with buttons, the other with snaps.
They're in denim, of course, with linen linings, though I think printed cotton interiors would be even cuter. Or what about flannel, like those turn-ups I used to wear when I was a kid?
I'm toying with the idea of faux front pockets, that V-back yolk, or a fake fly-front. What about my own custom-label pocket, with my signature? OK, a bit over the top... I think these two pairs have enough details to start.
If there's interest, I might make some for my shop, or maybe a craft fair. I haven't done one of those in a while!
I'm a sock fanatic . I will rarely sleep without any, and even at the beach I'm known to have a pair to slip on when a breeze comes by, or for after swimming. I also think unique socks, handmade or not, are one of the best gifts you can get. It's such a treat to go in a drawer and pull out an exciting pair, is it not?
I knit these for an upcoming birthday. I was just going to try them on to show them off, but now they might become mine after all.
Do you like the man standing in the street, asking himself why there is a girl looking ecstatic on a pole? Anyway, I worked yesterday, and wondered if anyone would 'get' the outfit. I did get some "Happy Independence Day" wishes, but only, I believe, after they heard my accent first. I'm still taking that as a wardrobe success.
I've never developed a font before, and I got really into the attention to detail you need with graphic design work. Go, Team!
