CHICKPEA SEWING STUDIO

{thrift/transformed}

 

The 'copines' are demanding pictures of my recent thrift-to-treasures endeavors and I aim to please...

{1}

Two terracotta urns from Goodwill drilled by the pottery specialist at Cactus and Tropicals and fitted with angel vine topiary. Apparently if they get plenty of light and water I should have them for years. To be continued...

 

{2}

This clock, also from Goodwill had seen better days. Scratched mod flowers, crooked metal hands... all covered and disposed of. This one took three coats of primer and two coats of chalkboard spray paint. We are using it to teach Finn to tell the time before the new mechanism comes. After that it's off to the cabin it goes.

So voila! nothing else is new but it sure feels good to get anything done (even though the clock is not technically done it's out of my hands).

Layered Bow

   The current issue of Better Homes and Gardens features about four pages of know how on gift bows. Admittedly I  never read this magazine very closely but those few pages really were worth the pause. Like almost everyone, I am suddenly wondering why oh why I waited so long to start looking/making/knitting Christmas presents, but now at least I know what their boxes will look like. I call that progress!

 

The layered bow, perfect for using scraps of ribbons too good to throw away.

Here is a link to a How-to video, after the dreadful ads.

DIY: Hang a Map

As we where in the process of buying our cabin, my friend S. pointed out that The Utah Department of Natural Resources sells detailed topographic maps of the entire state. A little trip there with dad was in order and as is always our family luck, the cabin was right on the edge of the maps. This is typical for us and we always have to buy two for a complete area.

This little circle called The Salt Box could be it, although I am not completely sure yet; Every time we are up there we found more roads and trails all around.

Then came the dilemma of hanging them. The maps are cheap but large, framing then would be costly and heavy. I opted for a simpler more rustic way, below are the few steps to achieve the schoolhouse look:

You will need:

4 pieces of screening trim from your local hardware store ($4) the dimension of you map width plus a little extra on the side.

all purpose glue and a brush to apply it

2 tiny hooks and a piece of string

elastic bands or more string

 

First, you will brush glue to one length of trim and center the map upon it. Repeat this step with a second piece of trim and place it over the first, pressing well and wiping the excess glue if it come out.

Wrap an elastic band around the trim pieces on each side or if you are in a secluded cabin with no supplies what-so-ever, use string! Repeat this process on the other side of the map and let the glue dry for a few hours or overnight.

Later on, armed with the tiny hooks, go ask a strong person to manually screw them at the top of the frame et voila! a simple solution to an age old problem, and cheap to boot!

Sewing Fatigue and Rose Amarettis

This summer has been completely free of sewing and crafting of any kind. It's weird, but I think it's necessary as well to keep the enthusiasm for creating going in the long run. And it's been seven years now, four of those blogging about it. It seems sometimes as if I am ready to move on. For example I started helping a young friend with her math homework this weekend and just then I realised that just maybe I should think of doing this in public schools as a tutor instead of just lamenting the poor achievement scores  all over the state of Utah... When she graduates from HS I'll think about it.

The main reason for this temporary burn out is the amounts of pattern work that was finally completed in June. A pattern for We All Sew, three patterns for Tauton Press ( the editors of Threads Magazine ) and I was ready to unplug the sewing machine for a few months. It's been looking at me funny from it's corner ever since.

Last week I turned it on again for a worthwhile cause, hemming a pair of J Brand skinny jeans bought for a song. That lucky find made me so giddy I had to fix them up immediately and wear them that night. I usually think of myself as the worst alteration seamstress in the universe, always meaning to get to it but never actually fixing anything, except hems, those I can churn out. (The triple stitch on the new Bernina 580 lets me use regular polyester thread and yet makes it appear as if cordonet was used instead, if you sew slowly enough for all the stitches to align on each other.)

The truth: I have a phobia of hand made garments, of refashioned pieces, I just don't like to wear them, ever. Odd I know for a sewing enthusiast, but true. I am coming out apparently! Yet I read so many great inspirational blogs about fashion transformations and admire the handi-work knowing all along that my ocdness would never allow it!

So instead, we spent a summer of water play, collecting sticks on all our walks for a fall fire and learning to make complicated cookies. Today: the Rose Amaretti (from a french recipe).

 

Sometimes you need a little sugar to end the day just right, those fit the bill quite nicely. Thinking back I suspect that a French 'cs' or soup spoon is much smaller than our tablespoon and should adjust the recipe accordingly next time.

I used a macaron silicone baking sheet found on ebay here.It's new and never been used for actual macs but the consistency of the amaretti dough is very similar. Well I think you can see for yourself, I piped the dough on the sheet and they tuned out quite round and regular. Almond and rose is a match made in heaven, trust me on that.

edit: this might not alas happen after all, so the post is on ice...I will end this long rambling on a suspenseful note: I have extremely exciting news to share for the future of our family, and no it's not a baby! more on this subject this week...

Pretend Summer

We are just back from a few days in Mexico, where the police/military is definitely out in force. It was a nice break from the winter though and I am not about to forget Tulum and the coral reef in front of the site, paradise no doubt.

The chocolate sampling was pretty phenomenal as well.

De retour, I feel the need to sew bright warm things, and the class I am teaching next tuesday at the Pioneer Craft House (exciting!) provides an excuse to get back into coiling. The bowl below turned out really round and I can't help but be pleased by it's symmetry (this one is for you Evelyne, Merry Christmas at last!)

Meyer Lemons from Whole Foods, used in everything from salad to rice to jams, taste like the ocean.

 

Can you spot the (ancient) Denise Schmidt Flea Market Fancy in apricot? This wrapping technique completely obscures the design of the original fabric.

We made it!

The birthday happened! between 35 and 40 people came, which was by far the most crowded this house has ever been... We loved it!

 

Finn turned 4, and strangely he feels completely different. I hear a lot of " now that I am 4, I am going to do this and that (tasks I refused to do only yesterday)."

I had no time to take any pictures of the house decor before the party, as even with help I was still struggling to get all the food on the tables and counters and side table and... you get my point. Two full days later the house is back to normal and I can finally look up  and really enjoy the poms:

in the kitchen

and the living room

We are keeping them up for a while, they keep us in a party mood.

Save the date

Finn has been frantic lately, talking/breathing/sleeping the idea of his birthday. He woke up at 3 am this morning, came to us with a Playmobil catalog and would not take note of the hour. We are tired today and even though I decided to reach Finn in the middle and just spent the best part of the day making save the date cards for him to give to his friends at school.

They need to be clipped to each child folder so I felt compelled to add the paperclips with bow. I love how French those little blue stripes look. It's a big decision having this party at our House. Almost all birthday parties Finn has been invited to have been held at outside private venues that I believe are not age appropriate and seem to cost an harm and a leg (they are only turning 4). I wonder if parents are hesitant to let others into their house, I certainly don't live in a 'Manoir' but the first step to a happy life is most certainly to be comfortable in your own house. The only downside I can see is that Finn can't invite more than a dozen friends.

For the invitations I found this free download from the Wedding Chicks blog. I edited the card the best I could with illustrator, which is not saying much. I hope I can do the same with the actual invitation.

Moving on to making paper airplane garlands and folded boat hats...

 

crafty repurposing

Every year I think and think about what I should use to wrap our presents. It seems so pointless to wrap everything in brand new paper only to see it ripped apart in mere moments. Plus I ran out of the seemingly endless roll purchased many years ago.

Two months ago I was under the illusion that all the unused Christmas fabrics in my drawers would assemble themselves into adorable/reusable present bags. ah! ah! ah!

So here I am re-purposing a J Crew bag into a gift bag and just making tags for the presents that come alone.

Then, when cleaning out I find these left over rectangles that won't let me toss them. They become 'even more tags'. I keep all the ribbon pieces that come our way, none too small, for just this reason.

snapshot

I speed crafted the last garland today. The tree was a little bare without it. This little one required a minimum of 5 yards of flags, multiply that for a big tree and you might need elves at you disposal!

Taking a good picture of this tree eludes me completely! I'll try again

Christmas flannel part deux

I was ridiculously productive this weekend, completely collapsing on Sunday night.

One of the things I finished is the garland I had imagined for our tree. Now that it's here, it's become trying to hold back and visit all the lots to find the perfect diminutive "sapin". I plan on taking my basket along to give each candidate a trial run.

Because I don't want it to tangle and wrinkle I hand it up. (The elf is visiting Finn's daycare today, for show and tell).