CHICKPEA SEWING STUDIO

Work-able Space

I want to start by thanking everyone who has supported my Sew 12 initiative! I know I didn't get to answer all the comments directly but in my heart I did, if that counts for something... To make it official that we are getting things done ( I see some finished projects already on the flickr group!) I made a simple tag you can grab too:

moving on...

My personal sewing corner has been a disaster area for months. It's probably because I set up the Bernina on loan from the Sewing Republic upstairs whenever my students come for a lesson at my house instead of the studio. The Bernina is upstairs where life is happening and my regular sewing machine hasn't been used in about two years. To make Sew 12 work for me I need to have a space that doesn't have to be cleaned up everyday, so my corner in the basement family room is back to seeing some action.

 

  Getting re-acquainted with the Viking Sapphire was not a ton of fun, a sensor presser foot is not something that comes back as easily as ridding a bike. After much tribulations, it and I made friends again and the little color triangles on the desks are a glimpse of, ironically enough, my next Bernina/Sewing Republic project. The fuchsia fabric on top of the machine is silk dupioni I bought today on sale for a class I am taking this month. A skirt with a large black elastic waist. Just for fun!

Scandinavian Needlecraft

I signed my Sewing Republic contract today, it's officially the start of my third year with Bernina USA. Time really passes by too quickly. I always hesitate and wonder what I will say if they offer the partnership again, because it is a all lot of work, but in the end I can't help myself... I want to keep the Aurora 440 a little longer clutched to my chest (ouch it's heavy!) because it's awwwwsome. It's not just the machine though, I like the website just as much, it's so pretty and feminine (I am such a sucker for marketing apparently).

To reinforce the presence of the machine in my life for another year I did a little sewing this morning. A few weeks ago I started cutting the necessary pieces of felt for the pillow featured in Ready Made this month. The project comes from this book.There are so many more of them than I anticipated, it took me no time at all to burn out and put this all idea aside. But we could really use some new pillows around here so back at it I am.

I started by cutting the piece from light fusible web but it won't work well when it's felt on felt. I am using a very small zigzag on the machine (1.6mm by 2mm) and that at least is going swell. you can see the finished pillow on the bottom picture, mine is above and not quite there yet. I think I am either going to use regular fusible web or a stick of fabric glue for the rest of the felt pieces. They just will never stay put and not stretch without it.

Free Pattern Surprise!

Not without a little squeal of excitement I found out that the pattern I wrote for the Cosmetic Brush Case is live on the Sewing Republic site! I was led to believe it would be much much longer before it would happen. Admittedly this is my personal favorite, I kept annoying my girlfriend with chats like  "did I already show you this awesome thing I sewed? Yeeees Juliette, you did already showed me!".

So go on fellow make-up junkies, start sewing!

I sewed!

I made, created, sewed something yesterday! This is a very big deal for me, I had been craft-paralyzed for so long now. It felt not like side effect of the blues but more like it's own condition. I know I am not out of the woods yet but still, that is the way out of my lousy creative mood. I spend too much time lately worrying about things like "if I really really like Lily Allen, does that mean I am crass...". Instead I popped in her CD and got the fabric under the walking foot.

The article below is a diaper wallet that doubles as a changing mat. It's cute (I hope) and very functional (I know). The Sewing Republic will be receiving this one, so sadly no poopy baby's butt will ever grace its chenille but in exchange they will publish my pattern, for free and make it look much cuter than I ever could.

and a view of the inside

Back to Lily, may I suggest this song and this one, completely tame considering but sweet and sour too.

Glee!

I received an email today that looked a lot like this:

Which means that my new free pattern has been published! You can find it here. I really love seeing my babies all edited this way, it makes me want to smile to no end. Glee!

On a completely unrelated subject, but ever present in my mind lately, I have started reading fan fiction. It's fun, it's free and it's very addictive! You never know what you are going to get. Sometimes it's superb and then again sometimes it's terrible. I am astonished at the improvement in some of the authors style as the story progresses. I do wince constantly at the misspellings and poor "handling" of tenses. I loved this one. It's for Stephenie Meyers fans and this particular author really grew with her story. It's a good bet to stay within the T rating as I don't want to have certain things thrust upon my brain that I cannot get out without Drain-o.  Yes, I am bit touchy this way even though I am French (wink). I am liking this new experience so much in fact that I would consider becoming a Beta-reader. It's a sort of editor. I know my friends here would think this idea so typical.

make-up bag: take two

 

I had to make another one for myself before I sent of the prototype to the Sewing Republic. I know it "gives you pretty legs" (French saying that obviously translate to nonsense) since the pattern will not be up for months but I still had to show off. The fabric is from Denise Schmidt new line, Hope valley. I am in love with fabric again seeing the orange and mauve together on this. Here is a shot of the inside, as you can see I am still having fun with my remote trigger but still haven't found good light.

 
  Finally, I found this excellent playlist while lurking on Stephanie Meyer's website (I can't believe I am admitting this). It's for loud music lovers, not sensitive ears...

Toddler Scarf

I while ago I mentioned these toddler scarves made out of sweater and t-shirt knits.

  Well, the pattern is up at the Sewing Republic. I hope it will inspire you to recycle those old college knits or use up some of you stash. This project is eeeeasy.

Here is Finn sporting one with stripes last fall:

 
As the temperatures go up again in the West, Finn doesn't want to wear a big puffy coat anymore. It makes him look fat, or something like that. Those little scarves come in handy to protect his neck with less bulk.

Looking at the picture above I cannot believe how fast they grow (one all inch last month!). He was such a chubby cheeked baby then, now he is a chubby cheeked "garcon". He can even say thank you, sometimes...

Oh! and I have a new header, I know everyone probably uses Bloglines but still, I was feeling a bit prehistoric. In fact, for those of you that do use Bloglines, don't you think a lot is lost through their formatting? I have started clicking on the titles again so I can just open the blogs in a proper window and take in the headers in all their glory.

My favorite!

My sewing groove is back! and I had lost faith completely for 2010. Yesterday was terrific sewing wise, Finn was at daycare which allowed me hours of uninterrupted crafting resulting in this:

 
What is it? well, it's my new Sewing Republic pattern to be and it's a case for your make-up brushes. The inside looks like this:

It protects your brushes well while traveling because it's very stiffly interfaced and you can customize the slots to hold what you need.  I have to send this one to Bernina which makes me very sad. BUT, was I complaining about the bad fabric choices yesterday? I found this new Denise Schmidt line called Hope Valley via Mmmcraft and mama mia! the stuff is great. I need to get my hands on some to make one of the above pronto.

WIPs

I am currently working on two new patterns for the Sewing Republic, and choosing some fabric from my stash might be the most satisfying part. Take a look:

click on the picture for a larger view.

Looking at the swatches motivates me. I never though of it before but it makes old fabric look new again, which is good because I don't think I am going to buy very much new fabric this year. I feel a little too much like Atlas carrying the weight of the sky/my stash on my shoulder, and it's really heavy! Also, I think the new fabric collections are mostly boring, but that's another topic...

Free Pattern to come...

I have a few patterns that are about to be posted at the Sewing Republic very soon and I can't help myself but share a sneak peek with you:

I made those little trays out of a free Moda bag picked-up at Quilt Market when it was in Portland. That trip was truly memorable, I met Denise Schmidt, Amy Butler, Heather Ross, Anna Maria Horner etc... and actually got to really talk with some of them. Denise seemed pretty shy but nice while Heather was very comfortable talking to total strangers and very friendly. It doesn't hurt that Portland is the place for me. As in "This is the place!"

(wink)