Sara + h

piece making :: making peace

Making continues in the midst of the emotional upheaval and disequilibrium.  It is, in fact, the one thing that feels sane right now.  The comfort that comes from making a thing.  It doesn't matter what.  And the process itself is not always peaceful.  It's often dotted with frustration and outbursts of profanity.  Even so, piece making is the one tool I have for making peace right now.  My old reliable.  I'm working on adding other tools to my kit.  For now though, this is good.

sammy & oliver

Awhile ago, I picked up half a dozen vintage "I Can Read" books at Goodwill.  Among them were four by Syd Hoff: Albert the Albatross, Danny and the Dinosaur (which we already had but when you live in a house where sharing can be an issue, two copies of the same book isn't a bad thing), Oliver, and Sammy the Seal.

There's something so very Mid-Century about these books.  The stories and illustrations both have a kind of gosh-gee-whiz-rocket-ships-and-apple-pie  sort of feel about them.  Quintessentially 1950s America.  The perfect inspiration for a first birthday gift.

Illustrations were traced, stencils cut, t-shirts painted, fabric clipped and stitched, and voila!  Sammy and Oliver were born.

Next time I"ll do the applique by hand.  If there's one thing this wee project taught me it's that I'm no good at sewing small circles onto a t-shirt with a machine.  Squares are one thing.  Circles are an entirely different matter.

more pictures, few words

The advantage of not too many friends or family members knowing about your blog is that you can show off the presents you've made them without consequence.

::for my niece::

I knit this Flapper Hat with a picot cast-on rather than a folded picot edge.  I was concerned about bulk because I was using much smaller needles than the yarn (Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora) called for.  It turned out fine but the cast-on edge has a tendency to roll.

dragonfly t-shirt

Another freezer paper stenciled shirt.  Dragonflies this time.

::for my sister-in-law::





Cable Footies from One Skein knit in Dream In Color Handpainted Superwash Merino in "Happy Forrest."  A lovely yarn (I'll be buying more) and a quick and satisfying knit.  A perfect gift too when you need to be cranking them out.  I knit these in two days (probably about 8-10 hours).  Oh how I love knitting socks in worsted weight yarn.

and another

::patience::

::is::

::rewarded::

Another day, another tee.  This took the whole of yesterday evening.  Lots and lots of tedious cutting.  I'm incredibly pleased with the outcome though.  Today's overcast skies mean only sub-par photos but I think the beauty of the image* comes across regardless of the bad light.  All and all, a very satisfying project.

*I have to add that I did not draw this image myself.  My drawing/sketching/drafting skills are...well, let's just say I leave those things to my brother.  I found this particular image through Google Images.  It was designed by Stephen Clark and is an actual stencil that, from what I can tell, is intended for use as body art.  As you can see, it's copyrighted material.  I enlarged and manipulated the image to suit my purposes but I absolutely am not responsible for the design.  As I said before, drawing is not one of my talents.  Tracing, yes.  Drawing, no.

for pants

Dawn or "Pants" as she was dubbed in high school, is among Dan's and my oldest friends.  Dan has known her for twenty-three years and I've known her for twenty.  I feel too young to be able to say that I've known someone for that long but it's still true regardless of how I feel.

Pants is pregnant and due in March with her and her husband Nathan's first child and I decided to pretty up a few maternity shirts for her as a holiday gift.  Last night, I adorned the shoulder of the first shirt with four bright rose colored ginkgo leaves.

I hope to get to the second shirt tonight.  If that goes as hoped you should see another stenciled shirt here sometime tomorrow afternoon and I'll be able to tick another person off of the holiday gift list.

cock-a-doodle-do!

Gifts for a freshly hatched little boy...

Cock-a-doodle-do!  In the barn there was a rooster.
And a pigeon too.
And a big white hen
Standing on one leg.
And under the hen
was a quiet egg.

I can't be the only parent in the world who has Margret Wise Brown's Big Red Barn committed to memory.

another attempt

I love me a good sale


neat, tidy, colorful


lovely new stencil brushes that have never seen egg wash


so pristine


loaded brush


stenciled


sweet success

lost touch & mail

I present you with proof of previous success with freezer paper stencils.

Exhibit A: hippety hoppety (on muslin)

Now, I present you with proof of current failure.


Exhibit B: the ruined onesie


Exhibit C: 2nd attempt on muslin  (Can you hear my head banging against the wall???)

There are three more like this but I'll spare you and myself detailing them.  Last night was an evening of total craft frustration.  I'm not quite sure what I'm doing differently but clearly I've lost my touch.  I'm obviously using too much paint but I'm not certain how I could use less.  I wonder if scale has anything to do with it?  The bunny above and all my other successful stencils were quite large (about six inches tall) while the current stencils are only an inch to an inch and a half across.  Or perhaps it's the way I'm applying the paint?  Maybe I should pitch the sponge and dig through our utensil drawer to find the stencil brush Dan saw fit to use as a pastry brush awhile back (don't ask).  If anyone has any suggestions for making this work, please, PLEASE, send them my way.

On a more successful note, I'm headed to the post office with some packages after Astrid wakes up from her nap this afternoon.  Better late than never, I say.  One thing though.  Those expecting packages from me should know that I opted for simply mailing things over mailing things that I've made just so.  There are no cards or fancy wrapping.  Remember friends, it's the thought...

Edited to add: I'm going to assume the paint is the issue despite the fact that I've used this particular paint successfully in the past.  I really don't think it's the type of fabric.   That just seems a less likely culprit to me and again, I've used both knit cotton and cotton muslin successfully in the past.  I guess while I'm at the art supply store, I'll buy another stencil brush as well.  Using something that's been dipped in egg wash and olive oil just doesn't seem wise no matter how well my husband insists he washed it.

Oh, and applique is definitely the answer for salvaging that onesie.  I just have to decide what it will be.  An appliqued elephant, perhaps?  Or maybe I'll steal Angelique's abstract balloon/flower/lollipop idea.

wip::wee stencils

I've had a pile of wee tees and onesies awaiting some freezer paper stenciling and today I started in on them.  This little plum colored elephant will be for Maeve but I have a newly arrived little man named Spencer to make for too.  I see roosters and bunnies in my future.  Perhaps a few ducks too.

I was sidelined yesterday with a headache all day.  I'm not someone who suffers from migraines so I was caught off guard by how debilitated I felt.  I fervently hope yesterday was a an oddity.  Suffering like that on a regular basis isn't an appealing idea at all.

The fact that posting didn't even cross my mind yesterday makes me glad I didn't officially sign up for NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month).  To have stumbled right out of the gate like that would've been humiliating.  I do plan on making an effort to post everyday this month from here on out though.  We'll just have to see how it goes.  I'm not holding my breath but I do hope to get back into the rhythm of posting on a daily (or nearly so) basis again.

One thing I am feeling regretful about not signing up for is the Holiday Ornament Swap.  The fact that we're trying to make most of our gifts this year was justification enough for not signing up.  I definitely don't need anything else on my plate during the next two months but now that the opportunity is gone my brain is, of course, percolating with all sorts of ideas.  Damn.  Isn't that always the way? 

happy feet

I'm a little embarrassed that  I couldn't come up with something more  novel than a pear in the moment that I started these.   It falls a little close to the tree.  The original ideas didn't come until later and now I'm left to decide whether I need to buy more shoes to carry them out on or if I need to switch to a different sort of

canvas.  More shoes wouldn't be such a bad thing.  Who doesn't like more shoes?  And besides, I always forget how large Target shoes run.  These things fit like boats dispite the fact that I bought the size Lola was measured at just last week.