Blueprints

I have always thought about how great it would be to wear cute dresses every day like girls in the 50s. I mean, it’s ONE contained outfit. No thinking at all. 

I have such a hard time finding dresses that fit me properly, so now I can make these dresses myself because I can sew. I took the plunge and bought this dress pattern on etsy here. How hard can it be, right? I’m a smart person. I can read and follow instructions.

Ha! Look at this!! It looks like blueprints for a house or how to build a computer. This might take quite a bit of time. I might have to bring in my Mom, the big guns! The the craftiest lady I know. She’s made elaborate gowns and things. She must pass on some of her knowledge. If only I can steal her away from some of her other activities.

Pot holders & Place mats

I was very productive this weekend! I think the tote bag really gave me a boost of confidence.

I finished two items (or six, really) that have been needed for quite some time: pot holders and place mats. Many months ago I suggested that maybe we just buy them, but Etienne would not let me. He told me I had to make them myself.

After quite some time, deliberating about which style of placemats to make, I settled on a classic three panel tryptich. Haha. No. Kidding. I made that up, of course. I just  thought it might be nice to pretend that the side panels were meaningful. A place where the silverware could lay. Designated.

The place mats are double sided. The black for when you have some Indian food and the cream for when you are eating cereal. Very important. Actually I just wanted some variety and wanted so badly to use both colors of the Lecien My Folklore fabric. It’s soooo cute. I mean mushrooms, electric blue squirrels, and fruit bearing trees with roosters! I had to use it for something that I could look at often.

It was pretty much the same thought for the pot holders. I almost made robot pot holders, but Etienne suggested using one of the really cute fabrics instead. I bought this polar bear and bunny summer fabric a long time ago. Just look at the polar bears cycling and smiling. And the bunny in his old fashioned swimsuit is great.

I used Denyse Schmidt’s “Too Hot To Handle” pot holder pattern from her quilting book. I decided to make it thicker, though, by adding a layer of insulating material for safety. No burns, thank you very much.

And the craftiest, most amazing part of all… the binding. When I made Joan’s tote bag out of sheets I cut off the edge of the sheets where the fabric was folded up. I thought, “Kim. You should save that. In the most perfect crafty world we can use EVERY bit of leftover fabric. No wasting, please.” So, I opened it up and used it for binding. Not very complicated, but I felt good that I wasn’t wasting and that I didn’t have to make any binding myself. Bleh. I think the white binding looks really nice against the rest, too.

Happy Birthday, Joan!

And Thanks! You inspired me to make my first tote bag. I hope you like it!

I made this using Amy Karol’s book “Bend the Rules Sewing.” I modified it a bit by making it bigger, using two long handles with different fabrics on each side, using inferfacing for stability and sturdiness, and making a double sided pocket.

It didn’t take as long as I expected, although I couldn’t say how long it actually took. There was a minor setback when I topstiched the outside and one handle was loose. I had to rip out the thread, turn it back inside-out and then re-sew it all. But that’s fine. The thread is not 100% perfectly straight (as I expect it should be, even on a first try), but it’s okay. I’m coming to terms with that.

The outside is twill fabric in teal. The inside fabrics come from Target. They were sheets that I had to buy because I knew they would be super fucking adorable someday when I reincarnated them. heh heh. Now I want to make one for myself, but maybe a bit bigger. Or maybe Joan wouldn’t like me copying. We’ll see.

Done

Two items checked off the To Do list this weekend. And I made a whole bunch of other coffee sleeves as well.

I’m on a roll. Must be The Sorcerer’s Stone on my ipod keeping me company. I just can’t get enough of harry.

DONE - 1. Hem AG’s two skirts before her trip.

DONE - 2. Make ten girlie cozies for T. - The bright pink one is the reversible inside of the cozies.

To Do List - June 11

1. Hem AG’s two skirts before her trip.

2. Make ten girlie cozies for T.

3. Make and list more skull cozies, etc. for A (from Florida…you know who you are.) so he stops being mad at me. Also make a red riding hood sleeve for S.

4. Perfect my secret prototype coffee sleeve for summer. And then I can make the skull secret sleeve for S, as well.

5. Make lots and lots of professor cozies that I already cut out.

6. Make AG’s quilt. It’s ready to go. I don’t know what my problem is.

7. Make myself some place mats and pot holders.

8. Make myself a delightful summer tote bag… whenever I build up the courage.

9. Make that surprise quilt for so and so.

10. Make my own damn argyle quilt!

Ugh. So much to do. It just seems like this list never gets shorter.

Finished product

Here is Carol’s finished coffee sleeve. I think it’s pretty cute. I made one more for Etsy and one for Fiber  Notion.

And the inside is a kind of cotton candy stripe of pink, purple, white and brown.

The blue and green one is for James. I’ll be mailing it out tomorrow. Hope they like them.

My first try

This is my first attempt at embroidery. I used a backstitch from this book. The “a” looks a bit off, but it was a good try.

Tomorrow it will become a coffee sleeve for my sister-in-law. I wanted to add a personal touch because I thought the purple polka dots alone were not enough. I hope she likes it. Or, I hope you like it, Carol, if you happen to read this blog. You and James should expect a little package soon.

In a store near you

I would like to announce that you can now find the Doe and the Mouse coffee sleeves at Fiber Notion in Park Slope, Brooklyn! This store sells lots of super cute fabrics and notions. They also have charms packs full of beautiful and unique fabrics rescued and recycled from fashion.

If you are in the area, please check them out:

Fiber Notion: 849 Union St. Brooklyn, NY. closer to 7th avenue.

p.s. The coffee sleeves are now reversible, so you can enjoy each of the lovely fabrics according to your mood.

p.p.s. I’m very excited.

Blue Zoo

I finished L’s baby quilt that she’s giving to her new nephew.

I used the blue and green version of Alexander Henry’s 2D zoo fabric for the front. It’s so damn cute! I had previously made one out of the mostly primary colored animals a couple months ago. For the back I picked a green fabric with light green polka dots. (I always manage to sneak some dots in whenever I can.) And L actually picked out the border herself. I think the stripes are a nice contrast to the rest.

I bought a free-motion foot thinking that I was going to quilt this with leave patterns based on the top fabric, but I opted for stars in the end. I wanted to add some sort of special touch since the quilt itself was just two solid fabrics. My mom was the one that suggested the stars because it kind of looks like the starburst shaped flowers on the front.

The free-motion foot is amazingly difficult to use. It bounces around like crazy, so I guess I’ll need much more practice. Although, maybe I’ll want that “crazy” look someday and it will actually come in handy.

Oh! And if anyone out there has advice on how to use that bouncy free-motion foot, please let me know.

I want this sooooo bad.

one.dress.finished, originally uploaded by annamariahorner.

This dress is gorgeous. I love it and I want it.

Anna Maria Horner designed the fabric and her daughter (the model, I believe) designed the dress. Maybe the 90 comments or so on her blog will convince her to sell the pattern to us all. The fabric, called Drawing Room, is not on sale yet, but I’ll be sure to get some as soon as it’s ready! Maybe I can find a pattern simple enough to test it out on. Although, with my record, it might take me 5 years or so to get up the courage to try it out.