MOONSTITCHES

Zakka Style Owl Pennant

Quick and easy to make, these owls can be used for Christmas ("Joyeux Noel"), birthdays or any other occasion that might be celebrated.

You need:

- wool
- linen
- fusible web
- buttons
- muslin
- iron on interface to reinforce muslin
- floss for embroidering the beak
- strong string
- alphabet stamps

 

seam allowances included, click for full sized version

1.    attach fusible web to linen (amount of fabric depending on how many owls you want to make)

2.    according to the number of owls you want to make, cut pairs of wool, making a slit in one of every pair at the indicated position

3.    cut one belly piece for each owl from linen

4.    sew together two pieces of A, trim seam allowances and turn inside out through slit

turned inside out

5.    press for 3 seconds under a wet tea towel, then adjust the shape of the body

6.    attach linen belly piece and iron on for about 7 seconds using a dry tea towel to protect the fabric

iron on belly part B

7.    topstitch the belly beginning in the upper corner

topstitch belly B starting in upper corner

8.    cut ends of thread on front side, secure and bury on back side

9.    fold down the upper corner, embroider the beak with a few stitches

10.  sew on buttons as eyes

11.  make alphabet tags, sew on (reinforce muslin, stamp, cut)

12.  thread owls on string

thread owls on string

Happy Sewing!

And don't forget to hop over to the Cotton Spice blog for the Last Minute Gift Countdown!

More photos here.

Scarlett goes random#3

I have been traveling rather a lot and to distant places, often by airplane, which is always kind of leaving me with a feeling of having cheated somehow, because you enter the plane in your home country and get off, just after a few hours (or some more), being in a whole different world.

Switching between places can be a great thing and of course we all dream of beaming technology be available, but when I think back which journey I made was my most memorable I undoubtedly must say it was one I made within Europe.

About twelve years ago I went from Aachen, Germany, to La Tourballe, a little town in France at the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, by bicycle. It took us (then boyfriend and me) about 1000 km (621 miles), lots of baguettes, apples, Nutella, chocolate, salami, canned lentil soup and some spokes for my bike, a little tent and La Loire to guide us (had forgotten to take our maps) and after around ten days we had reached the ocean. Unforgettable. Never again the apples tasted more juicy, the sea looked more beautiful.

The owls that were part of the one in ten auction landed safely at their destination, as I lately got to know.

Great week to you all!

Ahhh, waiting for crafty news or more yarn? Well, I am procrastinating over a blouse for me, a skirt for Dagny, working on a new while waiting at the kindergarten crocheting project, something I am not yet sure of what it will exactly be as I am making it up as I go, admiring more new yarn that waits patiently to be transformed into socks (once I get the hang of it - I could make ordinary ribbed ones, top to toe but who does knit them nowadays? I feel like I have to evolve instead of relying on what I once learned) and another Hour Glass sweater. And I have have finished owls sitting on my desk for generous blog friends and someone who suggested an exchange of softies to me... and there is a tote waiting to be finished... And I LONG to get back to my hexagons and squares, and stars... deep breath.

I will now pick up my daughter and do some crocheting. One step at a time.

F O W L R E S T

As I was a child my family used to venture out into the woods almost every Sunday morning. Just to walk, breathe. During the course of a year we collected whatever could be found - beechnuts, mushrooms, blueberries or chestnuts. On the not edible end there were stones, roots, branches, pine cones, caterpillars, bugs - not everything we took home. Being out in the woods may be one thing I remember best when thinking of my childhood.

And there is even more in a forest... something which never failed to make me smile... my mother always said I looked like Jodie Foster - which I thought was a bit far fetched but oh, so flattering. I always wondered why my mother would say something like that...

Now, a few years later and having the most beautiful daughter one could ever think of, I do understand why...

Mothers.

A forest of owls made for being part of one in ten.

Larger pictures over there.

summer sewing

Finally I have some photos for showing you what that important summer sewing was all about... taken two days ago on our way to the big Fireworks in Yokohama.

I followed a Japanese pattern for making the yukata, roughly, because I altered the length of the sleeves (the part that is hanging down below the arm) they became longer while the hemline went up.
Also I did a lot of hand sewing instead of using the machine because it seemed to be appropriate with the texture of the seersucker. With my serger (babylock) I did the finish for some seams because that way they just look neater than zigzagged. And there's a French seam in the back, unfortunately I didn't check the print and ended up with a little pattern break on the back... yes, I do care for such things which makes me an uncool crafter, I suppose. Anyway.

The little kinchaku came together without a pattern. All you need for that is a small basket (or a bigger one if plan on sewing for a bigger girl) that determines the size of the bag. The bag is lined with an undyed cotton, the cord is made of some yarn I had here for ages (the perfect colour for the outer fabric and basket, who would have thought that its time would come some day?!). Altogether a fun project and I was glad I knew how to sew with my serger after we hadn't met for a long time.
Oh my, I know exactly how strange it will feel when I end my hexagon break one day. It is only nine days since I made the last hexgon and I already get the impression, whenever I look at the blanket, somebody else crocheted it and left it at my house. But who would do that?! Very unlikely. It must be all that knitting I did in the meantime. It's like eating potato chips. Once you've finished a bag you crave for chocolate and after that you have to go back to the chips to remind you what their taste was. Right now I feel like being a knitter... I should try crocheting again, soon.

Once again, i said it before, sometimes I would like I was a real sewing person, making all our garments myself, or a quilter, a crocheter or a knitter - the way I potter around is letting me remain being a dilettante  on all fields. Which I can live with since I tend to like what I have been making, yet, I never feel like I was the person to answer questions about how something is to be sewn or crocheted. The person who know are the others... hm, where did this come from? I thought I'd make a quick post about the yukata... better stop here. I guess it's just too warm to feel good. Or my failed colour instinct is still nagging at me...

Cheers!

Chirimen Carps for the Boys

As you might have read here or in today's post post over at Myra's My Little Mochi, Children's Day originally was Boy's Day and of course a home of someone who has had a short but obsessive chirimen craft phase about three years ago is well equipped with all necessary decorations for the various holidays in Japan...

Little, strong Kintaro with Kabuto and a pair of flying carps... absolutely unimaginatively crafted following a pattern from this book (ISBN 4-88641-964) which I bought for 500 Yen (instead of 1300) at a BOOK OFF store. The book provides patterns for all animals according to Chinese Zodiac signs (important if you like to make annually changing New Year's decorations) and some cute chirimen crepe sceneries for throughout the whole year... oh, speaking of this, I still haven't covered autumn... maybe this year. But maybe I should rather start with some holiday crafts right away, like Steph...

No, let's wait for October 23, that would be still early, wouldn't it?

More chirimen, koinobori and also a giant kite over here, if you like.

Take care!

Look Closer

scroll down to see pictures from the books I used

The owls, you know them well by now... in general I used the pattern from this book but chose  wool and linen instead of chirimen crepe, which per se creates a thoroughly new species, no matter if feet respectively wings are or are not attached, a beret is worn, a name given and sewn on or not and those google eyes replaced by lovely vintage buttons... Oh not to forget, I put in much more filling which results in a shorter flap / friendlier face.
The book is nice, as I said before, but a bit "thin" (lots of photos, not so many patterns) and given the rather high price I'd say I wouldn't recommend buying it.

The bunny... from this book. Mine is all dressed up and has pointy, much more grown up ears. Chirimen instead of cotton, no accessories. The pattern is from this book. A reasonably priced book, not a fancy one and the projects often look rather boring but I like it. If you already own a few Japanese patchwork or crafting magazines, you won't need this one. Especially not if you just seek to find out how to make that bunny. To construct a bunny shouldn't be too difficult and I could help, too. And the bunny's kimono... that's all fake, I can tell you. The obi (belt) really does the trick, covers all odds and ends, in this case rather odd ends that is. Ends of fabric that wouldn't be there if this was a real wrapped dress the bunny is wearing. The kimono actually  consists of the bunny's body, a wrapped around skirt the sewn on sleeves and a double folded piece of fabric draped around the bunny's neck pretending being the kimono's collar. The size of my bunny is 14 cm.

The bag... from a very unattractive looking book which I cannot find online, a book that contains quite some interesting patterns, very basic and would it been made in the same style as those Machine Made Patchworks books it would be known.
The bag... de-frilled, bright, fresh fabrics, a rigid, angular base instead of the soft, round one - gives the bag a  simpler, more  modern  look. Go and search for a Granny Bag pattern in your patchwork magazines, it's likely you find one. If not, draw a rough sketch of the desired bag's shape, play with curves, pleats and darts. How to create a rectangular base for a bag can be seen in that tutorial on Marianne's applehead (Do you know her 'smallpeople'? I really love them!).

Try coming up with your own pattern, if others hadn't, there weren't as much as there are. I know that really is not new for you. You are all creative, talented people and like to do things your own way. I just want to encourage everybody. And this is what I would like to tell you, hoping I do not sound too arrogant: Try to be convinced you already own that perfect pattern for a bag, softie or whatever you want to create. Assume it is just hidden in not so zakka-like craft books with lots of uninspired photos. Try to see the good in the patterns you have at home, be willing to give them your own twist, play.

I never bought one of the Machine Made Patchwork books (at least not for me) although I like them very much. I just think I have the provided patterns pretty much covered by other books or magazines. Beautiful and very unattractive ones. A few years of crafting in Japan inevitably leads to well laden bookshelves, I admit. But I do avoid buying each and every book that's pretty.

I think I am starting a challenge here. I will get out my most unalluring craft and sewing books and look for projects that really don't seem appealing at all - and try to transform them into something I like.
Does that sound cocky? Hope not.

Have a beautiful day!

Edit: I feel like I have to say a bit more on this topic because I could have giving a wrong impression of my relation to craft/sewing/Zakka books. What I said about avoiding buying books just because they are pretty... that is, as long as I would categorize the concerning book as a 'craft book' with the purpose of providing patterns. But there are also those books that are so beautiful, creative or inspiring that not a single pattern has to be in them to legitimate their existence. In these cases a few stunning photographies are all I need to make me want them. After all I'm only human ;-)   

???

Last week Dagny turned four. Four! And got a present that I made (!!), which was not so certain because for several weeks I just couldn't decide on what I should make her.

So many ideas spinning around in my head, so much great inspiration out there... here, this  one , isn't it  lovely?! Or this? I remember having a grocery store my father had made when I was a girl, nothing as charming as this one  or fancy like this, more like that (love, love, love it!)... Or  should I  rather opt for a dollshouse? And speaking of dolls... a super lovely bed like this would make every girl happy, wouldn't it? As would this... Or should it be something like what she got last year? Dagny surely would have liked to show off a little 4 on her tee...

The birthday approached and still I had no clue. But you know, there comes the point when it's getting pretty easy to decide because you just can rule out everything that would be taking more time than there is remaining and so, two and a half days before there had to be something, I certainly could bury the idea of grocery stores as well as of a birthday outfit. Also it wasn't very likely I could come up with a rather large doll quilt or complex bedding in that time. But I saw some time saving potential by chiseling on that dollshouse project and so the dollshouse it was...

And look who kind of liked it...!

Makes me so happy.

The chiseling... it's quite obvious it is a bookcase. But a bookcase with a roof ontop and ask a four year old, that in fact makes it a house. Two cutting boards helped out as wall and floor, some synthetic felt I had at home was transformed into pantiles. You can see what they do when a wind is coming up...

These stairs consumed a lot of time. Hand sawing, glueing and hammering tiny nails while  watching (rather listening)  The Adventures of Robin Hood, one of my all time "watching on Easter" favourites - after all it was Easter Sunday when I was doing this while the rest of the family was enjoying a beautiful day at the beach!

The stairs as well as the rest of the house look very do-it-yourself-ish, there are no windows or doors, two floors are way too low, it's neither fancy romantic nor cool vintage... I'd liked it to have  beautiful retro wallpaper but my long term planning and acquiring material somewhat failed... But honestly, I don't think my four year old cares for authentic vintage wallpaper from the Sixties as long it isn't pink.

I couldn't finish the quilt for the little bed I had built on time but the top was done and served well as a blanket for a birthday picnic with the whole bunch... But later the week it looked like this.

Dagny loves to play with her "dolls" and always creates the most interesting scenarios with them - like being out for hanami (cherry blossom viewing) or having surgery near a campfire...

Like the bed, some furniture had to be built, others I had bought some time ago, just in case... We also had a fridge stashed as well as a toaster.

The colour scheme is... well, mostly pink it is - can't go wrong with that if you ask my girl.

Best investment was some pink, waterbased paint. With it almost everything can be turned into gorgeous... sigh.

Some domestic pride: we own three pots from Le Creuset... as in "kitchen magnet giveaways"  by a certain company for beverages.

Since she got her house, Dagny already made some requests like moving the kitchen from one room into another, a big, pink shelf for more cake and hunting down or making a toilet... I guess this project will keep me busy for some time but I'm glad the house was received so happily.

The inhabitants - there is another bodyless frog but since we do not have another headless Kewpie that one currently files under ball and is put away in the small chamber near the living room with all the other toys...

More pictures over here.

Happy Monday!

Edit: Sorry for the missing pictures for the past hours, I hope I have fixed that now.

Enjoying Spring

Spring shaped cookies that taste a bit like Christmas due to a lovely bouquet of vanilla bean, cinnamon and cardamom. The cookie cutters are really easy to handle for small kids and I think we have to go back to the store where we discovered them and bring home the bunny shaped ones, too...

Last week I found the loveliest fabric, just can't decide if it's the happy wallpaper print or the heavy, opulently textured chequered one... both very, very delicious.

We have a lot beautiful fabrics here in Japan, I know you know... and I am happy to have so easy access to them. Which doesn't inevitably mean I buy everything I like or everything that's new or hot. To know I could makes me feel rather relaxed, same effect regarding purchasing magazines and books, by the way.

But there are fabrics I really fall for and just have to have. And there are those I bring home feeling the urge to make something of them right away, something I can take with me when I'm leaving the house and not being able to stroll by my stash to occasionally caress my fabric loves...

It is spring here in Japan.

The time to go outside, get your kid, take your lunch and have a picnic.

Take a seat...

Unpack...

Have a happy spring lunch!

The pattern for the lunch bag is from Cotton & Paint Vol.27 (Spring edition 2007).
It's easily adjustable to your lunch container's size. I changed the handle's length (was too long to my taste) and also added a lining because just did not like it without one. The pattern called for quilted material so I let that lovely print join with some med loft batting first and  machine quilted it. 

Signature?

Of course, my plans are never working out and so I still haven't written all my mails... or taken more beautiful photos of the cherry trees. I never should announce anything here on my blog... It is all grey and rainy here, and chilly, too bad for everybody who wanted to enjoy the cherry blossoms having some picnic under the trees.

We stay indoors today, bake cookies and clean up a little bit.

Maybe it's a good day to show you the latest coasters, tagged coasters (naturally) I made? I always feel reluctant to post about coasters here, don't want to bore anybody, you know, but after all this blog is  a journal to keep track of what I'm crafting so I shouldn't worry about boring you...

So, here we go:

The tags are saying "Thank You" this time, because "Thank You" is what I wanted to say to Dagny's teachers at kindergarten when the first year (for Dagny only half a year because she entered in the middle of it) ended two weeks ago. Again the alphabet stamp set was used and also some hiragana stamps for the Japanese arigatou gozaimasu.

I never thought of the term "signature gift" when speaking of my coasters till Jennifer mentioned it in a comment on the "Interlude" post in march. Don't know how comfortable I am with coasters being a kind of signature for what I am doing, maybe amazing originally designed full grown quilts would make me more proud, but I happen to love (making) my coasters and when the term signature gift makes me feel more easy when posting about them, I should embrace it.

Now, on to those cookies!

Have a pleasant day.

We've come to tell...

Finally, the tutorial.

I don't know if it's really necessary because making the owls is quite easy and after all I can't provide you with the pattern since the one I used is copyright protected... but anyway.

The owls are fun and you should try them!

These, by the way, are husband's-worn-out-100%-cashmere-coat with linen, very elegant and nice to touch.

Woowls, they always feel good... :)

As I said before... have a nice weekend!

Edit: The woowls are about 7 cm, the cubbier they are the smaller they get.