my creative space
March 10, 2010 | 3 Comments
I’m spring cleaning in my creative space today. Three bags of fabric and craft goodies are going to my friend Sarah, who gave me the yarn from last week. I also packed up three bags of clothing that I had planned to upcycle into something else. That’s going to The Mission. I figure there are folks who need those jeans more than I do, and I’ve still got plenty of stash to keep me busy.
I’m already feeling inspired by my uncluttered creative space. Now I’m going to pop over to Kirsty’s blog for more inspiration.
Tags: declutter > donate > my creative space > stash
what’s the most creative time of your day?
March 9, 2010 | 7 Comments
I love the wee hours of the morning. Some of my fondest memories are from my little apartment in Baltimore staying up until 2, 3, or 4 a.m. just drawing, reading or listening to music.
Summertime was my favorite. I lived right in the middle of Mt. Vernon’s night life: restaurants, bars, dance clubs. I’d throw open the windows and work to the background of music and laughter rising up from the streets. Sometimes I’d walk to the bookstore cafe and get a late night coffee just before they closed at midnight. The humidity in the air made the street lamps glow. It was magical.
Fifteen years later I am facing the fact that my favorite time of day just isn’t working for me anymore. I need my full eight hours of sleep. Count backward from when my daughter springs out of bed and the numbers just don’t work. One late night can throw off my whole schedule and start me on a downward spiral of over-caffeinated mornings and afternoon naps.
I know I need to get up before the rest of the house to get quality work done. I know the mornings can be magical in their own special way: the smell of freshly brewed coffee, sunrises, dew drops outside my window. I know I need to make a change. I just can’t let go of my nights.
What about you?
Do you get up when the rooster crows or are you a night owl, too? Have you ever changed things up? How did it work for you? Did it stick? Was it hard to do? Do you miss your old ways or love your new way of life? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. I really want to know!
wardrobe refashion: pj pants to nightshirt
March 8, 2010 | 3 Comments
When I was at my craft weekend away, one of my friends was serging a nightshirt for her daughter. Another friend was making dresses out of t-shirt scraps. I blame them for this crazy idea: a nightshirt out of a pajama top and bottom scraps.
This was a lot cuter in my head and my sketches than it turned out. I had hoped the skirt would be a bit more ruffled, but there really wasn’t a lot of fabric in the bottoms. I wound up piecing together the sleeves, too. (Sorry for the unstaged “before” photo, but I was really excited to dive into this project!)
Thankfully, I tested this on the Mickey pajamas first. Although she loves Mickey, she loves her Minnie pajamas even more. I will probably use one of my old t-shirts for that refashion. I also might keep the sleeves at 3/4 length. Oh, speaking of the sleeves, check out this awesome rolled hem. Swoon!
refashion: Even though the sleeves and legs of my daughter’s clothes are getting too small, the body still fits nicely. I’m getting lots of opportunities to be creative!
Tags: jammies > mickey > minnie > mouse > pajamas > pjs > recycle > reuse > wardrobe refashion
wardrobe refashion: lollipop shirt
March 5, 2010 | 2 Comments
My daughter was absolutely devastated that her lollipop shirt had gotten too small. (Yes, devastated—three-year-old drama is so… dramatic!) So I did what any sewing mama would do: appliqué.
I used heat-n-bond and reinforced it with a zig zag stitch. My only mistake was leaving the extra heavy duty needle in the machine. I hope these holes don’t get any bigger!
refashion: Appliqué is a great way to give an old shirt new life. I can’t believe the new shirt is a size 5/6. My baby is getting so big!
Tags: applique > lollipop > refashion > t-shirt
my creative space
March 3, 2010 | 7 Comments
I am becoming known as the Master Unraveler. A friend of mine had two knit tablecloths, but didn’t know how to take them apart. They were seamed together, ruffled and hemmed with elastic. I took the first one from this:
to this:
In my creative space today, I’ll be tackling tablecloth number two. Did I mention that I get to keep some yarn for myself? Score!
Check out more creative spaces over at Kirsty’s blog.
Tags: knit > recycle > tablecloth > unravel > yarn
another garden scarf!
March 2, 2010 | 8 Comments
This was a gift for one of my daughter’s friends. The colors are so beautiful, it was hard not to keep it for myself! I decided to make it out of cotton because Spring is right around the corner. (Really! It is!) I hope she gets a lot of wear out of it before the weather turns warm.
I’m still addicted to crocheting flowers, so I went through my stash and put all of my odds and ends in one bag for easy access. There were some colors that looked beautiful together, but I didn’t have enough for the whole scarf. I grabbed some natural cotton to help stretch the colors a little further.
stash: Just like a white t-shirt is to your wardrobe, natural colored yarn is a stash staple. It goes with everything, and you can dress it up or down, depending on your project.
pattern: I’ve had so many requests for this pattern. Sorry I forgot the link! It’s the Garden Scarf from Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker.
Tags: birthday > cotton > crochet > flower > garden scarf > stitch n bitch
crafty retreat
March 1, 2010 | 2 Comments
I spent this weekend thrifting and crafting and it was lovely! My friend Kaitlyn of Owl People organized a getaway at a local bed and breakfast for those of us who needed some time away from home to concentrate on our work.
Before the event, Kelly of refibered and I met up for some early morning thrifting. (I think Goodwill’s 99 cent sale has officially become a standing date for us.) Then we headed over to the B&B for an afternoon and evening filled with creativity. So many crafts were represented: crochet, cross stitch, sewing, scrapbooking, decoupage, floral arranging. The next morning, Kelly and I checked out a Flea Market/Antiques Show before heading home.
This was such a great idea and everyone who attended insisted this be a biannual event. I know I’ll definitely be attending again!
tiny four-leaf clover pattern
February 26, 2010 | 2 Comments
I had this idea. The top of my tiny crochet hearts kind of look like half of a four-leaf clover. What if I added two more leaves and a stem?
After a few tries, I finally got it. Hope they bring you some good luck!
Tiny Four-Leaf Clover Pattern
worsted weight yarn
size G/5 (4.25mm) crochet hook
tapestry needle for weaving ends
dc: double crochet
hdc: half double crochet
sc: single crochet
sl st: slip stitch
gauge: not important, but mine are about 1 1/2 inches across
Make a magic ring.
R1: chain 1, sc into loop 5 times, pull loop closed, join with sl st (5 stitches)
R2: It might be easier to take this stitch by stitch:
— chain 1, hdc, 3dc, hdc in first stitch
— sl st into second stitch, hdc, 3dc, hdc in that same stitch
— sl st into third stitch, chain 4, sc in second and third bump from hook,
sl st into third st again*
— hdc, 3dc, hdc in fourth stitch
— sl st into fifth stitch, hdc, 3dc, hdc in that same stitch
— sl st into first chain 1
*You’re going into the bumps on the back of the chain, not the stitches on the front of the chain.
Some folks were having trouble getting the V shape on the top of the heart, so I hope adding this chain 1 helps. I take the end, weave it in on the back toward the tail and then tie them tightly together.
Tags: applique > clover > crochet > four > free > irish > leaf > lucky > march > pattern > shamrock > st. paddy > st. patrick > st. patty > tiny
wardrobe refasion:
adding long sleeves to a t-shirt
February 25, 2010 | 4 Comments
I was putting away laundry in my daughter’s dresser and found her preschool t-shirt. I can’t remember the last time it was warm enough to wear short sleeves. I don’t think it’s even been worn once. I decided to add some long sleeves so she can wear it before she outgrows it.
(I know what you are thinking. Why not just layer it over a long sleeve shirt and save yourself the trouble? Well, not only does my daughter dislike wearing sweaters, she doesn’t like to layer shirts, either.)
I used a size 4-5 T sleeve to make the pattern and figured I’ll just roll them up for now. Maybe next fall, I can use them on a different shirt. Look at that beautifully serged seam. Don’t you just love it?
recycle: I used the body of one of my old t-shirts to make the sleeves. I was going to post a tutorial, but this seems easy enough. What do you think?
Tags: long > recycle > refashion > short > sleeves > t-shirt
my creative space
February 24, 2010 | 4 Comments
In my creative space today is another custom bag for my friend Cathy with more cat fabric! She wanted this one really big to hold her ball winder, swift and tons of yarn.
I made it really big.
Then I was worried that it was too big.
I took it to knitting group tonight and she said it’s perfect!
I just need to finish it up and get it back to her. She’s got a bunch of yarn waiting for it.
Now I’m headed over to Kirsty’s blog for more Creative Space inspiration. You should, too!
keep looking »
Kids
Adults
Knit + Crochet
Home
Contributions
Featured On
Recently Written
About
Julie is a freelance designer and writer. She has a passion for finding new uses for old, loved things, and will sew anything: sweaters, shirts, jeans, pants. Nothing is safe if it fits under her presser foot!
New Listing!
Shop
Tweets
Say Hello!
Search
Categories
- all posts
- cooking
- costumes
- creative process
- creative space
- crochet
- donate
- embroidery
- free card templates
- gifts
- giveaway
- inspiration
- kids
- knitting
- mending
- paper
- patterns
- photography
- press
- project to-do
- recraft
- recreate
- recycle
- refashion
- reshape
- resource
- retreat
- reuse
- review
- sergers
- sewing
- stash
- thrifting
- tutorials
