i like craft & design
We are super excited to tell you about the Atlanta Institute of Stitches & Crafts, your new school for modern crafting!
From their site:
We want to create an environment that is both inspiring and reminiscent of all of the great things we loved about school. From lined writing paper to great school supplies, and most importantly feeling like you’re part of a great community of like-minded individuals, school has some great potential for crafty fun. Our website is set up to instill the same feeling when navigated, with categories and menus that remind us how fun being a part of a group of learners & sharers really was (or could have been!).
You should check out their Course Catalog and sign up for a great class. And keep up with them on their blog. We think this is exactly what Atlanta’s craft community needs!
{Our own Christy was profiled on their site here!}
Hooray — thanks ICE for the shout out!!!
Little girl’s dress I’m currently working on mass producing for boutique sales and trunk shows in April and May (with another dress as well). Dress form makes the sleeves look a little funny, but close enough.
Re-covered some ratty pillows on our bed, covers finished with mother of pearl buttons. Made from Amy Butler home decor cotton.
Seamstress
I’ve recently (about 3 weeks ago) started doing seamstress work for a woman that designs children’s boutique clothing in awesome funky fabrics. It’s an awesome opportunity to refine my sewing skills (these are for sale to the public, so I better make it good!), and she gives me total creative freedom on the design of the clothes which is awesome. Luckily, we have very similar styles so it’s a great pairing. However, it’s turned my life into non-stop work, because my few free moments before are now spent hunched over a sewing machine. Luckily, I love to sew and was always looking for an excuse to sew before. Doing seamstress work and working 1-2 days/week in an awesome fabric shop give me plenty of inspiration for making my own clothing. When I get a little bit of free time …
A couple of (rough, phone) photos of some of the things I’ve made:
This photo was taken before the dress was hemmed, and the flower ended up a little smaller than shown. Will post newer photos after the professional shoot we have for the spring line this weekend.
Color is a bit off - but a super cute racer-back knit tank for teeny little girls!
I’m not a huge fan of cargo shorts in general, but I made them so they’re obviously the exception.
I’ll be up all night completing some dresses. We’ll be done this week with samples of the line and then on to full production!
Hiding in Plain Sight
Jason Loper - Test Pattern TV Cover
What a great idea! I’ve always hated TVs in plain sight anywhere in a home, they’re just an eyesore no matter how schnazzy they are. The whole framed TV was sort of appealing, but Thomas and I haven’t made the jump to a flat screen TV yet. Why not blend your TV into your decor, rather than thinking that just because it’s flat panel means it’s unnoticeable. Trust me - we all see it. Felt is my favorite material, and super easy to work with (if you cut the felt straight, no need for hemming). You could take this idea to make whatever you’d like, whatever would work with your space. I do like the test pattern quite a bit, though. I also love that there are two very specific pockets: one for the remote, and the other for your Netflix pouches!
Headphones Pouch
I made a padded pouch for my headphones tonight because I tend to toss them into my bag with my laptop and I’m always afraid they’ll get scratched (or more importantly, my laptop might get scratched). I didn’t really want to put a button on it, because buttons are pains in the ass to me. I hate looping them, I hate sewing the hole (even though it’s done automatically on my machine, it always turns out too long, too short, or sewn too close so that I can’t cut the slit), and I like the simplicity sans buttons (i’m picky about my buttons!).
So, I took out massive shoulder pads from a friend’s old Halloween costume (seriously, they are like 8 by 6 inches) and padded a small pouch, lined with orange felt, and encased with black ice-cream cone cotton fabric. Unfortunately, the photo doesn’t do the colors justice (The Minute Waltz has my camera right now so I had to stick with my computer camera).
I sewed the middle of the top closed about an inch, so that you can slide in headphones from one end, and just curl the rest in.
and they don’t fall out!
I’m pretty happy about this - plus the pink cones match my pink headphones. woot woot!
Now I need to make a sleeve for my laptop (my knit one fell apart after a while). Matching ice-cream cones or is that dorky?
