Indie Craft Experience

Well, not sure what I’ve gotten myself into this time, but I’ve signed up for a booth at the Indie Craft Experience in November. I love this event and am excited to be a part of it, but I think it may take up quite a bit of time between now and November. Does anyone remember the Lloyd Dobler quote below? Loved that movie. I always think of this when, at 37, I am still trying to figure out what to do with my career.

“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.”

That’s pretty much how I feel. But where does that leave you?

Anyway, we decided to do the Indie Craft Experience because my daughter wants to make money to buy these Calico Critters that she’s been collecting lately, so I suggested that we sell her designs again (like we did here). This year both kids will get in on the act and we’ll be making a variety of different products with the girls’ designs on them. In fact, I’m not even sure what exactly we’ll be selling! But it’ll be great and a good lesson for my little entrepreneurs. Except that they’ll sell their stuff for 10 minutes, hit the vegan cupcake stand and hightail it home with their dad and a new handmade doll. Luckily, I’ll have some help with my trusty former intern Erin, who will be selling some of her own creations.

I’ll definitely show things as I’m making them so you can see what we’re up to. The girls have already made some interesting drawings that are waiting to be made into softies, pillows, totes and tees.

Etsy Finds Friday

Modern Bean Embroidered Hair Clip, $8 from Modern Bean.

Small Art Quilt, $70 from Simply Robin.

Apple Sewing Tape, $4 from Kawaii Meow.

Butternut Mouse, $30 from Fairyfolk.

Wood Coasters, set of 4 for $28 from Oryx + Crake Design.

Asher Handspun Yarn, 198 yds for $28.25 from Springtree Road.

Orange/Red Cotton Bag, $39 from Tippy Thai.

Kitchen Jars Fat Quarter, $8.50 from Mummysam.

Wee Little Fabric Acorns, (one dozen with drawstring case), $21 from The Tiny House.

Autumn Apple Muffins

Autumn is almost here! Welcome the flavors of Fall with these apple muffins from my post over on Alpha Mom. Print out the muffin wrappers to dress them up for a school celebration or brunch.

Stitch by Stitch Blog Tour

I’m excited to kick off Deborah Moebes’ blog tour for her new book, Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew One Project at a Time. You can read more about the book in my earlier post here. I decided to ask her some random questions which she kindly answered below. In addition to writing the book, Deborah Moebes is a sewing teacher and owner of Whipstitch Fabrics. There she is in her shop with her adorable new baby girl.

What do you hope people will come away with after reading this book?

It is totally my mission in life to lead people to passionately love sewing, and I sincerely hope the book will do that for everyone who reads it.  I want for anyone who picks it up to feel confident at the machine, empowered to create, and guided in their practice and discovery of sewing.  I think sewing is about so much more than making stuff–it’s about the satisfaction of creation, the joy of exploring our artistic sides, the community of working with others and exchanging ideas, and even the therapeutic effects of taking the time to build something by hand (and learn about ourselves as we do that).  I see so many positive things come out of the process of learning to sew that don’t really get talked about, and if someone interacts with my book and gets even a little taste of that, I’m thrilled.

Do you enjoy sewing for the process or the end result?

There are few things that I love more than admiring a finished product, but I think that the biggest thrill I get out of sewing is in the challenge of it.  I love trying something new and seeing how it all comes together, even if that means that some of the experiments don’t really pan out.  I love the planning part of each project, and envisioning all the different ways it could go together, usually for wayyy too long before actually cutting anything out and putting needle and thread through fabric.  Once I get started, though, it’s a little bit of a sewing blitzkrieg, and I usually power through until I hit a roadblock or finish–it’s so exciting to see the whole thing evolve right in front of me!

I read the story on your blog about Sandra, will you tell us about her?

I never got to meet Sandra, but she’s become a mixture of sewing muse, shop mascot and icon.  I’ve shared her story with so many people, and the more I learn about her the more she inspires me and the more grateful I am for the random things that happen in our lives, things we never could’ve planned, that lead to huge places for us.  “Meeting” Sandra was one of those events, and it put my feet on a path that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself because each of us can only see so far ahead–I would never have guessed that the satisfaction and the joy and the wholeness that I have in my life now would come to me because I bought a used sewing machine on eBay, but in a funny way, that’s exactly what happened.  I’ve never been so grateful to someone who I never saw in real life before, but I sure feel as though I owe Sandra a lot!

Since you did all three in one year, which was harder — having a baby, opening a fabric shop or writing a book?

Yeesh, I have to pick one?!?  They were all happening at the same time, so I think a lot of it blended together.  My dad asked me the other day if I felt overwhelmed, and I told him if I really believed that any of this is happening for real I probably would, but a big part of me still thinks this year is all a big dream!  Our new baby is #4, and my husband is an amazing father, so were seasoned parents at this point and I’m lucky that I have a lot of help with her.  At the shop, I have an incredible staff who are all indispensable, and make it possible for me to get all the zillion things done that need to be done each day–I’m so grateful to have these talented women who love the store so much and work so hard to keep it running day in and day out.  The book, though, might’ve been the hardest of the three, because even though I have an awesome editor and a very supportive publisher, ultimately the content of the book was all my work, and required a lot of hours and research and editing and anxiety and trial-and-error.  I’ve also never written a book before (unless you count my Master’s thesis, which is 127 scholarly pages about acorns, and just as exciting as it sounds), and being in new territory with all the uncertainty that comes with doing something you’ve never done before is always tough.  I’m enormously proud of all three and feel so delighted and happy when I see each of them, but I’d have to say the book was the greatest challenge I’ve had to meet this past year.

Are you watching Project Runway this season? If so, who’s your favorite?

Totally hooked!  I am very, very fond of Mondo, which is kinda odd because I don’t think I could pull off a single one of his looks, and I generally gravitate toward a much more subdued color palette.  But I’m really into how his pieces seem so disparate and yet they make a really cool whole.  And I dig that he has such a clear vision but he’s still very humble and doesn’t seem to be out for blood or have a grudge–some of the other designers this season have this wild, angry, competitive energy that overshadows their actual work, which is a shame. I also like Christopher quite a bit, and think his style is very clean and under-the-radar–he’s one to watch.

To see the full list of blog tour stops, click here. And Whipstitch is hosting an all-night sew-a-thon in just a few weeks, so if you live in Atlanta, get ready to sew until you drop for a chance to win a spot at Deborah’s mountain sewing retreat.

Make Your Own Fabric

I thought I’d post a bit about what we discussed in our talk yesterday at Whipstitch Fabrics. Although I’m not a fabric designer, I talked about ways that people can make their own fabric designs through different techniques. It was interesting to hear Melody and Rashida talk about their design process and how they got started in fabric design since both of them are debuting collections in the next few months.

My own design process always includes preliminary sketching, then I may scan and trace the designs in Illustrator or start from scratch. I use a drawing tablet and then I may change formats or adjust sizes in Photoshop, depending on the end use of the design. So, yes, if you want to be a designer you may need software, but there are lots of other techniques you can use that don’t require as much technical expertise. Here are a few that I discussed:

Fabric paint: Of course paint can be applied directly to the fabric and even watered down to create a more fluid look.

Fabric Dyeing: You can hand-dye your fabric to create the look you want. Whether you choose ombre, shibori, or good old tie-dye, dyeing can add a rich, vivid look to your projects.

Glue resist: This simple technique is great for creating a batik look without dealing with the messy and time-consuming wax process. See the tutorial from That Artist Woman and also see our auction project.

Freezer paper stencils: a simple way to create a design, but only works for one use. There are lots of online tutorials and project ideas, but you can see what I made a few weeks ago here.

Stamping: You can use rubber stamps with fabric paint, or even carve potatoes or use other fruit to make prints on your fabric. Rubber stamps are easy to carve and a simple way to transfer a child’s drawing to fabric. Use a foam brush to apply fabric paint to the stamp. You can also use acrylic sheets and foam stamps to print on fabric.

Embroidery: Embroidery is always an option for personalizing your fabric, and is only limited by your imagination.

Iron-on transfers: You can easily add any printable artwork to a tee, tote or other project using iron-on transfer paper. I find it helpful to cut close to the design, then when the fabric is still hot, use a plain cotton fabric to press on top which will remove the shiny look from the design.

Linoleum block printing: You can also use linoleum to print on fabric. I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with different inks and types of linoleum, but so far oil-based ink works best. Though oil is not eco-friendly and takes 2 weeks to cure, it does clean up with vegetable oil.

Wood block printing: Similar to linoleum, the ancient technique of wood block printing leaves an interesting print on fabric and there is a nice selection of vintage blocks on Etsy.

Gocco mini-silkscreen printing: I love my print Gocco, but they can be hard to find and the supplies are pricey. You are limited by the small print area, but it’s a simple process. Tutorials here, here and here, but I use a different process for fabric  by burning the screen with the Gocco and then using a squeegee to print the fabric.

Silkscreen printing: Silkscreen printing is the ultimate way to make a clear, crisp and detailed design on fabric or paper. But burning the screen can be an involved process. Now there are companies that will burn screens for you, or you can try using a screen with a stencil, as shown here. Here is a good screenprinting video tutorial, and here’s an interesting technique to make a screen print with fabric and an embroidery hoop.

Digital Printing: The number of online printing services continues to grow, but includes Spoonflower, Fabric On Demand, Karma Kraft, and Eye Candey. You can find a nice comparison of the services and options at each of these on True Up here, with an updated follow-up post here.

Here are a few of my favorite books that discuss fabric printing techniques:

Lotta Prints: How to Print Anything from Potatoes to Linoleum. Lotta Jansdotter, Chronicle Books, 2008.