Page 233 – the long thread

May 22, 2008May 22, 2008

Fabric Friday

I’m deviating from my Etsy Finds Friday post because I keep seeing so many great fabrics. Here are a few that have caught my eye lately:

Elephants by Carly Schwerdt from Umbrella Prints, $36 per yard.

Sandberg fabrics featured on London Mummy. Can you even get these in the US?

Globalweave Yellow & Rust Branches embroidered linen from Purl, $36 per yard.

Scrap Flowers Japanese fabric from Reprodepot, $7.95 per yard.

And I really like the different design of this laptop case from Amy Butler. Laptop Case and MP3 cover pattern available at Sew, Mama, Sew for $12.95.

May 21, 2008May 21, 2008

Another bag with bamboo handles. I saw some of these bags with circular handles at Chickpea Sewing Studio and decided I would try one. I used another Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric that you can find here. I again lined it with canvas to give the thin cotton some heft.

I used basically the same design and methods that I used for the Bamboo Beach Purse in my earlier post, but I made the bag larger and had to make the slits on each side a bit longer so that you can actually open it. I think I made them about 6 1/2″ long. Unfortunately I found this out the hard way when I finished a bag and realized that I couldn’t open it properly! Function is key here. I again had to hand sew the handles to the bag, which is the most time consuming part of this project. I wonder why they don’t make these rings so that they open and you can insert them into a channel? Oh, and I even tried cutting through one with my handy hacksaw, but there’s a metal piece inside. Oops. Bring in the heavy artillery. Maybe Juliette has a better method that doesn’t require hand sewing?

May 20, 2008May 20, 2008

Granola Power

I can remember my mother making granola for us when we were kids. I had never made any, but after seeing Rebekah ‘s post the other day I decided to give it a go.

I toasted the oats on the stove top with some vegetable oil, then mixed them with chopped almonds, wheat germ, soy nuts, honey, fresh orange juice and cinnamon. Then the mixture should have been toasted in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes (turning every five), but I got caught up chasing a fairy so toasted mine a bit longer. Then I mixed in raisins and sweetened coconut. Yum! I think it would be even better with orange zest and fresh ginger. There are so many possible flavor combinations! It’s great as cereal or with yogurt and fruit (as pictured above).

My husband was watching me make this today and said “You’re going to take a picture of that aren’t you?”. Yes, of course. Blogging is strange. I never thought I would share a bowl of granola with the world. But if I had a bowl large enough….

May 19, 2008May 22, 2008

Bamboo Beach Purse

Well, we just returned from the beach so it’s been on my mind. This is my first attempt at making any kind of bag, so there was a bit of trial and error but I came up with this. The bamboo handles are mostly just so I didn’t have to make straps, but I did have to sew them on by hand! The fabric is Amy Butler‘s optic blossom in linen color and the bag is lined with cream-colored canvas. The instructions are below. Please let me know if you have any questions about the pattern!

Supplies:

1/2 yard main fabric
1/2 yard lining fabric
U-shaped bamboo handles and hardware
matching thread
6″ zipper (optional)

Cut Fabric:

Main Fabric: Cut 2 on the fold 6″ at the top and 9″ across the bottom(finished piece will be double this width). See drawings below for the basic shape of the fabric.
Lining Fabric: Cut 2 same as above.
6×13 piece of lining fabric for zippered pocket (optional).

Step #1: Make zippered pocket for inside of bag (optional).

Fold under top end of fabric by 1/2″ and attach one side of the zipper, being sure to align the end of the zipper from the edge with seam allowance. Fold under bottom end of fabric (finish raw edge with an overcasting stitch if you’d like) 1/2″ and attach the other side of the zipper (unzipped). Zip the zipper halfway and turn fabric inside out. Position zipper so that it is about 1″ from the top of the pocket and iron the fabric. Sew right sides together along unfinished sides, creating the pocket. Sew the pocket to one side of the lining, about 1″ from the bottom of the fabric. You can sew a straight stitch down the top of the pocket above the zipper.

Step #2: Sew top seams of bag.

Right sides together, sew one piece of main fabric to one piece of lining fabric as shown in illustration below, sewing down the side approximately 2 1/2″. Repeat with the other set of fabrics. Turn each piece right side out to begin the next step.

Step #3: Sew bag together.

With right sides of main purse fabric together and lining pushed aside, pin and sew main fabric to the other piece of main fabric around remainder of the purse. You’ll need to tuck under the fabric at the beginning of your stitches where they join with the stitches from the previous step. Then repeat with the lining, leaving about 5″ open at the bottom of the lining. Pull the purse through and turn everything right side out. Pull out the lining and turn under the remainder of the open seam. Press, pin flat and sew.

Step #4: Sew Handles.

Mark center of inside on each side of the bag opening. Align the handle and mark each end. Sew hardware in place by hand (as shown). Be sure to sew only to fabric lining so that your stitches won’t show on the front of the bag. Repeat for other side of handle and then again for the other side of the bag. Fold in corners about 3″, creating a crease along the side of the bag. Pin in place and tack down.

That’s the bag. As always, patterns posted on the long thread are for personal use only. If you make this bag, please post your version to the Flickr Make it Monday photo pool. Thanks!

May 18, 2008

Beet casserole, anyone?

Beets are underrated. My husband just brought me the Angelica Kitchen cookbook from his recent work trip to New York (New Jersey actually, but he managed to get into the city for some food). This is a wonderful vegan restaurant and it made me want to post about two other cookbooks from vegetarian restaurants that I love. We’re lucky to be only an hour away from The Grit in Athens, GA and their cookbook has long been a favorite of mine. Grit Yeast Gravy is the best! Even if you’re not a vegetarian, you could appreciate the divine desserts from The Grit. On the fancy side is Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, which we had the pleasure of visiting in our pre-kids life. The recipes from Field of Greens are definitely not one-pot dishes, but are fabulous for special occasions.

Some other great veggie spots that we’ve enjoyed are The Laughing Seed in Asheville, NC and Chicago Diner. We’re taking a trip to San Diego this summer, so we’ll be scoping out some vegetarian restaurants there as well.