The Crafty Snicklefritzes

2011 Garden Successes

2011-07-04T14:47:00.006-04:00

Last year, we tried our hand at gardening. We were a little reassured by the fact that our sand could produce some plants, we started composting to add some nutrients to our sand, and we were totally underwhelmed by our production. We ended up with about two cucumbers, three green peppers, two salads worth of lettuce, some dead pea plants, and dirt under our fingernails.

This year, however, we have read more, learned more, and moved our garden to a sunnier location. So far, MUCH better. Our cuke vines look like champs, our tomatoes are almost as tall as we are, we even got a volunteer tomato plant out of our compost pile and relocated him to the garden, and our basil--just look at how happy those little basil plants are! We've also got some pepper plants just starting to blossom, so we're hopeful on that front too.

We got our tomatoes from a farmer's market in a nearby town, and they include one "stump of the world," two "abe lincolns," and a "black cherry" (That's the one as tall as me!) We also had an early wonder which gave us three or four tomatoes, and gave the squirrels five or six, and then promptly died. I guess it was a REALLY early wonder, in all things.

At any rate, take a look. Give us some pointers. Leave us some comments.

Nintendo Ice Hockey, Craftified

2011-04-30T11:17:00.002-04:00

Finally, I have some pictures of the completed Nintendo Ice Hockey cross stitch!

I used 14-count Aida in light blue for the background and good ol'DMC floss. I found the pattern for the Ice Hockey cross stitch on Sprite Stitch.

I have to say I was a little worried when I first started stitching the red parts because the directions said to use DMC 900 Dark Burnt Orange. In certain lights, the "red" does look pretty orange, but in others, it's fine.

Now I just need to find a frame, and then I think this will be heading to the Partner-in-Crime's office.

Hooray for more awesome geekery!

Pretty Fabric Magazine Racks

2011-04-19T10:06:00.009-04:00

We have a couple problems in our lives.

One is that we have too many books. One is that we have too many magazines.

I know, I know, you're saying to yourselves, "Too many books? That's not a problem, that's a part of life for the well-read." Well, we too used to convince ourselves that we were OK, but we've grown older and wiser, and now we have to face facts. We need to eliminate magazines that will not be reread and we need good storage for magazines that will be reread.

Enter today's project.

Here's how you too can make magazine racks from some old 12-pack soda boxes and a couple fat quarters of fabric.

The first thing you need to do is glue together 3-4 layers of 12-pack cardboard boxes.

This will give you a sturdier board to work with.

You may want to sand the cardboard to rough up the edges (especially on the glossy side) to help the glue stick and lower the bumps on the seams, but I've done it both ways (sanded and sans-sanded) and seen little (SOME, but little) difference in the results.

Then, you need to cut your parts out and label them. We used a plastic magazine rack for our pattern and just traced around it.

We cut one set of pattern pieces out of thin cardboard just to keep on file, and we used it to trace around for the other pieces. Be sure to label each part.

Then, cover the back of the pieces with glue and stick some fabric to them. I usually use a brush to apply the glue and then smooth out the fabric. It helps to lay the pieces out the way you're going to assemble them so that you are beginning to build hinges out of fabric to keep the cardboard together.

Then trim down the fabric so that it is lined up around most of the edges. This doesn't have to be perfect because you're going to wrap the other side around.

Flip the cardboard over to the uncovered side and repeat, but don't trim it down all the way to the cardboard this time. Leave an inch of fabric or so. This fabric will become your hinges to keep your box 3-D.

Then, assemble the piece by folding the overlap over where it needs to be folded and gluing it in place. Snip slits in the fabric overlap where necessary to get it to lay flat.

The glue will actually turn the fabric into a rigid, plastic-feeling material when it dries, so you can paste down the seams well, so they don't fly out like strings.

Then let it dry, so it doesn't stick to your magazines, and then use it!

Hooray for upcycling, finding a place for overstocked magazines, and for pretty fabric magazine files!

Was is das? II

2011-03-18T20:51:00.002-04:00

Here's the third hint for my latest cross stitch project. It's more geekery, but I think it's awesome.

I am really close to finishing this one, so pictures of the completed project should be up soon, I hope.

Bonus points if anyone knows which country's players wore green uniforms!

Double bonus if you know without Googling it!

Was ist das?

2011-03-14T23:54:00.002-04:00

I began another cross stitch project a couple weeks ago and here are the beginnings.

By now I am actually about 75-80% finished with this, but I am posting these for a couple teasers. Picture #2 is a pretty good hint, I think, but I will be posting a major hint in a couple days.

Thanks to Skype, my in-laws have a huge advantage, since the Partner-in-Crime showed them the project when I was close to the halfway point. But, if you have a guess, let me know!

The Girl With the Broken Machine, or The PIC Who Played with Bobbins

2011-03-04T18:44:00.008-05:00

or The Girl Who Kicked a Lot of Stuff because Her Swedish Sewing Machine Is Apparently Impossible to Fix in this Desolate Wilderness She Moved to with Her Husband Who Found a Job at a Community College That Actually Puts His English Degree to Use

Minor tragedy struck the Snicklefritz household a little while back.

The Partner-in-Crime had just finished his pair of jeans and I was about to begin another tiny tote for another niece who had a birthday shortly after Christmas. I cut out my pieces and prepared to make the strap. I had to sew two long strips of fabric together, then fold and press it like a double-fold bias tape, and then edge stitch along both edges. We-ll, when I matched the two ends of my strap strips and put them under the needle and pressed the pedal, all heck broke loose. Bobbin thread spewed everywhere and the Huskystar sounded awful.

I checked the bobbin and the shuttle area. Nothing too astray there that I could tell. So, the PIC opened the Huskystar up. I'll be honest with you. I have no idea what he did, but it was a lot of tinkering and running test strips of fabric. All for naught. We did determine that something was off with the bobbin tension, but we could not figure out a solution. We needed to call an expert.

Five years ago:
Because my mother loves me so very much, she wanted to buy me a nice starter machine as I had never really sewn before. So, Mom did the obvious and went to her local fabric and sewing machine store, a Jo-Ann's. At the time, this particular Jo-Ann store had a Husqvarna Viking sewing machine dealer. Mom, in her infinite wisdom, opted for a Huskystar from Husqvarna over less exotic brands like Singer or possibly Brother. Then Mom packed up my little Huskystar and sent it on its way with my dad, who would be making the journey to the edge of the world where I live. I received this delightful little Huskystar for my first birthday in this harsh wilderness. Little did I know then that, although this machine would serve me well, one day she would tire out.

Side note: I'm not blaming anyone here, but the last project made using the Huskystar was a pair of jeans. Ahem.

Back to the present:
So, the Huskystar was sick. I called the local sewing machine repair place, but they told me, no, we only work with Singers. Boo to you: no hyperlink plug for you! I began to realize I had a very rare, little known, exotic, foreign machine for these here parts.

I then called the nearest Husqvarna Viking dealer I could find, which is about 60 miles away. The very nice (Seriously. I am not being sarcastic here.) salesperson I spoke with informed me that it would cost us at least $105 and that would cover only the shipping costs to the repair place (which is located in some mysterious off-site location) and a cleaning. Any parts and labor over and above that would, of course, be more $$. Plus, the salesperson told me that there was no way to tell how long it would take the mysterious repairmen to fix my machine, "It could be two weeks; it could be two months. We just don't know."

Umm, awesome. I'm only working on an already overdue birthday present for my niece!

So, in desperation, the PIC and I went searching for a new machine. We made the trip to a Jo-Ann store about an hour away from us and saw a few machines that looked promising and were reasonably priced (under $200, which was my limit for replacement machine I had not planned on buying). We ended up going with a Singer 4423 Heavy Duty, which appealed to us for a few reasons. One, it's a Singer and therefore, easy to find a repairman out here on the edge of the world should something go wrong. Two, the PIC liked its industrial look, as did I. Three, it offers the same features as the Huskystar, plus a few extras. Four, it is "heavy duty" so hopefully the next, ahem, pair of jeans that is made in the Snicklefritz house will hopefully not kill it.

To break in the new machine, I finally finished my little niece's tiny tote. Hooray!

"But what about the beloved Huskystar?" you ask. We discovered Chuck's Vacuum Cleaner Services in town, which also does sewing machine repairs, including those crazy imports like Husqvarna Vikings! FTW!!1! And, also awesome, it cost considerably less than the dealer I spoke to earlier in the saga. Spitze!!

New jeans!

2011-02-25T17:45:00.005-05:00

A while back, I'm sure you loyal readers remember, I took my first crack at a pair of jeans, and the results were...wearable. They were not spectacular, but they were jeans.

Well, this time around, I made sure to do things right.

I used the same pattern, but I made a muslin pair first so I could check the fit and adjust the pattern to my liking.

I flared the legs to a boot cut at the bottom (like it's still 2001 or something) and modeled the back pocket stitching after my favorite name brand: Levi's.

The results this time are pretty

darn good.

As a bonus, the denim was half off at Joann Fabrics, so I ended up with a really nice pair of jeans for about 12 bucks plus the work involved.

My New Favorite Thing

2011-01-25T08:24:00.008-05:00

This is my new favorite thing.

It's a bookmark that Frau Snicklefritz made for me, her husband, after we discovered that 8-bit video games make perfect cross-stitch patterns.

Being a huge fan of Final Fantasy, and being a huge fan of reading, this bookmark makes me smile every time I return to the current page of the book I'm working on. Of course you already know, from top to bottom, the characters are the Fighter, the Black Mage, the Red Mage, and the Thief.

Just like the Mega Man patches she made, we charted this out from screen prints of the Nintendo game and then Meine Frau worked her stitchery magic to bring it to life for me.

Christmas Goodness 2010

2011-01-19T22:33:00.005-05:00

A while back, it occurred to us that 8-bit video game graphics from classic Nintendo games would translate well into cross-stitch, which the Partner-in-Crime totally geeked out over. I have been a cross stitcher for over 20 years, so I figured I had the skills needed for such geekery.

Plus, when we mentioned this fact, that classic video game characters translate well into cross-stitch, to a certain brother-in-law of mine, he also totally geeked out and said, "You could totally do Mega Man!" Score! Christmas gift idea!

So, the Partner-in-Crime took some screen shots of Mega Man from his emulator and we charted them on graph paper. I matched the colors to some DMC embroidery floss and used 14-count Aida fabric in a light blue-green color (I don't remember the exact name of the shade). After stitching Mega Man in three different poses, I cut them apart to make them into patches. We used some basic quilter's cotton for the backing, fused some lightweight interfacing to that, and then did a tight zigzag stitch (like a satin stitch) to finish off.

For more nerdy stitchery info, we have found Sprite Stitch to be an invaluable resource!

For the second crafty Christmas gift, I made a Tiny Tote for my little niece who recently moved very far away to Arizona. A purse was one of her wish-list items, so I hunted around for a cute pattern and decided to go with the "Tiny Tote" from Sew What! Bags by Lexie Barnes.

I picked out a cute corduroy print for the main bag and some pink cotton for the handles. I also added a pink cotton lining to the bag, which is not part of the original instructions. I think unlined bags seem unfinished with their exposed seams and adding a lining was an easy addition. The finished size of the bag is approximately 7"x6", which is pretty tiny. I had to keep reminding myself that the tote was for a very small person!

Not as much crafty Christmas goodness this year from the Snicklefritzes, but we had fun with the little bit we did craft!

Oktoberfest, Snicklefritz Style: Halloween Decorations!

2010-10-29T17:43:00.007-04:00

Happy Halloweekend!

Our Oktoberfest celebrations continue at the Snicklefritz ranch.

This time, we've got a two part update: a festive banner and a goofy ghost greeter!

We had plenty of help from the one we call the "other cat" as we finished up the garland. You may know him as the "fabric inspector."

He held things down, and he furred them up. He'll probably be bragging about it on Facebook later.

He's great, a real big help.

The garland-banner thing features candy corns, and black and white points, with ghosts and cats.

The points are made from basic quilter's cotton.

The ghosts and cats are made from felt that is machine-appliquéd.

The points are held together in banner form by a pack of 1/2 inch double-fold bias tape.

Here's a shot of the banner, brightening up, or spookifying our entryway. Also, note the awesome McDonald's pumpkin buckets that are on the banister rail. They're vintage, and have been impeccably preserved by Frau Snicklefritz's Mutter.

The Goofy Ghosty Greeter, following McCall's Crafts pattern number M5949, is made from white felt, sandwiched around some batting. The eyes are two stacked buttons, and the cheeks are pink felt, hand-appliquéd to give him a little life. The mouth is machine satin-stitched.

Together, they make for a festive place to pass out candy to the scamps that stop by this Sunday!

BOOOOooOOOOoooOOOO!

Oktoberfest, Snicklefritz Style: Pumpkin Carving!

2010-10-24T21:10:00.009-04:00

We're getting ready for Halloween!

We're eating our candy corn, firing up our wood stove, and brushing our black cat's luscious fur! We're also getting craftily festive.

A few more updates are on the way, but tonight we were all abuzz about our fresh carved pumpkins!

A couple weeks ago, we picked up some templates bundled with "Safety Saws," "Seed Scoopers," and the like. Then we went to our local market and picked up some fresh pumpkins.
Unfortunately, then life got in the way, and we ignored our pumpkins.

Well, that and we were afraid that our ever-hungry local squirrels might gnaw away our designs before the big night even gets close!

Tonight, however, was the night for carving.So, carve we did, but first, we had to do the inevitable scooping, squishing, sloshing, and scraping of the innards! Then we had to scrub the seeds because we're planning to roast them up for fiber-filled, fall treats in the next few days.

The Mrs. chose the owl design from the book of templates. She's a huge fan of owls. Two of them even flank our computer monitor.

The Mr. chose a triptych of skulls for his pumpkin (also from the book). He also likes the memento mori motif. You can even find a skull and crossbone design on his Scrabble tile bag.

After about an hour, covered in drying pumpkin slime, flour, and goofy Halloween grins, we lit some candles to inspect our work!

Hooray for pumpkins!

Pillows for our Living Room

2010-08-04T22:37:00.003-04:00

Many, many moons ago, we purchased the fabrics that we used for this project, specially selected to coordinate with our (then) newly purchased living room club chairs (not pictured).

Fast forward almost a year, and we've finally pieced the pillows together, stuffed them, and sewn them shut.

Pillows are pretty straightforward. You sew two squares together the exact size of the pillow form and then you stuff them.

BAM! You got new pillows.

Give it a try yourself!

Video Cooking: Hummus

2010-07-28T13:38:00.001-04:00

Birthday Goodness for Little E

2010-06-10T13:21:00.005-04:00

One of my little nieces recently celebrated her first birthday. Of course, I had to make some birthday goodness for her. In addition to the Mr. Pinklegs shirt, she ended up with a (fortunately) un-life-sized stuffed ladybug and some customized onesies.

The ladybug pattern is from Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones book, the Bed Bugs Large Ladybug. This is actually the second ladybug I have made; the first went to a different niece last Christmas. I chose to use the traditional red and black coloring, but, really, most any colors would work as long as the spots/body stripe/head/antenna are a solid (or near-solid) color.

For the custom onesies, I used basic, plain white onesies. I found these at Target. I used some scraps of fabric for the appliques. The fabric for the "E" is actually some of the red fabric my sister and I used for this project, which was a gift for Little E's parents. Aww!

"How did I make the shapes?" you ask. I used cookie cutters. Thanks to one of my good friends, I received a set of 100 cookie cutters at one of my bridal showers back in the day. I love cookie cutters and making fun cookies and especially eating fun cookies. I don't do that enough, make fun cookies.

Anyhow, I found these three shapes among my cookie cutters I thought would be appropriate: a duck, a tulip, and an E. After tracing the "E" out, I snipped it up some to give it a little more definition since the cookie cutter makes a sort-of puffy "E." The duck and the tulip worked just fine as they were.

I used some fusible interfacing on the backs to help minimize fraying and then hand stitched them on. I did not use my Huskystar because I thought I might stretch the onesies out too much if I tried to maneuver them onto the machine. I used a basic back stitch, although it looks like a straight stitch, with two strands of embroidery floss for the thread.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag meiner kleinen Nichte!

Mr. Redlegs!

2010-05-26T20:36:00.006-04:00

We recently silk screened some t-shirts to show our appreciation for Mr. Redlegs, the beloved mascot for the Cincinnati Reds. Pictured here are three Mr. Redlegs shirts for me, my Partner-in-Crime, and my brother. Also pictured is a Mr. Pinklegs shirt for one of my little nieces.

Wait, what? A Mr. Pinklegs?! What the hey?!

My niece received a Mr. Pinklegs shirt because both Michael's and Target let me down in my hunt for a little red t-shirt for the PIC to silk screen. (To be fair, Target did have little red t-shirts, but they all had chest pockets. Only the little pink t-shirts had a plain front.)

This is a two color screen print: black and white. So, finding a red (or pink) t-shirt was important.

To ease the screen printing process, the PIC was able to fit both the black and the white design pieces on his one and only screen. Score! If both design pieces had not fit on the single screen, the PIC would have had to screen print one color (either the black or the white) onto all the shirts, clean off his screen, and then redo the screen with the other color's design. This means he would only have been able to make a predetermined number of t-shirts.

Because he was able to fit both design pieces onto his one screen, he could make any number of shirts because he kept both color patterns and did not have to erase one. This came in handy when my sister decided both she and her husband would love to have Mr. Redlegs shirts of their own, too. Of course they do.

Well, I say, "Who don't love Mr. Redlegs?" Seriously, the man has crazy eyes, CRAZY EYES, and check out that handlebar mustache. Awesome!

The PIC and I were able to wear our new t-shirts for a Cincinnati-Cleveland game this past weekend. The Reds won, and I'd like to think it was because of our t-shirts.

So, you're welcome, Cincinnati Reds.

Close-ups on our Baby Plants

2010-05-06T17:02:00.001-04:00

Here's a good look at the progress that our peas and our greens are making!

Stay tuned over the next few days as we continue our "Meet the Seed" series.

Meet the Seeds vol. 2

2010-05-02T17:59:00.005-04:00

This post marks the second installment of "Meet the Seeds." This time the focus is on our Mesclun Gourmet Greens Mixture!

This is also from Ferry-Morse and it contains: "Arugula, Endive Green Curled, Kale Red Russian, Lettuce Red Romaine, Luttuce Parris Island Cos, Lettuce Salad Bowl & Lettuce Lollla Rossa from this one packet."

In other words, we're going to have a whole bunch of baby greens pretty soon!

The sprouts are just now growing the leaves that look like lettuce leaves instead of their baby shoots that look alike. (They are the two rows in the back of the box. I should also mention that this picture was taken April 29, so the little greens are bigger now!)

What do you think, know, or believe about lettuce? Let us know! (Pun intended.)

Meet the Seeds vol. 1

2010-04-29T22:17:00.006-04:00

Here's our first featurette on the details of our garden! Meet the peas.

The peas are our most prominent veggies so far, so they are our first focus in this series.

They are Cascadia Sugar Snaps from Ferry-Morse (which we are pretty sure is Lowes' brand).

This morning, we added the poles and twine for them to climb as they grow since their tendrils are already reaching up for something to grab hold of.

We also thinned them out today and Herr Snicklefritz ate a "Pea shoot, hummus, and cheddar wrap" today full of the discarded baby pea plants. (Waste not, want not!) It was delicious.

Herr Snicklefritz, however, is no stranger to murdering peas. Once, in fact, he unknowingly hoed over a whole row of baby peas that he didn't realize were peas, and not, in fact, weeds.

Do you have any gardening success stories? Do you love or hate peas? Tell us about it!

Ceramics Fun with the Youth Group!

2010-04-25T21:35:00.006-04:00

Last weekend, we went to Ceramic Zone in Willards, MD with our local youth group, The Lutheran Lights. It was awesome! Good pizza, good kids, good crafts.
The kids did mostly Mother's Day Crafts, but we were self-indulgent and did a couple items for the Snicklefritz kitchen.

We highly recommend Ceramic Zone! Kim was great!

We worked for about three hours on our projects.

Frau Snicklefritz painted the mug, and Herr Snicklefritz painted the teapot.

Ceramic Zone offers stencils so you can paint a design on your piece. Kim cuts out a sticker, you stick in on your piece, and then you glaze over the top. When you finish, just pick the sticker off and you've got a neat design. It worked like a charm. As you can see, the swallow on the mug turned out really neat!

We also wrote our names/initials/the dates on the bottom with special pencils, so we can always remember the good times we had at Ceramic Zone.

G-arrrrrr-den (for all you pirates) Update II

2010-04-11T15:32:00.010-04:00

he fence is up, the seeds are sewn, the first good watering has been applied, and now we start the weeding and waiting. We are trying to get a border of onions around the edge of the (anti-rabbit) fence because we heard that onions will repel a bunch of pesky bugs. We'll see how that piece of folksy wisdom works out.

Hopefully we'll soon see signs of life! (The seed packages estimate 8-10 days for most of the seeds' germination times.)

We planted carrots, onions (red and white) peas, cucumbers, peppers (bell and chili), lettuces (leaf and greens), and onions.

In the flower bed we inherited just off the deck, we also added a tomato plant to the free range asparagus that we've got showing up.

See the picture?

Is it just me or does asparagus look like an alien when it starts peeking out?

At any rate, thanks for reading.

P.S. We love comments, suggestions, questions, concerns, healthy criticism, and advice. It lets us know that we still have readers, so show us some love.

Outdoor Craftiness!

2010-04-10T14:31:00.007-04:00

&

Snicklefritz, having acquired a house with a yard, are branching out (pun intended) into total property craftiness.

We're trying our hands at gardening!

We've read up (namely The Kitchen Garden), consulted experts (namely Herr Snicklefritz's Mutter and Vater) and we've made a trip to the hardware store (namely Lowes, to preserve parallel structure) for a cartload of seeds and supplies.

The boxes are built, the beds are cleaned and raked, and we're just about ready to start planting! Wish us luck, and we'll keep you posted on the plants' status.

RWAR RWAR!

2010-02-28T13:17:00.001-05:00

We made a dinosaur! RWAR! Some friends of ours recently had a little boy, so we wanted to make something fun and cute that would be awesome for a little boy.

I found this stegosaurus pattern in the book One Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins. The pattern in the book, "Steggie, The Pull-Along Dino," actually provides directions for creating a stuffed animal pull-toy (and perhaps I should also mention that this specific pattern was designed by Caitlin Bell). The directions call for the use of Velcro so a child can pull the dinosaur off of the wooden base for snuggle purposes. I decided to skip the pull-toy option partially because I was on a time crunch (the baby was born last week!) and partially because I'm a bit inexperienced when it comes to crafting with wood and construction.

We chose to use flannel (nice and cuddly) for the both the body and the spikes. Both fabrics came from Hancock. We purchased a yard of the print, which was generous. All the patterns in the book are meant to be made with one yard or less of each fabric, obviously, but in this case we could have probably gotten away with a little less than 1/2 yard. The pattern suggests using felt for the spikes, but we used flannel and lined the spikes with a layer of fleece to help them stay upright. We used two buttons that we already had for the eyes. Hard to see in the pictures, but we used the same light green for the bottoms of the feet, too.

Hopefully the little guy will like the dinosaur; we'll be seeing him later today!

RWAR RWAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!

Weihnachten Brotchen!

2010-01-03T19:03:00.001-05:00

Herr Snicklefritz's Mutter has had a longtime tradition of baking cinnamon rolls and then haranguing her children into delivering them to all the neighbors.

Since the Snicklefritzes now have a house in a nice neighborhood with neighbors who aren't loud, beligerently drunken college kids, they thought it was high time to transport this tradition in their new homestead. So following the roughed out recipe that Mutter Snicklefritz passed on to us over the phone, we were about to whip up some holiday treats for our new friends, but then disaster struck, and we had to waterproof our basement. This was especially unfortunate since Herr Snicklefritz also had final papers to write, final exams to give and grade, final grades to post, and holiday shopping and packing to do for the Christmas excursion to the homeplaces in the old country.

After the holiday festivities were over, we caught our breaths for about twelve hours and started baking the rolls.

They turned out great; we sampled the first pan just to be sure. Thus, we set out to deliver them and use them as an excuse to finally meet our new neighbors.

Mom's Cinnamon Rolls:
Yields 4 pans with 7 rolls each

Rolls:
2 Packs of Yeast (or just scoop the correct amount out of a big jar, for it's cheaper)
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups flour
Some butter
Some brown sugar
Some cinnamon

Icing:
Some butter (We used about a half stick)
Some powdered sugar (We used a little more than two cups)
Some vanilla extract (We used about a tsp)
Some milk (We used a splash or two)

Rolls:
1. In a large bowl, (or better yet a Kitchenaid Mixer) dissolve the yeast into the water
2. Add the milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour and mix it all on low for a couple minutes.
3. Stir in the rest of the flour and mix it until it's smooth.
4. Let it rise until it fills the bowl. (It rises faster in a warm place!)
5. Dump the once-risen dough onto a floured surface and knead it until it's handleable, split it into two parts, and then roll one part out into a rectangle.
6. Melt some butter (about a half stick or so) and smear it all over the rectangle of dough.
7. Sprinkle it generously with brown sugar and cinnamon (which you may want to mix together in a big ol' bowl and taste test prior to the application). For my money, you can hardly add too much at this step.
8. Roll the rectangle up so that it's a really long tube of cinnamony-buttery dough.
9. Slice the roll into 14 pieces and carefully arrange 7 in each pan. (Mom has always used the aluminum pans that are like pie pans but with straight-up-and-down sides.)
10. Let the dough rise again. (Don't worry, they look little now, but they'll swell up to big tasty roll size soon enough!)
11. Bake them at 375 degrees F, on the center rack, for about 23 minutes or so.

Icing:
1. In a measuring cup or a medium sized mixing bowl melt a half stick of butter.
2. Dump in a tsp of vanilla.
3. Add a couple cups of powdered sugar.
4. Splash in a tiny bit of milk at a time and beat the mixture until it gets to a smooth, slightly-pasty consistency.
5. Wait for the rolls to cool and then drizzle as much as you like all over the top of them.

To My Loyal Reader: Part Two

2009-12-09T13:29:00.006-05:00

OK, OK, OK! So, I've been a total slouch. A huge craft slacker. A lazy bum. As acknowledged in my previous post (first video post!) from approximately seven years ago, the Partner-in-Crime and I hunted for and bought a house this summer. We're pretty happy with the place, but there was a lot of settling-in to be done and a few small projects to take care of here and there, so my craftiness got pushed to the side for a few months. BUT...I'm back to crafting now! Unfortunately, I'm working on some projects for Christmas, so I cannot really share just yet, but hang in there and you'll be amazed! Or maybe just mildly impressed.

In the meantime, hop on over to the PIC's blog to see our recent CD shelves project!

To My Loyal Reader: First Video Post

2009-08-13T19:29:00.008-04:00

Links: Sewing Green by Betz White
Local Ace hardware store

Recipe: 1/2 c washing soda, 1/2 c borax, 1 cup grated Fels Naptha soap (multiply as needed!)

Be Creative @ Your Library!

2009-06-03T18:52:00.003-04:00

Hooray! It's Summer Reading Program time at the library! This year's theme at the Wicomico is Be Creative at Your Library, which is the national summer reading program. The program's promotional materials feature artwork by the former political cartoonist for my hometown newspaper, the Springfield News-Sun: Mr. David Catrow.

And never fear! We still use the Maryland state library reading program mascot: Sneaks the Cat! Yay! This year's t-shirts are purple and feature Sneaks in an artist's smock at an easel.

Obviously, I'm super excited about the theme since we like creativity around here. The library has some fun programs planned, too, like Make 'N' Take craft times for kids, LEGO Robotics/Mindstorms programs for the teens, and easy scrapbooking tutorials for adults. So, check out your local library, you may find some crafty programs. At the very least, you're sure to find some great crafty books!

Until next time!

SMALL fresh market totes, with attitudes!

2009-05-25T09:41:00.007-04:00

Hola! Como esta usted?

As we discussed in our previous post, large totes are not ideal, so I had a day free this weekend, and I, Herr Snicklefritz, whipped up some tiny totes for grocery shopping and other item carrying needs--like laid back beach trips or record store impulse buys.

You can see the results here!

I also had to add some attitude to mine, so that I don't look quite as silly lugging a large flowery pattern up the stairs of our apartment. The army green canvas bag got fixed up with a Bear Skull patch that we found at an evil store that will not be named here but has something to do with misspelled walls or something. We weren't really shopping there; we were returning something, and they gave us store credit, so we had to use it, and they still had sewing stuff at that time, so we picked up some supplies--we didn't mean to encourage their monopoly.

At any rate, the Led Zeppelin patch came from a record store in Rehoboth, and I'd been looking for an appropriate surface to adorn since I acquired it. This seemed like just the spot.

Finally, when I finished, I Crop-A-Diled the bags up with some eyelets. The Crop-A-Dile is our new toy, and it's an amazing tool for eyelet embellishment! You can get one for, apparently, $21! We paid $35, but it was worth every penny of that amount. *Grumbles about buyer's angst at fluctuating prices.*

Anyhow, totes!

Adios!

Market Totes, or, Saving the Planet One Bag at a Time

2009-05-19T22:45:00.005-04:00

Here's another project that's been waiting to be blogged about: our new market totes.

Earlier this month I made two market totes (Green Pepper pattern #F882). These bags are really easy to make, just a simple afternoon project. Both bags are the largest pattern size, which upon using them for the first time a couple weeks ago, I have decided is maybe a little much. Sure, you can carry tons of groceries in them, but since they can carry so much, they can get really heavy, especially when your facing three flights of stairs. (Thanks to the Partner-in-Crime for toting those groceries up three flights!) Next time I make these, I'll probably try the medium size. I may even make some of the smallest size for those trips in which we only pick up a couple items.

Now if we can only remember to leave them in the car and not at home when we take our often impromptu grocery trips...

I made the first bag with some red canvas for the shell and black canvas for the straps. The pattern calls for straps made of webbing, a kind of belting material, but we had a decent amount of canvas already around the apartment, so I decided to use canvas rather than webbing for the straps. It seems to work just fine.

For the second tote, I used some green Amy Butler fabric I bought from a local shop that was going out of business. Though it's a different pattern, this green fabric reminds me of those curtains Maria used to make children's playclothes in The Sound of Music. It's sort of an ugly, gaudy fabric (both the curtains and this Amy Butler stuff), but it's kind of fun (in an ugly, gaudy way). This Amy Butler fabric is not quite as heavy weight as the canvas, but it is heavier than regular quilter's cotton. I think it should hold up OK. Again, I used some fabric rather than webbing for the straps.

We've also been throwing around the idea of screen-printing future bags with fun grocery motifs or perhaps jazz up the bags with some neat-o patches. We will keep you posted!

Tschau!

Just a T-Shirt and Jeans Guy

2009-05-12T16:24:00.014-04:00

Namaste, Snicklefritz fans!

The summer-time-crafting-binge is upon us now, for Herr Snicklefritz is about to turn in his last paper this very evening.

Additionally, the Snicklefritzes have been collectively rather busy as of late (not blogging though) so watch for a flurry of updates in the coming week or two because we've got back-crafting to blog about.

At any rate, Herr Snicklefritz has two major projects that he's accomplished as of late.

1) He's finally gotten photo-emulsion screen printing to the point where it looks respectable, so he made t-shirts for his growed-up spelling-bee team: The Wor-Wic Wordsmiths. This means he made five for his team mates and himself, one for his dear wife, and after his little brother saw them, he insisted that he get a shirt too, so seven in total.

Unfortunately, the screen was left a little too long with the emulsion on it, so it's impossible to clean up now. So, the screen printing will be at a standstill until more screen material can be acquired.

2) The other big project of late has been a pair of jeans! This was a pretty big deal as the only other wearable that he's constructed has been a shirt.

These came from Burda's 7733 pattern, and I made them pretty much as is, but without a zipper on the back pocket. Still, it was not too tricky, jus ttime consuming. The jeans came out almost like a pair of jeans. The zipper bunches a little, and they were a hair to big, so they had to be trimmed back and altered at the last minute (I'll know better next time) but all in all, they're like a pair of jeans.

Baby Bag!

2009-03-29T15:31:00.004-04:00

Greetings! Around a month ago, my brother and his wife asked me if I would like to make them a diaper bag, for the baby, who is due in May. They had been on the hunt for a bag my brother wouldn't feel silly carrying, and they really liked "The Everything Bag" pattern in Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. My sister-in-law has done a little sewing herself--she's made a couple adorable baby quilts--but felt that "The Everything Bag" might be a little too tricky for her. I, however, have some bag making experience, so I guess they felt I was qualified enough to make them a diaper bag. (Mwha ha ha! I've fooled everyone!)

My brother and his wife sent some fabric: mid-weight cotton for the exterior (ivory with blue polka dots) and regular quilter's cotton for the interior (green with jungle animals). Both were good choices, but I really liked the animal print.

I managed to find all the notions at my local Hancock, except for single-sided fusible stabilizer, which was needed for the interior divider and also for the bag's bottom ("fusible" means you can fuse or stick it to the fabric using an iron; interfacing and stabilizers basically reinforce fabric). Hancock had double sided fusible and non-fusible stabilizers. Where was the desired single-sided fusible stabilizer? I ended up with non-fusible stabilizer and a can of spray-on fusible stuff to make the non-fusible into a fusible. Are we all con-fused now?

Moving on. The bag's arbitrary difficulty level is a four (Ms. Butler doesn't really explain what the difficulty levels mean in this book; there are five levels, with level one being the easiest. Don't think that I'm a master sewer just because I completed a "level four"; I'm certainly not.) I take the level four to mean that "there are a lot of steps, most of which make sense, but there are a couple that could have used some better editing, but you'll have to figure those out on your own." I've never really had a problem with Amy Butler patterns before, but there were two spots where the directions were either murky or wrong.

The first problem for me was Step 2G. For all of you out there trying to make this bag, for Step 2G, I just fused the two Peltex/stabilizer divider panels together. That's it; forget the rest of the step because it did not make sense to me and the bag still turned out fine.

The second problem was Step 7A. The directions call for you to "Place one side pocket panel with interfacing and one without interfacing Right sides together. Pin the short top edges. Stitch a 1/2" seam along the pinned edge..." This is wrong. The pocket panels measure 7x7.5 inches. So, the directions tell you to sew one of the 7" edges. If you do that, though, the pocket will not fit onto the side panel; it will be too short. Instead, sew one of the 7.5" (or long edges) together so it fits. True story: I had to completely re-cut and re-fuse the interfacing because of this typo. Not a big deal, but frustrating to have to do a step over because of poor editing.

Despite those two snags, overall the bag was not difficult to make. Sure, there were a lot of steps, but they weren't overwhelming (except for 2G and 7A, of course). The hardest part was trying to get the bag to fit under the needle on my machine in some steps. The divider panel was pretty stiff, as was the bottom of the bag so maneuverability was tricky. And honestly, I'm way more intimidated by the thought of sewing clothes than a bag. If a bag looks a little off, it is less noticeable than if the fit of one's clothing is a little off.

All-in-all, the bag turned out well, and the parents-to-be really like it. This was probably the trickiest project I've made so far, but I think my sewing is better for it (even with the two snafus, which, in hindsight, helped me more clearly envision the involved steps). This is something I would consider making again in the future, diaper bag or not. The style doesn't scream "diaper bag" and picking a non-baby fabric would reinforce that; it could make a nice sized beach-tote. And usually projects are easier to make the second time around because I know what I'm doing.

Tag!

Silk Screening

2009-03-11T15:54:00.001-04:00

Well, it's spring break at the Snicklefritz Ranch, and if you remember last year's spring break undertaking, you know that Herr Snicklefritz doesn't deal with spare time very well.

At any rate, this year, in addition to the constant flow of handmade paper that he's churning out at the papermill, he's also honing his silk screening skills--unfortunately not with the same finesse and skill!

After Frau Snicklefritz brought home the book Screen Your Stuff from the library, her husband was inspired. He dug out his dusty screen and quickly made use of the "Heart" pattern at the back of the book. He painted it onto his screen in filler, added some shadows on the other end for a second color run on the print, and starting making runs of it on some handkerchiefs. The heart came out well, but the shadow just wouldn't line up. It wasn't long before Herr Snicklefritz gave up and headed for the paint brushes to add the shadow manually.

The end result is pictured here.

Happy with the results, it was time to try some real screen printing, so the $2 clearance-rack, Egyptian cotton GAP t-shirt bought just for the purpose of screen printing was located, a background was applied in a yellow color, the heart was screened in place, and the shadows were meticulously hand painted, and only then, did Herr Snicklefritz realize how much that Egyptian cotton shirt had shrunk after purchase and washing.

So, Frau Snicklefritz has a new hand printed/painted shirt now.

[ :) / :( ]

Baking Craftiness

2009-03-05T20:51:00.003-05:00

We did get a chance last weekend to make some rye bread, as mentioned previously. The results are amazing. The bread is really good. I believe the PIC said it was the "best bread he's ever had." The second loaf of the batch is pictured because 1. we forgot to take a picture of the first and 2. it looks adorable. It has (well, had) such a nice shape. For those of you who are curious, this recipe, like the previous loaves of tasty bread that we made, comes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.

Also from the Snicklefritz oven: chewy granola bars! I've made these a few times before and they are delicious. The recipe comes from the Pillsbury Complete Cookbook (page 430). I came across it a while back when I was looking for things to make for meals that would also have packable leftovers. Of course, I couldn't just skip the cookies and candies chapter. These are great because they could work for either a snack or for breakfast. Yes, breakfast. Don't act like you've never eaten cookies for breakfast. I know that you have. These are a somewhat healthier alternative; there are raisins and oats and peanut butter and sunflower seeds and sesame seeds in there. Plus chocolate chips!
And there's a secret ingredient: sawdust! Shhh. Don't tell anyone!

These maybe don't hold together quite as well as those "Chewy Granola Bars" one may buy at the grocery store, but they are tastier.

So, that's what's cooking over here at the Snicklefritzes'.

Tschau!

das Brot

2009-02-26T21:40:00.004-05:00

Quite some time ago, I was reading Amy Karol's blog, Angry Chicken and I heard about a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It sounded so neat that I checked it out from the library, read through the introduction, and paged through the recipes. I liked what I saw so much that I promptly added it to my Christmas list. My brother and sister-in-law love me so much that they honored my wish and picked it up for me! So, for the past month or so, we've been making little loaves of fresh bread on an almost daily basis when we've got the dough made up! We've only made the basic “Master Recipe” so far, but it is delicious! We've thoroughly enjoyed about ten loaves already.

The loaves even "sing" or crackle, audibly when you get them out of the toasty oven and put them on the cooling rack. It's so awesome!

We've got the ingredients to start making rye, but we just haven't gotten around to whipping up a batch of dough. Perhaps this weekend will finally be our chance. The PIC says, “Rye toast is like steak for vegetarians.” He's not, by the way, a vegetarian, but he is pretty darn close in his picky tastes.

Pickiness aside, though, this is some tasty bread. The crust is crunchy and golden brown (think Panera's bread-bowls), but the inside is chewy and delicious -- just what you want from some good homemade bread, and it's really quick and easy!

The Über Kitschy Crafty Organizer

2009-02-19T15:37:00.004-05:00

Guten Tag! Wie geht's? All is well here at the Snicklefritz Homestead.

Until recently, my sewing basket (it actually looks sort of like luggage; it's not really a basket) was practically overflowing. So, I bought an 18 drawer organizer (from Lowe's if you are curious) for my sewing notions and other crafty supplies. I put it on my sewing table and now have a good deal of my notions stored in it. The drawers are clear, so I can see what is in each one, but the outer shell is blue. Not a horrible color, but I thought it could be spiffed up some.

First, we sanded down the sides so the decoupage would hold better.

Then I trimmed the scrapbook paper down. I used a creamy floral, some stripes, and blue paisley for the sides. The top has a different pattern from the two sides; it's a floral/bird pattern.

Choosing the paper was the trickiest part because: 1. It had to be something we had enough of and 2. It had to be awesome. I wasn't sure what kind of look I was going for initially, but I narrowed it down to these patterns (all from the same collection--I don't remember which, but I'm sure we bought them at Michael's). They're kind of a retro-kitsch, which I appreciate.

Next, we used some Mod Podge to glue the paper on. We put a couple coats on, just to make sure the paper was secure. We let that dry, and then the final step was to add a couple coats of acrylic sealer/finisher.

Just a few simple steps and now we've got an ueber kitschy crafty organizer.

And yes, I did help. The PIC did not do the whole project himself. I just paused every now and then to get some snaps.

Hooray for kitschy crafty goodness!

The Draft Sssnake

2009-02-15T21:36:00.000-05:00

Inspired by a Christmas gift from my brother and sister-in-law, I made up two draft snakes for a couple of windows. I found a pattern for a draft snake here. It's not quite as cute as the Christmas present, but it's not a totally utilitarian pattern. I used some cotton I already had; the pattern sort of coordinates with our bed's comforter. For eyes, I used some buttons from a sweater we felted (we felted sweaters to make mittens). I used some red felt for the tongue. The instructions called for play sand or kitty litter for stuffing, but I used rice to fill the bag. True story: we bought a twenty pound bag (yes, that's 2-0) and the PIC was a little concerned it would not be enough. We're still going strong after two snakes.

This is a super simple project with an end result that is both cute and functional! I'm planning to make another snake for the remainder of our sliding door (the adorable gifted snake can only handle half of the door) and either a REALLY long snake but most likely just two regular sized snakes for the double window in the Sssssnicklefritz Sweat Shop.

Tschau!

The Crazy Cat Lady, or Birthday Goodness for My Niece

2009-01-26T10:21:00.001-05:00

My little niece recently turned two and I made her some cats. Being the neglectful, horrible aunt I am, though, I still have to get them sent to her. I just hope she hasn't become Internet savvy and learned to read in the month since I've seen her.

She loves kitties. Loves them. Maybe it's because her family doesn't have a cat, but she adores her grandparents' cat, Schubert, and when she found out her aunt and uncle Snicklefritz have two kitties, she now generally follows our names with "cats" when she speaks of us. So, I decided to make her the Snicklefritz cats, Bosco and Gracie, for her present. I somewhat recently picked up Amy Butler's new book, Little Stiches for Little Ones, which is a book geared to sewing for babies. No, I'm not breaking news on the blog here, but I do have one niece already, a second niece/nephew (they don't know yet) on the way (in May), and another niece coming (in June). I thought her book would be a good investment. The pattern I used for the cats is the "Cuddle Kitty Toy" project. Amy Butler's books generally include all patterns, too--on pattern pattern, so one doesn't have to worry about enlarging them, etc.

I used flannel for both cats because it's nice and soft. When one looks at flannel in the store, it doesn't seem too soft, but after it's washed (I usually wash the fabric before I sew with it), it's awesome. The flannel is from Hancock. Gracie is the black cat and Bosco is the gray cat. The Gracie toy pictured is actually the second one I made. I had trouble with the first Gracie mouth pulling out of the stitching when I stuffed her. I fixed the problem by straight stitching (by hand) the mouth on first and then zig-zag stitching around it. The pattern only says to zig-zag stitch. Otherwise the instructions were spot on and easy to follow. This is the second Amy Butler project I've sewn (the napkins and placemats were from the In Stitches book). Her directions are usually great and she tends to have good diagrams.

Happy Belated Second Birthday to my niece! The cats will soon be on the way!

Wiedersehen!

RAWK 'N' ROLL, or Birthday Goodness

2009-01-19T12:01:00.002-05:00

My youngest brother-in-law got an electric guitar for his birthday. (It's an Epiphone Les Paul, if you're wondering--with sunburst red/orange paint.) Pretty awesome, I know. The Partner-in-Crime thought it would be cool to make a guitar strap for the kid: a hard core rock 'n' roll strap, but not too hard core or the mother would nix it.

We found some leather-looking vinyl at Hancock and some leather scraps at Michael's. The PIC modeled the strap after one of his own (we don't need no stinkin' patterns!--well, OK, sometimes we do, but in this case, we did not). The cross was a little tricky: the PIC freehanded a cross and it was a little wonky. So, he scoped out some pictures online and found one to use as a template. I think it turned out really well.

After getting the cross straightened out, he cut out the two long vinyl pieces to make the front part of the strap. Then he added the two white stripes and pinned them to keep them straight. Then he sewed the two pieces together (inside out, with right sides together,) flipped the whole thing inside out, edge stitched the whole thing, sealing up the end that was open for flipping, and then added a whole bunch of vertical stripes to make it sturdy and strap-like (rather than tube like,) and finally, he added the cross and crazy zig-zag stitched the whole front, stripes and cross and all to make it rock-and/or-roll.

After finishing the front piece, he made the back, adjustable part out of canvas (left over from the messenger bag that he made) and then attached some leather tabs to the end. (That little Huskystar could sew through steel if we wanted it to!) That should help keep it from falling off of the little brother's guitar and add strength to the overall strap design.

The results were way better than the PIC was expecting, and he has enough vinyl, leather, and canvas left over to make another one, if he wants to, so he should get on it! (He tested out the strap before giving it to the brother, as pictured.)

RAWK AND ROLL!

I'm out.

Birds: More holiday craftiness!

2009-01-15T17:07:00.000-05:00

I had the idea of wrapping presents in brown paper and then stamping them up. I also thought we (the Partner-in-Crime and I) could include little bird ornaments with everyone's gift. It was the PIC's idea to tie them on the outside of the presents. This is a picture of some of the birds. We weren't finished with all 16 (I think) birds yet when this snap was taken, but I think the general concept is illustrated. If you'd like to see LOTS more pictures of them, you can check out the PIC's Picasa Web Album!

The pattern is from Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. The fabric is just random cottons from a couple local quilting shops and good ol' Hancock. The birds pictured include a bird for my newest sister-in-law (peeping around her package in the bottom left corner), my brother (the orange and blue for the Illini--I know, it's not the right blue; deal.), my oldest brother-in-law (the yellow and black/white for Purdue), my mother-in-law (the bird exposing its red belly), my mom (the black bird with red and yellow flowers), my father-in-law (the blue/red paisley), my bird (the brown floral with pink belly), and my youngest brother-in-law (the checkerboard skulls bird).

Wait, I made a bird for myself? Yep. It was my "see how this pattern works" experimental bird. Hey, the PIC had one for himself, too, but then he gave it away. Also to be noted: the birds for our parents are the same. The mothers received black birds with red bellies and the fathers received paisley birds with blue bellies. We made my grandmother-in-law a reverse of the mother bird (it was red with a black belly). My youngest brother-in-law actually got two birds because we put one with his birthday present (he's not a Christmas baby, but close enough that he sometimes gets gypped).

Also tschuess, bis naechste Mal!

Holiday Craftiness...and Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T11:46:00.001-05:00

Happy 2009 to everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a good New Year's. The Snicklefritzes enjoyed their holidays; we traveled back to the homeland and visited with family and friends. It's nice to be back home, though, because I can start work on some more projects. Plus, I can finally post about some of the projects I worked on for Christmas. Yay!

I made a handbag for my sister, the ASLTerp, using Simplicity pattern 8331. I made bag style D, which in the Simplicity picture is the yellow and blue plaid bag. Styles C, D, and E are all the same, just different sizes (Style D is the mid-size model). I originally wanted to find some dark/chocolate brown corduroy for the outside of the bag and then use this cute cotton print I already had from Hancock. That didn't work out. Hancock had a tan corduroy, but no chocolate brown, and I wasn't digging the tan much. Then I saw the blue stripe with flowers and decided to go for that. I used some light blue cotton for the bag's lining. This bag was fairly easy to make. I had a better, more enjoyable experience making this bag than my previous Simplicity bag, The (Wonky) Circle Bag. Both this bag and the (W)CB called for fleece interfacing. I opted for flannel. Fleece would make the bag puffier, which is okay, but I always have problems with the fleece stretching more than the cotton when sewing them together. Flannel isn't as stretchy, and I think using flannel works out alright.

I also made a matching modified No Cash Wallet (from Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol). I added a key ring loop and a back pocket (not pictured) with Velcro so the sister can keep some change in her wallet. The modifications weren't too tricky. In hindsight, I would probably make the key ring loop a little shorter. Maybe use black thread for the black snap rather than light blue. And how's that change pocket working out for you, Sis? I've mentioned before that sewing for people is kind of stressful for me. I expect the projects/gifts to be practically perfect, mainly because I am the one in control of the sewing. But even though it's stressful, I still like to sew gifts because I think handmade gifts are awesome and the process of making something from scratch is really cool.

So, I hope you liked the bag and wallet, Sis.

Happy New Year! And go get crafting!

Tschau!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone out there had a wonderful Turkey Day! Here at the Snicklefritzes', we celebrated Thanksgiving in our traditional German way: we made lasagna! (Perhaps I should mention here that the Partner-in-Crime is not really my partner-in-crime when it comes to eating turkey...) So, lasagna. Whatever the tradition, we had a very nice holiday.

I also got crafty today and made a couple small projects (as pictured). The stuffed fish is a catnip toy for Bosco and Gracie, mostly for Gracie. She loves her catnip, and not only did she have a new toy to play with, but my fingers smelled like catnip after I stuffed the toy. I was pretty close to losing my right hand today. I'm not sure if such a thing is possible, but she may have OD'ed on catnip today. The kitty fabric for the toy is from cotton remnants I received from my in-laws for a birthday gift last year. My mother-in-law works for a cat clinic, and she made herself some kitty scrubs a while back.

The other project is the "Songbird Wristlet" MP3 player cover project from Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray. The fabric for this project is cotton from Hancock. Unlike the wristlet I made for my sister last Christmas, I did not embroider the songbird onto mine. I thought the fabric was pretty busy and the songbird would just get lost. The hardest part of this project was hand stitching the velcro closures on. (You can't see them, they're under the flap.) Stitching through plastic is not overly fun. But the end result was worth it.

Not too bad for an afternoon's worth of work, eh? Oh, and in other news, check out the PIC's blog for some of his recent craftiness. :o) And, for all of you out there wondering, the Playmobil Nativity will be on display starting tomorrow! Welcome, Tiny-Plastic-Baby-Jesus!

Tschau!

Crafty Side Note IV

2008-11-12T19:30:00.000-05:00

I'm a Scrooge. Why? Because I dislike Christmas in July, August, September, October, and November. It's not OK to "get your Christmas on" before Thanksgiving. True Story: the Partner-in-Crime and I stopped by Toys 'R Us a while back and he saw the Playmobil Nativity set. He's been looking for this set for a couple years now and so we had to buy it. (It was, I must say, reasonably priced.) He was so super pumped about it, he had to get it out and look at it when we got home. It's a fun little set. I am a fan of the baby Jesus and nativities, but He's been packed up again until after we celebrate Thanksgiving.

The only Christmas-y thing I can endorse pre-Thanksgiving (other than Jesus), is Christmas shopping. Not shopping for Christmas things, but shopping for Christmas gifts. Indeed, if you find a deal on an awesome gift for someone in February, go for it. And so, this brings me to my crafty point: Etsy. It's a cool website that lets people sell their hand-crafted wares. There is a slew of crafty goodness on this website. Seriously, go check it out. There are, of course, wacky bizarre items for sale, items that I am not sure what they are for or who even buys them, but for every wackadoodle item there are probably five amazing items. So, what can one find on Etsy? Things like fabric, vintage and new patterns, and sewing supplies. And also: ceramics, lotions/lip balms/soaps, books, paper crafts (like stationery), candles, furniture, "geekery" (where one can find many a goofy item), music, art, plants, edibles, jewelry, housewares, etc, etc, etc.

And yes, the PIC and I have already purchased someone's Christmas gift from Etsy...I can say no more.

Wiedersehen!

The Craftiness Returns!!

2008-11-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

Hooray! I finally finished a project! It's been a long hiatus, but I made these journals for my sister-in-law's birthday (October 30--Happy Birthday, again). I have received confirmation that she is now in possession of her birthday gift; therefore, I can now post about this craftiness.

This is the "Scrapbooks" project from Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. That title is a bit of a misnomer because there are some major quilt projects in this book; the author has a "More Than 12-Hour Gift" chapter. The "scrapbooks" project is not one of those 12+ hours projects, though.

The journals are Kraft Moleskine Cahier Ruled Journals from Barnes & Noble. Other retailers sell Moleskines, but we tend to get ours at B&N. The fabric I used is all cotton, mostly purchased from local mom-and-pop quilt shops. Astute Crafty Snicklefritzes' readers will notice that the red floral is the same fabric from the bridal shower gift for the birthday girl sister-in-law (see We Set Up a Sweatshop...). The dark blue floral (trust me, it's a floral) is from the Zip Pouch, Spitze! lining. The Americana fabric is making its debut here. A while ago, the Partner-in-Crime and I bought a red and a blue fat quarter of this vintage looking 4th of July fabric. The PIC is planning to use some of it for home-made books. I think it's awesome.

The pattern is blocky, so I cut out three different picture blocks to add to the mix (the eagle, the "Greetings" ship, and the eagle plus two ships). I zigzag stitched the fabric to the front of the journals. The PIC glued the fabric down on two of the journals, but for the blue and red vertical stripe journal, I just stitched it. I used a regular needle and for the most part, the Huskystar did pretty awesome (I did have a panicky "Holy Goodness, I just broke my sewing machine" moment at one point, but the PIC saved the day, and all is well now.) I did a test run on another journal (not pictured here) to see what stitch length works best.

I think these turned out alright. They have kind of a crazy quilt/Americana feel to them, perhaps bordering on folk art. I do have to say that I agonized over the layout of the fabric. I like making gifts for people, but I tend to stress out over whether the receiver will like the gift or think it's just a stupid second-rate/Kindergarten looking piece of junk. I stress some when I make things for myself, but not nearly as much.

Anyhow, here's my most recent craftiness. I'm vowing to be much more crafty in the future, but until then, tschau!

Crafty Side Note III: Banned Books Week

2008-10-01T14:17:00.000-04:00

It's the middle of Banned Books Week 2008! Are you celebrating? The library where I work has displays of books from the most frequently challenged list in both the adult and teen areas. This list is assembled by the American Library Association. In addition to the display, the teens have a scavenger hunt they can complete in order to be entered into a drawing for a prize. I helped write the scavenger hunt, which was pretty cool, and I've been stocking up the adult display. This all got me to thinking, and here's where the craftiness comes in. There aren't any crafty books on the list! This probably means people don't realize that there are smutty craft books out there. Or maybe it means that not enough people take offense to smutty craft books. Or maybe it means that people can decide for themselves whether or not a book is appropriate. Whatever. So, just for kicks and giggles, I present my list of potentially ban-able crafty books:

(Please note: I've never used any of these books, so I can't vouch for them.)

Stitch 'n Bitch series (including S'nB Knitters Handbook, S'nB Nation, The Happy Hooker, & Son of Stitch 'n Bitch) by Debbie Stoller

AntiCraft: Knitting, Beading, & Stitching for the Slightly Sinister by Renee Rigdon and Zabet Stewart

DomiKNITrix: Whip Your Knitting Into Shape by Jennifer Stafford

CharmedKnits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter by Alison Hansel

Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

No Sheep for You: Knit Happy with Cotton, Silk, Linen, Hemp, Bamboo & Other Delights by Amy R. Singer (clarification: naked lady on the cover, plus the title mentions HEMP, which we all know is marijuana)

Naughty Needles: Sexy, Saucy Knits for the Bedroom & Beyond by Nikol Lohr

Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns & How-to by Jenny Hart

Sensual Knits: Luxurious Yarns, Alluring Designs by Yahaira Ferreira

Knitting Lingerie Style: More Than 30 Basic & Lingerie-Inspired Designs by Joan McGowan-Michael

Punk Knits: 26 Hot New Designs for Anarchistic Souls & Independent Spirits by Share Ross

Not Your Mama's series (including Knitting, Crochet, Stitching, Beading, & Felting) various authors

The Big-Ass Book of Crafts by Mark Montano and Auxy Espinoza

The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girl's Guide to Handmade Jewelry by Jennifer Perkins

Sewing with Nancy books (OK, so I added this because it's something the Partner-in-Crime probably wouldn't mind banning for real.)

There seems to be an awful lot of trashy knitting books out there...not such a wholesome pastime, is it? That's why I'm not a knitter. *kidding* Again, I'm not too familiar with some of these books. I have seen a few of them as I peruse the shelves at the local Barnes and Noble and because of my many craft-book related purchases, almost all of these books pop up as recommendations for me from Amazon.com.

Betcha didn't know how much smut is out there for crafters!

I read banned books. (Not a Crafty Side Note)

2008-09-28T12:17:00.000-04:00

OK, so this doesn't relate to craftiness, but this does relate to my line of work: libraries.

Yesterday was the kick-off for Banned Books Week 2008

(September 27-October 4). For more information about BBW, check out the American Library Association website. From there you can read why banning books isn't such a great idea; plus, you can check out the list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books from 2000-2007. You might be surprised about some of the books on the list. I was. I have actually only read 25 of those books (that I can recall, but it's no secret I can apparently block bad reading experiences, i.e. Wuthering Heights-which is not on the list.) The ALA website also has lists for books and authors challenged in the past and for current years. It's interesting to see what made the list in the past, and what new (or not so new) smut has bumped those nasty books off the list in recent years.

I can understand why some people are for censorship and banning books, but I just can't get behind that way of thinking. If you have a problem with a book, don't read it (I'm talking to you, Gossip Girl, or should I say #30?). If you don't want your innocent children to read a book, then don't let them. But don't tell me that I cannot decide for myself whether to read a book or not. And if I had children, don't tell them what they can and cannot read. That would be my job as a parent, thankyouverymuch. This is the United States of America and we have a little thing called the First Amendment, which protects our freedom of speech and allows crap to be published (Goosebumps anyone? That's #84)! By golly, America is nothing if we can't have our trashy books, isn't that right, What's Happening to My Body? (#78)

So, in honor of Banned Books Week, read some delightfully controversial books, like that evil Bridge to Terabithia (#20). I've only read about one-fourth of the books on the list. I would say I have some catching up to do, but seriously, I do have some taste (unlike Captain Underpants, #10). What's my favorite challenged book? It's #23, To Kill a Mockingbird.

I'm still a slacker, but here's some craftiness from Herr Snicklefritz!!

2008-08-30T18:22:00.000-04:00

Many hellos to you! I've been a huge crafty SLACKER for a few weeks now. My apologies for the slack-fest. I do have a few reasons for my crafting/blogging absence. Some friends from the homeland came out to visit and then the aslterp came out for a visit. Both visits were super good, but also really busy! Plus, our guests took over the sweatshop, aka sewing room, aka guest room, thus inhibiting the craftiness.

In the meantime, though, the Partner-in-Crime created a "green" throw. He recycled some old t-shirts and made a throw. The back is made from some flannel we bought on sale from Hancock ages ago. There isn't a lining, so it's a sort of light-weight throw. It's still pretty warm, though. And it's a good size for the PIC, as seen in the pictures, it's longer than he is. (The size of our throws has bothered him because they are often too small or short for him. Yes, I married a giant, but that was part of our arrangement: he lifts heavy things and reaches the high-up stuff; I get the things that are down low.) Pretty basic sewing, all straight lines and such. No crazy quilting here. Bonus points for the person who guesses what the blocks have in common!

Alrighty, until next time! (Here's hoping I stop the slacking!)

Tschau!

Crafty Side Note II

2008-07-24T15:07:00.000-04:00

Tag!

No personal craftiness to report, other than to mention that last week, Herr Snicklefritz sold 4 handmade books to a gallery in a small town south of us. After waiting patiently for him to report this himself over on his own blog (where he displays all of his handmade books, A Sprinkler in the Rain), he has finally done so. But I'm excited for him, so I am writing about his craftiness here, too. The gallery, Bishop's Stock, is very neat and the owner was pretty encouraging--she really likes the PIC's work. The books sold include two mod books (the one pictured and another one with the same fabric cover), a green book (not the one pictured, but very much like it), and book VII. The sale cleaned out the PIC's book supply, but he was super excited (as was I).

Now, enough celebrating!! Get back to work!! We demand more handmade books!!

Crafty Side Note

2008-07-14T20:21:00.000-04:00

Occasionally I have crafty opinions and news that do not relate to a project I have either finished or am currently working on. So, I figured I would make this post a "Crafty Side Note."

I have mentioned before that of the two Wal-Marts in town, only one carries fabric. Not a huge deal for me, since I usually shop at Hancock Fabrics or one of the local quilting shops. I also know how to use the Internet and can shop online if needed. (Another side note: One of the locals has closed its brick and mortar shop and now only operates online, which is a bummer. The online shop does not offer fabric, only Singer sewing machines, parts, etc.) I have purchased fabric at Wal-Mart on occasion, though; see the bridal shower gift for my newest sister-in-law. In my post for that project, I noted that Wal-Mart was planning to downsize and basically eliminate its fabric department, company-wide. Well, it has come to pass here in my town: no more fabric at Wal-Mart.

Again, not a huge deal for me (because I have other, I think better, options), but there seems to be a lot of upset consumers out there. Many people depend on Wal-Mart for their sewing needs, especially those rural consumers. And thanks to Wal-Mart, many towns no longer have the "mom-and-pop" fabric stores. (See a few comments about the disappearing fabric here, here, and here.) I did come across at least one website where several people said it was not a huge loss, that the super cheap fabric was usually really low quality. Some people think that the end of fabric at Wal-Mart (or most Wal-Marts) will signal the return of local quilt shops or chains like Hancock or Jo-Ann. I don't know about that. It could happen since Wal-Mart is out of the picture, but some retailers might be leery of entering a market that wrote them off before. Hancock (and I'm sure Jo-Ann) offers some good buys on fabric, but it is more expensive that the $1.00 or $2.00 per yard Wal-Mart offered on a lot of its fabric. Most of the fabric one can find at a local quilting shop is more expensive, but with the higher cost, comes higher quality. Anyhow, it's not cool that Wal-Mart is hindering sewers around the country.

OK. That's all I've got. What do you think about Wal-Mart's decision?

The (Wonky) Circle Bag

2008-07-09T13:58:00.000-04:00

Here's the latest! This fabric probably looks familiar; I used it for The No Cash Wallet. The lining fabric is the same pale blue with black, yellow, and white branches that I used for the wallet lining. All of the fabric is from Hancock, but that's practically a given.

I used Simplicity's Sewing for Dummies patten 7161, which was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. It's been a couple years, but here is my first project completed from that pattern! I made bag "C."

OK, this is a "for Dummies" pattern, so it should have been easy, right? Wrong. I felt like a dummy trying to make this thing. The pattern calls for a fleece lining (in addition to the interfacing) to add a little bit of padding to the bag. That was a disaster! Admittedly, some of the problem with the fleece may have been my fault. I skipped the first step (fuse the interfacing to the outer layer of fabric) because I thought that I could just baste the interfacing to the outer layer at the same time as the fleece. Nope. The fleece was too stretchy and it just didn't work out. (In my defense, I don't know if it would have worked out any better if I had fused the interfacing to the outer layer first. The fleece may still have been wacky.) So I decided to try some flannel in place of the fleece. I have used flannel as an inner layer before (see every bag I have ever made), and while there is some stretch to flannel, I thought it would work better than the fleece. Nope.

I was so annoyed by this, I moved on to the steps that covered the lining pieces because those were all regular cotton. Stitching the bag and handle linings together was simple and didn't take too long. While I was sewing those, I had a small brainwave about the outer pieces--why not just forget about basting the fabrics and just use regular length stitches to sew the pieces together? I ripped out the basted stitches and resewed the pieces with regular stitches. It worked much better! The basting stitches I was trying either didn't have the right thread tension or length or maybe it was just the operator who was ridiculous.

I also added the pattern recommended Velcro closure at this point. Take that, pickpockets! (My cash is safe, thanks to the power of NASA technology: Velcro.)

The other major fiasco with this bag was the handle. Again, the operator just didn't quite get it. When I looked at the picture and read the instructions, I was a little confused and kind of made up what I was supposed to do to finish the handle. The PIC saw it and said, "That is the worst piece of junk handle I have ever seen in my life--EVER!" He then explained to his dumb wife how the dumb handle was supposed to be finished. I finally finished it, but the handle still looks a little rough, thanks to my sub-par stitchery. Not the best looking project I have ever completed, but it gets the obligatory C- for being able to hold stuff in the end. And if I ever make this same style again, I have it figured out, so it should look better than this one.

A'ight, I'm out!

Charmed, I'm sure.

2008-06-26T18:38:00.000-04:00

It's been a little while since I last posted, but I have been kind of crafty in the meantime. Here is my latest project: number six from Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. This is the Charming Handbag (two side views and an inside shot). I bought some fat quarters at Hancock; one quarter per side. In addition to the outer and the inner fabric, there is a flannel layer of facing, just to add a little more shape.

My biggest complaint about this project is that the book left out instructions on how much fabric is needed for the straps and the "tubes" (or casing) one stitches to feed the straps through. I figured it out (obviously) but I did have to think about it some. I made a 1" wide strap, so I cut a piece of fabric 4" wide and did the foldover method, as if I were making a drawstring. For the length, I just sewed two 4" wide lengths of my fat quarters together. The resulting strap is just long enough that I can carry the handbag on my shoulder if desired. For the "tubes" (or casing that the straps run through) I measured out how wide the top of the sides were and made a slightly shorter tube. For the real instructions, here is the corrections page provided by the publisher, Potter Craft. There is a template included in the book for the basic bag pattern.

If I make another charming handbag, I think it would be pretty easy to add an inside pocket (not included in the directions) and/or some sort of closure; it's an open top and the PIC quickly mentioned pickpockets upon completion of the bag. I then pointed out that I would most likely be carrying the bag on my shoulder (under my arm) and that the straps are too short for pickpockets to reach into the bag--and also that we live in a "city" of 26,000 people. (Seriously: pickpockets? Why did I marry him again?) The bag fits pretty snug under my arm. My concern with the open top is accidentally dumping everything out of it. I should mention that the construction of the straps does allow the bag to gather some.

Another idea would be making the bag bigger, thus creating more of a tote. I think this is one of the suggestions in the book, and I think with the open top styling, it would work pretty well.

So, the Charming Handbag.
Ta da!

Until next time...tschau!

Fabric Message Board

2008-06-09T12:50:00.000-04:00

Greetings! Here's one of the latest projects we've completed, a fabric message board.

One of my sisters-in-law just graduated and we were trying to think of a gift to give her, something kind of cool and perhaps functional. So I came up with the idea of making a ribbon/fabric message board. That way she could display old high school pictures/mementos and new college pictures/mementos. The board we made for her is not the one shown here. Her message board is green (one of her favorite colors and also her high school color) with green flowery ribbons, also criss-crossing in an asymmetrical fashion. The board came in handy during her graduation party; she displayed some of her 4-H ribbons on it.

We made the board using Homasote's 440 SoundBarrier (a 4' x 8' board purchased from Home Depot). Homasote seems like a pretty cool company. Their products are all recycled and environmentally friendly. The 440 SoundBarrier is supposed to be used for soundproofing, but it works well for making message boards. It's sturdy, but soft enough for using pushpins. The fabric was some quilter's cotton (a really neat green transitions fabric; it faded dark to light and had little subtle swirly circles on it) and the ribbons were from Michael's, who has a better selection for fun ribbon than Hancock. After stapling the fabric and ribbons down, we covered the back with some felt, also from Hancock. We also used thumb tacks to secure each criss-cross. Overall, this was an easy project. The trickiest parts are choosing the fabric and ribbon and then laying out the ribbons on the board.

After we made her board we still had 2/3 of the Homasote left, so we made a message board for ourselves, pictured in this post. Fabric and ribbon from Hancock and Michael's, respectively. We still have 1/3 of the 4' x 8' board left. It will eventually be made into another message board (I have no idea what else we would use it for), but we don't have immediate plans for it.

Alrighty...tschau!

Raccoons and Owls and Turtles, Oh My!

2008-06-01T11:49:00.000-04:00

Howdy! I can finally post about these little critters because my niece finally has them. The PIC and I trekked back to the homeland last weekend and we saw the niece (who is completely and ridiculously adorable--seriously, she's rocking little pigtails now. It's out of control.). We gave her tons of books and the stars and blocks blanket for Christmas, so I decided to make some little animals for her birthday, which was ages ago; yes, we are the worst aunt and uncle EVER.

The "Soft Turtle Buddy" pattern comes from the classic Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. The directions say to enlarge the pattern 129%, but I enlarged it even more than that. I don't unfortunately remember if I went 150%, 175% or 200% (I copied the pattern quite some time ago and did not write that info down.) The finished turtle is between the size of a Beanie Baby and a Beanie Buddy, as if that helps anyone out there get an idea of its size. The shell is light blue flowery-butterfly flannel and the head, tail (yes, there's a small tail), and legs are light tan corderoy. The eyes are blue felt and handsewn on.

The raccoon and owl are the "Felt Forest Creatures" from Doodle-Stitching by Aimee Ray (gasp, a different sewing book!). I think this is the first time I have blogged about something I made from this book, but I have also made the "Songbird Wristlet" for a certain sister of mine. Anywho, these two critters are made from felt. These involved a lot more handstitching than the turtle. I did all the embroidery, and the bellies, raccoon mask and tail stripes are handsewn. I embroidered the niece's initials on the backs of the owl and raccoon, too (and also a little heart in the spirit of Pound Puppies).

The niece seemed to like the animals; in fact, when she sees the owl, she starts hooting. So, next time I make animals, I need to make some more that make recognizable sounds. Seriously, what does a raccoon say? Or a turtle?

As usual, all the supplies came from Hancock Fabrics, including the Polyester fiberfil used to stuff this little guys. I'm kind of bummed out that one of the local fabric shops is closing. It was a quilting shop, so they had a good selection of cottons. I am a fan of supporting the local shops, but they seem to be dwindling out here.

Arr, Mateys!

2008-05-21T16:23:00.000-04:00

Here's a little something I made for the PIC's birthday. Yes, I know it's early (his birthday is this Saturday), but I wanted him to have it by his birthday and while I can hide presents, it's a bit more tricky to hide fabric and work on this without him knowing. Herr Snicklefritz is only teaching one class this summer and I'm still working my regular schedule. He's usually home when I am.

Anyhow, we were at the good ol'Hancock and saw this fun piratey fabric (cotton) a while back. The PIC wasn't sure what to do with it but really liked it. Fast forward a few days and I was looking through my library book (thank you, interlibrary loan), Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I came across the pattern for the simple pillowcase and I had a small epiphany. "Why not make a pillowcase for the Partner-in-Crime with that crazy fun pirate fabric?" I thought. It's simple and functional, emphasis on fun!

Speaking of simple, this really is an under two hour gift (except if one has personal fabric inspectors, see Bosco, Fabric Inspector). Basically, just cut out two big rectangles and sew them together. The square skulls fabric was a little misleading when I cut it, though, because the squares do not line up, so my lines always looked crooked. My sewing is much better, but my cutting seemed to have gone pre-K, at least for this project. (True story, I never attended preschool, so maybe that's why I was having trouble cutting in a straight line.) In spite of the wonky cutting, the pillowcase turned out pretty well. Most importantly, the PIC really likes it.

Arr! Now go walk the plank!

Messenger bag

2008-05-12T21:35:00.000-04:00

Here's some more craftiness from Herr Snicklefritz: a messenger bag.
I, Mr. Snicklefritz, had been wanting to make the transition from briefcase to messenger bag, but it's hard to find a good militay surplus store out here, so when I was brought along for one of Mrs. Snicklefritzes Hancock Fabric runs, and I saw canvas was 40% off, I figured it was a good time to give it a try.

Unfortunately, the first try (not pictured) was way more of a purse than a messenger bag.

Fortunately, the second try (pictured) turned out pretty well, and it holds my papers nicely.

The No Cash Wallet (But really, you could put folded up cash in it.)

2008-04-30T23:15:00.000-04:00

So, in fact, this more of a No Change Wallet.

Here's my latest finished project! It's the "No Cash Wallet" from Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing. This is a super simple project, easily completeable in an hour or so. The trickiest part is choosing the fabric! I originally bought the circles (quilter's cotton from Hancock) for a handbag I wanted to make. That project is still in the works, but in the meantime, I decided to make this little wallet. I think the end product turned out pretty well. I chose not to add a decorative button to the front cover. I also did not sew two seams across the wallet where it folds; I thought that was unneccesary and that a black line across the circles or against the blue interior would be a little unsightly. Just my personal preference, though.

Although I just said that this was a simple project, my first attempt was a big FAIL. Not because I messed up, but because the pattern provided was not quite wide enough. I found that I needed to add a half inch to the width to allow my cards to fit in the pockets properly. So FYI to all of you who have this book and plan to make this project.

OK, a walkthrough of the pics; the first two are of the outside. For the outside and the interior, I really paid attention to what the cut fabric would look like (hence the symmetry on the back exterior). The first is the front sans button, the second is the back (obviously when the wallet is folded). Third, the wallet is partially open (check out that snap!), and finally, the whole interior. For the interior, I just wanted a cut that had some black, rather than just the white and yellow. The fabric cut for the pockets was anything goes. I didn't bother so much with them, but they still turned out OK.

Stay tuned for the circles bag! It's coming, but there was a FAIL with that project, too. Details will come.

Until then, Tschau!

O, Spring!

2008-04-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

Hooray! I finally have some full-fledged flowers on my azalea! There are tons of buds, so I'm super excited. The azalea was looking really sketchy over the winter (and winters aren't as cold here as in the homeland!), so when I saw some new little leaves sprouting up and then some pink buds, needless to say, it was cool. And, OK, so this isn't anything crafty that I made (it's the handicraft of the Lord), but I wanted to share some pretty flowers. For those of you who are interested, this is a Girard's Crimson Azalea, which I purchased last spring.

Black Butterfly Skirt (by Bosco...oh, yeah, and the Snicklefritz)

2008-04-04T20:12:00.000-04:00

After all the hullabaloo of making this skirt, here it is! The fabric is from good ol'Hancock, from the quilter's cotton section. I bought this fabric at the same time as the fabric for my red skirt (Sew What. It's a skirt.) The pattern I used is also the same pattern, the "Singing the Blues" from Sew What! Skirts by Francesca DenHartog and Carole Ann Camp. Well, OK, it's not really a pattern, but more like directions or guidelines to make a skirt. The skirts this books shows how to make are all custom-fit; I have to make my own pattern and draw it out either on the fabric or on paper. For this skirt, I drew right on the fabric (as I did with the first skirt.)

This is a really easy, basic skirt. It is an A-line with a drawstring waist. This skirt is actually a little bit narrower than my red skirt. I didn't make the "A" quite as wide--I couldn't remember the exact angle I used before. I made the drawstring from leftover fabric and added rickrack to the hemline. May I just say that rickrack is no fun to sew onto a hemline? It's kind of blind stitching because I lay the rickrack on top of the edge of the hemline, therefore blocking my view of where the fabric edge is. Plus, the rickrack likes to slide around a little, even though I super-pinify it (the rest of the skirt was pretty easy, so something had to be difficult, right? I mean, other than BOSCO.). I think the effort was worth it, though, because I like the rickrack finish on the hem. Although when I was making it, I realized that this skirt pattern would be pretty simple to embellish--the directions call for a rickrack hemline, but one could easily just add a ribbon, ruffle, or lace, etc.

Alrighty, just have to figure out what to make next!

Until then, tschau!

Bosco, Fabric Inspector

2008-04-01T15:41:00.000-04:00

I finally finished another project (yay!!), but I am not going to share it until I get the saga out of the way. What should have been a simple Sunday afternoon project (a basic skirt) turned into a two day event. And why is that? BOSCO. And to a lesser extent, GRACIE. As seen here, Bosco is addicted to fabric laid out on the floor (Seriously. He's even in the snaps of the Stars and Blocks Blanket for the niece). It's almost like giving him catnip or something. Check out the spaced out stare in the first picture. Unfortunately, I don't have a huge table to lay out my fabric when I mark and cut it. I have to use the floor. So, in addition to some carpet fuzz, I now have an angora cotton skirt. Thank you, Bosco, for rolling around like a weirdo on my fabric. Oh, I'm sorry. I meant, thank you, Bosco, for so carefully inspecting my work.

Another snag in the afternoon skirt making: I wound my bobbin and almost ran out of black thread. Of course it was a quarter to six, so Hancock was closed. I had to go the dreaded place, Wal-Mart, to pick up some more. And upping the drama some more: this town has two Wal-Marts and only one has a sewing department. Fortunately, I chose the correct one on the first try.

The skirt has been made (as stated above). I will get some snaps up ASAP, but I wanted to share the crafting process with my readers. (And yes, by "crafting process" I meant "cat-herding". Thanks to Herr Snicklefritz for his assistance.)

Wiedersehen!

Spring Break '08, Part II

2008-03-12T15:18:00.000-04:00

Aww, man! Don't you hate it when it's "to be continued" right at the exciting part of the story? Yeah, me too. But a continuation was necessary because I can only post so many pictures at once. *sigh*

OK, so we've got the paper pulp dumped into the water and now the PIC is lowering the frame into the tub. He's going at an angle in order to catch some pulp on the screen.

Then he lifts the frame out of the water; hopefully with enough pulp on the screen to have a pretty even covering (we don't want bare spots or any spots that are REALLY thin). To help with even coverage, the PIC gently shakes the frame left to right as he pulls it out of the water.

Tada! It looks like we've got a piece of paper! The frame Herr Snicklefritz made allows us to make sheets of paper approximately 11"x13".

And now the fun starts! The PIC sponges off as much excess water as he can. The first couple sheets of paper were not so good, but he's got a method now.

1. Sponge off the excess water.

2. Sandwich the sheet between some felt and squeeze/press out more excess water (either using himself or some hefty books, etc).

3. Transfer the sort of solid/kind of sticking together sheet of paper to a sheet of glass and prop it in front of a fan to completely dry.

We'll be experimenting with paper sources so we'll keep you posted. Most of the paper the PIC made was from credit card apps, so he's calling the first batch "Credit Card Gray" (light gray with flecks of color). He also made a couple of sheets of paper from a case of pop. Those sheets were not as pretty, but did have a couple cool logo specks. (They ended up kind of a craft paper brown.)

If you are interested in some handmade paper from the Crafty Snicklefritzes, let us know! Herr Snicklefritz is also known to make books (see his blog at A Sprinkler in the Rain).

Wiedersehen!

Spring Break '08: Cancun! Panama City! Our Kitchen!

2008-03-12T14:56:00.000-04:00

It was Herr Snicklefritz's Spring Break and he was bored, so he thought he would try his hand at making paper! Pretty cool idea, as he likes to make books and I like to make cards.

The first picture shows some basic supplies. The PIC made the frame from some 1x3x6's and screening, all from one of his favorite stores (which we sadly do not frequent often, as we live in an apartment) the Home Depot. Also from the Home Depot, we bought some polyurethane to coat the wood, making it waterproof. Also, some nails, etc. We bought the Rubbermaid tub at Target; we found one that is just the right size for the frame the PIC made.

Here Mr. Snicklefritz is ripping up paper to make the pulp. He should have left that job for the expert (me). We used credit card applications and other sensitive documents to make our paper pulp. Hey, we're recycling! The pulp is made of shredded paper and some water.
Now the PIC is blending the paper and the water to make pulp. Or maybe this is just a shot of him making a milkshake? Mmm, tasty!

Dumping the pulp into the tub, which already has some water in it.

Stay tuned for more crazy paper-makin' hijinks!!

Strawberry Coasters Forever

2008-03-09T16:49:00.000-04:00

(Apologies to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.)

So these are a couple strawberry coasters I made from a plastic canvas kit I bought a long time ago (as in years ago, not just months). When I bought them, I thought they would be really cute, but I never got the chance to work on them. They made the trip from the homeland to the Eastern Shore still unfinished. *sigh* I can be a huge slacker sometimes, even when it comes to craftiness. Just a couple days ago, I dug them out and finished them. Hooray! I even added a green felt backing to them.

This is the first time I have worked with plastic canvas, but I have cross-stitched before and this is kind of similar. The kit was made from a company called Uniek. I am not sure if they still make the strawberry coasters kit, but I did see that they offer instructions on how to make watermelon coasters, for those of you who may be interested.

Wiedersehen!

A Fleece Extravaganza! Part II!

2008-02-28T14:04:00.000-05:00

This is a fleece the PIC made for me using McCall's pattern #3402.

We got the zipper, the blue, and the grey fleece at Hancock.

The pattern was a little more complicated than the pullover that the PIC made for himself a few months back, (see the old post) but the results for this fleece were quite a bit nicer too. Hard work pays off sometimes. The facing fabric inside the zipper give it a more polished look--especially when combined with the more polished sewing skills that he's developing. Good bye, ninth grade home-ec training! The PIC is growing up. He also used some light-blue flannel (left over from a Christmas present project for a certain twin sister of mine that hasn't posted pictures of it yet) to line the pocket

He made the medium sized pattern with cute double seams, and he asked me to try it on after it was nearing completion. Only then did he realize that it was about two inches too large on every side. After some frantic, or furious, or flustered, re-seaming, trimming, and muttering under his breath, he got it trimmed down to a reasonable size for me, and then he added the zipper, the hems, and the finishing touches.

We still have quite a bit of the blue and the grey fleece, and he offered to make me some cozy matching mittens, but I told him I have plenty of gloves already (additionally, it hardly gets cold enough out here to break out any mittens).

Flower Drum Song

2008-02-14T14:52:00.000-05:00

Or really, Flower Umbrella Song. (Apologies to Rogers & Hammerstein.)

I've got a couple projects in the works, but thought it was high time for an update of some sort. I made my almost weekly (only a slight exaggeration) pilgrimage to Hancock Fabrics and, of course, they had tons of cute fabric. I decided to go with multi-colored Asian-inspired umbrellas and brown flowers. Both are cotton. I bought both with the intention of making a skirt, but I didn't really have one specifically planned out.

So when we got home, I looked through my Sew What! Skirts to find something that would work. I was thinking of using the brown flowers as a border and using the umbrella print for the main part of the skirt. I have pretty much decided to go with the "East Meets West" skirt pattern in the book. The PIC has even made a basic sketch of what the skirt will look like. I still need to pick up various notions for the skirt and then I'll be all set to start working on it.

Tschau!

Stars and Blocks Blanket

2008-01-26T19:53:00.000-05:00

Here's another project that the PIC and I worked on around Christmastime. It's a blanket/quilt we made for our little niece for a Christmas present. She has a red barnyard theme nursery--appropriate, as she is growing up in a barn. (I feel a draft...did someone leave a door open??)

The red, black, and white squares are made from t-shirt material. The white-stars-on-red and the black border are fleece. For the t-shirt fabric, we used a lot of old t-shirts for that great old-t-shirt feeling, but we did have to buy some red jersey when we ran out of red t-shirts. So, some of the red jersey and all of the fleece came from...you guessed it, Hancock Fabrics. The blanket is twin-sized (we measured my old comforter from college). It's also REALLY heavy because of the two layers. This is a bit unfortunate as her parents keep the barn hovering around 85 degrees all winter long with their wood burning stove.

We freestyled the whole thing together, having never made a blanket/quilt type thing before, and not having a pattern to draw from. We simply cut 4" squares and sewed, and sewed, and sewed. When we finally finished with the diagonal top, we bought yards of fleece and freestyled together the borders and attached them to the sqares as we went. When we were finished laying out each side, stitching it together, and flipping it right side out, we ran a line of machine "quilting" around every other set of squares, from the outside in, to help it stick together like a blanket instead of a giant fleece bag. It worked pretty well.

For those of you who are curious, you can check out a short video the PIC made of the layout process on his blog: A Sprinkler in the Rain.

Also, we'd like to give a special thanks to Bosco for inspecting the workmanship!

Sew what. It's a skirt.

2008-01-12T22:35:00.000-05:00

How do? Here's another project that I have had finished for a little while but did not get the chance to share yet. I made this skirt right before Christmas (and wore it for Christmas Eve), but since the PIC and I journeyed back to the homeland for Christmas, I had not had time to get this on the blog.

The fabric is from Hancock Fabrics. It's a cotton print that I found, after hours of searching, in the quilting cottons. For a pattern, I used the instructions from Sew What! Skirts by Francesca DenHartog. This is made from a basic A-line pattern, drawn out on the fabric using my measurements. It's an exaggerated A-line, though, so it's kind of between an A-line and a round skirt in skirt width (for what I like to call the "swishy factor"). I drew out the pattern on two pieces of fabric, a front and a back.

The skirt features a drawstring waist--the string, itself, made from some of the leftover fabric. I used large black rickrack to accent the hemline. The PIC said that he was OK with the rickrack, but only because it is half hidden by the skirt, so it resembles more of a deckled edge than it does rickrack. (He really abhors rickrack!)

The book's instructions call for a pocket, too, but I did not add one to this skirt. Maybe next time. The instructions in the book were pretty easy to follow, and I think the end results are nice. I know one thing's for sure: I am getting SO MUCH BETTER at sewing straight lines. Trust me, my procrastinatin' pj pants (see first post from last year) were a little bit sketchy in comparison to this skirt.

Wiedersehen!

Another Zip Pouch...Spitze!

2008-01-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!

I finally have some new stuff to post! I've been busy making things for family for Christmas and couldn't really post anything for awhile, but I have returned!

This is another little zip pouch (Spitze!) that I made for one of my sisters-in-law. She's a senior in high school and really likes green. (In fact, one of her school colors is green, how convenient!) I saw this fun green swirly cotton fabric at good ol' Hancock Fabrics. I then debated on whether to go with a yellow or pink liner fabric to accent the little stars (ask the PIC, it took a few minutes to decide), but I really liked the pink. AND THEN I found this pink ribbon with green dashes, so I was glad I went with the pink.

This is the third zip pouch (Spitze!) that I've made, using the fabulous Bend the Rules Sewing, and they keep getting better, mostly because I've been sewing better. As with anything, the more you practice, the better you'll be.

The Saga Continues

2007-12-08T18:54:00.000-05:00

Here's the update. It's a little late, for which I apologize. I did have a picture ready to post a couple days ago, but someone, namely the partner-in-crime, had the cable which runs from the camera to the PC at work. But no worries. The cable has returned home and I have an update! Ta-da!

But don't think this is the only project I am working on. Nope. It's the Christmas season, so I have some other projects in the works, too. Pictures for those may be a little late in appearing (i.e. after Christmas), but I will share those as soon as I can.

Tschau!

The Update!

2007-11-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

Hello! Here's my cross-stitch update for the week. It's a little belated--I haven't worked on it for a few days and am just now getting around to posting. (I was excited about my most recent sewing project, so that took a little precedence to the cross stitch update.) Most of this progress was made over Veterans' Day weekend.

And...ah ha! It's quite obvious now what I am stitching. No, it's not the Snicklefritz Family Crest, but maybe I will actually do that someday. :o) In the meantime, there's still more work to be done on this project...

Cheerio!

Jazzing up the WC!

2007-11-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

Greetings! After a hiatus from sewing, I have returned with a finished project! (Plus, a cross-stitching update is coming soon.)

A few months ago, in an effort to get organized, the partner-in-crime and I bought some baskets to use on our bathroom over-the-commode shelving. We found them on sale at Michael's and they were just the right size; however, the lining was a red/black print, which does not work in our bathroom, for it has a blue theme going on. So, I thought I could make new liners out of a blue fabric that would match our blue bathroom. I found this blue polka dot fabric in the calico section at Hancock; this pattern comes in several colors, but obviously we went with the blue for our bathroom (on account of the aforementioned blue theme going on). Plus, the blue reminds me of bubbles, which is bathroomy (no, that's not a word; I just made it up). We guesstimated and bought a yard. Making the liners was fairly easy. We disassembled one of the red/black liners to use as a pattern. Seam rippers are so handy sometimes! Then I stitched up three new liners. T'was not too difficult. Now, if I had to make a liner on my own, with nothing to go on...that might be another story. :o) As it is, this was probably my most "free-hand" sewing I've done. I did not follow a pattern, other than the ripped apart red/black liner, nor did I really have any directions to follow. Still, the results are at least: matching, and at best: magnificent! So says the PIC. I agree on the matching. ;o)

Mmmmm, pie.

2007-11-12T11:26:00.000-05:00

Here's how my partner-in-crime and I spent our Sunday afternoon. We made some apple pies. We used the pie crust recipe from my Pillsbury Complete Cookbook and for the filling we used a recipe from my mother-in-law. The PIC got a little fancy with the top crusts...please note the star and the "P" for Snicklefritz. :o) They turned out quite well and are delicious!

Hooray for kitchen craftiness!

Guess what I'm working on...

2007-11-08T19:27:00.000-05:00

How do? Here's the update for the cross stitch. I am thisclose to finishing up with all the green! Hooray. So in my next update there should be a new color. Yes, a new color, not just a new shade! It's exciting!! At least, I think it's exciting. :o)

The Trilogy Poll

2007-11-03T23:21:00.000-04:00

OK, people. The results are in and Star Wars, the original three, has unanimously won the title of Best Trilogy Ever!! Unfortunately, the voter turn-out was a little depressing. I myself abstained. But I'm pretty OK with Star Wars as the winner. :o)

I admit, the poll had very little to do with crafts/stitchery/sewing. I'll try to make some of my polls crafty, but not all of them will be. I do have-gasp!-other interests in my life. Not many, but there are some others.

Keep your eyes peeled for a new poll to appear soon!

Hoert gut zu. Schaut gut zu. Und pass gut auf!

More of the Same :o)

2007-11-03T23:12:00.000-04:00

Greetings to you! It's been a little over a week since I last updated...but I didn't get to work on my stitching until Thursday afternoon. I did not get a whole lot more accomplished, but it's slowly starting to actually look like something. And yes, I will be using all the colors pictured in an earlier post, I promise! I just seem to be stuck on green for now--that is where the center of the design is, in the green, so that's where I started. To keep myself from getting totally confused (that whole varying shades of a certain color fiasco again), I am trying to finish up each grouping of green before moving on to the other colors.

In other crafty news, I finally purchased a copy of Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol!! I became pretty enamored with this book when I borrowed it from my sister to make some coasters. :o) I've made three projects from it already (coasters, my cherry tote, and the zip pouch-Spitze!), so I figure it's a good buy. Plus, I bought Doodle-Stitching by Aimee Ray, which is an embroidery book. Several of the projects look super neat, so I'm excited about getting this one, too. I used some of my birthday money for these, so I really appreciate the books as gifts. I ordered them from Amazon.com, where they were discounted some, and I got free shipping. I have found that if one goes with the "Super Saver" free shipping, which says it will take 5-9 business days, it usually takes 2-3. And that's pretty good considering I live in Siberia, I mean, on the Shore. :o) And I also like the fact that generally the items on Amazon.com are discounted some, without having to have a twenty-dollar-a-year membership--take that B&N!

It's Not Easy Being Green, Part 2

2007-10-25T20:49:00.000-04:00

Here's what I have finished after five days. I did not get quite as much done as I would have liked, but my spare time has been a little slimmer since I picked up a few more hours at the library. At least this sort of looks like something now...I think. Maybe that is just because I know what the end result will be. :o)

What about you? Any more guesses as to what my project is??

It's Not Easy Being Green or I'm Sorry, But What Color Is This?!

2007-10-20T19:54:00.000-04:00

So, it's been awhile, and my craftiness output has been down. But I'm still working on stuff. I haven't sewn much for a couple weeks, but I've returned to my first needlecraft skill: cross stitching. I finally bought an embroidery floss organizer (after almost 20 years of cross stitching--although my sister and I had a small one that we shared. I wonder if it is in the abyss of our childhood bedroom somewhere, or if it ened up with her, like so many of my other things: tables, chairs, television antenna, cutting mats, etc., ...but I digress). Unfortunately, the dumb thing's slots are too narrow for the floss bobbins, so I have to put them in sideways, rather than front to back. (Or perhaps it's the silly floss bobbins that came with the case that are too big? I don't know.) For the past week, I have been working on winding floss onto bobbins...which brings me to the reason why I had to get all sorts of embroidery floss in the first place:

My new project! Please see the progress I made on it this afternoon (the other picture in this post). I bought this kit a couple years ago because it was on sale and the end product is pretty neat. BUT, sheesh, as you can perhaps tell from the organizer picture, there's lots of green and reddish shades of floss. I really made an effort to figure out what was what in the hanks o' floss that came with the kit. No lie though, this kit uses shades 501, 502, 503, and 504; 814 and 815; 987, 988, and 989; plus 3041 and 3042. DMC Floss is kind of organized like a color wheel, so like colors are mostly together. Needless to say, I was starting to go cross-eyed when trying to figure out whether such and such hank was 502 or 503...etc. I just broke down and bought new MARKED hanks of floss and matched up what I could of the kit and store bought hanks. But note the greens and reds that I did not get matched up yet. :o)

And... other than stopping by to help me figure out whether this hank is 3041 or 3042, my challenge to you is: what is my new project??? Here is a hint--all the colors of floss pictured in the organizer will be used in this new project.

Stop reading and guess already!

Fleecy Gear for Frosty Times

2007-10-06T14:52:00.000-04:00

How do? It's been awhile, and I'm still between projects. This is one that I finished a little while ago, but I hadn't gotten around to posting it until now (what with weddings and whatnot going on).

As you may recall, I mentioned that my partner-in-crime used McCall's pattern M4681 as a guide for his mittens and "glittens". I originally bought the pattern because I really like the striped hat/scarf/glittens set (the picture on the pattern cover shows it in black and white; it's style "A"). The pattern shows how to make six different styles of glittens/scarves/hat. I found some pink and gray (or "grey" for the British out there) fleece for a good price (50% off!) at Hancock Fabrics. I have a black winter coat (as seen in the pictures), so I thought gray and pink would work well if I wanted to go with the stripe pattern.

As seen in the pictures, I did not make a hat. Perhaps I will at some point, but I haven't had a winter hat in maybe 20 years. I'm an earmuff kind of girl. :o) Plus, the hat to go with the striped set looked a little goofy. If I went with a hat from the pattern, I would probably choose style "F" which has a pom-pom on the top (even though I'm no longer 6). I also did not make the glittens yet, but my partner-in-crime whipped up some gloves. He's actually getting pretty good at crafting gloves, as he's experimented with his some. The gloves sort of followed the basic pattern, though; he just made the fingers complete and skipped the mitten top. To smooth the many fleece seams (because of the stripes) and to add some extra insulation, he added a single layer of printed plaid flannel.

The scarf was pretty easy to make; it's definitely an evening project! That's how long it took me to cut the strips of color (or colour for the the British out there) and stitch them together. The scarf itself is super toasty (then, again, most any extra layer would make me super toasty after working in the Sweat Shop). No, seriously, the scarf is really warm, as it is two layers--and the width of this thing! It's pretty ample! I have it doubled over in the top picture, so it's four layer of fleece around my neck. Not really seen in the pictures are the tassels on the end. The stripes are not stitched all the way to the bottom, so there are fat tassels. I'm kind of thinking about taking my pinking shears to them, but I haven't decided if I would like the pinked look or not. Let me know what you think!!

All in all, I think I'm ready for those harsh, bitter, cruel winters that we don't get out here on the Shore. But when I come home for Christmas, I will be ready for the harsh, bitter, cruel winters that we do get on the homestead in Ohio.

A Fleece Extravaganza!

2007-09-29T20:10:00.000-04:00

So, my partner-in-crime and I were at Hancock Fabrics checking out fabric (there's a shocker), and my PIC saw a couple green fleece remnants and also a khaki fleece remnant. So, then we decided to scope out the patterns for some fleece patterns. We found McCall's M5252 for a fleece pullover (with a sort of hidden iPod, or MP3 player, pocket--in the picture, it's just to the right of the tree). Paging through the pattern catalog a little more turned up McCall's M4681, which I thought had a couple of cute mitten/scarf patterns. Apparently my PIC thought so, too. See, the mittens (lower left) and "glittens" (best views are lower right and upper left) my PIC is wearing are based on M4681. (Obviously, since M4681 is a ladies' pattern, we had to make a few sizing modifications, but I think they turned out really well. The PIC seems to like them.)

This is a project that I didn't really do any of the sewing; my PIC did these himself. Hey, he's the one in this relationship who took Home Ec (or whatever the kids call it these days).

BUT this time, I was the expert, as I have worked with patterns before (i.e. my pajama pants seen in an earlier post). :o) So I helped him with the layout and piecing together, etc. He also did a bit of fabric drawing, trying for a silkscreen look. The black ink obviously stands out, but there's some green in there, too.

Well, this blog is "The Crafty Snicklefritzes" for a reason. Sometimes he's crafty, too.

We set up a sweat shop (literally), and here are the results.

2007-09-26T16:08:00.000-04:00

Hooray! I can finally post these pictures! These are table linens my sister and I worked on (and have alluded to in earlier posts) for my brother and new sister-in-law. The wedding was this past weekend, so we couldn't really post the pictures until now (just in case).

My brother and his new wife have white dishes with blue trim, so we found some fun fabric we thought would nicely complement their china. We chose dark blue cotton with just off-white dots and a just off-white with little red flowers. For the back pieces, which are not pictured, we chose a dark blue canvassy-duckcloth. We bought both blues at Wal-Mart (interesting note: my new hometown has two Wal-Marts; one with a fabric section, one without. Wal-Mart is apparently phasing out their fabric, which is sort of a big "screw you" to the people of rural America who only have Wal-Mart to shop at, perhaps since Wal-Mart drove out all the mom-and-pop stores. I, fortunately, live in a town with fabric stores in addition to Wal-Mart; plus I have internet access and the know-how to order fabric online if I were super desperate. At any rate, don't shop Wal-Mart. They're evil!)

The red fabric we bought at a small local quilting shop. It was a little pricey, but I think it was worth it, if only to help keep the mom-and-pop's in business. The red looks super good with the blues we picked. (It's not noticeable in the pictures, but there are tiny blue dots on the red.) The purchasing of the fabric was about the trickiest/toughest part of these projects. We of course saw all sorts of fabrics we loved, but we had to consider what our brother and new sister-in-law would like and what would match their china.

The instructions for the coasters came from...you guessed it...Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. Ms. Karol's pattern calls for stamping embellishment, while my sister and I used rickrack (much to the dismay of my partner-in-crime, who vehemently despises rickrack). We also changed up the way we inserted the interfacing, which was an off-brand of Timtex. We stuffed it in rather than stitched it in with the front and back fabric.

The placemat and napkin instructions come from Amy Butler's In Stitches by hmm...Amy Butler. The napkins are really easy to make, and we chose them because they're double sided, so we could pick fun contrasting cloth (plus they're thicker than just the single piece napkins one finds in other sewing books).

My sister made the placemats, and she did a great job. They were the first project she finished on her own! (I was assigned the coasters.) We amazed some of our aunts, who attended the bridal shower (where these were given). I guess they didn't know we could be so crafty. And my sister's husband gave her a wonderful compliment: "I thought these were store-bought." So, I reckon they turned out alright.

Unfortunately, as I saw my sister this past weekend, I returned her Bend the Rules Sewing book. Booo. Guess I'll have to get my own copy. :o) And I'm between projects at the moment, so I'm getting skeetchy. (OK, I just made that word up, don't ask.)

As for the title of this mega-long entry...my front bedroom where I sew is seriously toasty. When I have the machine on and the iron on, ready to press, it gets even hotter. Hence, the Snicklefritz Sweat Shop.

Mazel Tov to my brother and his new bride!

My Technicolor Birthday Bouquet!

2007-09-12T15:39:00.000-04:00

Proof that big brothers aren't always big ol' annoying meanies.

My brother sent me this lovely bouquet of daisies and...OK, I'm not sure what the other flowers are, but they're nice...yesterday for my birthday.

Daisies are some of my favorite flowers, partly because they always seem to last the longest in a bouquet. Plus, they come in all sorts of fun colors. (I know, I know, lots of flowers come in a large variety of colors, but daisies just seem more vibrant or something. Maybe because they're open, like a sunburst.)

Here's the back!

Bonus: The vase is also super super cute.

Alright, alright. So this isn't a display of my craftiness. But one could argue that it is a display of my brother's craftiness. And by that, I mean sly, cunning, craftiness. Because I highly doubt he would show the other kind of craftiness--oh, I'm going to make my little sis a vase, glaze it, etc, and oh, here's some flowers I can arrange for her. Yeah, right.

But I do really like the flowers. :o)

The Zip Pouch. Spitze!

2007-09-08T17:34:00.000-04:00

Here's a little zip pouch I made. The pattern is also from Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. (And my addiction to this book grows...)

I reckon I was channeling my inner Illini fan when I made this. I saw the orange fabric (cotton quarter purchased at Hancock Fabrics) and really thought it was cute. So, then my partner-in-crime suggested a dark blue lining for a good contrast, and from there I found the super cute velvety blue ribbon (actually purchased at Michael's) and blue zipper. With a zipper factored in, this was probably the trickiest project I've worked on so far.

It's not a perfect project, but I think I did OK. I know of a couple things I can do differently next time I make a little zip pouch, so the next one will be a better bag. (For example, I should have probably trimmed down the seams some so the lining would lie flatter after stuffing it in.)

And there it is...The Zip Pouch. Spitze!

Cherry Tote

2007-08-31T21:01:00.000-04:00

Here's another project I recently finished...and it only took me a couple days!
(WAY better than my procrastinatin' pajama pants project)

It's a bit difficult to tell in the pictures, but the spotty fabric is greenish with little cherries all over (fabric courtesy of Hancock Fabrics). Both the cherries and the red are basic cotton fabrics.

I used a pattern from one of my new favorite sewing books, which I am borrowing from my sister. (I promise, I will return it!!) The book is Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. I somewhat modified the pattern for her simple tote bag. My bag is a bit bigger than her pattern, and I jazzed up the straps with cherry stripes.

Also, note there are TWO pockets on the inside; Ms. Karol's only calls for one. My biggest lament is that I should have made a red pocket for the outside. Oh well. I'll just have to do that next time. *smile*

All in all, it is just what Amy Karol says, a simple tote. Not too tricksy for a beginner like me.

My First Sewing Project

2007-08-30T15:12:00.000-04:00

I made some pajama pants! (I used the pattern #3314 from Butterick.)

I got a sewing machine for my birthday last year, and I have finally finished my first project! (It only took me a year.)

Now I'm having so much fun, I thought I'd start a blog about my sewing projects. I'll share where I get great ideas from and I'll show pictures of my projects. I hope that I'll get feedback, suggestions, and ideas from other sewers too! (Feel free to email me!)

Watch for the updates. They should be coming fast and furious because I've been sewing like crazy since I finished these.