K is for Kite

kite, nounˈkīt:

A light frame covered with paper, cloth, or plastic, often provided with a stabilizing tail, and designed to be flown in the air at the end of a long string.

Behold, the visual story of how I went from zero to KITE in a matter of hours...

A special thanks to my kite making crew/family members on this one, especially my niece Stella. Go fly a kite, guys!

J is for Jewelry/Japan

It happened again. I went to get a necklace from my travel jewelry case (a.k.a coin purse) only to find the chain in a tangled mess, so entwined with his friend that it appeared they had melted together. While some may say that untangling a pair of knotted silver chains is meditational, I’d rather not spend forty-five minutes of every trip dealing with jewelry! Sheesh.

Solution:

You might remember that I’ve already discussed how I LOVE to make cases for things. LOVE it. So, my latest endeavor is this little jewelry case with fabric my mom got on a recent teaching trip to Japan. Such beautiful colors, designs and textures. The case can hang from the wall, and then roll up like a burrito. Inside, there’s a hook and pocket for necklaces (so they don't tangle!), and not one but TWO zipper pouches for earrings, rings, etc.

A little shout out to my dear friend Lorien. She makes, among other beautiful works of art, gorgeous jewelry. She made the bridesmaid's necklaces and earrings for my sister's wedding, and countless pairs of earrings, bracelets and necklaces that I (and others worldwide) still wear to this day, and will ALWAYS be found in my travel bag! And if you like the little pink earrings below, you should check out her stuff here, here, oh and here too.

Here's the little Japanese burrito case:

Machine appliqué in action.

Rubi was sort of interested in what I was doing.

Hanging out:

The other zipper pouch is hiding behind the first one!

Roll her on up!Now, if only I could use this for an actual TRIP TO JAPAN!

E is for Education

“Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in...”

Not like school is the same as being in the Corleone family or anything... but school’s out for the summer!? Not entirely! This week, I had the awesome pleasure of teaching a sewing camp called “Accessorize it!” ...and please don’t forget the exclamation mark.

All but one of my students (age 10, approximately) hadn’t used a sewing machine prior to showing up to class on Day 1. Fresh meat! And thanks to some generous friends and colleagues, we had a 1:1 ratio for machines. We spent the week cranking out all kinds of accessories: bracelets, drawstring pouches, pins, tote bags, infinity scarves, and even hair scrunchies (hello 90’s!).

To summarize:

The experience was educational for all parties. The students were eager and energetic, their final products were elegant, and their egos were elevated (ever so slightly) and I believe they have truly caught the sewing bug.

Yay! More little sewists for the world. But I'll tell you who also learned a thing or two... this guy. (Pointing to myself.)

Basic lessons learned:

1. Bring extra sewing machine needles. Within 20 minutes of the first class, two needles broke, and we were down to three machines. Rookie mistake!

2. Draw lines for students to sew along! Beginners (who are also ten-years-old) tend to veer off course.

3. When drawing said lines, DON’T use a turquoise Sharpie. Use a writing utensil that doesn’t bleed through!

More exciting lessons learned (or re-learned):

1. Sewing is FUN.

2. Watching a bobbin wind is AH-mazing. I had a crowd around me EVERY time we had to wind a bobbin. They were in complete and utter awe.

3. Sewing on a machine is a lot like driving. Therefore, when a person under the age of 16 is sewing... do NOT assume they understand the “your foot controls the show” idea.

4. Do not even bother to give advice to a ten-year-old about which colors look best together. They have their own ideas about that, and cannot be convinced otherwise.

5. Also, don’t bother telling a ten-year-old about what is/isn’t trendy. Making an infinity scarf is apparently a lot less fun than making a long piece of cloth that you can turn into a blindfold or use to whip your friend.

Now... "E"njoy a few pictures from class:

Hey you! Check out the "Blue Tool" here. This thing is MAGICAL for turning straps and threading drawstrings.

D is for Detroit

This activity is a DOOZY. It involves not one, not two, but three things I really like:

1. Making a case for something. 2. Machine applique (or “fancy patches” as I like to think of them) and... big surprise here... 3. Detroit baseball*.

(I promise to not mention baseball again for at least a few letters. See below.)

So here’s the story with the “D.”

Back in the day, I used to make little cloth cases for iPods (back when they didn’t look like iPhones...remember those things?). A few of you probably still have your aforementioned case, even though it's probably serving more as a dust protector than anything else at this point. But, man oh man, I used to love making those little guys. The whole touch screen fad really put me out of business. Poof! Just like that, I had nothing to make snug little cases for! Wahh. And so ensued a dark period.

Then, seven years later, when I was least expecting it, that dark, case-making-less era finally came to an end. Last week my sister told me about a special early birthday present she was getting for our mom, who had recently re-earned the “super” part of her Super-grandma title. Sweet crafting serendipity! It didn't take me long to decide what to do.

A kindle, you say? It’s essentially a GIANT iPOD!!

So I got to work. It was foggy and rainy out (can it be both? Cuz it was.) There was no shortage of coffee. I had a fancy loaner sewing machine and fabric from my trip to Purl Soho. There was a Tigers v. Red Socks game on. ‘Nuf said.

*Now, regarding the theme of the "fancy patch" on this case: I know I must across as some sort of obsessive fanatic. I mean, I already confessed my love AND mentioned it again in the "C" post. But I will say, in my defense, that the Detroit Tigers “D” is more of a tribute to the recipient than it is to my own tastes. It just so happens that we have the same taste when it comes to baseball. Okay?

Hey you! Did you notice I didn't actually HAVE the kindle? I'm sure my pretty awesome cardboard replica fooled you. It's up for grabs if anyone wants it. Let's just pray to the sewing Gods that the case fits on the real thing.