Archive | Creative RSS feed for this section

Queen of Unfinished Projects

30 Apr

This morning I was tidying up my sewing room (seriously one of my favorite things to do) and I came across quite a few projects that I enthusiastically started but never actually got around to finishing.  Some of them I started  in the past few weeks and a few are from the last few… years.  The shame.  Last month I actually found a half sewn pair of pajama pants that I started when I was in university in the 90′s.  So now I’m mentally gearing myself up to finish up these projects  once and for all and get started on some new ones.  Please tell me I’m not alone with this problem.  Do any of you out there also have some unfinished projects taking up space and taunting you whenever you see them?
20130430-143659.jpg

Here are some Seersucker shorts that I made for my son.  The pattern was one of the most difficult I’ve ever done (thank goodness for friends with such great knowledge of pattern language!).  There are fancy pockets, belt loops, a zipper and way too many buttons and button holes.  I learned a lot of great sewing techniques from these shorts.  But I will never make them again in my life.  Now I just have to motivate myself to hem them.  Hemming is always my weak point.

20130430-143759.jpgOne day I holed myself up in my sewing room (about 8 months ago) and sewed up all of these fabric leaves and circles.  I never really had a solid idea of what I was going to do with them but I was confident  it would come to me sometime.  It still hasn’t come to me.  Any ideas for what to do with these out there?

20130430-143906.jpgMy mother-in-law and I started these dresses above during her time here at Easter.  The pattern is from my newest sewing book Stof Voor Durf-Het-Selvers by Lies Bottermans and Griet De Smedt (as far as I know it’s only available in Dutch).  They are absolutely lovely and so close to being finished.  One needs a zipper installed (not my favorite job) and they both need to be hemmed.  In any case, I’ll make sure they’re done by summertime.  Maybe my Mother-in-law should return to finish them with me (hint hint).

20130430-144044.jpgA little summer sleeveless top made with Max Mara fabric.  I’ll be finishing it up with my sewing group this Friday.  So at least I can check that one off my list right away.  It’s a start!

20130430-144350.jpgThis is the project that I started about 18 months ago.  I made about 8 of these purses for Christmas gifts and I guess by the time I started this one I just couldn’t bring myself to finish yet another one.  It’s made with black linen and a soft  thick cotton.  I think I’m finally ready to finish it up and make a few more.  If I can remember the pattern of course.

So wish me luck on finishing all of these projects and making room (mentally and physically) for some new projects that I’ve had simmering in my head for a while.  And if a few of you harassed me every now and then to see the finished products  I’d really appreciate it.

Tags: , , , ,

Milano Fuori Salone 2013

18 Apr


Every year I look forward to April for two things.  The gorgeous spring weather and flowers and the Salone Internazionale Del Mobile (Furniture Design Fair) in Milan.  Both of these bring a spring to my step and let me know that winter is indeed over.

I love momentarily escaping my small town life to visit the big city of Milan which is transformed into a mecca of all things beautiful for your house and more.  My favorite part of design week is the famous Fuori Salone which is a side event located throughout the entire city for companies and designers to exhibit their products.

If you stroll around certain neighbourhoods (Brera, Tortona and Naviglio to name a few) you’ll find old factories converted into showrooms full of the world’s most innovative new designs.  You’ll also stumble upon smaller, more intimiate design spaces which are located in old stone houses with vaulted ceiling or even car garages that are completely made over to exhibit anything from carpets to garden furniture.

The streets are packed full of people and there’s a really amazing atmosphere everywhere you go.  If you pop by on the Friday or Saturday evening there are many VIP parties, impromptu music concerts in the streets and beautifully clothed people everywhere.  We take our kids every year and they really love it.  There is so much to see, sit on, play with and learn about.

1-IMG_7406We visited the Italian magazine Casa Facile‘s Relaxation Zone.  They served us herbal teas with organic biscuits and rice crackers and then sent us on our way with free samples of all-natural beauty creams and shower gels.  While there they told the kids to make themselves at home.  As you can see, they did.

1-IMG_7415

1-IMG_7362I fell in love with these bird feeders by Singapore label Hinika.  And the fact they styled it with origami was just icing on the cake.

1-IMG_7359Some of the most stunning furniture that I came across at the Fuori Salone was from the Chinese company Pinwu Studio.  Their pastel coloured porcelain topped beech wood tables and stools reminded me of those delicate French cookies  called Calissons d’Aix.  The “Lu tables” come in everything from small low stools to large round dining room tables.  Pinwu Studios were the winners of the 2012 Design Report Award.

1-photo (40)

1-photo (39)We also visited the Cascina Cuccagna which was showcasing some more alternative and environmentally friendly designers and methods of production.  I loved hearing about “Fast Fashion” from Dutch designer Laura Lynn Jansen.  We could see how this dress above was produced in an hour from start to finish using only two types of fabric (stretchy and non-stretchy), a large balloon and some special glue and absolutely no machinery.   I love the fact that some designers are recognizing the importance of sustainability and recycling/reusing in the design world.

1-IMG_7431And of course we topped off our day by visiting one of our favourite museums in Milan La Triennale.  We saw rooms full of some of the world’s most important designs from history and today.

Il Salone Internazionale di Mobile 2014 will be held from April 8th to the 13th.  Definitely worth the trip.

Tags: , , , , ,

Strawberry Box

9 Apr

1-IMG_7227

Is it just me or does the out-of-control over-packaging of produce drive anyone else insane?  The other day I bought a few strawberries for my family and I’m pretty sure there was more wood than berries in the heavy-duty packaging.

I couldn’t bring myself to throw away the wooden trays so I put them on top of my fridge and thought that I’d find a use for them.

In the end I realised that they would make the perfect cupcake/muffin transporter.  I’m constantly baking cupcakes and muffins to take to friends and I’m always stuck on how to package them nicely so that they don’t get squished or fly off a plate while in the car.

I simply glued some nice paper (I used origami paper we bought in Japan last year) on the sides of the wooden crate.  That’s it.  I love the fact that this is a fast, simple and inexpensive way to re-cycle some unnecessary grocery store packaging.

You could use these for so many things.  Besides for muffins and cupcakes I’ll be using them this summer for when I give away fruits and vegetables from our garden (because I always end up planting enough to feed the entire neighbourhood).

Tags: , , , , ,

Tutorial: Small Fabric Basket

19 Mar

{Here’s  little simple sewing project from the Jillian In Italy archives.  I think this would be a great project to do for Easter for the kids or even with the kids.  I can just imagine a garden full of these sweet little baskets filled with Easter eggs and candy.}

Here is a very basic tutorial that a good friend of mine designed for a very sweet little fabric basket.  Very quick and gratifying.  I used oilcloth for the outside and a cotton for the inside but it would be possible to use only cotton as well (or even nicer would be linen).  If using cottons or linens I would recommend using interfacing to make it stiff enough to stand up on it’s own.  The paper clips are used to avoid getting little pin holes in the plasticized material or oilcloth. Please let me know if I wasn’t clear on any of my instructions (I know the corner part is a bit hard to see in the photo).

Read on to get full tutorial. Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , ,

Moroccan Pigment Painting

14 Mar

1-IMG_6298As some of you may know last month we spent a week visiting the beautiful country of Morocco (see my travel column about our time in the Atlas Mountains here).  While in Marrakesh we spent quite a bit of time wandering through the maze of souks (markets) and admiring all the various stalls and shops selling leather purses and slippers, ceramic bowls, carpets, jewelry, antiques and pretty much anything else you could ever desire.

One of our favorite shops to visit were the spice shops.  They were full of bottles upon bottles filled with every kind of spice and herb you could ever imagine.  The aroma these shops give off can be smelled from far away and is almost intoxicating while you’re actually inside.

At the shop above we bought little plastic sacks filled with freshly ground cumin (did you know in Morocco they put salt and cumin on the dining table instead of salt and pepper?), Moroccan 35 spice, the most intense yellow tumeric I’ve ever seen, Moroccan curry and the most amazing and pungent smelling cinnamon ever.  Since returning home I’ve tried all my spices and they are absolutely amazing.  They add so much  flavour to any dish.

1-IMG_6303

But the most intriguing items we bought in one of these little spice shops were the coloured powdered pigments.  At first we had no idea what all the jars full of coloured water were but the kind shop owner Mohammed explained that these are pigments used for painting and dying clothing.  As a lover of bright colours and anything creative I decided to buy some to experiment with back home on a rainy day.  As luck would have it, the week after we arrived home we had a stay-at-home day and these pigments were the perfect activity to stay warm in front of the fireplace.

Mohammed told us to mix small amounts of the pigment powders with lemon juice.  I think the kids had just as much fun doing this than the actual painting.  The colours turned out so vibrant and reminiscent of the colours we saw everywhere in Morocco.

1-IMG_6781

The paint has quite a different texture to normal paints and actually dries with a beautiful smooth and almost shiny finish.

1-IMG_6788

It’s not often that these big kids of mine have time to sit down and paint for a morning like we did so often in the past.  I have to admit that I loved every single minute of it.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Miniature Bulletin Boards

11 Mar


1-IMG_6699The other day I had to do one of my bi-yearly trips to IKEA to pick up a lot of stuff I don’t actually need (besides tealights and napkins of course).  While there I came across 3-packs of round cork board heat-pads for the kitchen.  As soon as I saw them I knew I had to make miniature fabric covered bulletin boards for my daughter’s room.   They are turning 11 in a few weeks and I’m planning a surprise bedroom make-over and thought this would be perfect to decorate their walls with something useful.

So as soon as I got home I plugged in my hot glue gun (I’m so scared of that thing) and started cutting out circles in various fabrics.  I cut the circles out slightly larger than the heat-pads in order to be able to fold them over the back edge and attach with glue.  And yes, it is very dangerous for burning your fingertips.  I’m pretty sure I don’t have any fingerprints left.

1-IMG_6870In the end I made six boards using different materials.  When I have painted the girl’s room I will arrange them all above their desks for them to pin up various photos, letters and keepsakes (please no boyfriend photos for a while though!).  For the photos above I attached a few to the art corner cupboard in our living room.  I think I’ll be making many more of these in the coming weeks.

1-IMG_6860Now I just have to figure out the best way to hang them up.  For the cupboard I used 2 sided adhesive pads found in the local fai-da-te (DIY shop).  But for attaching them to walls I’ll need something a little sturdier.  And advice out there?

Tags: , , , , ,

Cucito

5 Mar

For some reason I’ve been really busy at my sewing machine lately.  Every day I find myself holed up in my sewing room with little bits of  thread hanging from my hair, on my clothes and pretty much all over every surface in the entire house.

Once I start on a project I seem to lose my sense of time and what else needs to get done around here.  In other words, we’ve been living off take-out pizza and canned tuna  for a few days now and the house is looking a little worse for wear (not yet squalor state yet though!).

Here are a few finished items from the last week:

1-IMG_6828

I’m trying to bring the funky back to smocks for the little ones.  Oh yeah, it was never there.  But seriously, I’m going to change the way the world sees smocks.  I have big plans.

Unfortunately I had some issues with this MaxMara fabric running (see the little white lines coming from the bias?) due to the stretch in the fabric.  Any tips out there on how to avoid this?  Thinner needle perhaps?

1-IMG_6824

I’m in the process of taking a creative map making course over on Skillshare and I decided to step away from the computer and do something handmade.  I printed off a map of Europe on some cotton muslin and embroidered our first trips as a family.  Now I still have to figure out whether I make it into a pillow, or something to hang on the wall etc.  Any ideas?

1-IMG_6816Last week I finished making up a few wallets in our sewing group.  It was always one of those projects that seemed too advanced and complicated but in the end it was actually quite do-able.  There are a lot of pieces involved and three weights of interfacing but I didn’t have a breakdown…not even once.

1-IMG_6820

Look!  A zipper pouch, credit card pockets, and a snap closure! What more could you want in a sewing project?  Pattern from 101 Fabric-by-Fabric Ways To Sew a Metre by Rebecca Yaker.

1-IMG_6814And last but not least, today I whipped up this little bag  (similar to this one from a few weeks ago).  This beautiful cotton fabric is Point of Sail by Michael Miller.

Tags: , ,

Friday

22 Feb

It’s Friday folks.  And I couldn’t be happier about it.   Getting into the early morning school routine is always so difficult after a vacation.  And the snowy weather the last few days really made me want to cocoon at home with the kids in front of the fire.

1-IMG_6616

During the snowstorm yesterday I made these Oatmeal Raspberry Squares (raspberry variation of these from The Pioneer Woman).  They are just so amazingly delicious.  And I realize I say that about every recipe I post about on this blog but I just have a talent for finding and trying out recipes that are delectable. Might help that the majority involve large quantities of brown sugar and butter.

These squares are so quick and simple to whip up.  In less than 10 minutes prep time they were in the oven baking.  And I just want to boast about the fact that I didn’t even try one tiny little piece of these bars when I made them yesterday.  My no-sugar-during-the-week rule is still on (5 months) and even though it took every ounce of self-control my body had to offer I made it until today to have a taste (past noon on Friday is considered week-end to me).  Yesterday evening I watched my family devour them and ooh and aah about how yummy they were and I sat there, with my jaw tightly clenched, and resisted the urge to shove my face in the pan and polish off the entire thing.  Round of applause please.

1-IMG_5756

Another little piece of news is that my Embroidery With Kids craft is on Disney’s Spoonful blog at the moment.  Exciting stuff.

Indian Butter Chicken Meatballs

I also wanted to share the link for this recipe for Indian Butter Chicken Meatballs.  I made it for the family this week and and it was a huge hit,  So much flavour and simple to make up beforehand.  My kids all said it was one of their favorite meals (ALL of them…it’s a miracle).

Besides going to an Irish Dance Show on Saturday evening, we have a very relaxing and low-key week-end planned.  Lots of walks in the woods, pancakes and some puppy-sitting for friends.  Hope you all have a lovely week-end!

Tags: , , , , ,

Echino Purse

15 Feb

The other day some good friends and I got together for our weekly sewing morning  and we decided to try out a pattern from a new sewing book I received my mother called 101 Great Ways to Sew a Metre by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins.  The book is full of patterns for various bags, purses, clothing, toys and other household items and no project asks for more than a metre of fabric.  The patterns are all really well explained with clear instructions.  I have to admit that the spats (cowboy boot covers) found on page 147 will not be made by me though.

1-IMG_5767

We decided to sew the Scrunchie Bag (page166) because it’s a big and roomy casual purse that we thought would come in quite handy.  I decided to use a gorgeous fabric with vintage typewriters on it by the Japanese brand Kokka (Melody Miller’s Ruby Star Shining).  For the inside of the bag I used a spotted linen that I purchased in Japan last year.  The two fabrics compliment each other perfectly.

1-IMG_5770

We loved the fact that there were rings for the strap and that the top was elasticized.  Both new sewing techniques for us.  We cut and finished sewing the bag in less than three hours.  My kind of sewing project.

1-IMG_5780-001

I’m quite in love with my new typewrite purse.

(here’s my last sewing project using Echino fabric)

Tags: , , , ,

Valentine’s Round Up

13 Feb

Here I am writing from a little riad in Marrakech, Morocco.  We arrived here today after spending the last few days in a tiny village in the Atlas mountains.  It was an amazing time which included lots of walks in the mountains, a camel trek and some of the best food we’ve ever eaten.  And to top it all off we’ve had amazing weather since we arrived.  Yes, we are all ecstatically happy at the moment.

Even if the Moroccans don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day it’s been on my mind the last few days.  I have secretly stashed some home-baked heart-shaped chocolate-dipped cookies in our suitcase so that I’ll have something special for the family on the 14th.  I’m pretty sure Valentine’s Day this year will be one we’ll remember forever.

Here’s a little round-up of some of my favourite Valentine’s Day treats and surprises that you can make your loved ones.

1-IMG_5342

These little puffy sewn heart necklaces are the sweetest way to show your favourite little girl that she’s loved.  It’s an easy project that your kids can help you with.  Check out post and tutorial here.

free-valentine-day-card-printable

I love these Valentine’s Day cards over on Classic Play.  And you can download them for free!  Check out post here.

1-IMG_5438These Brown Sugar Shortbreads are the most delicious rich cookies and are perfect for Valentine’s Day due to the little jam heart centres.  Your house will smell divine while these are baking!  Get recipe here.

DIY Edible Confetti by The Proper Pinwheel

Edible confetti!  This is one of my favorite Valentine’s Day finds this year.  Easy to make and such a fun idea for a gift for classmates (or co-workers!).  Get full details and how-to on The Proper Pinwheel.

We made these little candy bags for the twin’s classmates last year and they were a hit.  All you need are some clear plastic bags, pink and red construction paper, some colourful candy and a stapler.  Check out what we made my son’s class and the teachers here.

Valentines-Competition-La-tete-dans-les-idees

I absolutely adore this cupid’s arrow diy that is over on La Tete Dans Les Idees.

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day and make sure to tell the ones you love how much they mean to you!

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 250 other followers

%d bloggers like this: