Other Projects

Sometimes the pressure of finishing a creative project can overwhelm the act of starting it. But craft night doesn’t have to include a big project (must. knit. sweater.), oh no. Rather, to celebrate the feeling of accomplishment that comes with actually finishing something, go small. Invite people over for an evening of creative progress: Replace the button on that blouse (like Chloe did!) so you can cycle it back into your wardrobe. Finally sit down with that fabric you’ve been saving forever to make those pillows for your friends’ wedding on Saturday (like Sara!). Stitch up that torn seam on a tank top or fix that hem that’s kept you from wearing that cute skirt for the past two years (like Maria did!). Or, move forward that crochet project that’s gotten buried at the bottom of your bag or that knitting project you’ve put off in favor of wedding planning (like Kim!).

It’s simple: Send out the invite, reminding people of what they might have in that terrifying to-do pile (I know I tend to block it out), and set the scene:

1) Make sure you have some basic repair materials and tools including buttons, snaps, patches, needles, and a variety of thread colors — even set up your sewing machine for light fixes if you feel up to it.

2) Set out some light fare for snacking (and encourage everyone to bring something to share). Again, the theme here is no-stress!

3) Craft it out!

4) Make plans to do it again.

The result: Everyone had tons of fun and, on the efficiency scale, they were positively giddy with what they accomplished in just 1 to 2 hours. Maria managed to work four pieces back into rotation in her closet! And I finally cut out and sewed up all the embroidered softie robots I’ve been working on….But that’s for another post!

There’s nothing like good, solid project time! One evening recently, my friend Chloe and I sat down for a crafty session in the Generation T workshop. Chloe’s friend recently had a baby boy and she was inspired to make a personalized onesie for the little fella. This project is reminiscent of Tattoo You, project #79 in Generation T: Beyond Fashion, but with a baby onesie instead of an adult T-shirt, plus some embroidery. (Apologies for the poor photos, we were working under rather low-light conditions….except for the last photo taken by Max’s mama!)

Materials:

Make it:
1. Gather the materials and choose a theme! (Chloe picked cowboy.) Sketch the design. (We sketched a cowboy boot that she borrowed from my closet.)

2. Transfer the design to the T-shirt sleeve fabric and gently (so it doesn’t distort the design) stretch the fabric in the embroidery hoop. (Note: Many people use stabilizer at this stage to prevent stretching, but we didn’t have any on hand, so just worked the fabric very gently.) Stitch the outline of the design.

3. Stitch the interior of the design. Then remove the fabric from the hoop and cut around the design, leaving a 1/4″ allowance, to make a patch.

4. Pin and sew the patch through only one layer of the front or back of the onesie. (Note: We stitched along the boot outline with matching regular thread so it wasn’t visible.) Optional: Stitch the recipient’s name or initial to personalize the garment.

5. Then tie off all the ends, remove any remaining pins, and wrap it up for the adorable recipient! Here’s baby Max, the littlest cowboy. Yee-haw!

As you know,  I sometimes stray from T-shirts. Because, hey, when the creative urge hits, it’s not always screaming for jersey knit. In this case, I was in the kitchen with rolling pin in hand.

I first read (or rather observed the cuteness) of these little pastries over at Bakerella this summer, then followed the strand back to Luxirare, where I saw the whole beautiful story unfold. I generally like small desserts that allow me to try multiple flavors. Think cookies–the perfect way to taste a dozen little desserts at once. I also like pie–a lot. Mr. T and I would have had pie at our wedding reception except there was no way we could decide on any single flavor. So we enjoyed four flavors of cupcakes instead–chocolate, red velvet, carrot cake, and lemon poppyseed. In retrospect, we could have had multiple pie flavors; I just would have insisted on eating at least four slices of pie.

This is all to say, I wish these pie pops had been discovered sooner! Because they’re the perfect opportunity to taste many a pie filling in one sitting. I followed Bakerella’s photo tutorial, with a few variations of my own: 1) I used Betty Crocker pie crust mix (add water and roll out) since I couldn’t find the pre-rolled dough at my grocery store. 2) Bakerella’s comment that hers came out too doughy (filling-to-crust-ratio was leaning too much toward the crust) inspired me to roll out my dough thinner–I actually got 15 pops out of dough I rolled out for a 9″ pie, and overstuffed the centers with filling. 3) Rather than using (or mixing up) traditional pie filling, I used my all-time favorite fruit spread, Spoon Fruit from American Spoon Foods. I used Cherry-Berry, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Sour Cherry–I particularly love these because they aren’t sweetened with sugar, just all real chunks of fruit. My grandmother, Maja, introduced them to me a dozen years ago and always sent me a gift box every Valentine’s Day. My mom has since taken over the tradition, so I had a cupboard full of jars to choose from. 4) I also made a couple of chocolate-hazelnut filled pops using Creme de Noisette by Pralus Master Chocolatier, a recent indulgence that’s proving to be habit-forming. Packaged in a squeeze tube, and easily mistaken for hair product if it wasn’t in a cupboard over the stove, it’s basically a gourmet Nutella made with all real ingredients–eating a bowl of Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream hasn’t been the same since I bought my first tube of this stuff.

The Pie Pops recipe has already been well-documented as I noted and linked above, so I’ve decide to offer an illustrated tutorial to complement all that’s come before. Enjoy.

1. Follow the directions on the pie crust mix to make a ball of dough.

2. Flour your work surface and roll out the dough about 1/8″ thick.

3. Use a round cookie cutter about 2 1/2″ in diameter to cut out an even number of dough discs. (Roll your dough scraps back into a ball and repeat steps 2 and 3 until all dough has been used.)

4. Arrange half of the discs on the cookie sheet and press a lollipop stick into each.

5. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of Spoon Fruit or 1 teaspoon of Creme de Noisette into the center of each disc on the sheet.

6. One at a time, gently lay the dough discs that remain over the filling and the end of the pop stick. Pinch the ends closed by gently pressing with the tines of a fork.

7. Brush the tops with egg white and stick in the oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

8. Let cool and…eat! (And be sure to try every flavor.)

As quickly as the wreaths, tinsel garlands, and snowflakes swirled into place in stores the morning after Halloween, the red hearts and doilies are already up and about for Valentine’s Day. I’m still recovering from the sugar high of the holidays, but what I do love about the holidays is giving gifts — especially of the handmade variety!

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make these available to you in time for all of your DIY Christmas gift giving, but fortunately, we give gifts year round (they’re called birthdays, graduations, mothers/fathers/grandparents days, and so on… and yes, that reddish holiday I mentioned above called Valentine’s).

So, to ring in this new year–nay, new decade–of celebrating, I’d like to introduce a brand-spanking new feature that I made for you — free downloads of printable tags that you can add to your handmade Generation T gift, so the recipient knows they’re getting a Generation T original — made by you!

They’re super easy to use. Just click on the appropriate book title in the “Free Downloads” icon in the right column of the website. The files are PDFs, so make sure you have a program that will open them. Then hit “print” and follow the directions to cut out, hole punch, sign, and attach, and you’re good to go!

Happy giving,

Megan & Generation T

Remember the book review I did for Stencil 101? Well, I was fascinated by the idea of stenciling on food (yummy and pretty!), so I decided to try it for my book launch at the B&N in Park Slope recently. I’m a huge fan of all of Ed Roth’s stencils, but I particularly love the scissors stencil in the book, and thought it’d be perfect to decorate the batch of brownies I planned on making for my DIY Tee Party. Seeing as scissors (neck-and-neck with seam rippers) are my favorite de/reconstructing tool, it was only right  to feature them! Here’s what I did, along with some photo-documentation:

1. Tear the scissors stencil page from the book (it’s perforated) and trace it with a pencil on a piece of parchment paper. 2. Use a craft knife to cut around the traced marks until the parchment paper stencil matches the original.

3. Place the new (food-safe) stencil over the top of the frosted cake (or brownies). Note: Frosting is recommended because it will hold the powder better (cocoa powder for light-colored frosting, confectioner’s sugar for dark-colored frosting) than a plain cake surface. 4. Gently and evenly powder the cake surface, going over the stencil.

5. Peel back the parchment paper, careful not to spill the sugar collected on the stencil. 6. Ta-da! Serve it up to all your DIY besties!

**Thanks again to Ed Roth of Stencil 1 for this great idea from his book Stencil 101. And stay tuned! He’s got a new book, Stencil 101 Decor, featuring 10 original plastic stencils (the first book has cardboard), due out in October 2009.

One of my best friends got married last weekend, and now that I won’t be giving away the surprise, I’m posting a gift I made for the ceremony. The bride’s nephew was playing the part of ring-bearer and I decided to make a pillow to match his blue searsucker pants (and to keep the rings from getting lost at the hands of a five-year-old!). Since both last names start with a “G,” that was the base of the design. I found a font a liked, increased the size, and traced two facing Gs onto the white fabric with a disappearing ink fabric pen. I gathered three blue and green colors–the bridesmaids all wore “colors of the ocean,” so I wanted to make sure the waves and the seaweed were well represented.

Then I drew in some extra swirls and started stitching! Satin stitch on the inside of the Gs, split stitch for the outlines and swirls, running stitch around the edge (reinforced by a machine stitch underneath), and a couple little knots to sew the ribbon on in the center.

I also added an elastic strap on the underside so it would stay put on the ring bearer’s hand. Here it is in action:

For those of you keeping a tally, this is my seventh embroidery project (a cloud pillow, a day of the dead skull, a World/Inferno band logo tie, a golden ratio tie, a pair of valentine swap personalized panties, an apron, and a ring pillow!) Any suggestions for what should come next?

Lately I’ve been decorating my non-existent studio. In my mind, it’s quite a darling space-high ceilings, white walls I can decorate with bold-colored posters and framed fabrics, huge windows that let in lots of natural light, and with enough room to decoratively display my growing collection of vintage sewing machines and typewriters. And though this space has yet to be discovered (by me, at least – let me know if you’ve seen it!), I’ve strangely been “gathering” items to go in it. A poster from the London Design Museum. A drafting table from a friend’s sidewalk sale. My pop-art Frida prints. The vintage globe from eBay. The mica lampshade from Florida (I love lamp?)…

Oh, a girl can dream…but for now, I make do using the floor of our small apartment, swapping out my laptop from our shared desk to make room for the sewing machine on the occasion that there’s a pair of pants to hem or a T-shirt to refashion!

What does your dream studio look like? And ooh, let’s make this desert-island-y: If you were stranded in your magnificent design/work studio, what three items would you have with you?

Let me preface this by saying that I first learned embroidery when I was seven–my mom taught me some basics and I stitched the outlines of a few white clouds on a sky-blue pillowcase. During my tween years, I laid down that thick embroidery needle to pursue embroidery floss in a new way: macramé friendship bracelets and hair wraps. It wasn’t until I took a class with Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching a few years ago that I really got back in the game. I made a Day of the Dead sampler in the class and immediately set to embroidering two ties for my brother (with his band’s logo) and dad (with the golden ratio) for Christmas that year.

In any case, I’ve had to wait to post this, my most recent DIY project, so I didn’t spoil the surprise. Mr. T turned 30 today and I finally got to share the project that, with more than a few setbacks, took me more than a year to make. It started as a Christmas present, then was pushed to an anniversary present, then a (29th) birthday present, then a wedding present, then back to Christmas, anniversary, and finally…birthday! Mr. T loves to cook-he likes to chop and mix ingredients like I like to cut and sew. But he doesn’t have an apron…and you know I can’t settle for just a plain old apron. So I thought: What does an English-teaching food-lover need from such a garment (besides keeping his clothes splatter free)? Combining his love of syntax and symbolism with his love of sautéing and seasoning, I set out to find quotations from some of his favorite writers and chefs on the subject of food, eating, dining, cooking, and other related exploits, and freehand embroider them across the bottom of the apron. Whew, did I ever bite off more than I could chew! (So to speak.)

But here it is, already complete with some sauce splatters, and despite the blisters on my fingers, I’m quite proud!

My neighbor recently invited me to a “Panty Exchange Party” for Valentine’s Day–where every guest is secretly assigned to another guest in advance of the party, sizes are exchanged, underwear style preferences are shared (thong, brief, boyshort), and the rules are laid: each guest brings two pairs of underwear for their assignee, one “sassy” and one “sweet”. For sassy, I found a nice lacey pair to gift, for sweet, I bought a pair of plain cotton undies from American Apparel and embroidered her name on them! (Apologies for the bad lighting in the photo, the undies are pale yellow with eggplant embroidery floss for the cursive and avocado green for the flower.)

If you’re interested in throwing your own underwear exchange party (sorry, the word “panty” has the tendency to make me cringe a little), here’s how:

About two weeks in advance, email everyone (for comfort, start with ladies only!) who you’d like to participate to see who’s game. When they respond, make sure they include their underwear size and style preference . Once you have a complete list, invite a third party (someone who’s not participating) to act as the moderator: She draws the names and creates the secret matches (you should only know the name of the person you draw, not the person who draws you), then emails each party participant at least a week in advance so everyone has ample time to purchase, make, or decorate her two pairs of undies. On game day, wrap your two gifts with the recipient’s name on them. One person starts by opening her gift, and tries to guess who it’s from!