In few words: I'm an adventurer/crafter from Michigan. I design and sew clothing and accessories for www.alwaystheforest.com. It's a collection of quirky, forest-inspired handmade clothing and goods. I can't wait for garage sale season to start.
Today I learned a bit about playing the accordion, and made some music. It was pretty simple to pick up, since I can already play the piano, guitar, clarinet, and know music theory. The only downside is that it’s kind of heavy. I practiced the basic oom-pa-pa bass today and got that down, tomorrow I’ll learn some other things. But I could probably do the oom-pa-pa bass all day, haha.
Today I made a spring skirt. I found this really neat, possibly vintage bedsheet and figured it would make a lovely skirt. It has ruching in the waistband, and an invisible zipper. I can’t wait for it to warm up so I can wear it.
I finished my serger table today. Nothing spectacular, just a tabletop supported by four milk crates. I sanded and stained the tabletop. I hand-sanded it for two days, and on the third day, I gave up and borrowed a belt sander. I think I’m going to put a polyurethane finish on it so it matches the other sewing table, this one is kind of dull in comparison. But I’m really just glad to have a proper table for my machines so I can get to sewing!
I finally finished the pillowcase to match our other couch pillow. I just made a brown pillowcase and stitched a vintage tea towel on the front of it. I have four more of the same tea towel, so I need to think of something to do with them.
I tried to make a knot/friendship bracelet today and it didn’t turn out very well. In fact, I stopped after nine or ten rows. I used to make them a lot when I was a kid, but I guess I need some practice! I had the perfect color combo of brick red, brown, and cream. And the pattern was pretty neat too. Maybe I’ll try a different pattern later.
Today I made some delicious vegetable soup that will last me a long time. It has carrots, potatoes, celery, kidney beans, onions, and parsley. Really simple and delicious. Tomorrow I might make some wheat rolls to go with it.
I liked the fridge cling-ons that I made last night so much, I decided to do it again today. This time I used some images from an old Life magazine. These were much easier to rub off than yesterday’s images. I kind of want to decorate every smooth surface in my home with these little images. Yesterday’s project and instructions can be found here.
Today, I made some cling-on images for any smooth surface. I took an image I liked from an old Time magazine and covered it in clear packing tape. Then I cut the image out, placed it in a bowl of warm water andlet it soak for a while. I rubbed the paper off the back with my fingers, and I was left with a translucent image that will stick to any smooth surface!
Tips: The magazine image must be glossy. Don’t rub the paper off with your fingernails. Images look really neat when stuck onto a transparent surface.
I wanted to make some cupcakes today, but I had no confectioners sugar for the frosting. So I threw together some blueberry yogurt, neufchatel cheese, sugar, butter, corn starch and salt. Then I put it all in a blender because I don’t have a hand mixer. They turned out really delicious!
A few minutes late, but it’s still the 14th to me. I had my alterations class today, and we learned the correct way to make different kinds of seams. From left to right is the overcast seam, the french seam, and the flat-felled seam.
Tonight, I used some of my favorite fabric to make a pin. I got about 4 yards of the forest-print fabric at a garage sale a few years ago and it’s my favorite fabric find ever. I put interfacing on the back for support, and then layered the sage green fabric on top of it. Then I finished it of with embroidery loops in the center. And a fastener in the back.
Today I made music on the piano. Currently, I’m working on Fantasia and Sonata XVIII by Mozart. It’s a pretty fun piece. I also practiced a bunch of hymns. I have many stacks of sheet music and books on top of my piano that I plan on learning eventually. Like by the time I’m eighty, haha. It’s seriously a ton of music. One piece at a time.
Today I made a pair of textile collages. Pretty self-explanatory, I cut the shapes out and stitched them down for reinforcement. I used felt, cotton, broadcloth and barkcloth. The frames are from garage sales, and so is most of the fabric. I might put these up on the website, because purple doesn’t really go well in the apartment!
Tonight me and Natalie decided to set up the chia herb garden we got for Christmas. The pots were boring, so we painted them super amazing colors. It was harder than it looks. But they are the snappiest colors ever, so it was worth it. And soon we will have some delicious herbs.
Today I made a loaf of wheat bread and some wheat rolls. It came out deliciously. Here’s the recipe(from cooks.com):
2 tbsp. yeast
2 c. lukewarm water (16 oz.)
1/4 c. honey (2 oz.)
3/4 c. olive oil (6 oz.)
2 fresh eggs
6 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. salt
Dissolve yeast in water and honey for about 5 minutes. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and knead until it loosens from sides of the bowl. Place in large oiled bowl, cover and let rise until about double. Be sure it is in a warm place. Remove and shape into loaves, rolls, or buns. Bake at about 375 degrees until browned.
Today was the first day of the Alteration Specialist class that I’m taking, and it was pretty fun. We learned all about sewing by hand. These are the samples of different stitches that we learned. Starting at the top left: even basting, uneven basting, diagonal basting, slip basting, running stitch, backstitch, and overcasting. I’m pretty excited for this class, by the end of it, I will know all about correctly altering and repairing things!
My necklaces used to be all tangled up in a basket on my dresser, so when I saw a tutorial for this necklace organizer at Turbo Claw, I was very excited. It’s a cork board covered in fabric inside a frame. Pretty simple, but genius. I made two of them and hung them on opposite sides of my mirror. The original example used a really pretty printed fabric, but I wanted something simple so I could clearly see my necklaces. If I find some sweet thumbtacks, that would be awesome, because my dollar-store thumbtacks are pretty ugly. I’m not really a fan of neon pink, purple and blue.
I made this tissue cozy from a pattern at www.burdastyle.com. It was super easy to make. I got the vintage fabric from a garage sale.
This is a crochet hook case that I made out of vintage fabric. It matches the needle case I made on Day 3. It has elastic holders for all of my hooks and scissors, and three pockets for patterns, secret stuff, and cool stuff. I really haven’t figured out what to put in them, but pockets are always useful. It closes with an old button I found in my grandma’s basement.
I made this needle case out of vintage fabric I found at a garage sale. It has cotton batting on the inside to keep the needles from sticking out the back. A really simple project, but very useful. I’ll probably make a crochet hook case out of this fabric later.