Craftzine.com blog: May 2007 Archive

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Archives: May 2007

May 31, 2007

More Fabulous T-Shirt Quilts

The T-shirt quilts keep on coming! This time from one of our own, CRAFT & MAKE's Managing Editor, Shawn Connally.

Shawn writes:

Bruce has boxes and boxes of old tees that he always swore he would make a quilt out of someday. But he can't even sew a button on! So I took matters into my own hands (well, a fabulous quiltmaker's hands), and had one made for him a couple of years ago.

See more photos of the beautiful T-shirt quilt on Shawn's flickr set here - Link.

Multi-colored Custom Yarn Dyeing with Kool Aid

I love Lee Meredith of lethal zine's in depth look into Kool Aid yarn dyeing. She's got a two part series up on her site and also links to a bunch of other resources including the one we love from knitty. Great inspiration, not to mention fantastic eye candy.

Part 1 - Link.
Part 2 - Link.

Crochet Coral Branch

This beautiful crochet coral branch is a pattern for sale by jpolka on etsy. I love that it can be framed as a piece of art. Just $3.50. [ via ] Link.

T-Shirt Quilt

More fun continues with the recycled t-shirt theme!

Kristy writes:

I've noticed the crocheted t-shirt rag rug and the geek shirt patchwork blanket, and I thought I'd throw my old t-shirt craft into the ring. My best girl friends and I were very involved in extracurriculars in college, and one thing everyone knows is that you accumulate a LOT of t-shirts in college. After we graduated, I made the girls quilts out of their very favorite t-shirts from college. I sewed together 13"x13" squares and backed the quilt with fleece with Marshall University emblems from my local craft store. Then, I took the 'easy way out' by quilting it by using square knots where all the squares meet. Link.

Maker Faire: Lion Brand's Hyperbolic Crochet Sea Coral Fantasy

The Lion Brand booth was jam packed both days at the Maker Faire with their how to knit and crochet workshops taught by Shannon Okey and Cecily Keim. One of the things also happening at the booth was the Hyperbolic Crochet Sea Coral Fantasy and Liz of Lion Brand (pictured above) worked with booth visitors to create their own crochet sea life. The project was inspired and developed by the Institute for Figuring and has taken new levels with IFF's Hyperbolic Coral Reef project. When I came up to Liz she was happily crocheting and talking as she was finishing up another piece to add to the ever growing display. It was enchanting and soothing to see all the different sea creatures that we created. Liz also told be about the new Lion Brand Flagship Store that will be opening in NYC this winter 2007-2008. Yay!

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On the flyer Lion Brand was distributing was this background on hyperbolic crochet:

Hyperbolic crochet is the name given to applying a mathematical principle to crochet patterns. A hyperbolic plane expands exponentially from any point on its surface, always curving shapes away from itself. Hyperbolic growth gives rise to the ruffled shapes of coral, kelp, and sea anemone. You can easily crochet a hyperbolic surface by increasing at a constant rate throughout the piece. Crocheting a reef is a great opportunity to try the different yarns and stitches. The variety of textures and shapes will inspire you to expand your crochet boundaries.

Get the free pattern from Lion Brand to make your own Hyperbolic Crochet Sea Coral Fantasy here. - Link.

See more photos of Lion Brand booth at Maker Faire here. - Link.
Photos from Cecily - Link.
Photos from Shannon - Link.

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And leave it to Cecily and Shannon to come up with one of the best crafty Ikea hacks around. They used plastic trash bag holders and layed them flat on the table to hold all the gorgeous Lion Brand yarn! What a great idea for when you're working on a project. No rolling balls of yarn and all your colors will be at your fingertips. Link.

Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philly this Weekend, June 2-3

The Art Star Craft Bazaar will be happening this weekend on Saturday (11-7) and Sunday from (11-5) in Philly at the Liberties Walk 1030-40 N. 2nd Street. There will be over 100 artists and crafters who will be selling their handmade wares as well as crafty demos! Get there early to get one of the 175 gift bags. Thanks Meg for the info! For more details, check out the website. Link.

Geek Crafts

As a comment to my post on crocheting a t-shirt rag rug yesterday, Giaguara showed us her crochet t-shirt rug made from old Apple and geeky t-shirts.

Giaguara writes:

When you have more than one kind of shirt and tones in it, it works best to make it a straight carpet. Use three colors or different yarns on a row, and change the start and end constantly to be random. That way no matter where your yarn starts or ends, it doesn't look too odd. The round thing is harder to do if you try to keep the randomness pattern in it, unless you want to carry 2-3 yarns over while you crochet.

See more photos of her crochet geeky t-shirt rug here. Link.

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The logo remenants from the t-shirts became a patchwork geek blanket. Link.

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She also made cute crochet Nintendo DS lite case and iPod cozies. Link.

See more of Giaguara's cool geek crafts on her LJ blog. - Link.

Interweave Crochet Spring 2007 & Larger Than Life Bag

Is this turning out to be the summer of crochet? I'm savoring the Spring issue of Interweave Crochet that's the first issue with Kim Werker of Crochet Me as the Editor in Chief! There are so many great projects from crochet sweaters, scarfs, adornments, and more! One of the fun projects I'll be working on this summer from the magazine is the Larger-Than-Life bag by Cecily Keim. I saw Cecily tote around this cute and functional bag earlier this year at TNNA. It's got an amazing look to it with a floral granny square pattern. And it's HUGE! You could probably fit everything you need for the day in here from your craft projects, books, and more. If you're interested in making this project, join the Larger Than Life CAL, the Larger Than Life Bag Flickr group or check it out for more inspiration. Some members of the Granny Along are also making this bag.

For more info and table of contents for the Spring issue of Interweave Crochet, visit the Interweave Crochet site here. Link.
Free web projects from Interweave Crochet - Link.

Cocoa Jars

Sunset has the perfect quick gift idea with these cocoa jars. There's recipies for classic cocoa, mexican cocoa, pepermint stick cocoa, and mocha cocoa. Doesn't that just look so sweet? Link.

May 30, 2007

Indie Craft Experience in Atlanta on Saturday, June 2

Coming this Saturday from 11am to 6pm in Atlanta, Indie Craft Experience takes it to the great outdoors at the Centennial Olympic Park (pictured above). It's number 5 for this indie fair and there will be lots happening with 85 booths (105 crafters), workshops by Garth Johnson of Extreme Craft, friends from Alternative Apparel and Scrap Chic Boutique and other Atlanta crafters. There's also a cool clothing swap and live music! To find out more details, check out the Indie Craft Experience web site. Link.

Summer Skirts and Dresses Roundup

Thimble has a great round up of summer skirts and dresses you can sew up like this wrap skirt by Dacia Ray! Link

Build Your Own Tetris Bookshelf

Tetris is popular today. Also on Instructables is odecom5's tutorial on how to build a Tetris style bookshelf or DVD shelf. Link.

Crochet T-Shirt Rag Rug

Monica Resinger of Ruby Glen shows you how to take old T-shirts and use them to crochet yourself a round rag rug. You can also use this same pattern to make potholders or coasters. Link.

Lov.li Fair in Portland this Sunday, June 3

If your in the Portland, OR area this Sunday head on out to the Lov.li Fair that will be happening at RonToms (600 E. Burnside) from 11am to 4pm. There will be over 30 vendors from all over the art/craft world. You'll find paintings and jewelry, handbags and needle-felted animals, fused glass and zines. There will also be two make-and-take tables on hand, so you can relax and make stuff in the crafty atmosphere of RonTom's -- assemble a fused-glass pendant with Jenny Wells or make cards and bookmarks with Candice of ArtNeko Rubber Art. Church of Girl will be on hand to provide independent music. RonTom's has a nice menu of food and drink as well, and there will be outdoor seating on their deck to enjoy them. Check out the Lov.li site for more info! Link.

Tetris Ice Cubes

Here's something fun for summer that works for ice cubes, jello, whatever you want! Make your own Tetris ice cubes by Tetranitrate on Instructables. Link.

Wrap Art: Ideas in Gift Wrapping

John Boak sends us this site, Wrap Art, which shows you how to wrap presents creatively in many ways from repurposing materials or by using fragments of paper and miscellaneous items from around your house. Link.

HOW TO - Make Your Own Buttons

Created as an entry for the Sew Useful Contest sponsored by Etsy and Instructables, liskider has a tutorial up on Instructables showing you how to make your own buttons out of natural sea glass. There's also a video of the process. Beautiful work! Link.

Scrabble Skirt

Cory of Leif Labs makes super cool messenger bags (here and here). But when he isn't sewing up bags, he's making skirts for Brianne. I love the Scrabble Skirt here. Cory shares how he develops patterns to make these kinds of skirts so you can make one too! Link.

Super Mario Princess Cross-Stitch Shirt

Phil @ MAKE writes:

JK's mother made a really fun cross-stich mario princess...
Last week I got my grid-pattern dress shirt back from my Mom. I sent it to her so she could cross-stitch the Princess from Super Marios Bros. above the right cuff. I knew I'd never make the time to do it, and well, she cross-stitches. I must say, it came out amazing! Even better than I had hoped. Now, during the process she called me up and asked me, "Why in the world would you want a princess on the sleeve of your shirt?"
Stitched with Love, by my Mom « Archive xoxo -- c 7 11 23 - [via] Link.

More:

Cross Stitch Pac-Man - Link.
Cross Stitch Generator - Link.
Make Your Own Cross Stitch Chart in Photoshop - Link.
Sanrio Cross Stitch Patterns - Link.
Cross-Stitch of Sistine Chapel - Link.
Cross-stitched Nintendo DS game holder - Link.

May 29, 2007

Graduation Cap with Flashing LED Lights

Remember back in high school when friends would decorate the top of their graduation cap with sayings in glitter, marker, or stickers? These days in our technology filled life, it's all about the flashing LEDs like this cap from an engineering school graduation. If you're graduating soon and want to make one, check out CRAFT: 01's "The Electric Tank Top" project to modify it for your cap. Link.

Singer Sewing Books

Singer Simple: Sewing Guide ($19.95) - Link.
Singer Simple: Home Decor Handbook ($19.95) - Link.

To keep with our afternoon sewing mood, here are four great books from Singer to help you develop and grow your sewing skills. All books are paperback spiral bound and can sit nicely next to you at your sewing machine or craft table.

The first two books are part of the Singer Simple series and are handy guidebooks you can keep as a reference next to your machine at all times. The Singer Simple Sewing Guide is like a handy sewing class filled with tons of technical sewing information. Beginners can easily read through the book to learn more about all the aspects of sewing from how to thread your machine to how to chose the right fabric for your project. More advanced sewers should have this book handy when you need to refer to a certain technique that you don't do often, such as how to insert a zipper. The next book, Singer Simple: Home Decor Handbook, also takes the same guide approach but breaks them down into various essential home decor projects. Learn techniques to help you make different kinds of window shades or pillows as well as the technical guidelines on how to sew fabrics with stripes, plaids, and prints.

Singerstylebooks
Easy Singer Style: Pattern-Free Fashions & Accessories by Kate Perri ($21.95) - Link.
Easy Singer Style: Pattern-Free Home Accents by Becky Hanson ($21.95) - Link.

The Easy Singer Style books will unleash your creativity and help you master the art of sewing. Both books cover has 15 fun and easy projects in depth from design through the sewing process. To start, Easy Singer Style: Pattern-Free Fashions & Accessories by Kate Perri will show you how to make your own fashions. From embellishing jeans to sewing up a skirt based on your own measurements, each project guides you with step-by-step photos and descriptions to help you through the entire process. Some of my favorite projects in this book are the grab and go bags, fabric belt with slide buckle, reversible tote bag, and the sassy skirt. The book also includes a bunch of templates you can use for the projects. The next book, Easy Singer Style: Pattern-Free Home Accents by Becky Hanson has lots of great home projects that I'm eyeing to sew up for myself around the house. I love the place mats, drawstring storage bag, and ribbon striped pillow. Some of these projects would be great to whip up and make as gifts too! The book also covers easy quilting techniques and gives you a few projects to try your hand at quilting such as the quilted sunny table runner. What's great about these two books is the equal concentration on creativity and sewing machine techniques to help you build your sewing skills. These are the perfect books for any beginner or intermediate sewer!

New Singer Embroidery and Sewing Machines

At the Maker Faire, Ralph Morehouse from Singer was on hand to demo the latest in Singer sewing and embroidery machines. Ralph was stationed in the CRAFT Corner and also provided sewing machines for Giana Gonzalez to use for her Hacking Couture, the Italian Hack workshop, that ran all weekend. Giana and I opened the boxes together on Friday afternoon to set everything up and we were amazed there were a two embroidery sewing machines in the mix. "This must be what guys feel like when they see a Ferrari," exclaimed Giana. I agreed, likening it to a surprise Christmas in May.

On Sunday when I had more time to walk around the expo hall, Ralph gave me a special demo showing me the latest that Singer is bringing us with embroidery and sewing machines. And lets just say I was more excited than when I was opening the actual boxes!

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Singer Quantum Futura (CE-200)
Suggested Retail Price about $800

The Singer Quantum Futura is like an affordable first class plane ticket to heaven. I am pretty computer savvy so when Ralph showed me the process of the machine embroidering the image from the laptop, I believe I had my jaw open. He explained to me that this machine could be likened to a "sewing machine printer". Whatever design in most any kind of format that I wanted to create on the computer from illustration, design, to photos, could be embroidered by this sewing machine.

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A special computer software program processes the image or illustration and creates thread layers (for photos, details are simplified). Once a color is all done, the machine will stop for the next color that's set to be embroidered. Pictured above, the Quantum Futura machine processes all the brown first, then starts in on embroidering the yellow to make up the final wheat stalks. Currently, these sewing machines connect only to PC laptops but for those of you tech savvy enough, you can see if the new Intel Macs running Windows will be sufficient enough.

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But wait, if $800 is still a bit too steep for you, you can get the embroidery basics with the Singer Futura (CE-100)which retails for about $500 and still lets you connect a laptop to the machine!

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Singer Quantum XL-6000
Suggested Retail about $3,000

The top of the line right now is the Singer Quantum XL-6000 which has more power with a color touch screen display, multiple thread spools, multiple languages, improved embroidery lettering, and a continuous hoop which allows for creating borders for garments and home decor projects. Pictured above is Ralph testing a "G" design for Giana's Italian "Gucci" hack explorations.

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Here's a close up of the "G" embroidery and you can see the fine detail this machine can go to.

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A sample from the Gucci hack showing a modfied Gucci print embroidered by the Quantum XL-6000.

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Ok I'm sure by now after reading all this, you'll all be running out to get these machines. I'm happy that Singer is coming out with these great sewing and embroidery machines that can fit into any crafter's budget. Thanks Ralph for the great demos!

See all the photos from Ralph Morehouse's Singer demos as well as some shots of the Hacking Couture workshop here - Link.

Find out more about these and other Singer sewing and embroidery machines, including some video demos and more photos on the Singer web site here. - Link.

CraftSanity Podcast with Carol Souvion of the new PBS "Craft in America" Documentary

Jennifer of CraftSanity has a fantastic podcast interview with Carol Souvion who was the visionary behind the new PBS documentary, "Craft in America" which airs Wednesday night (that's tomorrow!) this week at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm. But check your local PBS listings to confirm your actual airtime. Link.

Related:
Craft in America: New PBS Documentary Debuts May 30th - Link.

Crafty Daisies Learn to Crochet: Lesson #2

I am really enjoying the Crafty Daisies 12 week crochet lessons that are happening online. This week's lesson #2 is up teaching you the following: how to end your square, slip stitch, half double crochet, double crochet, Triple Crochet and crocheting in the round. You can also join the new Flickr group if you are following along with the lessons and post up your work. Link.

Related:
Crafty Daisies Learn to Crochet: Lesson #1 - Link.

Sunny Day Dress and Top Tutorial

House on Hill Road has a perfect summer tutorial with this Sunny Day Dress and Top! Elastic thread seems fun to sew with. Also, I'm thinking it shouldn't be too hard to modify this dress for an adult size if you don't have little girls. Link.

HOW TO - Make a Homasote Bulletin Board

Shiso Mama shows you how to make a bulletin board out of homasote, a building material made from recycled paper. Link.

Pirates Roundup

Did anybody catch Pirates of the Caribbean 3 this past long weekend? Indie Fixx has a great roundup of Pirate goodies that you can get like this Egg Pirate Stationary and Sticker Set by Surgarlily or Sublime Stitching's Pirate Embroidery. See lots more Pirate picks at Indie Fixx. Link.

HOW TO - Turn Photos into ASCII Art

Photojojo shows you how you can turn any photo you have into letters and numbers with ASCII art. Link.

HOW TO - Sew a Pleated Skirt

Ansley at Bleu Arts points us to the Lula Louise site where you learn how to sew a pleated skirt. Check the main tutorial page for other tutorials such as how to recycle sweaters and how to cover O-rings. You can also visit her great blog as well. Link.

Morse Code Knit Hat

Rosemary writes:

Craftster.org member wessles knitted this awesome hat for one of her friends. It appears to be just a regular hat, but closer inspection reveals that the yellow dots are actually morse code! The hidden message is "I'm not wearing underwear today!", which is think is absolutely hilarious!

Check out craftster.org for more photos of the Morse Code knit hat. - Link.

May 28, 2007

May's Sampler Goodies

May's goodies from The Sampler have come in and here's some of the really cool things that have caught my eye. I love the various hair adornments and paper goods that were in this month's box, as well as the funky necklace by Naughty Secretary Club. And of course, the cool Octopus iron on!

Here are my favorites, clockwise from left:

Froy & Olo Design Thank You cards - Link.
Two Busy Bee's bobby pin - Link.
Charcoal Designs Fawn pin - Link.
Feisty Elle Pink Chibi Bobby Pin - Link.
Asta Arts Skull and Crossbones stamp - Link.
Sweet Honey Complex Sushi Charm - Link.
Casto Creations Gold Key Charm - Link.
Naughty Secretary Club Necklace - Link.
Re-Conceived.com Octopus Iron On - Link.
Andy Pratt Design "I Miss You Very Much" and "Thank You Very Much" Card - Link.
Ella Studio Douche Bag Card - Link.
Destination Unknown Luggage Tag - Link.
Lilybug Sock Monkey Waterproof Bicycle Seat Cover - Link.
Third Floor Fibers Handspun Merino Wool in Purple - Link.
Mini Croq (not pictured) - Link.

Learn how you can promote your crafty business by contributing to The Sampler here - Link.

May 25, 2007

Join the Craftzine Community on Stylehive

Hi Crafters! We are so excited to be a part of Stylehive's new Style Communites that were launched this week! Stylehive is the world's largest social shopping community made of people seeking out the world's most interesting products and for us that includes everything related to handmade goods from plushie toys and indie fashions to the latest craft kits and patterns. If you aren't already a member, register now for free and become a part of the fun at Stylehive. Then join the Craftzine community to get the latest news and crafty picks by us and your fellow DIY'ers.

Join the Stylehive Craftzine Community - Link.
See all of Stylehive's New Style Communities here. - Link.

Maker Faire: Wardrobe Remix Presentation

Tricia Royal of Bits and Bobbins did a great job with her Wardrobe Remix presentation at the CRAFT booth at the Maker Faire last Sunday. She's got an amazing recap in her recent post and has included her presentation, including her cool tips on how to get the most out of thrift store shopping. BTW, check out some photos from her talk, including the fun tote she had that day! Link.

Stitch: Now Accepting Online Vendor Applications

Applications are now online for Stitch, Austin's largest Indie Fashion Show and Craft Bazaar. The event is November 10th at The Austin Music Hall, but get your application in before the August 15th deadline. Link.

Hallowig Kitty!

Check out this happy kitty on Von Krankipantzen sporting the knitted Hallowig by Meagan Reardon and featured in CRAFT: 01's Curio section. See more photos at Von Krankipantzen. Link.

CRAFT Pattern Podcast: The Spiderweb Skirt by Josi Hannon Madera

This week's CRAFT Pattern Podcast is extra special for the long Memorial Day weekend. The Spiderweb Skirt is a crochet skirt by Josi Hannon Madera of Art of Crochet. It's the perfect skirt to make for the upcoming summer. Recommended yarns are: Knit Picks Shine Worsted, Elann Callista, and Berroco Love It. If you need crochet help, the Art of Crochet has plenty of video stitch guides to help you along the way. You can also catch up with Josi on the Art of Crochet Blog.

Download this week's CRAFT pattern PDF - Link.

Subscribe to the CRAFT podcast and get this pattern and other CRAFT content delivered automatically via iTunes - Link

Threadheads at Maker Faire (Video)

If you want to experience Maker Faire in it's crafty glory check out the recent ThreadHeads video including a great interview with Wendy Tremayne of Swap-O-Rama-Rama. Link.

Rainycloud Pattern Now Available at Mochimochi Land

Remember when we posted about the Rainycloud here? Now Mochimochi Land has it available to you as a knit pattern so you can make one yourself. Get the pattern here for only $5. You can also check out the other patterns in the shop. Link.

Needlepoint Tetris Fridge Magnets

Here's some cute tetris fridge magnets made by lost mitten on etsy. You can also easily needlepoint this with our favorite plastic canvas. Thanks Ryan! [ via ] Link.

Heirloom Parachute Wedding Dress

Just taking a look at this vintage 1947 wedding dress that's on display at the Smithsonian and you'd have no idea it's actually made from the parachute of the groom who was in WWII.

From the site:

This wedding dress was made from a nylon parachute that saved the groom's life during World War II. Maj. Claude Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, and his crew, were returning from a bombing raid over Yowata, Japan, in August 1944 when their engine caught fire. The crew was forced to bail out. It was night and Major Hensinger landed on some rocks and suffered some minor injuries. During the night he used the parachute both as a pillow and a blanket. In the morning the crew was able to reassemble and were taken in by some friendly Chinese. He kept the parachute and used it as a way to propose to Ruth in 1947. He presented it to her and suggested she make a gown out of it for their wedding.

Read more about this heirloom parachute wedding dress at the Smithsonian web site. [ via ] Link.

May 24, 2007

Maker Faire: Bias Tape Tote and Tie Top Tank Tutorials

Nancy Flynn has both her tutorials up for the Bias Tape Tote and the Tie Top Tank that she taught at the Maker Faire CRAFT booth this past weekend. She was great to have around the fair and her sewing skills blow my mind. This stylish woman is chock full of sewing tips. One great tip I learned from her was to use old newspapers to draw and cut out patterns.

Here are her tutorials:

Bias Tape Tote - Link.
Tie Top Tank - Link.

If you make the above projects, join in on the Belle Epoque tutorials Flickr Group. You can visit Nancy Flynn and see more of her sewing adventures on her craft blog, Belle Epoque. - Link.

Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu | May 24, 2007 05:02 PM
Maker Faire, Sewing |