(That colorful, shabby chic one on top is for me! Squeeee!! Love it.)

Yeah. Can you believe that quilting? See the bird she added? She does this all on her machine, free-form.

I can’t even draw lines this perfect, much less sew them.

The applique quilt is simply gorgeous.

These squares are coming together for a quilt. I cannot get over the precision required.

Yeah. If only these skills were genetic.

~K

Or, apparently — to turn into a dog blanket. Some friends in Phoenix recently adopted a new pup. I know one of the issues I continue to deal with after adopting Willie Nelson Mandela is his separation anxiety. I’ve read pound pups in particular suffer from the panic of being left for good again. And again. And oh look, I’m just stepping outside for a second and yet Nelson is again making that weird yippy noise like he’s never going to see me again.

What does this have to do with old rescued linens? I found this cute vintage handtowel at the thrift store this weekend. It was in a stack of other pieces of fabric I picked up. Knowing I wanted to put together a small care package for my friends’ dog, I pulled out this piece for the backing of a puppy blanket. The idea is the dog sleeps with this, or has it on his/her bed when you are home. But if you are preparing for a trip, the owners sleep with it for a couple days. The blanket then stays with the dog when they are away, but their smell stays with the dog — providing a bit of comfort to our otherwise anxious pups.

No idea if it works, but I do know that a bit of handmade blanket love, with a splash of super soft fleece, never hurt anyone.

~K

{click on the photo for pattern details.}

I picked this yarn up in Tempe because it reminded me of the ocean. Thankfully, I bought two skeins, which worked out perfectly. There was enough for the long fringe, and to wrap the gift and attach washing instructions.

Fellow knitters — call me crazy, but I’m putting a new rule on this craft. I am no longer letting myself “buy a skein because it so pretty!” I have so many odd ball gorgeous single skeins of yarn, and few projects I actually want to knit with 1 ball. No more. I’m going to work through my current stash and then be disciplined to buy what a project calls for.

Does anyone stick to this? Or have a better plan?

~K

New year, new paper, new start. A few I created this week as gifts for friends:

For Bruce, who is traveling regularly to Africa, doing amazing work. I used an old almanac to include geography text on the back:

A birthday gift with a bit of Heather Bailey flare.

For Dana, a PhD student in Forestry and birthday girl. I finally had a chance to use this patch, which I’d been holding on to for years in my sewing box:

It scratched a creative spot in my brain to use different materials — sewing cardstock, vintage trim, fabric, paint, stamps, hot glue. I’m trying to make more time to for this type of play; doing so simply makes me happier and more patient.

~K

I’m taking classes at Fancy Tiger. This is my very favorite craft store, in part because while the employees and owners are completely hip and talented, they are equally kind and generous with their time. Cody used to live nearby in the Wash Park neighborhood. When I’d visit, I’d be sure to swing through the Tiger to pick up supplies I couldn’t find in Phoenix. Japanese zaka prints, leather purse handles, handspun knits that were just different than anything else I’d seen.

I have had such fun exploring this town for the last six months — spending time both examining its offerings and what I truly wanted. I’m certainly not the first person to find a move the ideal time to re-examine one’s priorities and interests. Signing up for classes at Fancy Tiger was what I needed to push my knitting and sewing abilities — to rise above the stagnant, learn-from-books-and-You-Tube-tutorials- state.

While this first class is making me angry and impatient, both are a good thing. New skills are just on the other side of the horizon. I’ve never perfected anything without first considering throwing an impatience fueled tantrum. With any luck, I’ll be wearing a sweater I knit (that fits!) on Christmas.

Also, the supplies? Gorgeous. I could spend hours just looking over the magazines, books and shelves of lovely prints — daydreaming of projects. But truly, this store has my business because of folk like Emily. She’s teaching my sweater class and could not be nicer. Mother Teresa could have learned something from the patience she showed to a handful of newbie knitters whose enthusiasm quickly melted into pools of frustration at her feet.

Fancy Tiger is a Denver gem for those who love craft.

~K

I’m working through my yarn stash to whip up a few gifts. (Not going to lie: it is a lot more fun to work with wool when there is snow on the ground.)

Also not going to lie: it is going to be a lot more fun to knit now that I have a model who works for treats:

Doesn’t he look thrilled?

Actually, now that I look at him — he looks like he needs a haircut.

~K

While I grew up with my mama’s sewing machine on the kitchen table, I never took home ec or had any desire to be artistic. Have you met my mother? Better yet, have you met her sewing?  It’s like a composer’s kid being tone deaf. Or Kim Kardashian’s kids being nuns. I was adamant. Stubborn. Obstinante, one might say. I had zero use or interest in anything that had any scent whatsoever of eu de Housewife.

Fast forward until I became a citizen of Dormistan. The land of honey and irony,  all-you-can-eat-and-weight-you-can-gain-buffets and $18 checking account balances. Skipping the beat of the dance clubs for the hum of a new sewing machine was an easy decision. The latter never required: Spanx, boys, cash, or my self-conscious awkwardness in public. I was a confident know-it-all in class. I was a shy, nervous wreck at an underage club.

Today I’m a fair combination of both, but do have a bit more balance between the social and the sewing. Sadly, 9 out of 10 projects still look like something off of Regretsy. But I can’t stop. I’ve got a closet full of fabric, a binder full of patterns and am slowly but surely becoming more comfortable with my modernized Laura Ingalls Wilder spirit.

{My version of the Oregon Trail would be by Prius. With stops along the way for hiking, sleeping under the stars and hitting the half annual sales at any Nordstrom en route. Wineries, pedicures, fly fishing for dinner. I’m pretty sure Laura would have been all about getting her eyebrows waxed, hitting a hot yoga class and gossiping about that wicked Nellie Oleson over happy hour. Something tells me the oxen and cholera wouldn’t be missed.}

The first video sewing 101 tutorial, for sweet Bianca and girls everywhere who celebrate their inner modern pioneering spirit:*

Happy trails, friends!

~k

* there is a clever joke to be made about how a current Laura Ingalls Wilder would kick some Kardash ass, and what a large task that would be, and her video skills being used for good, nor horror. But I’ll leave that to you…

Like peas and carrots, this friendship.

~K

Falling back to my classic baby gifts: minky backed blankets and personalized onesies. Easy to create, fun to sew and a pleasure to send to new parents.

~K

A coworker gave me a garment that she wanted recycled. She’d had the gown custom made with Heather Bailey fabrics and was so sad the end result didn’t work. She didn’t want the fabric to go to waste. Could I make something of it?

The Betty Draper apron. Pearls and angst not included.

To be delivered this week!

~K

This is the sewing project I thought I’d never complete. Not because it was exceptionally difficult, but because I was nervous I wasn’t going to do it well. My mom, thankfully, finally talked me through finishing Matt + Mariah’s wedding quilt.

Remember their amazing wedding in Seattle last summer? Oh, I do. When I wed one day, those two will be in charge of the details. Exquisite party!

My mama created the embroidered tag for the back. The quilt is made of squares signed after the ceremony — a folk art wedding guest book of sorts. The back fabric is a capulana from Kenya, where the groom has done a lot of work.

I so love this couple and am thankful to give them something meaningful to celebrate their union.

~K

Horrible photos of a lovely gift; I was given this gorgeous wrap/scarf by my friend Tina this weekend. It is so, so beautiful. I love the rust and fall colors and the leaf edge.

So yes, I am rocking a skirt, short sleeve shirt and a scarf today. While it wouldn’t make sense for my neck to be cold enough to require handknits while my legs and arms roam naked and free, it does in Phoenix. In my neighborhood, we all get excited about weather in the 70s –  for the collective return to sanity (politics excluded) and a fabulous change in wardrobe.

Next up: jackets!

~K

In this case, for his pleasure. (Who says knitting can’t be sexy?) A Malabrigo ribbed scarf in the works as a commissioned gift for a friend’s boyfriend.

I am plotting my holiday projects on an Excel spreadsheet. I’ll be sharing at least one a week until Christmas. I’m certain there will be homemade love that is baked, sewn, knitted, photographed and wrapped in a recycled bow.

Are you planning anything homemade? What are the projects that have you inspired? Please share what you are interested in creating, how you track your gifts and what type of planning you use concerning your time and supplies. I’d love some help!

~K

Yarn cakes, that is. Less fattening of both the hips and the wallet.

~K