Semi-Handmade

Crocheted Go to Market Money Belt

I recently came across an interesting and timely article by Lisa Bloom for the Huffington Post. The article is a call for change as it relates to girls, how adults speak to them and thier self-esteem. It is a call for a change in pattern, a large pattern seen in society.

"Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything." - Lisa Bloom

Breaking the habit of connecting based on looks is just about as hard as breaking the habit of saying  "you are so smart" or "good job". (At least it has been for me!)

When I am designing or making for my little ones I often try to focus on function and collaboration, as opposed to mere aesthetics. Sometimes this looks like measuring some books to see how big a book bag needs to be and sometimes it is merely asking a little one to pick out the buttons. Part of this is due to the fact that I have learned that with more collaboration the items I make are more likely to be used and choosen over mass produced products. My hope is that I am teaching my children about the arts (mostly textile arts), teaching them to think independently (not to dress like everyone else) and also that I am building their self-esteem. High hopes right?

That is why I love this project, a crocheted money belt. At 5 1/2 Cassidy seeks opportunities to show autonomy. She is in control and in charge these days, in so many ways. This money belt was just the tool Cassidy needed last week when she was "in charge" of the spending money at the local farmer's market. The belt offered her an opportunity to stretch herself and show her independence, an opportunity to know what it feels like to be prepared and organized.
As with most of the projects that I share in hopes that you will dive in and make something of your own, I highly recommend taking a good look at this schematic and then go for it. Download Schematic for Belt However, if you are the type that wants specifics, I did take notes. Download Farmer Market Crochet Belt

 

Father's Day Mulligan

Father's Day 2011 stunk around here, it is that simple. We had a traffic laden drive from San Diego to Los Angeles and a sick 3 year old. So we called a Mulligan and celebrated a bit this past Saturday at a local resort. The evening was one of those that was simple and gracefully unravelled into a full blown event despite (or maybe because of) very little planning- from the exploring before dinner, the actual dinner, the fireside cupcake, the live entertainment and the gorgeous sunset.

Hope you all had a nice Father's Day or at least made up for it later.

 
 
You may notice the knitted scarf I wore and the beanie Cassidy wore as it cooled off a bit in the evening. I made the scarf from Handmaiden's Double Sea Silk in the color Beach House. This yarn is truly my current favorite. It is a pleasure to hold and work with. Cassidy's Beanie (it's actually mine too but she wore it) is a Noro yarn and Noro pattern. Check out Ravelry for details.
 
 


 
 
 This post and many others like it are part of a Made By Me Mondays at Skip to My Lou and Today's Creative Blog.

 

Flower Girl ~ Semi-Handmade Style

 
One of my nephews was married last weekend. He married the sweetest bride ever! The wedding was done a' la country style and held at an authentic farmhouse. It was a truly memorable gathering and celebration of these childhood sweethearts. Last December when the bride saw on this blog A Few of My Favorite Things Under the Tree she and my sister (the grooms mother) came up with a Semi-Handmade idea for the flower girl dresses. That seed of an idea seems like a long time ago, and then before you know it the weekends festivities were underway just this last weekend. I'm just not sure how this time thing works. Anyhow- not the point.

 
The idea is simple- just cut a rectangle of fabric (long side 2x the measurement of the denim skirts waist), sew the back seam, gather it up to fit onto the denim skirt and sew it to the bottom of a denim skirt right sides together. In December I had used some recycled cloth bags from a favorite store FreePeople. For the four flower girls skirts I used one layer of this gorgeous tulle with cut out leaves and flowers, one layer of blue organza and 2 layers of plain white tulle for fullness.

The result was shabby chic goes formal, perhaps a little Gunne Sax goes Bohemian. All four girls owned the look and really looked darling walking down the aisle.

The idea of sewing fabric to a demin skirt is not a grand idea but with just the right fabric (and maybe some trim) it sure can make a fun, unique and maybe even quirky skirt.

What are you making today - either from scratch or semi-handmade?

 

Loose Screws

My chaos and loose screws are the topic of discussion over at The MakeShift Revolution during the hilarious 'Reality Project' series. This minister/mother/wife/yogi really is funny - in that smart, witty, clever,downright honest style of humor that I adore. 

 

Bohemian Rhapsody :: A Spring Skirt Tutorial

 
Just a few days left of Spring but with June gloom around these parts I won't expect Summer until well into July. This Semi-Handmade spring skirt truly came from my "need" to work with an interesting yarn I found at Twist (a local yarn store) and the fact that the minute I saw this dusty lavender yarn it reminded me of a vintage fabric that I had stashed (and later made the under skirt from). The yarn that started this all was a cone of Habu Textiles 1/20 Stainless Steel and Silk blend. I was intrigued by the idea of having the stainless steel give the knitted skirt some body to do more than just snug the under skirt.

You could really take this idea and go with it to create some original clothes for girls. Nonetheless, the basic premise is to knit a non-perfect rectangle with the long side of the rectangle longer in length than the waist of your model and about as wide (the short side of the rectangle) as a skirts length. To get the non-perfect rectangle change up your needle size and/or yarn. This change up of needle size creates an uneven hem. Gather that rectangle along the top and attach it along the waist of a skirt. It creates a knitted open halo effect over the original skirt. The original skirt can be handmade or a store bought skirt, not the point. This project is usually a process that flows from a color or contrasting textures or a theme - like the ocean or the forest. You could use all the colors that remind you of a day at the shore or all very similiar tones and colors, like I did in my example. I personally think that given the ethereal feel to this skirts design that sticking to one tone will lead to a synchronized outcome. With similar colors and/or tones you can highlight the textures and interesting hem line.

 
I then added a few felted flowers that I had made at a class I took at Twist. I stitched the flowers along the opening of the skirt- see photo at the top of this post. I used one flower to make a brooch and attached it to a coordinating tank top. I can't find a tutorial that follows the exact process for making flowers from roving that I was taught in this class, but here is one tutorial that is very similar.

Big Red Hat Kids (I was looking for a more ethereal flower so I did not roll in the edges like she does in this tutorial, rolling in the edges will result in a more preppy or clean, exact look)

Another option- and one with certainly less clean up involved- order a few felted flowers on Etsy. A few of my favorites are:

• Retro Posies from a Market Collection
• Daisies from Coco Bella
• Strawberry Lemonade Blossoms also from A Market Collection

If I were ordering flowers I would let the felted flowers be my guide, meaning order them and then look for the right fabric/skirt, yarn for the knitted skirt overlay and also for the tank top.

If you want to know exactly how I knitted this overlay skirt for this 15 inch long skirt with a 19 inch waist, you can download the specifics here: Download Bohemian Rhapsody. I personally recommend diving into this project and not following my directions and see how it unfolds and where the basic premise leads but for those whom prefer precision -  I took some notes and share them with you. 

 
 

Semi-Handmade :: The Return

Thanks for waiting...

So what does a Part-Time Hybrid Mother actually do on a six month sabbatical? Believe me, I ask myself this question to.

To begin, I...

• Surgically fixed an umbilical hernia and diastasis, I did not personally fix it but I had a great surgeon do it- wow, it is nice to have core muscles connecting again and my intestines in their place at all times
• We moved the 'family bed' out of the master bedroom, and back in and back out AGAIN
• I made arrangements for a vasectomy and gave away our nursery furniture, despite the umbilical cord (figuratively speaking) still being attached to those pieces of furniture
• I knitted a lot- updates on Ravelry soon
• I listened patiently to a lot of inner dialog, had long discussions with my ego and tried to put it in it's place, with the help of a Kiisimaa consultant

 

• I relished in the joy of giving Cassidy and CJ space to find their own unique passions when it comes to winter sports, for CJ it seems one passion is snowboarding and for Cassidy a good ol' snowball fight seems to be here calling right now (fuzzy heart sweater details on Ravelry)
• I fell in love with this soy candle in the Tobacco scent, who knew Tobacco could smell so good
• I skied more than three runs consecutively for the first time in 6 years and it was thrilling to be back in the bindings
• I kept track of an American Girl whom changed her name every week for the past 12 weeks
• I overcame a reluctance to sew with the nicest fabric I know of - Kokka Double Layer Gauze and then went a little crazy with it sewing like a mad woman just for myself this time around
• Thanks to an Alcat Food Intolerance Test I was made aware of my intolerance to gluten and refined sugar and a few other odd things and have changed my diet and no longer have headaches or foggy head (I had been calling it mommy brain but it wasn't!)
• I improved my skateboard skills, perfected my jump shot and fine tuned my ability to catch fly balls
• We trekked to Santa Barbara again and truly enjoyed camping this time every last bit of it, loads of laundry and all 
• I savored sweet, so sweet moments such as CJ schlepping his Boogie Board up and down several flights of stairs by himself at El Capitan Beach, despite the board being twice his size- his tenacity runs deep
• I awaited patiently this gorgeous Loulouthi fabric (above) from Anna Maria Horner and thought about how I could do it justice - shall it be a tunic or a quilt, or both perhaps? I would probably cover my walls with this large floral print (it's called Totem) if I had the nerve to go so feminine- it is just stunning
• I thought a lot about this funny space called blogging, thought of new semi-handmade ideas to share with you, missed my blogging friends and readers and made great plans for this space right here - so here it goes..... I'm back