Come Along for the Ride

As I pondered what to write today, I considered all the just-finished and half-done projects I could tell you about. I have a variety of knitting and sewing projects in the works, knitting projects cast-off, and a whole host of other crafty pursuits scattered about my home. Shockingly, the weather was glorious this past weekend and so I spent hours and hours outdoors digging in the dirt (which means it's getting time for some posts about gardening.) But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that what I really wanted to talk about was the creative process that allows me to accomplish all these things.

I spend a lot of my life "creating." I'm a graphic designer by trade and a crafty maniac by passion. As I result, people often ask me, "how did you think of that?" And, while there is no road map to a clever idea, every individual has some sort of creative process. Identifying and developing those sparks of creativity is the skill that we should all nurture.

I have piles of sketchbooks with ideas old and new.

The difference between a well-executed creative idea and a mediocre one, is learning how to push your initial idea to the next level. Let me give you an example of MY creative process and how I took a seed of an idea and made it into something I'm really proud of:

As you all may be aware, Thing 1 has a Sesame Street-themed bedroom. I have been thinking about drapes for his room lately but no needle has actually touched fabric - yet. To get to a finished product, I started by scouring the internet for Sesame Street fabric options. Of course. Buying pre-printed fabric is the second easiest solution for having themed curtains in that room (first easiest solution would be buying already-made Sesame Street curtains, obviously.) There were some pretty cute fabric choices but nothing that really "wow'd" me. So, I started deconstructing the idea a bit by thinking in terms of a single color or a single, clean pattern that would coordinated with the room but wasn't really obviously Sesame Street. I decided that, if I pursued this line of thinking, the curtains would have looked fine, but not have the impact I was hoping for. Then, sticking with the idea of simplicity, I thought about focusing on just one Sesame Street character. Maybe then it would be more dramatic? So, I sketched ideas for Elmo, Big Bird and Kermit curtains but it wasn't until I starting playing around with ideas for "Count Curtains" that I got pretty excited and could actually visualize what they would look like in the room. It's important to recognize inspiration when it happens and give it a long leash. I knew that, when I was able to fully "see" the Count curtains with such ease, this was the right path to follow.

This album cover is big-time inspiration.

The walls of that room are a lively celery green and the window is really large so the draperies need to be bold. I visualized purple velvet curtains with wool-felt numbers hand-sewn all over them. Dramatic, lovely, and unusual. That purple will be a welcome addition to an already colorful room.

Getting an idea from a seed to a full-grown plan is, to use an old quote, two parts perspiration and one part inspiration. Some ideas (like this one) have only a few steps to inspiration...some have many, many more. Sometimes pushing an idea takes time, that is why projects in my house are in various stages of "done". It is more important to me to know that I've done something well, rather than just quickly. Now, I will admit that I've been at this for many, many years so the process comes to me faster than someone who hasn't. It's true that creativity is a muscle, you need to work it out to be in good shape. If only I could be so motivated to exercise my body! :)

–Cassandra

Sentimental Journey

As I've mentioned before, I have been plugging away for a while at some hand-made Sesame Street decor for my older son's room. He has throw-pillows, a duvet cover, and a pillowcase for his "big boy pillow" (the embroidered band is finished and the case will probably be seamed up quickly tonight). There are other Sesame Street projects in the queue but, since there is only one of me and a family of 5... well, one room doesn't get done all at once.

All of my friends are well aware of my projects... I knit or embroider when I am out and social, blog about what I have going on, and, admittedly, I chatter a good deal about the topic as well. Most of my friends are not crafters but what I work on often jogs their memories about handmade gifts they received over the years from their mothers or some special person in their life. I love hearing those stories and seeing folks get sentimental. It's also interesting to remember what sort of crafts were in vogue 10, 20, or 30 years ago. I mean really, I defy you to find any woman from the age of 40-50 who didn't have a poncho knit from them in the 70's!

A couple days ago my friend, Melissa, told me she had something for me. And did she ever!

How beautiful are Big Bird's feathers here?

This Ernie and Bert embroidery is dated 1977 on the front.

Her mother made these for her in 1977 & 1978. We know what years exactly because she actually took the time to write a few sweet notes on the cardboard backings. I was shocked at such a gift. These hold sentimental value for Melissa... but she gifted them to me because she knew I would appreciate them. And I do. I will be tending to their cleaning and care and putting them in new frames. These embroideries (I would label as crewelwork) are amazing. Her mother did a perfect job and they have definitely held up just fine over the years. I wish I had a time machine because apparently these were made from kits, and good Sesame Street project kits cannot be found anywhere these days!

I'm so glad to share this project from the past with you today. Hopefully 30 years from now, someone will be waxing poetic about a handmade item I made for them. Wouldn't that be the best?

–Cassandra

It's Chilly in Houdini's Room

With all the holiday projects waiting to get done, yeah, what do I do this weekend? I start something that has nothing to do with the holidays... a duvet cover for my 19-month old, Bogart.

In my defense, his room is really chilly and I just can't let my kid freeze. I was zipping him up into a sleep sack, and it worked great - until, after a week, he became Houdini, magically getting out of it without even unzipping. This child never ceases to amaze me. It's too bad too, because the sleep sack was really keeping him toasty.

Last winter, I found a twin-sized down comforter on sale. The plan was to cut it in half and make two crib-sized comforters out of it (two sections that were 42" x 64" each). I completed the one for my older toddler, Finn, (yes, I have two...) - Sesame Street themed of course. And now that Bogart is older (and cold) it's his turn for some goose-down goodness.

I began by spreading out the twin-sized comforter on the floor. I measured the length and marked my center point where I needed to cut. I then did my best to sort of "clear the way" on the cut line by moving the feathers off to each side as best I could. I marked the center line with a pen and then marked another line 1/4" on either side of that line. Those new lines are my stitching guides. I sewed a straight stitch along both of those guides and then cut down the center line. By sewing those seams first, you save yourself from a "feather explosion" when you cut. There will still be some rogue feathers, but it is quite manageable. To finish it off cleanly, I sewed some white single-fold bias tape along that raw edge.

I also want to mention a neat little trick I learned (years ago on TV) from my dear friend, Martha. I took some extra bias tape pieces (about 8 inches long) and tacked them in at each corner to make ties. (See photo.) The inside corners of the finished duvet cover will also have bias tape ties. This way you can tie the comforter into the duvet and there is no slipping around. Works like a charm.

I bought the fabric for this project quite a while ago. I knew I wanted to do a "woodland theme" in Bogart's room, but I wasn't sure where to start. When I was shopping at my favorite fabric/yarn shop, Stitcher's Crossing, I saw the perfect fabric to use a jumping off point. (You can see it peeking out of the fabric pile in the photo above.) It's from the "Frolic" line by Wendy Slotbloom. I chose three designs - this, this, and this - to make the duvet. Of course, I have big plans for the rest of the room, all inspired by this fabric.


















 Yesterday, with a cup of hot tea by my side, I got out paper and pen to measure and plan my duvet design. This project is a lot of straight stitching and hemming, cinchy. Should be finished in the next few days. Let's hope it turns out as cute as it is in my imagination! I'll post the finished product as soon as it's done.

- Cassandra