First, I finally finished the vintage-sheet quilt that I’ve been working on for a hundred years. I used store-bought quilt binding, which is wider than I like, and machine sewed it on the front and hand-sewed the other side to the back.

I also brought out a few yards of vintage binding I bought at a garage sale in the spring to bind a regular birds-eye cloth diaper. I saw a similar project in Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing For Baby, which I love. I used my vintage Kenmore’s binder attachment to sew it on.

Land sakes, what a cool little gadget! It makes it look so professional and catches it perfectly on both sides. Not bad for sixty years old.

Then I sewed a little doll baby with a removable fleece diaper for Mackie. I used the pattern from Anna Maria Horner’s Handmade Beginnings (also a fabulous book). Sadly, my version of this doll (which was so cute in the book!) came out scary. What looked like a good substitute for linen came out grey and gross as “skin,” and I obviously misread the arm directions or seam allowance somehow, resulting in flipper arms. Thankfully he seemed to like it regardless. I even sewed him a little sling to put her in, though that seems to have vanished. Maybe it will reappear once he sees his sister riding in one.

Finally, I sorted my gallon Zip-loc bag of vintage 2” squares (also picked up at a garage sale) into lights and darks, added a few cuts from my own collection, and divided them into two paper bags for random piecing. I decided to go with alternating light-dark nine-patches, which will eventually be turned into a lap quilt for the living room. I hate fussy piecing and advance planning (as you can probably tell from the vintage sheet quilt) and I like things to look like they came from somebody’s grandma’s house, so this is turning out well.

Pardon the crappy cell phone picture.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve made so far. My To-Make list is stupidly ambitious (not to mention long), so I’m counting it a victory that at least I got this much done!

I don’t believe baby girls need 100% pink decor, but I thought 100% blue might be a little unfair. I figured that since her room is already painted blue, and so far all her Baby Containment Units are blue, that it would be nice if I tried my hand and updating a cover to be something just a little more girl-friendly. Just a tad.

This project was stupid easy and quick. I traced the old cover, which thankfully had no seams, onto freezer paper for a stencil, and cut out one muslin backing, three layers of poly batting, and materials to piece the cover. The cover was just two seams all the way down the line. Then I sandwiched it all together and bound it (kind of sloppily, I confess) with some vintage quilt binding I’d picked up at a garage sale earlier in the summer. Three long buttonholes — two at the shoulders, one at the seat — allow access for the straps. Now I just have to tack on elastic loops and hooks or buttons for this to wrap around the arms of the swing seat, and I’m done.

Ingredients:

• Ikea RITVA curtain remnants for “linen”
• Wild Thyme in “birds” by Carolyn Gavin for the center panel

I finished this yesterday, and today when I sat down at my machine to tack on the elastic loops, my presser foot wouldn’t lift. I thought the foot was broken at first, but then I realized the lifter was doing jack-all, just flapping around. I took the whole side of the machine off. I sat at my sewing table in the dining room, surrounded by tiny screwdrivers and machine pieces, going DURRRR. Google helped not. My manual suggested (rather contemptuously) that I seek the nearest Singer dealer for service. I was thisclose from running out the door to buy a new machine (I am NESTING! I have THINGS I need to SEW! I am also CRAZY) when Iain came in from his workshop.

Not only does he build furniture, but he fixes sewing machines! Ladies and gentlemen, my husband.

He tightened one screw, said something about “the piston,” and finished his pizza bagel on his way back out to the shop.

PHEW.

Short story is, I can continue sewing baby things without resorting to my vintage Kenny (she doesn’t do zig-zag) or dropping bank on an overpriced new machine. Score!

So, what next? Crib sheets? Finish the vintage-sheet quilt? Crib bumpers? Flannel receiving blankets? I can’t decide!

These come from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Those dudes know how to make cookies.

I have to warn you. These are not silly cookies with herbs in them, like Martha Stewart does. How the hell are herbed cookies going to make you not a bitch? They’re not. They will underperform.

These are also NOT allergy-friendly. Eggs, wheat, peanut butter, milk — I will give you a consolatory hug right now, because you better not touch them. The only reason I can have them is because they do not contain penicillin.

They are not vegetarian, they are not vegan, they are not environmentally friendly. They are not good for diabetics or those trying to count calories (unless they like counting to a very high number). They take a long time to make, and you have to wash dishes at least once during the process. Yes, these are capitalist pig-dog cookies. And they are fucking good.

You could call these peanut butter thumbprints, or think of them, as I do, as the cookie version of buckeyes. (You know what buckeyes are, right? Candy that looks like the nut of the buckeye tree? Very popular in Ohio, especially during college football season? Those.) Better Homes and Gardens calls them Peanut Butter Munchies, but in my opinion, that title either leads me to think they are only suitable for after inhaling illegal drugs, or that it’s fine to throw them back handfuls at a time. Neither are true. A true Libra, I must counsel moderation, but a true seven-month-pregnant lady, I say moderation starts at five.

They look a little … unkempt. This is because I don’t follow directions. The recipe instructsyou to perform a long cookie-shaping process, rolling balls, wrapping balls in other balls, gently smushing with a glass: Whatevs. I toss a lump of dark brown on the cookie sheet, follow up with a lump of light brown in the middle. Probably shaves 15 minutes off the prep time right there and they taste exactly the same.

The other variation I recommend, depending on your available time and peanut butter tolerance, is to leave that light brown lump out all together. That’s the peanut butter filling. Some would say it makes the cookie, but I’m the boss of this cookie right now and I say it’s just fine in its natural, unfilled state.

So. Now you know my full opinion, I present, without further ado, the copyrighted cookie recipe from BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS, a world-class magazine with great cookie recipes, please don’t sue for infringement:

Peanut Butter Munchies: (source)

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Not bad for his first time, using, ah, “inexpensive” materials. Now we know he can do it. And apparently I am supposed to actually help with the next project (living room bookshelves) instead of drinking lemonade on my big fat pregnant hiney. I will be interested to see how that plays out.

He will be painting the dresser according to the whims of a three- and five- year-old, so I will be quite interested to see how that plays out as well.

I still haven’t bought and made the Single Girl Quilt like I meant to last year, but I swear to you I will. Oh I WILL. One day, one day.

Mean time, I sure do enjoy a-thinkin’ and a-hopin’ and a-plannin’. Sorry for the radio silence; the job threw my scheduling for a loop, but I think I’m finding my footing again.
» Denyse Schmidt Studio Sale and New Quilt patterns! - Heather Ross’s journal

But every now and then I can fit in some actual sewing machine time. Here are some things I’ve finished this month.

I’m especially proud that I finished this round, tacky pillow, which I started last summer right after we moved here when we were living with our in-laws. Finishing year-old projects feels good.

Coasters are finally for sale on supafab etsy shop!

So’s the kid’s apron! Yay.

So! What’ve you been making lately?

I finished knitting myself a quick little neckwarmer the other week (I started it last winter). (This project should not have taken like eight months.)

The fun part about only dressing in solid colors (with the exception of an occasional plaid or stripe) is putting them together in eye-hurty ways.

Take THAT, gloomy skies! And THAT! POW!

I started cutting blocks in February of 08, and here it is September of 09 and I’m just now quilting it. Isn’t that cute, how everything takes a hundred years.

Here’s what I wrote when I started:

I drew inspiration from the patchwork throw in Amy Butler’s In Stitches; from the summer throw quilt in Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, and from the easy lap quilt in Bend The Rules Sewing, as well as the patchwork quilt from Machine Made Patchworks. I made the rectangle widths in two uniform sizes but varied the lengths as whim dictated. I cut so many rectangles that I might have enough left over for a baby quilt that I might sell on etsy, along with a vintage-sheet grocery sack. (My etsy shop is like a million years in the making. Taking forever. Probably worthy of its own post.)

Kind of funny, actually.

I feel like I have been talking about Supafab for a hundred years. I feel like I have been working on it for even longer. And I feel like I have been thinking about it for at least three or four millennia. Now I finally get to officially share with you my latest project:

Supafab.

This summer, my friend Jeanne asked me to create some baby items for her new online baby boutique, Old Skool Baby. So I thought and thought. I tried for weeks to get a particular prototype clothing item to work. Failure! So I went back to the drawing board, refining the design of my kids’ chef apron, and finally nailed the pattern.

It fits Cormac, which means a size two, and it fits Owen, which means a size four, and even Owen’s best friend, which means a size six.

I shopped around for interesting textures and fabrics in a variety of clothes and home accessories — skirts, curtains — until I found a palette that I loved, and then set to work combining them with regular cotton yardage to make reversible aprons. After that, I started patching fabrics together to make long strips — one of which became a patchwork pillow, with a custom-made muslin cushion form, and others of which ended up as toddler belts.

I have more items in the works, including patchwork coasters (which I *love* to make), but since I’m home all day with the children, the going is slow. I’m still aiming at two or three shop updates a week, though. I’m having so much fun making these things, and I feel like a.) I’m filling a niche, with the gender-neutral aprons and belts for kids and b.) it’s good for the environment, to put old clothes and things to new use. It’s a creative challenge for me. I love it. I hope other people find it useful and fun as well.

I’ve also revived my first etsy shop, Supafine, to take it in a new direction: vintage. Since I can’t stop myself from cruising for vintage things, I can at least share them with other people who can appreciate it.

This is surprisingly hard for me to talk about — I’m really excited about the whole venture, but I’m so bad at pimping myself! So take pity on me. I guess I just need to keep practicing. I feel so shy!

Thanks for reading this far. Phew! Tomorrow we’re back to our regularly scheduled Supa.

Supafab.etsy.com

Supafine.etsy.com.

The last month I’ve been working on designing a few products for a friend of mine, who’s launching a new baby boutique soon. I gathered this assortment of wools and cottons and silks and made it up into a scarf and a pillow so you can see the color palette I’m working on. I just love that citrony-mustard color.

The line is going to be called Supafab, and will involve a lot of recycled/upcycled materials and organic fabric. I’m keeping the product line very narrow at first, aiming to make a few different items for the 2-5 age range. In addition to selling in my friend’s shop (which is called Old Skool Baby), I’ll also make them available on supafab.etsy.com and supafab.bigcartel.com. My old Etsy shop will still be around, too, for sharing vintage items as I come across them — at least the ones I can bear to part with. I have this killer size 4t gingham blazer that I can’t quite bring myself to list yet.

Well! So. I wanted to fill you in on that. It’s early stages still but things are coming together. I’m still publishing daily inspiration at my Tumblr blog, also called Supafab; I’d been posting daily here on Supafine, too, but that is unadulterated crazy, so I’m reigning it in a tad. My husband is annoyed that I’ve been posting all this “boring sewing stuff.” I am being nice and refraining from telling him to stuff it. I like what I like.

I’ve also been redoing my home page at supamb.com. If you take a look at it, will you tell me if it looks weird? I haven’t been able to test it except on this Nokia phone (more on that later, too) and the mobile version looks weird. As in like not a mobile version. Argh.

I have some other ideas that I may or may not develop. More on those as I figure out what to do with them.

Mostly, I am just reveling in the fact that, as one commenter pointed out to me about two years ago, IT DOES GET EASIER. Mackie is 2, owen is 4 and a half, my chronic illness is in remission, and I love where I live and I see my family at least once or even twice a month. Sure, I’m still potty training two kids (another story for another day) but compared to even one year ago, life is so much calmer that I actually have the headspace to work on long-term projects. (The fact that we are not selling a house or trying to buy a house or moving house is helpful, as is the last year of me being unemployed, which has also made a wonderful fire alight under my fanny.)

I’ve searched and I can’t find who wrote that comment, but please know that your words and your story stuck with me and gave me hope for the two years.

All right. I feel like I’m babbling here. I’ll leave you to finish your coffee and turn in your TPS reports (or fold the laundry, depending on where it is you’re reading from). Thanks for reading. I mean it. End sappy sincere transmission.