Hoop and Pole

On May 4th, 2013, my youngest son's preschool will hold Carnival, a big spring fundraiser for his school at Sierra Vista Park in Sierra Madre, a classic spring celebration with popcorn, games, petting zoo and pony rides. Carnival also houses a booth of handmade items. Each family attending the preschool is required to donate an item each year.

This year, I was inspired by my mother and the simple "hoop and pole". My mom volunteers at the Simi Valley Historical Society. Together with her friend and fellow docent Rosey, my mom gives presentations about the Chumash tribes that used to live in Simi Valley. The hoop and pole was a classic toy given to Chumash boys to help develop hand-eye coordination for hunting. These hoop and poles are for boys, girls and adults. Hunting entirely optional. A simple fun game that seems to occupy many around this house for long stretches of time.

Cowboy Tub Canvas Cover

The outdoor cowboy tub is almost a year old now. Still awesome. When installing, Eric and I discussed making a cover for the tub. At last, I introduce the cowboy tub canvas cover.

Most of my projects begin with a sketch and an idea on how to craft the project. The sketch is just an entry point. I almost always seem to modify once I get going and can see a better solution in the making. To get the template, I put a piece of plywood over the tub & the canvas between the tank and the plywood. I traced the outline of the top, then measured the circumference to get the length of the skirt.

Note to self: the top piece could have used an extra half inch to make the cover slip on more easily. This one is quite tight and pulls on like a form fitting sock.

Five! And the Question: Are Skaters Born or Made?

Five year old snow leopard at the LA Zoo.

Chocolate chip ice cream cake. Ice cream made by five year old in the morning. Our first homemade ice cream cake. I'm extremely grateful it turned out.

Destiny. Elation. 

We live very close to a skate park. When we are out walking in our neighborhood, more often than not skaters roll past us on way to the park. My sweet five year old from his days in a sling to rolling in a stroller and beyond has been mesmerized by the sport. At two when his speech was just forming, he would stand on a flat rock outside on the kitchen porch, balancing with arms outstretched and jump off, "A flipper!" his word for skaters.

And so, on his fifth birthday, celebrating with a good friend and his family, my youngest son got his first skateboard...and a mom-made hat at his request & a framed comic drawn by his older brother. Happy birthday, sweet son.

Alabama Chanin Skirt vs Summer List

I am a list maker by nature. It's not that I stick to the list, but a list helps me keep track of what I would like to do. Often I get sidetracked by the day to day things that require my attention or too fatigued to remember what was a priority before hunger took over. Often my lists are laughable, very aspirational, but sometimes I'll return to them to find what I hoped to do actually does get done over time.

Last summer (as with this summer), the boys and I made a list of what we wanted to do over the summer. We accomplished pretty much everything on the family list. I also made my own list of projects. On it, only "Hang out with kids--HAVE FUN" was accomplished.

On last year's list I included "hand stitched skirt". Much to my surprise, I finished it this summer. The pattern is from the awesome Alabama Stitch Book. Cutting the fabric was tiresome because this is a double layer skirt with eight panels instead of four. I used a rotary cutter on a cutting board, which I recommend. It would be very tedious to cut the t shirt fabric using scissors.

The stitching went very quickly once the fabric was cut & it was incredibly fun to make. I riffed on the waistband opting for a t shirt bias with no added elastic. I may regret this as it stretches, but I figured I was going to just go for it and see how it wears. I'm ready to make another one already, a size bigger. I have plans to dye this one with coffee because white fabric and I are just not made for each other.

In reviewing last year's summer list, I'm pleased to see that without really focusing on it, I've completed four out of six the items on my list: the have fun part, 2 quilts for the boys, tent bench, and this skirt. Cleaning out the garage is ongoing & a quilt for Eric and I remains on the list. Not bad. And hanging out and fun continues to be had.

Hand Sewn Doll

In preparation for the preschool's Carnival on May 5th, I also made a hand sewn doll for the hand made fundraising booth. When my youngest was about two, I made him a doll completely by hand only to be stymied by the hair. How to attach it? For my son's doll, I painstakingly sewed on each strand directly to the head and knotted the yarn. Not recommended. It took a really long time.

I bought the book Sewing Dolls by Karin Neuschutz after my son's doll was complete in hopes of learning more about the construction of hand sewn dolls in the Waldorf style. For this doll, I sewed the yarn flat onto the head like a yarn toupee, then added rows of yarn hair on top of that to give more depth to the hair style.

The early sewing was very quick.

Including sewing the face. However, that yarn hair still undoes me. I think this doll may be the last one I ever make. And it can be yours, if you come to Sierra Madre Community Nursery School's Carnival on May 5, 2012, and saunter to the hand made booth and buy it. Your support is appreciated.

Material Transformation: Quilts

I have wanted to make a quilt for most of my life. I remember as a young girl starting a quilting square. I had no access to a sewing machine, so the radial star with small blue flowers was completely hand sewn. The square sat. My aspirations grew. Although a quilt can be a simple process, the process intimidated me.

So I read about making a quilt. People who have done it. How to do it. And I studied quilts I saw. I pulled out materials I had on hand & placed them together to see how the patterns and colors would mix. I decided this Christmas, I will make my sons quilts. A simple quilt with large blocks of fabrics I had on hand.

And I thought and thought about it until December 21st hit. I jumped into action. The boys have a small bunk bed, so I sized the quilts to fit the bed without a lot of extra fabric that would hang down the side of a traditional bed. I cut multiple pieces in 15 inch widths. To size to the bed, one row would be nine inches in width. My fast approaching deadline quelled any over-thinking on the piecing (except for the decades of thought that went in to reaching my quilt making action potential). I made a diagram of how it would look and cut the pieces to length. To back the turn-quilts (no binding), I used mattress ticking and some chestnut drapery fabric I picked up at an impromptu yard sale in the Rite Aid parking lot down the street.

Making a quilt is like magic. You piece together fabrics & they magically transform into a blanket. I literally jumped up and down when I saw them together & giggled like a school girl who just had a disappeared coin pulled from her ear by a slight of hand illusionist.

The boys unfurled their quilts in thrilled delight.

Sewing: Nesting Baskets

I made a few nesting baskets for a school auction donation to hold our contribution of three 8 oz. jars of Ramshackle Solid honey and a beeswax votive candle. Two sets. We don't normally "sell" our honey. The auction for our son's preschool fundraiser seemed like a worthy exception.

The nesting basket pattern is from maya*made. I was inspired, as I often am, by SouleMama.

The Long and Winding Woad

Thanks to a natural dyeing with woad workshop offered at French General earlier this month, I have been bitten by the natural dye bug. Following are some photographs of the event. I wrote about the plant and process more extensively at Root Simple.

Woad pigment oxidizing emerging from the vat yellow, quickly turning green then blue.

Woad workshop comrade experimenting with gradations.

Woad dyed garments drying on the line.

French General is offering another Woad Workshop on September 24, 2011, 9AM-4PM. Class size is limited.

Ramshackle Solid Etsy Debut

Welcome to www.ramshacklesolid.etsy.com.

Craft Fair Debut

My sons' preschool holds two very low key craft fairs each year. Part of the proceeds are donated to the school. There is no booth fee. So it makes it pretty easy to participate. Since my oldest started at the school three years ago, I've contemplated participating with a table of my own.

I finally got it together this year. I made some bamboo utensil holders and two tiffin carriers. Eric gave me a utensil kit three years ago as a present. I use them all the time. I thought I'd share the love and make some for others.

I added a few plants to fill in the table: nasturtium grown from seed harvested from our yard and some succulents also from our yard.

The boys contributed the fishing poles. The idea was conceived by my oldest son. Many were made over the summer and became gifts for friends. When I mentioned the pending craft fair, I asked my oldest if he was interested in making some. My youngest jumped in and harvested the bulk of the branches. We had a great evening putting them together. The boys were thrilled that people bought them.

Ironically, the year I finally get it together to participate, the craft fair was shut down early by the police for lack of proper permits. A real renegade craft fair.

Weekend Sewing Projects

Eric took the boys out on Sunday. I took advantage of the quiet to tend to some sewing. I fixed my oldest son's favorite pants by adding two new patches to cover some noxious tears. I believe the holes were acquired while climbing the bottle brush tree, currently my son's favorite climbing tree.

My sister gave me this buckwheat pillow perhaps a decade or so ago. I use it constantly. After years of use, the material started to show signs of age and fray. Buckwheat kernels began to escape from a few tiny holes peppering the bedding with tiny like pebbles.

I adopted a temporary stopgap measure that took on permanent status. I stuffed the leaking buckwheat pillow into a case. As you can see, there is no closure, so the kernels could still empty into the bed if turned the wrong way.

Those days are over. I made a new cover with some linen from etsuko furuya for KOKKA 'tiger on the flower'. It is the dawn of a new era.

Annals of Home Improvement: Under Bed Storage Part II

In August, I made a cover for a drawer I scavenged off the street. The project was an upgrade for under the bed linen storage. I finished the second and last drawer cover. I decided to hem only the front and back of the cover & leave the ragged side seams exposed.

Despite the unhemmed edges, the cover is sewn much more neatly than the first one. I'm sure the dustballs and eddies of dog hair will appreciate the detail.

Sweet Presents

The little guys celebrated their birthdays over the Labor Day weekend. My Alaskan island living sister-in-law and her family always make such sweet presents. These two creatures, red guy is Sharpie, came with a hand drawn card featuring the two monsters devouring birthday cake thanks to the creative talents of my dear niece.


And this green sweetie cyclops is Tyson and already a favorite.

Thanks Alaskan Poseys!

Homemade Bag for Toting Books

The start of school meant a book bag was in order. I began this project in June as a summer library tote. The bag is library friendly but makes it's debut in September as a school bag.

I made up this pattern as I went along, which I think contributed to the delay. I do much better when I create the entire pattern from the get-go rather than piecemeal design.

To accommodate our summer schedule, I started making the bag outside, which was pretty fun. Looking at this picture reminds me of all the summer activity that circled around my makeshift outdoor studio. I finished it in my claimed trailer.

I made an interior pocket on the lining with two compartments. One just the right size to fit a library card. I can't help but think of a scene from The Mighty Boosh where Vince makes a mirror ball suit for himself and a library suit for Howard. "See this pocket? That's for your library cards. See this pouch? Loose change...in case you got any fines."

Birthday Pants

While looking for school clothes for my oldest son, I realized I should just make some. I figured if I could come up with a decent pants pattern, I could make a few pairs that would suit him. My son picked out striped turquoise and grape fabric from Etsuko Furuya's Echino line.


I used the pattern making method I learned at my Machine Project Sewing 102 class. The pattern is inspired by the Mini Boden sailing trousers I purchased earlier in the summer for both the boys.


I have a habit of making patterns too large and these pants were no exception. The proportions, however, came out perfectly. I was easily able to alter the pants so they fit great. I will amend my pattern before I make another pair. In doing so, I hope I'll develop a better sense for making more true to size patterns.


The pants were received with true delight.


And I know I'm his mom and all, but I think he's about the cutest guy on the planet. I love his style along with everything else.

Annals of Home Improvement: Under Bed Storage

I am a curbside scrounger. In Los Angeles, with such a transient population, lots of people coming in and many leaving to return from whence they came or on to another adventure, invariably, the detritus of things acquired but no longer needed for the journey forward find their way to the curb. I keep a watchful eye for items that might be put to use around Camp Ramshackle.


I have long wanted to improve the storage of our linens under our bed. I've been using a zip up bag acquired along the way, but I don't like it. I looked in shops for new options, but found nothing I liked. So I kept my eye to the curb, looking for that dresser missing drawers or drawers missing dressers. I wanted a solid sturdy wood. After months and months of searching, I still hadn't found it. When I saw these drawers, I realized they weren't ideal, but they would do.


After maturing them outside in the elements, I finally put the task on the top of my list. I added casters to the bottom. I draped a piece of canvas over the top to size the cover.


I typically am a very neat sewer, loving french seams and double hems. Not so with this project. After looking at this drawer draped with canvas for a week, I realized I didn't really care about neatness. It was going to be shoved under bed after all. I wanted it to look decent, but french seams be damned. I was going to knock this one out dirtily. I finished it last night and am pleased with the result.

Two More Handmade Dolls by Kids

My oldest son made the frog on the right at my request. Then announced he must make our friend a cement ("SMENTE") truck because he loves them.

Previously:
Handmade Dolls by Kids

Handmade Dolls by Kids

My oldest son set to the task of making gifts for his brother and cousins. I pulled out some canvas fabric scraps, backed them with freezer paper to make it more stable and got out some fabric markers. My son did the rest.


After the pictures were drawn, I ironed them to set them. My oldest son picked out some fabric for the backing. I sewed the two sides together, right sides facing, turned them inside out, and we stuffed them. My oldest son really enjoyed giving gifts.


The dolls were very well received.


One for his cousin:


And two dolls that quickly became pillows for princesses:


I got the idea from Sycamore Stirrings via the ever clever The Crafty Crow.