ikea: sells fabric, steals souls

this weekend, taybin and i took a little field trip to red hook to bike around the waterfront. which is spectacular, btw, you should really check it out. there is an older esplanade around the eire basin where men fish and are SERIOUS about it, and a new park created by ikea that is super nice. a few more trees would have helped in prevention of sunburn, but you can't have everything.

we stopped to check out the new ikea, which still does not have bike parking. however, they are amenable to alternate parking methods, like chaining your bike to their fence. and there was plenty of fence. ikea itself was a complete zoo, with angry people, hungry people, lost people, and, for some reason, clowns and an accordion band. (whykea?)

the good thing is, they do sell fabric, many different kinds with cute ikea textile prints. they are mostly priced between $6.99 - $8.99 for a yard, and would make adorable dresses. (as well as pillows and curtains.) this isn't exactly news, but i always forget they sell fabric, and it's not easy to come by relatively affordable cute textiles in this city.

oh, and some recommendations- if you do go to ikea, take mass transit if possible, traffic was bananas. and skip their cafeteria. fairway, a few blocks west on van brunt street, has EXCELLENT sandwiches that come with salad and chips for like, $6. and they have a quiet outdoor seating area with a cool old trolley. much better than a crazy long line for frozen meatballs.

summer t-shirt ideas

if you, like me, are bored to death by the t-shirt offerings in the store... you may want to read on. (also, can someone tell me who thought to add spandex to summer tshirts? it's so unflattering.)

when i was younger, i got a subscription to sassy magazine, which featured a column called "making it". they would show you how to make a t-shirt dress, or a ribbon skirt. cool, creative projects mostly doable by teens. 

today, subconsciously inspired by this memory, i played around with some plain old hanes mens tees. it didn't photograph well, but it looks super cute. i got the tees a little baggy to offset some skinny jeans (skinny jeans and spandex tees DO NOT WORK for the general population- especially in summer. ) and i used some tshirt scraps to tie up the shoulders. ribbons would work too, but make sure that they can be run through the wash unless you plan to untie them every time you wash the shirt.

i have a dress form, which makes cutting up tees a breeze. just draw some new lines and bingo, cut away. the form does really help with this and certainly cuts down your margin of error if you're not altering a shirt that comes in a 3-pack. or that you stole from your boyfriend (fyi- just cut out some old sweat stains and give a beloved shirt new life- and he's with you all day! hahah, that's too sweet even for me).  if you don't have a dress form, they sell reasonable ones at joanne crafts online (they're twice the price in the store!) or you can even make your own! (it does require a pretty patient/loyal friend to assist on that project).  if you don't have a form, use a friend, or just lay the tee flat and wing it. simple alterations like cutting out the collar are easy, just always be conservative. it's easier to cut more away than to put some back. but that said, don't be afraid to move beyond the simple "cutting a boatneck" move. experiment with angles and lines, cut into a shirt and sew new parts into it.  use ribbon and fabric scraps. go nuts!

my next project may involve sewing a tanktop from an old shirt i've grown to hate. we'll see. 

thinking of sassy made me look for some old issues on ebay, but damned if the same people that hoard beenie babies haven't started charging $30 a copy. and that's just for the mayim bialik issue! (no disrespect, blossom was my IDOL. i'm not kidding. saw the first episode and immediately bought as many pairs of colored tights and layering socks as i could find or afford.)  but here's a cool link to the kurt and courtney article from april 1992! 

i'd love a book of all their projects. if anyone can help with this, let me know. i miss you, sassy magazine... shaper of my youthful mind, and provider of small photos of the pixies for my locker... sigh. 

open studio = best thing ever

for the urban seamstress, space constraints abound. a good cutting table (absolutely key. the cutting is pretty much the hardest and most important part, imho) is quite large, and preferably hip-height. it's not a good multi-purpose table, even if you've got the space. i've been using a folding table that in addition to being too small, is too low, leaving me with wonky cutting lines and a sore back.

in fact, one of my main concerns in the q,tq/btweed merger was what part of the apartment i would annex for a sewing nook while still allowing for recreational space, or say, a couch. studio rentals can be pricey, and if you're only doing big projects sporadically, it's not worth it. i had even considered bringing projects to work and reserving a conference room to cut fabric... so you can imagine my excitement when i discovered the open studio time at home ec!

home ec is an offshoot of flirt, a brooklyn boutique that showcases local designers. located at 303 third avenue (between first and carroll streets) in brooklyn, home ec offers sewing classes taught by local sewing and craft mavens and also open studio once a week! from 5-9 on tuesday evenings, you can drop in with projects and use thier equipment (sewing machines, tables, scissors, etc...) and also get advice from the experts on hand to assist you. all this for only $10/hr.

i swear, when i found this, i made noises that only dogs could hear while actually jumping up and down in my seat.

for more info, visit their website or call them at 718.783.0364.

above: original urban seamstresses who would be grateful to have my trivial problems.

inspirations

embroidery from sublimestitching.com

i'd been afraid of embroidery, or at the very least overwhelmed by embroidery, until i discovered Jenny Hart of sublime stitching. her designs are fantastic; she has tattoo designs and pin up girls, pirate skulls and primping chihuahuas. there is even an artist series that lets you embroider works from the likes of kurt halsey on all things fabric.





i learned to embroider using her book, and apparently can't even visit the site to get the address to link without spending $30. oops. but she does have a ton of new designs, all worth checking out. you can iron them on fabric and stitch away. embroidery is amazingly soothing and very satisfying, in my opinion. if you're looking to start out, i can't think of a better entry than jenny's book.

a small start

i've decided it's time to get my act together, craft-wise. so i'm going to try to post something every day! (inspired by the lovely fellow behind the great blog quiet, too quiet.)
he's been telling me to start a perfect craft blog for a while.

i've been crafting full speed for about a year or so now, but i've been making and creating things since i was little. after a stint in art school, i took a while to find my creative center again; i found that i loved fabric and thread more than paint. i do still occasionally work with paper, too.

to start, here are some of the things i've been working on. i hope to follow with updates, tips, craft resources and more! also, my etsy store, www.brooklyntweedlepoint.etsy.com should be up and running in the next few months... after brooklyn tweedlepoint and quiet, too quiet complete the merger of their respective headquarters.

craftily yours,
kat
brooklyn tweedlepoint






taybin's tie, an original brooklyn tweedlepoint creation, valentine's day 2008


the original pocket owl, a brooklyn tweedlepoint creation, november 2007


pocket owl in his natural habitat, as fostered by carey.


three little birds, from patterns by Aranzi Aronzo




octopus scarf, original brooklyn tweedlepoint design, taybin's birthday 2007.