To Make in 2012

The year is winding down, and my plan for Christmas involves a lot of pajama-wearing and crafting. I've also started to think of some long-term projects that I'd like to get started on, since I haven't made anything non-business-related in a long time. Here are a few projects from around the web I'm thinking of working on in the next year:

Oh, Fransson

A quilt. My mom and I have been collecting fabric scraps for years (she has some that have been waiting to be used for twenty years) and I've been saving the extra pieces from all the coin purses I've sewed this year. I want to make a big, complicated bedspread; something that will take a long time to finish, so I've been collecting some pattern inspiration. I think I'm going to go with blues and reds like the image above, and work with a triangular pattern.

Michelle McCormick

AAPC

Purl Bee

Anthropologie

Purl Bee

I'd also like to start using the bagfuls of yarn I have stashed in the closet. I love the look of the granny squares in the second image. The same pattern as the originals, but an updated color scheme from the 70s black-and-neon quilts I remember.

Toast

Wood and Wool Stool

I really like the idea of these faux cyanotypes from Geninne. I got a Sunprint kit for Christmas last year, and hoped to post the results here, but it was a disaster. I realized that the only sunny place I had access to was my roof, and the day I went up there was so windy that the paper flew all over the place. I think I could do one of these in a more controlled environment.

Geninne
 

I saw this painting and it really caught my eye; I like the way it looks like it was done quickly, but also contains so much intricate pattern. It was a good reminder that I'd like to get back into painting.

Design Work Life

I love both of these candles, and especially the Chinese bowl, I thought it would be a really easy project to throw in to this list of extremely ambitious projects. Now to find the time!

Design Sponge

Fab

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A New Bag

For the last few months, I've been looking for the perfect bag to take on the trip. I needed something small enough to take everywhere, but big enough to fit a camera and a notebook, and it had to have a zipper so nothing would fall out during long train or plane rides.

I tried a few different bags, but couldn't find anything that fit all of those requirements. Then I found a small piece of fabric that I bought in Japan more than ten years ago, and wanted to make something out of it. I realized that the only way to find the perfect bag was to make it myself.

I was supposed to have a show last Saturday, but due to the surprise snowstorm, it was canceled (and I'm so glad it was, it was freezing here). So instead of shivering outside, I used my new-found free time to finally get around to making the bag.

Since the fabric I wanted to use wasn't big enough to make the whole bag with, I used some coordinating navy fabric for the top section and the lining. I made it exactly like a coin purse, but much bigger (it's 12 inches wide), and added tabs on each side to clip the strap on.

The faux-leather strap came from another bag that I bought online, hoping it would fit all of my above requirements, but when it arrived it was too small to fit a camera or a sketchbook. Luckily, the strap was detachable so I can still use both bags.

I'm so happy with the way it turned out, and have been carrying it around since. It's the perfect little travel bag, and I love the contrasting leather strap. Now to fill it with my sketchbook and watercolors, and hit the road.

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New Ceramics

Ceramics class is sadly over, but I'm really happy with what came out of it. I came a long way from the too-embarrassing-to-post pots I made the first week. I still can't really throw anything that isn't slightly uneven, but a good glaze will hide anything.

This is the only piece that came out without a single lump or uneven side, because I had a little help from the instructor. Looks pretty good!

The pots with holes are hanging planters: I'm going to tie some string through the holes and add a spider plant that has been looking for a home.

This one is one of my favorites; I used woodblocks from India to print into the clay. I made a whole series of them, but the other ones went missing in the kiln, so this is the only one I was able to keep. I've been eating lunch off of it every day.

A little succulent planter.

So that was it! I really loved taking a class and trying something new, and now I have a new set of homemade dishes in my kitchen. I'll definitely be taking another ceramics class in the future, it was so worth it.

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Japanese Temari

Japanese temari are little balls that are embroidered with different colored cloth. They started as balled up pieces of old kimonos that were wrapped in the silk threads pulled out of the kimono fabric. Today they still exist as a decorative art, and I stumbled across an Etsy seller making them today. I love seeing other shops that are using traditional textile arts as their inspiration, and I thought the colors and patterns were just too pretty not to feature here. You can see the full line of Julie and Co. temari right here.

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