The Randoms...

Quick. Somebody hide me. There's a BOX (a whole BOX!) of Twinkies in my kitchen. Whispering seductively to me in Barry White voice
"MMM. Oh Yeah baby. You know what I'm talking about. Huah"
Why would I have box of twinkies in the house? Well I wouldn't. But my sweetie who A'ly has been wearing the same size Levis since he was 18. And B'ly DOESN'T even eat Twinkies is apparently a compulsive shopper. If you put it by the checkout he's going to pick it up.
Anybody seen my willpower around here?

Also. You might know that I am a tiny bit alarmist when it comes to my kid getting sick. (Who isn't right? right? right?) It turns out that the only person in the world who's more alarmist about Teddy's health than me is my brother. The kid had 5 little red spots yesterday. And I was all "hmmm rash? Chicken Pox?" (turns out it was neither).
But Elliot was all "MEASLES? BUBONIC PLAGUE!?".
I dunno if it's a brain injury thing or a plain old him thing. But it actually made me feel better (it's nice to be the less nuts one sometimes).
And because posts need pictures... here's a picture of the Dog Faced Girl spending some quality time with a chum.

Man Gift ONE - Leather Patch Scarf

Hokay! We're rolling.
The first Man Gift project is quick, easy and a blatant designer knock off (a triumvirate of fun!) The "inspiration" for this scarf looks like this:

Cute right? Suave with just a hint of geography teacher (totally my favorite flavour).
It's A Maison Martin Margiela Leather Patch Scarf. And it can be yours (or your sweetie's) for the bargain price of three-are you kidding me- hundred and ten dollars US.
OR you could make one that looks a bit like this:

With buttery soft suede and a boiled wool mix that's so soft it's like it's made of kitten parts. For about $15-$20.

Wanna try? You'll need:
4 Suede patches (two ovals two rectangles) OR one "recycled" suede/leather item (coats or skirts give you LOTS to play with) OR suede/leather by the meter.
Scarf weight wool mix. You could either use the length (selvage to selvage, approx. 150cm) which means you can get away with using just 20-40 cm (be aware of patterns) OR you could buy 1.70-2 m it you want a longer scarf or if you're making a few scarves.

The nice thing about buying the smaller amount is that you can get The REALLY GOOD STUFF (you know the wool blends that are so expensive they make you kind of sweaty? Doesn't happen to you? OH.) Anyway the small amount combined with a 50% off sale at Fabricland means that the scarf is seriously luxe feeling but only cost about $12 (and 40 cm is enough to make two scarves).

The first step is to get your straight lines marked out:
I folded selvage to selvage, then marked my line with chalk.


(just as an aside, when I asked the lady in FabricLand for really straight cut she acted like I'd peed in her cereal and was super eye-rolling rude. But this is what a straight cut looks like there. So whatever lady... Phew good to get that off my chest.)

Right. Once you've got your STRAIGHT sides cut you should have something that looks remarkably like a scarf. Mmmm and soft.
With a boiled wool like this you could actually just leave the edges but I think that frayed edges look more scarfy. So I did that next, see:


The next part depends on weather you're using premade patches or recycled leather.
to make your own patches the first thing you do is make a template. I used a little serving dish to make mine. Mark your cutting lines (bog standard pen worked fine for me, chalk made a mess).


It you're using an old jacket or skirt bear in mind that the "wrong" side of the leather might be just as soft and less marked. And that you can rebuff suede (or make it even softer) with a clean, dry plastic scouring pad, just lay it down on a flat surface and scrub in little circles.

Next cut your patches out. I used my pinking shears because the patches on the original scarf have pinked edges but you totally don't have to, leather won't fray.

Right. Got your patches? Good. The next step is to sew those suckers on.
Getting the patches to stay in one place is half the battle here, because using pins will leave holes in your leather.
If you have some of that spray sticky stuff (um, the kind that quilters use? What is that called?) then have at it. But DO check if it marks on a scrap first. If not you could either...

Just wing it, holding you patches and fabric firmly and going really really slowly.
Or
Use a bit of tape like this:
('scuse the lousy picture)
I used low tack masking tape and I stuck it to my shirt first to make it even LESS sticky. And of course I tested a whether it left marks on a scrap piece of suede first (nope it didn't). You need to stick it down as close to the edge as possible as you'll be sewing INSIDE the tape.

And... Sew away. ( I don't have a picture of this step - not enough hands) But I can tell you that I bought special leather needles for my machine. And then totally forgot to use them. So a regular needle works fine, turns out. The other thing is that you should go SLOW. Really really slow, adjusting and making sure you're flat when you need to.

Well HEY! almost done.
I put my patches on different sides. Like this see:

So the wearer can have softie suede next to their neck, and the oval patches are still visible. But you can do whichever.
A voila. One Man Gift!

Oh, and I shared here, here and here.

Manly Man Gifts

I'm pretty sure that I'm preaching to the choir here but firstly of all, Handmade gifties = finest kind.
They say, "Hey, I love you and I spent some time making this with my hands because you're awesome".
Which is easy when it comes to the girl types and the under 10's on one's list (and by "one's'" I totally mean mine).
But you guys. Crafting gifties for men folk over the age of 12 or so. YEESH.
So with that in mind, over the next three weeks or so I'm going to be working up some tutes for manly manly Man Gifts! And because I'll be making them the prerequisites are super easy and relatively quick. Quirky, useful, funny or beautiful (or a combination of those things) is a bonus.
They're all things that I have either given my boys (to good response) or they're things that I'll be giving them this year.
If you want to play along feel free to grab a button from the sidebar there ->
or hit me up with suggestions or links (ooou yes! links please!) to what YOU'VE made for the guys in your life in the comments.


Now! On to the projects...
First up a Designer Knock-off Leather Patch Scarf
Secondly, a Leather 'Tache Keychain
Third, a guest post and a MAN BAG (murse!?) from Farah Makes Stuff
Fourth, get your GOOGLY on with Googly Eye Magnets.
And watch this space!

Whining and MAN GIFTS

Gack you guys. Just Blah. Sickie at our house. My poor bear has some kind of germy double whammy; apparently JUST a faceful of snorty snot isn't where it's at this season, OH NO. All the cool germs now come complete with a dose of the whistling-squits.
So that's fun.
Plus side, hanging out in the warm and letting my kid watch TV means I get to have cuddles and do some hand sewing/crochet/poly clay meddling. But I haven't actually FINISHED anything. Or at least nothing I can show you yet. Though it turns out that most of the people on my "Nice" list are the kind with those XY chromosomes. Making stuff for guys. DUDE, way tougher. One Pretty Thing's gift guides are rad, but I am working on a couple of my own ideas too.
If you're a guy who knows me you should look away RIGHT NOW.
No really.
Right now.
I can tell.

Are they gone?
OK good. Ideas like...

A leather patch ribbed scarf
Leather 'stache keychains
"Enamelled" pinup girl cufflinks
Hand Grenade mittens
Wallets (I am so excited about this)
And here's a picture of a the ONE finished Hold-My-Hand mitten. (There'll be a tute for these) The embroidery that looks like it was done in a maximum security wing is totally optional.

Sushi Combo B - or "I can't believe I'm doing this again"

Is craft amnesia a thing? Maybe? I'm going to go with yes it is. Because what else could possibly explain the fact that I am making ANOTHER all-hand-stitched felt Christmas present for my bear?
Here's the rational,
Just recently Teddy has been ALL about the play cooking and play cooking needs play food right? (Right? Right?) And my kid's favorite food in the whole world is... sushi.

OK, firstly of all, I KNOW that makes me sound like a pretentious urbanite. In fact I just rolled my eyes at myself. But I can explain! Honest I can.
It's not like he honks down slabs of sashimi (well, aside from tuna, kid loves him some tuna) he just likes avocado Maki rolls and Eel nigiri and Miso Soup with big chunks of "tofes" (soft tofu).
Which when you break it down isn't that crazy, it's just rice and food that is squishy.
And I've been taking him to the sushi place for lunch since before he could sit up by hisself. Because I LOVE sushi (I lived in Japan for a while). And my sweetie DOESN'T like sushi, so Teddy and I go at lunchtimes about twice a month, and he's really good company.

This was taken almost a year ago, his hair is EVEN crazier now.

So Yah. That's why I'm making felt sushi. Want to see how it's coming on?

Like ziz! California rolls, partly finished Nigiri and Tamego.
I kind of love them. And they're super fun to make.
I've been making the design up as I went along and I thaught maybe I'd write a tute. BUT a quick cherche around the internets turned up this one from Carrie at Tao Of Crafts that is completely awesome. I'm SO making some edamame! Cuuute!

Claus, Coach, Karma and... Shoplifters?

You guys you guys! It was the Santa Claus parade here today. And I LOVE it. Floats and The Fat Man In Red and crowds and freezing one's caboose off. I genuinely heart it.
(We saw our first Santa Claus parade here in Toronto, it just so happens that both apartments we have lived in in this city have been spitting distance to the parade route. Co-ince-a-dink? Yah, but still!)
At any rate the parade always makes me feel a bit Miracle on 34th Street. Which this year meant dressing in a vaguely vintagey way. See:


Not quite 1947, or Maureen O'hara (hellFIRE but that girl was cute!) but I felt in the spirit of the thing. So I'm calling it a win.
I also got to wear my new mustard yellow Cardi, which is actually what I wanted to talk about.
This yellow cardi has been slowly making it's way to me for MONTHS. Months I tell you!
It all started in late September when I saw this:

It was a poster for Coach (the handbag company, not the means of transport) on a bus stop on Bay St. I walked past it then had to turn the kid and the pooch around and stare at it for a while, all mesmerized.

"Look" it whispered, all seductively like, "Winter doesn't have to be totally bogus, there can be thick tights, and cardigans that are awesome and skirts and skipping in exotic locations and stuff. Come on Erin, it'll be funtimes".
"Oooou" I replied.

You guys. It had me. And I'm not easily had by high-end advertising (or mainstream fashion stuff).
Now of course I wasn't going to go out and actually shop at Coach. Heh. That would be crazy. But I did make myself a skirt. This one here:

McCalls M4783, (which is the bomb BTW).
And I've been wearing purple leggings with everything. But the cardi escaped me. I've only just weaned myself of an mostly black wardrobe, and I didn't own anything yellow. at all.
(hoo boy this is a rambly post, I do have a point and I'm making my way to it, honest.)
So, I'd been keeping my eyeballs peeled for a mustard yellow cardi. Or scarf or pretty much anything really. Anyhow I went into Winners this Saturday with a kid-free half hour and a burfday gift card (exempt from WR!) burning a hole in my pocket. And there's a guy standing by the door clutching a gift box of perfume, and I was all,
"Huh. That guy's about to boost that".
And then he did.
So I went and found the security guard and I told him. Because I HATE shoplifters and screw Mr. Paris Hilton Heiress Gift Set.
Anyway, apparently the sparkly unicorn of serendipitous shopping likes a tattle tale because my new mustard yellow cardi was the first thing I saw when I turned around. Karma? Who knows.

Fetch me an Ewok

I have a question and it's a big one. An important philosophical one. The kind of question where the answer defines you.
The question is:

Which of Princess Leia's outfits do you like best?
(What? You were looking for actual philosophy? You might be in the wrong place.)

I ask because today I accidentally dressed like Leia on Endor. Well maybe not exactly like, but I definitely had a rebel forest moon vibe going on (in my head that's a thing!).
See this is what I wore:

If you look behind me you can see Dilly's Ewok-esque buttocks. Heh. Fuzzy.

It really was unintentional, the Leia thing. I had day two hair and a whim, so I watched a video about Heidi braids (this one) then stuck my hair up. It took a couple of tries. The fist attempt looked like my hair had lost a fight with my hands. A bad fight. In a bar. Armed with pool cues and dinosaurs. But then I got it and it was actually super simple.
The outfit choice was totally subconsious. But it's made the day funnerer. I've been doing REBEL laundry and REBEL banking and I walked my Ewok.
Endor Leia has always been my favorite. She rides a speeder bike, she takes an imperial stronghold whilst vastly outnumbered and she wears a poncho. Those are all thing that are awesome.
My sister is also on Team Endor Leia; look how she rolls in a 5 dollar, 1 hour costume:

Completely awesomely. Isn't she beautiful? (Super talented too. We should talk about her cross stitch design some time. It's extraordinary). And her sweetie is lovely.

So, DO TELL!!
Which Leia outfit? What do YOU think your answer says about you? I have some theories, maybe we can compare.
If you're stuck for inspiration check out this. So. Freaking. Awesome.
And just for reference, nope, you're not allowed to choose an Amidala/Padme outfit. We don't discuss those movies here. (Did you see my eye twitch? I have new trilogy issues.)

Handbag Rehab

OK, this is just a super quick one to remind myself that meddling with my hair isn't the only thing in the world. (Dude, it takes actual time! Who knew!??)
So, one super simple handbag rehab.
Here's the before:


Brown, leather, Aldo, free (scored from our laundry-room recyling area). It's not terrible, and I was all "meh, it'll do". But those pocket flaps bothered me a bit. They aren't functional (there's no pokey bit on the d ring) and I think the studs make it look... not awesome. I would have left it well enough alone except I saw a woman in the elevator with a remarkably similar brown leather bag WITHOUT weird hardware that looked completely awesome. And was all inspired to do this:

What I did was, unpick the stitching on the pocket flaps, there was a bit of glue too, but I just rubbed/peeled it off. I was, of course, left with stitch holes in the leather, so I grabbed a needle and some thread. Doubled the tread over and stitched away. When I came to the middle bit I just kept going and joined up the lines, like this:

You might have noticed that my stitching is slightly darker than the before photo. That's because my inspiration bag had dark stitching; and I happened to own a fine-tipped acrylic brush pen in dark brown (I can't for the life of me remember why). So I VERY carefully inked over the stitching in the darker colour (the after picture above isn't QUITE finished).
And lastly I tidied the whole bag up a little, snipped off any loose threads and scuffy bits then gave it a quick wipe down with some leather stuff. Then I stuck all my crap back in it and continued to treat it with wonton disregard. (The fun part about free stuff!)

Oh and I done shared here:

From Hair to Eternity Two

You guys! Today = no ponytail! See:




And thank you heaps for your suggestions and brilliantness.
Just to be clear, I won't be all "HEY! HEY! HEY! LOOKIT MY HAIR!" everyday. I just thought I'd set out some ground rules for myself in writing. In a stern tone of voice. So I'm not tempted to flake.

• From now until January 1st 2011 there will be no ponytails for me. And by this I mean that if I'm dressed then there will be no ponytail. None. nada. zilch.
• No staying in my jammies all day to avoid the "if I'm dressed" part.
• Updos are OK but they should involve a little more thought than "meh, whatever".
• No doing my hair to go out then instantly jamming it back in a pony when I get home.

There are some exclusions, ponytails are OK when:
Cooking, operating heavy machinery, playing with open flames or wrangling baboons (they're notorious hair-pullers). Also during Pilates class or when I'm training (I'm training for a triathlon, did I tell you?)

So those are my rules.
If you want to play along then that would be awesome (you don't have to follow my Sternly McMeanypants rules!) I've set up a From Hair to Eternity Flickr group, (mostly just to keep myself honest) and you're entirely welcome to post your non-pony dos to it.