coaster #5: rorschach butterfly

this coaster was made the way you probably did it in nursery or kindergarten. i put some acrylic paint on a square piece of dull green denim--like military denim-- then folded the fabric and pressed on it. then i cut around the shape. i'd definitely like to do  a series of these. they're easy and they're fun. and fabric is great for coasters.

coaster #4--kitty coaster

coaster #4 is a sewn and embroidered coaster made from a free pattern at modcloth via guest blogger anabela of field guide.

will it work?

yea!

meet a grundle

my friend fiddlegirl8 (aka diane) gifted me with a grundle pattern during the 

Crafter's Apron Swap" on craftster.org.  here is the first grundle that i made, relaxing outside the train terminal in hoboken, nj.

i was worried that her arms were a bit wonky--which they ARE. but diane really likes her and named her
"heartstrings"when she finally arrived at her house two days ago.

i took "heartstrings" into work with me and took advantage of the wonderful Christmas trees that they were selling on 6th ave. and 16th st. if she smells slightly piney, diane, this is why.

the grundle pattern can be bought on etsy at  whosiesandwhatnots. you can also see a couple of "heartstrings" relatives there,  too.

coaster #3: my father

coaster #3 is a photo coaster. 

i visited my dad today at his home in Whiting, NJ.

i was going to give a link to its wikipedia page--but here is the whole entry:

Whiting is an unincorporated area in Ocean County, New Jersey. It is a section of Manchester Township, New Jersey on the west side of the township. It is in the Eastern Standard time zone with an elevation of 180 ft. It is known for many retirement communities. It was once a train station on the Southern branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, a line known for the Blue Comet express.

i found out when i was 38 that my dad's real name was not James; it's Vincenzo.

thanks for taking me out to lunch, dad.

coaster #2: whole foods coaster

today's coaster is a collage coaster; i expect that  many of  the 365 will be collage. i can do them, i like to do them and they are infinitely doable.

coaster #2 was made from flyers that i found today at whole foods in west orange, nj.

very nice free paper

it's pretty...but will it work???

two out of two--it works!

coaster #1

i think i've figured out how i can make 365 of these now.

actually coaster #1has a short story: it was the first time that i printed directly onto fabric using a regular, cheapo inkjet. you iron freezer paper onto your fabric--just to give it stability--and send it through. the fabric seemed to enjoy it.

the back of coaster #1

this being my first (for this blog) coaster, i was a little nervous about whether it would work or not.

success! it worked GREAT!

well, there's not much to prep i don't think

i might start making the 365 coasters tomorrow. i'm taking off from work this week and isn't it new year's day in new zealand already or somewhere?

here's what i think kicked off the idea for this self-challenge:

i found four quilted coasters that i made maybe a year and a half ago (my memory is genetically very bad).

at first i figured that most of the 365 would be sewn, but then i realized that on bad days--like migraine days and other desperation days which are sure to come--well, pretty much ANYTHING can be a coaster.

i made some quick templates today of 5" X 5" squares (and 4" X 4" for inside layers) and about the same in circle diameters:

and that's where i am. i'd like to mention that i right now have three drinks on the desk. a bottle of water, a glass of water and a glass of wine. those four quilted coasters are on the floor behind me. maybe the world doesn't need 365 more coasters. but there not many 365 things i can fit into this room.

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah, 2011

Other than an early morning trip to our local bagel store this morning, I enjoyed Christmas Day inside. But even that short walk (about 6 blocks total, there and back) offered some great Christmas merriments. Here are some I'd like to share:

This snowman belongs to a family that moved in recently.
They have put up an inflatable San Francisco 49er player on some Sundays.

You do not see enough rooftop decorations.
I'm glad I live in a neighborhood where you still might see something like this...

And something like this.

Photos ©2011 The Sloppy Sewer

Small gifts hanging in trees.

Pink bows on wreaths.

A cart by a children's clothing store.

An amazing young woman and daughter.

Retro ornaments in a window.

I love this.

The oil burned for eight nights.

The bagels in this store are very very good, too.

Made for Mintdawn

Tomorrow is the send-out deadline for the Fabric Jewelry Swap on Craftster: see what's going on here in the gallery. My partner, Mintdawn, was supposed to receive her package yesterday so, since it hopefully really will be any moment now...(rights, USPS?)...

•She is a big fan of sugar skulls and mentioned she might like a pin for her snow cap (North Dakota!).
•She also mentioned a wrist cuff--oh, I LOVE fabric wrist cuffs!
•And hair scrunchies.
Here is what I made for her:

I had these really nice glass beads from Beadworks just waiting for a project and the size was PERFECT! They have an interesting gold design on them--I wish I would have taken a macro shot before sending. The flower on the skull was also a purchased part but the rest is embroidery (yeah!).  The cuff also has some tres jolie French knots. Mintdawn said  that she's "ill" for felt, so the flower on the cuff and the white skull are delicious pieces of wool felt that I bought from FeltFavors on Etsy. (I highly recommend--beautiful pieces, awesome selection and packaged like it's your birthday! Not to mention that freebie piece of cinnamon color.).

Fabric jewelry is wonderful. It's the most comfortable jewelry to wear, it's great to touch. It's just SO homemade.



Susan
the sloppy sewer

Merry Monster Ninnis

My friend Leslie and I organized a Christmas/Winter Ninni swap on craftster. Some Ninnis, and other really cool Ninni-related craftings, are already in the gallery and more are on the way. I am slowly getting better at figuring out how to make my fabric go in the right direction which is why I like looking at this.
Ornaments hanging down, just like they're supposed to in our gravity-soaked world.

We used this Santa Ninni as our icon throughout the swap.

 

I made this elf Ninni for Momof2! She hadn't been on Craftster long enough to officially be in the swap, so we swapped along with everyone else and it was very fun.
When I look at this stuffie, I see Leslie's influence all over it because pre-Leslie (PL) I can hardly think of making something this, well, cute. I am happily surprised to see this and say, "Yeah, I made that!"

 And I made this winter Hedwig Ninni for tightights who was my official partner in the swap. I guess I didn't take a final photo of it, because I did make it a festive scarf and I did blush it up a little bit more. Tighttights is an ardent Harry Potter fan and I thought this would be the perfect stuffie companion for her to take into the new year. To the  right is a passport cover I made for her for her upcoming trip to Italy and below is mug rug with one of her fave characters.





Susan
the sloppy sewer