It was all her idea.  She thought her sick sister could use some sunshine and drawing with sidewalk chalk wouldn't be too much, would it?  No, not at all.  So while Kate drew flowers and butterflies and practiced her lower case cursive, Jane took out her new favorite book, Looking At Pictures, An Introduction to Art for Young People and got busy doing what she loves to do.  She would have kept drawing if I hadn't made her stop to get ready for soccer practice.

Thank you sun.  Thank you blue skies.  Thank you spring weather.  Thank you Jane.  You are delightful and never cease to amaze me.

My copy of Alabama Studio Style written by Natalie Chanin and published by STC Craft|Melanie Falick Books arrived last week.  To say I had been anxiously awaiting its arrival is an understatement.  Natalie's first book, Alabama Stitch, is among my favorite craft books.  It is jam-packed with inspiration and projects unlike any other craft book I own.  I was hoping that Alabama Studio Style would be just as wonderful and I am not disappointed.  It is absolutely beautiful to look at and the range of projects and recipes is fantastic.  They include a skirt, tunics, dress, tops and many items for the home.  I am already dreaming about what I am going to make first.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to chat with Natalie about the book.  Here's what she had to say.

Erin:  How did you decide on the projects that make Alabama Studio Style so beautiful?

Natalie:  I think that we learned a lot about putting a book togetherwith Alabama Stitch Book.  There was just so much that I didn’t know thatfirst time around and I was very naive about how difficult it is to make abook!  With Alabama Studio Style, I knew that we wanted to include adress, more home furnishings and recipe sections.  From there, I made alayout board on the wall that pretty much indicated each page in the book –this was something I did not understand the first time around.  WithAlabama Studio Style, I feel that the book as a whole was very thoroughlyplanned.  I collected fabric swatches, colors and techniques together foralmost a year before ever starting to make the projects.  After I feltthat we had a good flow from color and style, we started making projects, writinginstructions and putting together the recipes sections to go with the projectsin the book.  From there, everything just started to fall intoplace.

Erin:  One thing that I absolutely adore about the new book is thatthere are a few projects with little or no embellishment (like the plaintank).  Did you make a conscious decision to include some simpler piecesthis time?

Natalie:  That’s a great question!  It was a very conscious decision toinclude the plain garments – we call them Basics in our studio.  The garmentpatterns included in Alabama Studio Style are really my favorites and thepieces that I wear everyday and work into my wardrobe. While I love veryembellished tops, skirts and dresses, I also love the simpler pieces foreveryday living.  For example, the camisole tunic is one of my favorite piecesat the moment. I love to wear it over pants or a skirt and then to layer other piecesover and under it for these colder days.  A little secret: I sleep in thecamisole tunic – very comfortable and looks great.

Erin:  Oh, now I am going to have to make one for a nightgown too!  That's brilliant.  Alabama Studio Style has stitches and techniques that compliment the onescovered in your first book, Alabama Stitch, but that also work really well ontheir own.  Was it important to you that the techniques in both bookscould be used together as well as separately?

Natalie:  Thank you, I am so happy to hear you feel this way! It wasreally important to me that the books work both as individual books and as anintimate part of one another at the same time.  We worked really hard towardsthat goal.  I can’t wait to see how people interpret the two, take theinformation and then move beyond.  

Erin:  The possibilities do seem endless!  I think that is why your books are so inspiring.  Just like Alabama Stitch, Alabama Studio Style is a visual treat.  Whatinspired you to chose the color palette for these projects?

Natalie:  I wanted the projects to really feel like part of a whole.  Idid tear sheets, and fabric swatches and thought about this for almost a year. Alabama Studio Style is also such a part of my home and personal life – most ofthe book was photographed in my kitchen and living room - that many of thecolor palettes are also very personal to me and the colors that I choose foreveryday living.

Erin:  It's very obvious to me that you love what you do - it's evident in both of your books.  I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.  Thanks, Natalie!

. . . . .

You can also have a chance of winning a copy of Alabama Studio Style (or the STC Craft book of your choice) by visiting STC Craft|Melanie Falick Books and commenting on this post.  To read more about Natalie's book, follow her on her blog tour and visit her blog.

Thanks for visiting.  Back here soon.

I baked this past weekend.  A lot.  The total was 2 loaves of the master recipe from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (HBI5), 2 loaves avocado-guacamole bread from HBI5, 5 bagels and 4 soft pretzels from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (ABI5).  I also made a sandwich loaf from the master recipe in HBI5 on Friday.  Yes.  5 loaves and 9 miniatures.  A whole lot of baking.

My successes:  The bagels!  The pretzels!  I have been wanting to make bagels since I got the book over a year ago.  I was scared, though.  Boiling pot?  Sounds tricky.  Guess what?  Not tricky at all.  Actually, super easy.  Both the pretzels and bagels were well received and they both use the same dough.  The difference is what you add to the water in the pot when you boil them.  The bagels take baking soda and sugar whereas the pretzels take cream of tartar and baking soda.  The resting time is shorter than for the big loaves so they are faster to get in the oven which means they are faster to get out of the oven too.  We ate both the bagels and the pretzels warm - yum!  The only thing I really found tricky was rolling the dough in long ropes to form the pretzels.  I did it with difficulty and they turned out fine.  I made some more pretzels after school on Monday for the girls and made the pretzels into sticks instead of twisting them.  So much easier and the exact same taste.  Another word to the wise:  my edition of ABI5 had a significant error in the bagel recipe.  A quick check of the official website told me that the oven temperature should be 450 instead 400.  I also searched the site for soft pretzels and found that although the authors say the cooking time is 15 minutes, it really takes about 30 minutes.  Check the errata before you attempt any of these recipes.

Mixed results:  the avocado-guacamole bread.  If you have been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you know that I love Mexican food.  Accordingly I had high hopes for this bread.  It has whole wheat and white flours with avocado, tomato and garlic.  The taste profile is fantastic!  I baked up the two loaves and took them to a party where the bread got great reviews.  I was a little disappointed, though.  My dough seemed overly wet even though I followed the recipe to the letter.  Accordingly my loaves were a little flat.  Next time I make the dough, I will add additional flour to see if that helps.  But the taste is there so I will definitely make this bread again.

The other mixed result I had was the HBI5 master recipe.  I was really excited to make this because it is a whole grain bread.  My loaves turned out very dense and too wheat-y for my taste.  Don't get me wrong - I like wheat bread.  In fact, when I buy bread, I almost always choose the wheat.  This dough looked great, smelled wonderful and rose exactly as it should.  When I cut into it, though, the crumb was dense.  I think that I was the issue here.  I don't think my oven was up to temperature - I had forgotten that 450 on my oven really isn't 450 degrees.  I have to set it to 475 to have my oven thermometer register 450.  Duly noted.  I will try this again at the correct temperature and hope that it's more to my taste.

Failure:  The master recipe in HBI5 as a sandwich loaf.  It was tiny and I kind of guessed it would be based on the loaf pan size that the authors call for.  The taste is nutty and nice, but it's not great for sandwiches and only ok for toast.  I'll try it again, using a bigger pan and maybe it will work out.  There are a couple other loaf recipes in HBI5 that I want to try too.

All in all, I love both books.  Both ABI5 and HBI5 have made baking bread doable for me.  The fact that I have tubs of dough in my refrigerator and can bake a loaf as it is wanted is amazing.  I love that HBI5 has many more whole grain recipes and interesting ones at that (banana bread for french toast, anyone?).  It also has a whole chapter full of gluten-free recipes - that alone should be a selling point for many people.  The recipes in ABI5 were revolutionary to me and the ones in HBI5 only add fuel to my baking fire.  And, especially, I love that it is easy for me to bake bread.  Easy, people.  So easy that I made blueberry bagels without a recipe telling me exactly what to do. 

Uh huh.  That's what I am talking about.

I have been following Kayte Terry's blog, this is love forever, for a few years now and was anxious to get my hands on her new book, Applique Your Way, for many reasons.  First, I love applique.  I think it is one of the best ways to make something that is a little ho-hum into something fabulous with a little time and few supplies.  Plus, Kayte's aesthetic really appeals to me.  She combines materials and fabrics in unexpected ways and ends up with completely charming results.  Also, Jennifer Causey, of simply photo and simply breakfast, was the photographer for this book, so I knew that it would be a visual treat as well.  I pre-ordered it, waited paitently and it finally arrived a few weeks ago.

I wasn't disppointed.  It is a fantastic book with many great projects.  Kayte has included great instructions on many different ways to applique (hand sewn, machine sewn, reverse applique and more) and the projects are very inspiring.  They include things to wear, things to give and things for decorating your home.  I like the mix of techniques - some of the projects you sew from start to end and with others you embellish something you already own.  I, for one, have clothes hanging around that could benefit from a little face lift.  I bet you do too.

Here are a few of the projects that immediately caught my eye:

I think the Coco Sweater is fantastic.  I adore the idea of adding felted wool and new buttons to spruce up a cardigan.

 

The apples on this market tote are so cute!  Kayte gives directions on how to sew the bag, but I think that adding them to a pre-made canvas tote would be just as cute.

The Doily Trivets are fantastic! I don't think I have seen anything like these before.  I think they would make a great gift.  I think I might have to make a set of my own.

These are just a sampling of what Applique Your Way has in store.  The other projects include napkins, note cards, embellished skirts and dresses, a fabulous ribbon belt, pillows and more.  Bonus:  many of the projects are simple enough that they could be done in a day or two at the most.  You know how I like fast crafting!

The generous people at Chronicle Books have offered a copy of Applique Your Way to one of my readers.  If you are interested in a chance to win this book, leave a comment on this post before Monday, December 21 at 5:00 p.m.  I'll announce the winner on Tuesday.

I received a copy of Quilting for Peace by Katherine Bell a few months ago.  In it, Katherine highlights the stories of people and organizations that are sewing for different causes.  Each project in the book corresponds to a particular initiative and range from full quilts to shopping bags, small pet mats to sleeping bags.

Inspired by the book, the girls and I decided to make one of the projects in the book.  Mirabel the owl is the project for Softies for Mirabel.  Softies for Mirabel is a holiday toy drive that collects handmade, soft toys for the Mirabel Foundation in Melbourne, Australia.  I chose this project because it is simple and I knew the girls would be able to help me make the softies.  Additionally, I knew that my children would be able to relate to the idea of giving to other children who might not have as much as they do.

It was definitely a team effort.  Kate and Jane chose the fabrics and trims that they wanted out of my stash.  I cut out the owls and they traced the other pattern pieces onto fusible interfacing.  I did most of the cutting, ironing and machine sewing.  They embroidered the eyelashes and stuffed the owls.  In a little over an hour, we were finished.  The girls were excited to show the softies to Fatty and spent a long time guessing what kind of child would end up with their creation.  They also asked if we could do it again another day and maybe take those softies to our city's children's hospital.  Of course.  Then they asked if they could make one for themselves.  I had been waiting for that!  Of course.

I am so glad that I carved some time out of this busy week to work on this project with my children.  It's important to me that they realize that even at their young age, they can do something for others.  And I loved that the three of us spent time working together.  Also, it wasn't me that insisted it get finished.  After I proposed the idea of making the owls to them, they were the ones that kept reminding me that we needed to do it, that we should get busy sewing.  Thanks to my girls, I was reminded that no matter how busy I am, no matter what needs to be done, chances are I have an hour or so to do something for someone else. 

Quilting for Peace includes many easy, doable projects and information on theorganizations that could benefit from your crafty talent.  There's a 30-minute shopping bag pattern in the book that you could whip up for gifts.  Or maybe sew a quilted mat to donate to a local animal shelter.  I encourage you to take a look and see if there is something you can make for someone else in need this holiday season or in the new year.

I am giving away one copy of this fantastic book.  If you are interested in winning, leave a comment on this post that includes one thing you have done or will do for someone in need or a particular charity this holiday season.  I will close comments Wednesday, November 25th at 5:00 p.m. EST.  The winner will be announced on Friday or Saturday.  In other business, I'll be back tomorrow with the winner of last week's giveaway and some shop talk.

I started following Malka Dubrawsky's blog, A Stitch In Dye, after I happened upon a photo of this quilt on her flickr stream.  At first glance, I gasped.  The colors are so vivid and the pattern is so interesting - there was nothing about this quilt that I didn't like.  After a moment or two of gazing, a few of those fabrics looked familiar.  Upon closer inspection, I realized that she didn't piece those circles into those squares.  The fabrics were dyed!  A whole world of possibility opened before my eyes.  Dyeing printed fabric?  Wow.

How did she do it?  Well now I know, and so can you.  Malka's new book, Color Your Cloth, A Quilter's Guide to Dyeing and Patterning Fabric arrived on my doorstep a few weeks ago.  In the first part of the book, Malka explains in depth the how's and the why's to wax resist and over-dyeing fabric.  In the second part, she shares directions for projects that she has made with fabric she had dyed and patterned herself.  And her fabric is fantastic - crisp, bold colors that really pop and make me want to run out and buy dyes and experiment a little myself.  If only the holidays weren't right around the corner.

 

Lucky enough for me, Malka sent me a stack of her hand dyed and hand patterned fabrics to play around with.  I knew instantly that I wanted to combine the prints with something neutral so they could really sing.  I grabbed some linen, my ruler and rotary cutter and got to work.  More than a hundred triangles later, I started sewing.

I went with a zig zag pattern that I sewed to a rectangle of linen to make placemats.  I used solid linen on the back and cotton batting in my quilt sandwich.  I sewed the three layers together leaving an opening and then flipped it right side out then quilted it.  I love the way the crisp cotton contrasts with the soft linen.  The colors stand out against the neutral ground and the piecing takes a pattern that was already interesting and adds another dimension to it.  And the finished placemats look great on my table.

I highly recommend Malka's book if you are looking for more information on dyeing and patterning fabric or if you just want a good dose of inspiration.  The sewing projects include small items like coasters and totes and larger endeavors like quilts.  Malka has an etsy shop where she sells her fabrics and sewn items.  Her book can be purchased from etsy as well or on Amazon.

Malka has generously offered a copy of her book to one of my readers.  If you'd like a chance of winning, please leave a comment on this post before Friday, November 20th at 12:00 p.m. EST.  I will use the random number generator to pick a winner.  Good luck!

I wore my skirt from the moment I finished it on Thursday until I went to bed that night.

I got up on Friday morning and put it back on.  Don't worry - Saturday it went in the laundry.

I've had the Alabama Stitch Book since it came out - I think that was a year and half ago.  And from the moment it came in the mail, I have loved looking at it.  It oozes inspiration.  I was pretty sure it would join the collection of craft books that I love love love to own because they are so beautiful and inspiring, not because I want to make any of the projects.  Truth be told, I didn't want to attempt anything in the book.  Stenciling, hand sewing and knits?  Um, not for me, thank you.

But the more I looked at it, the more it grew on me.  I began seeing projects that other people had made.  Then I was truly inspired.  Maybe I could do this too.

 

I started gathering the supplies.  The fabric came from Mood in NYC - I bought that last November while shopping with Kristin.  The paint I picked up sometime in January or February.  I cut the skirt out in March, thinking I would get it finished for summer.  It didn't happen.  While in San Francisco this July, I found FOE in brown at Britex.  It was like a sign.  I came home, I stenciled and I started stitching.

Six weeks later, I have my skirt.  And if fits.  This is a big, huge deal, you all.  I know that the sizing on this pattern is different - it's based on waist size, not hip size so it was a guessing game as to what size to actually cut.  Both Blair and Melissa told me to go a size bigger than I thought.  I did.  I think that made all the difference.  I left the knots on the wrong side of the fabric because, as cool as they look on the outside, I'm just too tailored for that.  I also stitched the seams by machine instead of by hand mostly because I was impatient.  I made huge mistakes on the stenciling that almost made me drop the project.  But now that the stitching is finished, I'd have a hard time pointing them out.  Talk about forgiving.  It is also incredibly comfortable - hello knit!

I love it so much that I am already plotting another skirt.  With beads (oh my!).  I'm also trying not to get too excited about Alabama Studio Style.  Six months and counting....

My nephew Miles turned 5 on Saturday.  He only asked for one thing: a sock monkey.  I was happy to oblige.

 

I used the instructions found in Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori.  This book is great.  Softies are not my forte, but the directions and simple materials used to make the animals in this book give me a little more confidence every time I make one up.  My friend Jodi helped me - she stuffed, I sewed - and we had this guy complete in about forty-five minutes.  I also had everything I needed on hand - socks, stuffing, buttons, thread, embroidery floss.  Easy peasy and super cute.  I need to remember this book for the random gloves and single socks that accumulate over time.  Sewn up with a little stuffing, they make great and fast gifts.  Just my speed.  There's another book, Happy Gloves, by the same author.  I don't own it, but have seen it at the book store.  It looks like it might have potential, too.  If anyone has used it, I'd be interested to know what you think.

For the record, the sock monkey was not in the unfinished project pile - I made it on Saturday before I decided to finish what I have started.  And on that note, I made 12 more quilt squares yesterday.  That brings the total to 65 with 21 31 left (bad math and wishful thinking).  I can see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm still waiting for TypePad to test my blog.  Just thought I would mention it again in case the comments disappear.