Sunday, May 11, 2008

Common Threads

I've recently been asked to join a virtual quilting bee a la "The Virtual Quilting Bee." I really love this idea and I'm very excited to participate in something with a group of quilters who seem to share a lot of my design sensibilities. And speaking of which, I just wrote a long-ass post on the bee's blog all about what I do and don't like in my quilts with little sprinklings of how I discovered my style. Please read and share your own design story, I'd love to know! For many of you it will be much more than you ever wanted to know about me+quilting. But it was really fun to write and interesting for me to put the story of how my quilt style and tastes developed into words. I've found that with many creative endeavors, so much is internal and that you can learn a lot about your process and the way you think by trying to put it all into words.

The "bee" is called "Common Threads" and I will certainly post here about the blocks I make for it. And to anyone who thinks this sounds like fun and is sad they are not participating, please please please, start your own! Email a bunch of bloggers that you like and get to quilting! I certainly didn't think to do that after seeing bloggy ladies join together for the first bee. I just pouted and wished I could join in. But don't be like me! It's such a great idea and really encompasses one of the most appealing aspects of craft blogging which is connecting with other crafters. I have next to zero friends in the real world who do what I do. It's so fun to meet and share with people who have a common interest. But you knew that already! You're smart.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Fabric Fortune Cookie Tutorial

When Sew Mama Sew started their tutorial contest I thought "Great! I will write a tut' and enter." So I took some pictures of the process I use to make my fabric fortune cookies. Then...I let them sit there. And now the contest is over. Which is really okay. The real motivation for me to enter things like this is to share with people who don't ordinarily read this blog, not to win. So in the continued spirit of not winning anything I present you with the "Lady Harvatine Style Fabric Fortune Cookie Half-Assed Tutorial".

You will need:
  • a 5 inch square of cotton fabric for the outside of your cookie
  • a 5 inch square of felt for the inside
  • a circle to trace, one with a diameter of about 4.5 inches (I use an old paint can)
  • pinking shears
  • a slip of paper, about .5" by 2.5" for your fortune
Trace a circle onto both your cotton fabric and your felt.

Cut both circles out.

Lay the cotton on top of the felt, right side up, and line up the edges. Sew a half inch seam around the entire circle. I use my walking foot for this but you don't have to.

Use your pinking shears to trim the raw edge all the way around the circle, leaving about a quarter inch of fabric.

Fold the circle in half with the cotton side together, felt on the outside. Sew about an inch seam down the middle, not sewing to the edge of either side of the half circle. Be sure to back stitch a few times.

Flip the cookie open and adjust the folds until it looks right.

Before you give it to someone be sure to write a fortune on a slip of paper and stick it inside. I like to use pretty origami paper that is blank on the back.

You can also string a piece of ribbon through the center of the cookie and tie it to a gift, like so.

Ok, the end, happy cookie making!

Thursday, May 01, 2008

The End

Well, the show that I have been working on, "Moral Orel", has been canceled. We found out a while ago but were able to finish the last season, slightly shortened. I've said it before but it's worth repeating here that "Moral Orel" is a wonderful show, unlike any animated show on tv now or in the past. If you haven't seen it (which I'm pretty sure you haven't) please check it out. The first 15 episodes are on DVD, all episodes that have aired are available on iTunes and the third an final season will be airing sometime soon on Cartoon Network.
I wanted to make a thank you gift for our animation director, my friend Ethan who you may remember as the recipient of Pac-y. You may also remember that Ethan returned Pac-y about a month after receiving him. Pac-y was too big and Ethan claims he was growing. So as a way of saying "job well done" I tried again with a smaller machine, this one featuring an as-of-yet undeveloped game called "Ethan!".
The "Ethan!" game play consists of doing all of the things that Ethan does best, some of which you can see here on the title screen. I designed the graphic and printed it out on pre-treated inkjet fabric.
This machine is a much more manageable size than Pac-y, perfect for sitting on a shelf or the corner of a desk. (Seen here with the recipient for scale.)
The joystick is made of pipe cleaner bent at a right angle and sewed to the inside of the machine with a painted wooden ball glued to the end.
"Ethan!" doesn't have the great big coin "tunnel" with a zipper in the back like Pac-y did. Instead he has a petite little pocket on the front with a buttonhole.
Space for a couple of quarters, maybe not your whole stash for your next visit to the arcade but enough to make a phone call! If you're into that sort of thing.