Girls' sewing party!

There is so little time to blog about all the amazing projects lately.  I guess I would rather be a crafter than a blogger but people always ask me "how did you do that?" so I'm trying.  Last week my friend Jane brought her girls over for crafty grrrl day and we made my favorite layered fabric cuffs again.  What I try to do when teaching others is to give them the basic idea and let them run with it.

Everyone has their own vision of how to use materials and they did their cuffs in ways that would not have occurred to me.  I found myself wanting to control it, especially when Jane decided to cut one of my old hand-crocheted doilies in half, but that isn't how we make art, right?
 

Jane's cuff using half of an old, stained doily

The girls were very excited when they discovered they could finish two of these things in an hour, once they got the hang of it.  They were much more spontaneous in choosing materials than I am.  it was admirable.

Ananda's cuff

Ayla's cuff

Maia's cuff

Notice I didn't take time to make one.  I was supervising proper use of my good scissors and sewing machine turn taking etiquette.  Next time we do this I need to set up an extra machine for sure.  It was a satisfying day to watch my friends and the girls really get into playing with fabric.

Another marvelous cuff!

Here is another cuff I made last night for my daughter's friend's 10th birthday today.  I am trying to go without buying any store made gifts for a year.  We'll see how that goes when my son turns 13 in June but for now I am happy with the results.  I also used more of the old-book-pages-stiched-together wrapping paper I blogged about last week.  Reuse!  Repurpose!  Yay!

In love with cuffs!

There is either time to sew or time to blog and I know which I would prefer but I have to share my latest passion.  My attention defecit disorder serves me well as an arty grrl.  This week I decided to finally make these layered fabric cuffs that I found in a Quilting Arts magazine.  It was one of those Gift ones that they do every Winter.  I have had the pages floating around for at least six months now and I came across them on the balcony the other night and started then and there.

I took at least four fabrics with complimentary colors but different textures and tore them (crtitical for the look I wanted) into strips.  The bottom strip has to be the biggest and the softest.  I don't know about you but I don't want burlap rubbing up against my skin all day.  That's right, burlap.  I used oilcloth, burlap, old linen napkins, Indian cottons, mesh, lace, wool felt, you get the idea.  I had to play with each one until I got it right.  Then I sewed on Sew-On Snaps in black from my neighborhood fabric store.  Well, that's a lie.  There is no longer such a thing as the neighborhood fabric store but you get the point.  I know I could have come up with some really cool closure but I wanted to wear it right now!

I loved the first one so much I made 4 the first night.  After it was done I thought it was missing something so I took this great leather that I had gotten at Mecca, which is a local materials exchange for artists in Eugene, and I sewed it on too.  MECCA is all used supplies waiting to be repurposed.  I am happy , happy , happy.