Peace Out, Turkey!

Last fall, Sage and I made this peace sign t-shirt.

And it was featured along with a peace-themed tutorial I wrote in the Fall 2009 issue of Kids L.A. magazine.

Since they didn't use these pictures, I thought I'd share the tutorial with you. It's a quick fun project in which your kids can give you a hand... literally. Simply iron some Heat-N-Bond light to the back of some fabric.

Trace your hand.

 

Cut it out, iron it on, and stitch it down. It's that easy! When Sage tried that shirt on the other day it didn't fit anymore and his hand was bigger than the hand we traced a year ago. Time flies and kids grow fast; every now and then it's good to stop and record the moment.

When I was trying to come up with something to make for this week's Tutorial Tuesday, I thought of that project and decided to combine it with the quintessential Thanksgiving craft - turkey hands! This time McKenna lent me her hand.

I added some felt, a button, and a turkey beak and waddle left over from last week's turkey craft...

 

and stitched them together like this:

  

 High five... Turkey!

Tutorial Tuesday - Turkeys!

In an effort to hop back on the blogging bandwagon I'm designating Tuesdays on  a patchwork world as Tutorial Tuesdays where I'll share simple craft tutorials, sewing tips, patterns, and who knows what else. We're finally settled in Seattle and kokoleo is back in craft-action and a tutorial assignment is just what I need to inspire me to share what I'm doing in my studio. In honor of fall and November and Thanksgiving, Tuesday Tutorial #1 was inspired by this turkey...

that McKenna and I made in her Crafty Drop-In class at the Renton Community Center led by Kelly Desimone-Affleck. (Check out her cool custom greetings and design shop tomato-tomato.) It's a finger puppet made from a cut-off glove finger. I'm not sure if Kelly made up the project or found it somewhere, but it's cute.

Now, you might be thinking, "So your first tutorial is going to be a a total knock-off of someone else's idea?" No, because people who write tutorials based on other people's projects are lame, especially when those people claim the projects as their very own and don't give props to those who gave them the idea. Just sayin'.

Months ago, on a whim, I signed up to do a charity craft bazaar at a local church. I figured it would be an easy affordable way (only $25 for a table) to get back into craft show mode after several months hiatus. Last Friday I panicked because I realized I hadn't really prepared for it. I have tons of kokoleo inventory but no holiday wares or cheap crafty trinkets that the type of people who attend charity church bazaars like to buy. So I decided since I had a bunch of leaves left over from McKenna's costume that I would make a bunch of turkeys. And I did.

 

Instead of using glove fingers and craft foam I used brown, yellow, and red pleather, and then combined all the pieces with hot glue.

And instead of finger puppets, I made magnets:

and pins:

and barrettes:

 

And I didn't sell a single one. In fact, I only sold two things that day and they were to fellow vendors. Worst show ever. The turnout and venue were so bad I left 4 hours early, and I never do that. Note to self: Never, on a whim, sign up to do random craft bazaars you find on craigslist. 

So now I'm stuck with a bunch of goofy turkeys. Want one? Be the first to comment and I'll send you one free of charge. (Spammy robots are not eligible).

Happy Halloween!

I can't let the fall go by without a Halloween costume round-up. Lord knows I spent a ridiculous amount of time on them, I really ought to immortalize it with a blog post. Presenting... a coffin and a pile of leaves.

But not just any coffin... this coffin had a mummy in it.

 I successfully steered McKenna away from the princess route and talked her in to being a pile of leaves. I spent all of $8 worth of leaf garland from Michael's. The brown shirt and brown pants were already in her closet and I  just stitched leaves to the arms and ankles, then made a hooded bubble-shaped  top from some brown fleece I had in my studio. I stitched each leaf up the middle, maybe about 80 leaves in all. When I had her try it on she said, "I think I want to be a ghost now." Ahhh, three-year-olds. Luckily she came around when it was time for trick-or-treating.

 People thought she was A. a tree, B. "Fall", and C. Marjorie the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock.  When asked, she told people, "I'm leaves!" duh!

Sage wanted to be a mummy in a tomb. He was adamant about the "in the tomb" part. And the tomb had to have R.I.P. on it, and eyeholes, and a door that opened. Alrighty then. I took up the challenge though, based on his drawings.

 

Years ago I needed light blue vinyl for a purse and found something ridiculous like 14 yards for $24, so I got it and I've had tons of it ever since, enough to make a coffin for my son, which is kinda creepy now that I think of it. I figured I could sew heavy naugahyde better than I could duct tape together cardboard, so I did. The top ended up being floppier than I thought it would, so I had to reinforce it with cardboard at the top and in the door. I even sewed the cardboard to naugahyde in some places and miraculously did not kill my machine. I put a handle on the door and holes in the back so it attached to him like a backpack, and then we painted it black. It was a good thing it was waterproof because when the kids went to trick-or-treating in the downtown Renton it acted as a full-body umbrella and he stayed warm and dry inside.

 I made the mummy part for him after he went to bed one night - tattered muslin pants, tattered muslin stitched to a thermal underwear shirt, and a tattered muslin mask. The best part about making it was being able to leave all the threads hanging. Thankfully, when he tried it on in the morning, everything fit perfectly.

On Sunday night, we attended a Halloween party in our neighborhood. After spending all my time making costumes for the kids, I didn't have much time for my own so I threw together a costume I've worn several times before - Raggedy Ann.

 Sage said, "Raggedy Anne again? You really should get more creative with your costumes." Har.

Erik went as one of the Blues Brothers - Elwood. Here he is with Sage playing the part of Jake.

 Raggedy Anne, Elwood, a mummy in a coffin, and a pile of leaves - no cohesion whatsoever. Someday maybe we'll do the family-theme thing. We went trick-or-treating with our friends in the neighborhood - about 30 of us altogether - kids and us parents trying to keep up with them as they ran from house to house, many which gave out full-sized candy bars. This neighborhood rocks.

Have I mentioned that I love it here? The trees, the autumn leaves, the brisk air, the friends, the house, the brand new life - everything. Best move ever.

Stitchless in Seattle

We made it! We're here! Actually, we made it here almost FIVE weeks ago and we're still living in a hotel (dog and cat included), a few miles away from the house we're trying to buy. If we had known back in May when we put in an offer on the house how hard it would be to get it, we would have just rented. BUT! It looks like our diligence is finally paying off and if all goes as planned (which it never does) we should be in our new house this time next week. Weirdest summer ever.

I miss my stuff. I miss my sewing machines (plural) and my fabric. I miss being able to walk into my studio and make things. My greatest accomplishment this summer has been coming up with activities to entertain two kids living with limited clothes and toys in a hotel room. Thankfully, with a new city to explore it hasn't been too difficult. We've found every thrift store and playground in the vicinity, several lakeside beaches, free movie mornings at the local theater, farmers markets, and a beautiful trail lined with blackberries across from our hotel. Despite not having a place to call home, we love it here so far.

I started a new blog - Out and About Around Seattle (*with kids) -  chronicling our adventures around the city. A Patchwork World will from now on be reserved for all things crafty and kokoleo. Hopefully soon, once I get my new studio set up I'll be posting regularly here again. I've been bouncing around design ideas and can't wait to see what comes out of kokoleo with a Pacific Northwest influence.  It seems as if every other aspect of my life is (finally!) undergoing a transformation for the better, it's only fitting that inspiration and creativity will follow.

Things I'll miss about Los Angeles

That last post was kinda sad. I don't want to give the impression that we've just been sitting in litter feeling sorry for ourselves these last 5 years, on the contrary, we've had some wonderful times. If it weren't for our time here we wouldn't have Kali (thank you Glendale Humane Society)...

and Bella (thank you East Valley Animal Shelter)...

and probably even McKenna...

This city has a lot to offer and practically every weekend we explored someplace new. This blog captured a lot of the good stuff, and these are the things that I'll miss...

Destinations – Griffith Park - ponies, merry-go-round, and trains, the old zoo, the Observatory, the Greek, Hollywood and Highland, Pig and Whistle, Lucky Strike, Santa Monica Pier, Melrose Trading Post, Anarkali, La Brea Tar Pits, Sunset Strip, the Fashion District, Chinatown,

The Getty, Rose Bowl Flea Market, the Blue Room, Bigfoot Lodge, NoHo, Universal Studios, the Metro, Dodger Stadium,

Victorio's, Tonga Hut, Montrose Harvest Market, Venice Beach, 99cents Only stores, the Grove, the Americana, Disneyland, the Hollywood sign.

Surrounding areas – the Pacific Ocean,

Malibu, San Diego, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Big Bear Lake,

Lake Arrowhead, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, Joshua Tree.

The mountains, even though they're dusty.

Parks and trails – Mt. Hollywood, Runyon Canyon, Stough Canyon, Wildwood Canyon, Lake Balboa, Tree People, Franklin Canyon, Pacific Park (all of them), Hansen Dam.

The L.A. Craft scene – especially those involved in Felt Club, Bazaar Bizarre, Patchwork, Craftmas, Swap-o-Rama-Rama and Holiday Cheer.

Hollywood estate sales and yard sales galore. All the stuff I found and turned into kokoleos.

Thrift stores – American Way on Magnolia, Veterans Thrift Store on Sonora, Goodwill on Hollywood and Sunset, The Family Store on Lankershim, Charity Thrift on Vanowen.

Good Mexican food - Fish tacos, De La Rosas, margaritas, “wagon wheels” (what are these called?) with chile and limon.

My church – St. Michael's All Angels in Studio City. I hadn't been to church in years, but this one reminded me why it's important – because there are nice people there, with kids that my kids now call friends, doing good things for the community. And there's coffee and doughnuts too.

And last, but not least - our friends, scattered across the city.

I hope we cross paths again.

Things I won't miss about Los Angeles

One week left and then I... am... outta here. I'm ready. Our house is sold (for $180,000 less than we paid for it 4 years ago), our clutter has been purged in yard sales and onto charity trucks, the moving company has been called and the date is set (July 12th). Hopefully, God and banks willing, our new house in Seattle will be ready to move into by then. Nothing left to do but hurry up and wait. Driving around, I can't help but think of all the things I'm not gonna miss about Los Angeles. Here is the list I've compiled:

The blaring sun.

The lack of decent clouds.

The SUN SUN SUN SUN SUN symbols on t.v. weather reports.

The dusty mountains. I want them to be green.

The smog that often obscures those dusty mountains.

Helicopters. The sound, plus the wondering, Why are helicopters circling my neighborhood? With a spotlight? That can't be good.

The traffic. And the daily mini-heart attacks I have while driving in it.

The cost of living here. Gas, food, housing, utilities, taxes.

Not being able to speak Spanish (fluently) or Armenian (at all) , and therefore not being able to communicate with the parents at my kids' schools, or my neighbors, or the people that I meet when I'm walking down the street (the people that I meet each day).

The lack of sidewalks in our neighborhood.

Taggers and crappy graffiti, or worse - taggers who tag on murals and good graffiti.

Our money pit "rambler" and its maze-like layout.

One story houses.

The perky busted, botoxed, lipoed look of certain ladies carrying large coffees and wearing oversized sunglasses and tiny yoga pants.

Obnoxious *bling* - swarovski crystals and expensive labels, tinted windowed Hummers and Land Rovers and their sparkly hubcaps - they don't impress me much.

The juxtaposition of *bling* against poverty.

Litter.

Sherman Way, and its miles of endless smog shops, discount furniture stores, marijuana dispensaries, water stores

(huh?), strip clubs, and adult book stores. I'm not against these places per se, but when these signs are all my kids see on their way to school, it's just sad.

Van Nuys.

The major studio executives and management that pad their salaries by eliminating artist and writer jobs, just to outsource them overseas for inferior quality. The fact that many of these artists and writers are our friends. (Read Erik's take here.)

Jay Leno. I'm with Coco.

Cutbacks, layoffs, double-digit unemployment. I suppose this is true of a lot of places right now, but seems acutely evident here when coupled with the cost of living.

Broken dreams in general. Projects abandoned before they could flourish. The fact that these are dime a dozen. The resignation that comes over time. Damn, I'm getting depressed now. I'll stop. Tomorrow I'll talk about all the things I'll miss. The upside to the blaring SUN SUN SUN SUN is that the outlook always seems bright despite the circumstances.

Happy Indie Day!

Sage loves the crafts in Family Fun magazine. (Thank you Aunt Cheryl for our first subscription years ago.) When it arrives in our mailbox, he immediately grabs it and then spends the next hour reading it cover to cover. Last Christmas I found a Family Fun book of projects and I swear he was more excited about that book than his brand new Wii. When a holiday approaches, he always gets it out and attempts one of the projects. Today, in honor of the 4th of July he turned his sister into Lady Liberty.


He even made his own flag.

Now that's a patriot!

Last Call for kokoleo in SoCal...

I'm gearing up to do one more SoCal show and it's this one:

Sunday June 6th at The Road Less Traveled store in Santa Ana. Patchwork will always have a special crafty place in my heart because every show I've ever done has been a blast. I'm looking forward to showing all the new stuff I've been making and getting some nice one-of-a-California-kinds to take with me to Seattle.

Erik left today to start his new job and find us a house. The wheels are in motion, people! We're really gonna do it.

Stop! Pajama time.

Of course, I haven't forgotten my boy. I sometimes make things for him too. He's a little pickier though, and wants nothing to do with my sundresses. I cleaned out Sage's closet recently and realized how much he's grown this past year. Clothes he used to wear all the time are now way too small. When I noticed his belly button and ankles peeking out from his favorite skully kokoleo pajamas, I knew it was time for a some new ones. So I made him these:

It's always nice to have a good soft sturdy pair of pajamas. Coming soon! Kokoleo pajamas.

I also made him that Wacky Packages pillow in the foreground given to me by my friend Susie at this yard sale last year. It matches the poster behind him. This is our nightly view of him - comfy in bed with stacks of books around him, reading for hours if we let him (not on school nights though). Captain Underpants, Hank the Cowdog, Magic TreeHouse, Goosebumps, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Eregon, plus books about animals and insects and oceans and the human body, and occasionally still some oldskool Dr. Suess and Shel Silverstein. He devours them.

Behind him, beside the Captain Underpants Super Diaper Baby poster, is a cross-stitch my bff since elementary school Carrie Mahle made him when he was born. In front of him is his trusty Blanken, now faded and frayed and falling apart. *sniff* My boy is growin' up!

I've been trying to take lots of pictures of these kids in this place lately, because pretty soon we'll be in a new place. It's official - we're movin' out! Adios Los Angeles... Seattle, here we come!

Dress-A-Day #7: Pocahontas Sundress

Okay, so I missed a day there. I also never got around to making her a 7th dress so I decided to let her pick out one from my rack of recently made kokoleos. She chose this Pocahontas one.

Despite my issues with Disney princesses (over-commercialization, myth-marketing, beauty standard-warping) and my issues with the company (damn outsourcers), I found a few nice bedsheets (Jasmine, Ariel, Cinderella) that were begging to become sundresses. When I found this Pocahontas pillowcase I immediately thought of this native American print fabric I have in the same color scheme.

McKenna hasn't even seen the movie Pocahontas, she just liked this dress because it reminded her of the doll she got on our vacation to Death Valley last month.

I love listening to her play with her dolls. She does all the voices and acts out all sorts of scenarios. It's the cutest thing in the world when she says, "Hey Daddy! Wanna play dolls wif me?"

... and he does.