Love isn't only for Valentines Day

by Susie Tilton

Does any holiday illicit panic like Valentine's Day? When I was a teenager I was afraid I wouldn't be noticed. As an adult, I have mixed feelings. I would love a velvet box....but we need to recarpet the TV room. I'd love a romantic getaway, but we need to buy a plane ticket for our college age son to get home. Oh well, the good thing about being creative and crafty is that you can invent your own fun. When the big V Day falls on a weekend, a dinner party is they way to go. Whether it is for 2 or 12, a set of beautiful napkins will make your Valentine's dinner special.


My dinner party began with the table setting. I have a pretty fair collection of tablecloths and placemats, so I chose a solid color to begin with. I have these great black bamboo placemats, and I love the sophistication of black with everything. At my local fabric store I bought this cute, but basic red heart fabric. My plan was 9 napkins. 8 for dinner, 1 for the bread. Even if you never serve bread, it's a great formula whether you are buying or sewing. This way, if you have a napkin that is badly stained or lost, there is an extra. Three yards will give you plenty of room to cut out the napkins. A perfect size dinner napkin is 20"X20" with a double hem and mitred corners.
I use my cutting board, long sturdy ruler and rotary cutter for 22"X22" napkins. Plan a 1/2" hem around the napkin, press, and then fold over for another 1/2" hem. The mitred corners are illustrated in the Home Decor DVD, and once you learn to do it, you'll never accept the cheap turnover corners again. The finish is clean and professional.
Once the napkins are finished, you will realize there are many occasions to sew this simple project. Halloween, Christmas, Fourth of July, Birthdays and Easter. If you plan on the fun in the napkins, you can keep your eye out for great solid colored placemats and tablecloths to complete your table.
Wondering what to serve for this special day? Check out the blog by my alter ego, Sweetie Petitti, who spends her days in the kitchen. There will be a great romantic dinner posting coming up. And make sure you look at the cute heart shaped tuile cookies. Happy Sewing!

Make it Yourself this Holiday Season

Times are tight this Holiday Season but nothing says "thinking of you" more than a gift you made yourself or bought from an independent crafter. Better yet, recycle something old into something new!

If you're in the Los Angeles area, there are a few events worth checking out.



The Unique LA independent design and gift show and Renegade Craft Fair are always winners. Here's their list of things going on:

+ Shepard Fairey's Studio No.1 has partnered with this event so that every attendee will get a free cotton tote bag featuring exclusive artwork

+ Over 300 designers/artists selling their goods

+ Free DIY Workshops all weekend

+ Eat from the amazing Tiara Cafe, Gram & Papa's, and Platine Cookies, who will all be serving up meals and treats at their pop-up locations within the show

+ Get snapped by the amazing Oh Snap Studios

Enjoy!

Selling Handmade Goods on the Internet

I am the West Los Angeles Neighborhood Group leader for the American Sewing Guild. We meet once a month and tackle some crafting related subject. Our choices have ranged from how to sew in zippers to making a duct tape skirt sloper. It's fun and informative. I'm lucky to have a diverse group - men, women, old, young, experienced and beginners. But they all have one thing in common - a love of making things!

Our last meeting was all about selling handmade goods on the internet and it created a lively discussion. Unless you've been living in a cave, you already know that Etsy is the place to sell. What you may not know, is that the top 10 sellers on Etsy don't actually sell handmade items but rather supplies to make your own handmade items. That surprised everyone, myself included. But honestly, we crafters have known all along that making things is only getting bigger and better!

I left the meeting with a goal to post some of my own handmade items to my Etsy Hipline site. First off will be a case for the Kindle. I have a Kindle e-reader and I'm in love with it. But the options for carrying cases were limited and unappealing to me so, I created my own.

Turns out people really like it. The exterior fabric is fleece and I quilted it to cotton batting for the inside. This protects the Kindle face and gives added protection. I used snaps to close mine but I think in the future I'll do velcro. A few buttons for ebellishment and a cute photo of a girl reading and there you have it. The photo was copied onto photo fabric paper and sewn in. So, what are you making?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours! My husband and I were lucky enough to enjoy 4 days of skiing this week at Mammoth Mountain resort in the California Sierra's. While we were there, it snowed 10 inches!

We wear helmets when we ski and it's interesting to note that almost everyone else does too. You must protect the noggin!! This year I made bags for our helmets to keep them from bumping around and also to give us a strap to hold onto them when not in use.


We got lots of great compliments and they were so easy to make. I traced the helmet, adding a few inches all around and cut the pattern out of fleece. Fleece was perfect - no fraying, soft and easy to sew. For the closure, I put in a heavy duty sport lace and a plastic toggle.

Make it Yourself and you'll be the hit of the slopes too! If you don't ski, I'm sure there's a bicyclist, snowboarder, skate boarder, motorcyclist or other active person in your life that could use a helmet bag.

Chanel and That Jacket: Part 2

Like I said before, the Chanel Jacket has always caught my eye. So, I went to the Chanel "sale" at Decades Two, an upscale designer resale boutique. The two main rooms were flooded with Chanel jackets, suits, coats, purses, shoes, handbags and more. All used, all in great shape and all on "sale". Now, when an item originally costs around $4,500, the word sale here means 50% off and sometimes more. A Chanel bargain if there ever was one. Here's a pic of the main room, loaded with jackets.

I know the cardigan shaped jacket is what made Coco famous but I like a traditional collar. So, I decided to try a few on. European sizing can be tricky. The more relaxed, boxy jackets fit me in a 36. The fitted versions meant a 38. Many of the jackets were quite small - size 32 and a few 34's. I guess those starving Hollywood celebrities are the people who buy these new! I went with a friend - that always helps. She was honest and brutal. I fell in love with two.

The first was a green and black cotton/linen/wool fitted military style jacket. Fit like a glove. Pockets that buttoned at the breast and hip locations, beautiful sleeve vents and a back vent, all with 4 hand sewn buttons. The buttons were made for me - tiny open scissors with the Chanel logo. The inside is lined in green silk.

The second was a multi colored more traditional hip length style with shades of lavender, brown, grey and black. Bracelet sleeves, pockets at the breast and hip but no flaps. More relaxed fit, easy to dress up or down. Buttons are detailed with two hands shaking and the Chanel logo. Lined in grey silk. Lovely.

Merry Christmas to me!

How to make a Tulip Handbag

Spring is in the air and what better way to celebrate your creativity but learning to sew a simple, adorable Tulip shaped Handbag. The final project is perfect for a dress up night out on the town.

The pattern can be found on our website listed with the downloads for the Making Handbag DVD. Simply cut out the pieces following the pattern guidelines, fuse interfacing to both the interior and exterior pieces as well as the handles, then sew! We like to use the acro fusible interfacing. It has a good weight and is easy to sew through.

After sewing the handles, the interior and exterior sides, you are ready for assembly. Be careful to place the handles correctly - on the right side of the interior fabric facing the bottom of the bag.

Pop the interior into the exterior - right sides together - and sew the perimeter leaving and opening between one side of the handle for you to pull the handbag out, the "birthing" process. You'll know what I mean if you've seen the handbag DVD. Press well and topstitch the handbag closed. Add a closure of your liking.

Here's a short video of Susie going through the major sewing steps. This is a great project to accompany a prom dress this spring!