sketchbook 5/19 – 5/25
sketchbook 5/12 – 5/18
a misbehaving beetle, homemade spray starch and 4 more little joys
He’s done something. I’m sure of it. It’s all over his face. More about this naughty little beetle in a minute. First I want to tell you about some simple things that are bringing me joy this spring. Since you found your way here they might be up your alley too:
1. sewing in bed
It’s always on the joy list, such a gentle way to wake up. Get something ready to sew the night before and there is nothing at all to think about. Just start sewing. My current bed sewing is sails and needle books (I can’t stop making those little pages). Simple, meditative stitching.
2. the adventures of althea
This is sweet, and beautiful and funny. Dawn Smith has created a magic world for her tiny rag doll and she photographs Althea’s adventures daily.
Follow her while she has tea and visit friends and gardens. It’s awesome.
3. lilacs
It’s such a glorious smell and gone so quickly. When I wake up to the cool spring lilac air I have no choice but to sew in bed. It’s the only responsible thing to do.
4. homemade spray starch
It’s easy to make, cheap, works beautifully and it is non-aerosol and packaging free. Most importantly I did not have to leave my apartment when I ran out of spray starch for my sails.
I love to iron. I’ve been sorting through sail fabric for ships, ironing it and making neat little piles. This is also called procrastination. Productive procrastination but still… Anyway the homemade laundry starch adds even a little more joy to the ironing party.
The starch is just cornstarch and water. Add a couple drops of lavender oil (or whatever you like) for a glorious fresh laundry smell. Laundry is right up there with lilacs for me smell wise. Plus I feel super thrifty and oldschool.
make some laundry starch:
- Whisk 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch into 2 and ½ cups water. You’re already almost done.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, boil for about a minute while stirring.
- Remove from the heat and let is cool to room temperature, add a couple drops of scent if you like and pour it through a strainer into a spray bottle.
5 sketchbook
My daily painting and drawings. It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times, such a huge pain in the a** when I’m super busy. But the joy wins. And it makes me a better thinker.
and a little bonus joy:
I love this tea! I drink buckets of it all day long. You can find it in most grocery stores I think.
what’s on my work table this week
You have met the guilty beetle, the naughty little fellow is regretting his mischief. He is made from gorgeous and very old French scraps. I’m working on lots of misbehaving little french anthropods.
And ships. I love living with them and have been without a personal fleet for too long. This one has a final layer of old paper collage. Come make beetles and paper ships with me this October – I’m teaching several workshops in LA at French General – find info and registration here.
PS – What are you working on? Have you made a doll bed? What smell transports you?
sketchbook 5/5 – 5/11
make a quick and easy mini quilt from scraps
Make a whole stack of them, they’re just the right size for the clothespin doll bed and super quick and fun to make.
These little quilts are the sort I imagine the Sock’s family has mountains of in their big black house in Woebegone Pines. Haphazard, make-do sorts of things, accidentally charming pieced together leftovers, all thread bare from keeping generations of mischievous Socks offspring cozy.
To make your little quilt print the template and gather cotton scraps. Start freestyle piecing them together.
The template makes a doll quilt that is 6 and 1/2 inches X 7 and 1/2 inches. Exactly the right size for the clothespin bed.
You can stitch by hand or machine (I like to use the machine for this). When you’ve got something bigger than the template pin the patchwork to a backing fabric with the right sides together and cut out. Save the patchwork scraps after cutting – you can stitch those together too. You can add a layer of lightweight cotton flannel inside if you like. I prefer the way the quilt drapes without it.
Tip: If you are making a few quilts make one big piece of patchwork and cut them all out. It goes quickly and I think it makes the most interesting compositions.
Stitch the patchwork and backing together. Leave a little opening at one end for turning and clip off the corners.
Turn it right side out and use a chopstick to poke out the corners. Press it and whipstitch the opening. You can quilt through it or not. I mostly went with not but did add some sweet red ties to one quilt.
To make the quilt drape nicely over the bed arrange it and then press it on the bed with a hot iron along the curves and folds.
It’s all ready for mr. socks. I made him pajamas too (using the free little pants pattern) for an even cozier situation but he refused to wear them. You know how mr. socks is…
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sketchbook 4/28 – 5/4
sketchbook 4/21 – 4/27
doll house bed tutorial – part 2 : making the mattress
This tufted doll mattress and pillow fit the clothespin dollhouse bed perfectly. It’s quick and easy to make and perfect for the tiny rag doll.
how to make a tufted doll mattress
You will need:
- the sewing patterns
- a basic sewing kit
- fabric scraps – I used a sweet print from French General – so perfect for a little mattress.
- wool stuffing
- embroidery thread and needle
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1. Cut out the mattress from cotton fabric, pin with right sides together and stitch as shown.
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2. Pull the fabric sides apart at the corners
3. Open the seam allowance with your fingers and press the seams together. Stitch across at 1/4 inch. Do this for all 4 corners.
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4. With all four corners sewn the mattress should look like this.
how to make a doll house bed from clothespins – part one
Do you know somebody very little who needs a bed? A tiny rag doll perhaps? I’ve made you a tutorial for a sweet wooden dollhouse size bed made from clothespins and craft sticks. It is perhaps my greatest gift to humanity. Also, I had an unbelievably good time figuring it out and making it. So obsessed…
It is the latest Miss Thistle Society project, the quest to fully outfit the tiny rag doll’s world. Of course she needs a super cozy bed. The epic instructions for the bed are below and find the instructions for an easy tufted doll mattress here.
I hope you make sweet little beds! Tag your posts on instragram with #annwoodpattern and #missthistlesociety.
how to make a doll house bed from clothespins
note : It is very helpful to read through the directions completely before beginning.
*This post contains affiliate links – if you purchase supplies through some of these links The Miss Thistle Society gets a small commission.
Materials:
- 6 clip clothespins and a few extra for clamping – I’m using these.
- 11 jumbo craft sticks – The sticks are 6 inches by 3/4 inch – available in most craft stores or you can find them here.
- small bamboo skewers – 1 or 2 depending on the length – I’m using these.
- paint
Tools
- wood glue
- wax paper
- scissors
- wire cutter
- ruler
- exacto knife
- paintbrushes
- OPTIONAL – spackle, sandpaper
Cut:
- 8 – 3 and 3/4 inch craft sticks
- 2 – 4 and 3/4 inch craft sticks
- 2 – 4 and 1/2 inch bamboo skewers
- 6 – split clip clothespins
- And 1 whole craft stick
Separate the clothes pins by twisting. I used old but sturdy scissors to cut the craft sticks and wire cutters to snip the skewers.
Accurate measuring is very important to all of this fitting together. And cut your craft sticks as straight as you can.
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1. Make a mark on one side of 4 clothespin halves 1/8th inch from the notch on the flatside.
2. Apply wood glue to the end of one of the 3 and 3/4 inch craft stick pieces.
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3. Working with wax paper underneath press the craft stick against the clothespin -as shown- at the mark. The stick should be at a right angle to the clothespin.
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4. Repeat the previous step so you have two glued sets. Let these dry undisturbed on the wax paper until thoroughly set.
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5. Make 2 more sets and add a second stick to each. Add the second stick next to the first – closer to the tapered end of the clothespin. Let these dry as well. You should now have 4 glued sets of sticks and clothespin halves.
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6. You can use a ruler to check that your sticks are at a right angle to the clothespin.
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7. When the glue is dry gently peel your pieces from the wax paper. Begin with the single stick pieces. They will be fragile so handle them gently. You will also need 2 more clothespin halves and one of your 4 and 1/2 inch skewers.
8. Flip one clothespin and stick set over so the flat side of the clothespin with the notch is facing you. Apply glue to one end of a the skewer.
sketchbook 4/14 – 4/20
sketchbook 4/7 – 4/13
fabric markers, the best adhesive in the world and stitched botanicals
Did you know fabric markers are a thing? I had no idea but happened upon a giant display of them in a big art supply store. They are fantastic and a perfect tool for the botanical classes I taught last week in LA.
I’m always on the lookout for easy ways to make organic looking marks on fabric (there is a whole post about how to do that with bleach printing here). These markers are perfect. There were lots of different sizes and tips to choose from. My favorites were the brush and dot tips. I love a slightly imperfect dot.
The olive marker is a beautiful translucent shade of green. Perfect for adding leaf details to fabric that was dyed olive green. So easy. And you can spritz with water to bleed and smudge and blend the colors. So many possibilities.
*Some links below are affiliate links meaning I get a small commission if you purchase through the link.
If you’d like to try the markers: the brush tip marker is a Marvy Uchida Fabric Marker. The big dot tips are Tee Juice Fabric Markers and the thinner brush tips are Fabrico markers.
By the way I dip my green fabric twice. First in Olive green Dylon Dye (my favorite brand of dye- you can find it at Joann) and then in a light solution of orange dye (Dylon Goldfish is a great orange) to make it brighter, a more acid tone and a little variegated.
Check out a few of the marvelous botanical experiments from the workshop below.
While we are talking about supplies…
I’ll share my new favorite adhesive too. I love everything about Nori Paste. I even love the container. It’s great for collage, easy to work with, extremely smooth and the papers never wrinkle.
Not even a little and I’m using very old, thin and fragile papers. I also tried it on a whispery thin bit of fabric for the bug wings thinking it would fail but the result was perfect. I painted a thin layer of paste to the paper and pressed the fabric into it. Get a10 oz. jar here. It’s so good. And fyi I get a tiny commission if you purchase through this link.
PS – Beetles are on my mind lately. So are ghostly ships and green birds and owls. Stay tuned and have a lovely weekend – ann