Baby Crafting - Olive's First Chickenpants

I had planned on having these done before she was even born. Sheeesh. Well, here they are, and she's 5 months old.

Black and white things are supposed to be good for their little baby eyes. Hence the all black and whiteness. I really like how the white one's face turned out. All spooky and gothy.

I scaled the pattern down a bit to be easier for tiny hands to clutch. It appears to have worked. The traditional bead eyes and button belt had to go, so I replaced them with felt.
Here's hoping she likes them!

The most effective baby toy ever - Tutorial!

Behold, the best baby toy ever. At least, that's what Olive thinks. This little toy has bought me all sorts of quiet time. Dude, she is playing with it right now as I write this post. As someone who has long considered herself a toymaker, I have mixed feelings about this toy. On the one hand, it works! The baby likes it! Isn't that what it's all about? On the other hand, boy, is it ugly.
In any case, I'll let you decide. Here's a tutorial. Make it for the busy little ones in your life.

What's really cool about this toy is that you can just use whatever you have on hand. Here's what I used, though:

6" square of silky fabric
6" square of fleece
Felt in 3 colors
Various ribbons in various lengths
Polyfill
Thread
Needle & thread
Sewing machine (Optional, but helpful)
Scissors

First, cut two circles roughly 6" across. Seriously, roughly is fine. This thing is going to get spit all over it.

Then cut your ribbon into various lengths. I used 9 pieces of ribbon ranging from 13" to 4". Cut your felt into three 2.5" x 2.5" squares.

Stack the pieces of felt on the right side of the fleece. I staggered them a bit, like so:

Now sew them in place.

Here's where it starts looking crazy. Arrange your ribbons on top of the fleece, wrong side up. Pin the ends in place. You may want to turn some of the longer ribbons into loops. Just pin both ends to the edge in that case.

See the big fat purple ribbon on top? LOOP!

Now, carefully carefully carefully sew the ribbons in place. Just sew in a circle, making sure to catch at least one end of each ribbon.


Place the silky circle right side down on top of the fleece piece. Pin in place, being careful that all ribbons are tucked safely in the center. Sew in a circle, leaving about a 1" opening.

Now, it should look like this:

A total mess. Anyway, turn that bad boy inside out, stuff it with polyfill, and then sew the gap closed thusly:

Needle, thread, pinching the raw ends in. Boom.

There! You're done! I hope this toy brings you and your favorite little one hours of enjoyment.

Notes!
This is machine washable. Toss it in the machine cold, then hang it to dry from one of those loops you put in. Easy peasy.

Leslie Hall - patron rock star of the crafters

Mother Gem. Keeper of the Gems. Crafty, be-stretch-panted diva. In other words, Leslie Hall.
Perhaps the best way to explain Leslie Hall is to let her do it. For those not yet initiated, here, watch this:

Aw, yeah.
She's been dancing and making the world a sparklier place for years now. I was first introduced to Leslie's music through a Felt Club newsletter back in 2008. I was immediately hooked. (And yet, it's taken me how long to write this post?)
(It was this video!)
She even has a gem sweater museum.
Imagine my pants-wetting when I actually got to meet Ms. Hall at Felt Club. Holy cow, she's even more glamorous in person. And craftier! She gleefully walked up and down the aisles before the show began, squealing over the goodies and talking to the crafters.

(Yes! She is holding a Chickenpants!)
One of the recurring topics in her songs is craftyness. By all means, treat yourself to at least one of her albums. They're the perfect jams to craft to.

Winners!

My oh my, is this post ever going up late. 5 am is a rotten time to wake up. Leads to forgetfulness and tiredness.
ANYWAY!
Here are the winners:

Tobin!

ZFLA!



Michelle!

Jennifer!
I'll be contacting you all by email shortly. Thanks for commenting, everyone!

A big together blog post may not be happening

I have so much to say, and so many blog post ideas. Actually, I have a really, really great idea for a brand! new! blog!, but I figure I shouldn't even start that until I can update this one on a regular basis.
I also have very, very, very limited time, and now, limited energy. Thank you, baby growth spurt!

So what's the answer? I have no idea.
I was going to put a list here, and it was going to be hilarious and adorable, but my mind is totally blank and I feel a little sick from this makeshift salad I just put together. (Was it the old avocado, lentils, pea shoots, or cesar dressing that did it? Blerg.)
Bottom line: Hello. I miss blogging and hearing your comments. I have a lot of jumbled up ideas and not enough time to let them out. Anyone have any advice?

Valley of Dolls Zine Giveaway

Hello there, my darlings. I have something delightful to share with you. I just received a bundle of Valley of Dolls zines in the mail. I have an interview in there, and the lovely publisher sent me a few copies to share with you.
This zine is just jam packed with dolly awesomeness. Oh, this zine. Where do I start? Valley of Dolls is put together by the very talented Su Mwamba of Tanglecrafts. Have you visited her blog? Or her shop? Both are so much fun. She even has put together a club.

There's a cute piece of Matrushka cotton on the cover, and a piece of felt, so you can make your own little Matrushka doll. There are actually four different doll tutorials in this book. There are also interviews, book reviews, and plenty of lovely illustrations.

SO, what can you do to win a copy of your very own?
Leave a comment, my dears!
Make sure I have some way of contacting you (Email, Etsy, Twitter, whatever.)
I’ll pick the winners by random number generator next Wednesday, the 15th. I've got FOUR copies to give away. Woot!

*Want extra chances to win? Okay, we can do that.
Leave another comment if you do any of the following:
Link to this on Twitter
Link to this on Facebook
Link to this on your blog
Link to this anywhere else!

Summer of Curry - Java Curry (hot)

Welcome to the Summer of Curry! Here at Casa Chambers, we are huge fans of all sorts of curry. However, none has captured our hearts and tastebuds quite like Japanese curry. Why Japanese curry? Because we went to Japan this one time. Also, it tastes like a sort of silly version of every other curry you've ever had. It's tasty and charming, is what I'm saying.
Alas, it is actually pretty hard to find in my (remember, country!) neck of the woods. On a recent journey to a Japanese grocery, we picked up a few different varieties, determined to try them all and find the best one. What could be a worse time to do this than the summer? Thus, the Summer of Curry!

Here are the rules:
All curries are prepared the same way, with the same ingredients for control. (1 baking potato, 1 carrot, 1 box of extra firm tofu, 1 sweet onion, 1 tab. vegetable oil) All curries are also the "hot" variant. We'll eat them, and then rank them on a scale of 1 (Awful) to 5 (Excellent).

Today's curry: Java Curry by House.
The palm trees on the box let you know that they mean Java the place, not Java the drink. Which makes sense, because when you think of curry, you think of...Java. Sure.
Does it have MSG? You bet! The ingredient list is long and scary. Don't look directly at it.

Java Curry claims to be "A unique blend of spices for a robust curry". But is it?
The short answer is yes. It's actually really good. At first, it didn't seem spicy at all, but the heat builds up as you eat. It's the closest to a Japanese restaurant curry I've tried so far.


Dan: 4.5 out of 5
Claire 4.5 out of 5

How to fix a slipping bra strap

Call me a prude, but I really can't stand it when my bra strap starts to wander, letting the world know just what color and condition said bra is in. (Answer: generally not great.) It drives me nuts. I don't want to have to constantly be adjusting and digging around. It's just not...dignified.
Fortunately for me, the solution to the problem is really simple.
All you need to fix your shoulder-centric wardrobe malfunctions is:

Ribbon 1/4" (7 mm) wide
two sew in snaps
thread
needle
scissors
matches (yes, matches!)

Start by cutting a 2.5" (6 cm) piece of the ribbon. Singe the ends with a lit match, so they don't fray. (See! Matches.)

Fold the ribbon in half, and give it a good pinch to press a crease in. (If you wanted to get all perfect about it, you could press in a crease with a cool iron. But that's totally optional, and frankly, a little overkill for this project.)

Sew the snap pieces onto each end of the ribbon like so:

Make sure that they're facing each other so you can snap them.

In the shoulder of your garment, sew the ribbon into place. Make sure the snaps are facing towards the arm.

Done! Now repeat the process with the other shoulder.

Now, when you're getting dressed, simply snap that pesky bra strap into the little loop. No more wandering straps! No more migrating necklines! Your life is really coming together now!

Now, go spill something. The universe hates a vacuum.

Crafty Book Review - Perfectly Fitted

I snagged Perfectly Fitted by Lynne Garner from the local library recently. The tagline is "Creating personalized patterns for a limitless wardrobe". Sounds brilliant! Truth be told, I had some illusions about having enough time to actually make some patterns from the book. Alas, that did not actually happen. (4 month olds don't exactly leave one a whole lot of sewing time, alas. Or reading time. Or sleeping time.)
HOWEVER!
This book is awesome, and is going straight to the top of my "Actually Buy This" list. Perfectly Fitted manages to be both attractive and really informative. It covers the basics of garment construction in a step by step fashion, with plenty of clear color photos. They make it look a whole lot less daunting. What's most appealing to me is the section on draping. I hadn't heard of draping before picking up this book, but it's revolutionized my Chickenpants sewing. Draping is making patterns with muslin by, well, draping the fabric on the body. This makes so much more sense to me than paper patterns.
Previously, when making couture Chickenpants, I'd try to make a paper pattern first. I could eventually get what I wanted done, but it took forever, and many alterations were required. Now, I drape. It is so much faster and easier! And the finished results look nicer. Check out this recently finished guy:

Check out that tiny suit! All hand stitched, and all without a headache. Hooray!
But I digress.
If you're looking to make actual human lady clothes, this book is an amazing resource. It takes you step by step all the way from measuring to sewing up clothes. It includes a gallery of things to make with your fabric pattern blocks. (Shirts! Skirts! Pants! Dresses!) With this book, a handful of notions, and a bunch of fabric, one could create a fantastic wardrobe.
Bottom line: if you're looking to start making your own patterns and/or clothes, check out this book first!