a project for camelot

there hasn’t been much sewing happening in my studio of late….altering suits and shortening sleeves on dress shirts doesn’t really count as creative sewing in my book!  i’m back to it now but am befuddled as to how one week away can put me two weeks behind?

first up on the cutting table was a project for camelot fabrics.  this little pilates/yoga strap has been in the snapdragon vaults for a while now and camelot would like to have it as a free pattern for the website!  it will be a while before all the formatting is completed on their end, but watch for this cute free pattern “coming soon” to camelot fabrics.

they sent me this lovely fabric to work with…

in real life (and not my poor photography) it’s a blue/lavender with sky blue lines…just right for the narrow straps.

and after just 1/2 hour of magic (it truly is a super fast project), it turned into this.

from the vaults, a few shots of earlier samples.

i’ll post an update once it goes up on the camelot website.

kim

behind the scenes

photo shoots are crap shoots.  you never know what the weather gods will have in store for you, but you persevere.  our first ever shoot turned out to be frigid and wet…we persevered.  last week we shot one of our new designs and did it on the hottest, most humid day of the summer (so far)…we persevered.  or rather, the models and amy, our photographer extraordinaire, persevered.  i just sweat, i glowed, i perspired.

even while wearing wool, taylor looked cool as a cucumber.  i think it’s that cute braid in her hair…must have kept all the sweat from rolling down her face…i definitely could have used a cute braid!!

on the final shot with taylor we put her in the fountain, which was really just an excuse for me to wade into the fountain as evidenced by my wet footprints at the bottom of this pic.  then she and amy took a break in the shade to review the shots.

my job during the shoot was mostly that of “schlepper”…i tagged along carrying the samples, our bags, a tote with cold water and my own camera, pointing out spots in the shade that might work as a background.  i’m a pretty good schlepper.

we moved on to models julie and mary, and also inside for a few moments where we all took turns standing over the a/c vent!!  we got some great shots (which i will share on friday!!!).  could it be that we’re “getting” this whole photo shoot thing?  i believe it might just be true!

a huge thanks to all three of our lovely models for braving the heat and humidity to help make our designs come to life…and to taylor for being such a good sport and changing clothes in her hot car while parked on the street!!!  couldn’t do it without you guys!

and amy…fantastic pictures…as always!!  you’re talent is boundless and we can’t thank you enough!

kim

life in bloom

life is in bloom! from my evening primrose and coreopsis lining my front walk to the wisteria on the deck arbor and clematis, there is color in my world.  it’s been a bit on the chilly side (understatement of the season!!) and i haven’t had the chance to really sit and enjoy the view, but it’s warming up slowly and i’m looking forward to more morning coffee on the deck and margaritas on the porch in the evenings.  the garden is lush and i’ve been eating radishes in my salads.  peas are forming and it won’t be long before i can pick zinnias to bring some color inside.  life is indeed good.

but we’re all about sewing here….and sewing has been in bloom too.  i just can’t share much of it quite yet!  our newest patterns are FINALLY getting close and one for fall is almost ready too.  we’d love to have some of you act as testers for our designs, double checking out instructions and making sure everything is “just right” before we send them to print.  if you’re interested and have time to help, drop us a note at ohsnapdragonstudios@gmail.com.

here’s a tiny preview of what i’ve been working on in the studio.

it’s not easy to find nice hadware (if you have suggestions send them my way!), but i love LOVE these d-rings i picked up in nyc last fall…so much in fact that i’ve almost convinced my husband to make another trip with me.  of course i promised not to spend more than one day of our trip shopping for hardware and trim!

and this bit of ‘sheerness’ will become a sample in just a few short hours.  yes, it’s chiffon, and I swore off chiffon, but I have hand cream at the ready!!  tonight is the kickoff of our annual summer jazz series concerts (the concerts that inspired the summer jazz dress!) and with a little luck i may just be wearing our latest design….and looking for inspiration for our next.

creativity is also in bloom!

kim

a tisket, a tasket….a new spring basket!!

remember last week i shared a glimpse of some fabric from dear stella?

today i’m sharing what became of that fabric. dear stella asked us to come up with an idea for spring/easter using this line and here’s the little basket that was born!

there are lots of tutorials out in the web world for round baskets, but very few for a rectangular one, so that’s what we made. and instead of stitching the fabric strips together, they are overlapped, giving it a bit more dimension. with little handles on each end i’ve found all sorts of uses for this little gem, from organizing my sewing accessories to holding bath essentials…it’s the perfect size for cd’s and my sister pointed out that it would be great holding diapers on a changing table! centerpiece? check! easter basket? check! it’s sturdy thanks to peltex interfacing, yet pretty simple to put together. the tutorial will walk you through each step.

it’s not quite ready for prime time….dear stella will be putting the tutorial on their site in the next few weeks…just in time for spring!!

kim

ps-thanks amy for doing yet another great job photographing both the finished basket and the instructional steps!!

beautifully warm

several weeks ago i joined in with many other makers through caroline hulse of sew caroline and signed up for a handmade scarf exchange.  i was just finishing up a warm wool cowl at the time and figured i’d be ahead of the game….i had mine almost completed!!  names were randomly jostled and i received an email with the name of the person i was to make a scarf for…..and she lived in southern California!!!  the cowl now rests in my “done” basket and i hustled and made an infinity scarf using cotton shirting and lace.  i dropped in the mail by the deadline and waited.  i was weirdly excited about what i might receive and from whom.

then it came.  i have to admit, i opened it like a 4 year old at Christmas.  and i wasn’t disappointed!

a beautiful crocheted cowl handmade by heather. i love the color, the texture, and those covered buttons!!!

these pictures (taken quite quickly and in poor light) don’t do this cowl justice. it’s beautiful!!

thank you heather.

on the sewing front i’m sharing a pic of some really cute dear stella fabric. it’s from their “dress me for the playground” collection. while i can’t share details quite yet (but very soon), we’ve designed another small project for dear stella using these fabrics. it should be complete and on their website in early march….ready for some spring/easter sewing….and this project would be perfect for easter…hint, hint.

stay warm!!
kim

Dreaming about a studio

I am getting my own studio!!  We call ourselves “Snapdragon Studios”, but up to now that has only been half-true.  Although we do work out of two spaces, Kim’s is a gorgeous sewing room in her walk-out basement (think big windows, pretty decorations, lots of storage) and my “studio” is a perpetually messy desk next to the kitchen table in my 488 square foot house.  Think nice light, no storage, have to clean the bills/ pile-up off everytime I want to sew.  Also think cutting expensive fabric on the same table my toddler smears spaghetti sauce around on.

We have a detached garage that’s extra deep, and up to now it’s been used primarily for storage (not a lot fits in 488 sq.ft.) and for Paul’s work bench.  There’s just enough room in the back to squeeze a studio in for me.  It will be 7′ deep by the width of the garage, which is 14′, and oh, do I have some plans for it.

Since I don’t have any building progress to share yet (we spent the weekend moving three big storage shelves and organizing the part of the garage that won’t be studio to make room for the new wall), I thought I’d share some of my inspiration pictures with you.  (Click on the pictures to be taken to the source.)

Thinking this color for the walls. I also love the natural elements and the white furniture.

We are adding two windows to the side of the garage that faces the backyard so that I can watch the kiddos play from my desk/ sewing table.

 

This is similar to the cutting tables in the costumes shops I worked in and it will be THE MOST WONDERFUL THING. Mine will be lag bolted together like the ones in the shops because I want to be able to climb and sit on it without worrying that I’ll crush it, but this is the basic idea. The casters are key so that I can wheel it out into the garage to be able to work on both sides.

We’ll be installing French doors to lead from the garage into the studio to get the cutting table in and out.

Pegboard is key.

My current sewing table/ desk will move out there (and will, incidentally, free up all kinds of space in our house), and we will build cabinets to hang above the cutting table for fabric storage along with some open shelves for my sewing books.

I am also daydreaming about making felt covers for the windows and having a lighting set-up and backdrop wall to be able to better photograph projects, buying a proper dress form instead of my sad little leaning tower of Pisa (who has lots of personality, but almost no use in fitting garments), bringing in a little comfy chair for sitting while hand-stitching or conferring with Kim, and of course geraniums in window boxes and all the pretty little details.

I’ll be sure to share updates as we go along, but please share if there are aspects of your craft room that you can’t live without.  What am I forgetting?

-Elizabeth

cutting and sewing as promised!

the week flew by without much sewing getting done….but then friday came and i hit the studio.

and this knit (remember this from a few weeks ago?) became this…..

a late summer maxi skirt.  my model got it a bit wrinkled putting it on (messy girl), but a quick press and i’ll be ready for our outdoor jazz concert wednesday evening.

and this lovely anna maria horner voile

became this….

it’s a summer jazz with just a few little modifications.  I cut this one longer than the “top” length but shorter than the dress length to create a tunic to wear with my skinnies.  and then i added a sleeve!!!  yep, a sleeve!!  while i love the flutter sleeve on our summer jazz, fall is fast approaching and i wanted to change it up just a bit….something that would allow me to wear it all year long without having to layer it.  and the big news is…..a  sleeve will be available in the future as a free download so you can all make your summer jazz into a fall/winter jazz dress/top/tunic.  ever since i made the sample for sew to speak using this fabric i’ve known i’d have to have one of my own.

what length sleeve do you like?  since we haven’t graded a pattern yet, there’s still time to change it up.  elbow? 3/4 length? long?  weigh in…we want to hear from you!

i also made some cushions for my parents swing, altered a dress and made some dish towels.  yes indeed, there was some cutting and sewing going on here.  and while i haven’t begun this next project yet, this adorable print and knit

will soon become monkey bar skirts for my great nieces.  their daddies both have horses and this little horse with his pink cheeks caught my eye a while back.  i had trouble finding a knit for the shorts, but since they’re hidden underneath i felt the pink would work….plus it’s their favorite color….win/win.

i’ll leave you with a little tease about this friday’s blog post.  after several months of talking about it, we’ll finally begin our series “snapdragon studios top 10 with…”.  we have several exciting desiners and bloggers participating and our first interview will be with kay whitt of serendipity studio.  she’s got amazing talent and has been so kind and supportive of our new venture.  so be sure to stop back friday!!!

kim

Baby sewing: done!

Yesterday I finally finished and photographed the baby projects I was hoping to get done before our baby makes his or her appearance sometime in the next week or so.  Two quilts plus two little bitty outfits.

You’ve seen the quilt tops a few times now in various stages of completion, so I’ll start with the outfits.  For the boy’s romper I found this super sweet pattern by My Taylor Made on Etsy.  I made the pants version and added cuffs and the belt.  I took photos as I was adding to the pattern, so as soon as I get those edited I’ll put up a tutorial for you on adding those details to a standard romper pattern.

For the little girl’s dress and bloomers, I started with Melly Sews’ Criss Cross Dress and ruffled bloomers pattern and tutorial (available for free when you sign up for her newsletter).  I had been looking for a pinafore dress in an infant size because I don’t have an infant handy to test a self-drafted pattern.  Melly’s wasn’t quite what I was looking for (hers has the long straps come up from the front with an open back and I wanted the dress to wrap around and cross in back like tulip petals), but it was a good start.  Her version is super cute – I just had a specific design in mind and couldn’t be satisfied with anything else.  Her pattern starts at 6 month size, so I knew it was going to be a little big for what I wanted, but you can’t beat free.  🙂

I kept the pattern I adapted for the pinafore dress, so I’ll work on getting that into PDF form and making a tutorial for that, too.  I followed Melly’s instructions and pattern exactly for the bloomers except for pinking the edges of my ruffles and putting them on in wavy lines instead of straight.

I made both in about a 3 month month size in hopes that they would be small enough not to look totally huge and silly in newborn pictures but that they might still fit for a little while after we come home from the hospital.  I’m notorious for making homemade outfits for kids that only fit on the day for which they are intended and that are outgrown in two seconds, so I’m hoping that these will get some wear for the rest of the summer.

So those little bitty outfits wrap up the baby sewing for now, and at this point I’m totally ready to meet our kiddo and stop being super pregnant in the July heat.

Anyone care to venture a guess as to whether we’re having a boy or girl?  Jack’s first response to whether he wants a brother or sister is “motor!” [motorcycle], but after we told him he was going to be disappointed on that front he’s been saying “gill” [girl] or “ister”.  We’ll see if he’s right!

Don’t forget to watch the blog and follow us on Facebook for the baby’s birth announcement with details on how to win one of these quilts!  What special projects are you working on these days?

-Elizabeth

 

 

i love my mailman….but…

i do, i love my mailman.  actually it’s a mail lady….or a mail person….or just “the mail”.  she’s great.  she brings things right to my door when they won’t fit in the box and she’s even made a special “after hours” trip to deliver something she missed on her earlier delivery.  but today i’m willing to kiss my ups driver!!  i don’t know who he/she is, but if they show up at my door i will kiss them!  because today he brought me this…..

and inside that lovely little box was this…..

and what it that pile of paper?  snapdragon studios printed patterns!!!  well, the hard copy proofs of our printed patterns….but hey, they’re printed patterns!!  i knew they were on the way.  i even had a phone conversation this morning with mccall’s and they told me to expect them today.  but after a long day at the office i never even looked by the front door to check.  my son walked in with the box under his arm and asked if i had ordered something.  something?? not just something…..printed patterns!!!!  and no, i’m not in the least bit excited by this box and it’s contents.

and tucked in there was the very official business card from mccall’s (really wonderful, helpful people!), which makes it all official and businesslike.

so, if you’re waiting for printed patterns instead of purchasing a pdf download, your wait is almost over….almost!!  just a few more weeks and we release these beauties into the wild….check the website for updates.  and ask your local shop to stock them.  please.

and ups driver, whoever you are….i’ll be here whenever you’re ready for that kiss!!

kim

Formally Announcing… the Quilt Giveaway!

If you’ve been following the doings around here you already know that I’m expecting a baby next month and that we didn’t find out the baby’s sex ahead of time.  If you’re new to these parts: I’m expecting a baby next month!  We don’t know the baby’s sex!  🙂

In honor of the new baby, we’ve decided to give away a homemade quilt next month to one of our readers.  You’ve already had a sneak peek of the two Cluck Cluck Sew quilts we’re making – one for a little girl and one for a little boy – so I’m back with more details about how you can enter to win one of them.

  

We’re going to keep things simple since I’ll be just a little bit busy after the new baby makes his or her appearance.  All you’ll need to do is to keep following our blog (and follow us on Facebook and Twitter @ohsnap_studios if you want to be sure you don’t miss anything) as we wait for the arrival of the new baby.  After baby makes an appearance, we’ll announce it here with a picture of baby on his or her new quilt and open the giveaway for the quilt our baby won’t need.

All you’ll have to do to win is to be following us on Facebook and to leave a comment for us on Facebook and on the blog after the baby is born telling us a story about your favorite blanket ever, so start thinking of a good one.

In the meantime, we’ll keep you entertained around here with projects, tutorials, random musings and a new blog series that we’re super excited about: Snapdragon Studios Top Ten, in which we’re interviewing great designers and bloggers to get to know them better.  First up: Kay Whitt of Serendipity Studio and Jennifer Moore of Monaluna.  Stay tuned!

-Elizabeth

P.S.  In case you missed it, our Etsy shop is live!  You’d better believe we did a lot of pinching ourselves and happy dances when we made our first sale.  If you make one of our designs, please be sure to send us a picture or two (ohsnapdragonstudios(at)gmail.com) so we can feature your work!