Karin Jordan Studio

An Upside to Moving

We moved from Massachusetts to New Hampshire last June, and I am STILL unpacking and organizing my studio. There are plenty of things in here that I honestly can’t believe I moved — a tangled mess of embroidery thread, old patterns made of newspaper that don’t make sense to me anymore, etc. Today I had an “I can’t believe I found it” moment. These antique and handmade buttons have been eluding me since my last move nearly five years ago. I hadn’t a clue that they were in a small bag that was the smallest in a series of paper bags that vaguely resembled a crumpled Russian nesting doll set. Fortunately there’s no TV show for craft hoarders. Yet. 

 

Years ago after my grandmother died, I inherited most of her sewing supplies. There were many interesting buttons, and I didn't know what to do with them. They do look pretty in blue Ball jars. I chose a pink fabric and started sewing buttons on, fishing out all the neutral-colored ones. This is the result. I lovingly refer to it as an exercise in futility, but because they were buttons my grandmother had collected, I felt justified. I also realized that my grandmother had likely moved with her buttons several times. You can’t fight genetics.

 

Craft with Kids: Spin It! It Makes Noise

As a kid I spent a lot of time in Arizona. At some point, I came home with a Native American spin drum. Basically, it’s a small drum on a stick with strings and beads hanging out both sides. When you spin the stick between your palms, the drum turns and the beads hit it with a rat-tat-tat. I wanted to translate this into a craft for Annabel. 

I cut two matching circles out of white index cards. You can also use a cereal box headed for the recycle bin. Annabel selected a sparkly purple polka-dot paper, and I cut a heart out of it. She decided to sign her name on the back. I had a handful of inexpensive foam paintbrushes, and I ripped the foam off the stick, exposing the flat plastic piece the foam was glued to. I cut a length of ribbon and Annabel strung six beads on it, three for each side of the drum. Using double stick tape, I affixed the ribbon, centering it in the middle of the paper circle. I applied more tape around the perimeter of the paper circle and put the two backs together, sandwiching the flat plastic part of the paintbrush in between. We had a leftover spool of red ribbon with hearts so I tied short pieces at the top of the stick.

It’s a fun craft, percussion instrument, unusual valentine and cat toy all wrapped up in one! 

I'd love to see photos of your paper spin drums!

Karin

 

A Good Little Red Riding Hood

My grandparents had a room full of dolls in their Doylestown house. When I was little, I dreaded going to the bathroom in the middle of the night because I had to walk past 'the doll room', and they watched me. For many years, I continued to do my best to ignore dolls. Then I had kids. Annabel mostly has Haba dolls, designed in Germany. They're cloth dolls with satisfied faces and cute outfits. And they don't seem to keep their eyes on me, so they're okay. I always preferred stuffed animals to dolls growing up, which is probably why I started making sweater animals for the kids instead.

Recently, I came across a lovely book entitled, "We Make Dolls!" by Jenny Doh. In it are patterns for animals, mermaids, strongmen, even a mini Frieda Kahlo. I decided upon Little Red Riding Hood, by Suse Bauer of RevoluzZza. I mentioned her in an earlier post, as the pattern for the two little bunnies I made for the kid's Easter baskets was from Suse's web site. Annabel picked a purple material, which I used for the 'hood.' I chose the rest of the fabric. I'm pleased with how my first doll turned out. The pattern was easy to follow, and the step-by-step pictures were enormously helpful. We named her Annika — a combination of Annabel and Karin. She will likely have friends soon!  

Annika on the piano with a row of black and white family portraits. My grandmother (far left), Annabel (center), and me (right). 

 

A Terrific Pattern for Monogrammed Drawstring Bags

 

My plan was to wing it with the party favor bags for Annabel’s last birthday party. And then of course I ran out of time to be comfortable figuring it out in process. If I couldn’t find a pattern online in five minutes or less, the bags were not going to happen. Between you and me, I gave myself roughly ten minutes. I had decided that I needed to make them. I stumbled upon a site called Lovely Design, which in my estimation earns its moniker. Sharilyn’s easy-to-follow goodie bag pattern saved the day. Literally, because I had been rear ended on the way home with the cupcakes, and the intricate frosting decorations didn’t handle the impact well. I couldn’t have handled half-smashed cupcakes and poorly made gift bags.  

I had already chosen a font—Futura Condensed Extra Bold, enlarged to 425. Instead of muslin, I used something with a slightly more textural feel but still neutral-colored. I had some plain cotton string. The fabrics for the monograms were from my studio stash, and I pulled out rich, jewel tones with polka dots, small flowers, stripes, and so forth.  

A friend sent me this picture of her son's goodie bag hanging on his doorknob.

The party was a success; it was a bit of a zoo, but the kids didn't seem to mind mashed frosting. I hope you have as much luck with the party favor bags as I did!

Karin

 

 

 

Craft with Kids: Feelin' Felty

Annabel wanted to do something special for Grammy. It had to be purple, because everything has to be purple. Hearts are also good. Grammy likes red and she is especially fond of ladybugs, so we decided to incorporate those four things into a handmade present. At 3.5 years old (today, in fact), Annabel is into lacing, beading, writing her name, and decorating with stickers.  

I drew the larger hearts on paper by hand, traced them onto inexpensive red and purple felt and cut them out. Then I punched matching holes in the two hearts. If I were to do this again I would use an awl or scissors to make small incisions. I’d advise against using a paper hole punch (ouch!). I got her started lacing string through the holes to bind the hearts together. I realized that it was Annabel's first sewing project!

While she was finishing up and having a snack, I grabbed a heart-shaped cookie cutter from the kitchen and traced hearts on three different colors of paper: dark purple, lavender and red. Annabel took over and decorated both sides of the paper hearts with drawings and ladybug stickers. She carefully put the paper hearts inside the felt heart pocket and could not wait to give it to Grammy.  You can imagine how that went. :)

A lot of wool felt just arrived in the mail from Weir Dolls and Crafts. Every color they sell, in fact (oops!). It’s so pretty! I have been collecting ideas on Pinterest on a new board, and I purchased a few patterns on Etsy that I can’t wait to get to. Hopefully I’ll have them on here soon!

 

 

Today's Inspiration: Pears

As the weather improves so does the produce at the local supermarket. I was putting fruit in my basket when I noticed a lone pear with a leaf. It was a dry leaf, of course, but it made me actually look at the fruit closely for a change. In a store full of processed goods I am usually on autopilot, and in a hurry to get home.

I brought the pear home and thought about the subtle variations in color. From the embroidery box, I pulled a handful of greens inspired by my recent purchase. I plan on incorporating them into the leafy part of a monogram. I cannot wait for the local farmer’s market to open later this spring. That's one place where it's impossible to be on autopilot.   

Karin

 

 

How to Make Double-sided Placemats

After years of half-heartedly searching for decent placemats, I finally gave in and made them. It was a Goldilocks and three bears-type adventure in shopping. One would be too tall, another too short, others too thin or too thick. Or I'd find a great pattern, but it wouldn't be large enough, etc. So I marched to Joann’s with my newly discovered iPhone app that is a constant source of 40% off coupons. I immediately fell in love with a modern floral for the top and a coordinating stripe for the back. Yes, double-sided! I liked the print so much I bought enough to make eight placemats. 

After washing and ironing the fabric I wanted to make a template that would make cutting out the 16 pieces go faster. I realized I had a large (14 x 19”), cheap plastic outdoor placemat from Target. For some reason, placemats for outside use are larger than ones made for inside. Perhaps because manufacturers assume you have more space because you’re eating under they open sky?

After eyeing me skeptically, Annabel gave me the okay to use ‘her’ placemat. I thanked her and with a thin permanent, marker traced 16 rectangles fairly quickly. I always use a permanent marker because I usually need to stop and start projects and that way I can avoid the time pressure that goes with using disappearing ink. If you don’t have a plastic placemat to use as a template, it’s easy to cut one out of cardboard or paperboard. Just make sure it’s a rectangle and not a trapezoid. :)

Cut the rectangles 3/4” outside the lines that you traced. This will be your seam allowance (sounds like a lot, but it will make sense later!). I used my Gingher sewing scissors, but a rotary cutter would have worked as well. 

With right sides facing, stitch around the placemats on the line that you traced. Leave an opening of at least three inches to be able to turn them right side out. 

Turn, press, and topstitch with 1/2” from the edge so that the turned-in 3/4” seam allowance is caught in the stitching. That way you don’t have to blind stitch them closed by hand. It's super easy!

Now my mother wants a custom set for her too-narrow dining room table. I get to head back to the fabric store!