handmade by Carole Carr

Happy 4th of July! (Plus some random musings…)

Published on July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 by car2ole1 Comment

Miss Dorito would like to wish everyone a very safe and happy 4th of July. She is rockin’ her new patriotic dress. She has a little bit of room, so she can grow into it. And no, I did not make it. I am trying desperately to maintain some dignity by not spending all my time drafting patterns for chihuahua clothing.

This little darling is sucking up a lot of my time, as any baby will do. She is a bundle of energy, funny and sweet. At 3 months, she weighed in at one ounce under two pounds.

Good news from the sewing room – I have new LED lighting. Talk about opening up a world of opportunity! Now I can actually work after sunset.

"I never sleep on planes" eye mask. Anita Goodesign embroidery. Gray poly satin fabric, black lace elastic. — “I never sleep on planes” eye mask. Anita Goodesign embroidery. Gray poly satin fabric, black lace elastic.

Remember the eye mask I made for our European trip? On our return flight from Shannon to JFK I sat next to two energetic young Irish women. They were on their way to San Diego to work for the summer. It was their first time out of Ireland, the first plane ride for one of them. Louise and Clodagh made the most of their flight time, partaking of the free (on international flights) beverages and flirting with the other passengers. When the flight attendants started passing out eye masks for those who wanted to sleep, I knew mine had ascended to a higher purpose. I hope Clodagh and Louise have fun showing off their new fashion accessory.

Machine stitching the New Hexagon Millefiore quilt: rosette 6

Published on June 25, 2015 by car2ole2 Comments

Yahoo, it’s still June and number 6 is done!

I’m still using the glue basting method that I learned from Katja’s wonderful book, The New Hexagon. I hand stitched the center star, and completed the rest of the center and all the other rounds using invisible thread and a narrow zigzag.

It’s all about feeling good about your projects, isn’t it? This project was so far out of my comfort zone when I approached it with the notion of hand sewing. I never could have made a dent in it!

It’s so exciting to see stitchers from all over the world embracing this project. And all the ingenuity going into the fabric choices – and construction methods – makes it all the more inspirational.

If you want to try the method I am using, check out my 3-part tutorial, starting here:

https://handmadebycarolecarr.com/2015/01/23/machine-stitching-the-millefiore-quilt-tutorial-part-one-for-those-of-us-who-hand-sew-at-the-speed-of-a-turtle/

25 Hawaiian quilt blocks = a quilt top!

Published on June 24, 2015 by car2ole12 Comments

Do you think I’m just a little bit excited today? I have the top of my Hawaiian quilt stitched together!

There were many Kodak moments while I wrestled this through the sewing machine. I stitched the blocks for each row together, then stitched the rows together.

I laid it out on the lawn so I could get a nice pic. The sunlight washes out the color a little, but this thing is VIBRANT!

Next I have to figure out what I want to do for the drop, the hangy-downy part. And I have to decide if I want to put some kind of border around it.

I’ll think about that tomorrow.

Meanwhile, keeping with the multicolor theme, enjoy this rainbow in my backyard.

Bonus photo, my puppy Dorito trying to learn how to go down stairs.

I made her a half step out of important books. Doesn’t the cat look skeptical?

Tiny little dresses: a quilt for a new baby girl

Published on June 18, 2015June 14, 2015 by car2ole11 Comments

Somebody I know is having a baby. A little girl-flavored baby. How excited do you think I was when I found out I could make a girly quilt?

I went straight to my Anita Goodesign collection of embroidery designs. I bought the Memory Quilt collection in anticipation of somebody I know expecting a girl. Thrilled that the opportunity came so soon. This sweet little orange number was my first block.

I just happened to have a fat quarter bundle of Scrumptious by Moda. What great colors, girlish and yet unexptected. Not all parents are into the soft pastels, so I wanted something colorful and different.

The daddy-to-be is the son of my bff. I just can’t see that formerly rough and tumble boy carrying around a pastel clad little princess. I’m sure it will happen, but I think he will fight it.

Red shoes? Yes, please.

I sure remember why I love fat quarter bundles (and jelly rolls, and layer cakes…) What fun to mix up the colors and prints. Even if you have a moment where your creativity abandons you, the fabric just leaps right in and makes it all perfect!

I love the variety of dresses in the Anita set. The cute little dresses are all so unique.

It’s a tiny little nightgown! So practical for tiny babies, right? But perfect on a quilt.

And that sweet little bonnet? Screaming out for some chubby little cheeks.

This maybe my favorite of the little dresses. Then again, I change my mind every time I look at the pictures.

I decided to do a scrappy look for sashing around each of the blocks. It just makes me smile to look at it – the fabrics are all so cute I didn’t want to favor any one.

Does that binding look a little familiar? That is one of the bias tapes I brought back from Dublin, Ireland. I was so tickled with how sweet it looks with the quilt.

Another nod to the brilliance of collecting fabric, the aqua with yellow bows is a Cynthia Rowley fabric from my collection.

I knew the quilt needed a special tag, so with a lot of pondering, a cup of coffee, and a little romp with Dorito later, I came up with this.

I figured I should change the names to protect the innocent. I sent this off to the parents-to-be, and by the time I publish this post it will be in their hands.

Just in case you were wondering about that awkward “cow cookie” phrase… When almost-daddy was a baby, I worked in a bakery. We gave cookies to all the children that came into the store. He couldn’t say Carole, so when he would come into the store and see me at the end of the isle, he would yell “Cow cookie!”

I can’t wait to hear what they think of their new quilt!

Hawaiian quilt blocks are taking over the house!

Published on June 16, 2015June 16, 2015 by car2ole12 Comments

That’s a good thing, right? I’m working on one more block, then I will have enough beautiful blocks for the quilt top!

Last time I spread the blocks across my bed, I looked to see what colors were missing or needed more presence.

Guess you can tell that I was feeling blue.

I also only had one fuchsia block, the flowers, not the color.

I also had to throw in some in which I just liked the fabric, because, well, that’s how we quilters roll.

And one more pineapple. These aren’t ripe yet.

Anybody else out there looking forward to an actual quilt coming out of these blocks? Besides you, Mr., I know you are impatient.

Have you tried the clapper? Here’s how to get flat, crisp seams!

Published on June 9, 2015 by car2ole5 Comments

This is not just a blunt instrument I keep in my sewing room, although I could put up a good defense with this. This is a tailor’s clapper.

I was bouncing around in the internet world and saw a question posed recently regarding this handy pressing tool. After asking around, I discovered that it is also not well known in the sewing world. I decided it was time to give a shout out to one of my favorite tools.

These have been around in the sewing world forever. It’s a heavy chunk of wood, unfinished, sanded smooth with grooves for your fingers so it is easier to pick up. It is used to flatten seams. If you try a clapper, you will wonder how you have gone all these years without one!

This is a seam on a quilt I am making. I have already pressed this seam open with my super duper Oliso iron, but it is not as flat as I would like it to be. Clapper to the rescue!

The first step is to press the seam with a hot iron and steam. Steam is the key here, it is what makes the clapper most effective.

As soon as you lift the iron, while the fabric is still hot and steamy, put the clapper right on top of that seam. Leave it there until the fabric cools

When you lift the clapper, like magic, your seam will be flat and crisp. That’s all there is to it. Really! Now look at the before and after photos together:

Awesome, isn’t it? Simple and effective. Now look at the difference on the sashing of the quilt block:

You can buy a tailor’s clapper online from Nancy’s Notions and other retailers. Go ahead, you know you want one.

I ❤️ Dublin, and the rest of Ireland too!

Published on June 7, 2015 by car2oleLeave a comment

I came back from Dublin well biased.

This amazing cotton bias tape is gorgeous, and best of all, it is pre-made. I can see lots of uses for this, most obviously for binding quilts. How cute would that be?

I also found the cutest elastic I have ever seen! Don’t know where these are going yet…

A. Rubanesque is a trim shop located in the Temple Bar area in Dublin. Temple Bar is a busy area in the center of the city, with lots of pubs (proud to say I tried many) and shopping. The shop is full of lace, trims, elastics, and other delicious trim items. I oohed and ahhed over so many lovely laces. But what the hey-de-ho am I going to do with lace? I pondered and pondered, and left the store lace-less.

We had gone into the Temple Bar area on our first night in Dublin. We had a private pub crawl with Garvan as our guide. It started something like this…

Here was our favorite pub from that evening (as far as we remember.) You could fit maybe 20 people in there, as long as ten of them were standing.

We sampled many pints at many bars. Highlights of this walking/stumbling tour include:

The last one is some mer-horses on the river Liffey. Threw that one in just to see if you were paying attention.

The biggest distractions come in the smallest packages

Published on June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 by car2ole2 Comments

I would like you to meet my new love, Dorito. Dorito is a tiny little chihuahua, one pound three ounces, she is 8 weeks old today. If you’re not saying “awwwww” right now, we can no longer be friends.

Quite a feat trying to get pictures of her, she is a wiggly little girl. Her full name is Spicy Dorito Cool Ranch Carr.

Her giant ears seem to make it hard to keep her back paws on the ground.

And how cute are those tiny little paws, no bigger than a dime. She’s got a fat, pink belly, smooth and kissable.

She has little puppy sucky dreams.

She was cold one night. If you only weigh one pound, apparently you can get cold even in Kauai. I made her a sweater out of the top of a sock. Just cut it off and made two tiny slits for arm holes. I think she can pull off the look.

Look who’s already displaying some sassy attitude! That tiny tongue!

The family is in love with her little self. Except for the cat, of course, who can’t be bothered with this little speck. She is sweet, playful, and awkward, all the things a puppy should be. She’s a keeper.

Her first trip to the salon was quite the success. And she might have a career as the Aveda spokesdog.

The most excellent adventure recap, session one: Liberty of London, Tana Lawn heaven!

Published on June 2, 2015June 2, 2015 by car2ole4 Comments

Aloha friends! I survived our great European adventure. Now I shall taunt you with some of the spoils of my travels. For all cotton fabric lovers out there, you need hear only one word…Liberty.

You don’t have to hang out long in the fabric-obsessed world to hear about Tana Lawn fabrics from Liberty of London. The finest cotton I’ve ever laid my hands upon, it is somewhat rare and always expensive in the US. The prints are iconic in the UK, classic and beloved.

When planning our European trip that included London, you KNOW that a long stop at Liberty was on my must-do list. Right up there with Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.

DSCN0355 — The gates at Buckingham Palace. I’ve got about 4 layers of clothing on in this picture. Kinda cold for a Kauai-dweller. Check out my wee little guard friend in the background.

Oops! Off on a tangent. Anyhoo…we found the Liberty store, and a special feeling came over me. A feeling like I had returned to my homeland. Thankfully, they had wifi, so the Mr. plopped into the comfy husband chair and I meandered. I touched every piece of fabric in their incredible fabric and haberdashery department.

And then I bought some fabric. This is going to make an amazing dress. By now I had also gained a co-conspirator, Koh Chow. We meandered together. Koh Chow would take each fabric, lay it out on the cutting table, and fold it in an origami-type fashion to visualize the type of garment I wanted to make. My new BFF.

Then I bought some more fabric. You know that if you have 3 meters of fabric you can make anything. AND have pieces left over for quilting. Just sayin.’

Koh Chow folded this into a blouse. I don’t usually go for delicate, but holy cow this is pretty!

I wanted to make sure the haberdashery department got a fair shake. So I bought some pre-made bias tape, a little bag kit, a fabric roll…

Fabric for another dress, charm squares…

They even have pretty shopping bags. I was in heaven. The Mr. was on the internet. Koh Chow had a good sales day. All was right with the world.

We got into London on the morning that the new little Royal was born. While we were at Buckingham Palace, they put up the birth announcement.

We were among the first to see it, and it was only up for about 3-4 hours. It was so cool to be there for a historical event! And I’m an Anglophile, so anything Britishy or Royally is right up my alley.

I also managed to buy some smaller pieces of Liberty fabrics at a few other little shops into which I wandered in Ireland.

It’s nice to be back, I hope some of you missed me. My sewing room beckons, as does a new little friend in my life…

When in doubt, accessorize! Accessories for the whimsical traveller.

Published on April 25, 2015April 25, 2015 by car2ole9 Comments

Travel accessories for the crazed sewist.

There is so much prep time for a big trip. I’ve been plotting and planning, piling and packing. And I think everything is ready. So I decided I needed some new travel accessories.

Leather bag tag, Anita Goodesign embroidery design.

Did you know that you can embroider on leather? Well you can. I just happened to have this cute leather bag tag sitting about. Nothing within my reach is safe from the Destiny. I embroidered my initial on the flap. At first, I couldn’t decide whether to embroider the initial for my first name or my last. I hope I chose wisely.

Camera case in batik alligator print. Custom made to fit my new camera. Soft and stable for padding, long zipper, detachable wrist strap.

I’ve been practicing with my new camera for the trip. So of course the camera needed a cute little case. Matches the lining of my backpack. Boom.

Necessary Clutch Wallet pattern by Emmaline bags. That beautiful Michael Miller fabric with a batik lining. — Necessary Clutch Wallet pattern by Emmaline bags. That beautiful Robert Kaufman fabric with a batik lining.

My new wallet is so classy. I wanted to make sure it would coordinate with my mix-and-match outfits. Now I can carry it as a clutch no matter what I wear. Yep, same fabric as the backpack. No worries, I won’t hold them up next to each other.

If you’ve learned anything whatsoever about me, you know that this is my favorite travel accessory by far. My special sleep mask. I plan on wearing it on those redeye flights. Although no one will know if I have red eyes. Maybe I’ll even get bonus points for creeping out some people on the flights. I might even wear it backwards when I get up to use the restroom.

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