{ i solemnly swear i am up to no good }

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Are you a Harry Potter fan? My friend Nicole surely is.
It was her birthday the other day and we decided to throw her a Potter themed party.
Knowing me, I had to stick with theme for her gift, so I painted a tea cup and saucer for her in style.

I had curiously managed to side-step the whole Harry Potter cultural phenomenon for so many years, so when I knew the final movie was coming out last year I decided to steam-roll through all of the previous movies for the first time so that I could see the last when it came out in theatres.

I did indeed thoroughly enjoy it and took a liking to them. Surely one of the most memorable things to me was the Marauders Map and its accompanying pass-phrases of 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good' and 'Mischief managed.'

I thought that, plus several random foot prints, would make a fun marking for ceramics.

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{notebook paper pillows}

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While browsing through one of my favorite window shopping locations, PaperYa on Granville Island, I saw some lovely accessories created with ivory canvas and a whole lot of stitching to look like notebook paper. As usual with my widow shopping adventures, I thought 'I can make that'. So I did.
You can do it, too!

I could have left the pillows blank, but I decided to embroider a quote on each; one from Alice in Wonderland, and the other from the great mind of Einstein. I particularly appreciate the Einstein quote, both as an artist and a dyslexic.

Should I ever want more of a blank canvas look, I can just turn the pillows over, since the backside of each is quote-less.

This can be applied to most any project you want to make, because the beauty is in sewing the lines before you cut the fabric.  I can see making anything from wallets, purses, or even shirts with this technique.  Since I wanted to re-do our couch pillow covers, my task was particularly easy.

I measured to make sure I had enough fabric lengthwise to cover both pillows and then I started sewing many a straight line with blue thread.  I did it at 1/4" intervals so that I just had to use my sewing machine presser foot as a guide. So easy, right? Admittedly, this is a tight spacing of lines, which means a lot more time to do this part.  You could space them further apart if you like, which would take far less time, but I wanted it to look more like the actual spacing on notebook paper. After that, you can do one (or two, closely spaced) line(s) in pink perpendicular to your blue lines. I estimated the placement for my pink line to be 3.5" in from the left seam of the pillow, as that seemed good for the proportions of my pillows. This measurement would fluctuate, depending on the size object you were applying this to.

There are slight irregularities throughout this, such as not always perfectly straight lines and thread thickness where I ran out of a bobbin in the middle of a line. I decided to embrace these as being 'rustic' or some such thing instead of getting OCD over it.

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{ i made pancakes }

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A random piece of craftery for you today. A painting...sort of.
I went over to my dear friend Lois' place recently, where she pulled out masses of paint supplies and declared it craft time. Always a fun surprise.

My husband loves pancakes. I mean loooooves them. I often joke that he pre-courted me with pancakes as he frequently managed to make a fresh batch with too many right when he knew I would be nearby.
He treasures a heavily earmarked copy of The Pancakes Cookbook by Myra Waldo, and at the front of it I found the above quote.

I just couldn't resist turning that into something for our walls. Come on: Shakespeare + pancakes in a house of flapjack addicted thespians? It was necessary. So now I finally have something to hang on the formerly naked wall above our stove.

So go make some pancakes! Here is a classic buttermilk recipe to get you going if you need it.

2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk or sour milk ("++more" says the hubby)
2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and sugar. Beat the eggs, then mix in the buttermilk. Add to the flour mixture, stirring only until smooth. Mix in the melted butter or vegetable oil.

Rub a griddle or heavy skillet with vegetable oil or butter. Heat until a drop of water jumps when dropped on it. Pour the batter onto it by the ladle or tablespoon, depending on the size pancake you want. Bake until browned on both sides. Serve with any pancake accompaniment.

Makes about 24 5" or 48 2.5" pancakes.

The Pancake Man also imparted this tip for the best pancakes:
"Blend evenly with a big spoon, but don't over stir - there should still be plenty of air bubbles throughout...And only flip once."

Have a happy Pancake Day.

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{grey coat for grey days}

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Long awaited. The coat is done and I love it. Just what I wanted.
 A vintage feel, a neutral color, and plenty warm.

Last year I posted about this lovely pattern from Burda that I had found. I made alterations to the pattern to fit me just so, but it got put on hold for a while.

I love the poofy sleeves in this pattern, as it prevents that well known gripe of putting arms into the coat and having all of your layered sleeves get shoved up inside. These sleeves have plenty of room for layers beneath. In my alterations, I also made sure to widen the shoulders and the top of the arms since I was sick of not being able to raise my arms properly in a coat.

The high neck and collar is great, adding enough warmth that I can get away without a scarf often times, and if I add one, I can wear it on top to show it off instead.

I found the perfect light grey felton wool to use, and got some vetiver green lining.  Isn't vetiver such a great name? I opted to use hidden magnetic snaps for the pockets instead of the buttons and button holes prescribed by the pattern, as I thought I would constantly catch things on the buttons. I borrowed a technique for covering the snaps with the lining fabric that I spied on some Anthropologie coats.

The hidden button placket is a nice feature for a clean look when closed, but a bit trickier to do up the buttons in a hurry.

Being the geek that I am, I had to make my own label. I hand-embroidered my name and the phrase 'this took forever to make' on a piece of the felton wool and trimmed it with my handy-dandy pinking sheers (I love those things). I also added a reinforced bias tape loop for putting on coat hooks. I hate it when things don't have that. Of course, I put it so the loop could be tucked behind the label when not in use. I also trimmed the lining hem with lace for a little extra fun.

So there it is. I'm really pleased with this project. It may be the one I feel most proud of to date. I was really intimidated to make a whole coat, but finally felt up to it after having taken a number of commissions to re-line coats and make jackets. I have full confidence that this coat will last me for many years to come, both in durability and in classic style.

Has anyone else ventured into coat making this chilly season?

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