GreenStitch Episode 31 - My love for linen

Basketball, linen, a fine cat's birthday, and the Repurpose-Along 2011 - it's a varied agenda indeed in this week's broadcast. Click here to listen

The flash sure gave a yellow wash to these photos, but I think you can still get the idea of my reupholstered entryway bench. The previous version was navy blue and drab indeed. I think the big, splashy print of this linen is actually much more flattering to the bench than it once would have been on the backside of someone wearing the original skirt!

Do check out the Sewing With Linen Flickr group - but only when you have enough time time to browse, because I can guarantee you'll want to stay there awhile.

Also, join in the Repurpose-Along 2011 Flickr group by April 22, Earth Day, and be part of the drawing fun.

I thought you'd enjoy this photo, one of our family's favorites. My mother was an avid fan of all sports, and she loved the NCAA basketball tournament. She won the family prize in 2000 with her ace picks of Michigan State, Wisconsin, and other teams making it to the Final Four. Here she is accepting the treasured photo of Carol Burnett from my brother Joe. Isn't she cute? (By the way, if you'd like to read more about my mom, check out the "About GreenStitch" section of this blog.)

And here's the birthday boy, the fine Grendel, enjoying his felted wool nap blanket with catnip pockets. Twenty years ago he was a tiny stray kitten at a construction site. He's a much-loved and wonderfully cared-for fellow, and it was great fun to help my friends salute his two decades of loving companionship!

GreenStitch Episode 18 - Fleece and sergers

Haven't heard this episode yet? Link up right here.

Won't some sweet little baby be warm and snug heading home from the hospital in this fuzzy wrap?Above, you can see the little hood looks before finishing. You just stitch straight across (conventional machine!) about four inches down from the top, and cut fringe down to that stitching line. Cinch a little ribbon around it to bunch up the fringe, and you're done.

You can also see in these photos in how the serger makes quick work of the finishing. The pattern (get it here or here) also suggests finishing with a colorful binding, which would be really cute. In this case, I wanted to get them done and donated quickly!

Here's the stuff about the hat I was trying to describe. First, cut a 12-inch-wide strip as long as the circumference of the head you're trying to fit -- make sure the stretch goes WITH the circumference. For a newborn, make the strip between 12 and 14 inches long. Scale up the length and the depth for larger sizes.

Above, you can see, along with my charming and non-manicured thumb, how I've serged the ends together and pinned the tube so the seam is in the middle back.

Now just poke the side seams inward to form little pleats. No special measurements necessary. Stitch across the top to hold the pleated seam in place.

Turn a very deep hem to the inside of the hat and machine-stitch in place, using your conventional machine (i.e., not the serger.)

Here's how those cute little pleats look from the top.

The lighting, obviously, was bad when I took this shot, but here are some of the little hats in a row.

And, I went a tad overboard on shooting photos of the catnip mice, but gee, they turned out cute! My cats just love theirs, which are similar to these. I'm keeping these particular models up on the shelf, as I might put them on the much-neglected Etsy shop later.

I must tell you about the whiskers. When I made the set for my cats, it was Christmas Eve and I was scouting around for black embroidery thread or something similar so the mice could have whiskers. Of course I was out...but right on the kitchen counter was one of those plastic net sleeves they put around wine bottles. Imagine something like that sitting around my kitchen! :-) A few snips - instant whiskers!

As always, thanks very much for listening! Please leave a comment or e-mail me if you have suggestions - I always love hearing from listeners.