Napkins!

I absolutely love making napkins. It's a fun opportunity to play around with different stitches and contrasting thread colors. Plus, it's excellent for beginners because it's relatively simple and hones the basic sewing skills (sewing a straight line and ironing, ironing, ironing). Save a tree! Make yourself some cloth napkins!


For Ayme

Here Beginneth the Holiday Gift Recap!!

Annual Gift-Giving Time has come and gone, and now I present some of the handicrafts that were tied up with a bow this year.



I'm considering making this thing a permanent part of my wardrobe.

If The Dress Fits ...

After languishing unfinished on the hanger for a few months, I finally did the piddly hand-sewing around the zipper that was required to finish my fall-inspired dress. The inspiration? Kathy's annual dress-up holiday party. Here we are, modeling our finery!

When Crafts Collide

Thumbing through Stitch & Bitch recently, I re-remembered their handy dandy sewing pattern for a knitting needle case - something that could be rolled up and tucked away easily. If you're like me, your knitting needles probably reside in a bag (or several different bags) and finding a matching set can be a chore. Problem of the past, dearies! This is a great starter sewing project, too - lots of straight lines, and it can be made with whatever scrap fabric you have laying around.

The One Thing I've Always Wanted To Make

I'm a person who enjoys total darkness when sleeping. With the impending trans-Pacific flight looming, I knew I had to take protective measures lest I be seated next to one of those perpetual reading light haver-onners. My heartfelt emotion comes across in the fabric design - King Kong fighting a T-Rex. Oh, and it worked like a charm, I might add.

More Pillow Shams!

The lovely Kathy entrusted me to create some pillow shams for one side of her dual fireplace. The fabric and buttons were all of her choosing, and I think they look perfect! Here they are in situ.

Travel Hiatus

If you judged by my postings, November has been a slow month. Au contrere, friends! Lots of gifts are in progress, an exciting new cabinet project will begin soon, and there were two things I completed for myself last weekend that I just haven't uploaded. However, now I'm taking a real break. I fly to Auckland, NZ this afternoon to meet up with my globetrotting BFF Katie. I've got her blog linked over here ---> so check in for some amazing kiwi updates!

I'm really excited about all the LOTR reenactment photos I'm going to stage. Katie seems less excited about this. Probably because she knows I'm going to say "What about second breakfast?" about 55 times.

New Year's Eve!

THIS JUST IN!

The Backwaits (a.k.a. Rob and me) are confirmed as the New Year's Eve talent at The Piedmont! We're already scheming about our look/uniform/costume and set list. You won't want to miss this! If you need us, we will be focusing earnestly on our craft in here:

Trust Me - I've Been Busy

Focus On Your Craft HQ has been churning out crafts/garments aplenty in recent days & weeks ... but you'll have to wait until after the holidays to see photographic evidence! Can't have any of these from-the-heart gifts being spoiled, now can we? I'd like to make some kind of custom tag for the clothes I'm making - I'm open to suggestions for the name of my burgeoning product line!

Happy Halloween - So Say We All

The crew of the Battlestar Galactica wishes you a happy Halloween! Rob created the dog tags with some supplies we bought last weekend. There's something to be said for a comfortable costume! The only thing we were missing was a Roomba modded to look like a Cylon Raider. There's always next year. And here's my Rayman Raving Rabbids-inspired jack-o-lantern!