THREAD - cozy flannel heating pad cover.

Wow - the title of this blog post makes me seem super cool and hip doesn't it?? That's me - the awesome fun person that sits at home talking to the dog sewing flannel covers for heating pads on a Saturday afternoon. Good lord.

Alright - let me explain why this wasn't such a lame activity. First off - I really needed a cover for that damn heating pad. The original one (which was really lame to begin with) got lost in the move and I use it to warm my toes in bed when I am reading. Also - I use it all the time at this new house as I have determined that heat is for "rich people" after paying the first real heating bill of my life (it was always covered in the rent in previous places). San Francisco summers are cold!

Secondly - my sewing room is awesome - full of light with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon - sewing in the sun while listening to music and drinking a spicy bloody mary. It's doesn't sound as lame and sad anymore does it?

Anyhoo - here is what I made and how I made it. Stop judging me.

During my fabric and yarn binge about a month ago I picked up some super soft flannel designed by Anna Maria Horner whose prints I have always adored. Since I vowed to work through my piles and look less like a hoarder - this quick and easy project was a perfect way to move through some of my stash. Flannel is such a great material for something completely designed to be warm and cozy too.

I wanted the cover to have a little color contrast so I used two coordinating fabrics - a blue for the main and a yellow for the accent color. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance I roughly traced the pad and cut out the pieces. Then I ironed the fabric since it was pretty wrinkled and got to constructing. The only really challenge was creating a place for the cord to go through. For that - I simply hemmed the bottom and left a 2 inch space in the corner for the cord - easy breezy. For good measure I attached two pieces of velcro to the top to prevent the pad from slipping out. All in all - I was done with this project in under and hour and less than one bloody mary.

Now - I'm off to do something outside.

B.L.E.

THREAD - Biscuit's new leash on life.

As you may know - Biscuit had a little "work" done recently. Some would say that he is now less of a man but I like to think that his surgery was more of a transition into the non-puppy stage of his life. Sort of like getting confirmed or having a Bar Mitzvah eh?
To celebrate his move into adulthood - I decided he needed a new leash and collar. I wanted him to have something more grown-up and less puppyish. He needed something to represent his new maturity and perhaps looking less like it belonged on a cat (he already sleeps in a cat bed but shhh don't tell him).

As usual - I gained my leash inspiration in a purlbee posting. In Molly's Sketchbook there was a great tutorial for a cotton leash with alphabet ribbon. It was perfection - from the color (red is Biscuit's signature color) to the preppy monogram. Luckily - it was very easy to do. The hardest part was finding the right hook for the end - I did find an okay one on amazon.com but it's still not perfect.

A few things to note -
1. Since the dog in the tutorial is a giant and Biscuit currently weighs 11 pounds (he'll probably top out at 18-20 lbs) - I reduced the leash length by a few feet.
2. It is really really important to take the time to pin the ribbon onto the cotton webbing every few inches  - otherwise it wont stay centered and the whole look will be off - more sloppy than preppy.

3. The pattern calls for invisible thread but this is harder to find than one would think - neither purlsoho.com or joannes.com had it in stock. I used white thread with a red bobbin and it turned out great. The only places you can see the stitches is at the loops for the handle and hook where the stitching is reinforced for strength.
4. I didn't make a matching collar for a few reasons - the hardware would have been difficult to find and attach, cotton webbing doesn't lend itself to being very adjustable and it would have been a really thick collar for our silly little dog. We did pick him up a nice new red collar from Target for around $7.00. It is thicker than his last one so there will be no more confusion with cat collars!

I hope this inspires y'all to do a little spring upgrade of your own.

B.L.E.

sock it to me.

Having plowed through hats and mittens, scarves and baby blankets and three (yes three) dog sweaters recently - I want to try to knit some socks. I have always been afraid of socks but I think I am ready to take on the challenge. I know there are lots of sock patterns out there but I need some help finding one that fits the supplies I already have. This is because I really need to work through my ever growing stash of gorgeous yarn. Like Rumpelstitlken - I need to spin this straw into some gold (p.s. - nothing better than a mini-man with a fondness for shiny).

Ok so here are my requirements - 

1. uses doublepointed needles - preferably 3.25 mm

2. easy easy easy - this is my first dabbling with socks and I don't want to get scared away 

3. requires traditional sock weight yarn,  or thicker wool - this is what I have plenty to work with

Bring on the suggestions and wish me luck!

B.L.E.

cone of shame.

Poor sweet Biscuit. He was drugged, had his manhood removed and forced to wear the dreaded cone of shame.

more birds.

As a few of you may know already from some previous posts - I love odd birds. Well - not real birds. Anyone who has seen a seagull eating vomit on the sidewalk could never love actual birds - they are disgusting.

Lucky for me - Potterybarn is on a HUGE bird kick right now. Everything they sell is now available in bird form - rugs and wall hangings, throw pillows and serving platters, sheets and towels and on and on - even weird big-footed bird sculptures. All these things are delightful - we even purchased the place mats and napkins for our new table. We did however pass on the bird candles - they looked too real. From less than a foot away it would appear that you were lighting a baby bird on fire.

By far the best thing available in bird form was the glass and porcelain scent diffuser (now out of stock online). I love the concept of a scent diffuser but am so done with the sticks and the reeds and blah blah. To me - it just screams "look over here - this corner of the house smells." I don't love obvious and do appreciate elegant (don't even get me started on those Glade Plug-In stink bombs). Nobody enjoys a stinky house and with the addition of dear Biscuit to our household (an 11 pound french gas machine) outside reinforcements were becoming necessary.

The bird is so delicate and pretty and lets off that great Potterybarn signature paperwhite scent. We now own two of them - one for the living room and one for the bathroom. I would like to think that paperwhite is now becoming the Elasticsandwich signature scent as well.

Chirping with delight.

B.L.E.

spring forward!

I understand why daylights savings time makes me feel tired but why does it make me hungry?

Today was quite close to being a perfect Sunday. The only flaw? Being robbed of an hour!! And not just any hour - a Sunday hour and Sundays are already the shortest feeling day of the week.

One of my bestest friends Alisa is in town from New York and we had a day filled with mani/pedis, boozy brunch with friends topped off by a trip to Target and Costco. Plus - the weather was warm and sunny with a slight breeze. Perfection.

Just for fun we may even dye some Easter eggs tonight. Because if you are going to have hard boiled eggs - why not have them be swirled-dyed with a "marble magic" kit??

Hope y'all had a great weekend too.

B.L.E.