Liberrian's Projects

inspiration

2012-02-06T21:15:00.004-05:00

For the last couple years, I've been bookmarking photos of kitchens I like, looking for inspiration. Here's a sampling of stuff I've bookmarked, to give a sense of what I'm going for:
from my Houzz ideabook -- this is stuff I've collected in the last two months, mostly open shelves, sliding barn doors, walk-in pantries, etc.

liberrian's ideas

Houzz- Kitchen Remodel, Bathroom Remodel and More»

Browse Bedroom Products on Houzz- For Example:

Bedskirts · Quilts · Shams · Bedroom Benches · Beds · Dressers Chests And Bedroom Armoires · Nightstands And Bedside Tables · Sofa Beds ·

Then there's my delicious.com kitchen bookmarks, going back much further in this process--lots of farmhouse kitchens, unfitted kitchens, storage solutions, kitchen island/tables. (sorry, no fancy widget for it)

And also my new favorite, Pinterest (though much of this is imported from delicious, so there are plenty of repeats.) Here's a screen shot from tonight, but check the link above and it may look a little different...

Floor plans

2012-02-06T20:32:00.002-05:00

In the photos of the last post, it was probably difficult to figure out how they all fit together. Here's a floor plan of the kitchen before we started the remodel:

As you can see, the main cooking area formed a channel, making it difficult for more than one person to cook at the same time and hiding the cook behind this big wall of cabinetry. While there are times I do want to hide in the kitchen, unfortunately, the kids could always find me there.
Our main goals in the resign: to make a more aesthetic kitchen (we suspect the kitchen was last redone in 1950-something) (and not by some mid-century modern design genius) that allows for a more fluid and flexible space. To be more functional for the way we cook in this century, while subtly evoking the time period when the house was built.

We need more "before" photos

2012-01-31T14:31:00.004-05:00

And here we are. I took these last spring. I clearly didn't clean up and de-clutter, which is exactly how to make the "after" photos look even better. If only I'd thought to dimly light them and somehow make the cabinets look fat and dumpy, with bags under their eyes.

Let's start back in the pantry:

The cabinets all have mismatched hardware, doors that either don't close or get stuck, and too-short shelves inside. There's a counter that I had covered with oilcloth to hide the partially peeled-off vinyl tiles. It was largely a dumping ground, as clearly illustrated above.

And two more views of the pantry:

The fridge is back here because it doesn't fit anywhere else. It's not the most convenient location. The Hoosier Cabinet, which we bought a year ago, is hiding back here with no proper place to display its awesomeness.

Take a few steps back from the pantry, and you're in the main galley part of the kitchen, or as I like to call it, the main thoroughfare for racing kids. (This channel through the kitchen does form part of a big loop in the house, which is fun for kids but not so much for the cooks.)

The stove is fine and functional, with a vent that sounds like a jet engine (but does have a cool copper hood). The big problem here is that the peninsula of the stove and cabinetry cuts off the flow (and light) of the kitchen, which you can see illustrated a bit more clearly here:

And then there's that huge, ugly (well I think it's ugly. There isn't consensus on that) wood stove there with the garden gate built around it. That's not going anywhere for a while, but its footprint and intense heat output were major considerations when we began to rethink the space.

I will follow up with a "before" floor plan.

Overhauling the kitchen

2012-01-30T14:07:00.006-05:00

When we bought our house in 2009, we knew that we'd remodel the kitchen at some point. Our hopes were that it would be soon, but our expectations were low. But all of a sudden, this fall, the time (and money) presented itself, and we dove in.

I started out by ramping up my looking-at-blogs-and-photos-of-kitchens-I-like habit. For a while, I'd been slowly amassing ideas and bookmark lists of images of nice kitchens. I knew I wanted a kitchen that reflected our house's' 19th century New England roots but balanced that aesthetic with practicality and convenience--to make a highly functional kitchen with an authentic, antique look.

At some point, I latched onto the idea of the unfitted kitchen (sometimes called a free-standing kitchen), which is a more 19th century way of furnishing a kitchen. Basically, it's an eclectic style that relies more (or entirely) on free-standing kitchen furniture in lieu of built-in cabinetry. Its historical look appealed to me, but so did the idea of creating a kitchen that could potentially be reorganized at a later date without leaving holes in the walls and floors. It also occurred to me that an unfitted kitchen can be built over time--it doesn't have to be an all-at-once kind of project.

It's now a couple months later, and we're up to our knees (chest? neck?) in this redesign project. Stay tuned for more about this process. In the mean time, here is an image of our starting point, a 1950's era kitchen with a crowded layout:

Moon Man!

2011-05-09T11:37:00.002-04:00

Moon Man!, a photo by liberrian on Flickr.

One of Jasper's favorite books is Tomi Ungerer's Moon Man. For his birthday I made him a Moon Man. Here is is! It took a little trial-and-error to get the shape right (or at least not laughable), but it was a success--Jasper immediately knew who it was and has slept with it every night ever since.

garden frolic

2011-05-09T11:33:00.002-04:00

garden frolic, a photo by liberrian on Flickr.

Alma got a new dress, right before Easter. The top is a Gymboree t-shirt, attached to a patchwork twirl skirt made of 6" squares cut from a lovely fabric bundle from Fabricworm. I've made a few dresses for Alma of this type over the years, originally based on a pattern from IndieTutes back in 2007.

Fingerless Mittens

2011-01-23T21:37:00.004-05:00

I done knit up a pair fingerless mittens, a gift for my husband Tom:

(note: above model is not Tom. 'Tis me. He was sleeping during the photo session.)
I have a similar pair myself, and I like how they let me do a lot more than I can usually do with gloves on. And now that I have joined the ranks of the smartphoners, it's quite handy to be able to operate my phone while still keeping relatively warm.
The design is a meld of the mittens pattern in Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, my fingerless mittens (store bought), and a little improvisation. They have some cables on the back of the hand, stockinette stitch under the fingers, and 2x2 ribbing around the wrist.
Plus they match the hat I made him before Christmas:

Advent Calendar

2010-12-21T22:31:00.003-05:00

My daughter is really into countdowns for upcoming events. We often make them out of little scraps of paper, stapled together. But it occurred to me recently that an advent calendar would be a fun sewing project and the ultimate countdown. A countdown where every day you get to count down AND get a tiny present. Whoa.
So I dug out the fabric scrap bin and winged it. It actually came out pretty nice. It's a big square of a double layer of cotton, with polar fleece sandwiched in between. Then I made 24 little envelopes by pressing them into shape and roll-hemming the edges with my serger. I added snaps with my snap press (this was truly a project that was made 1000% times easier due to good equipment).

I then sewed them on to the square with a straight stitch across (the stitch runs right over the crease of the flap). To number the envelopes, I used puffy paint (which someone remarked looks like cookie frosting! how Christmassy!). I guess advent calendars usually have the date on them, so they count up to 25, but I went with the countdown given my daughter's already-ingrained love of counting down. It hangs on the wall with a clothes hanger. Ta da!

Fairy Costume

2010-11-09T12:21:00.004-05:00

I made Alma's Halloween costume this year. It started out a fairy princess, but she declared it a Tinkerbell costume, so Tinkerbell it is.

I started with Wee Wonderful's Fairy Dress-up tutorial, where I got the front of the shirt (gathers, trim, etc.) But since it's October in Massachusetts, I went with velvet and long sleeves (I used another knit shirt as a pattern for the sleeves).

For the skirt, I had a lot of chiffon and other shimmery silky fabrics in the pile, so I cut out three circle skirts (two chiffon, one pants lining polyester) and a pile of petals for the waist. The shimmery petals looked great, but are really prone to unravel despite (or maybe due to?) the serger's rolled hem, so I don't know how long the petals will last. The waist is put together a little clumsily, as sewing all four layers together got tricky (and also: my sewing machine rebelled and I had to get out my old Singer. And spend about an hour searching for a bobbin for it). But there's elastic and snaps holding it together.

I debated the waist area for a while. I didn't want to tuck the shirt in--I thought it might look sloppy given the crazy snap/elastic thing on the skirt. So I cut the shirt to drop to a point on the center-front and -back. And then sewed in more trim.

She had some butterfly wings already, but they were held on with white elastic, which would totally ruin the front gathered detail of the costume. So I put some snaps on the back of the shirt and added snaps to the wings, so they could attach to the shirt. This was a little sloppy, as I cut the shirt big enough to last her a year or two, and the wings then made the shirt slide down in back.

Anyway, she didn't mind at all. She was happy to wear pajamas underneath (it was a cold night). She wanted a ponytail, ala Tinkerbell, but when it came time to brush her hair into one, she opted for hair down. And she had a tiara and wand that of course had to be part of it. Voila!

stained dress? no problem!

2010-06-03T13:50:00.005-04:00

The first time she wore this Hanna Anderssen dress, Alma poured thick hot chocolate down the front. The stain never came out despite repeated attempts on my part. I thought this dress was just the cutest, softest, best all-around dress in her wardrobe (among the approximately 1000 dresses she has).

So I proposed to her that I add a design on the front of it--I had suggested a hot air balloon (it seemed to fit the stain's shape), but she countered with butterflies. Butterflies work.

So I happened to have some green jersey knit in about the same shade as the shoulder buttons, so green butterflies it is. After a fair amount of trial and error (and ripping out and repairing the rips and judicious use of fusible interfacing and stitch witchery), voila! we have four appliqued butterflies, complete with stitched antenna. And now the dress is way cuter.

Update: Overalls project

2010-04-01T22:18:00.005-04:00

I sewed the cuffs on the pant legs in the hopes that they would keep the pants in place a little better when Jasper crawled around in them. Fail. They're cute--I used the serger to flatlock them on with the red thread, so it's cute and all, but as soon as he started crawling away (i.e., immediately), they got all bunched up again.

But, the good news is that they might now be big enough for him to wear next fall, and he probably won't be crawling too much by then. So perhaps this post will get a third installment around October or so.

See the original post on these overalls here.

project idea: toy workbench

2010-03-24T11:34:00.002-04:00

When Alma was about 18 months old, I made her a play kitchen out of an old cabinet and other recycled materials. She still uses it, and Jasper (now 11 months) does too. This summer, once we've fixed up the little corncrib in the back yard into a play house, I think the kitchen is headed to the play house. Which led me to think about what else should be in the play house... and I think a work bench is in order. The kids certainly see lots of construction/building/sawing/etc. work going on around the house, so it seems a natural for our family.

BUT I can't find good examples of DIY play workbenches out there on the internets. The kids' design blog Ohdeedoh posts examples of DIY play kitchens every day (or so it seems). There is a Flickr group dedicated to DIY play kitchens. But play workbenches? Not so much. So far, I've found a play kitchen that can convert to a workbench (but there are no photos of what the workbench would look like).

And I found one (YES just ONE!) example on flickr.

Hmm. I've found play workbenches for sale (like this one), which is helpful but I need ideas for a homemade version.

I'm thinking pegboard needs to be involved. What else? We've got a toy tool set and could get some more. But that's accessorizing. Hmmm.

Baby overalls from an old shirt

2010-02-27T16:09:00.008-05:00

So I got a snap press this week. It's very exciting. For me. Maybe not for you. But now I can make baby clothes with all those crotch/leg snaps without having to deal with snap tape or--even worse--a hammer and that cheap plastic clamp thing Dritz makes that I hate.

Anyway, this snap press is great for converting velco diapers to snap diapers (and since we have a bunch of diapers with useless, wasted velco, that's a great thing.) But that's not the project I'm excited about right now.

I've been pulling out my old clothes that I no longer wear--the Hartstings truck is making a stop at our house next week. But in the case of some of my old clothes, I don't like the garment itself anymore, but I do still like the fabric. And this L.L.Bean shirt is a perfect example. I've had it since junior high or so, so it's super soft. It's wool jersey on the outside and soft cotton jersey on the inside. Sounds like some nice warm, soft baby overalls are in order!

So the shirt I started with is the L.L. Bean Two-Layer River Driver henley shirt. It doesn't look like they still make the exact same thing, but here's the crew neck version. (no I wasn't smart enough to take a picture of the shirt before I hacked it to bits.) The nice thing about the henley style is that, if you preserve the neck band, you've got the front buttons in place to make it easy to take off baby's head (then again, most adult neckbands are probably big enough to take over a baby's head.)

Anyway, I set out to make the overalls with the serger. And with one little exception, I didn't need the regular sewing machine at all. The plan was to use the roll hem on the armholes, inseam, and leg cuffs and the 4-thread overlock on the seams. It wound up being a pretty easy project--one I could probably have finished during Jasper's nap if a) I hadn't been figuring it out as I went and b) he'd taken a decent nap today.

So this is not exactly a tutorial--I won't go into that much detail--but more like loose instructions that someone who's pretty adept at using the serger could probably use to figure it out. Or it's just a really vague tutorial.

First, I cut all the pieces out.

I cut out the body, keeping the bottom hem in place as well as the neck line. I used another romper as a guide to where the crotch and armholes should be. Note that he's about a size 18 months and the length of the shirt worked well. Smaller sizes would need the bottom cut too; larger would need something sewn on the bottom. (More on that later.) I also cut out the crotch extension piece and a facing for the back snap opening. I cut off the cuffs too, though I wasn't sure if I'd use them. (For taller babies, this is an easy way to add some length.)

First, I sewed the crotch onto the back of the overalls. (I first basted with the sewing machine because I needed to ease the pieces together and I wasn't too confident that I'd do that well with the serger. A more experienced serger could skip that step.)

Then I serged the snap facing to the legs and crotch.

Next I roll hemmed the arm holes, the edges of the inseam and snap facing, and, since I was using contrasting thread, the bottom of the legs too.

Then I serged the sides and put snaps all along the leg openings. Ta da!

And found a model:

Beautiful! Until he started moving around in it. That's when it occured to me that adding the cuffs to the legs might come in handy. He's a crawler/cruiser, and tends to crawl out of the legs.

So I will add some cuffs tonight and add an epilogue to this post once I get some new pictures.

Hide that Projector Screen!

2010-02-26T13:48:00.006-05:00

We are computer TV watchers. We don't own a TV, but I'm not going to brag about that, if only because we watch SO MUCH TV anyway. Hulu. Netflix watch-it-now. Itunes. And so on.

But we were getting a little tired of watching TV and movies on the computer screen. It wasn't a tiny screen, for a computer, but for watching from a little distance, meh.

So we splurged on something we'd talked about getting for years, a projector. We first talked about getting a projector when we lived in an A-frame house with white angled walls. The image would project on the walls and we could sit back to watch it...it would have been lovely if the cost of a projector wasn't approximately one month's salary for us [full-time students] at the time.

Anyway, fast forward to the present. We got a projector. We mounted a screen just inside a big, floor-to-ceiling, bay window. Which was perfect, except the big metal screen tube isn't so pretty, and sitting inside the pretty window it was a bit of an eyesore. So I wanted to hide it when it was retracted, but in a way that didn't get in the way when we pulled the screen down to watch something.

Ta-da! A simple valance. It's short enough that it doesn't block the screen but long enough to totally hide the retracted screen. It was simple enough that I could make it quickly, but it's made with such nice printed fabrics that it doesn't look slap-dash.

I started by mounting Ikea's Dignitet curtain wire across the front of the window. I measured the width of the wire (110") because I wanted an unpleated, flat hanging valance. I also measured how far down the retracted screen fell from the ceiling and added an inch for good coverage (7 1/2").

I had a stack of gorgeous fat quarters I had ordered from Anna Marie Horner for a different project (also a valance project, but for a different room. I'd abandoned that valance for reasons I might discuss some other time). I had bought two sample packs of the Drawing Room home decor collection, which included 12 fat quarters. (By the way, if you haven't seen the prints available from Anna Marie Horner, take a peek at her store--she makes flannels, home decor, and cotton quilting fabrics in the most lovely prints.)

I picked 7 prints and from them, cut 11 rectangles:

10 1/2" wide, for 10" plus 1/4" seam allowances
by 16" tall, for 7 1/2" height, folded over, with 1/4" seam allowances

I placed them on the floor to get them in a nice order, and then serged them together. I pressed the whole piece in half, lengthwise, and then (with the serger) roll-hemmed the entire edge (i.e., the two side edges and the two top edges. The bottom edge is the fold.)

I used the Digitet clips to hang it, and voila, there it is.

Resurrection

2010-02-26T13:41:00.001-05:00

Hereby declaring that I'm resurrecting this web site. I've been working on so many projects for our new house; I feel that writing about the projects (in progress and post-mortem) will help me develop as a crafter, make better stuff, and feel a more profound sense of accomplishment. I tend to forget how much stuff I've created, and then I feel like I haven't accomplished much in our house. But I've done a lot!

roman shades in the sun room
valance to hide the projector screen
curtains, cushions, for Alma's window seat
blackout shades for Jasper's room

and lots more that isn't immediately coming to mind.
So here's to new beginnings.

Play Kitchen, part 2

2008-05-19T14:55:00.004-04:00

I finished the kitchen! It's set up in the (real) kitchen now, and it appears to be a stunning success. Boozle washes her hands, bakes pizza, and boils pizza toppings.

Here's a video of her first time playing with it:

And some photos of the finished product:

[continued from Play Kitchen, part 1]

knit dress

2008-05-11T20:20:00.004-04:00

Last night I finished a knit dress (er, tunic? it's short.) for the Boozle. It was an improvised design, so I'm happy to report that it fits and looks cute! The straps fall off her shoulders, so it needs a tie in the back to keep them together, but a piece of yarn sufficed for today. I'm also happy to report that she likes it (she saw me knitting it, and wanted to wear it long before it was done), and that she did not spill anything on it today (other than some plain noodles)!

I will post the pattern once I get it together.

Play Kitchen, part 1

2008-05-10T14:17:00.018-04:00

For the last two weeks, I've been working on designing and building a play kitchen. I was inspired when Boozle and I took a trip to the super cool toy store in Northampton, and they had a really nice wooden play kitchen. Not willing to pay $150 for the kitchen, however, but more than willing to give Boozle her own kitchen (so when she wants to help cook, she can help on her own stovetop), I started thinking.

A trip to ReStore and then to our junk-laden basement, and a design developed. Starting with a cabinet we removed from our kitchen, I figured I could paint a couple burners on top, add a sink and faucet, and in front, put a cupboard and oven door.

It needs a little height, so I'll attach it (somehow, not sure) to this shelf thing (from a previous project, a part that doesn't get used anymore).

I took a cupboard door off another spare cabinet to make the door. I had to cut it down to make it fit. If I get really ambitious, I will try to cut the trim and glue it back together. I doubt such ambition will strike, however.

The inside needed a divider, since you can't bake stuff in a cupboard. Some wood from the basement did the trick for that. I found shelf supports and drilled new holes so that the oven and cupboard could both have one shelf inside.

I cut holes in the top to fit a faucet (thanks ReStore!) and sink (dog dish!). Miraculously, their undersides fit between the top piece and top of the cabinet, so I won't have to cut out holes in the cabinet. The bowl/sink sits about 1/4" above the counter top, but some caulk will take care of that (and keep the bowl in the hole).

There is always a point in any project I do where I do things out of order or backwards or upside down. And I have to rip out, undo, or break things to correct the error. I hit that point today when I nailed and glued the top pieces on the cabinet, then tried to put the oven/stovetop knobs on the front.

Since they need to be screwed in from behind, and I had just sealed off said behind, I had to pull the top off. Luckily, it came off pretty easily. The knobs were installed (also ReStore parts), and the top replaced.

After that, I decided to call it a day. Boozle will likely be waking up from her nap soon anyway.

Still remaining to do: oven needs a cutout with plexiglass (so you can see the pizza baking!); shelves need to be cut; lots of cleaning, painting, and probably some contact paper to be applied. Oh, and those legs need to be attached.

To be continued! [part 2]

Getting started

2008-04-30T21:19:00.005-04:00

Hopefully this is not yet another started, but not-to-be-completed project.

I've been working on lots of projects lately and feeling the need to document them. So I begin.

For starters:

a cake recipe. I found a great chocolate cake recipe and I'm trying to convert it to a lemony/vanilla cake. I have not had success yet, but I have gotten pretty good at making seven minute frosting.

patchwork circle skirts for the boozle. Following a tutorial from Just Tutes, I made a sundress and I retrofitted a pair of ripped overalls with a skirt.

I'm improvising a knit sundress, also for the boozle.

I made appliqued blackout curtains from a pair of $15 Ikea curtains.

I'm plotting out a homemade play-kitchen, after seeing how much the nice wood ones cost today. Mine will use ReStore and basement odds and ends. The plan is in development.

I made a quilted tummy time mat for a friend's baby shower, complete with rattly toys that clip on to the mat.

These are the projects that are coming to mind that I will chronicle. I might also include work-related projects, like the screen-capture tutorials I'm working on. I'll describe them, add photos of course, and even try to detail a how-to if I can muster it.

This i pledge.
(fingers crossed.)

I do believe I will wait till I've posted at least one of these projects in its entirety before telling anyone about this blog.
Deal.