Web Wanderings for the Weekend

A fresh batch of playdough
Some of my favourite things from wandering around the web...

A must-make recipe for anyone with a toddler. We make 1/4 batch at a time.

You don't have to be pretty.

Be kind.

A cute tip for improving your french accent.

The sweetest nightlight.

My current favourite book to read to the Wee Lass.

Utterly astounding book sculptures.

Quirky idea for taming cable clutter.


Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

Haiku Postcard

haiku postcardAn awesome friend of mine suggested doing a haiku postcard exchange. This is what I came up with. I have forgotten everything I learned about my watercolour paints, so come September (and the Wee Lass begins preschool), I have artsy plans for myself.

Here's a sketch I did as part of the series of motherhood inspired haikus:

motherhood
Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

Wanderings on the web

Summer in a bowlA few things I've run across lately....

A scientific approach to making your favourite type of chocolate chip cookie.

The most amazing food blog that I've read in ages.

A genius (if extreme) method for finding your style. If nothing else, it's highly entertaining to read about someone else doing it.

What I'm eating for breakfast these days. Except I use raspberries.

A music video about geek girls. I played RPGs growing up, read scifi/fantasy, and got a B.Math in Computer Science. I am a proud geek.

Chic bicycle adventures to take around the world.

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

There was one with polkadots.

When there's not much time for sewing projects, I tend to stick to the highly functional ones. A book bag for library visits and a zip pouch for spare toddler clothes are two recent-ish projects.


Book Bag
The book bag is a lined tote with a pocket on the inside. I love the cute gnomes and woodland creature fabrics available in Holland and they paired well with a classic red and white spotted fabric.


Book Bag (inside out)
For the zip pouch, I used some exotic fabric from a bundle of fat quarters and some tiny white on blue polkadots for lining. It really should have been wider, but I wanted to work with what I had on hand and all my zippers were short. It's just big enough to fit one change of clothes for the Wee Lass, but I will probably make another one when I have a chance to pick up some longer zips.


Zip Pouch
I don't tend to sew from a pattern, so I just made both of these up as I went along and using materials that I already had. Given my time constraints for crafty projects, having a good stash of stuff has been invaluable. I try to keep a nice variety of ribbons, elastic, zippers, snaps, and embellishments around so that I don't have to delay a project by going shopping for supplies. This can also lead to some delightful serendipity. I am so pleased with how Zoe's slightly wild blue-green hair turned out and it occurred largely because I didn't have any leftover yarn in a more conventional colour.

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

And then we made a Dolly.

Zoe the dollThe Wee Lass and I made a fabric dolly together. She's very interested in my sewing machine and frequently asks to do a sewing project. We used tea to dye some linen from a thrifted shirt (we needed only a small part of one arm of the shirt for this dolly).



I drew a pattern on paper based roughly on the shape of her bunny (amusingly, also made from a thrifted shirt) and then traced around it to add seam allowance. I made the arms a bit fatter (easier to flip and stuff) and added thumbs. We sewed up the arms and legs together and stuffed them full of "fluff" as she calls it. I added felt eyes and a mouth with some embroidery thread before sewing the body up and attaching the arms and legs. I attached a little loop of embroidered trim so we could easily clip the dolly to a bag or the stroller if she's coming out on adventures.



I added yarn hair, based on a simple tutorial that I found online. Since our dolly didn't have a perfectly round head, I found it worked better to start the "scalp" at the hairline and then spiral in, rather than the reverse. I wove in the loose ends of the braid to fill any gaps and secure it. I just added a little bit of long yarn hair to make pigtails and bangs, rather than covering the whole head.



This type of "flat" doll is quite approachable for a novice sewist and lots of fun to involve a little one in the process. Next time the Wee Lass requests a sewing project, I think we'll make her dolly a dress.



Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

Raspbery variation

Raspberry Nanaimo BarI love homemade Nanaimo Bar and every now and then I get a serious craving. A while back, I decided to experiment with making a raspberry version. I just added some (thawed) frozen raspberries to the icing layer. It made it pretty and pink and it was so yummy.

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.

Lost Buttons

lost buttons
I like to pick up lost buttons on the street. These are the ones I've found so far. I started shortly after moving to Amsterdam. I think one or two may have been picked up while on holiday, but I decided early on that I couldn't be bothered to keep track of where each button was found. I was not surprised to discover that more than half of the buttons I've found are black. There are 3 metal buttons and 2 wooden ones. The purple heart-shaped one is the only non-circle I've found. Do you collect anything unusual?

Photographs and artwork by Allison Gryski. © All rights reserved.