Jar cuffs

IMG_3076 With a growing pile of bag fabric scraps too small for any kind of bag, but too big for my frugal nature to throw away, I started thinking about making jar cuffs.  Considering all my other mason jar items, it seemed a natural thing to do.  Besides, they are cute and keep your hands happy when you are carrying a hot or icy drink.

The process turned out to be sort of a long, bumpy road.  Friends helped me out with getting the right size jars, trying out samples, and taking photos of their findings.  (Thanks, y’all!)  The cuffs themselves have to be EXACTLY the right size, or they just don’t work – there’s not much margin for error (or variations in fabric, or how it takes steam from the iron).  But at long last, there are a few ready-to-ship cuffs to choose from in the shop.  They fit a wide-mouth pint or pint-and-a-half jar.  As much difficulty as I’ve had with my own pattern, I’m not sure if it would be a good idea to sell a pattern for these; we’ll see where the bumpy road leads.

And then another idea came.  Simple, tone-on-tone cuffs with hand-embroidered monograms.  I just love them so much.  I hand-draw the initial before embroidering, so each one is unique and slightly wonky, just like my handwriting.  I can just see these lined up for a bridesmaid luncheon, or for drip-free sipping the morning of the wedding. IMG_0010Or hey, just pick your favorite color, and I’ll stitch your initial on it!  😉

 

cupcake in a jar

I may have said this before, but my girls and I are really sensitive to artificial ingredients in food. So I often bring along substitute cake or cupcakes to birthday parties, so we don’t have to pay for it for the next 48 hours. Well, tomorrow is one of those days. So then I thought, “Hey! The current cupcake-in-a-mason-jar craze is perfect for this!!”

I decided upon this cupcake recipe, because it only makes 6. We really don’t need 2 dozen cupcakes sitting around, when we really only need a couple. I didn’t try the frosting recipe, because I already had some left over in the fridge. As utterly delicious as the cupcakes turned out, though, I’ll bet the frosting is good too!

Here’s my 6 little cakes, baked right in the half-pint jars. When they were cool, I turned them out and cut them in half. I put the bottom half back in the jar, squeezed in some frosting, and put the top half in. Then I piped the frosting on top all pretty, and added some pink sprinkles. (I didn’t think about how much grease and crumbs would stick to the side after baking, so if you need them to be really really pretty you’ll want to wash the jars, as in the next photo.)IMG_2881

And here we are! One cupcake ready for traveling, soon as it has a lid. Isn’t it cute?IMG_2884

And for future reference: One half-pint regular mouth jar will fit in a pint single bag along with a Capri Sun and a fork. Just be sure to put the Capri Sun in first.IMG_2893I keep intending to make the 8yo a half-pint 2-jar bag – that would have been perfect for this! She could have brought a drink in a jar too. I really need to do that when I have a minute.

Hey, she knows how to sew now! I’ll just get her to make her own! 😉

 

in which kim apologizes profusely for her long absence

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Let me say up front that I really do not like blog posts beginning with “Sorry I’ve not written a blog post in such a very long time!” or something to that effect.  But it looks like I’m going to have to write one of those.

I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say that 2013 got off to a bumpy start for me and mine.  Though I love my little shop and my blog, and the friends and acquaintances they’ve brought my way, I had to take a break from all that and just be wife and mommy for a while.  Not an excuse, just an explanation.  But things are (hopefully) settling down for a while, so I can turn my attention to making fun things again.

First up are some jar cozies.  You may recognize these from the free pattern I offer here.  I normally don’t make them to sell.  But we took a long trip (that hopefully I’ll have time to tell you about, because it was great) and I needed a project to take along.  Because if you know me in real life, you know that I don’t sit quietly very well without a project in my hands.  And what I felt like making was jar cozies.  Since I doubt I’ll have time to make them to sell ever again, Maya suggested I call them a “limited edition”.  Here they are in the shop, if you’d rather buy one than make your own.

Speaking of Maya, she has a fantastic new endeavor!  Take a look at her new shop:  French Honey  She’s making pendants, and I think she really has an eye for it.

I’ve also listed a few bags, and there will be more and different things to come.  Thanks for your patience!

 

new sizes!

Over the past few days, I’ve had several requests for bags to fit quart size jars.  I updated the Jars to Go Single pattern yesterday, adding a quart size.  Lots of people like to bring salad in a wide-mouth quart jar, so there you go!

But I kept on thinking… why stop there?  Wouldn’t a regular-mouth half pint be adorable?  It’s not overwhelmingly useful for bringing lunch, but:

  • Cute doesn’t need a reason.
  • Would be great for those jars of jelly or jam that I KNOW you’re giving as a Christmas gift to the postal carrier, or the neighbor, or the teacher.
  • You could bring a snack?  Yogurt?  Trail mix?
  • Baby food?  Especially if you make your own.
  • Or a little one who wants a jar bag “just like mommy’s” or “just like daddy’s”?
So now we have these bags in three sizes!  Enjoy!  You could make bags for the Three Bears or something, right?  😉

Just a note:  These photos show my prototype quart and half pint bags.  You might notice that the half pint seems a little “tight”.  I added a little height to the finished pattern, after making this one.  So, no worries – bags made by the current pattern should be just right.

hard to let go!

A few days ago, I asked my Facebook buddies: “Did this fabric really just tell me it wants a bright color, like lime green, for the lining?” Well, I wrote a little story about what happened. The whole process has been so endearing to me, I’m having a hard time letting this one go!

I was at my usual fabric place, when I saw this fabric on the sale shelf – a beautiful blue batik. “What on earth are you doing over here?” I said. Sometimes fabric “talks” to me, but Batik said nothing. He was just lovely, and a good price, so I bought what little was left on the bolt.

A few days later, I said “Batik, you would make a fantastic 4-jar bag. But what to use for lining? Would you like muslin?” Again, Batik said nothing. He’s a very quiet sort – despite his flamboyant appearance, I think he’s actually quite shy.

I cut the pieces for the bag, and just as I started to work with them, I heard just a whisper: “I don’t want muslin. Maybe lime green?” Well! Batik has a voice after all. But lime green? Did I hear correctly? I asked my facebook buddies – did this fabric just say what I think it said? I got varying opinions, and I’m sure any one of them would have turned out lovely. But it all depended on what I could find, of course.

So a few days later, I stood in the fabric store once again, with a scrap of Batik. We looked at all the greens, none of them quite right. But there, in the remnant basket, was a beautiful, vivacious Red. Her dye pattern was very much like Batik’s, and I thought they might be happy together. But what about the green? And would there be enough? I asked Batik, “Do you want to try this one?” “Yes” Batik said, in a very assured way. And I think he smiled.

So Red came home with us. It must have been meant to be, because she was precisely enough for the lining, and 4 napkins! (See the photo at the end – that’s all that was left! It was close!) It’s hard to let Batik and Red go, but I think they are very much looking forward to beginning their adventure out in the wide world. But then, they could go on adventures with us instead?

update: Both DH and the 15yo came to me and said that if I list this bag, they’re just gonna buy it and give it back to me. (To stop the sobbing, I’m sure, but still sweet.) So it looks like Batik and Red will be adventuring with us! 😀

And yes, they seem happy with that arrangement too. 😉

special bag

I love to make things.  And making money making things is handy too.  But I also like to give, and there are causes near and dear to my heart that need and deserve funding.  When all those loves of mine can come together, it’s a wonderful thing!  So for a while, I’m going to have bags in my shop with special themes, and when they sell, the money will be donated to a charity.

Here’s the first one.  My next-door neighbor has two sons, one on the autism spectrum, and we count them all dear friends.  She founded the A. Skate organization to help kids like her son (and their families) get out of the house, learn about skateboarding, socialize and have fun.  There is no cost to the kids who participate, so they depend on donations and volunteers.  When this bag sells, all the money will be donated to A. Skate.

The fabric is an autism awareness collection from Riley Blake called Pieces of Hope.  You can read more about it on their website.  A portion of their fabric sales will be donated to Autism Speaks.  Besides the fact that money will be donated to a worthy cause, the fabric is just adorable.  I love the colors.  And it’s nice and sturdy, too – very good quality.  If you would like to buy the fabric, it’s available on Hawthorne Threads.

 

modifications

Know where I get some of my best ideas?  From my customers!  Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been asked to make slight modifications to the basic Jars to Go Bag, all of them great and I’m glad I have a plan for the next time it comes up.  But this one?  This one’s going to become a staple in the shop, because I LOVE it.

I was asked to make a Jars to Go bag to hold 4 pint jars instead of 2.  I love the combination of fabrics more and more as I work with them – Amy Butler’s Pressed Flowers and Pat Bravo’s Oval Elements from Hawthorne Threads.  As with any pattern, there’s a little figuring out as I go along – for example, I added another layer to the handles for strength (four jars are pretty heavy!)  But I just adore how it turned out.  I can see this as a picnic basket, or to take to a potluck.  It seems there’s room in the top for some small plates or bowls.  And of course, it needed extra matching napkins!

Enjoy!

signs of life

An update on the ferns – it’s alive!  Curled fiddleheads and shiny new fronds are poking up from underneath the brown, dead ones.  Looks like they may make it after all.

And that’s not the only sign of life around here!  The lovely Marisa of the Food in Jars blog was kind enough to review the Jars to Go bag.  The results were more than I could ever have dreamed.  See all these bags?  On top of orders?  On top of envelopes, that they are about to be packed in and shipped out?  And this is just one batch from the past week!  Besides bags, I’ve sold patterns upon patterns, and met some of the nicest customers ever!  This event has filled me with such hope and gratitude.

The shop is fairly empty at the moment, but if you’d like a bag or a pattern, go take a look!