Cheekystitch

Living Room Makeover:Apartment Decorating

I spent some time getting my living room in order, here are some of the pictures of the decoration I added

The framed print is made by Chanel Kennebrew over at Junkprints, Shes a fantastic graphic and clothing designer.

My friend brad gave me the large painting, it was the first piece of art he bought when he moved to new York, recently he moved to Tribeca and decided he had outgrown it and gave it to me. Its called “Girl With Ginger

DIY Light Box on the Cheap

Speaking of ikea hacks, i found this DIY light box hack that Im totally going to do. If you read my blog you know I use a lot of Japanese sewing books, the issue is that they require that you trace the pattern you need. Because they put at least 5 patterns on one sheet tracing can be apain in the ass, heres where a light box can and will come on handy.

Baby changing table grows into light table.

Boris recycles his daughter’s old changing table into a lightbox. Love how it closes in a compact little thing.

“I made the Sniglar baby changing table into a light box. My wife, for a few years now, likes to practice sewing for our daughters. She buy a lot of books containing patterns she has to reproduce on white paper which she then uses to cut the fabric. It’s not easy to reproduce those patterns onto the paper.

As our youngest daughter is now two and a half years old, we do not need any more our Sniglar changing table, and I decided to transform it into a light table for my wife. I first thought to keep the table structure as it, but finally, I prefered to use the two level of the table to make one foldable table. I first fixed together the two vat with a long piano hinge. Then I stuck aluminium foil into the vats to reflect the light and I fixed four neon tubes into it. A few meters of cable later, I then closed the vats with two white and opaque plexiglass panels and that’s it.”

Via: Ikeahacker

Raven Burgos

Recycled Fashion: IKEA Bag dress made by parsons professor

I love Ikea hacker for so many reasons the first of which is that its hands on DIY madness that allows you to turn cheap furniture into functional less cheap looking stuff. This parsons professor turned the Ikea take home bag and created this nifty dress. Its not funtional but it makes you think dont it?

She says, “I fashioned the top of the bag and one handle as the neckline and halter for the top of the dress. Then I cut open the seams of the rest of the bag to make a backless, A-Line outfit. I sewed darts in the front and back to be shapely for my bust and back. I cut the long handles off of two more bags to create ties for the back of the dress. Waterproof and ready to tote!

Raven Burgos

How to knit an Aran Fishermans Sweater and other Insane Projects Part 1

I was at a friends house a couple of weeks ago and one of get guests had a handknit chunky sweater, I swear you must have needed like 25 gauge needles to knit that thing, it was so thick it mad me sick. It was from The Gilded Age, an incredibly expensive line of high end rugged mens clothing I covet. ( apparently they will be coming out with a ladies line Im sure wont compare to the mens , because it never does)

So I set out to price the thing, turns out I couldnt even locate the sweater online, much less its price. Iits like the thing appeared out of no where to make me sad. Every 100$ cashmere i found  could potentially run me, hmmmm, I dunno 1200.

Like the good crafter that I am I set out to figure out how I would acquire my very own cashmere sweater.  So I decided to knit one, even though I have never knit anything more complicate than a scarf.

I decided on a pattern first, I looked at many many cheesy patterns, lamented that Japanese sewing patterns would be too much of a challenge to me. It difficult enough to decipher sewing patterns. I settled on the eternally stylish Irish fisherman’s sweaters, in my fantasy I saw myself wearing this an an old lady with a grandchild balanced on my knee, in my fantasy I’m also a cartoon, but whatever.

This was perfect, I got the pattern at Downtown Yarns in New York City. Its a Yankee Knitter Design pattern for and Adult Aran Sweater. The pattern seemed complicated, the sales woman assured me it wasnt anymore difficult that any other sweater. I choose to believe her.

Next was finding the cashmere yarn. The pattern called for about 13 skeins in my size, I use a size small. I looked all over the nets and luckily found somebody who was selling yarn on ebay for 16 a skein, which would bring my sweater cost to about 200$. its not cheap but its not 1200 either, and if i was buying a thin cashmere sweater in a store I could expect to pay that if not more. So that’s how I justified spending 200$ on yarn on a project I may or may not finish. if your like me you make preemptive strikes on craft/fabric/and art stores, I am well stocked but rarely finished projects. I have about 20 unfinished projects and a dozen or more possibilities.

So armed with needles, yarn, pattern I cant read, and a case of dyslexia, I go forth!

Christina Hendricks is my new Muse: Totally unnecessary and gratuitous photo montage

frank-la-riviere

I would gratefully build anything around this woman. Dark, Chic, and Playful,

Raven Burgos

Pinky Diablos Cheap Art for the masses: Silver skull and animal spoons

Urin Goblet is pretty gross too bad it sold

I really love dark silver jewelry, things with a little but of grime. Check out Pinky Diablos skull spoons.

Pinky Diablo

Raven Burgos

Stripes are all right: Snappy Japanese man makes my day, quiver

Look at this silver fox . I want to have this mans fashionable babies. My womb is both willing and able. This outfit inspired me to paint light grey vertical stripes in my  bathroom, the paint hasnt dried yet but I'm sure it will be awesome.  What the fuck is he made of MAGIC?

Via Sartorialist

Going over to the DARK SIDE: Trend Alert!

Every where I turn ( ok many blogs I frequent) seem to have acquired a taste for black. As an underemployed  city dweller who rents i have a small apartment and not a lot of money to make some fo the improvements or purchases I think would  improve my space. Recently I moved and decided to paint my doors a high gloss black, next is Zebra rug. Check out my apartment inspiration

Pretty cool right?

Label Whore: Pretty and Chic ways to label your Jars, Freebie inside!

These are free ptintable via Decor8 Blog

or here's an easy label idea from Apartment therapy

Raven Burgos

DIY Flower Pincushion. Super Easy tutorial on How To make your own Pincushion

A boss of mine gave me this great orange pincushion a couple of years
ago. I still use the pincushion today, and a couple of days ago i was
inspired to figure out how exactly to make one. i looked like once i
figured it out it would be easy. As it turns out, it is.

Instructions:

      Cut a single 4 inch circle on a doubled layer of cloth, here I used bright pink felt

Sew the circle almost shut with a tight stitch, i left about an inch opening. you need it open to turn it inside out and for the next step

Turn inside out

Stuff! I used regular pillow and cushion batting, its cheap and comes in big bags

Sew shut with a regular needle and matching yarn, here were trying to hide the stitching.

I used an embroidery needle and purple embroidery thread to make the threat. if you don't have embroidery threat r a needle it son, you can use regular thread.

1. Start by putting the needle through the center of your cushion
   bring needle all the way around to the other side and push through the
   center again. continue around the cushion five or six times. Knot it off

I put a button I made in the middle to finish the cushion and hide my stitching.

Viola, your very own pin cushion.

Raven Burgos