Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Kurt's Christmas Present Part I

Sometime last year, my husband sketched out a pencil case he wanted for when he went out and sketched outside or traveled. Months later, when I was trying desperately to figure out what to make him for Christmas, I remembered the sketch. I looked through every scrap of paper in his work area (and believe me there are a LOT!) and finally found it! I made a pattern according to his drawings and started looking for fabric. I wanted to make it out of some durable material so he didn't have to be careful with it (that's no fun). I decided on canvas for the outside, which I hand dyed indigo using Shibori techniques.
The inside is oilskin that I purchased by the yard online. It's waterproof and if it gets dirty, you just have to wait until the dirt dries and then brush it right off. It's great stuff and really easy to work with. My friend, Alex, who rides horses and worked on a horse ranch one summer, told me that cowboys swear by oilskin. That just made it extra cool! :)
The pencil case has a flap that comes down to cover the tops of the pencils and a little removable pocket that holds his favorite eraser.

The eraser pocket attaches to the case with a magnetic button and the whole case is secured with a plain leather button that matches perfect with the oilskin. Kurt loved it!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I have had the honor of seeing this awesome piece and the pictures don't do it justice!! I am also the friend who worked on a ranch and Jenny was not lying...cowboys swear by oilskin because it IS awesome. I would pack it onto the back of my horse, throw it into the dirt, wear it in sleet (yes, even in the summer it would sleet up in the mountains!), pack it back up, get back to the ranch, let it dry, dust it off with my hand and it was good as new. Makes a great pillow too! :) They do need to be retreated every once is a while to keep them rain proof, but its a great material. With use it gets really soft and pliable, remains waterproof and becomes a best friend!

Anonymous said...

It is soooooo neat!!! Great present Jen!
I love your blog, by the way... it's so refreshing.... never stop blogging!