A Little Imagination and a Pile of Junk

Book Review: Bend-the-Rules Sewing

Typically, I find myself dying to buy every new art/craft book that hits the shelves, but when I actually hold them in my hands and thumb through them, I'm usually a little less impressed. Not that there aren't tons of great books out there, but there aren't tons of fabulous books out there. I knew I had to have Amy Karol's new book Bend the Rules Sewing as soon as I peeked inside. I didn't even care about paying full retail price, I was not leaving the bookstore without it. (I usually find what I like then order thru Amazon for the best price.)

Oh, new-favorite-craft-book, how do I love thee?

• If you're a novice at sewing, I think this might well be the perfect starter book. The only thing that could be better is having Amy at your side while you sew, and the book has that easy sharing-between-friends feeling anyway. You really get the feeling that she is sharing everything she has learned on the subject. Be sure to read through all the project instructions, too, because she's hidden fun little tips in there as well.
• Gorgeous pictures worth the book itself. Easy to follow step-out illustrations for every project. Hints & tips that only a life-time seamstress would know. The coolest and most varied projects that serve as a great jumping off point to designing your own creations. And yummy smelling pages. (Ah, I love that crisp new paper smell!)
• If you know just a bit or even a lot about sewing, you'll still find Amy's conversational writing refreshing and inspiring. And the projects themselves are worth the book. I promise, you'll love every single one of them.
• This is just a stinkin' cool book! It's obviously designed for a whole new generation of non-traditional crafters with a completely new perspective on domesticity. It's just plain fun to read. And, really, we all need to support indie designers & artists, especially ones that share their knowledge freely.

So, if you are wondering if the book is worth the hype--yes, it is!! Angry Chicken was one of the first craft blogs that I fell in love with and has consistently been one of my favorites. Reading it opened up a whole new world and redefined "crafting" for me. If you love Amy's blog, you'll love her book. There is nothing disappointing about it! And if you've been seeing all the cute sewing projects out there but think you could never make them yourself, please, run to the bookstore asap. You'll be so glad you did.

The day after I brought the book home, I ran out to photocopy all of the patterns. So far, I've made the Charming Handbag using some vintage velvet fabric I've been saving for the perfect project and the super quick & easy dog collar. It was a total coincidence that the collar happened to match my new shirt. Really.

Is that handbag freakin' adorable or what?? Just a little tip it took me a while to figure out: when you are enlarging a pattern to photocopy, copy the book's original pattern first, cut it out to get rid of any empty space or unnecessary text on the page, then enlarge a from that. Also, if the pattern won't fit on one sheet of paper, move the pattern around to get pieces of the whole on multiple copies, then align the image and tape them together to make the full sized pattern. And once you've finished your new creation, proudly post it in the Flickr gallery for everyone to admire.

Crusade No. 11 & thank God for those 3 years

This month's challenge was super easy for me. Easy because the same music has been running through my mind daily since John came home with a new CD months ago. I know I've mentioned it before but I can't say enough about them, even though I really should quit because when I get this way everyone I know gets so sick of hearing about my latest obsession that they end up hating it. But just one last more time. I'm not going to tell you who it is yet, just (please, for me??) take a look at these ("Mouth Full of Cavities" by Blind Melon--the chick is Jena Kraus, not part of the band, but what a voice!)

If you remember the 1990's, then you probably remember Blind Melon. And if you are like me, the only song you really know of theirs is No Rain, you know, the video with the Bee Girl? You may also remember that the lead singer Shannon Hoon died of a drug overdose very early in their career. What you might not know is that this band is amazing, definitely not a one hit wonder. The three albums they recorded in their short career are beautiful and tragic. And you can sense that they they didn't get the chance to make their best music. I know it is crazy, but I can feel my heart breaking every time I listen to their music.

For months, whenever I journal, I have a hard time keeping myself from writing & re-writing the lyrics to their songs. Not that the lyrics are that profound, but that they are running through my head constantly.

This next video haunts me. It is from a concert they recorded less than a month before Shannon overdosed in 1995. From what I understand, he had just come out of rehab and was trying to turn things around, mostly for his new 3 month old baby girl. There was pressure to tour with the second album coming out and even though his counselors said it was too soon, they went anyway. I don't know what it is about this particular video and why I feel compelled to watch it over and over. Maybe it is that I understand addiction. I know what it feels like to feel out of control of your impulses. And the thought that one mistake can have such terrible consequences is heart breaking. And one more little girl has to grow up without the daddy that loved her. Ugh, I'll stop now. I'm depressing myself.

One more worth watching. The intro is a tear jerker. "Change" is so beautiful and ironic considering the lyrics Shannon wrote years before. This recording was made from the David Letterman Show on the same day Kurt Cobain's body was found--thus the "?"--and just a couple of months before Shannon's own death.

When you feel life ain't worth living, you've got to stand up and take a look around you and look up way to the sky. And when your deepest thoughts are broken, keep on dreaming, boy, cause when you stop dreaming it's time to die--and I don't want to die.

I know we can't all stay here forever, so I'm gonna write my words on the face of today. And then they'll paint it.

When life is hard, you have to change.

6 supercool things

:: Some of my favorite bloggers/journalers are actually using my painted papers in their artwork! Check out Patty and Nancy and Mary Ann and more Mary Ann.

:: Very happy thrift shopping day

 

:: It looks like we will not be blasted away by what is being called the worst hurricane to hit land in 2 decades. This is hard, too, because I just wish that damn thing would break up and not hurt anyone or anyone else's homes. Sunday and Monday were pretty scary around here making plans for what we would do if we had to evacuate.

:: The kids are visiting their grandparents in Austin this week. This is a double blessing because we didn't have to worry about the kids and Hurricane Dean at the same time plus, now that we are hopefully out of imminent danger, John and I can enjoy a relaxing week pretending we are child free.

:: Going to two grown up movies in one night.

:: Sitting at a sandwhich shop alone reading the latest issue of Craft: magazine.

 

WIP Friday (Let's just say Friday even though we know it's really Thursday.)

I'm in total freakout mode preparing for weekend events and the kids leaving with their grandmother for a week. I've told you how I tend to freakout before social events. Well, this weekend will be an overnighter and I feel like I'm going to start laughing and never stop. Ever. So, let's just talk about something normal and routine, okay?

I've lots of works in progress right now in hopes of a Shop update soon. I've had some requests for patchwork pouches so I'll have several of those, at least one patchwork tote bag, a couple of painted paper packs, and some misc. stuff. It won't be a huge update, but it will have to do for now. If you'd like me to send you a quickie email (email link upper right column) letting you know when the new stuff is up and you're not already on the mailing list, just shoot me an email with "mailing list" in the subject and I'll make sure you hear about it first.

I'm completely hooked on the idea of making my own clothes and am trying to learn a bit about how clothes are constructed. My newest project is my first using a commercial pattern (Simplicity 3835) and it went rather well, I think.

Even after retaking measurements, it was still a size too big, but I think I can add some darts to shape it up. I've realized that making adult clothes is completely different than making bags and pouches, especially considering amount of fabric you need for clothes. Up until now, I've bought fabric at a yard or half yard and I could find almost nothing big enough to make a shirt out of. This was my starter fabric--not too ugly to wear if it turns out good and not too disappointing to lose if it turns out bad. Needless to say, I'm going to have to completely restock my fabric stash if I want to make clothes. Okay--if I have to.

I think this has helped a bit. I'm still freaking out inside, but at least I'm not screaming at the kids anymore. It is really sad when your children begin to ask you, "Momma, what is a nervous breakdown?" I'll be back on Sunday with a clearer head.

no one here but us chickens

Well, we now have chickens: Sarah, Beyond, and Chi-Chi. (Obviously, the kids named the chicks and we're reading Doctor Doolittle so Chi-Chi is also variously known as Gub-Gub.) I tried to get some pictures of the girls but they all turned out like crap. It is really hard to get a chicken to stand still for a picture.

I've been waiting for a few minutes to write a post all day, but now that it is here, I am suddenly mind numbingly exhausted. So you get the chickens. And just so you might give me one more chance and come back again another day, some mailart for Randi and two sweet stories to make you laugh. That's about all I can come up with tonight.

About a year or so ago, Soren (around 4 at the time) and I were looking through some family pictures when he asked why his little sister was not in a photo. I explained to him that, actually, she was, but at the time she had not been born yet and was still in my tummy. The answer seemed to satisfy him so he took the picture over to Maisey to tell her what I had said. Maisey was apparently unconcerned but Soren stopped short and soberly walked back over to me to say, "Mommy, did you eat Maisey?"

Just a few weeks ago, a friend told me that during the children's Sunday School, she had been asking the kids to name the 10 commandments. The kids immediately chimed in with the easy ones "Thou shall not lie" and "Thou shall not murder" when MY son raised his hand to say proudly, "Thou shall not perish!" Oh, how I love that kid.

auspices first

Finally, I can show you what I've been working on for the past two weeks as it has made its way into the hands of my sweet swap partner. For the treasured totes swap, we were asked to make a tote/purse for our partner plus goodies to put inside. Of course, I included a big patchwork pouch and also experimented with a new cell phone case design. I love the design, but I still need to work on the size or maybe a closure for the case. I think it is awfully cute though, especially with the tortoise shell button. Can you see it in the picture? This was the most fun swap I've been a part of in a long time. Such a blast focusing on just one thing and making it really special. One more picture with all the goodies inside.

 

I think the swap was a little bit of a stretch for both me and my partner because our styles are very different. We really had to try things that we probably wouldn't ordinarily have picked for ourselves. A great exercise in gift giving, actually, really thinking about who the gift is for and customizing it especially for their tastes, while still leaving a bit of yourself in the mix. Kathy's bag to me is amazing! I cannot tell you how much I love it. I'll try to get some pictures of it today to share. I believe that all of the bags will be featured on art-e-zine at some point. I'll let you know when I hear more. What I've seen so far from the other ladies is incredible.

Well, I'm feeling particularly domestic today and will be spending my creative time mending and sewing. More on this tomorrow.

polite avocado pit

Today, I am elated. And tired. I finished up my tote which is on its happy way to my swap partner. I'm dying to show you but, alas, we must wait a few more days as there is someone important who needs to see it first. Oh, but it feels good to have that project done and only a few days past the deadline, I might add. This was definitely one of the most fun swaps I've ever been a part of. Thanks, Lelainia, for inviting me to play!

And to celebrate, I cleaned my studio yesterday. I love that feeling. It made me smile big this morning when I walked past to get my only-one-of-the-day Dr. Pepper. For a few weeks I have been sewing on top of painting and painting on top of sewing and it wasn't pretty. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make a cover for my sewing machine because it already has too many paint splotches. But when I am painting, I just can't be concerned about that. Or the floor, or my clothes for that matter. Some new painted papers:

And take a look at this. First, the original, which by the way is two layers into my painting process but I have been stopping at this stage on a few of them because I like the subtlety of color.

Now take a look at it Photoshop'd (I used Image/Adjustment/Auto Levels instead of Image/Adjustment/Levels and manipulating the levels myself.)

Now it is something completely new and wonderful. Really, if you don't have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, get it. If you have it and are scared to use it, just go play! That is the only way I've learned anything. But just don't ask me why something works, I just know that if you do A, you'll get C.

No nap for me today, I'm ready to get my studio messy again.