A Little Imagination and a Pile of Junk

looking forward

My pin cushion using Bari J's tutorial. I tried to use a more elegant combination of fabrics like Bari does, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have gone for the animal print. But, hey, I gotta be me.

Good things about being back home again:

• Seeing friends and spending time with them again.
• Getting back into regular Bible teaching. We've visited several great churches here, but it just isn't the same as being there every week studying through a whole book of the Bible with the same (excellent) teacher. I think we'll be back in time to start Romans 1-5--yippee!
• Being in our own home and back into our regular routine of life. We've tried to keep up the routine here but it has still been a bit like being on vacation for 3 months--which is a good thing, but gets old.
• Having the dog back and seeing the chickens. We've since found out one of the chickens, Beyond, is really a rooster. We thought she was just a really huge, mean hen. Turns out....
• Having access to all my fabric.
• Having a place to paint and make a big mess creating.
• Even though it isn't Winter in the strictest sense and I will miss it so, this time of year is nice in South Texas. Very Spring-like. 
• Actually getting started on the down-sizing. This might be a negative, too. I get a little panicky thinking about how it's all going to work.

I'm trying to finish up as many projects as possible before we leave so there are lots of works in progress spread out all over the place.

Still into the Christmas crafting. This will be a pillow but I'm planning on a little embroidery work in the white square and some hand quilting elsewhere that I'm saving for the drive back to Texas. I love the look of patchwork with embroidery mixed in.

My--ahem--Winter coat. Just in time for returning to the Equator where it will be completely unnecessary. I only have the sleeves, hem, and button holes left to do. Not my favorite parts so I keep putting it off.

I also have a stack of clothes to be finished up and a huge pile of new fabrics to be ironed. Why is ironing pretty fabric so much more enjoyable than ironing boring old clothing? Or is it just me?

the flu 2008: a review

I've been gone longer than intended but we took a little break from daily life to try out this year's flu bug. Pretty bad, I have to say. I found myself suddenly sick the day before John left town for a quick trip back home. After a few days of lonesome misery, Soren then Maisey decided to join me and we were all out sickies for the whole week. I think I've finally gotten my strength back but the headache and cough are lingering. The kids were so sick, that for two days straight Soren lay on the couch or floor staring into space without attempting a single time to play with or even touch a toy, book, crayon, etc.  Today, though, they pushed some toys around, spoke above a whisper and actually ate food. Whew. Life will eventually return to normal. Next year I will not keep putting off the flu shot.

Since it pretty much felt equally miserable to anything or nothing, I did manage to work on a few very simple sewing projects. Some tiny pin cushions and a few Christmas decorations for next year.

Of course, the minute I saw Bari J.'s excellent pincushion tutorial, I knew I had to make one but I was a lot sicker than I had yet realized and those perfectly aligned corners kicked my butt! Oh, but she's pretty. Wonky corners and all. I should be able to share a few pictures tomorrow. Let's hope the healing trend continues.

almost pine cone

Here's the cold hard truth: on my blog, when I say "tomorrow"--as in "Tomorrow I will post whatever..."--what I really mean is something more like "in the not too distant future, maybe 3-5 days from now if we're lucky". Just so you know, the connotation is that I'd really like it to be tomorrow in the true sense of the word, but we both know it won't be and I just can't stand lying to you anymore.

And since we're on the subject of truth-telling, I didn't do so great on my pledge. As usual, I had good intentions but took the easy way out as far as the kids were concerned. Princesses, Power Rangers, puzzles, and paint--they were the stars of the show. We went with Christmas-light this year, which was actually pretty nice. But the grandparents did get handmade gifts. Handmade by the kids, I mean. But I supervised.

A few necessary things I managed to make for, ahem, myself....

My new favorite purse. I think I get lazy when it comes to making something just for me, but I like the simplicity of this one. I wish you could see the cute lining fabric, but oh well. The camera has been acting up lately and this is as good as it gets. We have more family coming in this weekend and Maisey's birthday to celebrate so it may be "tomorrow" before I post again--wink, wink, nudge, nudge. See you then!

we're praying for a white xmas

Today begins my countdown to Christmas and is the first day we begin opening our gifts for the 12 Days of Xmas Exchange! For the next 12 days, all the players will open a new gift. I'm sure I'll get around to showing you at least some of them, but you can see all of the gifts from both groups on the blog as they are unveiled in all their glory. This is my very favorite swap of the year and it really lets you experience Christmas as a kid again! I mean, imagine getting a new gift every day from someone who really gets you and knows intuitively the kinds of gifts you'll treasure. This year I was #1 so everyone in my group opened their gift from me today.

Artsy clutch purses from Amy Karol's fabulous book. The pattern for the clutches is perfect: simple and versatile. I hand embroidered each one and used almost entirely vintage or recycled materials for all the purses, which I feel particularly good about (gold star for me). Each clutch is different depending on each lady's taste, but these are a few I managed to to get pics of. Since there are 13 of us in each group, we all have a lucky #13 gift from Lelainia to open on the day our gift is given. I was looking forward to showing off her wonderful gift when I realized that I can't show it yet or it will ruin the surprise for the other girls. Such a bummer, for you I mean ;-)

All the Christmas crafting, especially here and here has me crazy to make stuff. I loved Amy's (or was it Amanda's?) idea for gift books from the kids. I've been wanting to make some of these for a while so I used it as an excuse to shop for some new papers.

I'll have the kids write stories and embellish for the Grandparents--surprise!--and the rest will be for fun.

I'd also like to make something like this (although you know mine will be much more garish) for the apartment and maybe these. Plus a few of these trees to start a little collection. Our mantel is rather lovely at the moment...

...but a few more handmade decorations here and there would make things even more festive. I've planned to thoroughly enjoy every bit of this particular Christmas and savor the true Christmas-like weather for once. I'd like to do really do things up big this year, but with only 12 more days until Christmas, I'm running out of time. I guess it's the same every year. Looks like the cold weather doesn't do much to draw out the holidays a little longer for you, does it? Oh, well. This weekend's forecast: lows in the lower 20s and some rain. Snow flurries, please??

you know, for kids!

Just taking a few minutes away from flipping back and forth between watching my man Van Morrison on Austin City Limits and Raising Arizona (one of the funniest movies of all time) to give you a little update on a few works in progress. All I can share are the pretty little piles just yet, but if you're geeking out over those sweet red & white fabrics--and I know you are!--then hightail it over to Sweetflavor before December 7 for a little Christmas inspiration. Besides great Japanese fabrics, you'll find some lovely cotton prints at good prices. I'm also planning a list of some of my new favorite handmade shops to share as soon as I can  get it together--my life, not the list. Before Christmas, though. Promise.

Finally, *most* my gifts for the 12 Days of Xmas Exchange are in flight to their new homes, so I should be able to start a new project this weekend. A Winter coat pour moi.

I've been feeling so unproductive lately and having a really hard time getting used to the shorter days in Tennessee. Knowing it will be dark by 5 pm, I start feeling panicky around 4:00 thinking of all I still need & want to do with the day. No wonder I'm utterly exhausted by 8 pm.

do as i say, not as i do

Before we left home, I cut a bunch of fabric for projects I didn't want to forget about after the move. One of them was a sewing apron/craft apron. I have been wanting to make one of these for a while because it drives me crazy having to go back and forth looking for scissors, pins, etc. while I am trying to sew. My iron, machine, and cutting table are all over the house, so I'm already getting a work out without leaving tools behind. So, for this extra special project I cut into my beloved $17 a yard Japanese fabric (I actually bought mine at ReproDepot and I've seen it at Superbuzzy, but I couldn't find it either place to link for you). Unfortunately, in my rush, I was just happy to dig up a piece of canvas fabric the right size and didn't realize that it hadn't been washed.

And this is after I ironed the heck out of it, stretching and pulling until my fingers hurt. Oh, you should have seen it when it was finished--of course, I didn't get a picture then--it was so cute and just perfect. But I had to go throw it in the washer. Well, this is what happens when good fabric goes bad, or when you don't pre-wash your fabric. Ugh.

we're serious about fun

Have you seen Planet Earth yet? We don't have cable or satellite so we just bought and began watching the video series a few weeks ago. To say it is unbelievable is no exaggeration. I've watched every episodes with my mouth gaping open. I promise, you have never seen anything like it. It is kind of like The Life of Pi, it will make you believe in God.  And the Caves episode is particularly popular with the kids because it has bird spit, worm snot, and bat poop all in the same episode. We've already watched that one many, many times.

And something else to check out. Not quite so life transforming though still very good:

The premier issue of Stampington & Co.'s Sew Somerset. I have an article inside on making fabric art journals like this, this, or this one. I was really close to the deadline making the journals for the article and forgot to photograph them, so I'll share pictures when I get them back and they may even make their way into my Etsy Shop. But here's a peek at the article. On the chapter intro page, the blue with purple hearts in the middle is mine.

A while back I mentioned that I wanted to do a tutorial on how I make my painted papers but later it occurred to me that I described that process in this article, only for painting on fabric, and I should wait until after the article came out to do the tutorial. So, I'm going to finish working on that now. Hopefully I'll get to work on it while we're in Memphis (I've already learned that it's pronounced Mehm-fus.) and not have to wait until we get back.

Speaking of Memphis, after reading my last post, my husband commented that it sounded like I hate my life here in the Valley which I really do not. I love it actually. My life. Being home with my kids. Homeschooling. The very close knit community we have at our church. Our friendships that have been deeper and more rewarding here than we've ever had anywhere else. The only thing I don't like is the Valley itself. We've been here 6 yrs and it still doesn't feel like home to me. There are things I am thankful for about raising my kids here. The levels and influence of consumerism aren't anywhere near what they would be back in Austin, largely because of the extreme poverty that also exists here. I'm thankful that we can go right over the border (although we don't need to) and see what real poverty is and that my kids have the opportunity to see it with their own eyes. I'm also thankful that the cultural climate here in many ways supports the values we are trying to live out before our children instead of tearing them down. And, ultimately, I know this is where God has called us and where we are meant to be at this point in our lives. But it is still sometimes hard. And I'm glad to be able to get away when we can.

I've already packed up our winter clothes and my art supplies (I've given up the admittedly unrealistic hope of actually sewing anything between now and our leaving.) but I still have so much left to do to leave the house for several months. I wonder how being empty for that long will effect everything? Will there still be dust (which is mostly dead skin cells--sorry to have to tell you) if no one's there??

current crushes and new favorite things

A little late, but here it is:  Crusade No. 12: Current Crushes

Crush #1:  Reconstructing Clothing - Making me want to neglect the kids and spend the day online doing "research":

~ New Zealand artist & crafter Debra Dorgan's gorgeous designs: here and here.

~ Blossomnbird's funky yet strangely elegant designs. I want everything in her Etsy shop! You can see more of her work at her flickr site.

~ Renaissance woman Charlotte Self's romantic creations at her shop Blue Butterfly Art.

Crush #2:  Wardrobe Remix flickr group. From the group info: "wardrobe_remix is a DO IT YOURSELF street fashion community. I believe the best stylists walk the streets, not the photo sets, nor the backstage of the runways. the real innovators are you and me: real, fashionable people, men and women alike. How do *you* put it together? where did you get that item of clothing from? is there a story behind something you wear? Whatever you wear, wherever it's source (designer, mass-market/high street, thrift/charity, handmade--it's ALL good): show us how you CREATIVELY put your everyday duds together! post your photograph in wardrobe_remix, and tell us about what you are wearing and why."

There are other similar groups, but right now, this one's my favorite. And way bigger than I can actually keep up with. I'm challenging myself to begin to take and post my own pictures when I can. More as a daily diary or self-portrait experiment. You can never have too many pictures of what you really look like. So, here's yesterday's shot:

• Top: New shirt I made this weekend from vintage fabric (ebay) and New Look pattern #6483
• Jeans: Ralph Lauren, Steinmart
• Necklace: Target
• Daughter: of course she has to be in the picture, too

I'll be doing good if I can get a picture once a week. You see, when you stay at home with kids or work from home, you don't necessarily "get dressed" every day. Ahem.

Crush #3:  BurdaStyle.com - Open source sewing. The most fantastic idea. They have tons of great patterns available to download for free. And you are encouraged to alter the pattern, make it your own, make it better. Then post the pictures and even a how-to if you're up for it on the site to inspire others. Brilliant.

Now all I need is to get over my fear of knits so I can start working on variations of Lydia 3197 for the cooler weather coming.

random friday

~ Latest journal entry for alphabetica round robin (trying to get caught up!)  Over the Rhine lyrics surrounding the photoshopped butterflies:

Dip your hands in colors

while the young night flutters in on you,

And fingerpaint me pictures of all you see….

~ Little pink suitcase I picked up thrifting in Austin with my sweet friend Stephanie. Don't you love it?! It's the perfect purse size for carrying essentials plus a magazine or two. It is probably best that we don't live in Austin anymore. I'd be so broke all the time.

~ Some vintage patterns I also picked up in Austin. I'm freaking out over the cuteness of those skirts.

~ No picture, but exciting news! One of my designs is going to be used on the cover of a book of short stories being published by Random House Canada. I've seen a mock up, but I can't wait to see the actual cover.

Have a great weekend and have fun creating!

yeah, shop update!

Finally finished the shop update! Now I'm ready for a hot bath and a glass of Merlot. I'm really happy with everything, though. Here's a quick peek. The rest you'll have to go check out for yourself.

 

 

I have some painted paper packs to list, too. I'll try to get those up tomorrow.