London Vacation 2008 - is it embarrassing to be more than 3 years behind on photo albums?

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WIP it good!

I don't have anything finished to post as of late.  I'm thinking about taking the "process pledge" that I've seen on so many quilty blogs...it would be a good excuse to post something even if you are not finished with it and won't be for who knows how long.

My little crafty corner is a total zoo!  Luckily, Teen Wonder installed Photoshop Elements on our computer, so I can wrap it in plastic and make it look more artsy and crafty, and less just plain messy.

But also I wanted to link up to a blog I follow called Confessions of a Fabric Addict that does a Friday linky party called Can I get a Whoop Whoop?  Which sounds like just the right amount of silly for a Friday. Of course, I don't get around to posting until late into the evening, if at all. ever. So I should almost wait until next week. But that's what I said last week. So here's what I've been working on...

Both of these projects are or were intended for the Fat Quarterly Reader Competition, which is a crazy idea for me to begin with because it comes with a deadline that is fast approaching...

First up, the "small item" category - an insane patchwork project involving hundreds of little 1 inch squares of fabric, and something called "Quilter's Grid" with is a fusible interfacing with a little grid on it 1in by 1in. So you cut a million squares like these: 

Then you lay them out on the grid and press them down.  This layout step alone took me something like 3 evenings to complete. Remember my friends that I only have the after 9pm time slot to work with most of the time. (what a friggin' nut)

Now I need to seam along each of the lines of the grid (80 seams. or maybe 70 if I was clever and did some math. I can't remember at the moment). Each seem has to be trimmed and then pressed. I bought a little craft iron just for this project... (nut!)

Oh yeah, then there's still the actual piecing and construction of the pillow this is meant to become. 

Okay, moving along. 

Here is the second project, which was the first one in the beginning, but then I ran out of bobbin thread one night and instead of picking up and finishing the quilt top I started the other project instead.  This is in the "quilt" category of the contest. I took forever modifying the color scheme and this also required a lot of cutting (I think I showed stacks of pieces in some previous post).  

Here's some of it partially put together draped over my serger (which you can't even see anymore):

And here's the rest of the strips waiting patiently on the back of my chair. Notice at the end there, where I ran out of bobbin thread on, I am not joking, the very last of the flying geese to pieced into strips:

So there you have it. I could finish the top this weekend I think, but since it's a pretty good size quilt (cuz why would I be smart and go for the crib size?) I'm certain I won't have time to quilt it before the contest deadline. I have a business trip coming up and won't even be home next weekend. Maybe I can get it professionally quilted in time...hmmm.  But the pillow too?  

I think I'm going to give up on the contest idea and spare myself the anxiety of an impossible deadline.  My chances of winning one of the runner-up prizes (which is what I wanted because it's like bushels of fabric or something rather than a fancy quilting software I wouldn't have time to use or a bundle of craft porn books that I probably already bought myself because I am a craft porn book addict) where extremely slim anyway.

But! check out the linky party while you're surfing - 

There aren't too many this week, but they are fun to check out - and last week there were dozens of the most beautiful blog post links you'd ever care to see!

Have a great weekend!!

The post that time forgot...

um. I think I started writing this post about a month ago and then never had time to finish it. But I still love this little instant gratification project, so what the heck. I'll post it now!

Anyone else out there chronically forgetting to photograph their projects?  It's especially problematic when you've just given a gift and then realize you don't have a photo. I didn't think about this too much before I started using Flickr and then blogging.  

Well, actually when I first learned to knit I kept a detailed little journal of each project. When that notebook filled up, I was already having trouble keeping up due to multiple WIPs and always finishing gifts at the last minute.  Anyway, I wish I did a better job of this. Ravelry helps with the journal urge, but you still don't have a photo if you never took one. duh. And also I need to learn some basic skills in photography of crafted items. I'm sure that taking your own picture wearing your item is acceptable - I see it all the time in other people's Ravelry and knitting blogs. But it isn't very high quality photography. I have an even tougher time with quilts and other projects...

Oh well. The red muffler above was a recent FO, not a historical one - and it was the first thing I've knit in awhile for myself and I've gotten several compliments over the past couple of weeks that I've been wearing it. (yay!)  One skein of bulky yarn from a sale bin - don't remember what it was, but it surprised me because knit up it turned into a really nice non-itchy wool blend, so I should look for the ball band around here. I got the button at Stone Mountain and Daughter in Berkeley (love that store soooooo much).  I also made a really nice little muffler in a really lovely yarn (full price was worth it even) with a different pattern just before this one and gave it to a friend.  It was beautiful.

did I take a photo of it?

no.

sshhh...it's a secret surprise Valentine

I only have a few minutes during my lunch hour to put this up. I hope this isn't the first day ever that the recipient of this Valentine will actually visit my blog...  I won't link up to FB until later, so probably no one will see this post today anyway.

So, I am married to this wonderful man - Mr. Wonderful.  In honor of Valentine's day we had a nice dinner on Saturday and went to a performance at the Berkeley Rep. I bought a big bouquet of roses for our table, and baked a cake to have tonight with the kids.  So we agreed we were done with Valentine's day save maybe a card and a little chocolate (for him). And also I bought myself a new car (!!yay), with Mr. Wonderful's blessing. So yeah, spending more money seemed silly right now.

But, I had seen some of the last minute Valentine craft roundups on blogs in the past week, and this tutorial for a "Pocket Full of Love" popped up on craftzine.com.  Actually, the tutorial itself is from Cloud Nine Fabrics (yummy organic, soft...)

So, I hurriedly went through my stash and scraps to find something to use, printed out the instructions, made up my own template because I couldn't print the template provided on 11x17 paper, and got to it!

Admittedly, the quality of this little pillow would have been a little higher if I'd given myself more time. But I had to work fast in little pieces of the day that I could steal away to my corner in the basement (pretending to do laundry).  Remember, I was also making last-minute Valentine's with Wild Thing.

(our house is a mess.)

I took two seconds to admire it before I hid it away in my closet.  You can't find anything in there unless you know my system. hehe.

This morning, I filled it with messages of love and with chocolate!  I left propped up on Mr. Wonderful's pillow.

Is it OCD to not let go of your idea to create something romantic for this commercial holiday, even though you haven't had time to plan a project ahead of time and even though you've agreed with your sweetheart that we've marked the occasion enough already?

Maybe so. Yes, probably. But Mr. Wonderful is such a perfect fit for me - the partner I want to grow old with (am already growing old with!). So I couldn't stop the obsessing until I compulsively acted out to make this little pocket of love.

I know he will understand.

( btw, the image on the card tucked inside the pocket is a free download from a talented artist named Samantha Hahn that I also found through craftzine.com - it's perfect for us and works better than any of the choices I looked at in the stores. I just printed it out, trimmed it down and stitched it to a blank card I had laying around...)

Last minute Valentines - yikes!

For weeks (at least 2 or 3), I've been thinking to myself "hey, Wild Thing needs Valentines for his class - we'd better get on it!" 

 

Some years I'm good with the standard Spider Man valentines - especially if I find something early enough that all the good designs are not gone from the shelves. 

That didn't happen this year.

BUT - I know that there are all kinds of talented designers out there who offer free printables for just such an occasion.  I visited one of my favorite papercraft sites, The Toymaker - and in the Holiday section under Valentine's are these adorable heart cookie cards.  I love love love this website!

So, some cardstock, scissors, dumdums, and gluestick later - plus Wild Thing signing his name to 24 of these babies - we had a bag full of Valentine goodness for his class party tomorrow.

Yay!

(I actually have another last-minute Valentine project to post, but I haven't taken a photo yet. Plus the recipient may actually see this post before he sees the Valentine...so that one will have to wait.

proof that I am insane (or at least a bit OCD) - a little garden flag mini-tutorial

Last night, sometime after 9pm...let's say it was 9:30...I realized that some corner of my brain was obsessing over the fact that I didn't ever quite finish taking down the Christmas decor.  I couldn't bear to take the star-lights from the windows. I mean, it's still DARK. Which means all the snowflakes are still stuck to the windows too. I left the wreath on the door because it was not overtly Christmas-y (I told myself). And there are a couple of random decorations that I missed when I took everything down and I haven't managed to tuck them away.

But what's been bugging me every day, at least twice a day, is the snowman garden flag that graces our front steps. 

It's February. This guy is no longer seasonal.

But since I don't have seasonal garden flags for every season, they tend to stay out there way too long. I needed a Valentine's Day flag.  So I decided to make one. At 9:30 at night...

By around 11:15pm , I'd managed to put together this flag in time to swap out in the morning and avoid one more day of shame!  (although the starlights and snowflakes are still up - Wild Thing needs to help me make some valentines to put on the windows!)

Tutorial of sorts:  

Here's the recipe for a flag like this - but since I didn't take photos of the process, you'll have to fill in with your imagination.  I promise I will do better next time! There are similar techniques for this scrappy applique type project out there all over the place...

Ingredients: 

- scraps of reds and pinks

- scraps of fusible interfacing (other tutorials I've seen use stuff that will fuse to both sides - that would be even easier, but I didn't have any on hand)

- one piece of white muslin the width and length to make 2 times the flag size plus 3 extra inches length for loop at the top.

Instructions:

 - cut out a heart shape and letters of your choice from the fusible interfacing

 - select scraps to cover the interfacing and trim and arrange until you are satisfied

 - fuse the scraps to the interfacing with a nice hot iron according to the instructions (or until they stick in my case since I don't have the instructions anymore

 - trim the scraps to match the interfacing cutouts and pin to the bottom of the muslin (be sure to include 1/2 inch for seam allowance when you choose your placement. (if you used the 2 sided fusible stuff - now is when you fuse the other side to your muslin)

 - stitch around the outside of your shapes (I used regular foot for the heart, and tried free-motion with the letters which turned out a little wonky stitch-wise)

 - stitch along all the little overlaps of your scraps - looks cool and holds them down better in case of damp weather conditions

 - fold your muslin in half, wrong sides together and stitch around edge with 1/2 inch allowance. Leave a 4 inch opening somewhere for turning.

 - turn the flag right side out and press (press the opening seams in to match the rest of the seam allowance)

 - topstitch all the way around, closing up the hole during the process

 - fold the top over to the backside 1 and 1/2 inch (or as big as you need for your flag holder), press, and stitch across.

VIOLA!  you have yourself a new flag!  

I plan to use this scrappy applique approach again for other projects - it was fun and very easy - improv is more forgiving than a pattern (well, until you hit a dead end with your improvised non-plan. which can happen. but it didn't this time!)

"How DO you find the time?"

Well, right. I get this question pretty frequently regarding making crafty things...and blogging. But really, there are times when I just don't find any time. And then other times I am really productive in making things. Over the course of a month or a year, I don't think I have enough time for projects or really get that many done. There are so many of them backed up in my little craft corner and spilling out of baskets by the sofa.

As for blogging, I don't think I am terribly prolific since there are so many bloggers out there who find time every day to post their thoughts and/or pictures of the beautiful things they make. And tutorials, which I love to read and use. If I'm lucky I will get a post in once a week - but obviously I'm not that lucky most weeks.

But here are some of the reasons I have time to make crafty things (in no particular order):

1) I have craft stuff out all the time. I didn't used to have a place to keep a sewing machine or WIP out, but when we re-did our basement a few years ago, I carved out a corner. Just a table and shelving to keep my craft-y supplies in and to be able to leave out projects without having to clean them off the dining room table everyday. This makes such a huge difference because I can just go sew for 20 minutes if that's all I have. Like these piles of half square triangles which will eventually be a quilt. They take a lot of cutting and sewing and pressing that can be done a little at a time. Knitting is portable, so I have projects in ziplocs ready to go with me anytime.

2) art and craft are just things that everyone in my family has always done - I can't think of very many people in my immediate family (meaning parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, cousins) who isn't crafty or an artist, or both. So I grew up in this reality where it wasn't unusual, and where having a sewing room or art studio or workshop was a housing choice priority, and where time spent doing projects isn't considered only "spare" time.

3) I don't watch very much TV.  And very often when I do, I'm knitting or just listening to it from the sewing machine, or pressing things on the ironing board.

4)  I believe that you don't need to be particularly artistically talented or perfect at your craft for it to be worthwhile - I really think this is thanks largely to my dad, who if he reads this will take it in the good spirit in which it is intended.  It seems like this idea keeps a lot of people out there from making things with their own hands. I love trying new things and making stuff. period. If you want to make something and you don't know exactly how, you should go ahead and give it a shot anyway. You don't need to create something perfect. You are the one who will notice the majority of mistakes anyway. And with practice anyone can learn a craft or an art - of course, there are these amazingly brilliant and gifted people out there who have talents I can never really aspire to. But they inspire me, and I'll aspire to developing more skills anyway.

5) I try to trick convince my children to do projects with me so that I can justify the time and the trips to the craft store.  Teen Wonder doesn't fall for it anymore. But she is creating her own things now. Wild Thing really loves to make stuff and will still do it with me.

6) I have insomnia. And evening is probably one of my most productive times of the day. For my real job, I have to get up at an ungodly hour. Morning people probably think getting up at 5:30 or 6 is peachy, but I'd rather sleep until at least 7:30. Unfortunately, 7am teleconferencing requires at least getting up and having some coffee - and usually I like to go to the office to do them since we have such a tiny house and our "office" is in the kitchen. Unfortunately, I still stay up too late and I need more sleep...but the majority of my sewing or knitting happens after 9pm (or the rare weekend afternoon when we aren't running around like crazy).

Okay, that's about all I can think of now, plus I am running out of time to post...and I wanted to share a project from Christmas that still isn't quite finished. I wanted to make multiple sets of these, but I only finished two in time for gifting. At least one more set will go out to my uncle, and the last one (which will get done sometime before the end of the world) will be for me.

My grandma passed away in October. She was an artist, and an amazing quilter - wow. I wish I had a catalog of all her quilts, because I've only ever seen a small fraction of them. Anyway, she had made these paper dolls sometime when she was quite young - they are very old and laminated with some sort of tape. Extremely detailed, and all with these big round heads. A few years ago I got a small Xyron on sale at the craft store, and I used it to make bookmarks with old foreign cancelled stamps that I'd cut from reprint requests to scientists in my grad school lab. I'd been saving these things for something like ?15 years - sheesh. Anyway, that was fun...but you have to do more than one project to justify buying a new toy, right?  I've done some other stuff with it, but I have been wanting to make magnetic laminated copies of the Big Head Dolls for quite a long time.  My grand-dad scanned a few of them for me a couple of years ago, but not the whole set...and I could never find the magnetic-laminate cartridges in stock for my Xyron. But after Grandma passed away, my mom lent me the dolls so I could scan copies and do this project. (the dolls belong to my auntie - and they are priceless, so I was a bit nervous taking custody of them!)

These are a couple of shots of just some of the dolls (and my first watermarking of photos - since I don't want anyone to reproduce these in any way. The photos are low res anyway, but still...

I love that they are magnetic! 

And here you can see why I'm still not done - this is a lot of cutting out. I can do it while watching TV if I don't need to pay attention to the program...but I'm still not quite done...

Happy Sunday everyone! Now go out and make something!