March Stash Diet Update

It was a slow month for me, mostly due to going back to my second job/agreeing to hem that prom dress. Which is now DONE, aside from pressing the hem. (Which I'm honestly considering skipping, since the fabric is cheap poly jersey and I'm afraid of melting it!) But I still made some progress.

Sewing totals:
Total projects completed: 3 (the Robson coat, the bibs, and one more last-minute project that I'll show below), though I at least started my Shieldmaiden March costume. Even if I didn't get past the cutting stage.
Total fabric out: 17 yards (including 5 given away for Sew Grateful week)
Total fabric in: 2.5 yards. I went to Joann's the other day to get some notions, and ended up buying some stretch denim-- I had a credit for number of pieces used up, it was on sale, and I do legitimately need some jeans. Also, the only denim I had that isn't the metallic leftovers from the TARDIS skirt was non-stretch, and I think I'm going to need a little more give in my jeans.
Difference: -15.5 yards. It's going down!!
Total stash left: approximately 322 yards. Which is a lot closer than you'd think to what I said the February totals were, but I had that Excel issue to blame for that.
Pieces of fabric completely used up: 4, plus 2 given away. That makes 11 for the year so far, and 2 more before I have another fabric credit.
Patterns used: 2, since I'm not counting in-progress stuff until the month it's done.

Knitting totals:
Total projects completed: 1 (a scarf)
Total yarn out: 100 yards, plus whatever I've done on WIPs.
Total yarn in: None this month... I probably should have done this in February, since I did buy several then for the next Craftsy class.
Difference: I can't really accurately assess this, since I didn't do the math...
Skeins of yarn completely used up: None, though I am SO, SO close with the yarn from that scarf.
Total stash left: I added it up again, since I'd never added in the February purchases, and I'm now at approximately 21,859 yards. Yiiiiikes.

So, this last-minute project... I already mentioned that Doug and I were spring cleaning our house this weekend. We made a Target run after we finished up so we could get a few new things for the house--he hated the shoe rack I brought with me and wanted a more stable one, I needed to get some mailing envelopes so I can send out swap patterns, etc. One of the things we agreed on was to get some new living room curtains--there's 2 layers there, and our dogs have this habit of looking out the window and jumping up to hit the windowsill anytime people pass out front. So the sheer ones got torn. I've hated the outer layer from day 1--it was this ugly colonial-type blue that didn't really go with the pale green wall color, but the thing that really bugged me is that the tops had horizontal pleats, one was pleated further down than the other, and one curtain was shorter than the other! (#sewcialistproblems, am I right?) I had the thought that morning, and mentioned it to him, that I should just make new curtains for the kitchen sliding glass doors and move the kitchen curtains to the living room, since I'd bought the fabric to do so before we got married and it would save us some money. He agreed, so after we got home, I knocked out a new pair of curtains in about 3 1/2 hours.

The top is the curtains that have been there since I met him, the bottom is the new set.

I'm not a fancy curtain person--I'd rather let the fabric print do the talking than deal with pleats and gathers and whatnot. So I kept these super-simple. They're unlined, folded over at the top to make a casing for the curtain rod, and the other 3 edges hemmed. Literally all I did for cutting was fold the piece of fabric in half length-wise, cut it, and then finish the edges. So not the most exciting project from a sewing standpoint, but my kitchen looks so much happier now, and the living room looks warmer, and it was a really satisfying project to finish for something so simple. Plus it knocked 5 yards out of my stash just like that, even though I'm not counting home dec fabrics towards my new fabric allowances, and cleared a nice chunk of space off of my shelf.

Top 5's of 2013, part 4: Knitting and other craftiness

Because those things deserve recognition, too, right? So here's all the things that weren't sewing clothes.

Top 5 hits of 2013: 

1. The Branching Out mitts that I knitted. Look, I did colorwork! And they're soft and cute and from a pattern I already had on hand. And I used the yarn in a fairly timely fashion, so win all around. I did have a bunch of this yarn leftover, but I'm actually using the leftover blue in a current project, which I will blog about when I have more to show for it.



2. The "Project Life" scrapbooking system. I started playing around with this during the summer as a way to try to stay more on top of my scrapbooking and document newlywed life. For those of you who don't scrapbook, the basic concept is that you can get these kits with pocket page protectors, cards that fit into those slots, and then you just add your writing and photos and you're basically done. Most people seem to do one spread a week. I've been doing more of a system of add stuff as I have photos for it or things I want to write down, occasionally mixing in more "traditional" scrapbook layouts, and go on a more month-by-month basis. I can't say I'm caught up, but it really is making it easier to scrapbook on a more regular basis--it's so easy to just grab the stuff, sit in front of the tv, and see what fits where. I'm also able to use some paper and stuff I already have, just slicing it down to size. I haven't showed too much of that on here, so here's a sampling of some things that I've (mostly) already gotten done!



It's not all pocket pages, obviously. The top two show what I've been doing when I have a "real" scrapbook page on one side--I've been making my own cards here and there to coordinate with whatever the main page is. The bottom left-hand corner is a finished page, from a concert that I went to over the summer with two of my closest friends, the bottom lowest right is one of the straight-up Project Life pages, though with a few additional filler cards that I made or printed myself, and the one above that is an in-progress one from the honeymoon. Yes, they're all Instagram pictures of a little plastic TARDIS. Doug and I were having fun with that! I just need to print out the captions and paste them on, and then that spread is done, and same thing with most of my honeymoon pics. I've only gotten stuff through the end of the summer mostly done at the moment, but I'm still feeling much better about this particular hobby than I have for a couple of years!

3. Geeky shoes. My bridesmaids and mom got a huge kick out of our mostly Whovian shoes for the wedding reception! And I have occasionally worn mine since, though not recently since it's been wet and icy a lot lately. Not the best scenario for painted canvas footwear.





4. It's nowhere near finished, but I'm going to add my Roheline cardigan. This is what it currently looks like. I have a long way to go, but once I got past the initial trouble with starting it, it's been a pretty easy knit, albeit slow. I think my stockinette knitting is starting to look pretty nice and even, which is why I'm calling this a win, even if it's still in progress! And now that I finally understand what it means by "wrap and turn" on the short row sections, the top will look even better.

5. Making things for others. Yes, this includes sewing too, but I tend to often be selfish in my crafting, and I did make more things that were gifts for other people this year. So that makes me feel pretty good.

Top 5 misses of 2013:

1. The scarf I knitted for Doug near the end of last winter. It was successful for stashbusting, but he hasn't really worn it at all so far this winter. This isn't a criticism, because he does wear the hat I knitted for him in 2012 all the time! He just doesn't get as cold as I do.






2. The bedroom curtains, to some extent. They do block more light than the blinds do alone, though it still can get way more bright than I like in the mornings. They're way shorter than I would have preferred. Note to self: Next time, be more generous with curtain yardage estimations.

3. Jewelry-making. Mainly because I just didn't take the time to do any this year. Note to self: must start playing with beads again, because I have way too many of them not to!

4. Home decor crafting in general. I meant to do a lot more, but once again, time management and I didn't get along so well, and I only got to the bedroom curtains.

5. Honestly, I can't come up with a fifth thing, because that more or less encompasses everything I made this year! So let's just say the time factor and leave it at that, since having more plans than I finished was a running theme this time around.

Finally, in the interest of not leaving projects unblogged, here's the handwarmers I actually finished to wear to my retail job.

It's honestly not my best work--I messed up the very easy stitch pattern here and there because I was in a hurry, and the yarn is pilling very quickly, because my job is hard on them. The stripes don't match up, and I don't care, because I just wanted to get them done--though I did do a surprisingly good job of getting the thumb gussets to match the stripes without even trying! But they've been keeping my hands warmer than they would have been on their own, especially during October when I was still mostly sitting at an outdoor register. This is how I was wearing them then:

Yes, those are other gloves underneath. Along with a hat, a scarf, long underwear, at least 2 other shirts, and a 2-layer sporty winter coat. Incidentally, one of the main reasons I still want to sew a new winter coat rather than just use this one, other than fashion, is that the inner layer is fleece, and I've found that it's really, really difficult to pull that on over my sweaters and blazer jackets, on the occasions that I forget to bring my "real" winter coat with me to switch to before I go do my teaching!

Aside from a couple of secret projects that I won't post until after Christmas, and a few in-progress things, that pretty much wraps up 2013! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas (or whatever you celebrate)!

an inside peek

I FINALLY finished those curtains! I had a nice chunk of free time yesterday afternoon, so I managed to drag my way through the rest of the lining sewing. They're just giant tab-topped rectangles, really nothing that exciting to write about. And it's really not my best sewing job, to be honest. I kind of put myself in a corner on these--the problem is that I'd bought the fabric ages ago, when we first decided what colors to paint the bedroom, but there weren't any curtain rods at the time. So when we finally bought them and Doug got them hung up, he had to put them higher than either one of us had expected. Which meant that I barely had enough yardage to do all four panels. These have the absolute smallest hem I could do on home dec-weight fabric, and I do think they'd hang better with a deeper hem, but it was either that or buy more fabric. Fortunately, no one will be looking too closely at these except for me. (I'd say and him, but he's a guy, you know?) I couldn't get a good shot of the whole room, but it looks the same on the other window.


And I'm not having to do this anymore, which is how I was attempting to block the light enough that I could sleep. (It didn't work as well as I'd hoped. But the room was still pretty dark when my alarm went off today. It was wonderful.)





The one slightly creative thing I did with these was to make the blackout lining detachable. This was mostly so I could wash them when the dogs inevitably shed all over them, and partially because blackout lining is expensive and this ups the chances that I can reuse it at some point. Of course, this effectively meant that I had to make eight curtain panels instead of four, which is not very exciting at all. I'm going to be quite glad to move on to a different project, even if I can't quite get back to selfish sewing yet!

So, curtains. Yeah. On a more interesting note, want to see my new sewing/craft room? Okay!

Disclaimer: The majority of the good organizing ideas in here are courtesy of my husband, who thinks that organizing is fun. Which makes me a never-ending challenge for him!


Here's a basic overview of the room, in all of its turquoise cheeriness! (I was working on the Hummingbird top when I took these pics, obviously.) I'm pretty excited about that cutting table under the window. It's actually a fold-down kitchen table from IKEA, with a couple of risers on the legs to make it the perfect height for me to cut on while standing. It has storage drawers on either side of the middle column, the one side is permanently set up for cutting, and the other side can be folded down to make the table bigger or smaller, whichever I need at the moment.  I measured it out, and it should be a good length when entirely opened for anything up to pants-length pieces. That window may get a curtain sometime--I was gifted some fabric to make sewing room accessories for Christmas by my mom, who knows my taste well. But I may not bother for this house, since we're hoping to move to something a little bigger before any kids come along, and use that fabric to make ironing accessories instead!


The opposite side of the room. That little table is for scrapbooking and the occasional jewelry-making. I've already done more stuff with the scrapbooking than I've done in a long time on it--it's great to be able to leave supplies out!  Again, IKEA table, but this was constructed from things in the as-is section and was therefore very cheap. The shelves above have mostly paper on the lower shelf, and the boxes on the upper shelf are where my patterns live. The bookcase has all of my craft books and magazines, including my Burdas and KnitScenes. Donna hangs out here, too, though she hasn't seen much use since I got into this room yet. I still need to get this area a little cleaned up and organized, but it's shaping up nicely.


Here's a better view of the fabric storage! I'm proud to say that this idea was actually mine--just a cube shelf from Target (because it was way cheaper and a better size cube than the IKEA ones.) The fabrics are folded around comic book boards and held with binder clips, with pieces of unwanted scrapbook cardstock between the clips and fabrics to help protect the latter. The blue boxes hold some of my yarn collection. (The basket in front is mostly flute music, and will not stay there, once I get the rest of that and a filing cabinet moved down here from my parents' house.) I have threads sitting on there too, though I need to work a bit on my serger threads, because the boxes I bought on sale specifically for that purpose at Joann's don't quite fit the cones. Grr. Anyway, these shelves are pretty jam-packed, so stashbusting is definitely in order!




I have real sewing furniture! Which was kindly gifted by my mom along with my trusty old Bernina, since this table specifically fits that machine. I've since added a mug that randomly cracked to hold my small, commonly used tools like my thread snips and seam ripper. The white board is magnetic (IKEA again) and I'm using it to hold pattern instructions. My serger sits on the smaller table. It also needs a better cover at some point. (My mom made the colorful one on my sewing machine.)


My colorful closet! The original plan was to put that little scrapbook table in here, and use it as a scrapbooking nook of sorts, which is why I wanted it painted nicely. That ended up not being the best use of the space, so it's basically a storage closet instead. The rest of my yarn is in one of those bags, the bins hold things like fabric scraps that are too big to throw out/clothes to fix or refashion/musliny things, and then some lesser-used craft supplies are in here too. I also need to do some scrapbusting--I'd really love to reduce the number of bins in here!









These two are a pretty common fixture in here, too, whenever I'm in here. The lighter one in particular likes to sit basically on top of my feet. So if I ever come back here to talk about a needle going through my finger, you know why...

As for things like the ironing board, that lives in the small linen closet across the hall when it's not in use, so it doesn't take up space or block everything in my closet.

So there you have it! I'm excited to see what comes out of this space!

I'm dreaming of a blue craft room...

Production on the dress has come to a pause. It's partially because my schedule has suddenly exploded with things like having to work multiple Saturdays in a row again (boo), things I'm playing my flute for (yay!) and various social engagements, all of which conspire to keep me out of the house for multiple evenings. It's also partially because the only table in the house that's big enough to cut this thing out on is completely covered in gift-wrapping stuff, most of which is not mine and therefore I have no control over getting it cleaned off. So I don't think I'll actually get it cut out before Christmas, but before the end of the year seems like a pretty reasonable goal. I hope. The good news is that the muslin is dissected, though I do need to press it. Between that and some Craftsy/reading research on the underlining, since it's been awhile since I've done that, hopefully that will be enough to keep me feeling productive while I wait.



In the meantime, I'm now about 6 months away from getting.... *drumroll*.... my own sewing/craft room! I've been collecting inspiration on Pinterest for a few months, and the room is already painted. (I thought I had a picture of it, but I don't yet--it's a very cheery aqua color with a creamy yellow on the doors and inside the closet. It's such a happy-looking room, and I think it will be wonderful to create in!) My beads and most of my jewelry-making supplies are also already down there, and now super-organized thanks to my fiance. I also have this table from Ikea, which folds out to make a cutting table large enough to cut the legs of pants out, and therefore should serve most of my purposes.

The biggest question at the moment that still needs to be answered is how the heck to store my hundreds of yards of fabric, I figured I'd show a couple of the things that are inspiring me right now.

Marie over at A Stitching Odyssey  recently did a sewing room makeover, and I absolutely love the look of her fabric cubicles. It's a pretty nice way of keeping all of the different types of fabric together! Gertie did something similar, but with a whole bunch of canvas boxes.  Which is a nice way to keep the dust out, but I do kind of miss seeing the fabric!

I saw this closet craft room thing on Pinterest awhile back. Doug suggested that we make the closet into a little nook for my non-sewing crafts, like my scrapbooking and jewelry-making. So we've got a little table in there, and some shelves. I'm really looking forward to having a place where I can just leave layouts sitting out and work on them as I'm able-- I think it will do wonders for me actually getting pages done, since the biggest deterrent for a long time is that I have to drag stuff out every time I want to scrapbook, and my sewing machine is always out. I'm thinking that if I get an office chair where I can adjust the height, I can use it for both that and my sewing table.

There's a bunch of little things that need to get figured out still--where to put my pattern boxes and various craft books, what to do with my fabric and yarn, where to keep all of those various notions like threads and scissors and the like, etc. But I am rather looking forward to getting it figured out and seeing how it comes together!

What about you? How do you like to keep your fabrics and the like organized?

midweek musings

• I'm trying something new with my sewing this week, in the name of just getting something done, darnit!! So I'm just trying to do one sewing-related task a day. Yesterday, I got my real jeans all cut out! Well, the wearable test, anyway. But they're denim. (Monday, all I got done was laying the denim out on the table. But it's one less thing I had to do yesterday, so it still counts!) I actually have enough left that I just might be able to squeeze out a pair of shorts, after The Dress. Which is good, because I have been seriously hurting for a lack of shorts that fit this summer, denim or otherwise.
• I really need to get my remnants and scraps better organized, so I can find cooler pocket fabric next time. All I could find in the 5 minutes before Craft Wars started, that I was certain I had enough of to cut all of the pocket pieces, was a solid. Oh well....this is still basically only a test.
• The wedding is 10 months from today! Which brings me to...
• I have a plan now for all of my wedding dress fabrics! Except for the green bit. But at least I know where to order from now. Bonus-- I discovered that the Dharma Trading Co. fabrics, while not a good color for the outside, don't change the color a bit as underlinings and linings. So I can save myself some money there!
• Since I've got that part figured out, other than purchasing, my mental energy during the slow times at work has been far more occupied with sewing rooms. That's right--I'm getting my own sewing room! My fiance is rather generous, isn't he? I'm thinking of going with a turquoise & coral color scheme--something really bright and happy, so I'll feel energized and creative! So I've been pondering various solutions for how I'm going to fit all of my fabric, my sewing machines, a cutting table, all of the other various tools, my yarn, my scrapbook stuff, and my beads into one room. It's a good thing Doug likes organization challenges, because I am a walking one...

 And so this isn't an entirely picture-less post, look what came in today! This prettiness is going to be my future kitchen curtain! He already had the bright green on the main wall in there, and really likes it. And I've always wanted a sunflower-themed kitchen. So this was the perfect compromise fabric. I wouldn't be stockpiling home dec fabrics so soon, except I was kind of afraid this one would get sold out before next year. But one accent curtain shouldn't take me too terribly long to finish up. After The Dress, of course.

Ok, off to grab some dinner and catch up on some blogs, since it looks like all of the rest of you have been way more productive than me this summer!

It's curtains for me (again)!

Ok, so they took a little longer than I thought. Apparently I slightly overestimated the amount of fabric that I needed, and after I'd already sliced the fabric in half (mostly for ease of ironing the 4 1/2 yards of fabric), I ended up having to chop an extra foot off of each piece! And since I'd already hemmed both raw edges on one of these, I had to hem it a second time after. (Boy, am I glad I decided to check before I started the second curtain!) But they're done, finally, and it's good to have one of those projects that's been hanging over my head since October out of the way.

Added bonus: This will make a much nicer backdrop for having Donna the Dummy model my finished garments!

Curtain call! Act One: Math is not my friend.

So my main goal for this weekend was simple: knock out the curtains for my bedroom, preferably today so that I can use tomorrow to catch up on my homework for my knits class at Pattern Review, and then take Monday (which will probably be my last full day off for awhile, since I'll be going back to work at the garden center soon and my only student of the day will be on vacation) to do something wild and crazy like sew something that I can actually wear. Simple, right?

Of course not. It's now around noon, and guess how much I've gotten done? The tabs. That's it. And I did most of that last night. Actually, I'm kind of at negative work done on these curtains, because I basted the tabs onto the curtain fabric and have to remove them all. Turns out that the lining fabric I broke down and bought for them earlier this week is nearly 4" less wide than the curtain fabric. And of course, I based the tab measurements (which took me a good 30-45 minutes to figure out in the first place, since I had to keep shifting things around to get them about even) on the outer fabric. So now I have to not only rethink my entire method of construction in order to get the tabs even with the edges, but I'll have to do the spacing math again. Arrrrgh!

(And here tab-top curtains are supposed to be one of the simplest ones to make... I think I've officially decided that I do not like making curtains.)

So I'm taking a break as I write this to eat some lunch and regroup. Then it's back to trying to get as much work as possible done before I meet up with my best friend this evening to go see Alice in Wonderland. 

I forgot to mention...

I kind of spontaneously decided to sign up for another Pattern Review class. This one is all about dealing with knit fabrics, which really excites me because while I've gotten pretty decent at finishing wovens and making them look good, knits are something that's still a bit tricky for me, even though it's gotten a LOT better since getting the serger! Especially in things like hemming them, reconstructing them in situations where sometimes there's different knit fabrics involved (and sometimes even some wovens), things like that. So I'm looking forward to learning about things like when to use the regular machine vs. the serger, what sort of needles I should be using, etc. Plus the class starts in February and ends in early March, which means the same timeframe as when I'm not working at the garden center again yet, and therefore I can probably stay on top of the classwork a lot easier than I could for the skirt muslin class! So I think I'm going to hold off on any knit-sewing projects until after this class. But that's ok, because I've still got bibs to sew (cut out as of last night), a quilt to quilt, and a bunch of curtains to make.

Speaking of knits, I had a really odd dream last night--I dreamed that on Project Runway, the judges were making them include knitting samples along with their finished garments and judging them based on how well they did their knitting, and Michael Kors was saying something about they should be able to knit their own fabric or they weren't really worth much as a designer, and he also commented about the girl that got cut that she could take some time to sit down and knit 2-3 times a week. And it was making me wonder if I should attempt to take up knitting again! Subconsciously, of course....now that I'm awake, I know I have enough crafty hobbies!

Crazy...

It's not like I haven't been sewing. In fact, I've sewn more this past week so far than I have for the entire last month, since I've had the extra time.

The appliques on my quilt are going slowly, since they're all two layers. But all of the stems are done, and I'm on the second of five colors on the actual leaves (which go faster because they're not quite as intricate.)

I'm also recycling the insulated window shades that were in my brother's room by recovering them with fabric that will actually match/replacing the missing rings. It's an entirely hand-sewn job, so it's taking a little time, but I'm halfway done as of yesterday-- got one more shade to go.

On top of that, as of Monday, the ceiling and closet are both painted, and I've also painted the damaged wooden trim inside the closet so that the shelving could go back in. And I'm done sanding all of the furniture that needs to be primed except for one dresser in my room that has clothes in it. So, really, I've gotten quite a bit done in the past four days.

But I came to a realization yesterday--I still feel like, in a way, I'm very behind on my sewing. The reason why? Because, except for that one dress that took something like 2 months to sew because it was a total disaster, I haven't finished any clothing projects at all since the middle of August. I never finished my summer wardrobe, since I had to drop the shorts, and I didn't even really finish the last shirt I made for it, since I have to adjust the straps and haven't been able to find the time to do so yet. I mean, yeah, there was that gypsy costume, but that's not something I can really wear out in public outside of Halloween or the Renaissance Faire, you know? And it's not like I'm hating the home dec sewing...it's just not my main thing that I like to spend my machine time on. And I've got this big pile of fabrics and projects that I've been meaning to get to, some for well over a year or two, and it's mocking me.

Someone tell me that I'm not a slacker, ok?

the art of procrastination

So as of today, there are only nine days left until my brother's wedding. And I've been on limited crafting time this week, between work and social stuff that's popped up (my best friend from high school is in town with her husband and two kids, so I went over to her parents' house last night to catch up with her, and then my best friend now stopped by tonight). No, I don't have a picture of the dress yet. So really, other than a little bit of time spent on it tonight, the only day I had this week that I could have worked on finishing the wrap was Monday, since it took me a good bit of time on Sunday to get the buttonhole figured out (for one half. I still have one half to go as of tonight. Including basting the interfacing onto the velvet.)

So do you think I sewed on the wrap on Monday? Nooo... I did this.
This pile of wood is my computer desk, completely disassembled. I hope I can get it back together all right... I don't have a picture of what it looked like all together originally, but I did take pictures of the different pieces and components before disassembling them the rest of the way/removing the hardware that was left. (My dad had already taken it apart a bit.) So it took me several hours, but I got the whole thing sanded. And pretty much by myself--I did have to get my dad to help me with one particualarly difficult screw (which was not my fault, whoever originally put it together did a crappy job that resulted in chunks being taken out of the particle board, which is the main reason I absolutely have to paint it. Because we had to fill those in with some kind of construction goop.)

So now I can say the room is officially started, even though my brother won't be moving the rest of his stuff out until after his honeymoon. I even bought my paint yesterday, and made a date with two of my friends who volunteered to come over and help me paint. (Without my even asking them to. I have good friends.)

Also, though I'm procrastinating on getting a picture of the dress (due to bad lighting and a horribly messy current bedroom), I did finally get a picture of my hutch thingy. (The top is a little messed up-- the finish was chipped pretty badly, so that got some preliminary sanding.)
And then this is a closeup of the doors. I know it's a little bit country looking, but I do like the hinges and hardware a lot on this! It's kind of earthy, which fits in my rather nature-inspired room very well. (I just have to figure out what color I'm going to have to repaint them... I don't think they're going to work with it as is after I paint it white. I'd debated leaving it the natural color, but since the main flat surface was messed up anyway...)

On a somewhat related note, I found this quiz courtesy of Salinda. According to it, my decor style is "global casual".

Your home is warm and inviting, and expresses your curiosity and zest for life. You have wide-ranging interests, and an appreciation for many different cultures and ways of life. You bring a sense of the far-flung world into your home through its décor through unique or artisan-made treasures. Objects in your home tend to reflect your personality, your passions, your values, and your eclectic interests. This gives your home a sense of intrigue and comfort.

You value creativity. You are stylish and fun loving, and can be an inspiration to others. You have a natural sense of drama, and you know you have to be willing to take risks—whether with colors, finishes, furniture choices, or ideas—for your home to stand out. Your home can be happy and lively and the place all of your friends want to be.

I thought it was pretty accurate, actually! And a nice way to not go with the cop-out of "eclectic".

Catching up, 3/4: Summer Wardobe 5 (the hippie top), and some redecoration stuff

It's about time I finished something else for this, since it's almost halfway through August! Anyway, this is my peasant-top-inspired shirt. (Please ignore how badly the duct-tape wrinkles on Donna the Dummy's chest shows through the gauze.)

Since I wanted the hippie look but a little more fitted, I went with one of my tried-and-true tops, Simplicity 5683.

I don't usually pay attention to the suggested trim details in patterns, but felt that this one needed a little something since it's just plain light blue cotton gauze. So I followed their lead and added this crocheted lace and ribbon trim. (I hope it doesn't make it look like something meant for a 5-year-old... I'm thinking the lines going down the front do help a lot there.)

I do wish the trim on the sleeves had gone better... I tried to follow the placement lines, even taking it up higher, but perhaps my trim was too wide because it was still a struggle to not let it hang past the edge of the elastic casing.

The really nice thing about this one, since I had it already cut out, is how fast it was to make, even with inside finishing. I sewed the trim onto the pattern pieces on Friday night. (I probably could have gone further, but Cassie was over at the time for one of our crafty tv-watching hangouts, and we got a little sidetracked by an urge to play Guitar Hero.) I sewed the rest of it together in its entirety on Saturday.

I haven't tried it with the skirt yet (and obviously not with my ill-fated jeans... I'm still trying to figure out if it's worth the effort to rip out and resew the back seam in an attempt to salvage them!) Looking at it now, I'm really not convinced that this top will go with the skirt either--I think the top is too light a blue and the skirt is too red a brown. I'll have to try it on to see for certain, of course, but I have to admit that I'm not feeling very hopeful about it. (And having a little trouble shaking the overall feeling that, even though I've finished most of the intended pieces, as far as mixing and matching goes this mini-wardrobe is kind of a bomb.)

On a non-related note, I stopped at a used-furniture place this afternoon, the type that does estate sales and such. After my brother gets married in October, I'm moving into his room (he got the larger one even though I'm older...mine used to be my mom's sewing room and so that was the first to go) and turning my current bedroom into a guest room/teaching studio for my flute lessons. (My parents are so cool about the musician income thing.) Since I still have the same furniture, sans bed, that I've had since I was oh, seven or so, one of the things I've really been hoping to do is replace some of the kid dressers. Really, hoping to go down from the three dressers I have in here (one long one, and two that used to sit under the loft bed I had when I was a kid, one of which is a really bad use of space) to two. But I've been having trouble figuring out how to get that to work without ditching half of my clothes, seeing as how my closet is also crammed full. (The hazards of sewing clothes/having costumes/having old recital dresses that need to be kept because in my line of work, I actually do use them sometimes!) So I've been hoping to get two dressers that are larger sizes than the ones I have now. Or maybe get one larger one and move one of my old ones over. Or something. I'm still sorting it out.

Anyway, the point of that ramble is that I did actually find something at the used furniture store today-- no pictures, because it's on my phone and I can't figure out how to get pictures off of it. :P But it's a little outside of the box, so part of me is excited about it and part of me is wondering if I made a $100 mistake!! I'll try to describe it-- they listed it as an arts-and-crafts hutch (though I don't know how old it actually is). So it's kind of this light oak-ish color, 3 drawers and two doors that open out. There's a shelf inside to split that into two parts, so it's not just a total waste of space like my armoire dresser. And then sitting on top of that, there's a little built-up part with 3 shelves. (I'll take pictures once I get it home-- I have to get my dad to help me pick it up, since he has access to vehicles that hold larger things than my Civic!) So I'm thinking the lower part can be used for clothes, though I'll have to play around with the shelved section to see if it would be better for smaller clothes, like underwear or rolled-up t-shirts (an excuse to make fabric storage boxes), or for a better way to store my jeans than rolled up and crammed into a too-shallow drawer in that waste-of-space armoire. (Can you tell I really don't like that dresser?) And then I can use the shelves for things like makeup/hair stuff/candleholders and such that I can't bear to get rid of. Or maybe my dvd collection, if the shelves are tall enough to accommodate them. I really hope this was a good move--in thinking ahead, this could be a piece of furniture that could work well in the long term, like if I can eventually afford my own place or if I actually can get married someday and therefore move out, because then I could just use it for another function. Like, say, craft/sewing room. ;) And I like the quirkiness of using a piece of furniture for a purpose other than its original intent. But I hope it works!! And then there's the question of refinishing it, since I do have to paint over my free computer desk... (Damaged section that had to get repaired= power-sanded down particle board. Not pretty.)

Someday my posts will have pictures again, I swear.

Just not yet, as I'm still not sure what's going on with my computer. It now has a new hard drive, but still crashes at least once a day. We suspect there may be virus trouble, in which case I still don't want to load pictures on this thing and then risk losing them when I inevitably have to wipe the hard drive and start from scratch with reloading Windows and all.

In any case, I've been keeping busy with non-computer-related craft stuff. On Tuesday, I finished up my print top for the mini-wardrobe, and will write up a pattern review for it once I can take pictures again. Spent a good bit of the last couple of days figuring out the pattern for the bedspread quilt I'm going to make for when I switch to the other bedroom, with a great deal of help from my quilter mom. Went to Joann's today to get the materials for that while they were on sale, and also got the paint for my furniture. I also cut out the stencil tonight for the Alabama Stitch-inspired skirt, and am hoping to get the prepwork for that started tomorrow afternoon--if the last remnants of the brown bamboo knit hat I've already made two tops out of are large enough to handle the applique, I'll need to get beads to match (while I have a ton of beads, seed/bugle beads aren't so much in there), and I have an AC Moore gift card that I've been hoarding so I can get them for free, hurrah!

So that's it for the moment, other than I'm getting rid of the Freecycle fabric tomorrow (hopefully-- she was supposed to pick up today but had transportation issues). Managed to get two trash bags full for her. So now I just need to mark them as gone in my fabric sample book, and then rejoice in stash reduction!

Summer Wardrobe, part 1: Mission accomplished.

And as I type that title, I keep hearing it in Kronk's voice after he dumps Kuzko-as-a-llama off the waterfall....without the shoulder angel... now I kind of want to watch The Emperor's New Groove again!

Anyway, look, I have jeans! And they (mostly) fit! In retrospect, this probably wasn't the most brilliant shirt to wear for the photos, because it looks like the jeans are extending up my sides. Ouch. But you get the idea. There are some weird fit issues that I haven't figured out how to resolve yet... need to tweak the pattern some. But for a first pair of jeans, I think they're pretty good, and they still fit better than most of the jeans I own!

And now, on to some of the details...
The waistband/pockets/carriers. Don't like: There is a little bit of gapping around the waistband. And I'm not really sure why it's flaring out at the top. I think to resolve it, I may need to shorten it a bit, or make the rise a bit lower. Leaning towards the latter, since a lot of it seems to be with the yoke in the back. Either that, or I need to recut the pattern altogether and try it as a contoured waistband. And the rivets were a bit of a pain...my dad ended up having to teach me how to nail them in. You can't really see it from here, but on my first two attempts (on this side), the rivet nail actually pierced through the rivet! The rest of them look better, but that's because I'm not the one who nailed them in. :P However, I do like the way the topstitching turned out. The double-topstitching on the carriers was due to the fact that the first row didn't quite catch the serger stitches and it wouldn't have stayed completely flat, but I like the look of it.


Sorry for the butt-shot. This was the best I could do, holding the camera behind me to take the shot. You can see that there's a little bit of fitting weirdness in the back too, but again, it's still better than most of what I have! Guess I need to work on that muslin a bit. I really, really like the way the back pockets turned out, though.

So, in conclusion, while I haven't reached fitting nirvana yet, I think I'm off to a good start, and would be willing to make a second pair. After all, I still need to get that perfect fit!



No pictures yet, but I started a side sewing project today before I finished the jeans, since the weather was perfect for it... making a new set of seat covers for my car. The ones I have in there are completely faded and threadbare and just not looking good. (I make them out of beach towels, and got these last summer, but didn't have time to sew it up.) No actual sewing done on it yet, as it's currently a mass of safety-pinned towel, and I need to trim the seams down and then use it as a pattern for the second seat. (The reason the weather was important was I have to actually sit in the car and cut and pin it around, like a slipcover.)

Also made this week: a "wristy resty thingy", as I dubbed it one night when I was really tired. :P Unfortunately, I'm having a slightly worse phase of carpal tunnel again, mostly induced by a few slow days at the garden center where I spent the whole day working on spreadsheets and stuff instead of ringing things up. Since the keyboard just sits on the counter, I wanted to try and make it a little more ergonomic for me. I basically just took a piece of a long fabric sample I got for free, cut it in half, sewed it into a tube with one end shut, dumped half a bag of the cheapest rice I could find at Acme into it, and sewed it back up. Tried it one day at work so far, and I think maybe it did help a little... hard to tell when they're off in the first place. I made this on Tuesday night.

Finally, another project in the works: it was decided this week that this fall, when my brother moves into the apartment that he'll be sharing with his fiancee after the wedding, I'm going to move into his bedroom. It's bigger than mine by several square feet. My current bedroom is going to be turned into a guest room/teaching space for me, at least until I can afford my own place. So that means that some redecorating is on the horizon. I'm excited about the chance to make some stuff for that, and very excited that I'll be able to have a room large enough that I can have a real desk for my computer! (Right now, my setup is that the monitor sits on this little curved IKEA stool, the actual computer sits underneath it, and the keyboard sits on my lap while the mouse sits on the bed next to me. And I wonder why I have carpal tunnel flareups!) I do need to try to figure out an affordable way to reconfigure the closet, and will probably have to enlist my dad to help me build some bookshelves. I have a lot of books. Right now they're on these fake wooden shelves resting on brackets that screw into the wall...what I've always had. And I've never liked them. So I want an actual bookcase!

Friday Favorites, Episode 42

Going to be a long one this time, since I have stuff saved from the last two weeks. So in no particular order...

• Over at Goodworks1's Notes, she has a denim quilt that she and her sister are making. Same concept as mine, using the recycled jeans and letting the edges fray, but I like the twist of using circles instead of squares!
• Wardrobe Refashion favorites from the last two weeks: theclosetseamstress's pillowcase top, Gwen's versatile skirt/dress for a beach vacation, and Carrie's cute sheet sundress.
• Speaking of refashioning, I also enjoyed Karen's blouse from a tie-dyed skirt, over at Sewing by the Seat of my Pants.
• A couple inspirational projects-- Craft: featured a cd cover in which the artist hand-stitched the artwork for it--and with my addiction to new music, that's enough to make me want to try and hunt it down! And Whip Up showed an art installation of some delicate-looking trees cut from, of all things, toilet paper rolls. And then over at Crafting a Green World, remember that selvedge dress? Well, the same woman decided to use the same technique to reupholster a chair. I think this is even cooler than the dress, actually!
• Back over at Craft:, they shared a link to an older article of theirs on how to make summer sandals from a recycled sole. With my oddly extra-wide feet, it's always hard for me to find shoes, so the thought of trying this one is exciting!! Now if I can just find a pair at the thrift store to cannabilize...
• Some home decor-type stuff: CraftyNest featured a tutorial for how to make some very simple Ikea tables much, much cooler with the help of some bamboo veneer. thelongthread.com had some simple pintucked pillows, and Dollar Store Crafts shared a link to some really cute flower vases made from plastic bottles. They look like they'd be great for a bridal shower, so I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time I'm a bridesmaid... (Incidentally, while looking there just now for the main link, I also found stuffed animals for the grown-up music lover. Heehee.)
• Back to Whip Up for tips on spring cleaning your sewing machine. I know that both my Bernina and my serger probably need it badly...
• The gift bags from thrifted sheets at Sewtakeahike are pretty and practical, but the real reason I'm linking to it is that I am 99% sure I had those yellow sheets as a kid, and so this makes me laugh.
• Margot at The Impatient Crafter shared a link to a free beading project she designed for Beadalon. I like the design but would have to find beads that aren't pearls to use (because, to quote my friend who got married last summer whose jewelry I made, "pearls make me cringe". A little too old-fashioned for me. Maybe some glass crystal-like beads for a Renaissance look?)
• And finally, some food stuff. Cheap Healthy Good shared a list of ideas for last-minute dinners for one. Which is great for nights I just don't feel like defrosting something from the freezer. And Craft:g33k shared a recipe for real chai made with whole spices. Yum.

Ok, that's it for today... my big project for today, since my time of not working on Fridays is probably over (starting back at the garden center tomorrow), was experimenting with henna to dye my hair. And my time for letting it sit is getting close to done, so I have to go wash mud out of my hair. And then maybe I can go sew!

Friday Favorites, Episode 39

...which will hopefully be the first of a couple posts today. I have some catching up to do!!! So on with the show.

Everything in its place....

Got two from Whip Up today... the first is a tutorial for a quick & easy shoe bag, which I think they're using for travel packing purposes. If my closet wasn't the size of a shoebox, I think I'd try to find a way to tack them to the walls so I can get some floor space back! (I might try anyway.) The second is a tutorial for a reusable snack bag, for those tired of tossing out plastic ziploc bags every time they want to bring something crunchy with their lunches. (And more fun, too!) And from Crafting a Green World, they showed this laptop pillow that looks like it would be pretty easy to replicate with some tube-style pillows velcroed together. Of course, around here, it would probably get used as a temporary holding pen for the cat!!

Around the house...

Lots of fun decorating ideas this time. For those without on-demand cable to turn it onto the virtual aquarium, Apartment Therapy Unplugged shows how to turn an old tv into an actual aquarium. Heehee. I'm absolutely loving this faux capiz shell lampshade from Craftynest, which is made from laminated rice paper, and if I could actually manage to clear a spot big enough to set it on, would so make this for my bedroom. It would fit in perfectly. On ReadyMade, there's a tutorial for this funky bubble light fixture. And on a completely random note, if anyone ever wanted an 8-foot pillow shaped like a giant squid, PW Style is the place to find directions for that (found courtesy of One Pretty Thing's Daily DIY roundup.)

Things to Wear and Do...

At The Impatient Crafter (also found courtesy of One Pretty Thing), there's a free project from a new bead book of some really fun-looking cascade earrings. I definitely have some of those little cone things to use up, so I'm excited to try these sometime! (I'm also liking yesterday's "Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright" Choker, and think I'm going to have to start following this blog.) And while not actually something to wear, this CraftStylish tutorial for how to do 4 different seam finishes will definitely help with things to wear. I especially want to try that Hong Kong seam finish, because I've never used that one and I think it'll be perfect for one of my (hopefully) upcoming projects.

Random but Awesome

A bunch of non-tutorialish crafty goodness this week. First of all, this tissue box at Disdressed just made me laugh. Especially since I've been quasi-sick all week. Confessions of a Craft Addict used one of those giant cupcake cake pans to make a ginormous rice krispy treat. Craft Tutorials had a knitted dress that cracked me up-- I wouldn't want to dress like a cheeseburger, but if I did, this would be the way to go. I have to give a shoutout to Lydia, who posted this week to say she finished sewing together her baby bag-- believe it or not, other than a few baby bibs, this was her first major sewing project, and I think it looks great! And I also have to give a shoutout to my friend Nicole--she's an amazingly talented artist and a good friend of mine, and she just started a blog for her artwork this week. So go check it out!

Ok, gotta get some stuff done so I can post again... I'm hoping I can get stuff up today both for those scrapbook layouts I promised, and my long-overdue embroidered shirt. And then I also started a new skirt yesterday and I'd like to work on that some more too!

EDIT: I almost forgot!! I've been following Cake Wrecks since a friend sent me a link to their V-day disaster cakes (which I posted about in FF last week.) Apparently once a week they do a feature devoted to cakes that are actually good, and this week's was by the Ace of Cakes crew. Their stuff is always amazing anyway (yes, I admit I watch the show when I can catch it), but this one was just made of awesome. It was made for the crew of Lost to celebrate their hundredth episode. And has tons of fun little tributes to the show-- the computer with The Numbers, the Dharma beer, little figures of the cast (mmm, Sawyer...)

Friday Favorites, Episode 37

Kind of a slow week this time-- now that it's almost the end of January, most of what I've been finding out there in the way of tutorials and such have been for Valentine's Day projects.

I hate Valentine's Day. Always have. Red and pink (especially pink) are two of my least favorite colors, diamonds are not this girl's best friend (especially after watching Blood Diamond-- I don't think I could ever get a piece of new diamond jewelry with a clean conscience now!), hearts are too cutesy for my taste, and most of all, I think real love should be celebrated any and every day of the year, not just because Hallmark tells you to on February 14th. Besides, let's face it, when you've been single for as long as I have, it's just torture. I don't need to be any more aware of my singleness, thank you.

Ok, enough ranting. On with the projects.

Ironically, the first one is for a Valentine's related project, but this is one I can really get behind. You know those candy hearts that taste like chalk and have tacky little messages on them like "U B MINE" and "LUV U" and crap like that? Well, over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, they decided to improve on these. #1, by making them edible (shortbread cookies instead of chalk) and then by stenciling their own messages on them. These ones were taken from classic LOLCats phrases, and therefore are already far superior to the average candy heart. (Incidentally, they do list some good uses for the regular candy hearts. Such as ammunition for a Lego trebuchet. Or sidewalk chalk on the cheap.)

On to more creatively fun projects. On Crafting a Green World this week, they demonstrated how to recycle the soles of old shoes (I'm guessing the ones that are too beat up for even the thrift store) into fun new rubber stamps. I have made my own stamps before, from the linoleum blocks as part of a printmaking project in my high school art class. It was a lot of fun, and I wouldn't mind trying it again. So I'll have to keep this in mind next time I wear out a pair of shoes. They also featured a link for a by-the-yard fabric made from a blend of hemp and recycled plastic bottles (link to one of the fabrics on their Etsy site.)

Generally, I'm not one drawn to old-fashioned vintagey sort of things that look like they could have come from my grandmother. I'm just not a pearls-and-lace-and-pink sort of girl. (Actually, for the most part, none of those things actually would come from either of my crafty grandmothers.) But I really loved this next project, probably because it can double as a very natural-looking thing (and I do love my nature stuff!) Over at Everyday Beauty, she made flowery twinkle lights using a strand of Christmas lights and....sewing pattern paper! You know that's something all of us sewing-types have a ton of. And this would be a great use for that pattern that was a total flop, or that just wasn't your style anymore. Or maybe even the leftover pieces cut off of the side and such as you're cutting out the pattern.

Since it's been a bit of a quiet week due to the impending holiday, I'm also going to mention some of my favorite things from Wardrobe Refashion as of late. Melynda made a beautiful applique and reverse-applique shirt from a Smirnoff tee. Elizabeth is making a steampunk costume from a thrifted dressing gown. And Veronica made a great 60's style dress from an appropriately-printed curtain.

Friday Favorites, Episode 36

It's that time of the week again!

First up today: At Craft Leftovers, the author kindly provided a free download for some spice jar labels with this cute drawing of a talking spice jar on it! It's quite functional too, as there's space provided for writing when it was bought, so that way you know how fresh it is. She's re-using her spice bottles to refill from bulk bins, which I think is a pretty neat idea too.

At Creativity Prompt, there's a video tutorial for how to make a mini-photo album out of scrapbook paper and a recycled corrugated cardboard box. The instructions are quite clear, the results are cute, and it would make a great gift for someone! (Now that I'm looking there again for the links, there's a new one up for a 10-minute mini-book too. Will have to check that one out, since I'm still determined to learn bookbinding!)

Chinese New Year is on Sunday, and while I'm not Chinese by any stretch of the imagination, I do love Asian-inspired things. (One of those things I've definitely developed a greater appreciation for over the last several years, since I tend to get a lot of students that come from Asian families that immigrated here.) So I really liked this tutorial for making those oh-so-fun paper lanterns. (It's actually a dual tutorial--the same post has one for tin can lanterns!)

The next one is sort of a first for me on this feature, since I generally don't talk about books much. But this one looked kind of intriguing-- it's called Sewing Green by Betz White, and I found out about it via Whip Up. The link takes you to a gallery of sample project photos from the book. Didn't look like anything much out of the realm of my experience, but it's all using recycled stuff. (One that I did find particularly cool was a sun shade for a car windshield made out of...*drumroll*... Capri-Sun pouches! Might not have thought of that one.)

Next up, from Weekend Designer: I. Need. This. Bag. No, seriously, I do. I've been thinking for months that it would be nice to have a big roomy zip-up bag for weekend trips--my carry-on suitcase is a little too small, my regular suitcase is way too big, and it's a bit unwieldy to use a rolling suitcase in instances such as the crafty hangout weekends (like the one coming up in February) when I'm also having to wheel the rolling tote thing for my craft supplies. And this one looks pretty much perfect, plus has the added bonus of being a free pattern (once I draw it out.) I'm trying to think of if I have anything in my stash that might work-- bought fabric for a new spring/summer purse yesterday and now I have to come up with a stash project to compensate, according to my new rules. I know that I have one that might, but I'll have to see if it's strong enough (they recommended upholstery-weight, and this fabric is pieced together of denim and brocade--my mom had bought it and decided she couldn't use it after all and passed it on to me.)

Last item for today, from Dollar Store Crafts: These light bulb vases are cute and simple. Would require the old-fashioned kind, of course, because the halogen lamps would definitely NOT work for this.

Ok, that's it for now. Time to go get some stuff done. Like take some pictures-- I'm at least 2 posts behind on that now!

Friday Favorites, Episode 34

It's baaaaaaaaack! 2009 may only be about a week old, but already finding some good ideas cropping up.

1. First on the list is a post from SewStylish about "dressing for her DNA". No, it has nothing to do with how tall you are, or hair color, or anything like that--more of a speculation of what she would wear if her wardrobe reflected her family background. So I wonder what would happen if my predominantly Anglo-Celtic mother's side (which I admittedly take after far more in my looks) took on my dad's Germanic, Pennsylvania Dutch side? (I think the Celts would win, given my fondness for things that look like they could come from a Renaissance Faire or a fantasy movie!) So I may give this a try at some point soon.

2. I've noticed a tendency in my sewing over the last year and a half or so-- I've been slowing down. Not so much that I'm not sewing as that I'm putting a lot of time into things to try and get them really finished-looking and well-fitting. And I'm mostly ok with that, but sometimes I just want a fast project. So I liked this quick, one-seam skirt at CraftStylish.com. (Bonus-- I need all the patterndrafting practice I can get, if I ever want to successfully make one!)

3. I'm not a coffee person at all, really--I'm thoroughly addicted to tea. (I blame that aforementioned predominant Anglo-Celtic side.) But I still liked this coffee cup cozy from Whip Up. (Us tea-drinkers probably actually need it more, as all we're usually given at the coffeeshops is a cup of boiling water with a tea bag dunked into it!) But it's cute, would be easy to just toss into your bag, and projects that use up scraps are always good.

4. Got two things from Dollar Store Crafts this week. The first would be a great project to do with kids--how to make a knitting loom from stuff like popsicle sticks and toilet paper rolls. The second is a planter made from a bread pan--the person who made it used succulents like aloe plants, but since it's made from a kitchen item anyway, I bet it would also make a really cute windowsill herb garden!

5. Last up for today-- not a tutorial, but I love this idea at Oh Happy Day. She made her husband a "Leisure Book", to give him one place to keep track of things like movies he wants to watch, bands to listen to, things like that. I'm definitely stealing this idea-- I'm constantly losing my lists of that sort of stuff. Especially my bands and my books. And I have the dayplanner from the last couple of years that would be perfect to recycle into this-- it has the binder rings, and the tab dividers. It's just falling apart in my purse, but recovering it and keeping it near my compy would work great! (Found this one via OnePrettyThing.com.)

And now, I must go do some cleaning so I can work on my pajamas some more. Hoping to finish the machine work on the top before Cassie comes over for the Stargate Atlantis finale *sniff*/Chuck marathon/crafty evening. So that way I'll have some handwork to do--that and some more embroidery, maybe. Of course, I'm more in the mood to deconstruct than sew...

Friday Favorites, Episode 30

Happy day-after Thanksgiving!! Appropriately, most of my links this week are for Christmas stuff.

First off, even though I'm not buying anything today, I have a list of eco-friendly craft supplies, courtesy of Crafting a Green World. I'm kind of drooling over the bead collection. And wondering how my crochet friends would feel about yarn hand-spun from the seller's wedding dress...

Some fun decorations at Dollar Store Crafts. The first is Christmas ornaments made from those little metal wrappers that tea lights come in, and the second is a recycled cd decorated to look like peppermint candy. Yum.

Ok, so this one's not exactly Christmas-y. But I loved these "fairy lights" made from Christmas lights and recycled egg cartons at Whip Up. I'll have to find an excuse to make those sometime...a party, perhaps? I also had to take note of their list of tutorials for baby crafts--I think I have a couple of years until the next wave of babies, since it seemed like half of the women I know and their sister had a baby this past year, but I'm always scrounging for ideas (and ways to avoid the headache that is Babies R' Us!) so this should help.

Moving away from the holiday stuff-- I really liked this Dresden petal handbag tutorial at Quality Time. Not only cute, but a great way to use up those pesky scraps. And, well, this one really isn't crafty at all. But I also had to bookmark this list of music of interest at Angry Chicken. Because music feeds creativity, and I'm always looking for ideas of bands to hunt down at eMusic. Mmmmm, indie bands.

And with that, I am off for a night of movies and craftiness of the Christmas ornament variety with some of my friends. Ciao!

Bookworm award! (Oh yeah, and Friday Favorites, Episode 30...)

First order of business: Christine at and sew it begins... graciously bestowed a Bookworm Award on me.


The rules of this award are:
-pass this on to 5 friends

-Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.
Write out the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that...

Closest book to me is Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice (started it just before Halloween, figured it was appropriate for the season, but this is proving to be a shockingly slow read for me!! Normally I'd have been done a book of this size by now! Anyway...

" 'For what!' Lestat grimaced, so that his face looked like a skull. 'Taking me out of school!' He threw up his hands and let out a terrible roar of desperation. 'Damn him! Kill him!' he said."

On that cheery note... :-P
Since the book thing never gets old, even if you've done it before, I'm nominating Mom2Fur @ Sorta Frugal, Sharon @ Adventures From the Sewing Studio, Gwen @ After The Dress..., Christina @ Stina's Stuff, and Antoinette @ clevergirl.org. Have fun!

And now, onto Friday Favorites! This week, it's pretty much a case of Christmas or not.

Non-holiday favorites: Another tutorial list at Whip Up-- picked this one because it had more clothes! And Dollar Store Crafts had a tutorial for a coin purse made from an old cassette tape-- I like this better than the wallets!

Holiday favorites: Confessions of a Craft Addict had the cutest little trees! Sew, Mama, Sew! has been doing a series of gift ideas for various people, such as this post on gifts for bookworms. They also have a woodland ornament tutorial that looks like fun. Over at The Long Thread, there's...bowling for elves? Well, they call it "skittles", but it's basically bowling. Back over to Whip Up, there's a tutorial for a pocket advent calendar (using gum), and a gift card box (which will come in handy for the gift card white elephant my friends and I are having!

Ok, that wraps it up for today. As for the pantsuit, so far, on track. Though I haven't started cutting yet, since I'm waiting for the tires on my car to get done!!