Jamie Oliver

This is a fantastic show. I hate most reality shows, but this is pretty amazing. If you haven't had the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

There are full episodes online if you missed it.

Where I've Been

I haven't had so much of a creative block as I have too many irons in the fire at this point. I currently have 4 or 5 partially finished projects sitting on my table and it's at the point that I kind of don't know where to start. In addition, when I turned 31 in December, I decided I was old enough to wear what I wanted and that it was time to stop worrying about what other people thought. This is why I wore black nail polish and sequined All-Stars to school today.They make me happy.

And, most importantly I decided it was time to actually get healthy for a change. I have tried to lose weight before, but this time I am doing things a little differently, and while things are slow, they are progressing in the right direction. And then I decided that I needed to expand my horizons a bit, so I have been volunteer tutoring with a Somali Refugee organization once a week. All of this means that I have been spending less time sewing and more time cooking, working out, and just being away from home. I leave my house at 6 am and don't get home until 4 or later, then in bed by 10 and the time just sort of drips away. But the thing is, I am happy. Really happy, so I am ok with things for the most part. I have been sort of turning things over in my mind and am trying to decide what to do with my etsy shop and I still haven't decided what to do yet.

Meanwhile, I have been playing around with the "math is sweet" thing. I know it's dorky, but I like puns, and being a teacher (and 31) means that I can indulge my dorkiness if I want to. I have also been playing around with freezer paper stencils because I love the simplicity of the designs. I have some ideas, which I am somewhat reluctant to share yet, but one of them involves the words "history rocks" with one of the easter island heads (because, you know, they are historical rocks, and history rocks - ba dum dum -) and that made me think of Easter, which made me think of rabbits, and well, one thing led to another and I ended the weekend with this: Here's the thing....I am getting lost in this design...and it is to the point that I can't decide if it's funny or stupid. So please tell me, do I have something that makes sense and is very mildly funny in a dorky kind of way or if it is something that is just kind of "nod-your-head-and-smile" but not at all funny and so on. Does it actually look like something you would recognize? When you look at it, do you think, "oh yeah, that's one of those easter island heads" or do you think, "hmmm....it's a squished grey rabbit wearing sunglasses."

These are things I need to know....input? Anyone? Please?

PS - if you need a reminder, the Easter Island heads look like this

National Pi Day

March 14 is National Pi Day, or at least it is with math teachers. You see, pi is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle. The ratio itself is 3.14159.... and continues out into infinity. So March 14, or 3.14, is National Pi Day and among math teachers, is celebrated with pie. Because our school day ends at 2:03 (which is a mere 4 minutes after 1:59, the next three numbers of pi after 3.14), in our school, it is celebrated at 1:59 on March 14. (3.14, 1:59).A few days ago, an image popped into my head on the way to school and I couldn't get it out. So this weekend, I sketched it out, made it into a wax paper transfer, and made it into a bag. I think it's pretty cool.....what do you think?

The shell is a really light canvas and the lining is cocoa brown nubby linen-looking material I got from freecycle.

Oh Julia!!

Hi Julia....would you mind linking your email to your profile? It's in the settings section of your google account. I can't seem to find a way to connect with you! You asked which pattern I used for the diaper bag, it is Simplicity 2924, but I did modify the pattern a bit to include more pockets. Thanks!

Weekend Projects

This weekend, I had many ideas tumbling around in my head, but was having trouble settling on one, so I did a bunch of little things.

I made cat collars for my two fuzzy roommates....I used the old clips from the store-bought collars I bought several years ago. If silent disdain equals approval, then I think they approve.

I also made a new ironing board cover, since as you can see, my old one was Really Disgusting. Things were sticking to it when I used the iron, so it was time to go. I used some freecycle fabric that looks like a vintage sheet but actually isn't. It is pretty decent weight and nice and crisp. I doubled it up and used some stash cotton batting, as well as some stash piping cord as a drawstring. It is pulling in the center because I added the velcro straps from the old ironing board cover.
I also made new pillowcases from the same material. I don't like the actual material itself as well as I thought I would, so I have been making things that won't really see the light of day.

On Monday morning, I made a 320 mile detour on my way to school, and drove to Portland to drop off some clothes and things for my mom to take back to my sister in Missouri. I would like to extend my thanks to the great state of Washington and the fabulous condition of the I-5 freeway, which rewarded me with this fantastic smashed windshield.

completely unrelated to sewing

OK, I have to share this...I will have a regular sewing or crafty post tomorrow, I promise, it's been a completely insane, horrible, terrible, very bad week.....

BUT. I was putting together a powerpoint for Monday and was looking for a picture of Russian farmers. This is one of the first pictures that popped up and I cannot help but giggle hysterically every time I look at it.

Seriously.....between the expression on her face and the scythe-wielding villager next to her - PRICELESS

original pic here.

It's been too long

Ok, so I'm still here, but you see that empty space there on the right? There is NOTHING in the etsy shop. I am struggling to find models for some of the fingerless gloves and purses I have in stock, but am aiming for a December 1 shop reopening.

We shall see.

Meanwhile, I am frantically preparing for my parents visit tomorrow, and cooking, and three (soon to be four) tshirt blankets for clients, and trying to make things for the shop, all while spending 10 or more hours a day at school trying to be a good teacher. Sometimes my job gets in the way of what I really want to do.

I'll be back soon, but have a great Thanksgiving in the meantime!

Hoochie Blockers

At least, that's what I would call them. And I would like to market them to my teenaged female students. It's called the Paparazzi Protector Slip, and you can find it here at Sheltini. *********

In unrelated news, still no sewing (STUPID GRADING!!!! ARGH!!!!) but I am done with homecoming and hoping to sew this week sometime. I have to....or I will be giving IOUs as Christmas presents.

Mojo Dyin'

I haven't been able to sew for a month.

A MONTH.

I broke my arm exactly one month ago tomorrow. My arm aches and I have actually lost movement in one direction (although I have gained quite a bit back in the other directions). I am cranky, weepy, and tired. I graded papers for 19 hours this weekend. I feel as if all my creative juices have been sucked out of my body. I have to do three lesson plans for this week and I haven't even started them. I can't do my hair yet and it is driving me nuts.

Right now I am feeling whiny and a bit sorry for myself. Hope to be back soon.

Frustrated but Reading

My arm is still not strong enough to sew, or rather, it's not strong enough to use scissors or a rotary cutter. On the other hand, I have been in and out of my sling all day today and at least my wrist feels loose enough to type fairly easily on my laptop. It's a little harder on my school computer, but at least it no longer takes me an hour to type a paragraph. But I still can't sew and it's making me CRAZY. What sucks even more is that I can't even sketch ideas out, because while I have learned to do quite a few things left-handed in the last three weeks, I still can't draw left-handed. =(


I am hoping to be able to sew this weekend, we shall see. Meanwhile, while I've been out of commission, I've been reading a lot of blogs and doing a lot more poking around on the internet. So I wanted to post a couple of cool things I've seen hither and yon.

• I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of PurseBlog. I am learning all kinds of new designer names and have actually watched NUMEROUS slide shows from fashion week. (Alexander McQueen, anyone?? Those shoes are unbelievable, and digitally designed fabric is so awesome!) I have a lot of new ideas, whether or not they pan out remains to be seen.
• Speaking of purseblog, I almost don't want to tell you this, but they are having a giveaway there, a Katherine Kwei purse. I am only telling you for informational purposes only, don't you dare enter, you'll reduce my chances of winning and as a teacher, when else will I have a chance to own a high-end bag? Seriously. This one is my favorite. I firmly maintain that GRAY IS UNDERRATED.

• I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of Daily Candy. One of their recent posts was on Malou bags. Seriously, how could you not love these? I'm not even a fan of big bags and I love them.

• I love being able to vote on Project Runway designs on Craftstylish. And on purseblog. And on Lifetime. Which is also, incidentally, where I watch Project Runway, since it is on TOO LATE.

• Check out these shoes that Tina over at glam.spoon made. Aren't they freakin' awesome? They make me actually want to wear pointy toes and heels. Er....I didn't ask her if I could use her picture. Sorry Tina....I owe you.

• When I was teaching in Dallas, I was matched with a mentor teacher my first year. We became good friends and she had a lot of influence on my teaching style. Apparently, I had a little influence on her too.....look what she's doing! Way to go Sarah!!!! (She's self-taught!)

I participated in a bag swap a week ago or so, I wasn't able to take pictures but am planning to work on that later this week. Have a great one!

Fabulous News of Infinite Awesomeness

Wait for it......

I TURNED MY OWN DOORKNOB TODAY!!!! AND WROTE MY NAME!!!!! WITH MY RIGHT HAND!!!!!

Big news indeed....Today I got my stitches out, got a new (MUCH lighter) splint, and can now take a shower without a complicated set of machinations involving two plastic bags and three rubber bands. I hope to get back to regular blogging soon, but typing is still a struggle. In fact, a lot of things are difficult.

This morning, while I was trying to get dressed, I got stuck half in and half out of my bra. Seriously. I had a few minutes of sheer panic as I contemplated having to call someone...or attempt to call someone....It took 20 minutes to get the stupid thing on. At least I don't have to wear the sling anymore. Now a SLING is a genuine torture device. I firmly believe it was invented by a man...since it was clearly designed for someone with massive upper body strength and no boobs to speak of. Not having to wear that anymore makes this a RED LETTER DAY.

I'll be back soon.....

Recovering

I made it through surgery....yea!! The first couple of days were pretty rough but I made it, thanks to the miracles of painkillers and my mom taking care of me. The surgeon was able to go with the best option - putting the pieces back where they belong and screwing everything in place. My arm is currently wrapped up in what feels like 20 pounds of bandages, and to make sure everything heals right, my arm is actually twisted up inside the cast....my elbow is twisted slightly out and my wrist is twisted slightly in. That is uncomfortable. I am going slow, but hoping to make it back to school on Monday. Thanks for your prayers and well-wishes....

walking wounded (edited)

i typed this post entirely with my left hand as i fell whilst ice skating and can no longer move my right arm. since i am very extremely right-handed, this will be tons of fun. so no sewing for awhile until i regain mobility. sigh.....can someone come install me in a sling?

edited: according to emergency care doc, my arm is broken. =(

In Avoidance.....a Random Assortment

I hereby declare my aversion to all things school related. Including, but not limited to, the enormous pile of grading I already have to do. Who assigned all this work, anyway??????? That person should be shot. =)

The other day I was making my bed and thought to myself, "I really need to replace these sheets, they are falling apart" (but Oh SOOOO Soft.....). The next thought in my head? "I could get some replacements at Goodwill." I blame....er....thank..... Tina, Antoinette, and Wardrobe Refashion for that one.

Project Runway is on TOO LATE for me to stay up and watch, so I never get to see it until Saturday. I watched it this morning, and think that they eliminated the correct contestant (who lies while they KNOW they are being taped 24-7??). That being said, I do NOT like the snarky attitudes currently being exhibited by some of the contestants. Those are the reasons I do NOT like reality tv. However, I did like some of those designs. I need to find some of the earlier seasons to watch. My current favorites are Epperson, Louise, Logan and Althea.

I am involved in a bagswap sponsored by Petchy and my partner and I decided to surprise each other. I checked out her blog, and it looks like she cooks a lot. Maybe she'll make me dinner.

I have to supervise an ice skating outing for the kids tonight....they didn't sell very many tickets, so it will be a piece of cake. It doesn't however, change the fact that I have to go hang out on Saturday night with high schoolers, instead of my usual exciting weekend plans of.......nothing.

Have a great weekend everyone... it doesn't look like the homework fairy will be coming along to take care of this pile, so I should get to work.

Not Completely Idle

I haven't been completely stuck (more on that later), I did do a couple of small artsy fartsy projects for school. Total cost? $1 from Goodwill.

Sometimes we need clipboards for various things...and I wanted mine to be pretty. So I used some of the ginormous stack of scrapbook paper I somehow ended up with (despite the fact that I do NOT, nor will I ever, scrapbook), a couple of awesome stickers from the dollar aisle at Target, and some modpodge, and came up with these: Mine is the one on the right....

Regarding the one on the left, we have to use these official bathroom passes at school, and last year the kids were constantly putting them in their pockets and forgetting them, and then I would have to track them down and get it back, if I could even remember who had the pass. So this year, I put it on a clipboard. And in order to try and thoroughly shame them, I added a little something to the back.

I kind of like them. =)

As far as the stuck part goes....I am supposed to be working on a custom purse for a client who won it in an auction, but in her first email she said she wanted something more tailored than slouchy. In her second email she said "I like the sage one the best (which was slouchy), but maybe not as tailored (it had two pleats). I'm more of a funky person. Well, I'm pretty traditional, too. So..."funky traditional." Does that makes sense? And I don't need it to be huge...just big enough to tote my wallet, digital camera, cell, and whatever my girls toss in on a regular basis."

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. This has sent me into an unexpected tailspin. I am really stuck. None of my current patterns really fits this. I made a pattern, which I really really like, but it seems too structured for what she wants, so now I'm stuck again. I made another sketch during a meeting last week, and it may work, but I still keep going back and forth about this purse!!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know the exact fabric I want to use and I just need to take the plunge I guess, and make a practice one.

Ruffles and Flourishes

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a post by WhiMSy love in which she described her workspace. I was immediately captivated by the pictures of her ribbon, which were in small plastic bags. I asked her where she got the bags (JoAnns) and condensed my stash as well. I started with this....and ended with this.Here is why I like this system:

1. I can see exactly how much of each item I actually have. Those spools are all different sizes and can totally mislead you on how much you have of a particular ribbon.
2. I can keep all the ribbons in a smaller container (although I don't)
3. it is so much easier to dig through my ribbon stash without everything getting all tangled up.

Thanks so much for the inspiration Nikki!!
*****************************************

Other Random Thoughts.....

• The other day in JoAnns, I found these spools of 1/4" satin ribbon (100 yards each, baby!!!!!!) for $2.50 apiece. I use this ribbon when packaging items sent to clients, so this is awesome.
• Mom and I went to Pacific Fabrics today...I like that place, it's the only local place I can find hex purse frames. These were sitting by the door. By the way....I was accosted at Pacific Fabrics today by a saleswoman who walked over to where I was sitting, picked up my bag (one of the gathered clutches), asked if I made it, and then told me I should have used a different kind of magnet. I'm sure she had the best of intentions, but still. Grrrrr.....

Station Break

I try to keep most of the posts here about sewing...but today.....I don't want to. And since I write this here blog, I'll do as I please.

My mom is here visiting, and we ended up in Pike Place Market before 9 AM. This is, in my opinion, the best time to visit the market. Normally, PPM is packed with people, wall to wall tourists, all waiting to see flying fish, stopping to take pictures right in front of you, and walking down the market is fraught with danger, what with flying elbows and careless tourists trodding all over misplaced feet.

But between 8:15 and 8:45, the market looks like this:

Lots of time to look around and appreciate the humor, with no writhing mass of humanity pushing you along as part of their mindless mosey...Peaceful and lovely....

Muppet Fur

I had friends visiting this past long weekend and one of the things we did was go to the Experience Music Project in Seattle. One of their exhibits is on Jim Henson and they had several walls made of ACTUAL MUPPET FUR.

So....I did a little self-aggrandizement.

Random Projects

After posting the last post, I realized I actually have been making things....some I have pictures of and some I don't.

I made purses for the class officers I work with at school. They were impressed. =)

I've been making a lot of these....

and some more of these........and this design has been living in my head...it's not perfect yet, but this version is closer. There are about 4 designs that I am going to work on making better this summer and this is one of them. Pardon the wet spots, I was attempting some steam action.

Baby it's Cold Outside...

I got my snow day (sort of...). Pretty, right?? Taken from the balcony of my apartment this afternoon.