Twist and Shout??

May 4, 2012

Happy Friday! And not a moment too soon! What a week! I know, I know, it's been ages since I've last posted--sorry friends! I started off the week by badly bruising my rib. How, you might ask? Did I tackle a robber? Fall during some active contact sport? Sadly, I apparently tore the cartilage by twisting too far in the car. I was sitting in the front driver's seat of the car, and I twisted around to talk to the dogs, who were in the way back of the car, and POP! something gave rather unpleasantly in my ribcage. I don't recommend it. There's apparently nothing you can do for an injured rib, other than rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories . . . . oh, and much shouting out when I use my abdominal muscles for random things like sneezing, coughing, laughing, and reaching for toilet paper. Ah, now where did my pride go?!

Anyway, in other news, we had recently a conference in Vancouver, B.C., so rather than fly, we decided to drive. What a gorgeous trip through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon! We took the the pups, and they were great travelers. They had their very first swim in the Pacific Ocean! We showed up in our shorts and flip flops, only to find the locals wrapped up in winter coats! We survived, but it was a bit brisk!

In addition to the trip, things have been fairly busy. Our landlord is selling our marvelous house, so we've been in the throes of getting the house ready to show. What an ordeal to get it ready and keep it spotless all the time! Keeping it free from dog hair alone is a huge challenge! [By the way, I have just noticed how many exclamation points I use in my writing. Zoinks!]. Anyway, it has been a great excuse for us to downsize and simplify our lives. We went through the house and identified tons of things to give away to charity, including a lot of clothes in great shape that just didn't fit anymore but which would be great for women needing professional attire (there are a number of charities helping women start out in new jobs, so professional clothes are really great to donate. We gave ours to a charity helping women escaping domestic violence and polygamy. Yup, life in Utah!).

With the rest of things that we didn't want to give away, we had a yard sale last weekend. How exhausting!! I had never done one of those before and am not sure I have one in my future! We were up at 5 a.m. getting ready, and we finished up by 5 p.m. Saturday evening. We hit our two key goals: got rid of most of our stuff and made a good deal of money, but I got a major sunburn in the process! Oops! Forgot the sunblock! We met a lot of great neighbors, but also a few creepy folks looking to buy things to resell. I can't blame people looking to make a buck, but I was surprised by the attitude of the few people who felt that I was selling things at too high a price for them to make a profit for their resale. One guy even told me that he couldn't make a profit off of what I was charging! Like that was my problem?!

Anyway, back to the creative world of textiles! I did actually bring my sewing machine with me to Canada, so I did sew along the way. I had made little clutch purses using Keyka Lou's pattern, planning on trying to sell some at the yard sale. I had an interesting response from people. First of all, a lot of people thought they were pot holders -- I guess they were too close to the kitchen wares! Second, I got a lot of really positive feedback from people, including several suggestions that I should try to sell them at the local farmer's market (where crafts are sold). Despite that, no one bought a single one. As I think about it, I think that people had their yard sale wallets out (meaning that they were looking for bargains); these same people would have bought the clutches at a craft sale or farmer's market because they would have gone with a different financial mindset. It was a good lesson. And now I have about 30 clutches made and ready for the farmer's market!

I'm now working on my first machine quilt for my new nephew Cameron. I've made a few quilts by hand ages ago, long before I really had any clue what I was doing (as if I do now!). I found a rainbow pattern I adore on Hooked on Needles, so have started in on the top using charm squares I got from Emily's swap earlier this year. I love the idea of an I Spy quilt, so I threw in a few extra squares for that peek-a-boo quality. I especially love the Timeless space aliens! I have an upcoming retreat in two weeks, so I'm planning to have the top done in time to quilt it at the retreat and then have it ready for the blessing, which is Memorial Day weekend.

I'm also working on cleaning up my sewing room (part of the getting the house ready to show). I have these fabulous built-in bookshelves, which had previously been filled with books. I gave away a lot of my books, since I'm not really going to read them again and I have way too many books. I then decided that I wanted to make my sewing room more sewing-oriented, so filled the shelves with jars and baskets filled with fabric and buttons and zippers and things. 

I love the way it looks it now! I got most of the jars at DI (Deseret Industries, the local Utah version of the thrift shop). Amazing what you can do for $.75!I'll add photos of the rest of the room later . . .  we're working on painting my sewing table right now. It's an old table we found at a rummage sale for $5. 

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!

January 4, 2012

Happy New Year! Alright, alright, so I'm a few days late! I'm now into week three of a sinus infection, so I'm operating on a delayed schedule. At least that's the explanation I'm using for still working on a last few overdue Christmas presents!


It has been a productive start to the new year, however! I have conquered a few sewing hurdles (drat! I forgot to add those to my 2012 goals!). Just yesterday I figured out (okay, I confess, I was taught) how to make buttonholes and sew on buttons with my nifty buttonhole and button feet! They look so complicated but are so hopping easy!! And then, feeling all crazy brave, I dared to risk my big fear . . . . the ZIPPER!! (dum dum dum!). I deconstructed a zipper makeup bag I had gotten from Clinique years ago, so I could figure out how they're made, and then I reconstructed it with fabric I liked--my red Pez! Without further ado . . .

I'm now dreaming of everything zippy. Who knew zippers could be so easy?! I made this case originally to hold my sewing machine feet, but I love it so much it's now become my new wallet, so back to the salt mines to make something else for the poor lonely feet! Perhaps a special case with a zippered slot for each foot? Okay, perhaps I'm getting a bit nutty!



In the small hand clutch mode, I've also been cranking out these fabulous little envelope purses from Keyka Lou. So easy to make, such an affordable pattern, and so so cute! They're the perfect size for a phone and a few credit cards/cash.


I've also been making a lot of canvas tote bags lately, which I've been loving. So much fun! I decided to branch out a little bit and try mini tote bags. I thought these could be really cute for little gifts, favors, hostess gifts, etc. I have two on the way (including the one below) as a thank you for someone. I pulled together this fabric because it brought out the preppy in me!

Finally, a big huge thank you to Ashley at Film in the Fridge for her fabulous giveaway of her scrumptious scraps! First, if you don't know her blog, stop and go directly to her blog! She takes phenomenal photos, makes gorgeous quilts, and shares amazing tutorials. I was lucky enough to receive a recent giveaway of her Ruby scraps left over from her gorgeous string quilt. She sent a huge bunch of scraps PLUS some big pieces of of this yummy fabric. Thanks so much Ashley!! Now, if only I can make something half as nice as her quilt!

New and Old Technology

December 28, 2011

Cool photo, eh?! Karen has been doing a phenomenal job with her new (used) camera. I think Santa did good! I am so amazed by how much she has learned in just 4 days! I have a good hand-held digital camera, and I thought that if I just figured out what I was doing wrong, my pictures would get better. Well, I figured out what I was doing wrong . . . I was using a camera with limited resolution! This new camera makes such a difference! Of course, now I have to get used to the fact that at any moment I may be photographed! This is me making one of the Keyka Lou's nifty envelope clutches. I'm a bit behind on a few Christmas gifts, so I'm still cranking out a few last gifties!

I've also spent the past day cleaning out my sewing room from top to bottom, trying to recover from the Christmas crush. So much fabric, so many scraps, so much dust! I did succumb to a sale at Michael's on craftie organizers, which has helped curb a bit of the chaos . . . for now!


I'd also like to introduce "Plunkie." Karen gave her to me as a birthday gift last year. I'm not exactly certain why, but I've wanted an Underwood typewriter for a long while. I learned to type on a manual typewriter (yes, I'm that old!). Actually, my typing class had only enough electric typewriters for half the class, so we traded off between the manual and the electric typewriters. My mother had an old Underwood from college, and I loved the feel and the smell of the ribbon and the keys. I loved the way the keys stuck if you typed too quickly . . .

So Plunkie joined the family last summer and has since been spruced up and is fairly functional. She is named in honor of my grandmother (her childhood nickname), who typed all her family letters on an old manual typerwriter (kind of funny, no?!). She is a sweet reminder to me of many stories that I have yet to write!