Patache

Dress inspiration turned up to 11!

2012-01-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

If anyone is looking for a gift for me... for any reason... say Valentine's Day?

This is a gorgeous book!!! I found it on Pantone's Color and Design Blog. There are so many amazing dress moments... fantastic shapes, silhouettes, color, and detailing. I do love books.

Knitting Stash

2012-01-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

I keep my knitting stash in this lovely old trunk owned by my Great-Aunt Elsie after whom we named our daughter. Aunt Elsie was an amazing woman who was into all sorts of crafts and herb drying and fun. She would brush their dog Sardis and knit things out of his hair. I have very fond memories of her. Her name is still on the trunk.

I was desperate to find a storage place for my ever expanding yarn stash which had two exponential leaps in the past couple of years:

My father found a trove of wool yarn and hand weaving yarn at a yard sale for $7.00... and of course you can't say "No" to a deal like that... so it was added (not all of that haul is in the trunk by the way)
Last spring I went to an Estate Sale of a MAJOR knitter, world traveller, and Powell's Books employee and found unbelievable deals on mohair, lambswool, and sock weight wools. So into the trunk those yarns went... the books are on the bookshelf.

The trunk being rather old and closed up for many decades by the time I received it wasn't smelling too fresh. This past summer, determined not to let my lavender go to waste, I sewed up two really big sachets. You can see one of them in the picture in the green and black check. The trunk smells fantastic! Especially when you first open it and that first blast of lavender escapes. No moldy, ancient smells anymore.

I did some yarn sorting and organizing today and put some yarns together in plastic bags and left others in their piles. I don't think anything is going to turn itself into a complete knot in here. It did make me remember what I had. I unravelled some UFO's that weren't going to ever get finished. In some cases I had forgotten what I had even started.

More knitting!!

2012-01-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! Double post today. I am taking dance classes twice a week and eating more fruit... maybe that's the secret to productivity. Anyway... here is a project in progress. I usually don't post many knitting projects partway done, because they sometimes stay that way for many years. But this one is a fast project. The red had in the picture belongs to Miss E's grandfather. She brought it home and announced that she wants one just like it, but with a pompom on top. I rummage through my stash and found this beige yarn that is almost the same size as the red yarn. You can read more about the yarn specifics here.

I knit a little bit every night, and since I'm using size 8 circular needles... it's a fast one. Hopefully it won't become a UFO... I have enough of those that need to be frogged and repurposed.

Christmas Knitting

2012-01-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

I am finally getting around to posting some of my Christmas projects. Here are the socks that I knitted for the kids. The dark grey colorway is Blackjack and the orange colorway is Tequila Sunrise.... I had to laugh at that once the socks were underway.

The dynamic duo had been wanting new socks for awhile. This was my first time knitting with a self-striping yarn. I thought that the color increments were totally random, but as I was working on the second knee sock (Blackjack), I realized that I could have made the stripes line up on the pair if I had started knitting farther into the skein. Oh well... I think the end result still looks random enough that most people won't notice.

Besides kids move fast, so you can hardly see the stripe repeat let alone that these are hand knit socks.

It is fun to pull them past your toes and make "floppy feet"..... just like Don Martin does in Mad Magazine of course.

Portland in the Winter

2012-01-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

Miss E and I went down to the Pearl before Christmas to do a little last minute shopping. I do like the way the old buildings look down there.

I need to spend more time out and about in the city.

Christmas Packaging

2011-12-21T23:22:00.000-08:00

We finally felt good enough to decorate the house a week ago. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but it is all sparkly and shiny!

Due to sickness, package wrapping was put off until the last minute... meaning that there was not great thought put into the overall packaging design which I really enjoy. There are so many good ideas in the blog-sphere and in the online magazines this season too.

I started out with this Tiffany blue wrapping paper with white snowflakes (Target after-Christmas purchase from 2 years ago... I bought every roll I could find in the store!) and then found this great cotton string with silver in it. The string was a yard sale purchase from I-don't-remember-when, and I found it languishing in a box in storage. It looks very mid-century with the paper. I brought out my box of tags and put blank manila ones on the packages. (Everyone should have a box of these tags... so versatile!) The packages looked good, but looked a little pale.

So I added a red stamp of a snowflake to the tags.... and it works! You can see the spool of string in the background. It might actually be yarn for weaving. I have another spool which is much, much larger. I think I will be using this for the next decade or so.

I do like red and blue together.

I have been in hyper-productive mode for the past three days sewing and knitting up a storm. Unfortunately if I post my projects here, then everyone will see what they are getting for Christmas, so I will post after Christmas. Another unfortunate thing... I didn't take pictures of anything before wrapping. As soon as it was out from under the machine, into the wrapping paper it went. I will try to be diligent on Christmas and snap some pictures.

Merry Christmas!

Bird in the Hand

2011-12-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

Here is a little marzipan treat we made several weeks ago. Miss E was having a friend over for a sleepover, and the friend brought a log of marzipan. Many, many little objects and critters were made and eaten. Then I was challenged to make eggs and then a bird! This was the result... which, of course, has been eaten.

I have been Christmas-ing and sewing away in preparation for the big day... but have also been sick since Thanksgiving... hence the no-activity-on-the-blog. I have been taking some pictures and will try to get some posts out soon.

Steampunk update

2011-11-22T14:31:00.001-08:00

... so now it is raining heavily... Portland rain.... AND the wind is blowing, so there will be no fancy outdoor pictures of my Steampunk outfit until May. I have this picture that my brother-in-law snapped and tweaked.

You can see the corset and skirt... and my fabulous vintage kid leather gloves in a TAN!!! How unusual is that?!?! Note the side arm that the spouse is carrying. He made that himself. The sepia picture doesn't show all the brass detailing. At some point I will get around to taking some color pictures.

Here are some detail shots from the wedding:

This is the bride! How gorgeous is she in all blue! Even her hair!

This was taken shortly after we all danced the Timewarp. It was a most fun wedding.

Steampunking....

2011-11-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

I was invited to a Steampunk wedding in October. I spent most of the month constructing my ensemble as all guests were invited to dress in Steampunk style. If you don't know what that is... click here or here.

Of course I needed a corset. I haven't made one since college and was dying to test out my vintage pattern that I had ordered on line. The pattern was a tracing of a vintage pattern... but the tracing lines were not straight and the person providing the pattern had added 5/8" seam allowances to everything (even where they were not needed) AND didn't provide a measurement chart. After working through all of this... I basically re-drafted the pattern. I made a muslin for test....

Each panel has two layers of muslin to stabilize. If it stretches, it doesn't do the job as well and the measurements will not remain accurate. The side seams were also pulling too far forward, so I adjusted that. Many vintage corset patterns have seams falling in different places from modern clothing. Some of my corset books have corset styles with seams wrapping from back to front or with very steep angles. In this case, the seam that I needed on the side (or slightly in front of the side) was clearly on the front. So I made a few pattern adjustments. Things looked good, so I placed my order for the real stuff... including extra boning. I ordered from Corsetmaking.com which has the most amazing supply of things. Even the general sewer should check out their items. Very affordable and the shipping was very fast.

This is the black coutil flat lined with a black cotton sateen. I couldn't find the twill tape/Prussian tape in black so I contrasted with red.

I purchased a vastly-superior-to-Dritz grommet setting tool and awl (which I love!!!) and went to work. Grommet setting is so easy... I need to make more things with grommets.

This is the first fitting of the final corset. I don't have the top and bottom binding on yet, but the panels are laying flat. I will post pictures of the full outfit soon. I don't have any yet.

There is also a really full skirt that goes with the whole thing.

See! It's a full circle!

Pillow Project

2011-10-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

Miss E had a birthday party a few weeks ago. We needed some clever project. She found Alicia Paulson's book that had a family tree wall hanging in it. Using this as a departure point, we decided to make small pillow covers using beautiful fabrics, appliques and LOTS of wonder under.

This is Mister e's. He did not want to be left out of the fun.

Where does the time go?

2011-10-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have such good intentions of posting more regularly... but they always seem to fall through. I have been working on projects, just returned from LA where I was meeting with a client and then shopping with a friend. I have tons of interesting things to post, but just can't seem to find the time.

So I will leave you with these lovely pictures from Anthropologie... it makes me want to cozy up the house for fall/winter.

Safety Pin Bracelet

2011-09-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Miss E has been in a crafty mood lately. A friend of hers was sporting a safety pin bracelet at school, so of course, just like any 4th grader, she wanted one too. So off we went to the fabric store to purchase a large bag of safety pins and some stretchy fishing-line type of stuff. Fortunately Miss E has a rather large bead collection (thank you yard sales!!!) so we did not need to purchase any additional findings in the bead department.

Each safety pin was beaded individually... kind of like the friendship pins of the 80's that we all wore on our shoes so it looked like beaded tassels flopping along as we walked. But this version has the pins strung on the stretchy line with a spacer bead between each beaded safety pin.

The results are rather spectacular and it took about an hour to put the whole thing together.

Leotard Production for my Twirler

2011-09-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I had posted these pics earlier this year, but apparently not. Miss E is a baton twirler... or just "Twirler" but NOT "baton-er". We had fun making her a competition leotard this spring. I drafted a pattern just for her because what McCalls, Simplicity, et al had to offer was not usable even with your imagination.

Prototype and skirt layers

Final Leotard

Unfortunately due to the "Great Hard Drive Over-write of May '11" I have lost some of the pictures of Miss E wearing it.

I need to enlarge the pattern slightly and make her a new one for this year.

2011-09-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

Where have I been lately? We have had a home repair project going on in the basement studio. A few weeks ago, we noticed the wall mount bookshelves learning scarily away from the wall. Upon closer inspection, we realized that the bookshelf was taking the dry wall with it. It was not too bad so we didn't take immediate action. However a week later there was a loud pop, some serious leaning, and a frantic unloading of the bookshelf. I had to hold it against the wall and hand books to the kids. They stacked the books all over the studio.

The white patch is where the hole was

The contents of bookshelves taking up my
new worktable space and the floor
and every other horizontal space

I have been working in piles and piles for a couple of weeks. The semester started at the University, and I have a brand new freelance client. The good news is that I could find my text books. The bad news is that I cannot find an apparel industry reference book... and still can't.

Primed

Painted

We decided to change the wall from its green to the same color as the rest of the studio. We needed to bounce more light around.

New book shelf for the bottom and reinstalling the old shelving

We had several hundred pounds of books on the wall mount shelving. Books are like an addiction for us. I love books! So we replaced the bottom couple of selves with a separate book case from IKEA that will hold the heaviest books. Everything is back in place, but I need to take a picture of the final result.

And did I mention that the spouse broke a florescent tube light bulb in the middle of all the this? In the laundry room too! The one room that is used daily in this house. That was a mess that took a whole day to clean up... as well as a lengthly trip to Home Depot to purchase plastic tube covers for all tubes in the light fixtures so this mess doesn't happen again.

I really want to work on some fun projects now.

Grace Kelly Barbies!!!

2011-08-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

Mattel has done Grace Kelly as a Barbie Doll! Grace Kelly is such a style icon. The dolls come with three highly recognizable and significant outfits.

Grace Kelly Barbies

I need to do some more research on her clothing. Her style was never over-the-top. She always looked so elegant. The blue on this dress is amazing!

Being the sucker for vintage sparkly jewelry that I am, I love her accessories in this picture.

Sorel Fall 2011

2011-08-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

You have GOT to watch the videos for Sorel's Fall 2011 Ad campaign. Amazing!

Sorel Fall 2011

Makes me want to decorate something.....

Knitting Socks

2011-08-11T14:06:00.001-07:00

I love to knit socks, but haven't done any knitting of socks for a few years. Miss E outgrew the last pair I made for her and Mister e has been wearing them. So I dug out this luscious melon-pink sock yarn that I bought when Miss E's feet were much smaller. There was enough yarn to make two socks when she was 2 or 3 years old. Now she is almost 9, so we had to improvise hence the large red toes.

I was working on the second sock outside and thought the yarn colors looked lovely with the potted plants.

The quality of work on these socks is rough to say the least. Good thing I was using up yarn and not using some fancy new purchase. I need to practice, and maybe try another sock pattern. This one wound up being too chunky looking... or maybe my tension is too loose. Will have to get back to you on this.

Issuu Test

2011-08-09T13:49:00.001-07:00

Open publication - Free publishing

Look at this cool thing from Issuu? I used a .pdf from Debbie Stoller as the test material... but it's so cool!!!!

Very cool Vimeo video

2011-08-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Look at this amazing video!

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Click through to the other two: EAT and LEARN. So inspiring.

Table Blueness

2011-08-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

The table is installed!

I think the top needs one more coat for 100% coverage, but it is beautiful!

We used it last night for dinner. I can't wait to put a vintage tablecloth on it and set up my outdoor office for an afternoon. Much better than the basement.

Fabric Goodies and Backyard Progress

2011-08-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I scored these two pieces of vintage fabric at the Portland Antique Expo:

They are each 4 yards in length... very narrow, less than 36"wide and never been used. The brown one has a fade line down the middle, but I think I can cut around it. The print quality is very high and they feel super soft after I washed them.

I am please to report that I no longer have a motorcycle parked on my patio! The screen behind the fireplace is also finished.

We still need to seal the screen, but the weather hasn't been really reliable. The white column propped against the fire place will go into the flower bed behind the wicker settee and will someday have a fabulous birdhouse perched on top.

And!!! the table has legs!!!

I sanded, primed and put on the first coat of paint today. Tomorrow I'll add the second coat and take pictures. It's been three years coming on this table, and I'm in the home stretch. I will post more pics on the cozy patio once the table is in place.

What have I been doing for the past 2-1/2 months?

2011-07-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

My blog has been rather quiet.... really quiet actually. I was away for 7 weeks in Idaho teaching at the University of Idaho and doing some other things. I returned to Portland to discover that although my vegetables had not grown much, the weeds REALLY had grown. So for the past two weeks, I have been alternating weeding/gardening with housecleaning.

To sum up, here is a list (with visuals) of what I've been up to:

1. New nightshirt for the spouse
This was one of my first projects of the summer.

2. My students made the front page of the local paper with their designs for the local roller derby team.
Here is a link to the article:
Daily News Roller Derby Article on the UI's Facebook Page

3. Did some yard work, garden rototilling and landscaping for the parents.
My sister and I put in a new flower bed for Mom and Dad's anniversary, as well as doing some plant moving and tree trimming. I am still sore from this.

4. Went to Las Vegas for 5 days with the spouse for our Lucky 13 Anniversary.
We were lucky and had beautiful weather and good shopping, but the slot machines were NOT aligned with this luck. Here are some beautifully inspiring pics from the casinos and shops:

My new super, favorite brand:AllSaints Spitalsfield

5. Acquired my great-grandmother's Davis New Vertical Feed Sewing Machine
It has been sitting dormant for 20 plus years... but Dad put a few drops of oil on it and the treadle worked, and it sewed! This is a needle-fed machine (no feed dogs). It has all the attachments, now I need to locate a manual (the mice ate the one with the machine) and spend some time practicing. As it does not require electricity, my sister pointed out that I can sew outside!

6. And I got a motorcycle for my birthday

Now I need to pass the written test, get my permit, ride for a bit, and pass that on-bike test and get my endorsement.

Very Cool Recycled Wear

2011-05-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this incredible range of recycled clothing:

Designer Turns Trash into High Fashion

Amazing talent and such inspiration.

My poor blog!!!

2011-04-28T10:00:00.001-07:00

I didn't realize that it has been a month.... yes, a MONTH since my last post! This is mostly due to the incredible amount of rain in Portland that has prevented us from continuing work on the fence project.
Here is its current status:

Last Saturday was very sunny, so I sped out to IKEA and purchased the chaise lounges before they were sold out. Mister e and I were able to use them for about an hour and then it was back into rain.

I was gone for a week at the University of Idaho helping the students put on their first ever fashion show:
UI Clothing, Textiles, and Design Fashion Show
The students did an amazing job! We are already debriefing and planning for next year. Get your tickets early if you want to come. We sold out this year.

On another note.... the Royal Wedding is tomorrow!!!
Kate Middleton has a lovely sense of style:

I am curious to see her influence on the masses... and to see what her gown looks like, of course.

The fence continues....

2011-03-28T12:26:00.001-07:00

As is typical in Portland, it rained off and on all last week while we were working on the fence. This is what it looked like after we had all our work clothes, coats, and rubber boots on.

Not terribly inviting, but we persevered. We set the posts with concrete. These will support a screen of narrow boards running horizontally. This screen will serve as a backdrop to the fireplace as well as a privacy screen.

Is it level? Why, yes it is!!! because we are that good!

View from the front.

And there was a lot of mud to navigate. Very slippery stuff.

Don't set your box of fencing nails in the rain puddles on the fence. The box literally came apart in 30 seconds. We had to switch to a plastic mixing bowl.

Then we took a break while the concrete set up and went Glow-in-the-Dark Miniature Golfing!

We also did a little shopping too. How about these lovelies at Kate Spade?

Makes me think of spring.... I can't wait for some warmer, drier weather.

Project-o-rama... Day 3... I think

2011-03-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Since we do not own a pick-up, we rented one from U-Haul. Be warned! They do not want any scratches, dirt, dents, or mess on, around, or inside the pick-up when it is returned. Especially the decals!! Heavens, do not scratch the decals! Honestly, why do they think people rent pick-ups!??!
So the debris was carefully packed into the delicate pick-up and hauled off yesterday.

Much of the rest of the day was spent planning/designing the fence. So that today we could start executing.
Here is the existing fence with the left side all scrubbed and the right part not. Quite a difference!

The scrubbing was my job this morning. My hands are so sore that I can barely type. After the scrubbing, we starting laying out the location of the fence posts... and that's when the challenges showed up.
We worked with our neighbor and dug a trench along side his garage foundation. This should have been done years ago (like three owners ago) but it needed doing before we put in any fence posts.

And just as we suspected, when the trenching was done, there wasn't enough dirt left to support our planned fence design. So we are modifying some things. Here is the spouse chipping away at the cement squares that were attached to our brick fireplace. In the foreground you can see all the bricks, stone, and concrete parts we dug out of the ground during the trenching.

And over here on Craigslist are the cement squares if you want them!
EDIT: They are gone!! I LOVE Craigslist.

We are now off to buy fenceposts, cement, and wire mesh.

Stay-cation/Project-o-rama Progress

2011-03-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was pruning and plant debris removal day. We are preparing to fence the open sections of our perimeter fence to contain Irving, so he can be in the back yard with us and not take off running through the neighborhood. This is the back of the house...

Here is what we removed....

The side garden was also cleared out....

As was the area around the patio...

Yes, the motorcycle is still there. More on that later.

The fence is all clear of vegetation in preparation for scrubbing and Irving proofing.

Here is what is blooming outside...

Apparently this color tastes the best because all 4 plants have been eaten. Darn... and I really like this color too.

Peonies coming up! They like their new location.

This morning is loading all the trimmings into a truck and hauling off to the yard debris place. Better get moving.

Goodies from the Expo

2011-03-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

Here is my fabric haul from the Expo. I will have to post the books later.
The Betsey Johnson butterfly fabric that I saw on Pacific Fabric's website. They had it in the booth at the show. I bought enough to make one really big square scarf. Silk.... of course.

These interesting skirt panels. They are from a clothing line out of San Francisco who's name escapes me. The waistband has elastic yarns knit in, so I just need to sew up the side seams, hem the bottom, and turn the waistband to the inside and done. The horizontal stripes are wool, the rest seems to be a rayon. Feels yummy!

Cashmere and wool blend in a warm purple. Sultan at Fine European Textiles was dealing, and he made be me an offer that I couldn't say "No" to... so I bought two yards.

Beautiful black and cream linen.... I was touching, considering, looking at this roll when another woman (same age as my mom which goes to show that age has no bearing on politeness) grabbed it out of the rack in front of me!!!! I was ticked! So I came back early the next day, marched into the Vogue Fabrics booth, grabbed the roll and bought 3 yards without even questioning the purchase. Some things you just need to buy and not fanny about pondering the possibilities.

Now finding the time to turn these lovelies into wearables.

Probably not this week though. It is Spring Break and we are having a Home Improvement Stay-cation. We are tackling a list of projects and eating out A LOT. There will be no house cleaning just mass amounts of pruning, constructing, nailing, painting, etc. I will post pictures of the progress.

Some pics from the Expo...

2011-03-11T09:47:00.001-08:00

I took some quick pics before I "learned" that you were not supposed to take pictures at the Expo. There were so many people there, I have no idea what they would do if they caught you taking a picture. A guard couldn't climb over 20 quilters and all their bags to takes away your camera.

It was a fabric gold mine for the sewer! There were two suiting vendors that carried gorgeous wools and Italian cotton shirting all the way up to alpaca and baby vicuna (at $170 per yard... which was the discounted price). I bought a couple of yards of cashmere/wool.

Lots of ideas in all the booths. Most of the booths were for quilters, but every now and then I would find one stashed with fabric, trims, and BOOKS!!! Lot's of good books.

I will try to post some of my treasures later today.

Sewing and Stitchery Expo

2011-03-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

I'm going to this tomorrow:

Sewing and Stitchery Expo

SQUEAL!! I hope it is good. I am meeting some of my colleagues from the University of Idaho there. I have signed up for 4 45-minute classes-
Working with Shear Fabrics
Behind the Seams with Interfacing and Underlinings
Needle Bootcamp
Sew Like a Pro

Needle Bootcamp covers the use of paddle needles to create openwork, using double needles etc. Very, very excited. Of course there is a vendor area and Clover is the sponsor, so I'm hoping for good things!..... or at least fancy pins.

The pattern companies will be there too. Maybe they can restore my faith in their offerings.

Unfortunately I have to leave at 6am tomorrow to get to Puyallup.

On a completely different note, how cute is this!!!!

It is over on the Burdastyle Blog. They have a whole entry on bias. I've been wanting to make some new pin cushions. I think this design may be the winner.

Finishing UFO's

2011-03-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

I've hit a mainline of productivity and am making headway on some of my UFO's (Un-Finished Objects). I completed this skirt..

which was a remake of a skirt I made 12-ish years ago. It was longer... ending just below the knee and was too tight in the waist. I cut off about 6" from the top and instead of having a faced waist it now has this lovely bias waistband.

I also added a lining. The shell of the skirt is 100% poly and starts to creep up when you wear it. It now has a rayon lining with a little lace trim at the bottom.

Hope this fixes the problem. I haven't worn it yet.

I am so happy that it is done and off my sewing table! This skirt has been in process for a few months.

Brief interlude....

2011-02-28T14:03:00.001-08:00

...to the pattern company rant.
We had a snow day last week in Portland. The schools were closed so we took Irving for a walk.

The light was that beautiful snowy glow light. It didn't come across well in the photos... but it was so pretty.

I am not fond of pattern companies... part 1

2011-02-28T13:55:00.001-08:00

In fact, I think most pattern companies' offerings are ill fitting basics with little to no relevance with current fashion. Little girls styles are even worse!! There are many independent companies popping up that are starting to fill this void, but for me... I draft my own patterns.
Miss E is a baton twirler. Her coach requires basic black pieces for the practices. I cannot spend more than $10 on a booty short or capri when I know that $30 will buy me enough fabric for 4 booty shorts and 2 pairs of capris.

So here is the pattern...

and here is the result

It has been to many practices and one competition and works! I will post some of the variations next. I need to get my twirler to hold still so I can snap some pictures.

Wanting to be somewhere warm....

2011-02-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken in March of 2007. That was such a fun trip to Hawaii. I love this picture of Miss E. She was so adventurous.

Christmas is complete!

2011-02-03T20:33:00.001-08:00

We finally boxed up and packed away the Christmas ornaments, tree, and all the other trimmings. We actually sorted through all the decorations, condensed packaging, and labeled boxes. We wound up with two extra large plastic bins. YAY! Which means that the assorted items used for the Christmasifacation of our house are now taking up less space in the basement in the off season.

Here are a few parting shots of Christmas... and then it's onto other things....

My silhouettes...

The large one of the two dancers has domed glass and was a Christmas gift this year.

And the elf finally got his new hat...

Mister E was very concerned that it should be sewn or taped to his head, so that it didn't fall off at night when he was making his trips back and forth to Santa filing his nightly reports. I assured the little man that the hat would not come off.

Arty Knitting at the Ford Building

2011-01-29T14:37:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I went down to the Ford Building to visit my super talented friend David Lewin at his new studio digs for his company Janitor. The amazing custom suit clothier Duchess is also in the building.
Also on the first floor is an art exhibit space with these very imaginative knitted creations:

Who would have thought to combine taxidermy and knitting?!?!?

Coming out of the fog of illness... again!

2011-01-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

I have been sick off and on since Thanksgiving... which puts a serious damper on productivity and creativity. My darling son gifted me with some other cold/flu bug that lasted from New Years until last week. The spouse (who also got in on the gift) is still recovering.
So consequently, Christmas decorations are still up. Here are a few images from Christmas in Portland this year.

Peacock Lane... an amazing tradition here in Portland.

Downtown Portland at Christmastime from the top of the Galleria Parking garage.

The Elf On the Shelf....

2010-12-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

.... had an accident.

Irving got a hold of him.

... which resulted in great panic from Mister e who was very concerned that The Elf On the Shelf (that is the elf's name and is said in entirety when the elf is referenced) would not be able to make his nightly journey to Santa to deliver his daily report. So I stayed up far too late (2am-ish) and adjusted and reattached the arms. I didn't have time to make a new tiny hat... so he's sporting the triage look for the rest of the holidays.

The husband would also like me to mention that this elf is his from when he was a little boy... making it doubly important that I finish the hat repair before we pack him away for the rest of the year.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas Sparkle...

2010-12-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Finally, after being sick for over 3 weeks, we felt well enough to finish decorating the house. The living room has looked like this for the past 2 weeks, and the kids were getting ancy about the lack of general decoration. Of course, the house had not been properly cleaned in over a month due to being at the farm for a week and a half and then being sick for the following 3 weeks. Here was what we started with Saturday morning:

After much cleaning, dusting, plant moving, we opened all the decoration boxes and began.

The kids took over the piano with the assortment of Christmas stuffed animals. Fortunately Mister e is terrified of the ones that play music, so they were left in the box. I am very happy not to have to listen to all musical stuffed animals playing simultaneously.

The bar all alight with lights and festive glassware. The Egg Nog cups are a vintage find by the spouse this year. He and Miss E LOVE Egg Nog. I think they are on their third jug for the season.

This vintage nativity belonged to the spouse's grandmother. Most of the figures are chalk. The animals are blow molded plastic with their original prices tags of 15 cents still on the bottom. The barn is cardboard. The kids want to play/rearrange everybody all the time. I hope it survives the season. We haven't put it up in a few years.

The mantel sparkling in progress....

Our vintage aluminum tree with its rotating, color changing light....

We have three gorgeous vintage glass tree toppers that I wanted to display upright on the mantel. In order to keep them up right and not become a casualty of broken glass, I had to fabricate some holders. I wandered through the craft racks of Jo-Ann's (not my favorite fabric store on the planet) and found these wooden wheels and bought some dowel that fit in the holes perfectly. No gluing required.

Ta da....

I am sore and tired today because I haven't done that much moving for a month! I am still coughing and wheezing if I go from outside (cold air) to the inside (warm air) too much. There's more to show too... I'll post more later. But the overall effect is very festive and the house is so pretty.

Have you ever wondered what the inside of a VCR looked like?

2010-12-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well... I found out today. We have a rather large collection of VHS tapes which we are gradually replacing with DVDs. However, my precious Star Wars movies are still on VHS. Our VCR's are starting to expire. They no longer rewind well or in some cases at all. So this morning, I popped open one of the bad boys and fixed it.

Ta da....

I had to take the front panel off at which point I found all sorts of broken plastic bits inside rendering the outside buttons useless. So I'm leaving off the panel and having this rather exposed looking circuit board with buttons.

I went back and labeled them with permanent marker. Looks a bit Steampunk if you squint. I was trying to get into the motor which is located directly underneath where the tape rests. So I took the bottom off too...

A bit of a dead end really. But a rather interesting texture with all that soldering.
So here is the actual problem. You can see in the picture a little bit of a blue mark and a circular rub mark. The rub mark was caused by the driving gear (which is the white gear in the picture and it not engaged) rubbing against the housing. I put some machine oil in there a got it working again.

One of the tapes still wasn't winding well, so I took it apart too. Each tape has 5 screws, and that is really all that is holding the whole thing together. It is really amazing that they last as long as they do.

Once you have everything open, you can't bump anything or it falls out. And there are these hair thin springs, that if you sneeze would go flying. I worked with pair of tweezers to put some springs back in place, and then carefully put the top back on, clamped it in place and screwed it together again.

It worked long enough to get all my Star Wars tapes rewound, but further testing this evening revealed that it was not working again. So I will be removing the entire housing and just letting the whole thing sit open, so I can see if it is actually rewinding or not. If not, it will be open and I can drop in some more oil.

When I was in grade school, Dad brought home an old TV set. My sister and I were set up each with a set of small screwdrivers, wrenches, and soldering irons. We spent an entire day taking the whole thing apart down to the circuit boards, transistors, resistors, and anything else that could come off. We sorted everything into little piles. It was a lot of fun and very interesting. It left quite an impression on me... as to this day, I love to take things apart and see what is going on inside.

Finally got some sewing done!!

2010-11-14T22:46:00.000-08:00

Of course it involved about 3 hours of ironing and mending before I had things cleared off enough to work.

The new dog needed dog beds. The first one didn't turn out quite right, so I'm only posting the large pillow bed. The inner pillow is made up of a shell fabric with a Goretex laminate. So if the dog pees on it, the pee won't soak into the polyfil inside. One of the benefits of working in the athletic industry. I have loads of technical fabrics.

The completed cover has a super soft minky-like brown fabric on top with a red twill bottom. Of course it has a zipper in it, so it is removable and washable.

The recipient seems to approve.

I also managed to finally sew up some shoe bags!

I have purchased a few pairs of shoes that come with super lightweight non-woven tear-if-you-breath-on-it "fabric". I love the idea of shoe bags, but they need to be somewhat durable. They save LOADS of time when packing. You don't have to clean off the soles of your shoes, or pay attention when you are packing them in your suitcase. So I made 6 bags... enough for 3 pairs of shoes.

Now that things are tidier down here, maybe I'll finally get some more clothes done.

Halloween Creepies

2010-11-04T11:37:00.001-07:00

Here are my darling goblins contributing to the creepy Alice in Wonderland theme.....

The little Cheshire Cat turned out well....

This creepy guy was on the front porch...

Tis the season....

2010-10-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

Cat peelings....

.... and PVC pipe.....

..... these are a few of my favorite things!!!

will post more as the evening wears on....

Meet the Irving

2010-10-26T15:36:00.001-07:00

This is the Irving....

He joined our household last weekend from the Oregon Humane Society. He was described as being "extremely lovable and people oriented, a bit of a lap dog, and a love sponge". He came from California as part of the Second Chance program. He has been in shelters since early August and was not adopted in Bakersfield, CA, so he was sent up here to Portland around Oct 13. We adopted him on Saturday, Oct 16. Bakersfield thought he was a Long Hair Chihuahua... NOT. Oregon Humane Society thought he was a Spaniel Mix... closer. He has an unusual color for a small spaniel. The only small spaniel (other than the cocker) with a blonde coat is the Tibetan Spaniel. But Irving has long legs and a long body, so there might be some Pinscher mixed in. We are guessing a German Pinscher. So for now we are just calling him The Tibetan Love Sponge.

Irving the Tibetan Love Sponge needed a run or kennel. We had nothing for the first night... so he slept in bed with us. The next day we cleared a space and began work.

We emptied and moved the compost bins. Here they are sitting empty in the backyard before they get reinstalled.

We added this fence by using a pre-fab picket length and cut it apart to make a gate and small fence section.

However, we discovered a challenge with the width of the Love Sponge's chest and the distance between the pickets.
Here is a visual representation of the geometry set before us:

.... which means that the line marked with CD can EASILY fit through the line marked with AB. This was remedied by the speedy installation of additional pickets who's line should have been marked with something like "I can't believe that I have to go back to the hardware store again" line.

The resulting fence contains the Love Sponge and still looks rather sharp. It needs a proper coat of paint.... it's raining, so the painting will probably happen sometime in April.... but the run is functional and and is easy to use.

Lot's of nice cedar chips smell great and will hopefully keep the fleas down. Those suckers love damp bark to hibernate in.

Some serious love for the Spring 11 runway...

2010-10-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

I discovered the Full Frontal Fashion website and love the new nude transparent garments coming down the runway.

I am seriously in love with this diaphanous trench coat...

And the lovely Beth Ditto....

Sunhat from Summer

2010-10-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am recovering from a root canal this morning... or rather waiting for the novacaine to wear off so I can have some coffee without spilling it down my front... and was going through my old pictures and realized that I hadn't posted my fabulous sunhat project from this summer. The idea came, of course, from Burdastyle using the Summer Beach Hat project.

I was at the farm in Idaho, so the pictures are from my mom's sewing room.

I need to find a finished picture of me in it.

It's fall... must be time for knitting

2010-10-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

I am still lamenting the disappearance of Knit 1 magazine. But Vogue Knitting had these lovely patterns on their site:

.... very inspiring and lots of color. I still need to get my tank top done that I started this summer.

As far as I got....

2010-09-22T15:24:00.001-07:00

Summer is officially ending, and I didn't get all my patio projects done. But I did make some progress...

Yes, the motorcycle is still on the patio... more on that later.
I got rid of the mysterious pile of pots and managed to create this arrangement by stuffing pots inside of pots... no actual planting was required.

I redid the fabric on these deck chairs. The fabric was purchased at IKEA last year or the year before... but it ties in all sorts of colors going on with the outdoor furniture.

For what little outdoor time is left... it will work. There is always next year. I will get those darn legs on that blue table yet.

The Patio Plan

2010-08-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

I've been totally bummed at the lack of summer, but that hasn't stopped me from tackling a few patio related projects which started with this overall plan.

The extra wicker tables in the lower left of the picture went away via Craigslist... so we made some money there which was promptly reinvested into spray paint!

I have managed (5 cans of spray paint later), to whip the wicker settee into shape:

I'm in a robin's egg phase.... again.

We have legs for the table top....

which have been scrubbed and primed. Just waiting for the install, so I can prime the table top and then give the whole thing a couple of coats of blue. I think I'm going to do oil base for this one, since it will be sitting outside for half the year. We will put it inside for the winter and the really wet parts... which is a lot of the year in Portland..., but it will get rained on during the dry-ish parts of the year too.

A Week of Painting Projects

2010-08-08T10:55:00.000-07:00

There are many projects around the house/property that needed painting or repair or cleaning. So that's what I did this week...

The white kids' picnic table was peeling. The reddish wood table was split and needed gluing. (I opted not to paint this one... yet.)

I had lots of enthusiastic help. This table and chair set belonged to my mother-in-law. We painted it gold for Miss Elsie. Now that Mister Ewan has it, it needs a color update.

So now it is a lovely spring green....

The finished picnic table...

All of the paint was on-hand, leftover from other projects. So after three days of prepping, priming, and painting, we have some lovely, clean furniture that looks brand new. I also glued a bunch of other broken items that had been piling up. I really, really, really like clamps and Elmer's Wood Glue.

Finished Dress

2010-08-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

I did manage to get the black and white dress done.

I need to tackle the others... but I've been painting, cleaning, and reducing some clutter. Will post more later.

Happy Birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

2010-07-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. I am armed with a several brand new patterns, a pile of fabric (and then some, but who is really counting), a stack of sci-fi movies, and a gin and tonic. The house is quiet and I'm ready to do some serious sewing.
Several of the local designers in Portland were closing out their leftover fabric on Wednesday up at Modern Domestic. Here is my haul:

The beautiful dusty pink with cameos was from Erica at Garnish.

This is some fabric that I have been trying to sew into dresses for the past year... or more.

I did get one dress done out of the Burda pattern shown. After I constructed it once, I took it completely apart, readjusted the pattern and reassembled the dress. It fits beautifully, and I get many compliments when I wear it. Now I just need to sew up some more. I'm all about the dress. No thought required to dress your entire self. No matching. No trying to find two clean pieces of clothing. Just grab and go.

New patterns from the trip to Fabric Depot today:

Again... the dress... it's all about the dress.

These are a couple of other top patterns that I had. Trying to find something for the pink cameo fabric. I don't think either of these is what I want. I'm going to check Burdastyle later... if I get the dresses done.

AWOL for a bit...

2010-07-03T08:28:00.001-07:00

I have been gone for a bit... taking a break... trying to find some new inspiration... I haven't done a lot of sewing, crafting, or other things. But I have been reading Peter's hilarious blog Male Pattern Boldness

This man is fearless and will sewing ANYTHING in the pursuit of learning to sew... and he's not afraid to post pictures of fit challenges. Peter is a true inspiration.

Alabama Chanin

2010-04-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

Natalie Chanin from Alabama Chanin was at Powell's in Portland last week. Unfortunately I wasn't able to meet Ms. Chanin in person, but I did get to see some of the quilts that Powell's was displaying:

Gorgeous texture and overlapping fabrics and stitching.... I'm contemplating buying her book... because I love books and you can never have too many.

I'm a bit inspired to try some quilting.. but I have so many project in process that I feel like I need to finish some of my others first.

Trip to the Zoo and Outfit Updates

2010-04-01T14:54:00.001-07:00

Spring Break was last week. The spouse had surgery on Monday and was home Tuesday to work on recovering which meant that I needed to keep the offspring out of his hair. So I took the pair to the zoo for a few hours one morning. We found a lovely rainbow inside the polar bear exhibit.

These two made me take a picture of them every 15 minutes.

Then it was on to some sewing earlier this week. The blouse that I made for Elsie's Eloise outfit was made in a hurry and therefore did not have a center front opening.. meaning that it was a bit of a tight fit. So we sliced up the front and added some multi-colored buttons... courtesy of Anthropologie's holiday wrapping from 2008.

Working on writing with my stylus... I keep telling myself that the letters will get smoother and more like my writing with a pen if I keep doing it.

I also had to do something about the length of her denim skirt... it was approaching Lolita shortness in the back. Luckily she loves eyelet and I happen to have about 10 yards... so we added a flounce and brought a little modesty back.

Then they both made me take their picture.

Today I am sewing a silver leotard for baton twirling... a request from Miss E.

Tie Dye for Two

2010-03-09T14:05:00.000-08:00

I learned how to dye in college and have been a loyal purchaser from the Dharma Trading Company for the past 15 years. I am working on a few dyeing projects for an upcoming dance performance (more on that later) and my offspring were curious and inspired. Since we had a couple of white t-shirts left over from another project, we decided to spend a day or two exploring tie dye.

Here are the two mad scientists at work...

... note the rubber gloves of the littlest participant. The gloves were VERY important... no matter how large.

The finished t-shirts laying out to dry. We only did two dye baths... that seemed to fit the attention span available.

Miss E did these great circles at the bottom of her t-shirt.

Now that the tree pollen season is here, I am hoping to do more sewing since I can't safely be outside without exploding into a sneezing, sinus swelling fit.... I know, I say I'm going to sew and post more every month. I feel like if I keep saying it, eventually it will happen.

Sweater Pictures

2010-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

It is so grey out today that the lighting is terrible inside the house. So for now these pictures will have to do.

The sweater seems to have grown a bit... although Miss E swears it's the same size as when I finished it. At least she will be able to wear it for awhile.

Double Post Today.... on Alma

2010-01-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

I was over at Loobylu and Claire had posted a link to this gorgeous yet creepy short:

Alma

Take a look when you get a chance.

Sick... again.....

2010-01-30T16:26:00.001-08:00

I am sick, yet again, this winter. Some cold thing this time, so hopefully it will pass quickly. So I'm going to post pictures of a "stash busting" yarn project that I knitted on the last time I was sick.

After completing several knitting projects, I seem to have an abundance of leftovers, so I let Miss E pick through the box and choose an assortment of yarns to knit up into one grand sweater. We were hugely inspired by Lina Mayfleet's sweaters in the movie City of Ember.

The sleeves came out this way....

... and the body came out this way. She really liked the red fuzzy yarn, and I barely had enough to do the front and back panels.

This was my first time knitting without a pattern. I took some rough numbers off of a children's cardigan, but made up the rest. It is a little wider than I anticipated, but looks really good on body. I'll post pictures when I'm feeling well enough to chase down Elsie and have her put the sweater on.

Absolutely Gorgeous

2010-01-17T17:53:00.000-08:00

Check out this fashion spread from Elle Canada using plus-size/real-size model Crystal Renn, author of Hungry.

It is breathtakingly gorgeous....

Project Rungay- Elle Canada- Crystal Renn

Eloise

2010-01-12T15:40:00.001-08:00

I have had a long love affair with Eloise from the Plaza. I have also greatly admired her creator, Kay Thompson.... who took the color pink to new heights with the song "Think Pink" from Funny Face.

We have greatly enjoyed the Eloise movies with Julie Andrews as Nanny too. Both actresses are the epitome of their storybook counterparts.

Therefore... Miss Elsie was seized with great inspiration... riding high on the success of Halloween costuming... and flamboyantly requested an Eloise costume to wear for Christmas. It was NOT to be a Christmas present, but rather her official Christmas outfit. I was able to get the skirt and blouse done (on Christmas Eve, no less) before succumbing to the flu. I put on the straps today.

I think it turned out rawther well.....

Remember These?

2010-01-11T21:59:00.001-08:00

Miss Elsie had a birthday party to go to and needed a gift. I was going to make a drawstring purse (which is what I usually make, and which meant- yet again- that Elsie herself did not get to choose the gift idea- which I was thoroughly reminded). So I asked Miss E what we should make, and she suggested "these braided ribbon barrettes"... which I TOTALLY knew what she was talking about.
I put on my 80's thinking cap and we whipped out this lovely set of 2 side barrettes and one fabulous barrette of ribbons and beads for the back.

The pink beads were attached to the barrette at the ends. I forgot to take a picture after we finished. It has already been boxed, wrapped, gifted, and unwrapped. I may have to make some for the Little Lady Herself.

Christmas Pajamas

2010-01-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

So we are back in Portland after driving 8 plus hours on Tues the 29th... the last 3 hours through A LOT of snow in the Gorge. I'm still sick and my daily routine seems to be getting up, doing one project (i.e. cleaning out the refrigerator and scrubbing down, putting away Christmas presents, cleaning up kids play table in basement for the forth time this year), and then taking a 2 hour nap with the vaporizer running full bore... only to climb back into bed around 8:30pm and lay there in the steamy dampness. I am really, really tired.
But I have located my camera patch cord and can post some Christmas gifty projects!
These were the pajama fabric choices for this year:

There is always great excitement to see what prints I have managed to find for the pajamas. My nephew is quite the fly fisherman, and I was extremely fortunate to find a fly fishing print... which he was extremely excited about.

These are the recipients on Christmas Eve doing what they did for the entire week we were there. My youngest in the front removed something from Nana's floral arrangement for the picture... for extra beauty, I guess.

The gift wrap... I'm particularly pleased with. We stopped putting on bows or anything with 3-dimensions, since all the packages have to be packed into boxes to go to the farm. So this year I got out my stamps and found a silver pigment pad and went to work.

It looks all Martha Stewart-y. Also I am only buying one color of wrapping paper for EVERYTHING. So if you receive anything from me in the next 6-8 months it will be wrapped in red. I'm tired of having all these little bits of this and that left over.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

I am posting on Christmas Day because I am sick and confined to my room while the rest of the family celebrates and I keep my germs to myself. It is a bit of a bummer, because I really enjoy Christmas. Everyone sounds like they are having a good time, and I'm sure the dinner smells good. I can't smell much of anything.

I completed the traditional Christmas Eve pyjamas on time and the children (my two and my sister's two) opened them last night and put them on with grand flourish. I seem to have forgotten my camera patch cord and will be unable to post pictures until I return to Portland. I have apparently packed 3 sets of patch cords for my iPhone... so no danger of not being able to plug that in.

We did watch Mark Morris' The Hard Nut last night on TV. It was amazing and creative and a great interpretation of the classic Nutcracker.
Scene from Act 1....

.... not your traditional Victorian family. Love the graphic patterns on everything.

The snowflakes actually snowed by throwing snow from their hands.

Gingerbread Men

2009-12-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Miss Elsie wanted to make gingerbread men, and the spouse is gearing up to construct a house out of gingerbread as well. So last night, we made a few men.... careful not to open the oven door in case one got away.

We are using the magazines to control the thickness of the dough. I know you can buy those doughnuts that slip onto your rolling pin which do the same thing... but we didn't have them... and the magazines are about 1/4" thick and work just as well... as long as your 3 year old doesn't try to unwrap them partway through the rolling process.

Of course while the cookies baked, there was a lot of munching on the candies decorating the men. You do have to sample all the components.

I melted some colored white chocolate used for candy making for the decorating. It was late, and I didn't have time to make a batch of frosting and Miss Elsie wanted to give her teacher a couple of the Gingerbread Men for Christmas. Thank goodness for candy making supplies and a microwave. They white chocolate melted in a few minutes and piped out really well from the pastry bag.... well enough that one of the men has eyebrows.

The rest of the men are baking today and will be decorated this afternoon. The house will be under construction soon.

It's Christmastime!!!

2009-12-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

I seem to be firmly in the one post per month realm. I really want to break out of that trend and blog more.

We put up one of our amazingly retro aluminum Christmas trees last week.

Of course if you have an aluminum tree you MUST have the rotating light.

Which spends the rest of the year inside it's vintage box.

I did take some great pictures of all the vintage glass balls on the tree. I'm trying to figure out a way to make one grid of pictures with all the images. It's a lot of pictures.

Halloween Goodness

2009-11-06T20:35:00.001-08:00

So my serger and myself were covered with all this brown fuzz during the construction of the Halloween costumes.

The skin of the bat.... which caused all the fuzz...

The finished bat...

He's very proud of his wings. I'm still cleaning up fuzz.

Miss Elsie went as a Bride Witch. Yes, that is her real hair that we sprayed black with pink streaks.

I'm still cleaning up the black overspray in the bathroom.

Both costumes worked well and the pumpkins are full.

Hello... yes, I'm still here....

2009-10-08T08:44:00.001-07:00

I know it has been over a month since my last post, but my life has been very, very full. Things are starting to slow down a bit, so I'm breathing easier. Those of you who know me have seen my bullet lists... those of you who are new to this side of me, this seems to be the easiest way to organize my thoughts and convey a lot of information....

1. Elsie started 2nd Grade and loves it!

2. I have been busy with freelance work which involves travel. I have been traveling almost every other week since the beginning of August. Some for personal and some for work... either way, I haven't been home enough.

3. I have been teaching an online class at the University of Idaho (which I teach every semester).... and then I had the idea for a field trip. So I took a group of students 9 students plus my director to Los Angeles last week on a fully packed 4-day field trip complete with a factory tour and trip to the California Mart for a fabric show. (The prior 3 days were spent working with a client in Irvine, so I was in LA/Orange County for a week.)
We spent the last day at the Getty Center... which was gorgeous and relaxing and amazing. The entire setting from the tram ride up the hill (at 10mph) to the buildings themselves was designed to elevate you out of the hectic pace of LA. It must have worked, because as I was making my purchases at the store the salesman touched my arm and told me that I had the most serene eyes. It had been a long week at this point, so I took that as a great compliment.

The spouse was very happy to have me home... so were the kids. Mister Ewan has not been far from me since I came home Saturday night.

4. My wonderful Grandmother Agnes passed away in mid-September. We will miss her very much. She lived to be 97 and up until June was living at home on her farm.

This is Grandma at her high school graduation.

The family all gathered in Idaho to celebrate her life and, in Grandma's words, give her a "good send off". Grandma would have been very pleased with the flowers.

5. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Mister Ewan turned 3. We celebrated part of his birthday in Idaho. We still need to have a Portland party for him for the family down here.... all in due time.

6. Had a successful Tag-A-Long pick up from school yesterday... and Miss Elsie and I were able to pedal all the way up the hill in front of the house and into the back yard.... and that's something.

Progress with the Tag-a-Long!

2009-08-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

I have finally worked up to biking to and from Miss Elsie's school with her on the back of the Tag-a-Long. I have no idea what the distance is.. probably around a mile one way. I can't quite make it up the incline in front of the house, but I can get within a block. We are going to give it another go tomorrow. My goal is to be able to do the whole trip in grand style (as in NOT pushing the bike... at all) by the time school starts on September 8. Will keep you posted on that.

In the meantime, here is a little visitor that came and peeked through my open window in my studio where I was working....

He came around 10 minutes later for another visit. Apparently I wasn't very interesting... he didn't stay long.

Good Things

2009-08-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Levi's to replace my mostly-holes-and-not-much-denim capris with some new ones. Of course standing there under the over head lighting and fun house mirror was not good for my body image. I took the summer off from ballet and although the scale hasn't changed, my body make-up has... as in less lean muscle and more fullness about the general hip area. Some sort of physical exercise is drastically needed so I decided the get out the Tag-a-Long (tandem bike attachment for the offspring) for my bike so Miss Elsie and I could ride together. I couldn't find the bike pump and the tires were completely flat since they haven't been ridden in 6 years- give or take, so off I went to Fred Meyer to buy a new pump. Came back, the bike pump did not fit the valve stems on my bike, but did fit the stems on the Tag-A-Long which in the long run really didn't matter since the bike pump was broken anyway. Back to Fred Meyer to return the first bike pump and buy a different one that would accommodate both stem types. Now we are about 1 hour into the project, and I have all the tires pumped back up, and spend the next 1-1/2 taking parts off my bike and trying to get the Tag-a-Long bushing/bracket onto my bike.... eventually resorting to the rubber mallet persuader. Finally I had success and put on my helmet, loaded up Miss Elsie, and made it 4 blocks and was so winded and out of shape... we called it an evening.... anyway... it's something to build up to.

Here some other lovely things from the end of the summer..

My 100% cotton crochet trim that I bought 3 years ago at Fabric Depot's outdoor sale. It has all been pre-washed (this stuff really SHRINKS), and ironed and rolled on a card.

Coffee filter art at Anthropologie... they really do the most amazing display work there....

In-and-Out Burger from our trip to Disneyland... enough said...

And the sushi platter from Saburo's... the Temple to Sushi here in Portland....

My garden is just not that dazzling this year... partly due to the strange weather... partly due to the continuing lack of sun in our backyard (the neighborhood trees keep growing... as trees do)... and partly due to me not being that diligent this spring because of allergies. I am developing a new strategy for next year that involves moving A LOT of plants around and some hard pruning... work will commence this fall.

Another dress and some gardening

2009-08-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

Miss E gets another new dress. This one is remade from a skirt that belonged to my Mother-In-Law and was passed down a few times. We started with this...

... and wound up with this....

It has this great scalloped hem. The belt is the spouse's from when he was a little boy.

Gardening is coming along. Somethings are a little behind due to me not getting my plants planted early enough. But we have some green tomatoes and the basil is growing like mad! All were started from seed.

The pepper experiment out front is going well. I've tried growing peppers in the back several times and they either never fruit or don't ripen. So this year I put them in pots out front on the cement. They get lots of hot, hot sun and I can water them easily. Then they get reflected heat from the cement the rest of the evening and night. These were also grown from seed.

Very exiting!

Sewing Projects!!!

2009-07-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

I finally am getting around to posting some of my lovely sewing projects that I have been working on.
Miss E came to me last month and announced that she wanted to sew a bag... something to carry her drawing supplies in. Not too purse-like and not too fat. We rounded up these supplies from my stash:

which produced this snappy bag....

Then today, after being inspired by a walk through Forever 21 and all their 80's floral inspired summer sun dresses... I finally got out my elastic thread that I bought awhile back. My friend Mo at Lime Gardenias gave it a try last year and created a darling dress for Miss M. So armed with the knowledge from Your Fabric Place, I was off to expand my sewing skills by creating elasticized ruching!

The results are very cute... if I do say so myself. Of course, you can't go wrong with Heather Ross fabric either. This is from her West Hill line... little lily pads with tiny frogs jumping amongst them.

Here's the ensemble in action...

Family Vacation

2009-07-22T14:11:00.001-07:00

We just returned from Anaheim and two days and Disneyland. It was a lot of driving, but we had so much fun at the park.
We started off with some Umpqua ice cream at Rice Hill, OR...

and then stayed over night in the Redwood Forest in Northern California...

Then drove like a couple of deranged individuals through central California for 12 hours to get to Disneyland!

Who can resist the gorgeousness of "It's a Small World"?

We had to go through twice.

I could have gone through a few more times and been completely happy.

We did get stuck inside for about 10 minutes when the ride stopped... which let me take some really good pictures... and "no" the song did not get stuck in my head for the rest of the trip.

Then we were off to the Storybook Boats which I had never been on before. There were all these gorgeous miniature scenes from fairy tales and movies... and all the trees and plants are real!

As an added surprise bonus we could see the fireworks from the air conditioned comfort of our hotel room!

We drove 12 hours yesterday and came home at 9:30pm. We want to go back again with the kids in a few years, but we will NOT be driving. It's only a 2-1/2 hour plane ride rather than 2 or 3 days in the car. Money well spent I say.

More Sadness

2009-07-11T13:56:00.001-07:00

We had to say goodbye to Daphne on Monday. This has been a rough few weeks.

We now have no cats whereas 9 months ago we had three. We are taking a break from pet-dom and deciding whether we want to add anymore animals to the house... maybe in the spring. Between now and then we will have to make do with the fish. Unfortunately the most interesting one is nocturnal, so we never get to see him.

I promise my next posts will be of creative sewing projects. Throughout all the goodbyes and housecleaning, I have managed to sew some pretty cool things.

Goodbye

2009-06-26T14:41:00.001-07:00

We had to say good bye suddenly to our cat Griffin earlier this week.

Elsie came downstairs in the morning and found him under a piece of furniture meowing constantly. His hind legs were not working. The vet said that he most likely had heart disease and a clot made it into his spinal region disrupting the flow of blood to his hind quarters. He had no pulse in his legs and was very cold. So I made the difficult decision to let him go. There are typically no symptoms that would indicate heart disease, and he had been to the vet for two check ups in the past year and was pronounced "very healthy".

Now our trio...

is down to one....

Unfortunately Miss Daphne has kidney disease and will not be with us much longer. It has been a rough year in the pet area.

"THE" Dress

2009-06-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

The finished ensemble had many details.

And the wearer looked very pretty in the outfit...

Yes... she is wearing little earrings and a sparkly head band. The dance was a grand success. She and Daddy were out partying until 8:30pm... definitely past her bedtime.

Daddy-Daughter Dance

2009-06-04T08:36:00.001-07:00

The Daddy-Daughter Dance is tomorrow evening at Elsie's school. They will have pictures taken, refreshments, a ball dancing lesson, and then get to dance for an hour. It is the first time Elsie and the spouse have attended and apparently some of the little ladies get quite elaborate with their dresses. We have been discussing The Dress for a couple of weeks, and two days ago we had to narrow things down a bit.
I was first presented with this illustration and STRICT instructions that the skirt "go straight down".

From the image, it appears that the wearer of the dress would not be able to walk. So I asked if the skirt needed to "go up" as she twirled. "The skirt needs to go STRAIGHT DOWN! NOT OUT!" was the reply. Then I was presented with this drawing...

So again, I wanted to make absolutely sure she indeed wanted a hobble or pencil skirt. At this point it was no longer a discussion but rather a fiery argument ending with the words "I drew you two pictures showing you what I want!!" I think I have a budding designer on my hands.

The straight skirt request meant that she didn't want a petticoat (because they itch), but she did indeed want the skirt to twirl away from her as Daddy spins her about. She had also requested that it be strapless... I nixed that request immediately. We selected a pattern online (to save some time looking through pattern books) and headed to the store. After steering her away from the hot pink/vivid aqua/pastel green & lavender plaid combination that was calling to her, we selected these raw materials...

which I am currently transforming into a dress. Daddy cannot see the dress prior to the grand unveiling tomorrow night. I did pin her into all the parts last night... she looks very, very pretty.

Baby Owl

2009-05-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I was at the farm a couple of weeks ago and this little guy (and his brother) were hanging out. The mother had been living in the backyard all fall and winter. She took over an old magpie nest and had two little (relatively speaking) ones this spring. This one had fewer flying skills and liked to nap in the sun... so I took the opportunity to take some up close and personal pics.

He is a Great Horned Owl (no "horns" or ear tufts yet) and he does have talons.

Oh... and I finally uploaded some new picture to Flickr so have updated my badge which has been showing the same images for almost a year now.

And even better news, I have new allergy medicines that work, so I am able to spend some time in my garden. Stay tuned for some rose pictures! The bad news is that I am allergic to everything on the allergy scratch/prick test. It is never good when the allergist comes in and looks at your results and says "Oh my!". Needless to say... they stopped the test about 5 minutes into it rather than making me wait the full 20 minutes. The new medications are working for now, and hopefully I will be starting allergy shots soon. I am just happy to be in my garden again.

I'm dancing this Friday and Saturday!

2009-05-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've been taking ballet classes at the Laurelhurst Studio here in Portland for the past few years. I love the Creative Director of the studio and the teachers... and most of all the other adult ballet students. We are a happy bunch and get a kick out of trying things. It's a great workout and a lot of laughs with the usual gang. Every spring the studio puts on a spring dance performance... and this year I am in it.... after much prodding and encouragement from my fellow students, I might add....
It is this Friday, May 29, and Saturday, May 30 at 7pm at the DaVinci School here in Portland if you want to come and watch. Our piece is called Softy Etude.

The students from the Youth Ballet in Training program dance in the majority of the pieces.. and they are really, really good. And then there are all sorts of pieces from the other classes. Many of the students have choreographed dances too.

Mister Judy Press

2009-05-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

My sister and I had a great bit of promo written about one of our Mister Judy products.
Check out the Evergreen Mom's blog article on our Little Hostess Tea Linen Sets!
How can you resist this little tea party setup anyway?

Closet Project

2009-05-08T21:20:00.001-07:00

Our 1922 house has never had a coat closet. You enter into the front living room/dining room/LARGE room, and there is no place for coats... other than the chairs at the dining table which evolved into ON TOP of the dining table.
What we did have was a hall linen closet that was unusually deep... like 4 feet deep which me (my short little self) would have to get a step stool to reach anything that had been inadvertently shoved to the back. Usually those things remained forgotten.

Children are for scale...

You can see in this shot with the drawer out how deep it is. And that there is wasted space beyond the back of the drawer. You did not, under ANY circumstances, want to pull one of these extremely large drawers out all the way. You could not hold them and, as you let go, would hope to high heaven that you could get your toes out of the way in time.

So we ripped everything out. Used some of the unfinished fir to put in the floor... there was no flooring on the closet floor that matched the fir in the hall... Now there is. And primed and painted... and then added shelves up the back.

In front of the shelves is a coat rod, so the coats hang in front of the shelves. There is plenty of space for both things, and we cleaned out tons of stuff from the closet that we didn't need or could have been stored in a more appropriate place. Read as: stored somewhere that we would remember and be able to find the item at a later date.
There is always one box of stuff leftover...

I'm still trying to figure out where to put these things.

When they are too quiet...

2009-05-05T16:59:00.001-07:00

So I had a meeting this morning on Skype. I was on my headset and Mister e was keeping himself busy with some Nick Jr. shows and a finding Nemo game and doing some drawing too. He, like his mother, likes to have a lot of things going on at once. Apparently he branched out a bit, and I lost track of the time, and he presented this work of self-art:

Note that each side is it's own color complete with coordinating eye details. I am not sure if he used the mirror down here or not. If he did, he was REALLY quiet. A bath was required for this clean up.

It's raining... and I'm excited!

2009-04-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's been raining since last evening, and my allergies are SO much better! This is probably one of the few times that I will be excited about rain. I also have a new $100 allergy nose spray... thankfully we didn't have to pay the full price. So now I'm on double allergy meds and decongestants 24 hours a day. I am able to breath which means I can function once again! Hope to be more productive in the next few days.
On another note, I found this cool site called Frugal Living. It's all about saving money, coupon clipping, and living on less. Good info... and a cute little bird logo to boot!

Springtime allergies... yuck

2009-04-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

So it's 4:30am in the morning... and I've been up since 2 am with a running nose that is also plugged tight. How the two things can exist simultaneously is beyond me. After suffering from allergies all week, I felt really good yesterday afternoon and went outside to do some weeding. The spouse was sweeping up grass clippings and the side walk (which was covered... and I mean COVERED) in pollen. Apparently I got into the cloud of yellow and have been a mess ever since. It's a bummer because I really like gardening and can't participate yet. This year is the worst that my allergies have ever been. I think it's time for a trip to the doctors to adjust the meds.
For now I will leave you with this lovely picture done by my 2-1/2 year old son.

He is really into circles and will spend lengthy amounts of time creating these topographical maps.... which he prefers to do in marker... never crayon or some other less messy media.

Shark Softie

2009-04-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

Miss Elsie received this invite to a birthday party this month....

The shark really caught the spouse's eye, and we decided to turn it into a custom softie for the birthday recipient. So I scanned in the invite and blew it up really big.... YAY for Illustrator!

The result matched the image very closely.

I like his teeth.

Well... hello there

2009-04-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I last posted. I needed to slow things down a bit and take a break from a few things. My blog was one of the things that was pushed to the side. In the meantime, however, spring has finally arrived here in Portland. I can tell because:
1. I now have all sorts of flowers that I can cut and bring inside and
2. My allergies are on overdrive. Apparently my allergy meds wear off around 5:45am. As long as I'm asleep it doesn't matter, but if I wake up... look out!
I planted these lovelies last fall. They are very orange but have a little big of light tipping on the edges.

I think there are 2 different kinds of tulips in this bouquet... both orange. I can't remember what I planted.

Bulbs are like that, though. A little bit of a surprise in the spring.

Family Room Redo

2009-03-02T19:11:00.001-08:00

So right after Christmas, I decided that the family room needed a redo.

It wasn't as light and bright as it could be. I've been seeing so many beautiful rooms with light colored walls that seem so airy and calming... especially in the now defunct Domino magazine... R.I.P. So as you can see from the pictures, we had a LOT of stuff on the big bookcases.

When the bookcases were emptied most of the stuff was toys and about 60 pounds of magazines. We moved the bookcases into other rooms that desperately needed the shelving. I repainted everything! Ceiling, trim, walls... everything is really, really clean with brand new paint.

We bought a new shelving unit from IKEA that would hold our television... which was 1/4" too wide to fit on the old bookcases. No, you couldn't just wedge it in there... we tried and it looked, well, wedged.

After we completely assembled the bookcase, we realized that it didn't have feet and had to sit over a heat vent... the only heat vent in the room. And we discovered this at 10pm at night. Everything was closed so there was no way to finish this project that night. Which was extremely disappointing as I had painted and used fans to get all the paint on the shelving unit wall done and dried so we could install our new furniture and get the TV back up and running. The next day the spouse bought wood and ebony stain and started making block feet that would raise the shelf about 1-3/4" off the floor. You cannot make stain dry any faster than it is designed too. We checked with two experts (my dad and his dad) and both said "Don't rush it"... speaking from experience, of course. So the 6'x6' case was flat on the floor for 2 days while the feet dried.

The result is exactly what I had envisioned... and I LOVE it.

We even replaced the the spouse's "unauthorized purchase" couch with a brand new couch from Dania. This is my first brand new couch that I have ever purchased in my life! The old couch is on Craigslist if anyone is interested.

Hello Spring!!!

2009-02-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

I love spring. I really, really love spring and summer. I like a little winter, but not too much. I was done with winter 3 weeks ago. I know, I know... too early... but mentally I was already sitting in my back yard smelling roses.
So I started some seeds...

.. because it's that time of year....

I have a lot started. I might have too many tomatoes, but I'm always afraid some might not come up.

But outside I found my first few flowers opening up their sleepy heads...

I love green flowers, and hellebores fits the bill so nicely.

Crater Lake

2009-02-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out my iPhone and found this lovely picture of Crater Lake:

I fly back and forth to Irvine for one of my freelance clients, and it was a clear day on the last trip. I have never actually been to Crater Lake, but fly over it frequently. I really want to go this year.

Board of Inspiration

2009-02-10T12:59:00.001-08:00

So here are the images that I have affixed to my board with my fancy new magents....

The first image has a couple of sheets that are part of a "Decadent" inspiration board. I think that defines my style... as I like the images, color, and materials of those sheets... and, of course, you can't go wrong with John Galliano who is featured smack in the middle of those tear sheets.
Now I just have to figure out how to make all this work with my existing wardrobe.....

Why does it take me so long to get around to doing things???

2009-02-05T21:37:00.000-08:00

So I posted back in the middle of summer that I had put up these linen covered magnet boards.

...which have basically remained linen covered boards with nothing on them for 6 months. I finally got around to making my magnets for them. I wanted to use these clear, thick scrapbooking lens stickers with letters, but my magnets were, of course, magnet color which is black meaning the letters wouldn't show up on the black magnet.

So I painted them all with a couple of coats of a cream colored acrylic.

I let them dry and stuck the stickers on top. Ta da! They look pretty swanky.

I have now filled my magnet boards will all sorts of inspirational images to help me stay focused on sewing some new things for me and revamping my wardrobe a bit. While I am delighted to have beautiful images to look at, I have discovered that I have completely conflicting views of style. I love vintage looks and tailored suits while swooning over goth gowns and heavy eye liner. I'm a sucker for rhinestone jewelry, but also love elaborately detailed coats and jackets that would not require any additional adornment. And I love the look of combat boots and layers of tulle... I don't know why, but I really, really do. I'll post pictures of my dilemma board tomorrow. Either way it still looks better than empty linen.

So nice to know other people work the same way...

2009-01-27T12:33:00.001-08:00

I was over reading French General's blog this morning, and there was a picture of her office in complete bury-ment and disarray.
It makes me feel so good to know that other people work this way. I'm a big piler, but can find things easily. I appreciate a clean desk, but can never get there myself.

This is as clean as it gets for me. I just happy that the piles fit under the lamp shade of my desk lamp.

I am been putting forth a lot of effort into removing the piles from the floor. I am now down to about 60 pounds of magazines that I need to go through and tear out the images I want to keep. I have even purchased clear binders to organize my tear sheets... someday I'll get there.

Look at these cool things!

2009-01-26T14:39:00.001-08:00

I have been absent from the blog for a bit. My January has been very full so far. My class that I teach at the University of Idaho has started; I've been asked to assist in a presentation in Second Life for the University... which is very fun and exciting and groundbreaking, but requires time; my sister and I are planning our promotion strategy for Mister Judy, since we have A LOT of spring merchandise that will probably not be sold to retailers... and then the usual business with family, freelance, and house.
But for now... check out these cool clothespins that the spouse gave me for Christmas!

For now they are marching around the edge of my Fire-King teacup... I think I will try to frame them in some way... I have never seen anything like these before. It's amazing they survived, as clothespins usually receive a fair amount of wear and tear.

Pens

2009-01-07T16:05:00.001-08:00

Mariko at Super Eggplant always has the coolest pens and accessories. She just did a test between the classic Sharpie.. that we all know and love... and the new Bic Mark-it. I think I need to make a trip to the store.

The CPSIA and Small Business

2009-01-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

In August of last year, Congress passed bill HR4040--the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This bill is aimed at protecting our children from toys containing lead and phthalates and addressing other safety issues. However, parts of this bill will directly effect all small handmade toy makers, designers and store owners in such a way that many may not have the means to continue operating.

The CPSIA now requires all children's products, including natural handmade toys and clothing to be tested by a third party lab, often at a cost of up to $4,000 per item. That could cost a small company more than $20,000 a season. That could easily put many small companies out of business.

The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of children's goods that have earned and kept the public's trust: toys, clothes, and accessories made mainly by small businesses in the US, Canada, and Europe. This must be amended before it's too late.

We strongly urge Congress to amend the current legislation to exclude small businesses from this exorbitant type of testing, similar to the exemptions granted by the FDA for small producers under the food labeling laws.

It is our small businesses that have worked hard to maintain the trust of consumers by ensuring handmade toys, clothing and accessories are safe. It is unfair to punish the businesses who truly are the backbone of our country and who have been committed to producing safe toys and crafts for the consumer.

For more information, visit the Handmade Toy Alliance. You may sign a petition here.

Many of you know that I have a small children's clothing business with my sister called Mister Judy. This law will effect out ability to produce our products if the testing is required. Please help us and our fellow small business owners by contacting your congressmen and requesting them to clarify the CPSIA and exempt small businesses from the third party testing in the US.

Christmas and the New Year

2009-01-03T10:17:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season. We are still recovering from the festivities, the cookies and candy, and basically not eating any fruits or vegetables but living on a diet of turkey dinner leftovers and shortbread.
We started off the Christmas season with an amazing snow storm which kept Miss E home for 3 of the last 5 days of school. It turned our neighborhood into a frosty wonderland which kept all the kids busy for many days.

Then we visited the Sugar Plum Fairy at the Nutcracker.... so beautiful and inspiring.

Some of the decorations around the house... some fabricated and some natural...

I was sewing and knitting like a mad woman for most of December. Here is the log of creation:
3 sets of man-style pyjamas
3 sets of leg warmers
1 eyelet slip... after we discovered the Miss E's party dress was slightly transparent
1 girly purse/tote bag for art supplies

Here is the slip...

I was determined not to purchase any additional fabric but use up all these bits of eyelet that I keep leaving behind after various curtain projects.

The spouse, in a flurry of creativity, crafted The Atomic Death Trap 3000 sled for the kids. Obviously it was a smashing success...

Apron Action

2008-12-23T13:40:00.001-08:00

Carpenters have carpenter aprons. Chefs have chef aprons. I needed some kind of apron to carry around my sewing supplies when I sew. I spend so much time running back and forth to where I left my snips or seam gauge. So I constructed this beauty from some vintage bark cloth that I found at a yard sale about 7 years ago.

My iphone fits in it too...

So far it has increased my holiday productivity.

Another wintry day....

2008-12-19T10:27:00.001-08:00

No school today, so Miss E is home and full of excitement. She has attended school twice this week.
It is snowing this morning with big flakes. I'm finishing sewing a Christmas gift that has to be in the mail TODAY. Here's a pic of my little owls and some Christmas sparkles.

You can kind of see the snow through the window.

Holiday Fairies

2008-12-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

So my sister gave me a half dozen or so old-style clothes pins... the kind that make really darling little dolls... as seen here on Alicia's blog.

So Miss E and myself found some fitting inspiration for the season.

This is the conceptual art from Fantasia for the Nutcracker Suite re-envisioned as the seasons through the eyes of the Imagineers.

Armed with a vast amount of sparkly supplies...

we began the project. I have some old reflectors for Christmas lights. They do not fit our current light strands and have been kicking around since last Christmas. So we gave one of the clothespins a fitting....

Little fairies taking shape...

They have reflector tutus and delicate arms made of wrapped wire. Miss E sat with my jewelry pliers and made loop hands on them.

Finished fairies....

We still need to come up with some kind of stand. We want to display them separately along the mantel, but we need little stands for each clothespin. There is ice all over Portland, so there is no running off to the craft store today. I will need to fabricate something from materials on hand.

Last Minute Sale at Mister Judy

2008-12-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

My sister and I are celebrating the last minutes of Christmas with a Sale over at Mister Judy.

Come on over and browse the goods!