Handkerchief Curtain

Reloved magazine had a great shot of a pieced curtain in their Spring 2013 issue.  

And Mollie Makes featured the book Vintage Home in their issue 28 which also had a pieced curtain but made of vintage scarves.  Both magazines got me thinking about my excessive collection of vintage hankies.  They were originally upcycled into fanciful skirts for toddler girls.  The line was called Patache... hence the reason for starting this blog in the first place.  But that was a long time ago, and I have moved onto other things, but still have lots of hankies.  So I pieced them altogether into a sheer curtain.

The curtain hangs from brass upholstery tacks that are not hammered in all the way.

And what would a home project be without some sort of error or mishap?  It wouldn't be a home project!  I measured and calculated, but missed the mark.  There are two extra holes in the window frame that need filling and touching up.

Overall the end result is colorful and airy and works in the stairway.

Seattle Part II.... Chihuly's glass

We also saw the Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center last week.  It was almost color and shape over load.  Part of the exhibit was inside in dark spaces with only the glass sculptures illuminated and the other part was outside with plantings complementing the glass shape and color.  In between the indoor and outdoor spaces was a glass house with a red, orange, and yellow undulating stream of glass sculpture dancing across the ceiling.

The first section included a massive display of Dale Chihuly's Pendleton Blanket Collection.  It was incredible to see them displayed this way.  The display must have been 20 feet high and at least twice as wide.  He has collaborated with Pendleton in the design of blankets combining his design aesthetic and their craftsmanship.  Dale Chihuly also has a book available about his connection to and inspiration from Pendleton blankets.

Moving past the blankets the fanciful, colorful and massive glass sculptures begin.

We were in Seattle in the spring of 2012 went the garden was being installed.  We saw the steel armatures being built and then other workers carrying in the glass sections and installing them.  It was exciting to see the finished sculptures and garden.

Quick Trip To Seattle

We went up to Seattle this week to see two things:
1. Women Who Rock at the EMP
and
2. Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Design at the Seattle Art Museum

Both exhibits were AMAZING!!!  My head is still reeling from all the content.  Here are some of the highlights.

The EMP had the history of Women Who Rock arranged chronologically starting in the 1940's.  Many of the garments were on loan from the performer's themselves.

Tina Turner's rhinestone short dress

Ann and Nancy Wilson from Heart

Cher's Half-Breed Costume

Cherie Curie's jumpsuit... note the stains

Joan Jett

Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun outfit

Madonna... complete with signature

Gwen Stefani in her No Doubt days

Lady Gaga

There was also a Fantasy exhibit going on too.  The metal covered tree in the center had 44,000 had applied metal scales.  The dragon from the Seattle Opera was resting in a cave, and there were cork tiles on the floor to muffle the sound of your steps... and I didn't take a picture of any of it.  But I did take a few of the movie items....

Guard costume from The Wizard of Oz... all made in felt!

Trio from the Princess Bride... "Hello... My name is Inego Montoya"

Jareth from Labyrinth

Working the touch screen computer

The EMP building designed by Frank Gehry itself is incredible.  Other sections are in different colors and materials.

No pictures were allowed at the Japanese fashion exhibit at SAM, so I bought the $60 catalogue book that they published.  Totally worth it!  Not only does it have pictures from the garments from the exhibit, but pictures from the runway when the garments were first shown.  You get a much better idea of how the garments fit and move by seeing them on models rather than mannequins.

And Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler were there too.  I didn't see them myself, but I visited with someone at the museum who had and had pictures as proof!  We are so cool in the Northwest.

There is something trapped in my vent pipe

There was something moving about in the vent pipe that runs over my desk.  I heard it two nights ago, but when I stood on my desk to figure out where it was, it was totally silent.  Yesterday morning, I was working in the basement and heard it again.  This time it was distinct fluttering and was definitely in the pipe.  I suspected a bird. 

After researching the plumbing You Tube videos about vent pipes and pipe cutting (you can find everything on You Tube), I made the bold decision to cut open the pipe with a saw and try to get the little bird out.

I wound up cutting an 18" section out which had to be cut into two pieces to remove it.  I would like to point out that the spouse was gone to an appointment during all this.

Then I waited with a box and landing zone set up below the open pipe... which smells because it is the toilet vent.

I could hear fluttering, but nothing came out.  So I climbed up with a flashlight and looked into the vent (which really smells) and could see nothing.  Just pipe.  I needed to make something to "see" for me.  I had an old Icecam web cam.  It was small and could fit through the 2" pipe.  The camera and drivers are so old, they wouldn't install on my main computer.  Fortunately we have a very old, but functional PowerPC which accepted the drivers.  I taped the camera to a stick and plugged in all the USB cables that I could find.

Unfortunately the stick would not make the turn to get into the pipe due to the floor joists AND there wasn't enough light.  So onto the Second Prototype.... I used somewhat flexible green garden stakes and taped the camera to that.  Then I added a very small light bulb.  The garden stake didn't work.

Due to the narrow pipe opening the camera would only fit through the opening with the lens pointing down rather then forward.  We (myself, Mister e and Miss E) got lovely views of a dusty sediment along the bottom of the pipe.  I tried to stick it in with a 90 degree bend in the flex cable, but the overall width was too wide.

So I removed the housing from the camera, and taped the circuit board which held the lens directly to the end of Prototype Three.  The new material for the rod is a drain snake.  It is flexible enough to make the turn to get into the pipe, but firm enough to continue pushing through.  At this point, I have used up all the duct tape in the house and have moved onto electrical tape.  I taped the Camera Snake off in 12" increments, so we could estimate how far in the pipe we were going.  At about this point, the spouse came home and found us in the basement with the cut pipe, tape everywhere, wires and extension cords running across the floor, the vacuum, the dog, and tools all supporting this exploration project as well as doll clothes in process from earlier in the day.  Surprise is not exactly the word I would use to describe his reaction.

We went in as far as we could go, but there was a 90 degree turn that went straight down that eventually connects with the sewer pipe.  My hack camera could not make the turn.  We were not able to see the bird.  He made a few noises at 2:30pm and then was silent.  After a long phone call with my father (discussing plumbing and plugging up said plumbing), we decided that a test flush on the basement toilet was in order.  Everything seemed to work well which meant that the bird in the pipe had dropped through the vent pipe and into the sewer pipe and was now on his way to the sewer system.  Sad.

I would like to note that if the spouse had not come home when he did, I was fully prepared to rip into the wall behind the toiled and cut that pipe too.  I have to touch up the paint in the bathroom anyway, so patching a wall wouldn't make that much more of a mess.

Doll Clothes

I am back from two weeks in Idaho.  My family celebrated our Century Farm status on June 22 with a big party and a presentation of a plaque and sign for the farm.  The farm is 140 years old and for 130 years we have farmed the same land continuously.  To qualify for a Century Farm, the same land must be farmed continuously for 100 years, AND you must be able to prove this with supporting paperwork.

There was lots of yard work, tree removal, pruning, and general prep before the event.  Then my spouse and I flew off to Vegas for a lovely three nights to warm up and relax.  My parents watched the kids during that time which was the BEST anniversary gift ever!!!!  Hint:  you can give us that gift every year and there would be no complaints!

Since the 200 year anniversary of the farm is in 70 years, Mister e has gleefully agreed to arrange the festivities in 2083.  We can all rest easier now that those plans are in place.

 Yesterday, Miss E and I got busy with some doll clothes using this vintage pattern:

This is Molly... in need of some new clothes for summer.

All done!  The blouse has pin tucks and back buttons.  The skirt is a full circle skirt.

The clothing items in this pattern are constructed in the same way an actual garment would be constructed.  The waistband is clean finished and there is a lap opening in the back.  The blouse has clean finished plackets at the back.  Neither piece took long to construct.  It probably took more time to dissect the pattern instructions than to sew.  We just purchased two new McCalls 18" Doll Clothes patterns.  I am curious to see if the attention to detail is still as high.

Mister e said that he wanted a doll too.  We found these on Etsy... which are amazing.  Very few companies do boy dolls.  I wasn't ready to spend over $90 on a doll, so I thought we would go buy a doll at Target and boy-ize it with a haircut, lipstick removal and boy clothes.  However, after we got her out of the box, e has decided to keep her as a girl for now.  We will see how this progresses.