Friday, October 31, 2008

Habitariums

I just thought to call them habitariums while uploading the pictures for editing. It's done!!! The long awaited "habijar" has turned out better than I had hoped and I finally found a use for a few of my small, nifty, vintage wooden thread spools. The base is secured to the inside of the metal vintage jelly jar lid and the little amanitas, moss, and snail are secured to the "grass" base. All the felt peices are hand-stitched and the amanita tops are secured to vintage wooden spool stalks, complete with little felt veils. I decided last minute to add the moss and am very happy with the look of it. I will be making more habitariums the next couple of weeks and posting them on my Etsy site so look out for these great holiday gifts (you can get them for yourself, I won't tell!). I started making an evergreen tree for habitarium number two but it is a little too large for the jar so I think I will have to think smaller (a very hard thing to do!). So instead it is mearly a snowy little tree. I'm going to make bigger ones to match these and they will definitely also be in my Etsy store.
Happy crafting, Cerise : )

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Domo Done!!!


Hey Target, eat your heart out. I finally finished my two year Domo Kun plush project and am more than squeelingly excited about the final product. Poor Domo got shrimpy little legs and was shoved into one of my many fabric buckets (along with other unfinished projects). He has been sitting out for a week now waiting his turn to be a finished creation. I cut off his stupid little legs and bottom and started anew with his lowers, not caring about the weird seams in the end. I know how I could better do him next time at least. Preplanning and measuring is really important. But here he is in all his wonderful Domoness. Now to make him Halloween costumes. I think that might be another few years.
Happy crafting,
Cerise ; )

Monday, October 27, 2008

Casting (on) Call


This weekend I joined some ladies from work to teach them how to knit. We all met up at Mary's funky and wonderful apartment. We started the evening making shrunken apple heads for our Halloween work decor, moved on to a pomegranate salad and Terra chips, and eventually worked out way to the knitting. Lura had crocheted before but Mary and Michelle had not done either. Teaching people how to do something that you have turned into a second-nature habit is not easy. Especially a self taught habit. We tried to watch Nightmare Before Christmas while knitting but it was over by the time we had stitches casted on. A visiting friend and pizza showed up and a dog walk broke up the stitches for a bit. SNL filled the remainder of the night and the ladies accomplished a cast on row, a knit row, and a purl row by the time we were tired. We have been thinking of names for our newly-formed knitting group, and of course they are all inappropriate and catchy. We were learning best with innuendos after all. I'm excited to have another knitting party soon and I hope to see the ladies with brilliant scarves! I don't know how comfortable they will be in the hot San Diego weather but maybe we will be able to wear our creations in a month.
Happy Crafting!
Cerise : )

Monday, October 20, 2008

Work it girl!

Which reminds me, Cerise, of another sewing based phrase, "you got your work cut out for you." I have a lot of work cut out for me. Now if I could just find some nice cording for drawstrings and 1 1/2 inch cotton webbing for straps.
I had to order black and natural webbing today from the local Joann's as they are ALWAYS out. I get the same answer, "A truck just came in. Come back tomorrow." This has been going on for a month. Today the helpful clerk suggested I special order. I figured I'd have to order a whole spool, but found out I could order as little as a yard. Then it became complicated. I had to go to the cash register, give them all my personal information and prepay. I asked the clerk if I could just tell the cashier what I wanted. Oh nooo. Instead, I had to wait for a half hour while the helpful clerk was on her knees scanning every code to see which was the one that I needed. Occasionally she'd shout out, "I found blue!" Thanks, but I need black and natural, 1 1/2 inch. "I found one-inch!" Thanks, but I need 1 1/2 inch. Anyone who has ever been to Joann's will understand. Of course, then there was an issue about getting in the cashier line again, using my coupon (I already wasted it on buttons, sorry, too late) and pushing past all the moms frantically shopping for ribbon and shiny fabric to make their toddlers into princesses for Halloween.
I think I will go as a yoga mat bag for Halloween. I have the pieces cut out.
Theresa, OmMama

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Tulle, Tulle, Tulle

I'm in love with tulle and I have many colors, sizes, shimmers, and mattes of the beautiful netting. It has it's own smell, that certain sound, and a comfortable feel that I can only imagine comparable to my favorite stuffed animal. But I rarely use it for anything. Last year, I became obsessed (as I do much too often with clothing and accessory items) with a J. Crew skirt. This wonderful skirt fell just below the knee and was adorned in layers of ruffled tulle in a color choice of black or white. I had to have it. The only problem was the price. Yes, I am guilty of spending a lot on a single item of clothing. But this was beyond what I could let myself spend. And where would I ever show off such a fancy thing in Humboldt County? I'm not a wealthy English women or fancy East Coast girl who goes to frilly parties to mingle with other aristocrats. I decide instead of spending $5oo.00 (wowzers!) I would make the skirt myself. I downloaded the pictures off the J. Crew website and ripped all the pages out of the Fall 2007 catalog that pictured my newest obsession. I had some creme-colored, vintage silk-like material I used for the outer part and found corresponding lining, tulle, and hidden zipper and dug out my first real pattern (besides the classic pajama pants pattern my mom still has) and started cutting. Putting together the skirt wasn't too hard but I had cut a pattern piece wrong. I thought it might not matter much. The final creation was beautiful to an untrained eye or someone squinting from afar. But the hemming was less than perfect and it was two or more sizes too small for me. It would have to been worn very high on my waist. I had forgotten to take into account I was a little bigger in my college years than I was in my high school years and I guess the mis-cut did make a difference. None the less, I loved what I had made and was proud of myself for creating a $5oo.00 skirt on my antique sewing machine. I eventually sold the skirt to a very skinny coworker who might have future parties she could wear it to for $3o.00. I cut out pieces for a black one (this time the right size and without cutting the fabric incorrectly) and had stuffed it in my clothing fabric box. That was a year ago but I pulled it out yesterday and remarked all the pattern markings one should really pay attention to (the shirt I made the day before is a little haphazard due to lack of important markings) and started sewing away. I know have the the lining sewn together with very nice darts and am putting tulle layers on the outside. I am very excited to see how this one turns out and I know I can find somewhere here in the city to wear it. I hope to finish some more of my tulle skirts and maybe experiment with tulle in other fashion areas. At least I can wrap Katina in tulle and giggle at her.
Cerise : )

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I Rediscover the Yard Stick

That lean little one inch wide, 36 inches long piece of wood comes in handy when you cut out multiple pieces of rectangular fabric. Rather than pinning and cutting, using a yardstick to measure out several pockets is so much faster. When I was a kid my parents would get yardsticks for random things, like filling the car with gas ("We go the extra yard!") buying a car ("We go the extra yard!"), buying lumber ("The best lumber yard!") and buying a couch (don't know what that meant. We had loads of them hanging around. I am glad I kept their Montgomery Wards yardstick. I don't think anyone ever got a spanking with that one.
Theresa, OmMama

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Machine Love

My in-progress sewing projects do not look as sad as Cerise's little critters. My yoga mat bags are just flat pieces of fabric and the mini zafu cushions look a little like whoopee cushions.

I had a panic attack tonight. My machine quit sewing. To be more precise it was chinking and skipping. I took the fly wheel, that turns the belt and basically runs everything, apart. I did not have instructions nor did I know what I was doing. With Mike's help I tightened up some stuff, tweaked a cog thingy and it works. Hallelujah! I expect it would be difficult and pricey to get my little baby fixed. I will pat her and oil her and give her special love. (Yes, she is that important to me!!)

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Little Dude


Late at night after looking at thousands of stitches your eyes can play tricks on you. You start to see things. You start to wondering if the fabric feels anything as the needle pokes holes up in it over and over. You wonder these things and dismiss them. Then you see something. Is that a little face? Naaaw
Theresa, OmMama