Friday, November 19, 2010

Inspire Me to Draw

I used to love to doodle and draw but somewhere along the way I started getting really insecure about drawing and began to hate it. Once in a while I would doodle in my notebook during class or be forced to draw scientific illustrations in my paleontology class. But I stopped drawing on my own. I realized I really miss drawing but I usually couldn't think of what draw when I sat down with pencil and paper. A couple days ago my store got a GREAT book in called 642 Things to Draw. All the pages are blank save prompt words to get you drawing. This is my idea of a drawing book! I've already done two drawings, though I think the first one is kind of lame. I will try to figure out my scanner and post some of my not-so-lame drawings in the future. In the mean time, if you like to doodle, get this book!

Happy Doodling,
Cerise : )

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Making Due

I am not very good at making circles. I have a protractor, but it only gets so big. So when I needed a large circle to make my zafu pattern, I simply used a dinner plate. For my yoga mat bags, I used a small plate. I'd like to think that there is some thought into form and function and exact size for the product. But sometimes it just comes down to the size of plate I have in my cupboard.
Theresa, OmMama

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Sewing Injuries to Avoid

There is the obvious: sharp quilting pins poking into your finger and burning yourself on your iron. Recently I have caught my finger under the foot pedal, burned my forehead on the light bulb as I peered too close to thread a needle. The worst injury ever was "pinking" my finger with my pinking shears. I got a nice jagged cut that took forever to heal. One of my friends once cut off the tip of her finger with a rotary cutter. A true sewer, she was more concerned about the fabric she ruined than her finger. Luckily she healed well.

My older sister will never forgive me for stabbing her with a seam ripper. I think she may have been questioning my sewing skills (I was making an apron my second year in 4-H). Anyway, it wasn't very nice and perhaps I am paying for it still. Each time I get a sewing injury I think it might be payback for that seam ripper incident.

Be careful out there!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Sequins, Ribbon, and Felt, Oh my!

My Crafty neighbor friend, Nicole, and I started a new crafty Christmas project last week. We are both big fans of Anthropologie and decided to make some little "babushka" dolls similar to ones in a recent catalog. We compiled our felt, sequins, glitter, beads, ribbon, embroidery floss, and anything else we could find and got to work.
We were very skeptical about the little ladies at first but after starting our first ones we really go into constructing our miniature winter dolls. I was so excited about them that I couldn't wait to get back out to the craft hut and start another doll. Then the December issue of Martha Stewart came. While doing my initial flip-through of the pictures, I noticed a story on some adorable vintage elves. I couldn't find a picture from the article but here are some great examples!) I ran out to the hut with the magazine in hand and started making an elf, complete with lantern and woodland scene. I went back and forth between the ladies and some elves with a fervor.
So far, Nicole and I have spent two nights on our little people and are anxiously awaiting an order of more little wooden doll bodies to continue our new and exciting craft project. So stay tuned for more pictures of our wee women and elves!
Happy Crafting!
Cerise : )

Monday, October 11, 2010

Knitting is FUN


I am still working on my winter scarf (my first knitting project.) I promised myself I'd finish it this weekend. I was watching a movie (seen it before, my husband forgot he saw it) so figured I'd knit. I did two rows, got up to refresh my beverage, and when I came back I swear there were two little loops just sitting there not belonging that weren't there before. I tried moving them to the other needle, studied them from all angles and concluded that I do not know how to fix them. Help Cerise! **sigh**
I decided to give away the washcloth I made (only project #2 of my knitting career) as part of a new baby gift. It actually came out okay. I am not sure if I will make another. I really want to get onto something bigger like a sweater, but am very fearful. Maybe another scarf...
Theresa, Ommama

Monday, September 20, 2010

Thar be PIRATES!


Cerise made this cool pirate outfit for the Portland Pirate Festival this weekend!! I was amazed as what she could do in one day. I made our blouses from a Simplicity pattern and bought my corset top from Damsel in this Dress. I am yelling "yar" which is why my mouth is open. Aren't we a couple of classy wenches? We all look forward to further accessorizing for next year's fest. Meanwhile, practice yer pirate speak.
Theresa, OmMama

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Modal

I recently bought a yummy, soft silver-gray dress. It was on sale 1/2 price so I snatched it up. I assumed it was a cotton blend and didn't look at the content label until I got it home. It is 100% Modal. Having seen this material more recently but being unfamiliar I looked it up. Turns out modal is a fabric much like rayon (often considered a type of rayon) only it is made exclusively from beech tree cellulose. It is bio-based as it comes from natural materials, however the drawback is that modal is heavily processed using chemicals so it is not considered a natural fabric.

Modal, like my yummy dress, is soft and silky, drapes well and takes dyes nicely. It also has less shrinkage than other rayon and cotton. Who knew trees gave us so much. I love my dress but feel a little guilty that a tree was the cost of looking good.
Theresa, OmMama

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

DIY face cleansing pads

I get tired of wasting money and resources on all the little things I use everyday. One of those is cotton cleansing pads for facial cleansing. I got the idea of using some scraps of fabric that weren't big enough for anything else. I used cotton flannel with organic cotton batting for the inside, sewed some squares and now have washable reusable cleansing pads. I am still working on the ideal bag for the pads so that they can be washed in their own little mesh bag.
Theresa, OmMama

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

A sock and turtle

It was a long, stressful visit to Denver this past week and a half. I lost my wonderful grandpa and wanted to help with dealing with the estate, not realizing times like these can bring out the ugliest in people. Thankfully I had my knitting with me and I finally finished sock number two for mum's Christmas present. I had to rip it out when I was about to knit the toe because I didn't pay attention to how many decreases I needed to do for the foot. My mum's little foot was swimming in the sock. It is a really quick knit, especially when I'm anxious since that gets me knitting faster! My 11-year-old cousin's birthday was also last week and I decided to knit him a turtle. I finished it well into the night my last day in Denver and he came out pretty cute. I think my cousin liked him too. I will post pictures of him later this week when I get more time to breathe and get back to knitting.
Happy Crafting!
Cerise : )

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Wish List: Shibui


I've been on a total fiber craving spree for a few weeks now. I think it might be a bit of a therapy thing. Or maybe the couple days of cool weather tickled me into feelings of fall. I really want to get back up to Knit Purl and get some Shibui yarn and patterns. My late summer favorite yarn: Staccato in 50's Kitchen. I could just feel how amazing this is by looking at it! I managed to swing by and nab up the last three skeins they had before catching my flight to Denver. And to go with this perfect-for-socks yarn I've been wanting to get the Shibui Socks pattern booklet. Oh they are so lovely! Hopefully I can make my way up soon to Portland's Pearl District and indulge in my yearning for more Shibui yarn and get some fun patterns for fall knitting.

Happy Knitting!
Cerise : )