Visiting Fort Bragg

The next stop for our journey last week was to Fort Bragg for a family reunion. We had to stop at a store and pick up some pie. On the way into the store the word fabric caught my eye on a store sign near the market. I ditched the pie buying group and ran over to the little corner craft store. Fabric Indulgence carries fabrics by the bolt (some really nice ones too!), fat quarters, silk ribbons (they are so beautiful), paints, beads, patterns, and sumi-e supplies. Lucky me, Iwent in during their 20% off fabric sale. It did get me to buy two yards of wonderful fabric I was trying to stay away from. Some pretty little fat quarters made it home with me too!

There was a cute little yarn store on the other side of the market. The dog and I peeked into the window, but I still wasn't in a yarn mood. They will definitely be a stop next time I pass through.

There wasn't much down time at the family reunion with playing music, catching up with family, and throwing the dog off the paddle boat into the salty river. I did sneak out my fabric and thread and work on some little pumpkins toward the evening. My niece even wanted to sew with me. It was her first time sewing and she made half a pumpkin, sewed on a leaf, and put a silly patch on the side of her creation. It ended up going to a cousin who was very excited. The hotel was a better sewing environment that evening. It can't get much better than staying by the ocean with family and a stinky, salty dog and sewing pumpkins while watching the original Planet of the Apes!

Happy Crafty Travels,

Cerise : )

Favorite Arcata Crafty Stores

A late arrival back to Corvallis on Sunday left me way to beat to post yesterday, but I did play with some of my new treasures that were found during my journey. Now that I am somewhat rested, here are some of my favorite stores in Arcata for getting crafty supplies, though this doesn't include all of them!

First stop after coffee and doughnuts on Friday was Daisy Drygoods on the H Street side of the Arcata Plaza, my all-time favorite store. I could have spent many hours and many dollars in this antique and vintage supply store. It's like a typical dry goods store from a long-ago era that was unearthed after being forgotten for a while. Not only do they have some fun antique and

vintage nick-knacks and clothing, they have all sorts of fabric, yarn, doll parts, buttons, ribbon, sewing machine parts, hat making supplies, and so much more. I was excited to learn that they have an Etsy page that will be up and running soon. Hooray!! My favorite find was a painted fabric doll leg. The weirdest find I took home were glass doll eyes. Oh why oh why didn't I get more!

They are ever so unique. Weirdest find I did not take home: the three-faced doll in a fuzzy hooded jumper whose head spins to reveal different faces. Super creepy but really neat! (You can see it in the picture of doll parts.) There were also ceramic legs and arms of all sorts, mostly large pairs. Down in the bottom of the leg bin was a baggy with three little appendages that just had to come home with me. I wasn't really in a fabric mood and I was feeling a bit rushed, but now I'm regretting not spending more time in Daisy Drygood's fabrics.

They have wonderful old fabrics and flour sacks that would be splendid for so many projects. I still have some fabric bits I got there forever ago that I love. Though I wish I could have spent longer perusing, I'm very excited about my doll part finds.

My next stop was Fabric Temptations on the other side of the Plaza. (Find them on Facebook here.) I went in to check out their fat quarters but I was still not feeling very fabric-excited so I didn't stay long. They have a great selection of fabrics, yarn, buttons (I have a really awesome Apatosaurus button from there), ribbon, trims, and books so be sure to check them out if you are ever passing through Arcata. Hopefully I will be craving fabric or yarn next time I go through!

Happy Supply Hunting,

Cerise : )

P.S.

A great big THANK YOU! to Rose at Daisy Drygoods for setting up a pick-up for the doll leg since I was overwhelmed and insane and brought up an unintended arm. I'm very happy for my leg!!

On the Road Again

Dale and I took off for Mendocino County late yesterday afternoon. We'll be going to a BIG family reunion of his dad's side of the family as well as visiting other family and friends while there. We were going to camp near Grant's Pass last night but didn't find anything close to a town to grab some food and later found all sites full along the coast we full. We stopped for pizza in Crescent City (I know, I'm not supposed to eat it, but there was NOTHING else open). We ended up our our good family friends' house in Arcata at 1am. To our surprise, they had a tent already set up in the yard and snacks out on the table (they were expecting someone else but were happy to see us too!). We got a nice camping night in looking at stars and listening to bats. This morning was wonderfully cool and overcast with chippers of humming birds kindly waking us. We enjoyed some wonderful fruit, coffee, and conversation before heading out to make a ruckus about Arcata's town square.

Our first stop is our old haunting study grounds, Mosgo's Coffee and Tea. Fabulous hot chocolate, great jazz music, and in depth discussion of the beauty of Hogwarts and it's grounds and the imperfections of the use of wizardry, all making for the perfect atmosphere we remember. And they have almond milk!! Later we will grab a doughnut from Don's (BEST ever. Yes, waaaay better than Voodoo in Portland). I've been saving up for this for two weeks! Of course the pizza kind of blew that. I also have a few people to visit and a couple of my favorite stores I have to hit up before we head further south. Don't worry, I will post pictures of my treasures and the store fronts. Check back for what goodies I find!!

Happy Travels!

Cerise : )

Seersucker

Is is getting hot yet? A most wonderful invention, seersucker fabric, is a great choice to keep you cool in the summer. I remember a great little summer red and white seersucker suit I had in the 70's. It was stylin' (and of course if I kept it I would have a great little vintage outfit)!

Seersucker came into English from from the Persian words "shir o shekar," meaning "milk and sugar" supposedly from the resemblance of its smooth and rough stripes to the smooth surface of milk and bumpy texture of sugar. Seersucker is woven so that some of the threads bunch together, giving the fabric a wrinkled appearance. This feature causes the fabric to be mostly held away from the skin when made into garments, improving air circulation. Also, pressing is not necessary.

In the late 1990s, Mississippi Senator Trent Lott revived a long-forgotten Senate tradition. He selected a hot day in summer to be designated Seersucker Thursday. His goal was to show that “the Senate isn’t just a bunch of dour folks wearing dark suits and—in the case of men—red or blue ties.” Today, senators voluntarily make this annual fashion statement to remind their colleagues of what earlier Senates considered mandatory summer attire. Stay cool!
Theresa, Ommama

Fruits of Labor

Once again it's been FOREVER since I've posted. I've been overwhelmed with work and hadn't really been crafting much. Last week I decided it was finally time I get the craft hut up and running again. I cleaned out all the chicken dust, threw open the curtains (should have done that before dusting), and pulled out some glitter and glue. More on those projects later though. My neighbor friend Nicole just got back from her honeymoon in Hawaii and we were excited to have an afternoon to craft with each other after a long hiatus with all her wedding planning and crafting. Nicole brought over her fabric scraps and a cute fruit pincushion pattern. This was the first time we actually finished a project in one sitting! Well, almost. A little bit of embroidery on the leaves and I'll be content with it. We hand-sewed our pears and used some wonderful wool felt for the leaves and stems. They came out so cute we decided we are going to make a whole basket full of fruits.

Happy Sewing!

Cerise : )

P.S.: I PROMISE to post more!

Liquidation Sale

The only thing better than getting those great fabric store coupons in the mail is getting a liquidation notice. Apparently the new Joann's store is getting stocked all anew. So the old Joann's is completely liquidating. Good news, savings store wide. Bad news, no selection and the prices aren't as great as they first appear. That didn't stop me from buying a lot of stuff. I couldn't get bobbins or needles for my machine. They were gone before liquidating. And there were very few patterns, though I looked for hours.

I did get oodles of fabric, most of it 50% off. I also came home with 10 spools of thread, a vase (no, I really didn't need it) and some funny little boxes. I will now have to sell a lot of yoga bags before I can go to the new store and spend more money on fabric!
Theresa, Ommama

Bigger Better Fabric Store

While I love specialty and independent fabric stores, for staples Jo-ann's is the go-to place. The store in Eureka, California was so small and always out of products. Then I moved to Corvallis, Oregon and the store was even smaller! They have incredibly decrepit carpet and shelves and so little room. But the staff is always very nice there and mostly I get what I need.

I am very excited now that they are moving to a bigger, new store. I have great expectations (more cotton strap and cord colors please!) of a wonderful new store. I only wish that they would carry more items, especially more fabrics, made in the USA. But alas, there is very little cotton grown in the US any more (all the cotton fields have been taken over by corn) and very few mills. I looked for hours one day at fabrics and only found one denim that was made in the US. I do look forward to that grand opening at Jo-ann's in May!
Theresa, Ommama

New Studio

We are finally all settled in our new home and I had my first full day in a very long time of just sewing! I have a very spacious room and it is light and warm. I need to get another table to put my ironing board on and shelves for my fabric. All my fabric is now in totes and I waste a lot of time digging through them. The room needs some more decorations but for the most part I am all set. I expect to be very productive!

Trippin' in Portland

We are on a day trip to Portland! Our big city neighbor is full of lots of great places to visit. Last week, my beau and I went to Portland to visit for a friend's birthday and discovered some great places to eat for dinner and breakfast. I found a cute little flower shop on Alberta and got a sweet little spikey vase. I can't wait to get flowers for it!

Today we will be going to some crafty spots. We will be visiting Knit Purl on Alder (their Shibui yarn is divine!) and a fabulous fabric store around the corner, Josephine's Dry Goods (go see the wall of buttons). Hopefully we will find our way across the river to New Cascadia Traditional bakery for some yummy gluten-free treats for a sugar recharge. They look like they will be worth the trek! If we can muster up some extra energy we just might make our way into Powell's Books. Last time we were there we didn't even make it past the new books section in the front entry way! I'm sure there will be other great stops during our day. Maybe we will stumble upon something wonderful and unexpected. Check back to see what we found today!

Happy day-tripping!

Cerise : )

Waterproofing

Since Cerise has been talking about oilcloth it sparked interest in some other waterproof fabric. When we were kids and it rained while we were on our property in the mountains, my Dad would string up a big tarpaulin, which was very dark and heavy, and had a strong smell. This was a very old tarp and was actually covered with tar to make it water repellent.
In 1823 Charles Macintosh from Glasgow patented a waterproofing invention that used India rubber (from a ficus tree) mixed with coal tar naptha placed between two sheets of wool. This lead to the manufacture of the Mackintosh raincoat (nobody seems to know why the "k" was added), a classic that is still made today.
Thomas Hancock contributed his knowledge of vulcanized rubber technology, which solved a problem Macintosh had of the fabric becoming sticky with temperature changes. Is this the same guy who started Hancock fabrics? More research will be required! Later on many synthetics came onto the market including Gore-tex, by the invented Gore family. I believe they, too , are in the plastics hall of fame!
J. Crew makes a very handsome Mackintosh for a mere $800 and there are all sorts of vintage coats out there. Or go directly to the Mackintosh site where the two coats listed run about $900. For the women's styles (shown on micro-thin models) you need to request information. Sounds expensive. I suspect they last forever and only the styles change. And maybe you could start a campfire with one.
Theresa, Ommama

Eco-friendly Dry Snack Bags

On my trip to Jo Ann's for...hmmm...I don't remember what for...I had a wild hair you know where and decided to start yet another project. This one I actually started and finished the SAME DAY! Eco-friendly snack and lunch bags, produce and bulk food bags, and shopping bags have been all the rage lately. I have seen them on Etsy, in Whole Foods, and other areas on the web. I decided about a month ago that I should make my own. I have been eco-groovey lately (I think it's the anticipation of being Corvallis and getting back to my "hippier" lifestyle) so I decided to take advantage of some sale cotton quilting fabric. I passed some wonderful pear fabric and was instantly inspired. I also got some cute cherries on checkers and some tree lover fabric (very fitting since it's saving bags!) and picked up a package of sew on velcro. I started in on my project right when I got home. I never pre-wash my fabric (I know, this is a no-no but I have coin-op laundry only!) but I did iron my fabric. I've found this is a really good idea with the cotton. I pulled out my bolt of muslin (sadly it's bleached) and started cutting out square of outer fabric and lining fabric with only a small idea of how I was going to make this snack back. I started with the pear print and quickly finished a great little velcro closure baggie. It came out exactly why I wanted it to! I thought the velcro may not be strong enough just attached to the muslin liner so I pulled out all my ribbon and began matching colors to prints for something to blend in the stitches on the outer fabric. I consulted my testing crew (Dale) and he decided it was quite sturdy with the velro just on the muslin. But the ribbon and lace looked so pretty on the cherry checker fabric that the pears now looked naked. I found some pretty scrap lace and seam biding ribbon for the happy tree fabric and after an afternoon and evening of sewing, with a break for dinner and the weekly crossword, I had three littl snack bags done. I really like the ribbon/lace accent on the outside and am going to hunt for something to match the pears for the next baggie. I love them and will soon be using them when my upcylced ziplock baggies get too ripped up to continue using. I also plan on gifting them and most likely selling them on Etsy or even at a craft show in Oregon and will definitely take special orders and requests until they hit the public market! I have some cute dino fabric on the way to make kid-friendly baggies too! I also want to make some reusable leak proof snack baggies for wet and gooey stuff but that is a future experiment that will have to wait a little while. For now, I'll just be using all the leftover apple sauce jars.
Happy Crafting, Cerise : )

Mercy, Mercy, Mercerized

I never quite finished talking about Nylon. I will get back to it, I promise! My tangent today is "Mercerized," something coined by a Mr. Joseph Mercer. I see Mercerized thread and fabric and never really knew what it was. Someone asked, I checked around.
I have a dog named Bluto and whenever he chews something we say he Bluterized it. Well Mercerizing is kind of similar really, only in a chemical way. Mercer discovered in 1844 that if treat you cotton thread or fabric under tension with a caustic soda it will increase the luster and allow the fabric to more readily accept dye. Apparently Mercer loved dyes and later learned a lot of chemistry. Science and fashion do mix! At first it was quite a failure as Mercerizing causes the fabric to shrink and the chemicals were expensive. Once Mercerizing became mechanized (whew, that's a mouthful!) and improved the process, it was successfully patented and is still used today.
Maybe I can find a way to put Bluto to work on an invention after all. He is full of Blutonium. There is no other way to explain his behavior.
Theresa

Pilling vs. Anti-Pilling

Since I am wearing a lot of sweaters lately and picking off all the little balls that accumulate, I decided to find out what pilling actually is and what process is used for anti-pilling fabrics.

Pilling is associated with spun yarn fabrics that contain synthetics and protein fiber materials such as silk and animal hair (wool, mohair, cashmere, etc). With natural fibers, friction while wearing breaks microfibers from the threads, moves to the surface and forms balls. Synthetics more readily move to the surface due to their smoothness and higher tensile.

Anti-pilling finish cements fibers within the yarn so that their dragging becomes more difficult. There is a patent for an anti-pilling treating method for protein fiber material (US Patent 7108724) "comprising the step of subjecting protein fiber to intermolecular cross-linking reaction under weak alkaline conditions in a treating bathcomprising a cross-linking agent containing a pyrimidine compound which is dichloropyrimidine or trichloropyrimidine." Whoa. Chemistry big time!
Ommama, Theresa

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 ; )

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 : )

Habijar: New Project #1

Habijar? Yeah, it's not the best name. I'm open to suggestions for this one. Basically I fell in love with some old jelly jars from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, The Gingham Girl, and got six (all the ones that would safely fit in a $9.00 priority box). When I showed my fiancé, Dale, he loved them just as much and wanted me to get more for him. I bought out the rest of them and Dale didn't seem quite as interested anymore or had forgotten his brilliant idea for them. My first thought at the jars was snow globe. But I didn't want to put water in them because the lids would eventually rust through. So instead I thought to try dry snow globes for Christmas. The first thing I got was some fake snow craft goo from Michael's and some sparkly snow bits to mix in. I always wanted that stuff and finally had an excuse to get it. I searched around the inter net for miniatures of Christmas trees, snowmen, Santas, elves, and deer. When I visited Humboldt I thought sure Daisy Dry Goods would have something but they seem to be low on the miniatures ever time I visit now. All the miniatures on eBay were super pricey and most likely too big for my littler-than-I-thought-they-were jelly jars. I finally gave up and just let the boxes of jars sit on my craft books, collecting dust in a lonely corner next to my craft table. Finally, I realized I could sew miniature things and I didn't have to do Christmas (the thought of making a little gnome head is still intimidating me). I started on an example one and glued a mound of felt grass onto the inside of the jar lid. I thought to start with a couple of little amanita mushrooms and have made the cap to the larger. I hope to finish this jar over the weekend but my lack of time for crafts will be continuing with a long work weekend and a physics exam the day after my long awaited concert. Hopefully I will have some pictures of my first habijar up soon.
Cerise : )

You've got me in pieces!

I have not had any craft time! I have been very busy with school (and it's only one class! How did I ever do more than one lab science class at a time), violin lessons, tap class, and am picking up a second job that I don't have much time for and don't fully understand (I should be getting a masters out of all this!). On top of it all I have a messy household, no time to clean it, and not enough room to spread out my fabric without the bedroom looking like the closet threw up all over. My need-to-be-worked-on-or-completed projects are as follows: finish Mom's socks (fortunately I am only sewing-up-the-toe away from mailing them out to her), finish making an astronaut beanie plush for my aunt's Challenger Learning Center in Alaska, making punk pigs (there's a story behind these I will post when I make one, I really can't wait!), doing something clothingish with all the ridiculous amounts of jersey knit and other knit fabrics I bought online super cheap, and prepping lots and LOTS of critters for a craft fair I am going to give a go in November (while finding tables and the like as they aren't provided!). I am overwhelmed at at a breaking point and I feel my stress coming on. On the plus side, I have a few friends who want to learn to knit and I think I might try to start a knitting group with them. If I can find time. My poor creatures are more like monsters. They sit around with half of their parts, no stuffing, eyes popping out of their lifeless heads. I feel rotten when I see them because I know they are sad that they have had their parts stuffed away in a bucket in the closet, waiting for the next holiday. Hopefully I can find some time between my un-masters work, my physics tests, the dishes, and shaving the cat to sew and knit.
Cerise : )