Patient Model

I like to take photos, especially of people, but I couldn't help notice this calm grasshopper sitting on our patio table this morning.

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Terrarium building w/ my mom

My parents were recently in town, which usually means playing card games and eating out a lot. We actually had Sonoran hot dogs two days in a row.  Anyway, I took a couple of pictures of them; their 50th anniversary is coming up. These are my favorites though not necessarily my mom's.

My mom and I also spent an afternoon making these terrariums, though they are just more like potted plants in glass bowls as the bowls were too shallow, but they still turned out pretty nice. Let's see if I can keep them alive in this desert.

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Gem Show Inspiration

I love when the Gem & Mineral Show rolls into Tucson in late January/early February. It's close to my birthday, so I use my birthday cash (plus a little of my funny money stash) to pick up some great bargains for gifts. I got good deals on bracelets, watches, necklaces, & charms. This year pashima and cashmere scarves were only $5, so I loaded up on those as well. But what really was a hit with me and a lot of other people, as the booth was always crowded, was the jewelry from Art by Amy. I was very inspired. So I took matters into my own hands to make some charms for two nieces, since I was sending their moms some jewelry, I might as try some stuff out and send it to them, as they are hopefully less discerning.

I also made this for my charm bracelet (I bought the bracelet from Art by Amy).

Charm bracelets and other goodies from the gem show.

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Sweatshirt Conversion

I love Project Runway, it's so creative. I wish I had unlimited funds so I can buy custom, unique clothes.  But alas, I can't afford it and don't know anything about construction. So when I feel a creative urge, I look to repurpose something, so I chose one of Scott's old sweatshirts.

And after some cutting, sewing, etc.  I came up w/ this.

1. Cut the sleeves to the desired length.  I also cut off the bottom band and used the wider band as cuffs for the sleeves.
2. Cut off the neck, pretty deeply.
3. I then gathered the neck, this took some doing so I zig-zagged to make sure it didn't shift.
4. Cut the front in half for the zipper. I have the wrong zipper (closed and not long enough), so I reversed it so it would zip up.
5. I think I need to finish the bottom, either with a black band or some sort of black trim, so the zipper doesn't look floating.

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Dorm Room Winner

Okay, some of you have asked for pictures of Zoe's dorm room. Zoe and I spent time during the summer putting together several pieces for her room:
1 - Duvet cover
2 - Pillows
3 - Curtains
4 - Desk organizers and sink organizers
5 - Towels
6 - Decorations (paper lamps, wall stuff, and organizer board).
We also got some rugs and bins from Ikea/Target.
FYI - Her room won Best Overall Dorm for her college.
Here are some pictures -

Her duvet cover is reversible, one side is this black w/ white ric rac, the other is multi-colored.

I made matching trays for her and her roommate, they are made out of fabric w/ glass lining the bottom, with their initial below the glass.

Her roommate's quilt is from Anthropology.

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Three Skirts in Three Days

To those of you who know me I sometimes get obsessed with crafting and sewing. This leads to intense spells followed by dry periods. Zoe's dorm is an example of an obsessive period. I just finished another phase and made three skirts. I have always loved the paper-bag look for skirts and shorts, so I looked around and was inspired by these blogs: Made By Lex and Adventures in Dressmaking. I also liked this skirt on Urban Outfitters: Sparkle & Fade.

Here are other pictures of inspiration:

So here are the three I made -

This is the prototype I created w/ about 1 yard of scrap fabric. I made it too short for me and so I added the bottom hem, and then the coordinating belt.  I also sewed in button holes at the waistband so I could swap out the drawstring looking tie.  Here are some pictures:

Here is with the buttonhole drawstring insert tie:

The second skirt I modified from the first one.  I didn't need the button hole part, but I wanted pockets.  So here is skirt number two:

I also made the infinity scarf from three of Scott's old shirts.

I really like this skirt, it's probably my favorite of the three. I made it from a light-weight wool on sale for $5 a yard, a seasonless fabric, which doesn't mean much here in Tucson. The skirt can be dressed up easily w/ a sparkly shirt and heels.  

My last skirt is a true paper bag waist band.  The first two I inserted 2" wide elastic, but I didn't have any more elastic so I tried belt loops instead.

Anyway, there were very easy to make, didn't require a pattern, and about 1.5 yards.  So that should be enough of a sewing fix for awhile.

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Making quilts

I have two quilt projects to do.  I need to make a baby quilt for an upcoming shower.  I also need to make a duvet cover for my daughter's dorm room.  We picked fabric out a couple of days ago.  It can be really expensive, but we had a couple of coupons, so the fabric cost a little less than buying a duvet cover from Urban Outfitters, but definitely not Ikea.  It's hard to motivate a daughter to learn to sew when she can get items for cheaper and definitely in less time from somewhere else. Oh well. She was definitely enthusiastic about picking out her fabrics, so hopefully she got a little taste of sewing magic. Pin It