all buttoned up.

Little Effigies and A Good Week

We made it through the first full week and it went very, very well.  There were a few afternoon meltdowns and another lunch mix-up, but really, nothing out of the ordinary.  He is a champ.  The babies are celebrating with twin colds and general displeasure over their new napping schedule.  Sam asked for Cap'n Crunch at Target this morning and "I can't believe you actually bought it, Mom".  We are good.  Thanks for all the love on that front. 

Hey!  We've got little effigies!  These are for my sweet friend who lives in Philly with her dogs and her crazy job and a special stick she hangs up in lieu of a Christmas Tree every year.  The Paul doll is coming.  I accidentally printed his picture in the wrong size (pinhead).  These are pretty much the Uncle Pete and Aunt Sarah dolls-- I just replaced Amy's template with fabric cutouts for the clothes and drawn in bodies, resulting in some crazy short arms on August and a too tall Sam.  I tried printing them out using both bubble jet soaked fabric and pre-made Inkjet sheets (from Jaquard).  I like the bubble jet soak method a lot but it takes some time and my printer is crappy, resulting in a few false starts trying to run the fabric through (I used super soft canvas which was a little too thick).  I had a half price coupon for the sheets so I decided to try them as well (that made the sheets about 80 cents a piece) and it was a piece of cake!  I sewed ribbon loops on the top in case she wants to hang them from a year-round stick, and stuffed them with cotton batting from Bolt.  August has been carrying them around all week kissing the Sam doll and making the Manny doll hug everybody. 

Are you coming to Powells on Sunday?  Did you know that you can order signed editions online?  I know.  Not quite the same as being here, but it's a start. 

The Chicken Does Good

Before I record the crazy crap we've been trying to cram into our last weeks of The First Summer Vacation of the Rest of Our Lives, I need to talk about Amy's book a little bit. 

First off, it's good.  And I think you'd like it.  But whatever.  You're thinking that Amy's a friend of mine and so no-duh, I'm going to say that.  Natch.

I like a lot of technical information in a craft book.  I like it when I can tell that the projects and techniques have been tested and troubleshot.  I like it when books are honest about the techniques and their limitations but still encourage you to explore and push those boundaries (frankly, I like those traits in people, too).  I like when craft books are pretty and relevant and put together and I can sit right down and get to work.  

I've had some Dye-Na-Flow sitting in a drawer for a couple of years.  I wasn't sure it was still good, but it turns out this stuff takes a while to go south.  I used two colours of brushed canvas (cream and grey) and the red dye/paint and followed Amy's instructions for the Preppy Kerchief.  I love the way it looks a little Nani Iro and that it took all of 10 minutes to do.  I sewed the two pieces together into a simple drawstring bag for Sam to keep his just-in-case clothes in at school.  When we figure out who is teacher is I'll print out his info on one of these tags and attach it to the string. 

I really want to work on a whole cloth quilt and Paul (!) had me order some printing supplies for something he's cooking up.  What???  It would appear that I'm going to get some gift making help this year.  Fox in socks, that's going to be rad. 

Amy is funny and a little bit sassy and so is this book-- but honestly?  I'm lucky enough to be able to pick up the phone when I need a little of the Chicken.  This is the sort of book that I needed and wanted regardless of our friendship, which makes me feel even happier about recommending it.  You can buy it at Powells, Amazon or wherever you get your book fix. 

I have not completely embraced the pageantry of having a kid in school-- special days, fundraisers, book fairs... they have taken me by surprise a little.  Because Sam is only in PreK, I didn't imagine it would start really going until next year.  Okay.  I know.  You're all snickering into your screens.  I am so naive.  It's good though (especially the book fairs.  I love me some book fairs.) and I don't even blink now when I see the sign-up sheet hanging outside the classroom door.  Chaperons?  Snacks?  Twenty-one valentines?  No problem. 

I had Sam sign all the cut cards first before we did any decorating.  It's the tedious bit, and I didn't want to have to forge his four year-old script the night before when he pronounced carpal tunnel and put himself to bed.  He picked out the fabric scraps, I cut out the hearts and polk-a-dots, and then he glued them on.  The whole project took about 45 minutes.

He's going to be mad when he receives Speed Racer and Spiderman cards in return, and realizes that such things exist.  I have a feeling this will be the first and last year of the homemade tags. 

Birth Announcements #3

 

My friend Trish offered to take care of Manny's birth announcements while I was still in Florida.  She was busy trying to sell me on the idea while I screamed YES YES YES into the phone.  It was either have her do them, or begin planning on how I was going to forgive myself for not doing them at all.  Letting someone do that for me was a special sort of letting go that I'm getting quite good at-- at least compared to last year this time. 

 

They arrived two weeks ago in a box that also contained envelopes, return address stickers and stamps.  Stamps! 

And just like that, she helped me kill the rest of January's list.  That is a good friend. 

Sometimes I'm too Lazy for Even an X-acto Knife.

Onesies, meet Apple-Shaped Hole Puncher.  Both of you, say hello to freezer paper.  I think you all will be very happy together.  

 

Alabama Stitched.

I love Amisha's blog.  I don't tell her this enough.  In fact, I usually spend a lot of time thinking about the comments I'm going to make, vowing to do it later, and then another post pops up and... comments all go unleft.  She's spent a good deal of time on Alabama Stitch projects and with every one I think, "yeah... do I have it in me?  I'm not so sure."  Blair started the skirt (among other really great things) and then Paul went through his drawer cleaning out his ill-fitting/stained, white and grey undershirts and I figured that now was the time. 

The grey shirts stayed plain but the white shirts got a load of violet iDye-- This is good stuff.  I was very limited in my colour selection when I bought it (pdx peeps-- the Depot has a whole twirly rack of the stuff with lots of options) and might have gone with something a little less vibrant given the choice.  With that said, the dye took to the 100% cotton like a dream. I've also used it on silk (which is a whole post on its own) and had mixed success, but I'm totally sold on it for cotton.  It comes in a dissolvable packet that you toss in the washer/dye pot.  I stenciled the leaves with Jacquard paint (it's what I use for Freezer Paper stencils). 
 
The stitching took the weekend and was one of the most calming non-boring sewing activities I've undertaken in a while.  I think it's because the stitching is so easy and you constantly move from leaf to leaf, taking a break to snip out the middles when you need a little instant gratification.  I just kept thinking, my word, I could go camping and make clothes right there in the middle of the woods.  There could be a blackout and I could make a fancy dress by the time the lights came on.  It's not like I haven't considered this before while watching those back-to-the-land/pioneer shows, I just never considered the process as being fun or the outcome so cute.

So.  This won't be my last project.  I'm a little surprised-- I'm not sure I would've have ever claimed this as my aesthetic... and I'm not sure it is exactly.  The skirt is about as done as I'd like it for now.  But as Natalie Chanin writes in the book, you can keep going little by little with time.  I'd planned to give you a modeled shot but here's the funny bit: it's too tight.  After I felled/top-stitched the seams, I lost what little wiggle room I had given myself.  I'm totally okay with that.  Either it will become less tight over time with both the shrinking of my ass or the stretchiness of the cotton, OR I can cross another gift-to-give off of my list.  Happiness either way.   

cloudy periods.

The cloud picture started out as fabric for some new throw pillows and quickly morphed into a frame-filler for the mantle.  In this winter light (or lack thereof), I couldn't get used to the gold frame/jewelry setup.  This is much better for us.  What?!  I mean, this is much better for me.  The background is linen, the clouds are a combo of freezer paper stencil and applique.  The fabric for the applique is a double gauze which I like a lot, but its loose weave made it a bad choice for that particular technique.  I stretched the whole thing over the glass that came with the frame, taped it down, and slid it all back together.

If we get tired of it I've already staked out a nail for it in the upstairs hallway.  Hello, mid-February!  You are lookin' mighty fine. 

Good Until Christmas.

After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, Augie's birth announcements made it safely out into the world this week.  I used Gimp (freeware photoshop-ish thing) and uploaded the images to Over Night Prints in postcard form.  I was an idiot and chose ground shipping, so I had to wait a bit.  In the end they sent us nearly double what we ordered, so as a bonus Sam is now using them as currency around the house. 

Making them look how I wanted them to look felt like typing a letter with my tongue.  I feel similarly about html, css, and all of the other imaginary web/design formating.  Like Blair, I hate not knowing this stuff.  Unlike Blair, I probably won't be learning it out of books.  Can anyone?  Recommendations?  As much as I'd like to fool myself into thinking so, it is not an intuitive endeavor.  I need to take a class (or ten).  BUT, they are gone and out, and I'm feeling glad and a little better-luck-next-time with the parts that I couldn't make work. 

I slept most of the morning away-- normally this kind of behavior would leave me feeling guilty and rushed.  But not today!!  I feel so much better.  The sun is out, we're going to take a walk to the grocery store where I'm told they're having a crazy good sale on my favourite chocolate bars-- Dagoba, Endangered Species, and Green and Black's (to name a few).   Maybe I can get to see our friend Megan's tile work in her bathroom today, too.  She also did her kitchen back splash last year.  And if you dig around in her flickr, you might be able to find her partner in his high school wrestling uniform.  I would offer a prize to the first person who finds it, but seeing it is probably prize enough.   

happy sometimes

We went to the beach today.  This picture is for you, Tracy.

It has taken us a long time to realize that we can go ahead and do things like this occassionally.  That is, our house will not fall down around us if we leave, our employers are going to be okay without us, Sam will deal even though he doesn't want to go, Paul doesn't have to get to his homework...

It's a good place to be, not to mention a total luxury.  Paul works really hard, but just now his schedule is such where we can be out together.  In daylight.  Doing something that costs money (in this case, just for gas and lunch).  Sam on the other hand, does not work hard but consistently feels like he's being done wrong.  Not unlike most three year-olds or people trying to scam Public Assistance in this country.  That's okay.  Also like most three year-olds he is small and easily carried from one place to the next even whilst screaming.

This is another Freezer Paper tshirt done with two stencils on top of each other.  The first stencil was the outline of the bear done in light brown, and the second stencil (of my hand-writing) I carefully ironed (as to not disrupt the first layer of ink) and filled in overtop with dark brown paint.  I painted it a bit thick on the bottom, and the handwriting ran a little bit, but it's been washed at least a dozen times and seems to holding up quite well.  Happy Happy. 

Roll On Over Honey-o!

There is so much Rain Rain Rain.  Which is fine.  That's not going to stop me from preparing for all forms of cool, summer, fun-wear.  Indeedy. 

My poor neglected Gocco was put to the test this weekend.  Fabric printing with a Gocco screen and ink can be a little unpredictable.  But, other than some design issues and a screen that insisted on clogging in key areas, I'm happy to have these checked off my list.  I'm by no means confident in my drawing ability, so I had to get them over with before I spent too much time obsessing (and thus scrapping the whole thing completely).  They're for Sam's birthday-- last year we did Nicholas the Bunny shirts, cake, decorations, etc.  This year we're all about wheels.  I'm not sure how well it's going to translate as far as decorations (any ideas?), but we've got the party favors all wrapped up.

Next, we went the Instant Gratification route with the Laurie's robot iron-on transfers.  I've got a pile of these so we're going to be one, big, Robot-Wearing Family this summer.  (She's got ninja ones, too, in case you're interested.)  The pink shirt is for me.  Not Sam.  I still want to try the freezer paper method-- which is going to be great for all the one-offs I'm going to try for summer.  Maybe some skirts?  Oh, I think so.   

Now I've got to get back to Easter baskets.  We don't have a lick of candy in the house.  It's pretty appalling.