Common Threads

I've recently been asked to join a virtual quilting bee a la "The Virtual Quilting Bee." I really love this idea and I'm very excited to participate in something with a group of quilters who seem to share a lot of my design sensibilities. And speaking of which, I just wrote a long-ass post on the bee's blog all about what I do and don't like in my quilts with little sprinklings of how I discovered my style. Please read and share your own design story, I'd love to know! For many of you it will be much more than you ever wanted to know about me+quilting. But it was really fun to write and interesting for me to put the story of how my quilt style and tastes developed into words. I've found that with many creative endeavors, so much is internal and that you can learn a lot about your process and the way you think by trying to put it all into words.

The "bee" is called "Common Threads" and I will certainly post here about the blocks I make for it. And to anyone who thinks this sounds like fun and is sad they are not participating, please please please, start your own! Email a bunch of bloggers that you like and get to quilting! I certainly didn't think to do that after seeing bloggy ladies join together for the first bee. I just pouted and wished I could join in. But don't be like me! It's such a great idea and really encompasses one of the most appealing aspects of craft blogging which is connecting with other crafters. I have next to zero friends in the real world who do what I do. It's so fun to meet and share with people who have a common interest. But you knew that already! You're smart.

Fabric Fortune Cookie Tutorial

When Sew Mama Sew started their tutorial contest I thought "Great! I will write a tut' and enter." So I took some pictures of the process I use to make my fabric fortune cookies. Then...I let them sit there. And now the contest is over. Which is really okay. The real motivation for me to enter things like this is to share with people who don't ordinarily read this blog, not to win. So in the continued spirit of not winning anything I present you with the "Lady Harvatine Style Fabric Fortune Cookie Half-Assed Tutorial".

You will need:

• a 5 inch square of cotton fabric for the outside of your cookie
• a 5 inch square of felt for the inside
• a circle to trace, one with a diameter of about 4.5 inches (I use an old paint can)
  
• pinking shears
• a slip of paper, about .5" by 2.5" for your fortune

Trace a circle onto both your cotton fabric and your felt.

Cut both circles out.

Lay the cotton on top of the felt, right side up, and line up the edges. Sew a half inch seam around the entire circle. I use my walking foot for this but you don't have to.

Use your pinking shears to trim the raw edge all the way around the circle, leaving about a quarter inch of fabric.

Fold the circle in half with the cotton side together, felt on the outside. Sew about an inch seam down the middle, not sewing to the edge of either side of the half circle. Be sure to back stitch a few times.

Flip the cookie open and adjust the folds until it looks right.

Before you give it to someone be sure to write a fortune on a slip of paper and stick it inside. I like to use pretty origami paper that is blank on the back.

You can also string a piece of ribbon through the center of the cookie and tie it to a gift, like so.

Ok, the end, happy cookie making!

The End

Well, the show that I have been working on, "Moral Orel", has been canceled. We found out a while ago but were able to finish the last season, slightly shortened. I've said it before but it's worth repeating here that "Moral Orel" is a wonderful show, unlike any animated show on tv now or in the past. If you haven't seen it (which I'm pretty sure you haven't) please check it out. The first 15 episodes are on DVD, all episodes that have aired are available on iTunes and the third an final season will be airing sometime soon on Cartoon Network.
I wanted to make a thank you gift for our animation director, my friend Ethan who you may remember as the recipient of Pac-y. You may also remember that Ethan returned Pac-y about a month after receiving him. Pac-y was too big and Ethan claims he was growing. So as a way of saying "job well done" I tried again with a smaller machine, this one featuring an as-of-yet undeveloped game called "Ethan!".
The "Ethan!" game play consists of doing all of the things that Ethan does best, some of which you can see here on the title screen. I designed the graphic and printed it out on pre-treated inkjet fabric.
This machine is a much more manageable size than Pac-y, perfect for sitting on a shelf or the corner of a desk. (Seen here with the recipient for scale.)
The joystick is made of pipe cleaner bent at a right angle and sewed to the inside of the machine with a painted wooden ball glued to the end.
"Ethan!" doesn't have the great big coin "tunnel" with a zipper in the back like Pac-y did. Instead he has a petite little pocket on the front with a buttonhole.
Space for a couple of quarters, maybe not your whole stash for your next visit to the arcade but enough to make a phone call! If you're into that sort of thing.

A tiny bit of sewing.

You know what's really sad?  The amount of blogging I do is directly proportional to the amount of crafting I do.  I think you know where I'm going with this.  There's just been so little going on around here!  It is truly sad.  I think it's work.  It just steals so much of my energy that is ordinarily designated for crafting.  Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it) work will be done for me in what looks like less than a month.  For a time at least.  We'll be back in production of Robot Chicken season 4 before you know it.  But in between there will most definitely be a serge in crafting and blogging.

In the mean time, I did muster the energy this weekend to start a simple quilt top.  No small task considering any sort of sewing required I first clean out the h-hole that was my craft room.  I hope I will be able to share the top with you soon, if not a semi-completed quilt.

I also was able to make some frantic last minute table runners for some friends' wedding.  The wedding was in Hawaii.  I didn't go.  Super bum.  I thought about it long, hard and often but in the end I just didn't feel psyched about taking a day or two off of work.  I was able to send a little bit of myself off to the reception though.  

The wedding colors were inspired by the outside of a pineapple and since it was a little more on the casual, beachy side of things I went with linen in chartruese-y green and coffee brown.  The bride just sent me this picture.  Apparently there was some sort of miscommunication with the table measurements.  They were supposed to be runners, albeit somewhat wide ones.  Instead they spill over the sides of the tables.  But I think that's okay!  So... congratulations Sarah and Olivier!  I wish we could have been there!  (And I hope you don't mind me sharing your photos!)

Spring is in my sack

Well, I did as I said I would and tried to make a spring-y bag to brighten my mood. This is a big fat version of the Charming Handbag from Bend the Rules Sewing. I just drew a bigger version of the books pattern instead of enlarging it with a copier. I needed a bag that would be big enough to stick my computer in.

I pieced together some Amy Butler fabric with some pinky corduroy for the outside of the bag and added some of the velvet ribbon that I bought last week. This is a perfect example of what you can do with 1.5 yards of ribbon but not with 1 yard. As I said before, I was accidentally sold the latter, thus my bag only has ribbon on one side. I just make sure to always carry it with the ribbon facing out.

The bag is ok but I would probably recommend against making this style in a large size like this. It's a little too droopy when it has a lot of stuff in it. I made the suggested, small version of this pattern for a Christmas gift and that came out really well. I think it would work better to try a larger bag that was slightly wider but much deeper. Next time!

PS I made button holes in the lining to feed the handle through instead of making a casing. This is what I did before. Someone suggested it in the Bend The Rules Sewing Flickr group. I think it's a great idea.

No Flowers In My Hair

So...I didn't have work this past week, an unexpected break for an unexpected reason that's kind of stinky but not the end of the world. So to look on the bright side of things and take advantage of this little bit of time off I flew up to San Francisco to visit my sister Leigh for a few days. Going someplace by myself I've got two items on my agenda: eating good food and shopping for fabric. Check and check.
First there was yum, yum, yum and yum.
Then I did a little high end shopping here:

Bought myself some bits for a baby quilt I'm planning out for a new baby in the family.

I also bought a whole mess of velvet ribbon. I couldn't resist, they were all so beautiful and I think that they're even more beautiful in a group! The super bum here was that I asked for a yard and a half of each but didn't realize until I got home that the girl only gave me a yard of each. She charged me correctly but a yard just isn't quite enough to be really useful.

I also did a little low-end shopping and brought home an abundance of thrifted zippers and rick-rack, all for less than one yard of that velvet ribbon.

Quite a score. I also had plenty of chances to play with my new camera. Check it out.

At long last

Necessity has pulled me from the non-sewing doldrums. My new computer fits nicely in the "Pleated Beauty" bag that I made. It's quite convenient for toting my laptop to work and back along with the rest of my crap essentials. Unfortunately, as messy as the insides of my purses tend to get I'm afraid the computer may get a bit dusty.

Instead of an entire bag for the laptop I made a little zip-up sleeve that will just slip right into my purse. Initially I planned to make a larger version of this DS case with a few improvements to the method of construction. It worked but I'm still not in love with the pattern.

I do love the finished sleeve however. It's made from some wool suiting with a foundation pieced patchwork panel and Peltex to give it form and a little bit of padding.

I realize that these aren't the most Spring-y fabrics and I feel like I should have some of that cabin-fever that seems to be going around lately. It's very difficult to feel that way in LA. The changes in the weather are so slight and gradual that it feels like no change at all. Instead you just feel a stagnant blah. At least I do. So, sorry not to inspire you with some happy color. Perhaps a new beauty bag is in the cards. Maybe a little yellow could force some sunny feelings out of me.

You Too Can Smell as Good as Me!

Still no crafts. The only thing I've worked on recently is some socks that have turned out to be a mini-craftisaster. Too big. Must be frogged. Bah.
I just wanted to share a little bit of tastiness I bought from my pal Marianne. Along with some super hip video game themed prints and Blythe doll clothes, her Etsy shop now offers a soap-of-the-month club. Each month will have a new, gender-neutral, season appropriate scent. February is the first month and my bar of oatmeal muffin soap was hand delivered the other day. (Sorry, hand delivery is not available in all areas...I work with her husband.)
The soap is great and I think that maybe Harv loves it more than I do. I believe his exact words the first time I used it were "That smells so f***ing good." A glowing endorsement if I ever heard one.

Hello?

Internet, no! It can't have been three weeks since we last talked! Please, give me another chance, let me back into your life!
The sad truth is, I've been doing next to no crafting in 2008. I know! It's a super stink. Life just hasn't been very craft conducive lately. Work has been great, but tiring. We've had lots of family in town, also great but also tiring. And now I'm sick. I spent all of yesterday on the couch. For real. I literally did not do a single thing yesterday but lay on the couch napping, snacking, tv watching and interneting. Today I feel a tid bit better so I ventured out to the farmer's market with Harv to buy some tasty French pastries that I was seriously craving yesterday. Well worth the trip.
Since we last met, my mom came in to visit and go to the Annie Awards with us. I lost, by the way. That was lame. But I'm still quite pleased to have been nominated and I couldn't have lost to anyone more deserving than this guy, our good good friend Eric Towner, so it's okay.
Then I had a birthday, February 13, the day before Valentine's day. It's quite a birthday to have. I think it has a lot more character to it than a lot of other birthdays. I'm pretty certain I share it with this little crafty blogger who I'm sure you're familiar with.
Then Harv's family came for a visit and by Harv's family I mean his entire family, parents, all siblings and all spouses here at the same time. They are nice nice people and we had a great time introducing them to artichokes and living room karaoke. Harv's mom made me a cozy new quilt for my birthday, perfect for sick day snuggling on the couch.
Oh, I know you're so bored by all of this. I'm sorry! I've just missed you, is all. I want to tell you everything! But I won't. Here are some things for you to look at instead.
For my birthday, Harv gave me this:
I know next to nothing about photography but I'm trying to learn. Today I took some pictures around the house. Everyone loves to see pictures of other peoples homes, right? That's what I thought.

We'll start you off easy, with somethings I know you'll like. Such as: fabric, waiting for me to not be sick.

Wonderful Wee's!
Vintage sewing machine.
A big ol' mess.
Cuckoo! This was a Christmas gift from Harv's parents, a memento from our trip to Germany last year.
View from the front of the house through to the back, living room, dining room and kitchen.


Living room is a bit misleading. The couch is where I've been doing all of my living. Living couch seems more accurate.
Bathroom doorknob. Our house was built in the 1920's and I assume these doorknobs are original.
Drippy bathroom faucet. So bad, I know! We need to do some handy man-ing.

2007, The Year in Stuff

Stuff I made, that is. It's only a month into 2008 and really, how can I be expected to have all of 2007 wrapped up the moment it's ended? Why do you think we don't pay taxes until April? You need time to get your shit together! It's just impossible for me to sum it all up when I've been too busy living it.
So here it is, I call it: All the Stuff I Made in 2007.
(You can see full sized pictures of everything above here.)
You may hate me for saying this but I feel like there should be more. I know that some of you may think that's foolish while others of you may scoff at my meager offerings but it's strange to see one aspect of your year all laid out in one place. It feels very different to look at it all in a pile like this than to be living it and making it. It all seems so small when I look at it as a group, with a little distance. I would love to make some sort of graph that compares my crafting accomplishments to the other things that happen in my life and see how the two are intertwined. Maybe that should be an on going project for 2008, a crafting progress report. I keep a spreadsheet on my computer of the number of seconds that I animate each day at work. I really love seeing things represented in numbers like that. Is that too nerdy?
Well anyway, I give a fond farewell to 2007. Happy New Year!