Published on
March 8, 2010 in
Crafts & Sewing.
Tags: bedroom, chair, cover, Crafts & Sewing, handmade, Ikea, machine, sewing, table, tutorial.
My sewing machine has a new dress! The ugly plastic one it came with finally got the heave-ho. Looks nice, doesn’t it? I got all ambitious and added a back pocket and a hole on top for the carrying handle, except I couldn’t figure out how to properly fold inside corners with bias-tape. It ended up oval, except I had already cut a rectangle in the fabric and the bias-tape didn’t “catch” the corners. I fixed that with a little fabric glue. Just don’t look too close.
Before Chloe, the “spare” room (that is now her nursery) used to be where we kept the TV, the sewing table, and the futon. With Chloe’s arrival, we had no choice but to move the TV into the living room and the sewing table into our bedroom, wedged between the dresser and the hamper, because there was literally nowhere else in our little house to put it. Luckily, it folds down really small, as you can see. I also took a photo of the table fully opened.
I was this close to using Alexander Henry’s Mocca for the sewing machine cover, but after walking it and the Joel Dewberry Ginseng into the bedroom, I realized right away the Mocca wouldn’t jive with the serenity of the bedroom. Much the same way that I wouldn’t have been able to stand the TV in the bedroom. The walls are white, the curtains white, and my favorite duvet cover is white with only a few oversize, very abstract, pale blue, taupe and brick-colored butterflies. It was meant to be.
Good tutorials and inspiration for making sewing machine covers can be found at Chez Larsson, Spool, and Creative Reveries.
Our next-door neighbor had a heart attack last week. He died yesterday. We will miss him. He was quite old, but it is still a shock. Now we wonder what will become of his little house, and have our fingers crossed that another good person moves in. Our other next-door neighbor is also in her eighties, but her son lives with her. We had a little scare last summer when she came over with blood on her face and shirt and David rushed her to the emergency room. You just never know what is going to happen.
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Remember the fallen trees in my backyard? And our worry that two of our neighbors remaining dying trees would fall on our house? Well, they are being removed as I type. Thank goodness. Now I might be able to sleep during windy nights, instead of lying awake, worrying that one will come crashing down on our house. That makes 11 down or removed trees. What used to look like this is now nothing but a large expanse of sky.
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David built another raised garden bed in the backyard, where one of the fallen trees once grew. Since there is nothing to block the sun anymore, we are going to try to make the most of it. We’ll plant our usuals – tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, cucumber, basil, green onions, carrots and various herbs. But this year David wants to try leeks and garlic, and I’m considering eggplant and cantaloupe again.
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When my mom was out here, right after Chloe was born, she bought me two little potted cyclamens. One died, but the other hung on for over a year. Then it, too, finally died. I put it out on the back patio while cleaning one day and then forgot about it for a while. Last week I noticed it hadn’t completely died after all. There were a couple new shoots sprouting. I’ve brought it back inside again and hope I’ll be more mindful of it this time, and try to remember to water it more often.
Chloe and I went to the zoo twice this past week. Now that we have an annual pass and can pop in anytime, I usually just take her to the animals that she can see the best. We like the Northwest exhibit (where I can push the stroller right up to the glass fish wall), the petting barn, the elephants, sea lions, polar bears, and the lorikeets.
The lorikeets are particularly fascinating for Chloe, not only because they are brightly colored, but also because there is no barrier between you and them. An added bonus is the option to purchase a tiny cup of “nectar” and they will land on you. The first time I tried this, years ago, I got bird poop on the brand new jacket I was wearing. I haven’t seen that happen since, so maybe it was just me.
I was listening to OPB in the car last night, waiting for David’s flight to arrive, when they mentioned Hauls. Basically, these are videos uploaded on Youtube by shoppers (aka haulers) to display their recent purchases. At first I found the whole notion ridiculous. But then I realized I’ve done sort of the same thing myself (albeit mostly in review format) on my blog. One listener posed a good question “Is this how we define ourselves, by what we buy and what we consume?” I think, in many ways, the answer is yes.
This made me think about my own recent purchase. Have you been to the dollar store lately? I don’t know why, but I never go there. I think of it as mostly a place full of unnecessary junk. However, I was looking for safety pins at the craft store the other day and ended up buying 100 asst. pins for $3.99. That seemed like a lot to me, but I bought them anyway, since the previous two places I looked were sold out. Then I got the idea in my head to check the dollar store. They carried 200 asst. pins for only $1. Much better! Sure, there is a lot of junk, but some true bargains, too. I think the trick is only buying what you actually think you’d use, and not get sucked into the but-it’s-only $1! trap.
So what did I buy? A box of colored staples, a package of Elmer’s glue, a roll of craft wrapping paper, and some safety pins, for the bargain price of $4. If only I could always be so successfully thrifty. 
Just a round-up of some pretty snazzy camera bags available. I own the Crumpler, a gift from my husband, which is a good fit for my lifestyle right now (aka camera/diaper bag). However, in a perfect world, I’d love to be able to design my own. If you feel the same, check out KATA’s Dream Bag Challenge. You can submit your own original idea for the chance to have your bag hand-built, and to win a professional photo kit worth $5000 (including a Canon 5D Mark II DSLR body, 2 Canon lenses, Gitzo tripod kit and Litepanels Camera Light).
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Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home
Acme Made “Stella”
ORKIO Cafe SLR Bagz
Jill-e Medium Chocolate Brown Suede
Acme Made “Bowler”
Emera quilted bag
The Kelly Moore Bag
KaTa 123_GO_10
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Clik Traveler
I finished this child’s Blossom Blouse for Chloe over the weekend. It is a pattern from the book Sew Liberated: 20 Stylish Projects for the Modern Sewist
. I think it is just adorable, and I love this print. The smallest pattern was for size 2-3, so obviously it is way too big for my tiny daughter, but the fact that I sewed something that came out okay is pretty miraculous. The last time I tried to sew a piece of clothing without help, I ended up getting stuck in the middle and giving up. It didn’t matter much though, because I could easily see that it was turning out more than double my size.
It is hard to see, but what drew me were the 3/4 bell sleeves with the little gathers just above the elbow. I love details like this, even for my own clothes. However, mine didn’t turn out quite right, because I couldn’t get my stitch to lengthen to the specified size, even though I turned the thread length indicator as high as it would go. I’m okay with that though, for a first try.
Now that I’m feeling a little of that “I’m sorta getting it” feeling, I’m trying to decide what to make next. Maybe a new sewing machine cover to replace the ugly plastic one. Or maybe a matching, mommy-size Blossom Blouse…
Okay, so this is a week late. Last week I never got around to self-portrait taking and it turns out that this is the only photo I have of myself, taken by chance. Chloe woke up with an awful rash that Monday morning that kept spreading until I finally called the doctor’s office. She called it hives, and it is unknown what set it off. I snapped this photo with my p&s while waiting to be seen, just to have a visual record. I purposefully washed out the color in this version so that the rash isn’t as red and angry-looking as it actually was. Poor Chloe. Then in the middle of the week, just as the rash was receeding she caught a nasty cold, her eyes swollen and her little nose dripping like a faucet into the weekend. She seems to be getting better, though, so I hope to plan a better self-portrait for this coming week.
The new recipe we tried this month was Senegal Stew. I had been reading Organic and Chic and found a recipe with millet, which I had heard of, but never tasted. It is a healthy, whole grain, and a staple in many parts of the world. However, in the U.S. we mostly know it as a component in bird and cattle feed.
The other reason I chose this stew (besides the fact that I liked how exotic it sounded), was that the other main ingredients – yams and/or sweet potato, rutabaga, cabbage, carrots and chickpeas – seemed to make it an appropriate choice for February, the bonus being that it calls for a little peanut butter, which my husband loves.
Surprisingly, I found the meal to be rather average. The millet takes as long to cook as rice, plus the grains need to be dry roasted first, for best results. Personally, for the size and texture, I prefer couscous, which is much faster to cook, or quinoa which has a better texture. The stew itself was mild and sweeter than I expected. David thought it was very good, and Chloe enjoyed some of it, too. I have some leftover uncooked millet, so I might try adding it to bread or another recipe, to give it another try.
Related posts: January’s recipe, 2010 goals
… that I’m thankful for right now…
1. More financial security thanks to my husband’s new job.
2. That Chloe and I visited OMSI and the Children’s Museum for free this month.
3. Delicious dinners with friends.
4. That the two fruit trees (1) (2) we purchased to replace this and this are beginning to bud.
5. That this bed exists, even though I’ll never be able to afford it.
6. That there is a covered play structure and park only a short drive away that Chloe can play on even when it rains (which is fairly often in the Pacific Northwest!). The photo above was taken there.
7. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate After Dinner Mint Thins, which I am addicted to right now.
8. A lovely package from Slovenia, sent by Pina.
9. That I’ve been able to leave Chloe in day care twice now.
10. That a photo of mine was selected for this, and that this photo is being considered by a transit authority as a window graphic for buses.
Thanks Sarah Jane for asking!
From top to bottom: crocus, plum blossoms, camellia
Just thought I’d share some of the blossoming signs of spring that Chloe and I found around the yard a few days ago.
I am happy to find myself with a number of reasons to be thankful for my friends lately. To express my gratitude, I made more thank you cards using my trusty butterfly punch and pieces of Chloe’s finger paintings. Just one more way to spread the baby artwork love (even on the inside – see bottom photo).
It is hard to see, but the Fastenator staple on the card in the second photo says thank you. The first photo uses a rub-on, which worked pretty well considering the cardstock has a little bit of texture. I haven’t used a rub-on transfer since I was a kid, but it was a nice option when working with dark paper.
Postscript: I just read a great idea on Twig & Thistle that an easy way to sharpen your punches is to use the punch on some aluminum foil. Sweet! See the post here.
We had a wonderful weekend visiting friends north of Seattle. The weather was sunny and perfect, and for the first time I could see the entire skyline of Seattle, including the Puget Sound and distant mountain ranges. I would love to live so close to the water. We arrived late, but with enough sunlight left to visit Hayworth Park and let the dog have some off-leash time.
On Sunday morning our families took the ferry to Whidbey Island, to the picturesque town of Langley. The toddlers tossed stones by the waters edge and we all peeked into the various shops until lunchtime. Unexpected treasures were found at the Chocolate Flower Farm where I bought up an envelope of the richest hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted and David found Chloe a like-new Little Tikes Tambourine for only $1 at the Good Cheer Thrift Store. Lunch was very tasty at the French Bistro, Prima (I’m always up for a good croque madame). The girls were getting tired though, so we parted ways soon after, but David, Chloe and I hung around just a little longer, to soak up as much of the island atmosphere as we could before the long drive ahead.
Greta and Ava picking up rocks
David and Chloe dropping rocks into the water
The gorgeous view from Langley
See all photos
This screenshot made me look twice. Love it! Do you think it is tongue-in-cheek or do you think Boden actually takes their customers that seriously? Apparently “Prince” and “Princess” were also options. Via SwissMiss.
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