A book for Nikolai

I actualy started this book as a Christmas present for my adorable nephew Nikolai last year.  That didn't happen.  Then it was going to be a birthday present.  That didn't happen either.  So I decided to try to get it done before he graduates from high school and no longer needs to practice the skills in the book.  I took a picture of all the pages, check em out.
Ok.  The pictures aren't showing up in order, maybe you can figure it out.  Is it just me or is the Blogger app a little lackluster?

Dresser makeover

I finally finished a little project that I have been working on for a while.  Several months ago my sister in law and I decided to rescue a discarded dresser.  I knew right away what I wanted to do with it but it took a little while to get it in working order so I could start on the painting etc.  I finally put it all together today and here is how it turned out.  I think it is adorable.  It's going to go in my 8 year old nieces room.

Hi friends!

I am sure you have all given up on me by now, but I'm back! I finally joined the rest of the human race and got a cool phone I can blog from.  For the next few weeks I will probably remind you of a Christmas elf because I will be making a bunch of presents in preparation for a month long visit with my family. Can't wait.

So I hope my family doesn't read my blog or the surprise will be ruined.

I had this Batman fabric laying around and I needed to use it before my almost 6 year old nephew outgrew his passion for batman.  my sister in law said he needed pillow cases so there you go.

The second item is a closet curtain for my 12 year old niece.  It's sort of massive so it was hard to photograph.

I'll work on taking pics of all the stuff I have made since August 24.  Yikes!

Giant Giants Pants

My five year wedding anniversary was a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to make a little gift for my husband.  He is a big New York Giants fan and I thought he could use some lounge pants to watch games in.  My husband is a pretty big guy (like 6'4") and he has an affinity for baggy clothing.  I've been trying to get him to wear jeans that actually fit hit him for years to no avail.  Don't even get me started on his need to wear white tube socks with shorts. . .  Anyway, this is my compromise, a huge pair of pants that he will only wear around the house.

So about the pants.  I actually used a pattern for a pair of scrubs and added about an inch to the sides and the length.  I used a really light weight jersey knit.  I don't know that I've ever sewed a kit before and it was less difficult that I expected.  Here is a pic:

Look how wide the legs are!

A little Giants patch I found on Amazon

I sewed it all with a double needle, it is supposed to be good for sewing on stretchy fabrics.  You can see the double line of stitches. 

It is still insanely hot in the deserts of southern California so the pants haven't gotten much wear yet.  My husband modeled them for me and I achieved the fit I was looking for, they are massive on him!  I'm sure they will get plenty of wear once fall weather comes around.

Dresser Makeover

I bought a bedroom suite at an estate auction while we were in Tennessee.  I wasn't paying attention when people were bidding so some other guy won the bid for $10, I talked him into doubling his money and selling me the set for $20.  Bryant was super stoked when he came home to a garage full of furniture, In addition to this set I also bought 6 dinner chairs, an ottoman, and a TON of fabric.  But it was a great deal!  The set is probably from the fifties. 

Here are some before pics:

These pictures were taken after I sanded all the scratches and water rings out, just before painting.  You can see my dogs 'helping' in some of the pictures.

Here are the current pictures, still not quite 'after' pictures because I'm not sure how I am going to handle all the broken drawer pulls.  I'd like to find someone with a lathe that can recreate them for me. 

um.  Do you like my drawer pull selection?

I think these are what really appealed to me.  Simple, clean furniture with curvy, feminine pulls.  I really need to find a lathe.

KRU curtains

The lovely ladies at the KRU asked me to make some curtains for their salon.  The primary goal was to cut down on the blazing summer heat so I recommended that they buy some blackout lining.  It really made a difference.  As usual, my picture taking gives you an opportunity to use your imagination.

I made 5 panels.  

Closer shot of 3 panels.

Three of the panels were make in this purple crinkly stuff with blackout lining.  Do you like the chain tie backs?  It was my husband's idea and it totally goes with their look.

Two panels were in this luscious grey velvety stuff, also lined with blackout fabric.

I made a balloon curtain for the side window.  They don't get as much direct sunlight so its more of a valance look.

 I'm glad I got to work with KRU because they are super cool.  If you live in California you should check them out.

Birthday Dress for Miriam.

So my sisters birthday was a month ago and I just got around to finishing a dress I made for her . . .  I know, I'm working on it.  I used fabric that you might remember from a trip to textile fabrics and the red sash fabric was from my stash.

I hope it fits!  I'm mailing it to her tomorrow!

Front



Clear button with red thread

  It took me forever to pick out buttons.  I have like eleventy billion buttons so it seems ridiculous to go buy new ones.  I decided on these clear ones, you can't really see through the fuzz but they have a crystal look to them.


Dress back



Camo Back Pack

First I have to say I can't believe that I didn't post about my inaugural trip to the Los Angeles fabric district, my personal grimy paradise.  I will definitely remedy that later.  But that is not the point of this post, the point of this post is that my 11 year old nephew is into all things camouflage and was looking for a back pack in his signature print.  Oddly, no one could find a camouflage backpack for him.  Really?  Isn't that weird?  I don't have kids and therefore am not up on kids stuff but you think you would be able to find a camouflage back pack for an 11 year old.  I looked and always came up empty. . . So when I was in the fabric district I bought a yard of camo fabric for $3.50, it was wide, probably 60 inches.  The guy shorted me  because there were samples cut out of some of the fabric but again, that is not the point of this story.  This is about the back pack. 

I didn't really have a plan when I bought the fabric, but I figured I wouldn't need more than a yard of really wide fabric for a back pack.  I ended up borrowing my niece's Jansport to use as a pattern, it had lots of zippers and pockets and that looked exhausting so I simplified and just make the main 'compartment' and a couple of cargo pockets to go with the theme.  I hope you like looking at things sideways because I am having computer problems.

Anthony the back pack model

The back

 I used some foam I had from a too big mattress pad to pad the straps. I also put some batting between two layers of fabric to make the back.  I thought about quilting it but decided against it, its seems to be pretty sturdy.  I used three layers of fabric to reinforce the bottom.

Zipper!

 I was kind of proud of the zipper, just 'cause I always mess them up.  I had this one in my stash.  Probably form my grandma.

More back pack modeling.

So, Whadda ya think?

About the move

Well it took me long enough but I finally uncovered my camera cable so that I can update my blog.  Packing the house was traumatic, I had to fit the entire physical contents of my life into this truck:

We overestimated how much we could fit in the truck and had to give away a small apartment worth of stuff, it was probably for the best, but it was hard.

Our dog Izzy, knew we were leaving and she was watching us like a hawk to make sure we didn't leave her.  She sat by the car to be sure.

In case you are wondering the car made the trip ok, it looks pretty loaded down there.  The dogs rode with us in the cab of the rental truck.  This picture might give you an idea of how tightly we were packed in the truck.

Everybody got caught up on cuddle time. 

So if it wasn't bad enough that we were driving from Tennessee to California jam packed into the cab of a rental truck,  Bryant decided to make the trip more interesting by driving it straight.  Let that sink in a little.  38 hours, like 5 square feet, 2 big dogs, and us. . .it was great.  here are some pics of the stuff we saw.

Wind farm

a bunch of nothing

Sadly, a big cow farm.

and a giant cross somewhere in Texas.

  We drove by some prettier stuff but apparently I was too captivated to take pictures.  We are now settled into our temporary home in California, so far its been great!

Moving

I may be a little short on blog posts for a while.  I am moving from Tennessee to California.  I have a couple of projects that I am working on, even though I should really be packing!  I'll share when they are finished.  Talk to you when I get unpacked.

Pepper Window Painting

I have mentioned my amazing neighbors a few times on the blog.  I could go on forever about their amazingness but it's probably better that you just take my word for it, like Tony the Tiger, they're great.

So at some point in the past few years the above mentioned neighbors came back from a yard sale with a bunch of old window panes for me to paint on.  The windows were 'vintage',  kind of torn up and full of flavor, they made great canvases. 

Its been a while since I picked up a paint brush but I wanted to do something for my neighbors since they are always doing nice stuff for me.  I decided this is as good a time as any to start painting again.  Debby likes Fiesta dishes so she needed something bright to go with her bright kitchen.


Party in the kitchen!

I decided on a simple, pepper themed painting.  Debby's kitchen wall is a burnt sienna kind of color so you have to imagine it against that background.  When she hung it up I was pleased to see that the painted peppers cast a shadow, it gives it some nice depth.  One painting doesn't even begin to repay all the amazing stuff they have done for us but I was glad to be able to do Something.


Peppers on a pane

Kindle Cover

In my experience cheapness is the mother of invention, not whatever else is supposed to be.  Bryant got me Kindle for my birthday.  Yay!  Has anyone here shopped for Kindle covers?  They are unreasonably expensive.  I decided to take a stab at making my own.  My conclusion is that there is a reason they are so expensive.  I had to make, take apart, and remake this thing like 10 times.  And all the remaking made the finished product look like a mess, but it serves its purpose.



Front



Back

Inside- Black linen left over from this project

According to some people, if I had a super power, I would be Destructo girl.  So I need this thing to have a legitimate cover.   I wanted it to be hard enough to protect the Kindle if it were to say, fall off a building.  To address that problem we bought a $1clip board and cut it up into 2 Kindle sized pieces.  I also wanted it to have a zipper, so that I could put it in my purse and not have to worry about purse particles messing things up. 

I happened to have a zipper, foam and fabric at home.  So this thing cost me $1 (on a gift card, so technically no dollars), that is much better than the store alternatives. This is a first draft but it does the job.  I ended up hand stitching the cover on it because I got impatient with the sewing machine.  Check back later and I might take another stab at it.

Baby Booties with a Kick

I made these for my cousin for her baby shower.  Her husband is a big soccer fan so I made him baby soccer shoes.  I found this free pattern online and made them from felt.  It was all hand sewing which is kind of cool but takes forever.

Don't tell Adidas!