Monday, January 23, 2012

Status Quo

Nothing terribly profound to say tonight.  School went well today.  I think I am going to enjoy Mondays.  They start with Stage Management class, then into Costume Lab, and end with Scenic Fundies.  I thought I might dread the last class, but after today I think (hope) I'll enjoy it and push myself to excel in it.
I am still plugging away at my 365 Project over on Flickr.  I just need to whip out my camera more often during the day to take some more pictures for this here lil bloggy.
Anyway, it seems like there was something I was going to review here..oh yes!
Would it be interesting to read little interviews about shops in my neighborhood?  Art Stores I like, coffee shops, knitting stores, which thrift stores are best, etc?  I was thinking about it today.

Leave a comment letting me know what you think!

xoxo Anna

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mother's Tea 2012

The pinning, ironing, sewing, and fussing has begun!  Since I've been off from school (one half day, TWO snow days) I've gotten a headstart on the project that comes together the quickest at the end of semester.

I've started with an amazing piece of fabric that has a pseudo-colonial war scene spilling across it.  The very center has been faded by (what I presume) strong sunlight, so the fabric is almost gossamer in the middle.  I hemmed it up to give the bottom edge weight, as well as pin-tuck like detail.  The sides were pleated back to the center back for a little volume and because I don't want to cut this fabric if I don't have to.  It's so darling.

I've been re-inking some of the center details for a little refreshing of their colour.  Now the flag can really flap jauntily in the wind.


I'm aiming for a "peep show" concept with this.  She is a clockwork doll who teaches history by telling stories with her skirt scenes.  Like having a tiny theatre on your skirt.  A red (taffeta?) is draping amazingly over the underskirt to create the illusion of a traditional red theatre curtain, called A Grand Drape.  I'm not sure I will have it hiked up this far in the long run because, while I love the little flag, it's a little bunchy at the top and I do not want to stress the red fabric.  Something nibbled giant holes in it at some time, and they remind me of ink blot tests.  So far I have seen a goat, and a clown face.  I'm not sure if that is a good sign or not. Haha.



















Topping the whole thing off will be a corset of some upholstery material that has yet to be decided.  I want to put a wee box seat on one side with tiny spectators peeking out over the top.  Maybe those Muppet guys who are always at the theatre?  And trim the edge with fancy tassels or something.

At this point in time, my character concept is that I am a clock-work doll who lives in a library.  Our inventor is long gone, having abandoned the library for one reason or another, and we denizens have kept it up as long and as best we can.  I hope to wrangle some other friends into presenting with me.  One as a clockwork librarian and one as something else.  Perhaps the white rabbit?  Literary concepts.  Too much fun!

Wish List #4

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Woodland Baby love

When I have children, they will be dressed in the dreamiest of woodland clothing.  These Etsy finds warmed my heart today. <3







Fox Onsie



Hedgehog Slippers




Quince Shoes with Satin Ribbons



Quintessential Red Riding Hood

That gome romper is only $10!  I'm thinking I might snatch it up and tuck it away for later, must ponder first. <3

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Wish List #3

Faces

3 months

11 months

18 months-2 years
3

4

5
Inspired by this project 101-Women, I was curious to see if I couldn't construct a file of my face as it ages.  Granted, I could do this by scanning and scouring my parent's picture albums, but this is what was on my harddrive.  It still strikes me to this day that I have looked in the mirror at least once a day at this same face and have watched myself age.  Not that I could put a movie together in my head, but still.  It kind of makes me want to take a portrait once a year on my birthday, perhaps, to keep track for the rest of my life.
Perhaps this is an apt wrap up for visiting my 90 year old step-grandma today.  She is 90 today!  I can only wonder if I will live that long.  Her journey is not without troubles.  She may be celebrating 90 years, but she cannot recall who she is anymore.  Nor who we are, what year it is, or who is president.  She doesn't remember.  We do though.  We go out to her with a pretty new shirt and sweater and hug and kiss her because we love her.  You can't help it, she's too darn cute.  And I sit, watching my mother spoon feed her bits of cookie soaked in milk-tea, and wonder about life, the universe, and everything.  Hoping I will have a daughter or a daughter-in-law who will love me so much as to spoon feed me cookies and sing old songs on my 90th.


Friday, January 06, 2012

Woven Star Tutorial

I stumbled upon this cool tutorial over at Sofie Legarth's blog.  It's in Danish, so I endeavored to make an English version because I'm crazy about these super easy, no sew stars!


Cut 4 strips of fabric 3" wide and 10"-12" long  (8 x 30 cm)

Fold in half long ways, open up, and fold the raw edges to meet each other.  (I found it easy if I ironed the half to give me a line to iron the thirds to.)  Press so you have nice crisp folds.



















Fold this tube almost in half, leaving one end longer by about 1"  Four of these tubes make one star!



Arrange your tubes so each fold is eating a raw end.  Omn nom nom!

Tighten so they are all snuggled together, but not too tight.

They won't be happy stars if they are so close they wrinkle their neighbor.

Important Note:  Make sure your short ends are all on one side, likewise the longer ends should be to their own side.  This will make the folding bit go much more smoothly.








Flip (or not) your baby star over to you have all the long ends facing you.  Fold these over each other clockwise, slipping the last one over the third and under the first tube.  This locks the whole shebang together.  Snug things up again so it all looks happy.







You should have eight little raw tube ends from each side of the central square.
Now comes the cool folding bit!




Starting with either the longs or the shorts, fold each tube under itself to form a triangle, fold under again to form a pyramid.  Be sure to do all the longs OR all the shorts, but don't alternate.  Tugging things snug while you go along helps too. 




Fold this in half, and tuck the raw end under the closest loop.  ( I like to trim my longies before I tuck during this step, but do what works best for you.)  Use your fingers, needle-nose pliers, or the tip of a closed pair of scissors to help poke that wee tube through the loop.




Once you have one side folded, repeat for the other.

Trim back the long ends of the tubes so they hide under their loops, and admire your handiwork!


I sewed a couple of these to pin backs so I could proudly display my handiwork, but you can also punch a hole through your star (Try using a leather punch) and thread a pretty ribbon or string through.  Hang them on a tree or attach to a gift.






















As you go along, be sure to gently tug on neighbor tubes to keep things snug and happy.  I thought about putting a dab of glue on some of the ends (my shorties are quite short) but I want to see if it manages to keep itself together without.  Seems cozy enough to me.  Alternatively you could also tuck some wee stitches between each star point if glue seems too gauche to you.

Have fun!

EDIT: after wearing mine on my coat for the past few days AND tossing some extras into a bag to stitch later, you should tack the tucked under ends if these are going to get any kind of rough use.  Anything more than an ornament hung up once a year should, probably, get a little extra TLC. <3

Monday, January 02, 2012

I resolve to...

01)  Draw More.  I need to keep my hand up to snuff and it's just plain ole fun.

02)  Work on my time management.

03)  Manage and cultivate my Etsy business

04)  Take more pictures

05)  Post more on this blog!  Starting with a themed weekly post...hmmmn.

06)  Knit another sweater for me!

07)  Knit more socks.

08)  Sew more.  A dress a month?  A week?  Yes.

09)  Make time for date night.  Even if it's just spaghetti at home.

10)  Driver's License!  Yes, I've said this for years...perhaps this is the year.

11)  Take more walks with friends...and in general.  Exercise happily.

12) Aim for All A's both semesters!  No more settling for B+

13)  Yarn bomb with Sonya. ;)

14)  Try 365 again.