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

Gnome Onsie

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

Wish List #3

Knitting Themed Prints!

Doreen, Woodland Knitter

Knitting Octopus

Rainy Day

Knitting Gnome

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.

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

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.

Wish List #2

Sewing Patterns I am lusting over

Simplicity 2172

Simplicity 2207

Wishlist - #1

I know it's post Christmas and all, but these beauties caught my eye whilst strolling the University Bookstore.
First up is The Brinkley Sisters, a collection of magazine illustrations done by the Brinkley sisters from 1913 through 1940.

These charming illustrations chronicle the image of a fashionable woman, going from blonde, to brunette, to raven haired over the decades.  Nursing soldiers back to health during World War 1, she then sips champagne and cuts a rug in the 20's.  Great for costume inspiration.

Next is The World of Downton Abbey, which is not, as the name implies, about an Abbey, btu rather about a family on the brink of World War 1 in England.  Deliciously costumed, this book explores the characters (what they wear!), and the world of this well to do family.  Charmingly reminicent of Upstairs, Downstairs, this series also tags along in the lives of some of the servants.



Great book, lovely series.

Things Lost or Broken - Installment the first.

   In this episode of Things Lost or Broken this week, we met up with student, Anna Curtiss to chat about the things lost or broken in her life.  Earlier this week the young costume designer's wallet was misplaced on a bus.  When she discovered the loss, Curtiss wasn't about to run four blocks to catch up with the bus.  "So far nothing has turned up.  The day before Christmas Eve is a fantastic time to be running about trying to replace cards," said Curtiss sarcastically.
   Despite troubling occurances left and right, Curtiss is determined to maintain a positive attitude.  "I could easily look at these experiences and wonder when the next bad thing could happen, or I could greet them as an oppourtunity in disguise.  I was ready for change but didn't realise it."
Yesterday Curtiss' laptop screen ceased to work for no apparent reason.  She knew the computer was on, but not responsive to her verbal plea's for it to function.  Taking it to a nearby service center revealed that the LED screen had simply given up the goat.
   To top things off, Curtiss had planned on spending the day working on a few new shirts and patching some clothes.  Just as she was ready to start sewing, her machine decided it needed to skip every three or four stitches and simply not function.  "I seriously considered the notion that perhaps it is my proximity to these things that is causing these malfunctions," giggled Curtiss during our interview.  "I'm flabbergasted at all this mishap!"
Curtiss is turning to simple chores, and crafts that don't require the use of either her laptop or her sewing machine.  Knitting, for example, has turned out to be very soothing.  She is also in the process of refurbishing a quilt.  "All my laundry is done, and there are patterns cut out for when the sewing machine decides to work again," Curtiss chuckled.  "I am going to see about having that repaired as well."
   What can be taken away from all these events, we asked Curtiss, "Oh, that you should always speak nicely to your inanimate objects!  You never know when your laptop conspired with your sewing machine."

Miss A. Information - Daily News, Seattle


p.s.
I would be posting a tutorial, and chatting about Christmas, but the images are trapped on the invalid computer, so bear with me for a time. 
xoxoxo Anna

On Mothers and Babies...a wee soap box rant.

Start here:
Children and Breastfeeding

Target Harasses Nursing Mother


Recently these articles have shown up in my Facebook feed and I can't help but grow incensed at the ignorance and rudeness with which American mothers are treated with when nursing in public.  What is so wrong about a woman baring her bosom to feed her baby?  It's normal.  Maybe that is where things went wrong in the first place, though.  America no longer perceives this action as normal.  They see it along the same lines as a stripper flashing a patron, that it is the same vulgar, disgusting act.  Breastfeeding in public couldn't be anything further from a stripper if it tried.  That's what breasts are for!  Feeding babies!

I think not enough parents are open with their children in teaching them these things.  I think that is where the problem lies.  Now in the case of the Target store, that's a really idiotic company policy and I don't think I'll ever shop there again, much less take my future children there.  That is utterly ridiculous.  I can't help but smile when I encounter a mother nursing her wee one in public.  It is so precious, so beautiful.  I admit that I'm never quite sure what to say, so I allow my smile to suffice.

I fully intend to carry my wee ones in a sling, to kiss them and sing to them and teach them the ways of this wonderful crazy world.  And I fully intend to breastfeed in public until the world gets over itself.  Or emigrate to Europe where more of the sensible people live.  Alright friends, someone help me off this soap box...

The end, the end!

Final week of Final exams, projects, and classes!  Can't wait to greet Friday with open arms.  Also, I'm kind of ridiculously pleased with how the above project turned out.  Scene painting is so awesome!

Insecurity

  I get anxious about many things.  This happens easily and often very quickly, until it escalates into me freaking out about nothing and dear Nate rationalizing me back into being calm.  Not that I am terribly anxious about it, but Nate's company Christmas party is next Friday and I feel as if I have nothing to wear.  That, of course, isn't true.  I have plenty, oodles, to choose from.  What I want to wear is something chic and fashionable.  What I have to wear makes me feel a little bit like Maria from Sound of Music, going to a ball in a dress you whipped up an hour ago from a perfectly aged bedsheet.  It's probably the softest thing in the world, but I still feel like everyone is judging me, like they would be able to know it's a  bedsheet.  

Now this is what I picture in my head: something adorable and totally vintage ( found here ).  That's really chic right now.

And completely out of my price range.  So, it's off to the basket of UFO's (Unfinished Objects for you out of towners) to piece together something that will be adorable, and it will be so very me.  I just have to feel odd about it first.  Mind you, this sort of worry over how people perceive me no longer happens at college or at my workplace.  Just in places where I am new and people don't know me, or I am unsure if they will accept me for who I am.  The eccentric costumer fiancee of a respectable accountant.  This entire ramble is just for me to pull up my garters and accept who I am.  The eccentric costumer.  I dress beautifully, fashionably, and it's either thrifted, vintage, or handmade from thrifted vintage linens.  So HA!  Take that insecurity!

Beautiful Moment

we talked about what we wanted as parents.  we defined what 'socially awkward' and 'socialized' meant for each of us.  we talked about where we want to be financially, emotionally, physically when we make the choice to become parents.  we talked about the terrible decisions that can be inherent to parenting and the decision to have children.
he played his game and I cried.  they were the happiest of tears.
i feel like such a grown-up that  might need to play in some mud.  i am glad for that talk and i welcome the future conversations that go with it.



i am comforted to know i have an ally.
i have a partner.  a best friend.  he is my lover, my equal, and my greatest joy.  

Be Still, for a Moment.

I am bundled today for the first time is what feels like a long time.  Outside the wind whips the trees into a frenzy, sending leaves into a dying dance of flaming colour.  I wish I had checked the weather today.  I would have brought my winter coat, or at least worn a better sweater.  The seasons have been so odd the last few years that my childhood instincts are all wonky.  I can't predict the seasons like I used to.  I can still tell you if it is going to rain, or if there is a chance of snow.  My mind drifts to thoughts of childhood. Sitting before the crackling fire watching the pine logs slowly succumb to the hunger of the flames.  Running fingers along the perfectly shabby oriental rug, loving the richness of the red, counting the colours, tracing pattern.  The cat would be curled into a perfect little ottoman, tucked as close as he could press himself against the screen that kept back some of the sparks.  Sipping real cocoa made on the stove, from little mugs with dancing Peter Rabbit on them.  The sounds of my brothers playing, the house creaking happily as it kept us al snug and warm.

I miss that snugness, the cozy home feeling of my youth.  Adulthood has carried me far into the grey city.  Full of imposing and harsh concrete, howling sirens and blaring horns.  I miss the silence, the songs of the forest, and the ocean.  My heart longs to settle there eventually.  For now I am content to be where I am, sipping slowly the promise of the future with all of its lovely adventures.

So I knit a little, passing wooly yarn through my fingers, imbuing each and every stitch with a little but of myself, with a lot of love.  I am drinking greedily this small lull in my hectic day, savoring the imagery for when I am stuck in a dark theatre with strained people working to make a play come to life.

habit

anna

after a momentary flurry of tears (mine) over homework, there were snuggles, and breakfast baking (him).  perfect sunday.

Inspired by habit blog

Longing...

I am being quite naughty, but since I am falling asleep in rehearsal it is the lesser of evils.  So I am longing for time so sew.  I am longing for time to fuss up my version of this magnificent gown.  

I happened upon a black and white striped sheet at the Goodwill bins.  I am a sucker for stripes and remembered this later from my Tumblr feed.  

Vaguely piratical with a touch of Mrs. Lovett singing by the sea.  I have a shorter, steampunk version in mind and can't wait for Winter Break when I will have some time to sew!  Sew!  Sew!  Until then, I sit and imagine the lovelyness that will tumble out of my sewing machine.

Sketchy Doodles

Since I go to art school and all, I figured I should start scanning a lot of my stuff and posting it.  Studio is partially a sketch class so we can work up our hand and find out illustration style.  I migrated towards the art of Trina Schart Hyman who was a prominent illustrator in the 1980's.  She mainly did watercolour work, but it's her delicate pencil line quality that gets me every time.

Also, I'm going to try and keep up with "What I Wore" doodles since it's good practice.  So the last image is what I'm wearing today!  Though I am rather more awake now that the coffee is thrumming in my veins! 

Enjoy.

Evenings with Jane Austen

School is going well over all.  I have three days where I can go home for a bit before heading back to rehearsal for Pride and Prejudice.  I feel like I am learning a lot in how to work with other people, particularly in a design position.  I am in a class called Studio.  In it we design a hypothetical play just so we have some experience with the process before graduating.  It's been interesting to learn how to express the ideas I see in my head on to paper in the form of drawings, or to find imagery that evokes the particular feeling.

The majority of my time in spent in dear Raisbeck Performance Hall with the dear cast and crew of P&P. I am ASM for this show and enjoying the experience, even if I wish I had more time for homework.  One cannot really read while trying to take down accurate blocking!

Mostly I am exhausted, but oddly chipper about the whole thing.  I look forward to P&P being open so I can have evenings back with the Mister.  Until then, it's off to Regency fashion, and proper etiquette!