Thursday, January 31, 2013

McH Inspiration Failbot

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This month’s inspiration picture was amazing. I had all sorts of ideas pop into my brain. But like so many instant craft ideas I had a limited budget and limited time.  I ended up doing what I always do when crafting outside the box, I took a field trip to my local thrift store for ideas.
I live in a Navy town. Military communities have an advantage over run-of-the mill civilian towns, we have amazing thrift stores and garage sales. Why, you ask? Well because our community is transient. The military gives you a weight allowance to move and then moves you on their whim. So you learn to pare down. You learn to get rid of what you don’t need, the stuff your kid grew out of, and the crap your mother/grandmother pawned off on you. 

Most military both donate often and shop regularly at thrift stores.  For example, my daughter had a middle school concert last night and needed a white blouse and black skirt. I went to our thrift store and got a new white sweater, black gore skirt and cute one inch heel Mary Jane shoes all for 10 bucks.

Back to the inspiration.

My youngest modeling next to the fireplace

My first idea was a hat rack. I need one and I thought antlers...rack...hat...canes!  I went in search or canes or cane like things to glue/screw together.  Only they had one cane. And nothing else except a lot of golf clubs, but I draw the line at welding.

Idea number two.  Our downstairs I am turning, slowly, into a study/pub/TV room.  It needs something masculine. Something manly. Something with ANTLERS! And because it’s my house. Something with flannel.

I ended up taking all the left over Christmas wrapping paper off the rolls (don’t tell hubby) grabbed some cotton batting, and snagged few of my homespun’s.  To finish off with my modge podge medium.
You are jealous of my crafting prowess, I can tell.
It took the afternoon, and I stuck my fingers together only twice, but they were done.

Problem number two. I needed to mount them on something. It’s all well and good to have antlers but I can’t just leave it. I need them to be above the fireplace.  Mounting Idea #1. A bicycle helmet, drill out two holes and ta-da! But my children drew the line at me mangling one of their helmets.  Idea #2 A wooden plaque. This is still my idea.

But implementation is not going well. And cardboard tubes do NOT have a good life span. They bend, and crumble, and modge podge is heavy, and well we are at fail attempt number 4. 
Will I give up? Maybe. But my idea is amazing. Next time I will cut them out of foam. Or build them inset into a base.

Lessons learned. Inspiration is amazing, creativity rules, but sometimes your idea just doesn’t work. And you have to be cool with that.
He is "Mom you are so weird"

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Warm Woodsy pants

Pin It I have a huge list of projects that I (Major Moma)want to get done right now, and none of them really fit this month's Inspiration Point.  But, since M and McH are doing projects, I did not want to be left out.

So, I dove into my fabric stash knowing there was a blue fleece somewhere in there that had deer and bear on it.  I thought I could make a quick pullover and that would be sufficient.  So I told Eli my plans.

He looked less than enthused.  He started sorting through my woodsy fabrics and gave his ideas.  He has got to be the most fashion opinionated nearly 5 year old boy there is!  He then started searching through my other fabrics and found some burgundy wool that I bought for a dress for me.  And announced he wanted the wool. 

No way.

I am not using my expensive wool on a 5 year old boy.

So we worked out a compromise...

Warm woodsy pants.  These pants are the Blank Slates pants from Melly sews.  The outer fabric is a medium weight twill (that is surprisingly soft) that my friend picked up in Korea. 

Tangent:  She offered to go to the fabric markets for me and she knows nothing about sewing.  But, as she told me, she knows a lot about quality.  That has certainly proven to be the truth.  I tell her what I want to sew and give her some color options.  Then she goes out and finds fabrics that she thinks would be nice.  This one from the my "I need pant fabric for Eli" request.  It has a definite high end feel to it and was a dream to sew with.

To accomodate my son's high end tastes, I took some scraps of the wool and made piping for the front pockets and a small pocket for inside one of the main front pockets.

I top stitched in orange thread in order to provide some color contrast.

The back has elastic at the waist and welt pockets.  You can't really tell in this picture, but I finally have made the perfect welt pockets.  This was my first time that I was able to get the corners just right. 




But the elastic in the back wrinkles them up.

 What makes these pants warm is that they are fully lined in flannel.  I chose a flannel with lots of woodland animals to go with the deer in our inspiration picture.  This same fabric lines the front and back pockets.  These pants are purposely made long, so he can cuff them up and then as he grows, unroll them. 
Eli also requested a hat.  So I made a hat out of the leftovers of the flannel and some fleece I had left from a project from a couple years back.  I thought I could make a baseball style cap and just tack up the brim and add ear flaps for a winter hat.

The ear flaps have large wooden buttons that can pin them up to if desired. 

I thought the hat turned out pretty cute.

I finished everything after Eli's bed time so I was unable to get any pictures of it on him.  Plus, rarely can I get pictures taken during the week.  Our evening routine is just too packed so I wait until the weekend to get them to wear what I have sewn and try to get pictures as we do whatever we had planned for the family.  There are very few planned photo shoots in my life.  So, this morning, I asked Eli to look at what I made and he liked it.  I put the hat on him.

It was too small.

So, I will see if there is anything I can do to rescue the hat.  I don't know if I have enough scrap to make another one.  Hats take very little fabric, but I think the fleece was all used up.  I do have a tiny bit of the flannel, so maybe I can combine it with other scraps with the same colors and works something up.   I will let you know if I am able to fix it.



Monday, January 28, 2013

Love is in the air

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This week's PRP theme is "love is in the air".  It is an ode to Valentine's Day.  I (Major Moma) have mixed feelings about Valentine's Day.  The romance of it seems a bit contrived and I really have never been impressed about getting flowers when virtually every other woman in the U.S is also getting them.  What is special about that?  That said, my husband and I's first real date was on Valentine's ... so it does have a special place in our hearts.

The other thing about celebrations of Valentine's is that it is more about romance than love.  That is actually my complaint about most 'love songs' these days.  Really if you listen to the words of most love songs today they basically boil down to I "love you" because of the way you make me feel/ or what you do for me.  That is pretty selfish actually.  So what about that day when he doesn't make you feel good?  Or week, or year ... because that can happen.  Do you still love him?
Culturally, do we believe that love is about selfless giving?  Or do we believe that it is about selfish taking?  Something to think about as you see all those hearts hanging about this February.
That all being said, I went for a soft, romantic look for my outfit.
The skirt is an A-line gored skirt with a built in slip.  Gored means that I cut 6 pieces that are skinnier at the waist and wider at the bottom and it creates a nice swinging shape.  It has a zipper in the back and a snap at the waistband. The underskirt, is made of a soft pink lining fabric and I sewed cream colored eyelet lace on the hem.  You don't see the under skirt unless she is running or sitting but it creates more body to the skirt and a soft pink glow under the main fabric.  I also embroidered (machine) a soft pink heart on the skirt.
The vest is made from the same minky I made Isa's Coat Dress from.  It has small raised hearts in the texture of the fur.  The vest has shoulders that extend just a little past hers and a funnel neckline.   The same pink lining fabric lines the vest.  I have one small bow button as a closure.
I made a sweater too (but the picture that I took was awful and I could not get the lighting right so you just have to see it on Abi).  It is made from a very soft, fuzzy sweater knit.  It has drop-shoulders, a gathered cap at the sleeve, and long sleev cuffs.  It also has a shallow v-neckline.


I took the pictures while we were being goofy with some photo booth props left over from her birthday.  They are not the most stylish of blog photos, but they are fun.









I had enough fabric left over to make a matching sweater for Isa.  Hers has a v-neckline in the back and front.  And I made a 'lettuce edge' on the sleeves and bottom hem with my serger.

silliness!
 So, that is my sweet and romantic outfit for my big girl and a bonus sweater from my baby girl.

Now, if I really can practice what I preach, this month when I see all those hearts dangling about I can try to really love others.

By being:

patient, 
kind.

not envy others,
not boast,
not be proud.
honoring of others,

not be self-seeking,
not be easily angered,
not keeping record of wrongs.
I will protect, trust, and hope.



more silliness





Friday, January 25, 2013

Inspiration Point. My take on a deer in the forest

Pin It This is M, (Major Moma has been insisting that each of us identify ourselves early in the blog post).
So this month we were challenged with a great picture of a stag in a misty forest.

So how can I interpret this great picture?  I am a pretty traditional quilter, I like big bed quilts, and although I prefer mid century modern in my home decoration,  nothing makes me happier than a pile of 1930's pastel fabrics.  The song from Sesame Street rings in my head most of the time: "One of these things is not like the other" 

But true growth in art or craft comes from stretching your boundaries.  So I have been reading:   Quilting modern by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen  Here  is the link to Tallgrass Prarie Studio. Jacquie has amazing work,  and this book really inspires me to go beyond the cute and comfortable.

So with inspiration from a deer in a woods, and from my current reading list, here is my take  on this month's inspiration point.

Yes,  I just wanted to show the angles and lines and a little of the color,  and was perfectly inspired by a quilt in Quilting Modern called Shattered. Difficulties I had with this little wall hanging... one thing I learned don't let go of the fundamentals when stretching yourself,  a wonky border will distract from the overall message that you are trying to convey.  And the wonky border drove me nuts.

But after a little blocking and stretching, the quilt is not totally square, but enough that I can live with it. It does lay nice and flat on the wall, although in the tree it is listing a little...

I also got to play a little with the quilting.  I decided to scribble most of it, trying to emphasize the lines and the negative space with swirls and circles,  that was fun, basically coloring in the lines with my thread. 

I had a great time making this quilt.  I am glad that I tried it.  I may be doing more contemporary type quilts , although I don't think I will limit my palette quite as much in the future.  And (and this is a big AND)  I learned that doing things correctly give me MORE freedom to be creative.  I then won't get bogged down in the errors and enjoy the process.

Can a deer in the woods inspire you?  How about stretching your boundaries?  Do something different that helps you look at things in a new way.  I did and it was fun.

Rex

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Growing up, I, Winocologist, was always fascinated by Greek Mythology.  I think it was because I love an anti-hero in a story.  No one was perfect or untouched.  The greatest men, and even the gods themselves, had faults.  Sometimes, as in Hercules, it was the penance for their sins that made them great.  It showed us that no one is inherently great, but there is a good and an evil inside of all of us.  And, it is not one action in our life that will determine our greatness.  It is what we do throughout our lives, day-to-day, trial-to-trial; that will determine how we will be remembered.


This is how I feel about my dog Rex.  He is 50lbs of fuzzy, love and loyalty, kindness and humor.  He is also 100% Crazy.

Let me explain. 

Rex was rescued from a neglectful home in Florida when he was about 1 year old.  He was severely mal nourished, never had a collar, let alone seen a vet or properly socialized.  When I first got him I was amazed at how easy he was to train.  He didn’t chew things up, or go to the bathroom inside, or get into garbage.  He was small enough to keep in an apartment, but big enough to scare off intruders.  He was perfect… except… he only loved me.  I was his rescuer and in return I got a dog that was intensely protective of me, and extremely untrusting of anyone else.  Eventually we were able to introduce others into our “pack”.  Rex loves my parents, Aunt Veda, my nieces and nephews, and most others that are invited into my home.  My friends and family, who are introduced to him more than twice, love him and know how wonderful he is. 

But… Rex does not like strangers!

This is a problem, because that 50lbs of fuzzy love is also 50lbs of muscle and teeth, with a pretty intimidating bark.  There are not a lot of strangers that care to stick around to try and be his friend. 
I do what I can.  I make sure he gets enough exercise, he is not allowed on the furniture (its an authority thing), and he has gone through his advanced level training.  But, he’s eleven now… he’s not changing.  So, I accept him, as he is.  Knowing full well that he 100% psychotic and 100% wonderful. 

He is the perfect anti-hero.  A “good dog”….most of the time.

Wine pairing for the perfect dog.... Senorio de P. Pecina Chobeo de Pacina 2009 white Rioja.  A delicious white wine that is nothing like anything you are used to.  Unique and great... most of the time.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Liebster nomination!!!

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One of the really fun things about sew alongs, is "meeting" other bloggers.  I (Major Moma) love seeing the personality of different bloggers come through in their creations.  For example, the pattern remix that is week one of every PRP always is interesting.  We all have the same starting point but come up with completely different things.  And in this "getting to know" each other process, we discover blogs that we normally would never know about.  And, things like this happen:  One of the lovely ladies, Sally at Daisy Chain Creations, that sew along at PRP nominated Without Directions for a Liebster award!


What is a Liebster Award?  "The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers (or have been blogging for less than 6 months). It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs. It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world. Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German. It is also known as the Love Blog Award."
It's been fun to get to know some bloggers better and a great way to pass on the love.
There are some rules though:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2.  Answer the 11 questions given by the nominator.
3.  Create 11 new questions for those you nominate.
4.  Choose 11 new blogs and link to them in your post.

She did specifically mention me, Major Moma, because I am the one that participates in PRP.  Though I am the most frequent poster in this 4-woman blog, I am certainly not the most interesting so we are going to share the lists of eleven thing/questions/blogs amongst us.

And like the question/answer post we did from Luvin' in the Mommyhood, we will color code the answers.

M
Major Moma
McH
Winocologist

Random Things:

  1. Major Moma's oldest kid and McH's youngest kid are the same age.  They are actually 4 months apart and McH wanted to name her child, if a girl, the same name that Major Moma wanted to name her unborn girl.  Luckily, McH's child turned out to be a boy and they did not have to go to blows to choose who got the name.
  2. When Major Moma was about 4 years old, someone asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up.  "I want to be a firewoman, policewoman, doctor, veterinarian, live on a farm, and have 13 kids."  Astounded by this list, the person asked, "If you are all those things, who will take care of the kids?"  Without batting an eyelash, Major Moma replied, "My husband."  So how did that work out?  Well, Major Moma is none of those professions and does not live on a farm, but she does work full time while her husband manages the household and is a stay-at-home-dad.
  3.  Major Moma has graduated from universities on both coasts.
  4. Winocologist has attended both mime and circus school
  5. McH has always wanted to visit Maine but has not yet made it there.
  6. M has 6 grandkids and 1 granddog.
  7. All of us sew, but we sew different types of things.
  8. M used to 'cruise the bay' on a cotton candy pink scooter with matching helmet.
  9. Winocologist is absolutely a city girl and has lived in cities on both coasts of the U.S.A., and the Midwest.
  10. Major Moma loves to run as long as no one is pressuring her to go faster.
  11. McH married her high school sweetheart.
  12. M is very involved in an amazing organization called Days for Girls.  You really must check it out.  Did you know there are girls all around the world who are unable to finish school because they do not have access to decent feminine hygiene products?

Questions asked of us:




1. What's your go to place when you are stumped and need a solution when it comes to sewing/crafting?

  • The book Vogue Sewing

  • Dude. Google.

  • Bed; I go to sleep thinking about it, and then wake up with the answer

·       I go for a walk.  There are a lot of crafty stores and great ideas all around where I live.

2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?

  • India.  I would love to go somewhere that is completely different than the U.S. and experience a non-western culture.  And why India then?  I have been attracted by the colors, sounds, and food that have eeked their way into US media.

  • Russia. While my hubby and I were stationed in Germany we always intended to go to Russia, but never got there. I think we would love the deep culture and strong people.

  • Africa, I went once and Africa is deep in my heart. 

  • Malaga, Spain.  I have been itching to run away there.  The history and mixing of cultures fascinates me… And lets not forget the SHERRY!


3. Who taught you how to sew and what do you wish you could ask them now?

  • My mother ... and I ask her questions all the time. Right M? 

  • My mommy. She bought me my first pair of good left handed scissors after I stabbed myself in the leg with her righties.  I don't ask her questions about sewing because she is too way crazy advanced for me and cares about things like corners meeting and I don't.

  • My mother, she was an amazing semester...I remember her making clothes out of hand-me-downs and my clothes never looked homemade. She started sewing with knits before it was popular, and taught me that a really good sewing machine is more important than a new refrigerator

  • Gramma taught me.  Mom never had the patience to teach me.


4. If you were able to pass on your love of sewing to someone, what is the first thing you would tell them/teach them?

  • Don't be afraid of mistakes and enjoy the process. 

  • Only God is perfect so chill the heck out about it.  Oh, and color choices make your project look either old and dumb or modern and amazing. Pick wisely young padawan.

  • God may be the only one is perfect, but doing the fundamentals will make all your work better. If your fundamentals are in place then people are free to enjoy your work and message.

  • DON’T START QUILTING.  You don’t want to end up with a sewing room like M.

5. What is the must have by your sewing machine/craft table when it comes to snacks?

  • Something not messy. 

  • Coffee.  Is that a snack?

  • Love a cup of tea, other than that no food in sewing room.

  • Wine.

6. What is one time period you wished you lived in, if only for the clothes they wore?

  • Well, I keep thinking of the antebellum time (1860s) with all their hoop skirts and layers of fancy fabrics.  But really, only a select few in the upper class really got to dress like that.  So for us ordinary folks, I would like the 1940s.

  • I am a huge fan of Victorian romances, so 1860-1890's more specifically 1880's fitted bodices with bustles.

  • 60's mod, I never had the body or money to wear it when I lived it...

·       If I were upper class in France, it would be the late 18th century.  I love the colors and patterns.  Everything was so extravagant.  However, I don’t think I would want to be a French aristocrat in the late 1700’s.  What a waist of good hats!

7. Favorite thing to do/favorite hobby, non-sewing related?

  • Running 

  • Writing.

  • Cooking

  • Eating

8. If you could indulge yourself in something sewing related, what would it be and why?

  • Sew with fine luxurious fabrics.  I love the feel of silks and fine wools on my hands as I sew.

  • A sewing table. All my crafting stuff is in the space under the stairs. I am like the Harry Potter of sewing.

  • Oh I need a Babylock serger that I can thread easily...my current serger hurts my eyes

  • Sewing lessons… I’m not as good as the rest of them.

9. Milk or Dark Chocolate? Why?

  • Dark.  Because... it is better

  • Dark. Because it isn't tainted with milk fat.

  • I don't discriminate between chocolates; all are good.

  • Dark.  Because it fixes the craving without having to eat the entire bag.

10. What is the funniest thing you have seen or heard lately?

  • My son saying "Take that!" to his sister after passing gas and her replying, "I'm not taking it!" in a singsong voice.  I know, high-class humor.

  • My nine year old on the way home something "Every time I Google image something I always get men. Like yesterday I Google imaged "banana" and I got a bunch of pictures of men. Except when I Googled ancient German artifacts and I got bologna" Yes we checked his parental settings on the computer...

  • I have the funniest husband, he jokes about everything all the time.

·       This is weird… I’m constantly laughing in life, but I can’t think of a single funny thing that has happened.

11. Sunrise or sunset?  What is your favorite time of day?

  • Sunrise:  I love new beginnings. 

  • Sunrise. I am a morning-ish person.


  • Sunset:  If I’m awake for a sunrise I have been awake for way too long.

11 Questions for our nominees:

  1. What is something challenging you did that you felt really good after doing it?
  2. Other than the one you live in, what is your favorite U.S. state?
  3. What book are you currently reading?
  4. Are you a 'city mouse' or 'country mouse'?
  5. Coffee or tea?
  6. When fighting with your significant other, do you walk away or want to talk it out?
  7. What was the best thing you have ever eaten? Where?
  8. Name one cause you really care about.
  9. What is your favorite outside activity?
  10. Where was your best family vacation?
  11. Do you use your "good" dishes often or only pull them out when the occasion is really special?

Great blogs we read (our nominees for the Liebster):

The rules say we need to list 11 small blogs that we love.  Unfortunately, we don't have that many.  Not that we are too picky or our standards are unreasonable.  It is just the combination of two factors:

1) We are busy and have to limit our time on the Internet browsing, so limits are made so we don't lose hours of productiveness.

2) Some how the blogs we have looked at are big.  I guess all of you like the same ones as us.  So, if you are reading this and you have a "small blog", feel free to leave a link to your blog in the comments so everyone can check you out too.

Rachelizms -  A blog about writing and living

Humble Brewer - A blog about a pastor who enjoys brewing beer in his garage ... think modern day monk. :D

CathGrace - A sewing/crafting and family blog.

clouds full of rain - A sewing blog I just recently came across and am so impressed with right now.

Nitty Gritty Love - Michelle, the blogger at this site used to be at the blog My Kite Dream and recently switched over to a new format.  Her posts are always so funny but also very real.
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