Growing little apple trees from seeds of the fruit isn't very hard. I just took about five seeds, washed them off, and then wrapped them in a damp paper towel, and put that in a juice glass. I stored the juice glass on top of the refrigerator (for warmth) and checked it for sprouts every few days, re-wetting as it dried up. It took about a week and a half for them to sprout. I have three sprouts in one huge pot from the five sproutlings I planted. Super cute and growing fast!
30 June 2009
28 June 2009
After 9 hours, I'm still not done.
I was really looking forward to making this bag all week. Cutting all the pieces was pretty simple, but this was the first time I've ever worked with heavy weight interfacing, and it's kind of a bitch! It really makes working with the fabric tough, but definitely gives the fabric some attractive heft. There were a few things about the instructions I found to be perplexing, and the straps, once folded the requisite amount of times, ended up with THREE layers deep of the interfacing, so I had to undo, and cut the width of it down -- I didn't want my straps to be so thick. My sewing machine started acting up at the end of the night -- not surprising considering the weight of all that fabric, and a change of needle didn't seem to help. I didn't have it in me to start messing with the bobbin tension at that point (adjusting that while tired, I've found, can be disastrous), so I stopped for the day with just a bit of top-stitching left to do. The bag is a little more complex than it looks, it has a full, super nice, fitted lining with two deep pockets in it and overall I'm really happy with how it turned out -- I'm especially proud of my pleats, though I suspect the heavy interfacing has more to do with them than me. One lesson learned today -- all that ironing in between each step is well worth it. The bag looks really crisp and neat because I really took my time. There is a slightly smaller version of this bag as well -- I'm going to make one as a gift soon.
26 June 2009
Postcards to Pittsburgh
American Illustrators
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966) used alternating layers of paint and varnish to create the shimmering fantasy lands in his popular illustrations for books, advertisements, magazines, and calendars. The color of his skies is still known as "Parrish blue." In 1925 an estimated one in four homes owned a Parrish print.
Interlute (The Lute Players), mural for the Eastman Theatre, Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, 1922
Tags:
john,
mcmurray pa,
postcards
23 June 2009
20 June 2009
Videos I love: "For Love," Lush
Oh, yes. 1991 was a great year for me. The year I found Lush, the first time I ever had a drink or a cigarette or weed. I was in 9th grade and this was the greatest thing I'd ever heard.
Three napkins done
Sure, they look a little insane, but up close, they are very beautiful, I have to say. I've got a rhythm now, so I figure I can finish up all eight by tomorrow. Most patterns call for you to make six napkins, but I always need more than that at home, so I'm making eight -- one of each fabric, except for the plain red, which I'll make two of. Really happy with the results so far. Oh, and if I ever see rickrack again, I'll cry.
19 June 2009
Napkin number one: DONE!
That wasn't too bad! I sewed the rickrack onto napkin number one last night and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out! Glad I decided to use contrasting thread for the topstitching. Nasty thread that needs trimmed, though.
18 June 2009
Up Next: This Bag
I'm still in the midst of finishing off the tablecloth and napkins for my cousin Sarah's wedding gift (on July 18th). I have only to sew the rick rack on -- a task I've only handled once in the past, and this will entail attaching roughly 23 yards of it to the tiny raw edges of the napkins and tablecloth. I'm really excited to see how they turn out, and this is the part of the project, nearing the end, where I always get anxious to finish and start wanting to rush through. Unfortunately for me, this is possibly the most important phase of production, and I need to take it slow.
This is also the point in my sewing where I always decide on my next project. I have a few things on the horizon, so it's just a matter of prioritizing, choosing what's next, and then picking my fabrics. I am a compulsive pattern shopper. Many sewers I know are super into constantly buying new fabrics. Not so with your old friend over here. There is something about fabric which irks me to no end to have a bunch of on hand -- so I usually only buy exactly what I need, rarely any extra for the future. In fact, I am so particular about quantities that if I need only 3/4 of a yard of a fabric, and for whatever reason I'm at a store that only sells by the full yard (pretty rare), I usually pass on purchasing it. I'm just not into wasting fabric -- and while I do have a small tub of remnants tucked away which I occasionally unbox for little projects, I try to keep it to a minimum.
This brings me to a really annoying experience I've just had. Though I have patterns for two bags (one for a gift, one for myself), new throw pillows (to replace the covers I made last year in an hour and have never been fully satisfied) and our own set of napkins and tablecloth in the same style as the ones I'm making for Sarah, I'd decided to make the Amy Butler bag you see above next, merely because it's for me, and it's been forever since I made something for myself. I made this decision in the middle of the workday, and while I work at home and have a really flexible schedule, I couldn't run out to get fabrics today. Which was annoying -- I already had the bug. So I did something I've never done before. I shopped for fabric online. This is not something I'd recommend, unfortunately. I ultimately went with three fabrics I'd already seen in person, and that I knew would work well together -- so there's no real problem there. However, I was really tempted to try out a different fabric (a newer one that I hadn't previously seen), but was remiss to do so because I couldn't see or touch it. Incidentally, many online shops only sell by the yard -- again, something I refuse to do. On top of that, most online fabric shops don't stock all of the supplies I need in one place -- also terrifically annoying. For instance, for the bag, I needed a gilt magnetic snap and heavy weight, sew in interfacing -- two things I don't keep on hand. I ended up purchasing the thread, snap and interfacing at one shop, and the fabric at another.
In general, I shop at Purl in SoHo because they stock the best quality materials, and because I'm comfortable there. They also have a really nice online shop, that DOES stock a huge array of notions, which is also awesome. In this one instance, however, they didn't have the fabrics I'd decided to work with. Like I said, I totally prefer to buy in person. Which brings me to my main point: I'm going to open a store of my own, in my own neighborhood, which is seriously lacking in sewing shops. I swear, I was meant for this.
Postcards to York: Day Twenty-One
The Thermals
Now We Can See
photo by alicia j. rose
7" in stores march 10, 2009
lp / cd in stores april 7, 2009
www.killrockstars.com
www.thethermals.com
16 June 2009
Book Review: All the Pretty Horses
Dunno. Super beautifully written. Also really manly. Maybe not my thing.
Tags:
2009 books,
book reviews,
books
15 June 2009
Postcards to York: Day Ninteen
Denyse Schmidt Quilts
165 Bennett Street
Bridgeport, CT 06605
www.dsquilts.com
Pretty Insane Looking
Got the red fabric, exchanged it in for the pinks. Looks better and less crazy, I think. The orientation of the photo is actually off -- the cloth will actually lay in the other direction on the table once it's done, and I've attached the main panel of fabric, which is one of the whiter, nicer florals. I also think that addition will tone down the crazies. But really, who knows. I'm just happy that the panels are all straight and the stitching is very neat. I am improving.
12 June 2009
Tablecloth and napkins for Sarah, just started
I have no idea if this patchwork tablecloth and napkins is going to turn out super awesome or really terrible. At this point, it's kinda hard to say -- I really thought the fabrics were all super cool together, but now... well I'm not sure. Sure hope my cousin likes it, though!
6/14 Update: So I am pretty happy with how this is turning out, actually, and the longer I looked at the pieces, the less insane it seemed to me. However, I've recently become acquainted with Sarah's wedding registry, and literally every item on it is bright red. Utter failure. I'm getting red fabric today to sub in the areas where the pink fabric was. Shouldn't be a biggie. And this project should be completed tomorrow.
10 June 2009
Color Wheel Quilt is done: here's what I learned
I've made two quilts previous to this one. The first was a super simple block quilt made for a baby about 5 years ago. The second was a baby quilt made for my friend Maranda just a few months back. Both of these were pretty simple, and had complexity and tedium only to the degree that they both contained hand-sewn appliques (something I get really anxious over). The Color Wheel Quilt (which is from the book Last Minute Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson) was my first large-scale quilt which had many, many cuts, and many quilted lines. In essence, it's quite simple. In execution, there are many ways to fuck this one up. So let me run through my major lessons learned.
1. You really can't be careful enough in cutting your pieces. If you do even a slightly sloppy job of it, you will cause yourself problems and end up with weirdness. I have a bit in my quilt, but it's really minimal and I'm pretty ecstatic over how it turned out. That said, cutting carefully and slowly seems to be the most important step.
2. Back up: wash your fabric! I didn't want to -- there were so many pieces, and I don't have laundry at home! Instead, I hand washed, dried and ironed them in my bathroom sink. I was surprised to see some bleeding of the reds, and if I hadn't pre-washed, it certainly would have ruined the quilt.
3. The quilting part is by far the most tedious, and fulfilling part of the quilting process. As with everything else, you'll find a groove, but because this quilt depends for its final look on straight, straight lines, taking your time, and if necessary, removing offensive stitches to re-do is a must. There are a few visible places on the quilt where I didn't do this, and I wish I had. Again, however, total learning experience, and hey! It really looks fantastic.
4. Bite the bullet: do the double fold binding on every quilt. It looks better. Way better.
That one's done!!! There are more photos of the quilt on my Flickr page.
Tags:
color wheel quilt,
projects,
quilting,
quilts,
Sewing
08 June 2009
Better Pics soon.
This is the most recent photo of the Color Wheel Quilt -- in almost-done form. As you can see, the double fold binding has been sewn in place on all but the right (blue green) side of the quilt, where it's still flapping around. I'm going to take some really good shots of it once it's been ironed and the D90 is back home.
04 June 2009
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