Someplace Elsewhere

The Girls The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind...

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:15:15 -0400

The Girls

The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind around the OodleBaDoodle studios (aka, my messy spare room where I sew).

I’m over the moon at the reception of my owls at Studio Gallery. I’ve come to really, really enjoy designing and creating my little feathered friends. I’m now starting to think in more detail about how to expand on the concept. First on the list was a set of girl owls.

They will go on dates with the boys and be coy and shy and sweet. They have velvet peterpan collars, horn-rimmed glasses and I think they need rosettes in their hair. I’m still working on all the little details.

Outside of owls, I’m completely behind on every other project. That’s the way it goes sometimes I guess.

This weekend is Maker Faire and my last class!! YAY! I’ve really enjoyed fitting people all semester, but I’m ready to have my weekends back. 5 hours every Saturday was a giant commitment.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend planned!

Owl Shortage! It’s getting so close to the SF Etsy gallery...

Wed, 09 May 2012 13:13:00 -0400

Owl Shortage!

It’s getting so close to the SF Etsy gallery show at Studio Gallery and I’m so excited! Especially since Jennifer called me to say that all the boy owls had found homes! Thankfully, I just got a batch of new material from FabMo, including some soft and warm cashmere wool.

New boy owls will be available today at the gallery and of course you can come and see them in person at the reception on Saturday :)

Did you know cats snore? (and other silly things) Friday, April...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:21:10 -0400

Did you know cats snore? (and other silly things)

Friday, April 27, 2012

Friday was a silly, silly day. I think Chris and I both woke up with giggles in our brain. It was one of those days when everything made you laugh. Silly little things you say or do, pointing out funny words or blog posts.

We were a ball of giggles all day!

The morning started off by finishing up a few things and getting ready to head to Mt.View for a meeting. Chris decided he would ride with me and work on the road. On our drive, I had some Etsy stuff on my mind. Recently, there have been some policy changes on Etsy that will affect the marketplace. Chris and I chatted about what that could mean and how it would affect a small craft business. I also thought a lot about what I want in terms of next steps in my career. It was a great conversation.

After my meeting, we had a few things to return to Ikea so off we went to that giant boxes in boxes store. I love that place, but I was wearing these super high wedges and they aren’t the best for walking. Anyway, we returned our frames and then went to check out the stools. Chris and I both have been working at standup desks. I converted mine last November and after a brief “break in” period, I really love working at a stand up desk! sitting seems so weird now. Chris has been standing for a couple of months, but noticed that he sometimes wanted a stool to rest on went his legs got tired. This is what we were searching for at Ikea.

After Ikea we decided to have lunch, but it was almost 3pm so we went to our favorite mexican restaurant for an early dinner (we are officially old people I tell you!) It was yummmy!

On the way home, I prepared myself mentally for finishing a couple of projects and I worked in the studio until about 8ish.

We watched the latest episode of Big Bang Theory and ate edamame as a snack and drank pina coladas and by that time my eyelids were pretty droopy. And that was Friday.

Apr 27 2012

Rebecca

Woke up
05:53 AM
Chris made fun of my typing
06:33 AM
Sang in the shower
10:10 AM
Left for my meeting in Mt.View
10:48 AM
Finished my meeting
12:55 PM
Returned frames at Ikea and bought other stuff
02:11 PM
Made my first fitted jacket and the sleeves felt so comfy!
06:49 PM
Walked to the corner market
07:44 PM
Made pina coladas
07:58 PM

Thursday April 26, 2012 Thursday was a day of action. I woke up...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:35:22 -0400

Thursday April 26, 2012

Thursday was a day of action. I woke up with a handbag pattern in my brain. I fell in love with this Tiffany’s handbag, but the $800 price tag is preventing it from becoming mine. So a friend sent me the link to this pattern and with some modifications, I think I can actually make a nice “inspired-by Tiffany” little satin handbag.

The first thing I did this morning was make modifications to the pattern and cut out my fabric. I am considering doing a tutorial if you want to make this too! I have never made a framed purse before, so I’m excited to learn something new.

Most mornings, Chris and I sit and have coffee and read our blog feeds on our ipads - how nerdy, right? Anyway, today I was really not feeling it, so I basically just looked through all the pictures.

When I finally got to my sewing machine, Midnight was perched next to it, ready to help. When I say help, I mean “eat all the thread”.

The bulk of the day was spent working on various projects. I have tons of things in the queue and I have a plan next week for finishing ALL of them :) Say a little prayer that it works out. I could potentially end up in a pile of fabric. That might be ok too, actually :)

After lunch, I headed to Anthropologie to do some inspiration shopping and meet up with a friend. While in the store, I tried on some perfume and wondered if I smelled like a grandma. I also found a pair of shoes I REALLY wanted, but they were $100. Too expensive.

Afterwards, we hit up DSW again and I actually bought shoes there (I had a coupon) - shocking I know! I also was on a “trying on headbands” kick today. Everywhere we went I saw the cutest headbands! Feathers, sequins, glitter, metal. I wanted to buy them all. However, I considered that I could probably make them… but would I?

How often do you use public restrooms? Formerly I would use them all the time, everyday in fact. Now, not so much. I had to use one today and I was totally grossed out. I hate everything about it - standing in line, smelling the person before you and especially sitting closed in that tiny room! BLECH!!! It’s the worst, but when you gotta go, you gotta go.

On a brighter note, I rode my bike to BART and it was such a BEAUTIFUL day, I could hardly stand it. Back in the studio and working on projects. I forced myself to go home instead of biking the streets of San Francisco. I worked until about 7pm and then vegged out on the couch for the remainder of the evening.

Round up from VerbNoun:

Apr 26 2012

Rebecca

Woke up
06:44 AM
Worked on my Tiffany handbag copy
08:41 AM
Rushed through reading my feeds
09:33 AM
Wrote a blog post
10:03 AM
Found a furry helper on my sewing machine after lunch
12:46 PM
Hopped on my bike
01:08 PM
Parked bike
01:13 PM
Used a public restroom blech
02:03 PM
Bought shoes
04:27 PM
Tried on headbands
04:33 PM

I just reread yesterday’s post and thought it sounded a...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:00:19 -0400

I just reread yesterday’s post and thought it sounded a bit whiny - lol I guess we all have those days, especially when you get older. Aches and pains and feelings tumble over top of you for no good apparent reason. Oh well, that was my state of mind on Tuesday, so what can you do?

Here’s the recap from Wednesday:

Wednesday - April 25, 2012

Woke up not quite as early. My studio office was a bit messy, mostly because I left the ironing board up. I hopped in there and cleaned up and then made a little fancy feather hairpiece for myself. I have this wool fabric that I purchased at the Britex sale and I really want to finally make that sheath dress from my fitting class. The hairpiece will go nicely with it.

I’ve enjoyed working on little crafty type projects first thing in the morning. It makes me feel accomplished right from the start of the day.

Most of the morning was full of sewing, sewing, sewing. I was happy to make some progress on all my projects.

After showering and getting dressed, I hopped on BART and got off on my old familiar Montgomery station stop to have lunch with a friend. She gave me a little sewing project and on the ride back to Glen Park my mind was teeming with ideas. I love it when that happens!

I was back at it around 1:30pm working away on my sewing projects. I pretty quickly finished a few things, which felt great! I was on a roll today.

Late in the afternoon I received a call from a friend who was going on a job interview. We chatted about interview questions and the basic dos and don’ts. It’s easy for me to give advice, but somehow I have trouble executing these ideas myself - LOL

As 5pm drew closer, I retreated to the living room to stuff and sew up some new owls for my Etsy store. I am making girly versions of them to go with the nerd boys. Chris discovered this show on animal planet about hauntings. I love a good ghost story so we watched a couple of episodes until I just got too freaked out.

We ordered Indian food for dinner and watched some favorite episodes on Hulu. Chris gave KC some fresh catnip and suddenly our 16 year old cat was jumping up on furniture, running around and acting like a kitten. She’s so adorable.

That was my day. Nothing exciting, just a lot of working and listening to music. Below is the VerbNoun recap.

Apr 25 2012

Rebecca

Woke up
06:53 AM
Tidied up my work space a little
07:49 AM
Made a little hair piece for myself
08:00 AM
Ate breakfast and read feeds
08:54 AM
Chris told me a ruby on rails code story
09:13 AM
Wrote a blog post about Tuesday
09:31 AM
Set up a Facebook page for OodleBaDoodle
09:48 AM
Took a shower
10:13 AM
Made a new pandora station
10:16 AM
Left the house
11:06 AM
Got on Bart
11:13 AM
Got off at Montgomery station
11:25 AM
Ate lunch
12:29 PM
Thought about how much I loved my job at Royal Caribbean
12:31 PM
Boarded Bart back to glen park
12:44 PM
Made a ring bearer pillow
01:59 PM
Coached someone through an interview
05:09 PM
Chris made me watch a show about hauntings
05:29 PM
Finished 8 new owls
07:27 PM
Listened to the sound of rain
07:39 PM
Went to bed

Tuesday - April 24, 2012 Woke up early again this morning and my...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:38:31 -0400

Tuesday - April 24, 2012

Woke up early again this morning and my plantar fasciitis was in full flare. It affects mostly my left foot and I probably need to start wearing my boot at night to stretch, but I am procrastinating and telling myself that I am not in much pain. Anyway, alieve does the trick and I’m right as rain.

I think I forgot to brush my teeth on Monday - super gross, so first thing, my Sonicare buzzed it’s familiar tone. I had a lot of fine sewing to do today. I’m working on some shirts and a vest that require detail and hand sewing work. It’s time consuming, but I love the end result.

A Tuesday favorite is our SFEtsy tweetchats. Every week we pick a business topic to discuss and this week we were talking about Etsy showcase listings and ads. Being a small business owner takes a lot of experimenting and it’s great to hear what others are trying and the results - good or bad.

After my morning of intense detail sewing, I needed a refresher and headed out to buy some thread. At JoAnn’s I got cornered in the pattern department by a very sweet lady who just lost her husband and decided to take on a sewing project to push herself through the grieving process. She was a bit of a chatterbox and I found myself trying to find a way to get out of her verbal embrace. Finally, she had a question about fabric that I couldn’t answer and she went off to find a sales associate to help her. I found a nice pattern for a men’s suit and I’m looking forward to making it.

The afternoon was spent working on owls and rethinking my approach to construction. I also had a moment of self doubt. Chris is always a good listener. I know I take on too many projects and push myself to learn new things, but when I hit walls too many times in a row, it’s easy for me to get down. Negative thoughts consumed my afternoon and I felt like a failure. Like all down moments, I knew that if I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, I would feel better, gain more knowledge and get closer to mastering the skill I’m working on. It’s difficult to remember that when you are in the moment.

The last part of my day was spent at a fitting. I’m very pleased with how things are coming along and I can’t wait to see the final, final result.

Spent a lot of time in the car today. Not a bad thing. I love seeing the city and getting away from my desk. I also love the solitude of just me, the radio and the car. I like to turn the music up loud and sing. I don’t do it very often, but it gives me a happy feeling. Happy happy!

I realized that I didn’t ride my bike today. Need to fix that tomorrow.

How was your day?

Once again, here is the summary from VerbNoun.

Apr 24 2012

Rebecca

Woke up and took alieve
06:10 AM
Brushed my teeth
08:00 AM
Fed the cats
08:08 AM
Made breakfast
08:12 AM
Read feeds and blogged
09:31 AM
Joined the SFEtsy tweetchat
09:59 AM
Finished a vest
12:03 PM
Took a shower
12:30 PM
Bought some thread and got cornered by a chatterbox
02:08 PM
Bought some cheese
02:19 PM
Made a fondue
06:20 PM
Thought it was funny the cats are eating dinner at thesame time we are eating
06:27 PM
Nearly ran over 3 people
07:54 PM
Completed fitting
08:44 PM
Sang in the car
09:16 PM
Precariously parked the car
09:16 PM
Went to bed
11:11 PM

A week in the life: MONDAY April 23, 2012 Yesterday was a...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:22:25 -0400

A week in the life: MONDAY April 23, 2012

Yesterday was a pretty typical day for me. Lately, I’ve been waking up early and I woke up and got going around 6:30am which was a bit surprising considering the night before we stayed out at a friend’s house until after 11pm.

My todo list was long today and I was happy to get started. I worked in my office until about 8am and then made breakfast and posted on my blog. I’ve enjoyed having my computer sitting on the table so that I can use it after breakfast. I haven’t been that interested in my computer so far this year so this is a great way to keep it in my sights.

After breakfast, back in the studio drawing and cutting and matching up pieces. I only had about an hour until I left to have lunch with my friend downtown. I rode my bike to the BART but decided to lock up outside Cafe Bello instead of in the BART station. I have come to hate getting in and out of the turnstiles with my bike.

I got in the station right as the train was pulling up - no waiting! I love going into the financial district. Everyone is so busy and there are always lots of tourists marveling at the city.

After lunch I made a pitstop at Britex. I needed some small items for a project, but got engulfed in the laces and feathers section. Don’t even get me started on the buttons. That place has an insane amount of buttons. You need at least a day to look at all of them. I find it a challenge to go in there without feeling overwhelmed.

Back home I got right back to my desk to finish working on a few projects. Around 4pm I felt completely exhausted. I guess that happens when you start your day at 6:30am. To refresh myself, I laid quietly on the bed and listened to “winter birds” by Ray LaMontagne. After about 20 minutes I was refreshed enough to finish my work for the day.

Around 6:30pm Chris made dinner. He cooked up sausages he bought from the farmer’s market on Sunday and baked potatoes. We watched Once Upon a Time and the latest episode of Mad Men and then I made fresh strawberry icecream. I also drew a bit on my ipad.

9:45pm and I heard the bed calling my name. Midnight must have been sleepy too because he followed me into the bedroom.

I turned on my ipad and watched an episode of Modern Family - well watched isn’t exactly the right word. It lulled me to sleep. Woke up again this morning at 5:30am ready to get another day started.

Below is a daily digest from VerbNoun. I realized how much detail I left out, but I still love having it a reference.

Apr 23 2012

Rebecca

Altered Caleb’s shirt pattern
07:43 AM
Adjusted pants pattern for class
07:50 AM
Put away dishes, boiled eggs and made coffee
08:07 AM
Washed dishes
08:30 AM
Made green juice
08:53 AM
Ate breakfast
09:09 AM
Took shower
10:11 AM
Completed telephone interview
11:17 AM
Rode Bart to Powell station
11:56 AM
Arrived at Tropisueno
12:01 PM
Stopped at Britex
01:43 PM
Arrived home
02:09 PM
Finished designs for girl owls
02:37 PM
Finished cutting some fabric
05:31 PM
Felt exhausted
06:45 PM
Watched Mad Men and made strawberry icecream
08:30 PM
Drew a blue bird
08:48 PM
Went to bed
10:12 PM

Week in the Life April 23-29, 2012

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:44:06 -0400

Well hello friends!

It’s Monday, which doesn’t mean much to me these days, but may about to again. Anyway, this particular Monday kicks off my annual participation in Ali Edwards “week in the life” documentation process.

I’ve been documenting my daily routines for 4 years now. I’ve made scrapbooks and also just have a couple of pages on a notebook with iphone photos. This year, since I have the time, I really want to document and publish timely what a week in the life means to me right now, age 37, living in San Francisco, California.

My plan is to use my iphone, Diana plastic camera and Nikon D60 DSLR for the photo portion. For the words, I’ve been using my friend Caleb Elston’s micro-journaling app called VerbNoun. I like that it’s text based and I don’t have to open an app to use it. Just type and go.

I’m working hard this week to finish some major sewing projects. I have a couple of interviews and I have designed some new owls for my Etsy store.

I can’t wait to look back on this week and see the details.

To kick off, here is my plan for today, we will see how it goes…

1. Adjust Caleb’s dress shirt pattern and make changes on his wearable sample

2. Improve fit of my skinny jeans project for my garment fitting class

3. Have lunch with a friend

4. Make new owl patterns

5. Final adjustments on client shirt for his big day next week

Are you planning to participate in this project? If so, please send me a link to your documentation process or the end result of your collection. I love reading the details of what people are doing.

Have a great Monday!

Would You Take Your Idea to the Shark Tank?

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:15:38 -0400

Well Hello Hello!

I’ve been absent from my blog, but not from everyday life :) Like most people that share online, I sometimes get lost in my real life and forget to update my online life. This is good news because then I have a few things to share when it comes time to sit at the computer. So here we go.

I love watching the Shark Tank lately. Have you seen it? It wakes up the entrepruenter in you, it worth at least one watch, if you get the chance :)

It’s exciting to see all these makers and they REALLY get into their ideas and I love watching their presentations, even when it doesn’t go perfectly. It’s the American dream and so wonderful when they get a shark to bite on their idea. You can feel the electricity pulsing inside as they walk off set! Thrilling, seriously.

Well, this past week has been fun and interesting. A couple of people have asked me about projects that I said I was working on and so I thought it might be nice to give you an update.

Posted a few weeks ago, I did finish making this cute sweatshirt top/jacket. I made one for Kelley too and here she is modeling it and looking fab as usual! Don’t you dig her bangs btw?

Secondly, I’m trying to resist falling victim to the big nerd frames, even though they are supa-cute. I just don’t know if I can pull it off. Over the weekend, Rebekah and I went to a vintage fashion show here in SF and I fell in love with these 1940s frames. What do you think? Can I rock them?

Thirdly, I had the honor of going wedding dress shopping with a friend yesterday and she found an amazing dress. I would post a photo, but I’m not sure she’s revealing it just yet, so we will have to wait until the big day to show you. In the meantime, these shoes somehow made it into my shopping bag. I CANNOT resist cute shoes, especially at $28.

Fourthly (& Fifthly), I rearranged my workspace in the office so I can get to all sides of my cutting table. Prior to this, I had my desk against the wall. I liked it, but I needed space to cut my patterns without reaching or moving them and I like the idea of being able to look outside while working. Thoughts?

The BlendTec (will it blend?) was busted and finally it came back from the BlendTec hospital and fresh strawberry ice cream was made - MMMMMMM

Finally, cutest Irish baby IMHO. (My little nephew Liam) Catch you next time!

What We Did Last Week

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:00:19 -0500

We bought a new iron. Well, this may not seem that exciting, but I’ve been fighting with my stupid iron for years and I finally got a new one. Who knew it would only cost $25 from Amazon.

We biked at night! This is my new favorite thing to do. This was our first ride since Chris put on my new fenders and back rack. I felt like I was driving a Cadillac.

I worked some more on a custom shirt for Chris. Here he is in his muslin garment. He came to class with me on Saturday and the whole class did his fitting. In his words “they talked about my butt at length” LOL

Going to a garment fitting class isn’t for the faint of heart. They go over your entire body for fitting “issues” - it’s worth it though for really well fitting clothes.

My friend Cathy from Miami came to visit with her hubby. We did the whole tourist thing and had lunch at Pier 39. It was nice and the weather was beautiful! I love this city.

The Perfect Fit, finally a book I can understand! This garment...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:11:43 -0500

The Perfect Fit, finally a book I can understand! This garment fitting class has turned into a bit of frustration and I realized that it might be because we don’t have a textbook.

After a few searches online and reading Amazon reviews I settled on this book by Creative Publishers International. *BONUS* It’s also available on Kindle!

So far it’s been a wonderful compliment to the class and now my little pencil skirt seems to be shaping up a bit better.

Update on the Garment fitting class - it’s moving right...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:37:53 -0500

Update on the Garment fitting class - it’s moving right along. I chose this pattern for my pencil skirt and I’ve put together the muslin (mostly). It seems to be coming together nicely. The pattern was easy to cut out and mark. Our instructor suggested thread marking the stitch lines which was gibberish to me. This week, in between job hunting, I watched a few videos online to figure out these terms. Being a self taught sewer has it’s pros and cons.

After stumbling upon several “couture technique” videos, one thought came to mind: “Jeepers Creepers this takes making a skirt to a whole new level of time commitment!”

I am looking forward to the end result though. We are only required to make one of the four garments out of fashion fabric. Still, who wants to go to all that trouble to fit yourself in a muslin and not actually make the darn thing? I’m totally making this skirt once I get the fit down. I’m just not sure what fabric to choose. I bought a really cute stretch cotton print at a remnant sale, so if I have enough, I’d like to use that for this skirt.

Outside of the classroom, Rebekah and I made a journey to JoAnn’s for the much anticipated Vogue pattern sale. Vogue released a few new patterns I was anxious to get, such as this cute jacket/top. The fabric was already washed and ready for cutting, so I prepped everything last night. I also bought a few other patterns to add to my growing stash :) Hoping that several will get on the cutting table very soon.

In other news, I discovered how to make Twinkies from scratch! Super easy and delicious. Definitely better than the packaged ones.

As a final thought, STILL working on finishing that Blurb book. No matter what, it will be finished by Tuesday because that’s when the coupon expires :)

What are you working on this weekend?

Officially a Fashion Design Student! Ok, so it’s community...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:23:17 -0500

Officially a Fashion Design Student!

Ok, so it’s community college and yes, it’s just one class, but I’m over-the-moon about taking this garment fitting course.

BTW, I’m sure you realized that this photo has nothing to do with fashion design, but isn’t it pretty? Love these pretty little California moments!

The first class was held over the weekend and I already learned a thing or two about tailoring a man’s shirt (will definitely share secrets soon!).

This semester we will be making a pencil skirt, a sheath dress, a jacket and a pair of pants. Spent several hours browsing Vogue for the perfect patterns!

I’m also slowly making progress on my December book. Totally took bunches and bunches of photos in Ohio. The challenge has been in editing while including all those special everyday moments.

What are you working on this last week of January?

12 For 2012

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:54:59 -0500

It’s January 2012, the 12th day and I sort of have a “Ground Hog’s Day” feeling, as if I’ve been here and done this before.

Over the past week and a half, I’ve been reading everyone’s new year’s posts and goals for this 12th year of the 2000s. Love hearing how different people interpret the change of the calendar. For me, new years are symbolic of new beginnings and opportunities for growth and development as well as another building block on the life I’ve created so far.

Ali Edwards promotes a small goal each year called “One Little Word.” The idea is that you select a word that could be the “theme” for your year. For the past 2 years, I’ve chosen words that helped me stay focused on my goals for the year and gave me a sense of direction. This year, I have selected “action” as my word. I’ve been asking all my friends, “What word would select for 2012?” and I LOVE hearing all the different responses.

If you have time, Ali has an audio file on her blog reading all the words her readers have chosen this year and it’s powerful to hear them read aloud.

In closing, last year at this time, I made a list of 11 goals for 2011 and I am curious to see how I did and I’ve made a new list of 12 for this year.

1. Continue to grow and develop my skills working with metal. - check! Lots of sewing this year (not so much metal work, though - boo!)

2. Improve my sewing skills by making more clothes. - check! Learned a great deal this year and wore a bunch of my own creations.

3. Learn this new thing and kick it’s butt. - no comment here
4. Create 4 brand new designs - this did not happen :(
5. Travel - go on at least one major trip this year. - We didn’t go on a major trip, but several small trips, including Miami! That was super fun :)
6. Be more active - camping / hiking / scuba diving - Check! We bought our bikes and I began biking to work. In 2012 I would like to do more camping.
7. Enter one design contest this year - Surprisingly, I did do this one. I entered the BurdaStyle Costume contest - but sadly, did not win :(
8. Improve my Adobe Illustrator skills by doing one new project a month - fail! Didn’t even attempt this.
9. Completely overhaul and organize the house - cleaning mode! - This sort of happened, but still needs a lot of work.
10. Visit friends in Florida, Georgia and Ohio :) - visited Florida and Ohio, perhaps I’ll figure out how to see more people this year.
11. Make an effort to remember birthdays and special occasions - send real cards and not just “happy birthday” messages on Facebook. - another fail! I totally had the desire, but my job sucked the life out of me most days and that’s a terrible excuse for not sending birthday cards, let’s give it a whirl this year!

Twelve Goals for 2012

1. Relauch my Etsy store

2. Take some fashion design classes and increase my sewing skills

3. Become a better photographer

4. Live healthier and stop turning to food for comfort

5. Enter a fashion design contest

6. Take more photos

7. Buy more handmade and local

8. Scrapbook more - digitally - After our fire in 2010, I am done with paper scrapbooking

9. Improve my Adobe Illustrator skills

10. Learn 12 new tunes on my fiddle

11. Bike, bike, bike

12. Volunteer - somewhere, doing something that will give back all the goodness I’ve been given (I’m a lucky girl)

What are your plans for 2012? Any big goals? I’d love to hear more about them!

My fake fur vest! What is up with fake fur vests? They are...

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:21:51 -0500

My fake fur vest!

What is up with fake fur vests? They are seriously EVERYWHERE! Walking through Union Square I saw no less than 5 different versions in store windows and I couldn’t get them out of my head. I had to make one.

So here’s my take on the fur vest. I chose a black fur with a a polka-dot knit lining. There is a slightly funny story about this lining. At the fabric store, the bolt was stored inside out and appeared to be striped. Chris even thought it was striped. Once it got home I realized that it’s actually polka dot. I hope it’s not hard to see from the photos, but it really gives a nice contrast to the blacky-black of that fake fur.

It’s definitely not the warmest little jacket, but it feels super silky and soft. This is a nice little vest and very easy pattern - MCCall’s 3311. I did make a few adjustments to the pattern. The cut is pretty roomy, but I wanted the hood to be a bit smaller, so I cut the smallest size on the hood. If I was making this again, I would probably add a couple of inches to the length so it hit at the hips. Also I would add darts in the bust to tailor it a bit.

Because of the lining, there was quite a bit of slip-stitching and understitching. This is the first time I’ve really understood the purpose of understitching. :) Now I know and hopefully I can use this technique again.

So, onto the next project! What are you making? Any handmade holiday gifts?

Had enough of Halloween? I’m still sad it’s over....

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:17:44 -0500

Had enough of Halloween? I’m still sad it’s over. Sorry for the delayed post, but I’ve been intellectually unavailable recently.

This Halloween I really tried to push myself creatively. Nothing makes me happier than getting lots of costume requests and this year we had some interesting ones :)

Chris wanted to be Wilfred and Tim needed new accessories for his Brian costume and I just wanted to do something simple. A couple of years ago I made a Strawberry Shortcake costume for my sister and I really wanted to be Blueberry Muffin to match, just like when we were kids. I took my existing Alice in Wonderland dress and replaced the apron with a simple design and made a giant felt hat. All in all, I was thrilled with the results of all the traditional costumes.

Making things is so rewarding especially when it’s a challenge. A friend of mine from work had a very creative costume idea. He decided to be a squirrel and his girlfriend would be acorn. We bantered around ideas and came up with a fun way to execute making this nut out of foam and a smooth double knit fabric. I headed over to Fabric Outlet in Mission and got my materials. It was surprising how easily it came together. I made a little caplet out of fleece for the top of the acorn. Very simple design, I cut it using pinking shears and then gathered the top. The tie was made from brown satin ribbon from Jo Anne Fabrics.

Finally, I wanted to enter some costume contests this year. Unfortunately I didn’t win (boo!) but I was very happy with my entry of a 1950s-inspired super girl costume for Corrie from work. The big inspiration for this outfit was some material I got for $2/yd and I added all the trim with a sporty solid fabric. She looked smokin’ hot in her red boots and cape IMHO.

That’s it for this year’s Halloween. Hopefully, even more interesting costume ideas will come my way next year! What did you make?

Commuting Three weeks and no missed days on the bike. Commuting...

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 23:17:50 -0400

Commuting

Three weeks and no missed days on the bike. Commuting now is an adventure, a joy and restorative. Thinking is easier. Getting through the work day is easier. Seeing the city from that perspective is a treat.

The best part is seeing this bridge rounding the last corner before home. No better feeling in the world.

What I imagine they see when their eyes look down upon me

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 04:15:05 -0400

What I imagine they see when their eyes look down upon me

Simplicity 2307 (Project Runway!) This is my most favorite item...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:24:08 -0400

Simplicity 2307 (Project Runway!) This is my most favorite item I’ve made for myself so far, just don’t look too close! It was really fun to make and super fun to wear. Next time I think I’ll skip the linen fabric :)

We “wiggled” to Golden Gate Park today. That was...

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:39:01 -0400

We “wiggled” to Golden Gate Park today. That was living.