Lunch Sewing

I had today off to sew. There's an overwhelming leaning aspect to the sewing room that keeps me out sometimes. I desperately need a little elf to sort and straighten.
After my doctor's appointment, I did go in and came up with fabrics to sew Ayumi's Lunchbag fairly quickly. Ayumi (aka Pink Penguin) has written other tutorials and she is fantastic at piecing together fabrics if she doesn't have enough. And the fabrics she has are beyond cute in the way she mixes them.

This bag reminds me of the chalk bag I sewed for my son. It also incorporates a drawstring closure to keep the contents in/safe/dry. You should also read the comments for this tutorial post. Several sewists dropped by with their links to the bags they made.

Made December 2010

This is a small bag that can be used in many ways. I plan to sew a couple more as part of my trip gifts (summer trip to Sweden & Finland). Along the way, I will change up some details.

1. The bag bottom was two pieces of fabric sewn together. It can be one piece, embellishments can be sewn prior to construction. The seam on the bottom does make it easier to make a precise box corner.

2. I did sew a touch bigger seam on the lining and this worked perfectly. Sometimes when linings are made the same size as the outer bag, you get a lot of waddage hanging around inside instead of a slim fit within the other.

3. You see the pocket I added? Hidden.  I might add a zip pocket or at least a pocket with a flap. All of my bags have tipped over (overloading - moi?) at one time or another so a flap for the hidden pocket would be good.

4. Some exposed seams on the cover which I would turn under one more time so no fraying threads keep sheering off, bugging me, making me twitchy.

5. The linen I used could be stamped on with a word or two. . . .

I love how easy this was to make. It turned out fabulous with ideas on how to take it to the next level percolating.

Garage Sale Airplanes

Show & Tell. My deals of the day.

Airplanes at each garage sale stop today ranging from the weird: Softie toy disguised as a 707 jet (?) -- to this cool biplane shelf.
My best score? This set of old stationary.

Little factoids on the left side reaching across the top.
"Little Men Notepaper" - doncha love it?

Gold embroidered fabric to put in the Etsy store.

Sewing Hams. Everytime I find these and list in the etsy shop, they are gone within a week. Interesting that most of them were made here in Portland, Oregon. For my non-sewing friends, these are necessary for sewing garments in order to steam or press them well with the iron. They are filled with sawdust and hard as a rock almost. The ham on the left - shaped like a canned ham- is for steaming flat a curved seam. The long roll is for tighter spots - the cuff on a shirt, for instance.

Also destined for the etsy shop, a box of four cams for use in a buttonholer attachment for older sewing machines - New Home, in this case.

Upper left a floss caddy, up front a Ziploc with more floss and an embroidery project.

On the right is a Japanese Enrico Cover ??? Idk, It's Japanese. There is a fan and a square piece of material. I have a small medium stash of Japanese textiles.

Guinness Glasses 3 for a buck. I have found my green juice tastes better  in these big glasses. The Guinness glass somehow makes it taste better than drinking your veggies.
Random packets of legos and more random sewing supplies.

 A nearly completed Bucilla embroidery psalm. Another etsy shop item.

 Next door to one sale was this yard full of wheeled kids toys, plus the fabulous weeping cherry tree fort!    Just starting to bloom - in just a few weeks, kids will be hidden.

 Same yard  with a row of llama topiary. Lots of kids plus llamas to ride equals . . .
Look -- the last one has a red bow on his neck from Christmas.

This was my steal from two weeks ago. Our last sale of the day - a well hidden sewing mecca. A 'nearly new' cutting mat for ten bucks. I think these retail for over $40. Saved me a bunch of money as my old one was getting a little thin in places. We found so many quilt rulers, sewing books, and fabric,  we were reaching into the bottom of our purses to cough  up spare change. My creative friend tossed her truck for more loose change and I came up with my lucky gold dollar coin in the pocket of my purse. The sweet old lady watched our cash frenzy  and finally called a halt so she could say, "That's enough." She was going to move out of her too large home into a smaller assisted home and had decided to let go of her quilting stash. She was fun to talk to as we lingered telling our own sewing stories.

Eggs & Chocolate

I decided to dye some easter eggs after seeing this great posy post.  She managed to dye her eggs with onion skins to a fabulous terra cotta color with the flora contrasting so well.

I bought four onions which I never have in my pantry (another food sensitivity of mine).
I peeled skins off the onions, cut sprigs of greenery and flowers from the garden, laid my frondy things onto the egg and wrapped them in sections of old pantyhose. Then, I boiled the funny wrapped eggs amongst the onion skins.

Admittedly, I forgot the vinegar.
More skins are better. My eggs are too light to show the botanicals. I did a zoombrowser contrast trick to get them past a  soft watercolor look.
I think I also read that Martha adheres her frondy things on with egg white.
While the house smelled like onions, the  eggs themselves did not taste onion-y.  We fortunately had yet another sighting of the sun yesterday with temperatures above 60'. Yes, it was prop the doors open and air the house out weather.
The clouds swallowed the sun around 4:30 --about when I finished unwrapping the eggs. I had to delay the photos until Easter Sunday.

The best flowers were the Leopard's Bane (daisy) and Veronica (small, spreading purple flower). They naturally wanted to conform to the egg shape (re-thinking the egg white glue).

Happy Easter everyone.



Drizzling Chocolate on the coconut macaroons.
Recipe here.
I thought about making a nest of the macaroon - the better to put jelly beans in.
In the end, I decided to drizzle the macaroons with chocolate. Spring treat for Easter dinner.
(all of the j.beans were sent off Monday to assorted Easter recipients)

Boring Amazing! chocolate drizzle video taken with my left-hand while drizzling with my right:

Oregon Monsoon

Another random post of random stuff that is gestating/fermenting in my head:

1. My spring flowers are being beaten to death by the never-ending  monsoon.
2. On a fantastical note, I have discovered how to get a sun break.
3. I stuck  my houseplants out on the patio to get watered and wash off dusty leaves. Two hours later, they were still dry and in danger of getting sun-burned. Try it.
4. Just because it is Spring and just because it was sunny and dry this morning does not mean this is the day to wash some outside windows. As soon as I started, the wind started blowin' and the sprinkles started getting icy. I did five without removing screens and it does appear to be brighter inside.
5. I want to sew but cannot drag my sorry butt into the sewing room.
Too many projects - can't settle on one.
6. My new boss? the one who is n i c e? got sent to another workplace on a work detail probably because it was too good to be true. However, I am working more at the job with benefits.
7. Which means I can pay the hairdresser to 'do' my hair.
8. Thursday at 9:30am
9. Lots of thought-provoking copyright issues out there in sewing land.
10. I'd be interested in what you think.
11. Like this one about Pinterest from DDK portraits.
12. or this one from The Free Motion Quilting Project.
13. Or blatant selling of free sewing tutorials, uncovered by The Selfish Seamstress and her readers, Part 1 & Part II.

14. More on Pinterest and images of children by Made by Rae.
15. I've been contemplating the creative journal (aka THE BLOG) again.
16. The above might have been lurking in my sub-conscience because I am thinking my decision to not post tutorials except in the loosest terms is still holding true. There's another reason too. But I can't find the minimum words to describe it succinctly. It has to do with tutorials posted about how to lower your pressure foot or how to pop your bobbin into your machine and then the blog writer claiming ownership of the material. Simple tutorials for things sewn I recognize from forty years ago but because they are 'written' now, the writer claims ownership of the design.
17. definitely not simple thoughts in my brain this week.
18. Unlike my dog, Rusty, who only owns one thought at a time in his brain. "Ball" and "food". Fetching trumps food btw.

19. Missing my other complicated dog, Rocket, like crazy this week because I read this post. I miss Rocket being the willing model to my creations.
20. The monsoon continues, the rivers are still rising, flooding is eminent. Again.
21. Those people who have the horses (3) by the bridge in Aurora? They now have four horses on not enough grazing land. The Pudding river has flooded several times this winter forcing them to buy hay and NOW they have another horse? More volunteers helping evacuate?
22. Have just read yesterday the Alabama Stitch Book (library). Pretty book. Interesting sewing concepts which I have tried before but would you wear something with thread knots on the outside? With threads dangling?
23.Now reading The Help. Libraries2Go, the e-book resource for Oregon Libraries had my mom at #723 (!) on the hold list back in January for her Kindle. Glad we discovered using my sister's library card in MN got my mom on a much shorter list @ #4. I received an email this morning telling me she can have it from Oregon today. --too late--
24. Monsoon and icy winds - might just finish The Help. Inside, where I can see easier with the winter grime off my windows.
25. Or, I could write a couple of blog posts to post later as I am working full-time this week too.

Swedish Coin Purse

I found this tiny fabric remnant - 6"w x 12"l  -- a few months ago and it was re-placed near my purse frames for a rainy day.

Which happens particularly often in Oregon's month of March.

I even added an inside pocket.

I love how this turned out.
I have gifts to make for my upcoming trip to visit friends in Sweden & Finland. One friend has two girls (high school age) and the other has a girl who wants Monster High Dolls.

Such as this one:

Maybe out-fitted as an aviatrix?

I think some small purses would be easy to bring and give.

Traveling With An Auto-Immune

Food for me is such a serious subject. Because of my auto-immune, I react to most foods. I stay completely away from the ones that set off immediate headaches, stiff joints, & bloating. Some of the food intake causes  cumulative reactions which show up days later. Most days, I eat off of a list of about ten foods. I juice an apple, zucchini and celery for my morning drink. This sits easily in my morning tummy. Mid-morning, I like to get some protein from either an egg, beef or chicken. Maybe a salad. I cheat all the time because it is impossible to only eat foods that cause minimal reactions.

I bring this up because I am off traveling this summer to Sweden & Finland for over two weeks.

This is my bad google search map. I am going to have to scan in a better map because I had a difficult time getting internet images to do what I want them to do. We are starting in Goteberg (Gothenberg) on the west coast of Sweden and making our way eastward to Stockholm, Aland Islands, Turku, Helsinki and possibly Rovaniemi (north part of Finland).

It is difficult to manage my auto-immune but not impossible.
Key to my health management is what I call my emergency food stash. I have had to use it quite a bit this week as my new boss keeps asking me to work longer hours - at the last minute. This kit is always in my car for when I need help - due to circumstances- stabilizing my blood sugar and energy levels.

I have been juicing and blendering veggies and fruit since late last summer. This helps out my auto-immune in a number of ways. The smaller particles of food are easier for my body to extract nutrition from. I am also eating more which translates into energy. How am I going to do juicing while traveling?

My niece (with my two practice grandkids) showed me a product that is going to be another tool in my arsenal. They take up nearly an entire aisle at Target. They are at other stores -- in the baby food area.
Usually organic, heavy on veggies, they don't taste half-bad. Well - it's like drinking your veggies, but the apple helps sweeten it up.

I plan on taking these pouches in my checked bag. I am flying domestic and int'l  and what with gifts for the  people I am staying with and my emergency food, I will have to check one bag. For Ireland (two years ago) I used  only a carry-on but we were gone just the one week. This trip is much longer but is anchored by staying with a friend in Goteberg at the beginning and another dear friend in Helsinki at the end.

You have to be at least 4 years (months!) old to enjoy this.

Quite a few contain Chia Seeds - for protein - which causes me to bloat up almost immediately. My 'favorite' is the broccoli and apple pouch. Simple & effective.
I am not sure about Rutabaga - when's the last time you ate this root?


They are for the most part made shelf-stable by the packaging (excessive and not recycling-friendly) and ascorbic acid + lemon juice. For the most part, they taste like what I am throwing in my blender. For traveling, this is a good way to make sure I am getting some bonus calories for the energy expended walking around and seeing the sites.


I am excited about this trip and love that this new product will make my energy easier to manage.

Book Reports On Fabric

 My nephew sewed a pillow to demonstrate his affection with the book he read.
{Silly school projects}.
He read Peter and the Starcatchers, written by Dave Barry who used to write all those newspaper columns of epic parody for the Miami Herald and Ridley Pearson who probably wrote something important but I've never heard of him.

The kids were asked to make a quilt representing their book. Suggestions included puff paint and fabric markers.
My sister was asking for advice and I told her about freezer paper fabric transfers. Basically, that's where you cut a piece of freezer paper to the size of your printer paper. Iron it shiny plasticy side down on your fabric, cut that to size,  and then feed this through your printer to print out wonderful graphics, words, & book reports.
The freezer paper gives your fabric the stiffness necessary to feed the fabric through your printer.

When your printer is done printing on the fabric, you peel off the freezer paper and iron it to the next sheet of fabric. I think the freezer paper is re-usable four or five times.
You could buy expensive transfer sheets at any office supply store or even get them at Joann's with your 40% off coupon, but this is far cheaper and easier. And different. Impressive, really.

First; he drew out his pictures and printed the words
{{hey! these words are in english. I thought he was in spanish immersion school??? }}. 
Nephew decided to print the words around the drawings.

Secondly; colors were added.

Thirdly;  They scanned in the papers and made a file on the computer.

Fourth;  He sent the file to the printer loaded with the fabric attached to freezer paper. Load only one fabric piece at a time.

Fifth; It printed.

Heat set the inks. Dry iron (no steam). High heat.

After cutting the squares - as squares-
he sewed them together with, I believe, a quarter-inch seam.

 Proudly holding his creation, ahem, book report.

 The back side was this perfect pirate fabric, ordered from etsy, which arrived just a few days before the book report was DUE.

Graded A+




The second book in this series is Peter and the Shadow Catchers. These are about Peter Pan before he knew how to fly and the island and the pirate and all that stuff before Wendy became famous.


***You can google "Freezer paper fabric transfer" and you will be directed to multiple sites featuring this easy-to-use technique. Suitable for all book reports.