I discovered a new favourite toy: Vignette. Technically I just have the free demo right now, but that’s just because I like to try before I buy. It’s set to pick random photo effect (retro, toy camera, etc. styles) and it’s ridiculously amusing. Here’s my first few pics:
When sewing, there seems to be an awful lot of pressing (ironing) involved. Especially with quilting – you need to press the seams before sewing bits together to ensure that everything lies flat and even. For a while, I simply kept a small towel close to my sewing table so that I could iron things right at the table. But, then I bought a cutting mat that takes up most of my table and can’t handle the heat. So, I started clearing off some precious counter space in the kitchen and laying down a towel. It was a bit annoying to always have to keep that one section relatively clean and to have to walk around the corner just to quickly press a seam. So, I finally conceded to the fact that I needed an ironing board. The problem is that they’re big, so they take up room and would be a pain to bring home from the store (I don’t have a car, so I’d have to walk or bus carrying a big ironing board).
Then I remembered seeing a tutorial for turning a standard collapsible TV dinner table into an ironing board. I can’t for the life of me remember where I saw it, but I remembered enough to make once myself. All you need is a table, staple gun, padding, and fabric. I bought a proper ironing board cover kit (thin foam and fabric), but decided that I didn’t like the cover fabric very much, so I decided to cover everything with some lovely fabric from Robert Kaufman’s Stargazer collection.
I was going to write some instructions, but realized that without pictures, it might be confusing. And, because I’ve been using the ironing table as an actually table when working on things while sitting on my couch, I decided that I should make a second one to use as a side table (this way, I won’t run the risk of spilling something on the ironing table, which needs to stay clean). So, when I make my second one, I will take lots of pictures and write a wee tutorial. In the meantime, here’s a picture of the final product.
I also added something to “lock” the table open so that it wouldn’t collapse while it had a hot iron on it.
I’m finally finished my current embroidery project. The pattern is Fresh Blooms (from Polka & Bloom) and the threads are from Dragonflylotus handspun threads (red = Bad Love, green = Shady Grove, blue = Calypso, and yellow = Unity).
It doesn’t matter how many times I watch videos of ocean life or how mundane the footage may seem, I still can’t help getting caught up in the beauty and wonder of marine life. Here are two videos by Rafa Herrero Massieu. He has plenty more and the ones I’ve seen have all been lovely to watch.
We had a wee bit of a snow storm last week. Here are some before and just-a-few-hours-later pictures. Snow doesn’t come often in Edmonton and only lasts because of the cold.
First thing in the morning:
Late afternoon:
First thing in the morning:
Mid afternoon:
I did quite a bit of sewing this weekend. First, I made a reversible sewing machine cover (from this pattern), then I resurrected some scrapes from a crappy fabric bin pattern.
The fabric bin (who’s pattern I won’t share because it had bad measurements that included missing some essential seam allowances) used a pattern that involved sewing together edges of one “I” shaped piece of fabric (like in this tutorial). The problem was that the measurements it gave neglected to add any seam allowances for sewing the sides together. No seam allowance is a big problem. You need an overlap (even a tiny one) to sew pieces together. So, there I was with two pieces of fabric that had to be tossed in the scrap pile. A couple of days later, I had a brilliant idea: my sewing machine has a number of fancy stitches, including a ladder shaped stitch that I figured could stitch two pieces of fabric together without an over lap. I also had extra scrapes of the fabric I had been using for the bin that I could use to make bands for covering up the ladder stitch, if I wanted. So, I set to work trying to figure out how to fix the failed project, and in the end, I much prefer the fancier fix to the original design (see pics below).
The sewing machine cover was also a two attempt endeavour. I made it in one day, but I’d had to use random scraps for the inside as I didn’t have enough matching fabric. But, when I pulled the extra fabric I needed for the fabric bin, I realised that it would also be perfect for the inside of my sewing machine cover. The fabric didn’t match the outside fabric’s colours, but the theme is the same (marine life) and I had some plain canvas which would add a little extra stiffness to the cover. So, I carefully ripped out the seams of the outside portion of the cover and started putting together the inside. I didn’t have enough of the shell fabric to do much more then a few stripes (which I did with uneven lines, on purpose, to match the outside), but it still looks great. The outside was made using some Cloud 9 fabric (Beyond the Sea collection) which I have been hoarding for a while). I can’t remember the shell fabric’s name, designer or manufacturer.
Sewing machine cover outside, front:
Sewing machine cover outside, back:
Sewing machine cover inside:
Completed fabric bin:
There’s a reason why I call Edmonton “Dirt City”. One of these days, I’m going to do a mini photo essay showing the filth, but for now here’s a wee picture of my dirty office window. This is not the dirtiest surface I’ve seen (there are some adverts that you can hardly see because the plexiglass over themare caked with dirt and grim), and this does not adequately convey all the dust in the air (I try to avoid standing to close to a road, as the dirt whips up as big vehicles go by), but it hints at the need for a good rain shower. Rain which we hardly get. Rain which keeps my hometown much cleaner looking.
I finished my Masters 4 years ago this month. After that, I spent a month and a bit poor as dirt, living off the generosity of my Calgary family. Then, I got a job. A real job. A real, permanent, full-time job with a decent pay check and a pension. I was pretty excited at the time, but still dirt poor. I was also pretty lucky because my ex-roommate (who I ditched when I graduated because I couldn’t afford the rent) let me move back in with her.
Then, she (somehow) convinced me to take the time and the precious few funds I had to join her on a trip to Banff. It was just a weekend trip, but I was still pleasantly surprised to manage keeping it around $100 plus my share of gas. And, let me tell you, it was worth a hundred times that. I have seen pictures and I have seen what I used to think were mountains, but nothing could prepare me for the awesomeness of seeing mountains in person. I was in awe and spent the whole weekend saying, “Wow. Wow. Wow!” and taking a million pictures. Roomie was incredibly patient with me and I had the experience of a life time. Honestly, my heart lies with the ocean, but the mountains come a close second. I could live with being land locked if I had mountains to explore (it’s a 5 hour drive to them from Edmonton … so, I haven’t been to them since).
I just posted a bunch of pictures from my trip, and here’s a few of my favourites:
The other night, I built a twin lens reflex camera from Photojojo. The instructions were good, but there were a few parts of the built that required trial and error (like when I had to add a spring who’s ends weren’t oriented exactly the same as the one in the instructions’ pictures). And, it took me a while because I was watching a French & Saunders video at the same time, so I kept getting distracted. But, in the end, I finished it and it seems to be working. The only problem I’ve had with it is that I need to put a little pressure on the edge near the counter gear – if I don’t, counter doesn’t turn. I assume this is because the film bends upwards just enough to evade the gear. I might have to do a little hack inside to fix that. But, first I want to see some pictures. I’ve taken a few (mostly of the sunrise – <sarcasm> shocking I know, I never take pictures of the sunrise </sarcasm>), but I haven’t finished the roll just yet.
A lovely video with some amazing aurora borealis footage.