Crawling out from under a Rock

Our household went through a round of a cold virus.  It was inevitable I get it because the girls were coughing all over me.  It was a dozy of cold.  So miserable that I even made myself some chicken soup with a bunch of veggies in it, which also included sweet potatoes and kale and the juice of one lemon. I ate this soup every day with abandon feeling like the ingredients were finding a home in my body.  One day when the cold felt the worst I called in sick to work.  My boss wanted to know if I wanted him to email me some work.  (Really? no)  I felt pressured to go back to work the next day in a sort of delirium.  Other coworkers made comments like "you look kind of green".  For some reason a part of me went into hiding. Somewhere nestled inside I wrapped a part of myself in a cozy embrace of silence.  It was a part of me that was so exhausted and after several weeks I began to wonder if that part of me was ever going to come back out.  For that part of me was my creative child and I needed to find out what was going on?  I no longer felt like blogging or facebooking.  Every time I wanted to sew or crochet, a lot of unfinished projected ran through my mind and I could not focus on any of them.  Then for some bizarre reason I started to connect with this inner, recuperating child while taking my shower before work. So with the warm water flowing down my back, I closed my eyes and pictured my inner child, who was dark like a shadow, and I held her, like I would hold my girls (wrapped my arms around myself), and I told her I was there for her, and that I loved her.  This happened for two days and that was enough to make both of us happy.  Later that day I picked up my unfinished amigurumi Pony Girl and finished the body.



And in the outside world, where up is up and down is down, my girls turned 5 this year.  And I learned to have fun with picasion and a silent lesson about embracing the inner darkness (where a part of myself  hides) in order to emerge once again into the light united with love and warm water flowing down my body.



picasion

Modified Zipper Pouch from Craftsy

I enjoy making these lined zipper pouches.  I always wanted to make one and the universe provided me with a free online class from Craftsy.  After making four of them I was wondering if I could alter the dimensions and make a purse.  So here is my modified zipper pouch into a cross-hip purse.

 The bag is wider than taller, which I think I did backwards, it should be a little taller than wider, oops.  Live and learn, or is it live and let live?


 I am itching to make it again with the bottom corners notched off for a nicer silhouette. My critical mind is saying it looks like pillow with straps. ("Really! shut that critical thinking off," I say to myself. Easier said than just about anything else in the universe, but enough said.)

Adding pockets was easy peasy.  I put the strap on top between the two outer fabric pieces, and had it come out the hole in the lining.  I had to unsew during part of the process because the strap was caught between the just sewed pieces, so next time I will be more careful of where the strap is during the whole sewing process.  I love having fun with fabric.   It is so cold here and both my girls came down with some bug that has irritated their respiratory system and there has been a lot of coughing.  This bright fabric reminds me of spring and makes me smile.

I hope the warmth in your heart keeps your toes and fingers warm too.

This Moment

This Moment

Puff Paint

This little quilt is all about having fun.  I liked Umbrella Girl's applique pattern and so I found some scraps to make the design.  Then I had some fun trying my hand at machine quilting in very tiny spaces.  Need lots more practice.  Then I added puff paint for some bling, bling action (sparkles). When the sun hits it, it really sparkles.  The binding is an embarrassingly hurried job.  It was not that precious of a project to do over.

My mind is already wanting to make another one.  But she will be facing to the right next time around.

I hope the New Year brings you inner peace, good health and a positive focused direction.
If not, just put an umbrella over it and stop to smell the flowers.

Zippered Pouches

I have been having fun making these zippered pouches.  It has been a learning process with a few mistakes made.  It is a free online class from Craftsy here.  It is taught by Kristin Link from Sew Mama Sew.

The green one was the first one I made.  The one to the right of it I accidentally cut off the pull tab when trimming and was a good thing I did because it would have been sewed on incorrectly like what happened with the baseball one.  The tab is in the inside, dang.  On the bottom right one I put the pull tab right by the zipper.  Some people may think it doesn't look as nice, but it feels better ergonomically when pulling the zipper open.  I still have to make another one for my nephew so I think I will try putting in two zipper tabs, one on each end of the zipper.

I used up this fabric and put it in the inside for lining.

I think you could make these any size.  One would just have to add 1 inch in measuring fabric to whatever size zipper they are using.  Taking into consideration outside fabric and lining fabric measurements have to be the same.

One thing I do that helps is when trimming up, I lay the three fabrics (back lining, the front with zipper and the back) and trim up everything at once.  I still need to practice sewing in the zipper, but the pouch
comes out good even with imperfections.

Craftsy is so addicting with all the fun classes and talented teachers!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.