Confessions of a Craft Addict

Confessions of a Craft Addict has been nominated for a Divine Caroline Award! Thank you so much!

In my mailbox this weekend came the most beautiful magazine, the Autumn 2008 issue of Life Images by Somerset.

I have been eagerly anticipating its arrival and was not disappointed. So much beauty between the covers! It’s such an inspiration to me and really makes me want to work even more at my photography.

I am often asked about my photography. I have to be honest; I really don’t think I’m qualified to give anyone advice! I embrace the hobby and work at it when I can but there are so many people who are much better at giving advice. I use a Canon 30D and have some lenses that I love (namely a Canon 50 mm/f1.4, a Tamron 28-75mm/f2.0 and a Canon 35mm/f2.0 that seems to have a bum motor). I’m a huge fan of the book Understanding Exposure. I took two wonderful photography courses at The Showcase School in Atlanta last year; I still refer to my notes often! And I think the best thing anyone can do is just practice, practice, practice.

I’m so honored to have three of my photos in this issue. And just flabbergasted by the news last week that they had accepted another piece of my work for an upcoming issue. My joy is boundless.

Miss L and I were browsing in Target today and I decided to check out what was on sale in the DVD area. You just never know when some classic ’80s movie is going to be marked down to $7.50 and I’m all about a good deal.

I noticed as I walked past the new releases that whatever came out on Tuesday was gone. I mean, sold out, cleaned out, the entire rack empty. Curious about what hot movie I’d missed, I moved closer to read the shelf tag.

The Sex and the City Movie.

I don’t think I could have been more surprised if one of Rob Zombie’s movies had flown out the door with actual wings. Seriously — Target sold out of SATC:TM in two days (or less)? It boggles my mind.

Actually, the fact that the show even became a movie escapes my understanding. You know why? Because I can’t stand the show. I’ve watched a handful of episodes and never got the appeal. One of my best friends loves the show beyond all reason and I initially tuned in based on her recommendation. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I told her I loved it, too. In my head, I was thinking, “liar, liar, pants on fire!”

I don’t know what show she was watching but the one I saw was nothing worth tuning into again. I could not relate to any of the main characters. In fact, I really didn’t even like any of them. And I darn sure wasn’t going to pay $9.50 (before snacks) to sit through two hours in a dark theater with that crowd.

After today’s shopping excursion, I’m convinced that I’m the only woman in the country who feels this way. Which means I’ll just have to knock over some geeks on my way to grab Iron Man next week.

After my big machine splurge in March, I started saving for my next purchase: an embroidery machine. I’d been toying with the idea for a while but it seemed like such a luxury. But all the cool embroidery designs I kept seeing, plus all the great uses Lisa showed off on her blog, made me want one even more.

I did a lot of research, asking tons of questions of anyone who’d answer me. I learned that it’s better to go with a bigger stitch area (I decided at least 5×7), that the investment is more than just the machine (software, thread, stabilizers and more hoops) and that there’s a bit of a learning curve but definitely worth it. I learned that I wanted an embroidery-only machine since I have plenty of sewing machines and want the embroidery running while I’m sewing, if I so choose. Oh, and you get what you pay for (not the purchase to cut corners on).

Armed with all of that knowledge, I headed off to the Janome dealer to check out embroidery machines. Two models , one with slightly more bells and whistles than the other. I’ve been thrilled with my little Janomeville trio, so I really didn’t think about going elsewhere.

On a whim, I walked into the Bernina/Baby Lock dealer one day last week. My eyes immediately fell on the embroidery machine set up near the door — as well as the sign boasting a price that I just couldn’t believe. The little miss was with me, so I didn’t get to ask too many questions. Just enough to learn the model name (Emoré), the price (less than $600), what it didn’t include (software) and that the manufacturer is closing out it’s sole embroidery-only machine.

I did some research over the next few days and learned that it was comparable to one of the Janome machines I’d looked at and received similarly positive reviews. I talked about it ad nauseaum to Honey and my older son (to the point that they’re eyes glazed over but I’ve listened to enough about golf and World of Warcraft so I consider us even). On Saturday, I handed over my hard-earned money and left with a brand-new embroidery machine.

And a huge, gut-twisting sense of buyer’s remorse. I think this was a combination of spending the money plus paying cash. It was hours before I could bring myself to crack open the box so I could read the manual. While Honey and our 15-year-old watched football, I carefully unpacked my Emoré and set it up on the dining room table, then ran downstairs to get some fabric so I could see it in action.

Can you say, “love at first stitch?”

It’s not all butterflies and flowers, though. I’ve already learned the hard way about matching an embroidery design to the right fabric (heavy satin stitching over a large area doesn’t work so well on a lightweight jersey knit), as well as the importance of keeping excess fabric clipped out of the way (two out of three tees ended up with extra fabric under the needle). Oh, and when you buy a design, make sure it fits in your hoop because it won’t even show up as a stitching option on your machine.

I hope the residents of Janomeville aren’t jealous, because the new girl is here to stay.

Probably one of the most frequent comments I hear about my sewing is “I love the fabrics you choose!” It never fails to bring a smile to my face, as well as a little bit of a blush.

One of the things I touch on in the classes I teach is fabric selection — not just the appropriate type of fabric to use for a garment but also color, print and scale.

Give any 10 sewists the same pattern and you’ll likely get 10 very different interpretations of that garment, each with a very different “feel.” A lot of that has to do with fabrics they chose. It’s not just about color, but about how the colors and prints work with (or against) each other.

When I pick fabrics for a project, I think about who I’m sewing for plus how many fabrics I want to use and where I’ll use them. Samantha’s Miss Madeline pattern is illustrated with dresses that use the same fabric for the sleeves and dress, with a contrasting fabric at the waistband and apron edges. I like to mix it up a little more, so I use that same contrasting fabric on the sleeves as well. (Of course, I think it would be super fun to add another fabric into the mix and have the sleeves be something entirely different.)

For this particular dress, I knew I wanted to use that gorgeous orange floral print from Sandi Henderson’s Farmer’s Market line but I wasn’t quite sure what to put with it. The person I was sewing it for said she likes stripes and wanted a very fall feel to the dress. I literally went to the quilt store, pulled the bolt of main fabric off the wall and started walking around to find fabrics that spoke to me. (Doesn’t that sound so zen? LOL!)

I do it fairly often, actually. It’s not unusual for me to pile a table with bolts of fabric so I can lay them on top of each other to see how the colors and patterns work together. Often, it’s not so much about matching colors exactly but seeing if they’re harmonious when placed alongside each other. The orange in the stripe from this Amy Butler fabric is pretty darned close to one of the oranges in the flower but what really makes the two work together is the graduated shading of the green stripes. It kind of echoes the graduated shading of the flowers. Similar but different. It’s why I chose the Flutterby panel for the apron. The greens sort of fade into each other and really complement the bordering stripes without being an exact match. When put together, the three fabrics give off a similar vibe; they all say “fall” with the same subtle voice.

Contrast that dress with these two, also made with the same Miss Madeline pattern. They have a completely different feel, thanks to very different fabric choices:

Another thing that’s important to think about is the scale of print. Most fabric lines made by quilting fabric manufacturers include a large print, medium print and small print. Why? Because when you are combining fabrics, it’s pleasing to the eye to have prints of varying scale. A good rule of thumb for choosing a fabric based on scale is fewer seams, bigger print. Bigger pieces of fabric will maintain the integrity and feel of the print, whereas smaller prints can more easily accommodate more seams and smaller cuts.

I absolutely adore the aqua mermaid fabric on the dress to the left. Those mermaids, however, are HUGE, about 12″ tall and 8″ wide. If I tried to use that fabric for a patchwork twirl skirt, for example, it would lose so much of the under-the-sea effect that it just wouldn’t be the same. Instead, I chose to make a jumper-style dress with two big pieces and two side seams. The accent fabric is a medium-ish sized polka dot that balances the larger print.

I don’t really think of these as hard-and-fast rules by any means but these are the kinds of things in the back of my head when I’m selecting fabrics. Ultimately my goal is for whatever I make to reflect the wearer’s personality, rather than wear the owner.

I have a cool, crafty post complete with tutorial that’s all ready to go except for pictures. With any luck, I’ll get ‘em done this weekend. Until then, you get to read all about our trip to the petting zoo.

It’s county fair time here in the South, which was the perfect opportunity for Miss L and her class to head out for their first field trip. The 3- and 4-year-old classes at her school went to the 4-H petting zoo at the fair today, and I went along as a chaperone. I was in good company: I think there was an adult for just about every child there. It definitely made for a lower stress field trip to have those kinds of numbers.

I actually was a little uncertain about the outing when I woke up at 6 a.m. with what felt like a bear trap squeezing my head. I went back to sleep for another 2.5 hours and finally got up, not feeling any better. A dose of Extra-Strength Tylenol Allergy medicine with pseudoephedrine and a grande Frappuccino later and I felt a bit more functional (although that darn headache is still hanging around, if you can believe it — and it’s not even a migraine).

I’m glad I sucked it up and went on the field trip, though, because it was great fun to see my little sweetie checking out all the baby farm animals. She was particularly amused by the pigs, who were the loudest and most active of the bunch. I think she was most enamored by the ducklings, though. She was talking about them (“They’re so cute!”) and just watching them and touching them with utter wonder. My friend Teana actually held one (that’s her hand up there) and the student in the duckling corral was so kind to answer all of our questions.

All the kids had fun with these sawhorse “cows” that had “udders” (latex gloves filled with water) they could “milk.” I had a great laugh watching the bunny squirt water all over her legs. Surprisingly enough, Miss Clean-Me-Up-Now didn’t complain one bit.

While it was fun to sped the time with the kids and chat with some of my friends, I really felt like I needed a shower afer we left. Yeah, not a big fan of smelly farm smells. Still, it was worth it to watch 25 little suburban preschoolers experience a tiny slice of life on the farm for the first time.

I’m a huge fan of quick crafts. It’s the combination of immediate gratification and my impatience that makes them so appealing.

I caught a link from the Craft magazine blog to a tutorial for these cute button and fabric barrettes. It was the perfect excuse to try something new that I could use — and maybe make for Miss L, too.

The instructions were great (she’s not kidding when she describes them as “super duper easy”) but I did deviate a little bit. Shocker, eh? LOL!

Instead of hot glue, I used some Sealah Tape instead. KayEllen was sweet enough to send me a sampler of it and I’m totally addicted. No burned fingers! I used it to adhere the fabric to the barrette and also the button to the top.

After attaching the fabric to the barrette and trimming, I applied some Mod Podge to the entire top and made sure to seal around the edges, too, to hopefully keep the fabric from fraying. To finish it off, I threaded a needle and wrapped some thead through the buttonholes to make it look like the buttons were sewn to the barrettes.

The drying time for the Mod Podge was the longest part of the whole process. Without that, it took maybe three minutes to make each barrette. Three minutes! That’s my kind of craft!

My high school senior brought home the paperwork last week for putting a baby picture in his yearbook. No way was I going to miss that chance, especially since he’s gone from being this chunk of baby cuteness to a 6′1″ string bean.

Among the pictures I dug out was this one. Both boys on the first day of school, 1996. My oldest was starting kindergarten; his little brother was 3 and going to preschool at the same private school in Florida. It’s hard to believe they are the same giant teenagers I live with today. Or that it’s been 12 years since that picture was taken. Really, it doesn’t feel like that long ago.

Speaking of long ago …

On the left is me, Easter 1972, around 18 months of age. The other photo was taken about a year later. I’m quite the fan of that deer-in-the-headlights expression on the right. I was actually trying to find pictures of me in mama-made clothes to scan in (still looking, BTW) but got a kick out of these and scanned them in for posterity.

Remember my ode to my mom’s meatballs? Imagine my surprise to find this photo of her in action. I’m going to have to ask my dad if he knows when it was taken, since I’m not sure of the date and I don’t recognize the house at all (but not surprising since we moved around a little bit, thanks to the Army). I really don’t remember having seen this picture before, so to find it now, so close to the time of my reminiscing, just makes me happy. And a little teary.

I ducked out this afternoon to treat myself to a manicure and pedicure at the little nail place up the street from my house. I’ve been going there almost since we moved to this ‘burb five years ago; they greet me by name when I walk in and meet my criteria of clean, cheap and fast.

My last visit was the end of August, right before Dragon*con. I’d mixed things up a bit from my usual “red toes and clear fingernails” and gotten a sort of gothic Lolita french manicure. Black tips and a sort of glittery clear polish on the rest. Very funky and different.

I loved it. Surprisingly enough, Honey liked it, too. He actually suggested that I try it with black and red, so I decided to give that color combination a try this go ’round.

I mentioned this to the nail tech doing my manicure, who raised an eyebrow and made a comment to the women doing my pedicure. The second gal popped her head up, looked at me like I had a screw loose and said, “She wants what? That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!”

OK, I have to be honest here and admit that I don’t specifically know what she said, because it was in Korean and I’m not bilingual. But years of having people react to me has allowed me to cross the language barrier and translate based on tone and facial expression, so I feel pretty confident in saying both nail techs thought I was a freak for wanting black and red fingernails.

What.Ev.Er. I think it looks pretty cool, although in the past couple of minutes I’ve had the realization that black and red are the team colors for an SEC football team of which I am most definitely not a fan, so I think I’ll need to come up with a different color combination for the next mani. Like crimson and white.