My Life In Sketches

reversible aprons

2012-01-27T13:05:00.002-07:00

This here is a mother/daughter set of reversible aprons I sewed up

for my sister-in-law & niece's birthdays, which are this week.

I used this tutorial from Michael Miller Fabrics and put

pockets on each side, without the recommended contrasting edge.

The aprons came together easily and turned out just as I had hoped.

Thanks, Joanna Armour, for a great little tutorial!

finished product

2012-01-23T11:30:00.004-07:00

And voila! Here it is.

As you can see, this is the birdy bag I attempted to

make a year ago for the owner of Merdeka studios.

However, at that time I used a freezer paper stencil,

and the birdy (which happens to be the Merdeka logo)

came out all blotchy. This time around, I printed out

the image on paper, covered the back with graphite,

traced it onto the bag and painted it in by hand.

While this bag was inspired by Handmade Mommy,

I wound up using the drawstring bag tutorial at

QuiltingBees.org, because I preferred the lining technique.

So there you have it. One drawstring bag a year in the making.

How's that for tenacity?

drawstring bag preview

2012-01-20T11:56:00.001-07:00

This here is just a little peek at a drawstring bag

I made yesterday. It's a gift for a friend, and I have

yet to give it -- so the rest of the photo shoot will

come soon. Until then, have a happy weekend!

massaged kale

2012-01-11T19:51:00.002-07:00

I didn't think to take a picture of the salad I made for dinner tonight,

so here's what's left of it. Can you believe it?! And it was KALE!!

I've been learning the wonders of kale and other dark, leafy greens

over the past year. But how to incorporate them into my household's

diet and actually get people to eat them? Also, some recipes for kale

require long cooking times. I need something speedy most nights.

I decided to go with a fresh kale salad tonight, but when I pulled it

out of the bag (thank you, Trader Joe's), the leaves were all dry and

leathery. Enter The Kale Massage. Here's how it works:

Cut or tear Kale leaves from the spine (discard spine). Chop to bite size.
Add a dash of oil, a splash of lemon juice, and a couple croinks of salt.
Squeeze, rub, and otherwise massage the kale leaves for about 2 minutes.
The kale will wilt down a bit and turn shiny and tender. Who knew?!?
Now, you could leave it like that or add some salad dressing and the like.

I did the following (and people loved it... even some of the kids):

Warm Bacon Dressing --

Cook up 5 pieces of bacon. Crumble.
In a bowl, mix up 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tsp corn starch.
Add 1/8 cup water and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Whisk.
Heat the bacon bits in a pan. Gradually add the liquid mixture.
Heat to a boil, stirring until thickened (but not too thick!).

Kale Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing --

Spoon the bacon bits onto massaged kale and add dressing to taste.
Chop half of a granny smith apple into the salad.
Sprinkle feta on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix.

Okay... so it's not fat free. But it is yummy and vitamin packed! I'll let you know if

future experiments in massaged kale turn up something tasty that's less gratuitous.

dress-up wings

2011-12-30T12:25:00.001-07:00

One of the fun things I had opportunity to make for Christmas

this year was this set of dress-up wings for my youngest niece.

I saw them on this blog and followed the tutorial to make them.

Here they are in action!!

It takes some time to cut out all the layers, but the
actual assembly process is very simple:

I cut lots of different fabrics into varying lengths

of 2" wide strips with my rotary cutter. Then I made

a paper template with 5 scallops (2" wide each) in a

10"-long strip. Sat down with a cup of tea and started

scalloping all those strips. I sewed them onto the

underlying arc of fabric (as seen in the tutorial) with a

single line of stitching per row, spaced about 1/2" apart.

Added grosgrain w/ velcro attached at the very end for

cuffs and neckband. Voila!

This may sound complicated, but it would be a good

project for a beginning sewist. Especially if one were

to follow the tutorial more exactly and just tack the

ribbons on without velcro to be tied in a bow at neck

& wrists. I just love how this came out with scraps from

all my favorite fabrics! I'm brainstorming what else in my

life might need wings...

eric's garden

2011-12-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

3"x5" watercolor

I can't figure out how to get my light greens

(namely the leaves of the top planter)

to not show up as garish yellows when scanned.

Any thoughts? I've already adjusted for value & color.

super onesie

2011-11-19T15:41:00.001-07:00

This is a little caped onesie I whipped up for my baby nephew

for Christmas. As you can see in the picture, I used twill tape to

reinforce the shoulders where the cape is attached.

So far, there's nothing I like better on a baby than a white onesie,

but who knows -- a white onesie with a red cape might be the thing!

joy

2011-11-04T12:21:00.002-07:00

This here has been the theme of my week. On Monday, I was having

trouble jumping into the stuff of life. When I asked God what He thought,

I heard, "Joy." So I've been singing The Joy of the Lord is My Strength,

a song I learned as a child. I also transcribed it into a minor key, and it

turns out to be quite lovely in mellow tones. Been singin' that, too. It's a

good reminder that regardless of life's details, joy is available in God.

I went looking for the biblical underpinnings for the song, and lo and

behold, if it isn't in Nehemiah! Now, I just love the book of Nehemiah.

It's a story of God's people rebuilding their broken & deserted capital

city in the face of hardship and resistance, under the strong leadership

of a man who cares about them and loves God.

I was also excited to discover the specific context of this quote. Following

the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the exiles had just returned to this and other

Judean cities from Babylon, where they had been deported by

Nebuchadnezzar. The priests read God's law to them, the Scripture which

defined their identity and their relationship to each other and to God.

The people spend the whole day weeping and mourning as they listen to it:

they have been separated from God's word and the teaching and guidance

of the priests all this time. They have forgotten the law and sinned.

It is into this initial wave of sadness and regret that these words

are spoken, the first awareness of wrongdoing. At this point, the priests

tell them to stop grieving and then basically send them out to celebrate

Thanksgiving -- there will be a time to repent later, but first the people must rejoice.

So they go have a feast, sharing food with each other and marking the

day of their return to home and to a life governed by God's ways.

This story highlights the reality that joy is not a result of getting things right.

It is a response to God's sustaining love. He sees us in our darkest places

and calls us to joy in the midst of our sorrow, fear, and exposure. Joy

emerges through the darkness, not apart from it. It is a call toward the light

which is neither childish nor superficial, not based on our own abilities to succeed.

2011-10-24T10:24:00.001-07:00

Here's the bag I've been working on! I think of it as my

birthday bag, since I just turned 38 (woo hoo!). The bag

is patterned somewhat after this one, which I enjoyed so

much that it plum wore out. As you can see, I repurposed

the strap from the former bag and re-used it on this one.

I also enlarged this bag a bit and added the darted pocket

with lid on the front, for additional storage. I was also

happy to find a place to sport that strand of velvet ribbon!

bag pockets

2011-10-20T12:51:00.001-07:00

Since bags generally go together inside-out and upside-down,

so to speak, the pockets are one of the first things to assemble.
I'm excited about this outside pocket, because it has darted
corners (thanks, Lisa Lam!) which make it three dimensional:
good for holding lots of stuff without looking overcrowded.
There are also a couple of tiny, magnetic snaps under the flap
to keep things sleek. If you can get sleek in fuzzy upholstery.

This is the cute little elasticized-top pocket on the inside of the bag,

also thanks to Lisa Lam's Bag Making Bible. Hers seems to come

out more rectangular than mine. I think that's because

she puts a couple of darts in the bottom of her pocket to square

things off. I'm not pushing for perfection here, though, so

the curvy shape suits me just fine. It's kind of whimsical, don't you think?

The finished bag will be coming soon, so don't be strangers!

new project

2011-10-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm itching to do some sewing after weeks of sickness

and the ensuing recovery process. This is the fabric

palette for a bag I'm scheming up. I found the green

and gold upholsteries on clearance last week, and that

lovely slice of velvet ribbon has been in a basket just

waiting for the right project. I can't wait to use it!

ocotillos and other such things

2011-10-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, this is the same ocotillo that I posted just two weeks ago

(see photo below)!! One night last weekend, the leaf-cutter ants stripped it bare.

I rather wish I had seen them do it, because it was clearly a very efficient job.

Anyway, I am feeling somewhat like this ocotillo. After recovering

from last week's illness, I came down with a sinus infection that wiped

me out for this week. Between all that and the sicknesses of my

familial peeps, it seems the leaf-cutters have gotten to us.

But we're still firmly rooted, just waiting for our leaves to grow back in.

hello from la la land

2011-09-29T17:35:00.001-07:00

Hello from the murky haze of whatever head cold/flu bug has put me in bed these
past three days. I haven't recovered yet but am very grateful to the husband who
keeps cooking and tending to our dependents, as well as to the kitchen-cleaning
housemates, all busy at work while I sleep, groan, and shuffle about.

happy first day of autumn!

2011-09-23T11:04:00.003-07:00

To celebrate the end of a long, hot summer, here are some snapshots from my neck of the woods.

In Tucson, lots of things start blooming around

now as a result of the late monsoon rains.

(And we're still in flip flops, as you can see in the corner).

When I see pictures on people's blogs of the leaves

changing color already in some parts of the country,

I realize that fall for us is like a second spring --

lots of green leaves and grasses, and blue skies all around.

In fact, I have this theory that people in Tucson and other hot

climates experience the seasons opposite of how they are

generally conceived: We hide in the summer and come

out to play in the winter. We celebrate the passing of the heat and

welcome the opportunity to head outdoors comfortably with the cold.
We garden through the winter and hibernate through

the heat. There are similarities, too, though -- I'm just

itching to bake again, and to throw on a scarf and a sweater.

Bring on the cold!!

my poor parking

2011-09-22T12:01:00.001-07:00

This note was left on my windshield last week.

I'm certain I didn't run into anyone on my way in.

But it was a wonky parking job -- I'll grant the

anonymous manila folder note leaver that much.

I've been a little paranoid about my parking ever since.

There's something charming and artistic

about the note, though, don't you think?

little white flowers

2011-09-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

Emily brought these little flowers over today,

and we spent a few minutes painting. It was so
refreshing to paint with a friend! I wanted to post
her painting as well, because it came out so different
from mine. It was too wet to slap on the scanner,
though, so I'll just have to leave that to your imagination!

sewing again

2011-09-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

I spent this morning sewing up new lunch bags for

my kiddos. It's dropped below 100 degrees outside,

which makes the sewing closet bearable again (being

a closet, it's not connected to our cooling system).

Click here to see the finished project.

new nibs

2011-09-11T10:36:00.003-07:00

I picked up some new nibs for my dip pen last week

and have been experimenting with them to see what

they can do. Ashton already absconded with her favorite,

which is the Globe nib at the top of the page.

great gift

2011-09-09T13:50:00.002-07:00

One very cool gift that Elliott got for his birthday was a personal concert by his

favorite musician -- his Uncle Joel. Now, Joel recorded an album several years

ago, and it was one of the CDs we put in Elliott's room when we gave him a CD

player (that boy loves music). He must've listened to it a million times before

we told him who the singer was. He barely believed us. But now he does.

was it a detour or a doorway?

2011-09-02T11:56:00.003-07:00

I have hardly picked up a paintbrush in the past year and a half.

I would like to step back into this particular branch of the creative

road, however. As I do, I realize that I have lost fluency. I have

lost a sense of how to go about the various processes. I have very

little hope of things turning out the way I imagine them and even

less hope of finding all the tools I vaguely remember having.

The journal page above is today's attempt to resurrect this

long-lost part of my life. It is also a meditation on how

change comes, and how sometimes, but not always,

it is a result of our own choices. I wonder if some

of the directions I've chosen were detours or doorways. Would

I have chosen differently if I had been listening along the way?

celebrating ice

2011-08-30T16:28:00.003-07:00

It is a very long story, and I won't bore you with the details.

But we have had no ice maker (or ice trays, for that matter)
for over a year, and as of this morning we have one that works.

We are very excited.

great party

2011-08-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

Here's our Cupcake Mario leaping for pizza. He was actually hard to

recognize in person -- easier to see in photos or from farther away than

we could get from him. But there he is! Thanks to everyone who came,

along with food, gifts, and/or conversation to make it a delightful celebration.

Elliott had a great time.

170 cupcakes

2011-08-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

...is what I've cooked up these past couple of days.

My mom, God bless her, came over and helped me

frost them all this morning. It took three hours!

What if I had done it by myself?! I really enjoyed

talking with her as we worked. The time flew by.

The reason for the amount of cupcakes, besides

the fact that we don't know how many people will

come to Elliott's birthday party (he's six already --

can you believe it?!) is that the theme is Mario, and

I was inspired by this pixel mosaic idea. Well,this

particular Mario is made up of 168 pixels (1 cupcake

= 1 pixel). Which is better than the 1-up mushroom

that requires 238. Anyway, besides loving pixel art,

I liked this idea because it creates an overall image

without complicating the design of each individual

cupcake. I'll post a photo once we get him set up.

Oh... also, my mom suggested freezing the cupcakes

before frosting, and it definitely made things go

faster. They did much less crumbling into the frosting.

just because

2011-08-25T13:39:00.001-07:00

A dear friend of mine gave me this book, just because....

Just because she saw it at Anthropology, and just because

she had been to the ice cream store in question last year

on a road trip and it was seriously the best ice she's ever had,

and just because I recently bought the ice cream maker the

recipes were designed for, and just because Anthropology

has the most beautiful packaging, so you feel like you're

buying a gift every time you shop there. I am thoroughly

enjoying the book for all the above reasons, and because

it includes stories about the founding of the business itself

and descriptions of the chemistry of ice cream making and

a beautiful, artistic layout and, most importantly, many

fabulous recipes for not just ice creams, but also sauces,

meringues, macaroons and cones -- all the necessary accessories!

I can't wait to try them out.

latest book

2011-08-22T17:07:00.005-07:00

I just finished reading a book called Healing Through Exercise,

by Jorg Blech. Aside from the comprehensive dependence on

evolutionary theory to explain the findings presented, it's an

excellent read. The author goes through a variety of research
which supports the value of basic, regular exercise to defend against
all sorts of illnesses and many of the common symptoms of aging.

What surprised me most was how frequently the statistics pointed
to low-intensity activity as having a substantial impact.
A brisk, thirty-minute walk (or jog or bike ride) five or more days
of the week has been shown, among other things, to decrease the
incidence of head colds by one-half, reduce stress reactions,
significantly combat depression, push back the onset of age-related diseases,
and diminish the chance of heart attack by one-third.

Other varied amounts and types of exercise were shown to cause the release
of stem cells and the growth of new neurons and arteries, increase testosterone
levels (thus reducing impotence), prevent Alzheimer's and cancer, improve
concentration and coordination in children with ADHD, reverse chronic
and acute back pain, reduce arthritis pain while increasing mobility, and
turn around age-related strength and muscle loss, thereby improving quality of life.

This book focuses on the way that the fields of science and medicine are
beginning to recognize the benefits of physical movement as comparable,
complementary, or sometimes favorable to medical intervention. It also
discusses the many dangers of bed rest being a primary treatment plan for
all sorts of ailments and suggests the benefits of moderate exercise in its place.
Because the research findings are presented in a readable, interesting format,
I easily read the book from cover to cover. It's an encouraging look at the
rewards we can reap in our own lives with a daily investment of a relatively
small amount of time and energy. Tennis shoes, here I come!!