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That's My Bag, Baby


Well kids, I finally used my sewing machine for something that wasn't made of felt … and required construction and turning inside out and all that sewwy jazz. And that's it … that bag thing up there. And it ain't gonna win awards on design or quality or anything, I don't think it turned out half bad. Probably the hardest part was the straps … which I did by sewing tubes and turning them inside out. The sewing part was easy, but the turning out part was NUTS! On the first one I did it all by hand … well I think I shoved my scissors up in there to push fabric thru. But on the second one, I got a brain storm and put a safety pin thru one side of one end and put it in the tube and pulled it out the other end. Much less painful. I'd write y'all a nice tutorial, but I used this one and I really don't have anything new or of value to add to it. I definitely know some things I'd like to do differently next time, but, as was the point, I've got more confidence with the whole sewing process. Now if I just do it once in a while, maybe I'll even develop skill with it. Haha.

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Fun with LEDs

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. It was another one of those crazy days where I barely had time to catch my breath let alone post. No complaints though, great day. Don't forget to share what answers you did and didn't know on the crossword! I am just curious.

Anyhoo, I was surfing and I found this great project for sort of community art/graffiti. They call them LED throwies. Basically, you tape an LED (those little lights) to a battery and a magnet and throw them on ferromagnetic (iron-containing) surfaces. You do it with enough of them and you get some pretty cool stuff. I love this idea!

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3x Thursday: Weekends

1. How do you feel about weekends? Do you look forward to them, or do you loath them? Why/why not? I ♥ weekends! We both do. It's a time to slow it down a bit and take more time to do the things we love and see people we don't get to see during the week and do things that we can'd do during the week.

2. What do you like to do on the weekends? What don't you like to do? sports & fitness (walking, mtn biking, skiing, gym), TV & movies, dining out, dining in (lotsa good cooking) projects (home, crafts, woodshop), seeing friends and family, SLEEPING IN

3. Do you ever leave town on the weekends? If so, where do you go? What do you do? We don't do it often, but we like to go to the mountains in general to take photos, hike or ski, and to Vail more specifically to ski, mountain bike and relax.

Bonus Question for Comments: What do you dowhen you have the occasional odd-day (3 day weekends, vacation day, etc)off? Depends! Last 4th of July weekend we roped my mom and sis into helping us strip the wallpaper in our kitchen and repaint it! Last 4-day weekend I took, I organized my office and spent a day hanging out with Matt. In the future, I'd love to get out of town and go see some more CO sights. What about the rest of you?

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My Weekend

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, folks. I had one of those days at work and I really really really didn't have the time. Anyhoo, I'm back today.

My weekend was MOST excellent. Friday, we had excellent dinner @ PF Chang's and then we saw Harry Potter! I really enjoyed it and thought that Mike Newell & Steve Kloves did a very good job condensing a 800 page book into a 2.5 hour movie. The one part that I didn't like was after the goblet releases Harry's name, Dumbledore like runs in the room and smashes Harry up against the wall and chokes him and demands to know if he put his name in the goblet. Which is SOOOOOO not Dumbledore. But whatever. I can get past that. So that was way cool, except the part where we stood outside in the snow, queuing up for the movie. 😛 That kinda sucked. Continue reading “My Weekend”

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Christmas is Coming …

Well, we haven't started trimming the tree or decking the halls or anything (and I certainly ain't running around in a santa outfit), but Christmas preparations have started at our house. They're mostly of the crafty variety.

I'm making an advent calendar to hang up in our dining room on our display line. I have days 1-6 done, so that's not too shabby. I've also got lots of other little crafty projects I'm working on, though I cannot divulge their nature as some of their intended recipients read this very blog. Continue reading “Christmas is Coming …”

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Sewing Machine!!

Well I finally broke down and bought a new sewing machine. I have lots of projects that I want to work on that just REQUIRE a decent sewing machine. I had one, but it was vair old and vair hard to work with. I got the Euro-Pro 80 stitch at Target and I finally had time to open it and try it out last night. I wasn't disappointed! It's excellent … so much nicer and easier to use than my old one. It's probably got more features than I'll ever use, but if I want to get any more sophisticated, I will have some machine to grow into.

I had looked around on the Craftster boards about good sewing machines and then I read reviews on Amazon and Target's websites. I picked the Euro Pro line based on the reviews. It can sew a lot of layers of pretty thick stuff and it comes with a 25 year warranty (which won't be up until I'm 50!!! Yikes!!).

I'm going to practice with it a bit this weekend … then I want to start on my t'shirt quilt.

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Pottery Products


Even though I've been taking pottery classes off and on for almost 8 months, these are the first pieces to really come out. I had some snafus with timing, when I'd let a piece dry too long and crack because I didn't come back to class for too long and I had some snafus with clay when we accidentally bought the wrong type. Plus, I just don't work that fast. Anyhoo, the piece on the left is my fave. It's likely to be a candle holder and I really like the glaze I used. What it was though, I don't know. I'll have to ask my teacher. The one on the right I like as well and technically, it's the better piece all symmetrical and whatnot, but I don't like the glaze as well.

But last night, I felt like I sort of turned a corner. I made two pieces in one evening that I was really happy with… and I did it deliberately (instead of just letting they clay take whatever shape it liked). The first is a smallish bowl with a nice shape and the second is a small vase, sort of milk-juggy in shape. I can't wait to see them glazed and finished in a few weeks!!

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Living 101 and Othe Great Magazines

While picking up some groceries and other miscellaneous Junk at Safeway on Friday, I came across Living 101. It's published by the same folks who publish Sunset, which is a magazine dedicated to living in the West, which is great for me (obviously).

This magazine isn't specifically about western living, though. It's about being young and having not so much $$ and quite a bit of time (since we're sans kids, as of yet) and making the most of it. It features low budget projects and travel and tips on gardening without a real garden. A primer on living for the >30 set. It's only available on newstands right now, but I'm loving it and I hope they start publishing it reguarly.

I'm getting more and more into magazines and I now find myself with a bunch of favorites that I like to pick up. Continue reading “Living 101 and Othe Great Magazines”