fabric addiction

am i seriously writing another blog entry right now? my new job hates me. except it's not really my fault. i've just been given busy work that drives me CRAZY. so i decided to stop by ravelry to see what's new in the knitting world. that's when i found out an australian company is launching a sewing site similar to ravelry this june - SEWN. so exciting! so that site leads me to the creators blog, which leads me to this:

how effing gorgeous is this stuff? it's called lantern bloom by laura gunn for michael miller and it's based off paintings laura gunn painted (shown in the above photo) - so beautiful! it's totally in my head now and i HAVE to have it.

but to make what? i've only sewn one project since the 6th grade and totally did it wrong. and i already bought fabric for at least 3 more projects i haven't started! what makes me think i'm a sewer who can justify scowering the internet looking for where i can buy all of this fabric? i don't even know what i'd make! maybe something in one of the 3 sewing books i just bought myself? perhaps. but maybe i need to actually sew a complete project correctly before i go throwing another $75 on fabric i don't even know what to do with...

you would think. but i can already tell it's in my head and as soon as i see that i can buy it, i know i'm going to do it. this is a problem. a real addiction problem. but what can i do? presents for everyone! (even if those presents happen to be yards of unsewn fabric...)

amy & eric's wedding album - finally!!

okay, so i just finished amy & eric's wedding album last night. phew!! i decided to make my first asuka book, but found the process really tedious and difficult. then i found out asuka was creating software similar to mypublisher, which is what i've previously used. once i learned how to use the software, it was much simpler and a lot of fun.

these aren't final yet since i just sent them to amy & eric, but wanted to share some of my favorite layouts anyway. the first layout is for the hardback cover that comes with the leather and faux leather asuka books. i made theirs a 10 x 10 faux leather album with 50 pages. the layouts following the cover are each a two page layout, with the exception of the final page which is the last page of the album and is only printed on the left side (that's why it's square and the rest are rectangles...)

evidence against the use of the glue gun for patches

guess i'll be using the sewing machine for these from now on.  there is a LOT of work to do on them...

photo fixes

i'm dying to work on my duvet cover and some knitting projects, but i really need to get amy and eric's wedding album finished.  i mean, it's may 23rd and they're wedding was back in september.  plus, the next step in making the duvet cover is washing the fabric...  boo!

part of the reason this album is taking me so long is because of all the small details i need to fix in the photos.  i worked on two photos today that i'm pretty proud of and thought i would feel better about spending so much time on it if at least someone else knew what kind of work went into this.  the following photos are before and afters.  

okay, so this one isn't perfect.  i still think the after is better even though mr.tuberson's face is clearly lighter than everyone else's.  it is not as noticeable when the photo is by itself though.  i thought his expression in the original photo would look better as a smile, so found one of him smiling and used that expression instead.

in this second one, i fixed julie's closed eyes.  it came out much more natural than the above example.  such a small fix, but makes a huge difference in the photo.

only 8 more pages to go!  (or 18...  ??)

staying up late to do this in photoshop because...???

okay, so it's past midnight and i really should be in bed, but since i had this stupid duvet cover in my head all day, i had to see if i could design it in photoshop before i cut any of this beautiful fabric...

here's the result!

dear the two people who read this...  please let me know if you think i need to make any changes.  i have a few in my head, but want to see if they're as obvious to others as they are to me.  also, it's a pain to change them in PS.  and it's late!  off to go sleep in my lame-duveted bed...

math + sewing = duvet cover

today i started my plan for my duvet cover.  i am completely copying off this lady.  even bought the same backing she has on her throw. (although i should have looked for alternatives since it was pretty expensive...)  there's a quilt pattern in this book i am using as the front and started my plan today.  the duvet is 86"x86" and the 24 panels in the bundle are each 18"x22".  this plan was not as easy as i thought it would be and ended up having to use a lot of erasing and calculations.  good thing it's a normal thing at work to be calculating and erasing!  i think i finally have a plan and am now going to decide which panel to use in each space...  i wish there was a simple program i could use in photoshop!

i can't believe this event exists...

every year here in san francisco (apparently every year...  i've only been here for the last 2),  there is a race called bay to breakers which starts at the bay and ends at the beach (beach = waves - aka 'breakers').  i guess there's an actual race where people really run and register and wear a number and everything, but somehow this race turned into a huge 12K party down the streets of san francisco where everyone wears a costume and most people drink and dance and do pretty much anything imaginable.

here are a few photos i took of our day...

cubicle = no more knitting during work :(

today i started my new job. the company seems great and i'm excited about the possibility of actually liking a job i have. chances are pretty low, but at least i have hope.

there aren't many offices, so i'm back in a cubicle. which means no more knitting during lunch while watching tv on the internet and certainly no knitting during conference calls. although there is a phone room... not sure if it's appropriate to bring my laptop/"tv" in there for an hour at lunch to knit, but i bet i'll try it some time.

realizing i'm not going to be able to knit during work and having not knit in over a week, i picked one of my projects up as soon as i got home today. here's a photo of something i'm working on for homemade christmas. it's my first estonia lace project. a lace shoulderette. it seems simple enough now, but i haven't gotten to the difficult parts yet...

my favorite jeans

i love these jeans.  maybe a little more when they were dark and...  did we really say dirt washed (?).  my mom bought them for me when she had a 50% discount at henry bendel...  and got mad they were almost $300 before the discount.  but i made it up to her by wearing them probably more than anyone should ever wear a pair of jeans.

at some point they became my junk jeans and after finding themselves with me while i helped gut a house in the lower 9th ward in new orleans, they ended up in the trash...  for maybe about 10 minutes before i saved them.  i just couldn't do it.

i haven't really worn them much since then, but brought them back yesterday since they went well with my stay-at-home childless mom theme... because what stay-at-home mom has time to look nice??  (even if they don't have kids?)

when every time i bent my knee they ripped even further, the thought of throwing them out came up again.  but luckily for me...  and the jeans...  i had discovered The Glue Gun yesterday and they were saved by the fact that my only thoughts were of gluing things together.  somehow the jeans ended up near some scrap fabric from julian's pajamas...  and voila!  patches!

kentucky derby hat for bay to breakers

so for bay to breakers on sunday i am dressing up as a kentucky derby girl (theme is girls in big hats, boys in jockey outfits and speedos).  since i am off work this week i had time to run down to cliff's variety in the castro to gather random stuff for my hat.  the following photos show what i came up with...

(by the way, at cliff's i also purchased my first glue gun.  WOW!!  for the rest of the day i will be trying to decide what is a better invention for a stay-at-home childless mom like myself - the vespa or the glue gun)

new disaster - felted socks

it was a very very sad day in my room when i found my favorite self-knitted alpaca socks in my laundry locker bag this week.  i should probably do my own laundry - or at least take better care about what i'm putting in the laundry locker bag...  and i guess i learned my lesson.  but that didn't help the feeling of wanting to cry for a few hours after the discovery.  i mean...  i LOVE(d) these socks.  it took me almost a year from start of the first sock to finish the last one.  they were the softest things ever.

anyway, i don't need to ramble on about them.  i'm just sad.  and hope no one else ever makes the same mistake i did of washing alpaca socks.  

here are some photos of the aftermath :(

(photos of before can be seen at the bottom of my first post)

(it took a while to squeeze my foot in at first, but i'm at least happy to report they still fit.  just not the same feeling.  who likes felted socks???)

my first sewing project = disaster

for my first sewing project (since mrs. lenthy taught me how to sew a gym bag in the 5th grade) i decided to make kimono pajamas for my godson julian.  this project started out great - i finished the kimono top with no problems.  and that was supposed to be the hard part!  

today when i went to sew the inseam of the pants, the lengths didn't match up.  i read somewhere to start at the center and sew to the end and cut off any access, but that wouldn't work with this pattern since i had already attached the contrasting fabric to the bottom of the pants.  i ended up bunching up the excess fabric at the crotch...  pretty bad.  there are definitely other problems i won't even get into.  i learned a lot though!  and will make another pair of these so that i don't feel like a terrible failure.  

at least i know lisa will put these on julian even if we have to sew the pants to his diaper!  ha.  i was able to take some photos that made it look like i sewed it correctly...  and one showing the terrible pants.

my good folks fat quarter bundle has arrived!

i have just received my first fat quarter bundle.  i'm not entirely sure what that means, but i'm going with it...

i'm planning on making a new duvet cover for my bed with this.  once i get a book on how to make it...  this fabric is so gorgeous i'm definitely going to have a tough time deciding how to arrange it and what prints to cut.  it will be a very fun week off between jobs with this stuff...

gracie baby

i just finished up the photos i took of my niece grace while i went back east to visit her.  it was great to finally meet her 2 months after she was born.  what a little sweetie...  wish she lived closer!

Leah Dress

I just finished this little dress for Katie's soon to be newborn baby, Leah. We found out yesterday she's scheduled for a c-section May 19th... can't wait!!

I chose this pattern because I love the baby cable stitch and the lavender yarn is meant to match the bridesmaid dress I wore in Katie's wedding.