Valentine’s Day Preparations

Posted on January 30, 2014January 30, 2014 Posted in BagsTagged Bag, beading, felting, heart, Valentine's DayLeave a comment

We’ve had rain the past couple days and it feels wonderful!!! (such strange words from this former Seattle native) Not only has the rain given our plants and trees much needed moisture, it has given me even more reason to stay inside and make things. Typically I don’t think much about Valentine’s day as my husband and I aren’t sentimental that way (when was our anniversary again?) but I’m looking forward to the holiday this year and have been pondering all things heart-shaped.

My daughter has been felting some three dimentional animals lately. She and her girlfriend’s are all making each other handmade things (even without my prompting-so cool!). One gal is knitting a hat, one is sewing stuffed animals and my girlie is 3-D felting. She has her supplies strewn all over our dining room so this morning again with hearts on the mind, I whipped up a heart bag for her to store them in. Hope she likes it.

In addition, I’ve been eyeing some sweater pieces I felted with thoughts of making a pillow or bag with heart embellishments and I have been working some of my special beads into bracelets (such an easy project, see here for details: https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2013/11/27/african-christmas-bead-necklacebracelet/)

I think it is going to be a colorful February.

CSA Riches

Posted on January 28, 2014January 28, 2014 Posted in Everything ElseTagged csa, vegetablesLeave a comment

One of the best things about living in Northern California is that we have such amazing weather for growing things year-round. This brown thumb is very appreciative of having several small farmers as neighbors. One of our local farms has been providing us with a weekly CSA of organic fruits and vegetables for the last 6 years. No question, it is the best thing we have done for our family’s health. There are always fresh vegetables around to eat and I have been introduced to so many different foods. It’s hard to believe that before our CSA, we had never eaten fresh kale or fennel, now two of our favorite vegetables. Picking up our veggies each week with their beautiful colors is always a pick me up in the middle of winter. While the rest of the US has been inundated with snow and cold weather we in California are suffering under the worst drought in recorded history. It’s scary for us and for our farmers. The forecast says it is supposed to rain tonight. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be a downpour and that there will be more precipitation to come so we can continue to enjoy this wonderful bounty.

Monday Musings

Posted on January 27, 2014 Posted in Monday MusingsTagged Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, photography, TravelLeave a comment

While my work schedule is not traditional, Mondays still mean the end of the weekend, the start of the kids’ school schedule and back to homework for us. I often muse about previous vacations and places I would rather be. Are their places you dream about on your Mondays? (The picture is one I took of the beautiful Dolomites outside of Cortina d’Ampezzo last year.)

A Man-Purse for Kris

Posted on January 26, 2014April 22, 2014 Posted in BagsTagged Bag, climbing rope, handmade, man-purse, repurposed4 Comments

The other day I was laying in Savasana at the end of yoga class (you know, the time when your mind is supposed to be blank, ha!) when I started pondering projects for my new Juki. For some reason my husband’s old climbing ropes taking up space in our garage came to mind.

When my husband and I finished Med School in Seattle we moved to Cleveland to start his ER and my Pediatric Residency. This was a rather traumatic move for my guy who had become quite the rock climber, climbing El Capitan when we were in school and spending every free moment in the mountains. In Cleveland there was not a lot of outdoor Rock climbing to find and he needed a partner to accompany him. With minimal climbing experience under my belt, my husband would drag me to every local rock wall and granite quarry. On one such adventure, we ran into a young college kid who was equally as thrilled with climbing. Kris had quite the style. He knew how to make polyester from Value Village look good and was “popping tags” way before Macklemore made it cool. Some people are just gifted that way I guess. 😉 Kris was also the first guy I knew who had a man-purse. I was so thankful to him at the time for getting me out of rock climbing duty and of course introducing us to great music and style.

Kris has since moved to Colorado to be closer to the mountains he loves. He is now a High School teacher with a wife and daughter and reportedly has the same awesome style. He’s told me he still wears the fleece jacket I made him, reinforced with duct tape, from that time when we all had no money. A couple of his students dressed up as their favorite teacher for Halloween this year.

I’ve been putting together a gift package for Kris and his family to include a hat for his daughter, a toddler harness my kids have grown out of and I decided to use the climbing rope to make a new man-purse for our friend. I used some Cordura and my favorite organic cotton canvas as well as Pellon heavy duty one sided fusible interfacing and a favorite print from Ikea for the lining.

My Juki handled herself quite well and I was pleased how easily she sewed through so many layers including the climbing rope. I’m looking forward to trying out some other new designs.

Some Girls Dream of Diamonds . . .

Posted on January 25, 2014 Posted in Everything ElseTagged Juki, sewing, sewing machine9 Comments

I dream about industrial sewing machines that you can bolt to the floor for extra stability. My new Juki sews through 5 layers of canvas and leather like butter. I think my husband is as psyched about my new power tool as I am. He has sketched out several heavy duty bag and pack designs on his honey do list. And away we go . . .

Baby and Mom Gift Trio in the Mail

Posted on January 22, 2014January 22, 2014 Posted in Bags, QuiltingTagged baby gift, baby quilt, Bag, handmade, Quilt1 Comment

I think I’m done with red for a bit.

I finished quilting up my simple triangle baby quilt (https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2014/01/16/a-modern-baby-quilt-top/) and have packaged it up along with a bag for mom (https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2014/01/18/a-momma-bag/) and Rufus the dog (https://entropyalwayswinsblog.com/2014/01/10/introducing-rufus/) for baby. I did some simple geometric quilting for the quilt and used a vintage cotton/linen fabric for the back.

PASTELS, HERE I COME!

Humbled

Posted on January 20, 2014 Posted in BagsTagged Bag, photography, repurposing, Travel1 Comment

I have the most amazing group of artist friends. One of my faves is Vicki who is quite the world traveler and photographer. In addition to doing graduate work teaching Spanish, she is a part time dental hygienist who spends time every year going to remote locations of the world providing dental care to folks who have never seen a dentist or a hygienist. Yep, I know how to pick friends. Anyway, Vicki just returned from a trip to India and invited several of us over to see her pictures. Her work is lovely and the subject matter eye-opening. Seeing her photos of beautiful young women dressed in their colorful saris spreading dirt and gravel to repair the roads makes me think how underdressed I am most of the time in some variation of scrubs or yoga clothing.

Travel too is one of my passions and I love the Mark Twain quote, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness”. By seeing the world we gain a better understanding of other cultures and also a better insight into our own biases and beliefs.

Vicki picked up some amazing textiles on her journey, one of which was an elaborate antique shirt that she had custom fitted. Despite some extensive time fitting her in India, the shirt was quite binding and she felt that she would never wear it. Knowing my love of textiles and repurposing, she offered it up to me to remake into something she would use. With great care and delicacy, I ripped seams and cut into this 90 year old garment. GASP! I used the back fabric to make a bag strap and folded the front into a simple bag shape. I used some of my own linen which i random straight line quilted with cotton and fusible batting as the liner to give the bag some extra structure. I then used a vintage button from my growing collection to help secure the top.

I think she and I are both pleased with the result but hearing back from the person who helped her buy the original shirt gave me a chance to ponder. The town’s specialty are these handsewn textiles in which they rightly take huge pride. In the end, Vicki’s guide in India was also pleased with my repurposing but I think also a little surprised that I would alter it so. It gives me a better appreciation of all the handmade textiles I so treasure at home and overseas as well as the people and history involved in their making.

Monday Musings

Posted on January 20, 2014January 20, 2014 Posted in Monday MusingsTagged Ocean, photography, Pt. Reyes, TravelLeave a comment

While my work schedule is not traditional, Mondays still mean the end of the weekend, the start of the kids’ school schedule and back to homework for us. I often muse about previous vacations and places I would rather be. Are their places you dream about on your Mondays? (The picture is from Pt. Reyes National Park, California. Happy Martin Luther King Day!)

A Momma Bag

Posted on January 18, 2014 Posted in BagsTagged baby gift, Bag, cotton, denim, handmade1 Comment

Last night I finished this bag for a new momma. It matches the baby quilt top and stuffed dog I already made. Just need to find time to quilt the baby quilt and the gifts will be on their way. Hopefully this momma likes the color red.

A Modern Baby Quilt Top

Posted on January 16, 2014January 16, 2014 Posted in QuiltingTagged baby quilt, modern, Quilt, quilting1 Comment

I’m continuing to work on a group of handmade goodies for a baby boy. Today I made a simple Quilt top. To add some interest to this simple design I added texture by using Denim and corduroy to the Kona cotton. Next up, a bag for momma.