Where Have I Been, and What Am I Making?

At last, after 3 days without phone or internet service, I'm finally back online. It seems that the 10+ inches of rain we had here on Tuesday took its toll on Verizon's cables. I get most of my news online, so I was surprised to see today's newspaper and learn of all the terrible flooding in this area.

Tuesday was also the 83rd anniversary of the tornado that destroyed about 40% of Murphysboro in 1925. I walked to the library today, where some photos of the tornado's aftermath were on display, and was startled to find a photo of my house, without a roof, without all the east-facing walls, and without any exterior walls on the upstairs corner room I currently use as an office, sewing room, and craft room.

It's amazing how much you can get done when you're not on the internet! Here's what I've been making for the past 3 days, when I haven't been working on web pages and logos:

Balloons, Bags, and Beaches

On the way to the Balloon Festival today, we stopped at Fabrics by the Pound in Summerdale, where they had boxes of unpackaged long zippers in lots of great colors for $1 each, so I grabbed a few for some upcoming bag projects. They also had some fantastic decorator fabrics at great prices, which really got me thinking about how I've been making fabric choices for my bags, which in turn got me thinking about the whole process, from patterns to fabric selection to construction to finishing. And, I think I finally have a handle on this thing -- being able to make a variety of bags and pouches that aren't too labor-intensive or difficult to complete, while still being fun and stylish. So over the next few weeks I'll be tinkering with my ideas and perhaps offering a few selections for sale.

There were no balloons being launched this afternoon at the Balloon Festival due to the high winds, so we cut that excursion short and went to Gulf Shores. We hadn't planned on going to the beach, so we weren't exactly prepared, but we did stay long enough to get a little sunburned. Some of us just never learn.

Case Solved

It's hard to find a case for a slider phone, so I made this little bag today, as a way to protect my phone while it's being tossed around in my handbag. The handle can serve as a wrist strap to carry the phone on its own, or can be easily looped around the strap of a handbag to keep the case from swimming to the bottom of a large bag. I'm still not quite satisfied with the security of the phone -- I think I need to add a closure for the top to prevent escape -- so I'll probably design a new and improved version. Then I'll start thinking about designs to fit other phone sizes.

Icing on the Cake

The cake decorating class is going --- well, let's just say it's going. I find the whole "icing consistency" thing very challenging, but I'm still having fun. I think my frustration stems from the fact that we start class in what seems to be a cool room, but by the end of class it's hot and my "roses" are wilting.

Now that my class is out of the way, other things I have lined up for this week include finishing my cell phone case, starting a small velvet bag, visiting the farmers' market at the Mobile Museum of Art, and attending the Balloon Festival in Foley.

Cases and Cakes

After dropping my old flip phone only about 6 inches onto concrete and breaking the speaker, I replaced it with this slider phone, which isn't very well-protected while in my purse. So, what you see here is a padded cell phone case in the making. It will probably have a wrist strap in case I want to take it along on my walks. The fabrics are from my carefully protected stash of Hoffman batiks. No embellishment here - it needs to be easy to wash.

Now, a cake decorating update. On the day of my class I went to Mobile to use Mama's oven, since mine was permanently out of service. My nieces, Erin and Tara, who live next door, kindly baked the cake for me. Erin, almost 13, might be a pastry chef if she doesn't become a big cat trainer or a book reviewer. Tara, 11, had planned on being a teacher, but now she might be a culinary artist. So I left them at my parents, happily baking brownies in muffin tins, and went home to make my icing. About 30 seconds into the buttercream icing, my heavy-duty Kitchenaid mixer stopped working. So I went to plan B - the hand mixer. While reaching into the drawer to get the beaters, I cut my left thumb - yes, I'm lefthanded - on an extremely sharp knife made out of a saw blade. I bought it from a Texas gentleman at the Peter Anderson Festival, and I love it because it's made for lefties and it cuts bread beautifully. Now I've learned my lesson about knife storage.

I made it to class in spite of everything, and will admit that cake decorating can be challenging, but I think that with practice I can master it. I still have 3 more weeks of class to decide. Funny, but my mixer started working again, so maybe I can make my icing without another mishap.

My new range arrived today and I will try out the oven tomorrow.

Ooh La La!

After a very long sewing and craft drought, I finally finished a bag that I started last summer. It was very easy to make, but I made a cutting mistake that I didn’t notice until after I’d already done some sewing. I wasn’t motivated enough to get out the seam ripper, thus the long delay in getting it finished. I used the Ooh La La pattern by Kathy Fernholz (Indygo Junction), and it’s available at Joggles. For the fabric, I just pieced together a bunch of wide strips (from some plaids and stripes I bought years ago at the Painted Pony in LaPorte, TX), crinkled the stitched piece, then embellished on my machine, mostly with a triple straight stitch, until I was sick of doing it. I still have some of the embellished fabric left, so I see a tiny bag in my future! Actually, this one isn’t very large -- just big enough to hold a wallet, cell phone, and keys. The original plan was to have a bag that coordinated with a favorite green top, which I’ve already been wearing without its matching purse.

Ooh La La Bag

Detail

On the list of items to complete: a vinyl tote bag to carry files and other business-related stuff; a velvet bag I started almost a year ago, when I wanted to sew and didn't feel like ripping out the Ooh La La bag; and a drawstring pouch for Dan's saxophone swab (yes, unusual, but he's been requesting it). Then hopefully on to some painting and mixed media.

Now off to the kitchen for a baking project to satisfy my sweet tooth!