Half-baked: My Crafting Space

So, obviously this isn't really a cooking day.  But I do believe my little crafting corner qualifies as half-baked--really!  My craft room is really a corner of my bedroom--approx. 4'x6'.  Our master bedroom has 3 closets, and rather than use one for storage (that's what the garage is for, right?), I commandeered it for my craft closet.  We've lived in our house about 10 years now and I've had two other different crafting rooms--real rooms.

I started out in our little loft area.  On the original home blueprints, it was called the children's loft.  Probably acted as a play area.  It's pretty small, with a sloped cieling and maybe 10'x10'--you can't stand up all the way in any part of the space, but its great for sitting at a table or desk and working.  I think the previous owners to us completely ignored the space.  The ladder had been removed and the original 1960's linoleum was still on the floor and the dark wood railing was untouched.  The thick layer of dust simply said, "This space was useless to us."  Rhett installed one of those fold-down ladders and it became the perfect mommy escape place.  I bought wire shelving units to organize everything so I could see it all.  I set up a folding table to act as a work table and had everything just so.

Then, less than a year later, #3 decided to join our family.  Well, Rhett didn't like me climbing up and down all the time looking like, well, never mind.  He talked me into moving everything into our 3rd bedroom.  He took over the loft and now the only hope of removing him and his stuff from there is, well, about as likely as pigs flying.  To this day I regret listening to reason and making that move :)

The new room is pretty small and the other two kids were sharing the larger second bedroom.  At the time, I totally cleaned everything out.  I painted it a bright, cheery yellow with a soft white stippling (a la plastic bags).  I hung denim curtains overlayed with pretty eyelet fabric.  I set up my shelves to neatly store everything.  I felt inspired in my pretty space. I grew to love that space.

Then, as kids do, the oldest two grew out of sharing a room and #3 was ready to move from the living room into a bedroom.  So, the girls (oldest & youngest) were moved into the big bedroom and the boy (the MIDDLE child) moved into my small bedroom.  My craft shelves were carefully re-assembled in the 3rd closet in the master bedroom.  Whenever I wanted to work, I had to clear off the kitchen table and haul everything out.  This meant I did very little for a couple of years, because I believe in EATING at the kitchen table, so it was quite a pain to get something out, only to have to put it away for a meal or snack just when I was getting into the groove.

After a while, we tried putting a table up in the back portion of our living room, but I didn't like that either, because it always made the room look more messy than it actually was.  Eventually, we got a table from a yard sale that fit perfectly in the corner of our bedroom next to my craft closet.  Now my sewing machine and current projects have a home and I can close my bedroom door if it looks to much like the big bang.  It's a little cramped, but it works--until I have that dream home with six bedrooms, a library, an office, walk-in closets ... Back to reality.

I share this because I have made several adaptations in order to make this area work for me.  I'll share a few of these over time--but hopefully now you'll see why I take on some quirky projects.  Also--If I can make it work, anyone can.

Happy Easter!

It's been more than a couple of weeks now since I've sat down and written anything, and once again I'm a day late and a dollar short ...  The sun is shining here and I did finish one pretty big project for me--getting everyone matching on Easter.  It's not all perfection, but everything turned out pretty dang cute, if I do say so myself.  (I'll work on pics ...)

Once again I'm re-learning my schedule.  I was blessed to fall into a part-time job have been finding my footing there.  Although the job will mostly be on evenings and weekends, the training started during the days and then slowly moved closer to my intended schedule for the beginning of April.  Bear with me--I'm still doing as much sewing and crocheting as possible--just a bit more limited for a little while.

I finished about 1/2 the quilting for Luke's quilt, but ran into an issue with my machine, so I'm having to re-do a good portion.  I've re-worked my quilting scheme, but it'll still take a little more time.  I missed the silent auction, so I'm really bummed.  I'll hang on to it for just the right occasion.

A quick re-cap of the Karrs over the last few weeks ...
The first day of spring was accompanied by snow in the beautiful Willamette Valley.  Not our usual wet dusting that disappears by noon ... I mean almost 7 inches with tiny, dry flakes still coming down for a couple of days.  It was the most snow I've seen since moving to Oregon eleven years ago.  We've also had some crazy hail storms, too. (Notice the soft green *new* leaves poking out to say, HI--I'M HERE!)

We made some really cute Easter eggs for decoration a la Pinterest and http://www.craftyendeavor.com/2012/03/08/easter-egg-garland/.  It was messy and the string liked to tangle, but they turned out really cute!

I made Samantha a scripture cover from my tutorial (http://areformedheathn.blogspot.com/2012/03/tipsy-tutorials-pieced-scripture-cover.html) since her English class is studying The Bible (KJV) as literature.  She picked out batiks--not my personal style, but it turned out cute and she loves it :)

Tipsy Tutorials: Pieced Scripture Cover

This is a project that was born out of need.  I'm one of those mothers who feels like she carries sixteen different bags to church each week.  One for the kids, one for the calling, my scripture case, ... you get the idea.  The cargo area of our mini-van is literally half-filled with all that stuff that HAS to go to church with me.  I can hear those of you who side with my husband ... why don't you just use your iPhone scripture app, or Kindle, or whatever electronic iteration?  Last year for my birthday my husband got me two things--an Amazon Kindle and a sweet laptop bag that looks like an attache case.  His thought was that maybe I should consolidate a little.

Good thought ... but its taken me 6 more months to figure out exactly how I want it to work.  I kept getting frustrated about my scripture case.  I love my scripture case, but its an extra purse--no way around it.  Finally I decided I needed a smaller one, then after many internet tutorial searches, I realized I didn't really want a scripture case at all, I want a scripture cover.   You know, like the ones we used to make for our texts in high school.  That way, I can slide my scriptures into my new bag and thusly eliminate one more thing to carry.  Eureka!

Once I came to this inevitable conclusion, I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like:  my husband's missionary scriptures.  Only that meant figuring it out on my own.  I found a similar feel to what I wanted at this tutorial from Moda Bakeshop,  http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/11/journal-covers.html .  I used this tutorial as a jumping board for my own design.  So here we go ...

Pieced Scripture Cover
The measurements I use here will fit a medium-sized LDS edition quad.

Materials:
cover pieces:
28 (1-1/2" x 4") rectangles--I used 4 different coordinating fabrics
2 (3" x 26-1/4") strips--main color (black)
1 (8-3/4" x 26-1/4") fusible flannel (I cut it a little big then trimmed)

inside flap pieces:
4 (1-1/2" x 4") rectangles (as above)
2 (3" x 4") strips--main color (black)
1 (8-3/4" x 4") fusible flannel

1 (8-3/4" x 26-1/4") lining fabric (black)
1 or 2 (3" x 4-1/2") lining fabric (for pockets--OPTIONAL)
matching and contrasting threads
iron
ruler
fabric scissors
1 thin pony-tail elastic
button

Instructions:
1.  We are going to start with the scrappy strip down the middle.  Take 4 of your rectangles for the inside flap and sew them together with a 1/4" seam.  Set these aside.  Then do the same for the 28 other pieces.  Pay careful attention to line up the top and bottom as best you can.  This will make matching edges a lot easier in just a bit.  You now have two strips.  Press all your seams to one side.

2.  Center your longer strip onto your corresponding piece of fusible flannel and carefully fuse to the bumpy side with your iron.  Repeat with the smaller inside flap pieces.  Now quilt along each seam (ditch) of each strip.  No need for backstitching since these ends will be sewn over in the next step.

3.  Line up the top and bottom strips right sides together with the top and bottom edges of the center strip.  Pin and sew with a 1/4" seam.  Press the seam open and iron these strips to the fusible flannel.  Using contrasting (red) thread, stitch in the ditch, then 1/4 inch away from the ditch, then two more lines parallel to the first one.  Repeat for the bottom strip.

4.  Double check here to make sure that everything is fitting OK.  Measure 3 inches in from each corner of the folded over flap (right side). Cut off each corner.  Use this as a pattern to do the same thing for the lining.    Take your pony tail elastic and pinch two sides together in half.  About 1/4 of the way from one end, twist a small length of thread around the the two sides of the elastic to hold them together, then baste them to the center of the lining flap in between where the corners were trimmed off.  Make sure that the larger loop that will go around the button is facing towards the middle.  Layer the lining and pieced cover right sides together and pin together.

5.  Leaving 3 to 4 inches open for turning, stitch around the remaining sides with a 3/8-inch seam.  Trim all corners and turn right-side-out.  I use a plastic chopstick to push out the corners and make them nice and crisp.  Give the whole thing a good ironing, making sure to turn the edges of the opening to the inside.

6.  Before topstitching, we need to take care of the inside flap.  First we need to finish the edge that will be on the left (open) side of the back flap.  Fold over about 1/4" and topstitch in place.  Now, use your book to determine placement of the flap.  Put a pin in the center to keep it from shifting.  Now fold over the top and bottom so they are flush with the top and bottom lines of the main cover; pin.  Fold the right side under 1/4" to 3/8" and pin into place.  After you pin, double check that your book will still fit.  Sewing as close to the right edge as possible, stitch that right side from top to bottom.

7. **optional** I added a pocket for pencils/pens at this point just to the right side of the flap.  I had a 3" x 4-1/2" square of the lining fabric.  I folded the top over 1/2" and then a second time so that the inside hem was about 1/4".  I sewed across the top to finish it off.  I folded and pressed the remaining three sides to the inside 1/4" to 3/8"--I just eyeballed it.  Finally I sewed around the three sides and once up the middle.

8.  Fold over the left flap and pin into place.  Topstitch as close as you can all the way around the cover--I did about 1/8".  I started at the bottom so the joining wouldn't be as obvious.  I also backstitched over each of the places where the flaps were joined down to add a little durability.  Put your book in the cover and find placement for the button--sew it on and you're done!

          

          

          

This-is-so-COOL: I won something!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I got this e-mail from Green Fairy Quilts saying that I'd won a $25 gift certificate.  I was so excited.  I've been stalking a lot of quilting sites lately and leaving lots of comments.  Apparently, somewhere along the line, this totally *paid* off.  A big Thanks! to Mellissa at Happy Quilting and her Valentine's Day Charm Blog Hop series!

Even though Rhett was skeptical, I went ahead on the assumption that I wasn't being spammed--I mean the shop is in St. George, UT, and being the trusting soul I am, I went shopping!  I had so much fun browsing through all her choices online, then I went over to check out the blog--AMAZING!!  She makes machine quilting look like child's play.  I love the trapunto look she achieves by combining small motifs with larger ones.

I finally settled on a new jelly roll from Jenn Ski and Moda fabrics called Ten Little Things.  It's a really cute collection with a little boy feel.  I wasn't sure what I'd do with it since my boy is just about twelve, but I fell in love.  I couldn't resist--and the best part--it was almost free.  So I ordered and waited, stalked (I mean tracked) it online every day and opened it right up when I got it on Monday.

In the meantime--over last weekend--I found out why inspiration had struck in such an odd way for me.  A few weeks ago, my nephew's friend fell out of a second-story window and was very seriously injured.  I've been following my sister's updates and my heart pours out to this family.  Well, last Saturday, my sister posted that she's hosting a benefit for the family to help defray medical costs.  I now know why I have that darling little boy fabric.  Here's a quick sneak peek at what I'm working on--hopefully it will bring in a nice bid for the family at the silent auction.

Half-Baked: Sugar Cookie Bars

This link came up recently on Pinterest and I can't believe I never though of it--we've all had that happen with the myriad ideas that circulate there, right?  I LOVE sugar cookies but I HATE making them.  I think the cakey ones you can buy at the supermarket are gross so won't touch them either (much to my family's frustration.)  Now, I love making a quick batch of chocolate chip cookies as bars, so I have absolutely no excuse for never putting two and two together and coming up with something like this myself.

http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/lofthouse-sugar-cookie-bars.html

Soo, with Nicholas's birthday coming up this week, and knowing I have a bit of baking to do, I decided to compare this recipe with my own favorite sugar cookie recipe.  I clipped this recipe years ago from a Taste of Home magazine and have used it ever since.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Smooth-Sailing-Sugar-Cookies

I've never used the icing recipe, however.  I prefer Betty Crocker whipped icings.  BUT, I can't use that now since Samantha is on her restricted diet.  Truth be told, she probably shouldn't eat any of the cookies, either, but that's another reality.  So I'm using the standard buttercream icing recipe from Wilton.  My mom made this growing up and I used it when I took my cake decorating classes.  It's simple, its yummy and I can make it any color I want :)  http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing

There was an obvious difference in the doughs.  The Lofthouse recipe was softer and gooier.  When I put it in the pan, there was also a little more.  When I do this again, I will double the Taste of home recipe and see if that works better.

The Lofthouse recipe said to spray the pan.  I did even though I had a non-stick jelly roll pan.  I didn't need to.  It would have spread better without it.  I didn't spray the pan for the second recipe, and it spread just fine.  Neither one stuck to the pan in the least when I cut them and removed them from the pan.

As you can see, the bars turned out pretty different.  The Lofthouse recipe is thicker and cakier.  The Taste of home was thinner and more cumbly.  My girls liked the Lofthouse recipe best, my guys didn't care either way.  I prefer the taste of the Taste of Home cookie recipe and the Lofthouse icing recipe--sooo, I will double the first and use the second on the next go around.

As with all good things, more experimentation is required :)  Here's to finding a version your family comes back to again and again.

Adagio: Change is the Only Constant

Today we had stake conference.  This one has been much anticipated for two reasons announced weeks ago:  1.  Our Stake Presidency was to be reorganized, and 2.  Elder Holland was coming to preside.  Wow!  Each week in Sacrament Meeting, we've been gently reminded to prepare to fully participate and take advantage of having a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visit our stake.

Many times I've been in the congregation when a visiting authority presided--but as near as I can remember that was always in quite a large arena, convention center, stadium, what have you.  In Moses Lake, Elder Scott came for a Regional Conference when Sam was a baby.  Here in Eugene, Elder Maxwell did the same when we'd only been here a short time.  I don't remember ever sitting in a chapel with a visiting Apostle of the Lord--visiting Area Seventy, sure, but not an Apostle.  Anyway, it was a very spiritual, personal experience for me despite the large numbers.  Elder Holland shares that spirit with President Monson--you know the one where he reaches out to the one even in the crowd.  I don't know how else to explain it.

Our ward did lose our Bishop today, too.  He's the new Stake President.  I'm happy for them ... that doesn't come across right, but hopefully you know what I mean.  He has been such a blessing in our family, especially recently.  It would be selfish not to realize what a blessing he could be to the hundreds more in our stake.  When I got home from the meeting and told Sam, she was first so excited, then frustrated.  "He's still going to be our Bishop, right?"  Well, no, can you imagine?  We talked about how this would mean a new Bishopric in our ward REALLY soon, and probably a new presiding authority over the youth on both a ward and stake level.  Sam has had some real connections with her priesthood leaders and this is a somewhat difficult change since it is probably the first one that she can remember feeling.

As we were talking, I said something like, "You know what lesson to learn from this, right?"  Rhett piped in with, "Change is the only constant?"  To which we all laughed and I said, "Well, yes, BUT also you'd best be careful what you pray for ..."  One small change, like a new Stake President that may seem remote for her personally, has quite a ripple effect.  It is a lesson to me that the Lord must know all of us and what is best for us for it all to run so smoothly.  Although small ripples may be seen for a couple of weeks or months, there will certainly be no waves that rock the boat.

S.W.A.K.: Here's to More ... of the GOOD stuff

I think I can characterize this week as a smoothing out week.  Still have ups and downs, but a couple of things seems to have fallen into some kind of rhythm.  Now I just need to learn the steps and go with it ...

Samantha officially started a 2-period school day.  She continues to be in great pain most of the time.  Everything she was missing at school was so overwhelming, plus she's having more difficulty with focusing and short-term memory.  I can only imagine the incessant foggy feeling.  Anyway, hopefully this will help her focus some and relieve some of that stress.  She had her 3rd MRI come up normal again.  This time it was focusing on her neck and shoulder area.  Very frustrating.  We're ready for answers, or better yet, a miracle.

Sarah and Nicholas had their second TAG group meeting at school this week and they're excited about their respective projects.  Nicholas is learning about cryptography and DaVinci's mirror code and Sarah is working on a nature diary.  She and her friend are re-binding a couple of blank books, then will be going on excursions to press flowers, do rubbings and collect all kinds of as-yet-unknown goodies.  I'm so proud to see the initiative they're taking.

Here's a couple pics of Nicholas.  One of the things my mom sent me in her care packages was a pair of my dad's old (dare I say vintage) Boy Scout pants.  They're a touch too short, but otherwise fit great.  (Out that hem comes this week--wonder how it'll look after so many years ...)  I liked the pocket detailing--sure don't see that anymore.  He was so proud to put them on and go.

 

 I'm spending a good portion of today with Nicholas and his Battle of the Books team, The Medieval Rattlesnakes, at the regional battle.  They came in first in the school-wide competition and now they get to compete with the other elementary schools in the area.  He's nervous and excited--I guess I am, too.

I threw in a couple of last- minute projects this week, so other things got pushed back.  Sarah had a birthday party tonight so I made a little wallet for a gift card.  It turned out really cute--and it was fast (http://craftycupboard.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-business-card-holder.html).  Definitely a quick keeper.  I also made a small pair of drapes for one of Rhett's friends at work.  Long story short, he shared a story with me about how he made some crack about covering up a small peep-hole window with cardboard.  I looked at him and said, "I can do better than that!"  Four hours later, I was putting the finishing touches on the "cardboard".  Don't have pictures, but it wasn't anything complicated.  Just two 30" square panels with casing for a tension rod and matching ties.  The fabric was sweet, though--I'll definitely have to use the scraps--maybe for some gift card wallets ...

This-is-so-COOL: "Vintage" craft books

I got a fun package in the mail last week!  But you need the story first ...

My parents live on the other side of the country--I rarely see them and often feel out of the loop.  But a couple of months ago, I just happened to call on some random day and got to hear how a sewage line broke about a block from their home.  Water and other stuff backed up in all the pipes and seriously flooded their basement--you can imagine.

S.W.A.K.: On a Sorta Snowy Saturday ...

This morning I was awaken by my husband's excitement over the big flakes of snow that were really coming down ... since then it's snowed twice more, the sun came out long enough to cause serious meltyness and now it's raining, really raining.  I guess that's about how this week has gone, too. If you don't like things right now, just wait a few minutes ...

President's Day on Monday was a fun family everybody's home day.  Well, I can wear rose colored glasses in retrospect, right?

This week I primed, textured and painted our new bathroom walls.  Today we're replacing the toilet and sink fixtures.  That still makes us only about halfway done.  Next the shower comes out and we do the walls and door frame while we try to decide how to replace the shower.  I have my own definite wish--cultured marble--but we'll see what we end up with.  I'd also love one of those "open" showers with no doors to scrub and collect mold, but again, who knows ...

Samantha had the usual smattering of appointments ... six to be exact.  Still no change and 7-1/2 weeks into this with no explanation or relief.  She's so done.  She just wants to be NORMAL.  Next week she will officially move to a medically-necessary shortened school day.  We're working out the details on that still, but as soon as we do, that'll be a whole new chapter is our educational adventures.

I started helping Nicholas's class with the pancake dolls that I cut out over Winter Break.  I need to get on top of mine so I can post a tutorial with pictures.  I really admire his teacher for taking on a project of this magnitude.  So little of this type of project is done nowadays and it is so good for the children to move a bit out of their comfort zone and learn new skills--it's only running stitches after all.  It kinda hit home for me when I realized I was teaching the kids the exact same stitch I'm using to draw the pictures on the Rocky Ridge quilt.

I had hoped to be going up to the Portland Temple today with Samantha, but we couldn't schedule a time for baptisms.  Working with her this week to get some names ready for the work reminded me how much I enjoy family history work when I take the time.  Does anyone have any suggestions about how to organize all that information?  Most of what it looks like I need to work on for a while is "reconciling" conflicting records in the Family Search system.  But that also means tracking down original records and other family information.  So many projects, so little time...

Tipsy Tutorials: Quilt-in-a-Week

Original Pinspiration (just scroll down a little):

http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/category/sewing/

It would probably be more accurate to say "blanket" but it is quilted :)  I am definitely a novice quilter.  For me, quilting is a definite step up from sewing clothes and other crafty projects.  I learned how to sew a straight line a very long time ago, but piecing quilts was something that seemed just a little out of my reach.  Matching seams and figuring out the math were beyond my comprehension.  Now I think it was just that I had a mental block because I didn't know anyone who could show me the ropes.  As I was thinking about the kinds of projects I look for when trying something new, I stumbled across this idea.  Why not show how *easy* quilting can be and make a small blanket in a week?!