My newest friend Pan just arrived from Germany!  Isa made my little sailor while she was vacationing at the North Sea.

He's outfitted with a bag of shells, a fishing pole with today's catch still attached, and a tiny sailboat.  Pan also brought me gifts from Isa: fish-shaped candles, shell-shaped soap, a loofah, spice cookies, and heavenly dark chocolate and marzipan.  I'm also the proud owner of a special edition Zoo Collection bag.  Isa made one just for me using nautical linen with Pan embroidered on the front.

My package was so thoughtfully put together, and my presents were carefully chosen.  The craftsmanship of everything Isa made is incredible.  Tiny Pan is precious beyond words.  I have no idea how Isa sewed his tiny overalls.  Even the shell bag is lined with two different fabrics and has a working drawstring.  I'm deeply touched that Isa prepared this special package for me.

Liebe Isa, thank you from my heart. :)

First, I want to thank Michelle of Green Kitchen for organizing this ornament swap.  With all the stuff she has going on (you know, life), it was great of her to initiate it and make it happen.

When I first saw the participant list, I thought, "Kick Ass. I totally want stuff from these people."  Luckily, Michelle reassured me that my lack of Christmasness wouldn't disqualify me, so I've been waiting here for my avalanche of awesome ... and these women didn't disappoint.

Michelle from Green Kitchen sent me two (two!) ornaments.  They are exactly the kind of lovingly made, retro ornaments that hung on my Grandmother's Christmas tree.  I love the vintage bulbs, chenille stems, and crochet bodies.  They are heartwarming to look at and evoke a nostalgia for Christmas that I rarely experience.

Bethany from Bitter Betty sent me this freaking adorable deer, Bad Bambi.  Amazing!  She knows, of course, that I love skulls and cute-edgy stuff and Bad Bambi is exactly that.  It's smaller than any stuffie I've ever made.  I'm totally in awe of her tiny handy work! Do you see the perfect minuscule cigarette!?  Take a look at the rest of her tiny creations.



Stephanie from Ruby Crowned Kinglette sent me a wonderfully stylized reindeer.  The design is amazing.  I love simple graphic shapes.  The faux suede body feels great and the natural twig legs and antlers are wonderful.  It's just gorgeous!  Check out the whole set.





Tricia from Frizzelstixs sent this awesome embroidered panel. I always love her animal characters and I can't believe I have one for my very own.  A deer drinking coffee - he's so cool!  I imagine he's home from a long day of lumberjacking and, before he even takes off his plaid over-shirt, he's warming up with a cup of joe.




Meg from Pixiegenne sent this wonderful button wreath.  Since my button stash isn't big enough for me to make one of these, it's especially appreciated.  I like the way Soule Mama used hers as a frame and I'm going to find a cute picture of us to put in it.





Cassi from Bella Dia created this wonderful, graphic ornament.  It's a bright, cheery decoration, perfect for combating the shortening days.  I love the simplicity of the colors and shapes, but close up you can see all the detailed, careful stitches. It's beautiful.






Kristin from Kleas sent me the cutest little elf girl.  Do you see those tiny braids?  The precious pointy shoes?  The stripey tights?  The elfin mushroom?  She is so completely adorable.  I love that her arms are thrown wide like she's ready to give everyone she meets a big hug.

Thank you, everyone, for making this such a *great* group swap!

** Now you can buy the pattern to make your own **

This is Octophrost, the ornament I made for my ornament swap. Every time I say "Octophrost" out loud, I giggle and Andrew looks amused.  Especially when I add, "Santa of the Sea." I find it so funny and ridiculous.

I've been dying to make felt stuffies for a while, so when the ornament swap came up, I looked my stack of not-used-yet Japanese craft books.  I was looking for something appropriate for an ornament ...  and then I saw Sigmund sitting on my desk.

I loved Sigmund perched in the fake seaweed and it clicked that an octopus would be super cute snuggled in the branches of a Christmas tree.  Since I designed the octopus pattern myself, my poor, neglected Japanese craft books are still staring at me from the shelf, accusingly.

As I was making them, Andrew kept asking me questions, like, "What do you mean, 'Santa of the Sea'?" and "You are going to make him ALL white?"  I realized I had a whole little story going in my head about how Octophrost is made of snow and ice, that instead of shooting out ink clouds to hide he shoots out a mini blizzard of snow, that he makes all the toys himself because he's got eight arms, and other stuff like that.  I do that a lot - I'll think about something a whole lot and then just share the last thought and get confused stares from everyone.  I thought it might be a good idea to let everyone in on the magic of Octophrost, so I drew a mini poster that illustrates what I have in my head.

I was going for "Victorian Circus Poster" with the postcard.  The postcard cracks me up almost as much as saying (and typing), "Santa of the Sea."

I made the Octophrosts with 4 different frosty eye colors: blue, pink, mint, and lavender.  Each postcard was color-penciled to match.  Since I had to make these in the most efficient manner possible, I learned a lot about mass hand-producing stuffies.  I'll share all those tips in a later post.

The other crafters in the ornament swap are amazing. I've been totally freaked about whether my ornaments will be even half as awesome as theirs ... but my insecurities have been totally overwhelmed by my excitement about getting their wonderful creations.  The other participants are:

Michelle from Green Kitchen (organizer extraordinaire)
Bethany from Bitter Betty
Stephanie from Ruby Crowned Kinglette
Tricia from Frizzelstixs
Meg from Pixiegenne
Cassi from Bella Dia
Kristin from Kleas

I can't wait to share all their goodies with you, too!



I've entered Octophrost in Whipup.net's current Whiplash in the decoration category.

Craft: Magazine has been posting lots of sewing machines lately, and that got me thinking about how much I appreciate mine.

Last year for my birthday Andrew wanted to get me a sewing machine.  I sold mine when we moved to the East Coast from Salt Lake City.  When we moved, we only brought what would fit in the car and what made sense to pack in boxes and ship UPS.  Everything else was sold.  The heaviest sewing machine in the world went to a good home.

My old sewing machine was from my mother.  She bought each of us girls a sewing machine for Christmas around 1991.  My favorite feature was what I called the Chicken Stitch.  It was probably supposed to be ducks, but it looked like chickens to me.

Andrew took me to Sears, and I was in awe of all the functions and accessories that come with sewing machines. I'd never been shopping for sewing machines and it was really cool to see all the features and accessories you could get.

I finally settled on a mid-range model that was just a tiny step up from the workhorse I had before.  Then Andrew said, "Wouldn't you rather have this one?"  And he pointed to the nicest one that wasn't an embroidery machine.  Of course I would!  Oh, he is a sweetie!

It's a Kenmore, and I love it!  I could even use a push button to stop and start it, if I didn't want to use the pedal ... or if I lose my legs.  There is a speed control that goes from turtle to rabbit.  I keep it closer to turtle because I don't want to rabbit my fingers off - it can go pretty fast.  The needle always stops in the up position, which is awesome!  There is no Chicken Stitch, but there is a great selection of built-in stitches.

The only thing that I've noticed that is weird, is the needle, in the center position, is 1/32nd of an inch to the right of the center mark.  Not enough to get freaked about, or to put my patterns off, but it's measurable (I measured it).

I ended up calling Sears customer service just now about the needle position (they have 24/7 toll-free customer service).  Ivan, the coolest garage door opener and lawn mower specialist ever, went through the sewing machine manual with me.  He asked, "What stitch width is the sewing machine set on?"  That fixed it!  Even if you have the machine set on a straight stitch, changing the width from 0 to 6 moves the needle position 1/32nd to the right.  Yay!  My machine is perfect again!

They really put a lot of thought into the design of this machine.  I think it's a good machine for an experienced sewer or a beginner.  And, if you get it from Sears, you also get great customer service.

(p.s.  I never would have taken the time to call customer service if I wasn't writing about my sewing machine on my craft blog.  Thank you, craft blog, for making me do things I should have done a year ago.)

Jules tagged me, and I'm in the mood for a little fun, so here we go.

4 jobs I have had:
- Assembly Line Worker at factory making gas filters for cars (I *loved* it because it was monotonous and soothing.)
- Doing Digital Ink & Paint for animation (I *loved* it because it was monotonous, soothing, and I got lots of awesome schwag [the free stuff, not the pot].)
- Cashier at BBQ place in Kansas City, Kansas (This was a yummy 2 years.)
- Web Programmer (It's kinda cool being the only girl programmer in the TriState area.  It keeps the boys on their toes.  Plus, I love being nerdy.)

4 movies I could watch over and over:
- Fight Club (Saw it 4 times in the theater (3 alone) and have watched our DVD about 5 times)
- Man Bites Dog (This was my favorite movie before Fight Club came out. French black comedy - need I say more?)
- The Passenger (Jack Nicholson is an amazing actor ... when he's not doing Jack.  This movie is sublime.  The Passenger was recently released on DVD and Jack's commentary track is amazing, entertaining, and illuminating.)
- Safe (There have been times in my life when I wished I was crazy and I could just sit in the corner rocking back and forth drooling on myself.  That would be so much easier, wouldn't it?  Julianne Moore lives my dream.)

4 places I have lived (apart from where I am now):
- San Francisco, California (9 wonderful years.)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (2 bizarro years.)
- Yankton, South Dakota (Is that in the US or Canada?)
- Jackson, Michigan (The middle of the palm.)

4 TV shows I love:
- Project Runway Season 3 (I usually don't watch TV - especially not reality TV - but I loved the creativity and the sewing and - oy - I just *loved* it.)
- Daily Show/Colbert Report (It's the same news as CNN, but I laugh instead of cry.)
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force (OMG - Hilarious.  Too funny. The only reason I checked it out was they had the funniest commercial where Meatwad is sitting in a highchair and she says to Shake, "I'm an *adult* and I deserve an adult glass."  So, Shake sets a glass in front of Meatwad, and  Meatwad extends her arm and knocks the glass over, spilling everything.  Then Meatwad frowns.  This commercial made me laugh every time.  And still would.)
- Lou Dobbs on CNN (I wish he'd run for President.  He's about the only person I think I'd vote for right now.  Lately I've just been voting *against" people.)

4 places I have been for a vacation:
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (It's like a clean San Francisco where the people are nice.)
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada (I loved hearing French all the time.  We actually wandered into places where people didn't speak any English.  It was fun to feel like a foreigner.)
- Maui, Hawaii (We were on our honeymoon just a month after 9-11.  The island only had us and three other honeymooning couples.  We got a great deal on our beachfront condo and none of the attractions were booked up.)
- Cambria, California (We went to see Hearst Castle.  Wow, it's an amazing place.  Seeing Citizen Kane gave it a whole other dimension. The surrounding area is amazingly beautiful, even without the castle.  I loved falling asleep to the sound of waves lapping at the shore.)

4 websites I visit daily:
- Dictionary.com (These words ain't gonna spell themselves.)
- Wikipedia (These facts ain't gonna check themselves.)
- What Would Tyler Durden Do (It's not related to Fight Club except in name,  although the name is probably the only reason I stayed on a celebrity gossip site long enough to read something.  The thing is, Tyler is freaky-funny.  Super duper funny.)
- Bloglines (These blog feeds ain't gonna check themselves.)

4 favorite foods:
- Bryers Vanilla Ice Cream
- Crème Brûlée (thanks w3.org)
- Brie and cracked pepper water crackers
- TIE: Nutella on a baguette // Bacon with Maple Syrup

4 places I would rather be (all have an implied "With Andrew"):
- San Francisco (It's like a dirty Vancouver full of rude people, but it is beautiful beyond belief and is bursting with great restaurants.)
- Sheraton Moorea Lagoon Resort and Spa, French Polynesia (I cut an advertisement for this resort from some Sheraton literature and have it tacked up on my wall-for-staring.  This is where you should send my mail if we ever win the lottery.)
- New York City (I grew up in the Midwest, so I find it odd that New York has such a magical hold on me.  I never forget how much I love it, but the minute we drive out the end of the Holland tunnel, I'm always struck my how my whole being just shouts, "I'm Home!")
- Snuggled under the covers (I love my bed.)

4 people I am tagging:
Ok, I have a list of four of you that I've picked.  I'm going to keep the list secret and see if you can figure out if you are on it or not ... so ... go do your 4 things. :)

This is the last of the 7 handbags I made for my mother-in-law to give as holiday gifts to her employees (and a niece).


When I bought this yarn, I had no idea what I was going to do with it.  I just loved the color.  Actually, that's how I buy most of my yarn.  So one day I took all these different colored strands of yarn to the fabric store and tried to find matching fabric to use as linings.  When I found this burst fabric, I about freaked.

First of all, I'm silly for dark grey.  It's one of my favorite colors.  So, to find a fabric with a dark grey background was cool.  When you add  bursty flowers in blues, electric lime green, and white, it becomes irresistible to me.  This is another bolt that I pulled off the shelf and dragged around the store so no one else could take it.

Strangely, there is no absolute teal in the fabric when you get up close, but somehow it matches the yarn perfectly.

At first, I tried embroidering directly on the handbag, but you really need the dark grey background to make those colors pop.  The lime floss was just swallowed by the teal yarn.  As you can see, I ended up cutting out charcoal felt circles and embroidering on them.  In the middle of the two big circles are stitched-on  sequins.  Then I added in some of my favorite sequins  to balance everything out.

Doing this seven handbag commission for my mother-in-law was a great learning experience for me because I discovered several things:

-- I have a much more solid feel for what does and doesn't work for me.  I'm going to be much more confident when picking out fabrics and choosing embellishments in the future.

-- Making and selling these handbags feels good in a way that most jobs never will or could.  I am going to do everything I can to keep this part of my life growing.

-- Even though I have a full-time job, I can get a ton accomplished when I'm focused and motivated.

Completing this craft-challenge has given me the determination to be more ambitious.  I'm excited about my crafty plans and I can't wait to see where all of this leads.

This Mousey Mc Mousenstein was a surprise gift from Marci ... isn't he a cutie?

-- I've finished the ornaments that are getting shipped out Tuesday.  I'm planning a photoshoot for this weekend.  It's going to kill me to wait to share them with you.

-- I'm working on 2 more commision purses, one for my mother-in-law and one for my sister-in-law.

-- I have a 6 bag commission for Dustpan Alley.  Yay!  I'm going to be in a retail store!  I'm pretty excited about this.  Angelina can be my spy and let me know what people say about my bags when I'm not around.

-- I've added a library page (link at top right).  All of my Japanese craft books are in there.  I put in one American craft book and one book I use for inspiration, but I will eventually add all of them, too.

I love this fabric.  When I saw it, I immediately grabbed it off the shelf and carried it around the store until I bought all that was on the bolt.  Sadly, there was less than two yards left.

I love graphic, flat-color designs.  I love brown and orange and red and cream and weird mossy green.  I love leaves with curlicue veins and flowers with spots and bursts.  I LOVE this fabric.

It's a thick fabric (bottom wieght, maybe?) that has a tiny bit of stretch (I'm guessing 1% lyrca or spandex).  This makes it very nice as a purse lining.  It feels sturdy and durable.

The fabric made embellishing the bag super easy ... I have about 20 cool looking flowers and leaves to choose from.  When I dropped off all the handbags, my mother-in-law picked this one up and said, "I want one of these. A large one." :)

I know exactly how she feels.  I'm going to make one of these for myself, too.  I have my summer-walk bag, but I need one of these for everyday use.  Oh, I can't wait!

This bag was already finished when my mother-in-law made her order for seven bags.  I'd planned on listing it in my Etsy shop, but I ended up setting it aside for her.  Luckily, I have lots of the birdcage fabric, so I will be able to make plenty more for the shop.

The birdcage bags are the most popular ones, by far.  Everyone seems to love them.  I'm stunned by them, too.  They look exactly how I want them to look.  I love it when that happens.

I've tried to make a bunch of different bird shapes on the bags I've made.  I built up a little library of bird body templates.  This bow-legged cutie is one of my favorites.

Sewing sewing sewing ... this week has been filled with tons of ornament sewing.  As you can see, it's getting easier and faster.  I wish I could post a cryptic close up, but I fear it'll give the secret away, so, you get the ever-exciting chart.

I haven't quite used up my One-Year Blogaversary postcards (the 30 Drop Dead Cute postcards I got in NYC), so if you want some fun mail, email me your address.  And, yes!, I post overseas.

Gaping Void (a blog I found by googling "edgy blog writing" which deals mostly with marketing and Hugh's  (usually) bitingly-funny tiny cartoons) has issued a mini manifesto and asked that his readers submit their own.  I want to eventually write a futuregirl manifesto, but in the interim, I'm going to rally under Mark Boyd's WHY MAKE STUFF? creative manifesto.

Most people's manifestos are a numbered list of items.  I love that Mark's is an energetic jumble. The whole thing is great, but my favorite part is the end, "Dare to fail big, and attempt to change the world. Resist conformity, think for yourself and go make some stuff of your very own."

Viva la revolución!