ozona

Dog Furniture...Recovered Ottoman

2011-06-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else buy pieces of furniture specifically for their pets? My latest was this garage sale find for $3.

A real bargain, considering that when I was at the neighbor's garage sale & did not quite get the front door closed all the way, Jacie figured out how to get the door open and started exploring the front yard neighborhood. Panic! But, she was easily distracted by a dog behind a fence on the same side of the street where she was roaming. With no leash, her furry little butt was carried safely home.

This lovely (ha!) ottoman is on casters that work. It's a nice size. It's in a timeless (ha!) 1970's upholstery. What more could I ask for?!

So with a little bit of sewing, I ended up with this slip-cover:

It really does look nicer IRL than this photo, for several reasons.

I ~~need~~ want a new camera.
This part of the patio is not level.
The slipcover needs to be rotated 180 degrees. There were some distortion from wear on this ottoman, so I made a template for the top, & this is the wrong way, obviously. The slipcover drapes much better when it's on correctly.
See above: it was after 11:00 am and over 100 degrees when I took these photos, so I did not take the time to fiddle around with changing the cover or doing anything else. It was too hot to stay outside. (Unless that included a bathing suit & pool.)
The skirt really does lay nicely, and the piping shows up well.

This ottoman is now located in front of a window that faces the street. Jacie loves to sit on it and see what is happening in the big, bad world. She actually got a little pissy when I took it outside for photos. Princess!

The top is made from recycled jeans, and the rest from fabrics that I had available. If I were to do this again, these are the changes that I would make:

The denim is great, but use decorator weight fabric for the rest. I lined the cotton fabrics on this, but it's not quite enough. Maybe use an iron-on interfacing if you want to use lighter cotton fabrics?
Even though there is a distinction of the "top" and "bottom" of the ottoman in the original, I would make the top band part narrower and the skirt part wider. For this particular ottoman, I think that would work well.

Now, I have two more ottomans, bought for another dog, to recover. One will become a piano "bench," and the other will go in our bedroom. Stay tuned!

Mission: Reorganization

2011-06-17T11:40:00.002-07:00

I opened my big mouth, so two of my sisters and I are having a challenge to get some things completed that normally get ignored. We are doing just one hour a day, Monday through Friday. I stayed on track for two weeks, and then, well...

...this past Monday was my first official Monday off of work! Yippee! Summer!

After the school year ended, I worked on a week-long language arts curriculum writing committee, then completed 3 workshops. So, I decided to have a completely lazy Monday. I've been a slacker ever since on the reorganization. I need to make up some time today, which I'm sure will drag into Saturday and Sunday.

So far with the reorganization, most of what I have done is not noticeable...drawers, cabinets, and such. But, the shelves above my washer and dryer are noticeably nicer. These shelves had become a dumping ground for all sorts of crapola. I even found a stuffed dog toy needing plastic surgery. Why did I put that there?!

My sisters received both a 'before' and 'after' shot. I'm waaayyyyy too embarrassed to put the 'before' picture here. Here is the 'after:'

The two bottles on the center bottom shelf are my homemade laundry detergent and fabric softener. I keep them in used Simply Lemonade containers. They got a facelift.

Jo and Kay, dear sisters that they are, made fun of me. They think they will get more reorganization done while I am 'busy making labels' for things. Ha! I'll show them! Oh wait! Those two ancient recipe file boxes sure do need some revamping. Maybe some fabric Mod Podged onto them to cover the ugliness? That might be a perfect afternoon project, and yet another delay to the boring reorganization. (But it does feel good to get some of those boring tasks completed.)

Memorial Day...Poppies

2011-05-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

As a young girl in 4-H, my club participated in this 'holiday' by selling poppies. I remember going to some of the neighboring small towns in Ohio to sell them. Back then, it was an easy sale.

At the grocery this weekend, there were two veterans selling poppies. No one paid much attention to them. After leaving, I wondered just how many people understood what they were doing. No, I didn't buy one, but that was only because I literally had no cash with me.

I learned of the importance of Memorial Day and Veteran's Day from my father (whom I sometimes called Pop). He was proud of his service to our country in WWII, as was my brother for his service in Viet Nam. Fortunately, they both came home. I'm sure that they both thought about the soldiers they fought with, who gave their lives for our freedom.

In Flander's Field

by John McCrae

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow,

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky,

The larks, still bravely singing, fly,

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead.

Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved and now we lie,

In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw,

The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us, who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,

In Flanders Fields.

For all who gave their lives,

Jeans and a Tie...or...

2011-05-15T13:39:00.001-07:00

...jeans and a pleated necktie necklace!

This coming week is the last week of school, and my principal said that we could wear jeans all week, as long as we wore either a staff shirt or something nice, to stay professional looking. I'm thinking that a tie would raise the bar to professional.

This morning I saw this tutorial, from Maybe Matilda. I raided DH's closet for a tie and came up with my very own pleated necktie necklace. I made a couple of changes. First, I decided that since it really did look like a tie, I would use the skinny end in the design, using the entire tie. Second, I ended up hand sewing the top edge so that it lays nicely.

And I happened to have the perfect button for this!

After I finished, DH made some comment to the extent that people probably look at me and think that I should just go shopping to buy things. Not. This is way more fun!

So, will this dress up my jeans enough to make my boss happy?!

Produce Bags and Lapbooks

2011-05-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

These produce bags are so cool! The pattern is from Daisy Janie and they are quick and easy. I made these for a wonder parent helper for an end-of-the-year gift. I am also making a fabric grocery bag for her, and one of my team members is buying items to fill the bags. So far she bought 3 bottles of wine with fun, food-related labels. Does anyone have ideas for more items to fill the bags with? This mom helper deserves a lot!

Three summers ago I took a district class called "Lapbooks: Taking Foldables to the Next Level." One of the things that I created for that class was a lapbook to be used with our language arts series. This series has 6 units, so that meant 6 lapbooks for each student over the course of the school year. Each lapbook has a variety of activities for the students to be working on while I'm working with small groups of students.

Here is what they look like.

Front

Middle

Back

This mom helper made these lapbooks not only for my class, but for my entire grade level. That was about 400 of these over the course of this past school year. Plus, she has volunteered to put the first unit together to start out the school year in the fall. We LOVE you, Andrea!

Partying with:
Tatertots and Jello

Denim ~ a Wardrobe Staple ~ and a new toy!

2011-04-22T17:07:00.012-07:00

Today was "Testing Break" day, a much needed day off of work. I started my day with clearing off sewing surfaces. Once that was done, I introduced myself to my new brother!

The poor baby had been sitting in a box for two weeks.

I rewatched the videos and started playing. After I felt comfortable enough, I made a little baby skirt from here, using the serger for finishing the raw edges of the side seams and for attaching the waist band.

While serging, one of my threads broke. The instruction manual wasn't quite clear, but the DVD walked me through easily rethreading the machine. I'm also beginning to learn how to adjust the tensions for different weights of fabric. Now to buy thread. Lots and lots of thread.

I looked at various sizing charts for children's clothing, so I'm hoping this skirt is about an 18-24 months size.

After completing this, I cannot believe that I've lived this long without a serger. My sewing life has changed!

Somewhat Simple

Scrappy Easter Grass Basket is Filled!

2011-04-21T18:21:00.009-07:00

And gifted! A couple of weeks ago I started filling this basket. That one little fabric egg looked rather lonely, don't you think?

I came across this pattern and tutorial for the bunny in the center. Since I was going to be filling it with fiber fill instead of something else to make a sachet, I thought I would see what it looked like with stuffing the ears. Next time, I'll leave the ears alone, but I was on crunch time to get it done and didn't have the time to unstuff the ears.

Joy loved her little Easter basket. But after a long and challenging week at work (um...challenging weeks!), I think I got the better gift from her...a bottle of wine with a relevant label that was hysterically funny, considering one of my bigger challenges that is now finished. Thanks, Joy!

Somewhat Simple

Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub Gifts

2011-04-17T16:36:00.004-07:00

It's that time of year for support staff recognition at school. Although the cutesy things that the students make are totally adorable and welcomed by all, they don't last long until they are tossed out.

A couple of weeks ago I saw this recipe for a lemon sugar hand scrub. (Why is it that I keep wanting to write "lemon pepper" instead of "lemon sugar?" Maybe I'm hungry?) It will be a great gift for several people without breaking the bank, or this teacher's budget. (Doesn't the fabric on top look like fried eggs?)

I told Joy, my partner in crime, what I was going to be doing, and sent her a file asking if she could print the gift tags in color. I need a new printer, but that's another story. Of course she said yes. She brought me the copies and before I even looked at them, she told me that she had given them to her husband to print out on his great printer at work. She said that when he opened the file he wanted to "fix it." She told him no. He said that the words didn't fit. She firmly told him that the way the file was must be the way that I designed it and to leave it alone. So he printed this on card stock and vellum, 40 tags worth:

It took me a while before I realized what had happened. I had designed these tags using a free font that I had downloaded onto my computer. When his computer opened this file it didn't have this font installed, so it substituted.

I told Joy that we would make it work. Then we laughed at my feeble attempt to play the princess saying that this wasn't what I wanted and it just would not work ~whine~whine~whine. She told me that I needed to work on my princess factor, because it was just not working.

So in my best passive-aggressive manner, I secretly made the change with re-labeling the jars, because I did not like the labels and honestly could not think of a way to make them work...to my liking.

Now that I think of it, the printed tags may have a use. I can cut them to show just the graphic on the front, and on the back I can write that this little gift is from 3rd grade. Hang that little tag onto the gifts and it will be fine.

23 more days, but who's counting?!

Retro Rabbit!

2011-04-17T11:05:00.002-07:00

The Easter Bunny brought me my bunny when I was three. The little guy is ~~decades~~ a few years old.

My older siblings hated my bunny. Rather, they hated the beast I turned into when I couldn't find my bunny at naptime or bedtime. So I'm told. I simply remember rubbing noses with my little bunny.

Now my very own Velveteen Rabbit has become a family joke. My sister Susie even adds a very nasty adjective when speaking of my bunny. Or when I post a picture of my bunny on her FB page. So, I have a little something for her soon-to-be first grandchild.

Introducing...

Retro Rabbit!

Not too bad of a job, if I must say so myself. After running into a technical difficulty, Retro Rabbit needed the bow on the front.

Just in time for Easter!

Amy's Baby's Quilt

2011-04-16T18:38:00.002-07:00

This actually has been done for a while, photographed a while ago, but I am just now getting around to showing it. Oh yeah...and it still needs to be sent. I think that's the story of my life!

I had limited Amy Butler fabric left from the bibs that I made earlier, but knew I wanted to have some of that fabric in the quilt. Most of the other fabrics were from my stash. I'm pleased with the result and it was my own design! Woohoo! Maybe one of these days I'll find and then make the time to actually get some patterns written up.

Fabric Scraps Easter Grass

2011-04-10T15:05:00.003-07:00

Today was one of those days when inspiration smacked me in the face. I've been wanting to make these fabric eggs for a while, but was unsure of what I wanted to do with them. Then I remembered that I had a chicken wire basket, and the light bulb turned on. Fabric eggs need fabric Easter grass!

I went to my stash and picked fabrics scraps. I heavily starched scraps of fabric and cut them into 1/4 inch strips. Voila! Easter grass.

Then there was more looking at my scraps to come up with fabrics for the eggs to grace the grass. I cut some fabric and made one to see how it would look. I plopped this one into the fabric grass for a picture, but I still need to hand sew the opening. So far I am really liking the result!

My goal is to soon add a picture with more eggs in the basket, but with the way my day job is going, that may or may not happen.

Baby Dress and Matching Diaper Cover

2011-03-16T12:59:00.004-07:00

We all have bad hair days...at least in my world they happen. Today my hair is fine because it's Spring Break, and my hair's nicely covered by my baseball cap. But, I'm having a bad sewing day. I figured it was time for a break. I turned off my machine for a while. Maybe it wants a break, too. I sure hope that's all it is, seeing how I have a deadline to get my latest quilt in the mail for Amy's baby shower in a little over a week.

So...back to Jenn's baby shower that was last week. I made an Itty Bitty Baby Dress from Made by Rae and a diaper cover from Dana Made It.

As I was pulling together fabrics from my stash, nothing seemed to work right for the skirt. I ended up using an old denim shirt and love how it looks!

After piecing the back of the diaper cover, I wished that I would have placed the print about an inch lower. Oh well, there's always the next one. Today I've been looking longingly at two fat quarters in my stash, but really must get Amy's baby quilt finished first.

Back to machine quilting. Wish me luck that it will go better than it has so far today!

Dots, Baby! Quilt

2011-03-16T09:40:00.003-07:00

I had a quilt started for a friend's baby shower. Then, she made a comment on how she really likes polka dots. Back to the fabric store & drawing board. This is what I came up with:

Jacie just had to be part of the action.

Phew! Managed to finish it in time.

And currently machine quilting another baby girl quilt that will need to be sent out this weekend. Back to my machine!

Linking to:

Polka Dots On Parade

Baby Fun!

2011-02-27T15:28:00.006-07:00

I had planned on trying for better pictures, but this is as good as it gets this weekend. The pants are the basic newborn baby pant from Made by Rae and the top is my design.

It's hard to see, but the closures at the shoulder seams are snaps. On Friday, I received my order from The Snap Source. I had been thinking of trying this snap setter for a while, and finally ordered the snap setter and various snaps. Oh my goodness! Easy and quick with great results every time. I put the snaps in 6 bibs that I had made & they all turned out perfectly.

And now for the back view with the cute little pockets:

Linking with sites below. Go check them out for lots of wonderful inspiration!

Humility in the Midst of Gloating?

2011-02-17T16:56:00.001-07:00

There are so many great blogs with wonderful ideas. I honestly am humbled that my little blog has recently received some awards from some new followers. Before continuing on with the requirements, I need to take some time, because:

My day job is crazy right now. (And that's what I should be working on right now.)
I need to think of 7, yes seven!, things to share about myself. (I really don't know what to include right now. Three things maybe, but seven?! Honestly, I'm not that exciting!)
Sewing also needs to be done, with two baby showers coming up. (But, that is a fun distraction in the midst of ~~insanity~~ daily life.)
The beings in this household need attention.

I just LOVE this face!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Image from nikadon.com

Ruffled Butt

2011-02-13T13:57:00.002-07:00

I think it needs one more ruffle on the bottom. What do you think?

Easy Valentine's Activity

2011-02-06T08:04:00.001-07:00

My 3rd graders made these last year for their parents. They just pressed their painted palms onto regular copy paper.

This year, we have some fancy-schmancy paper that a parent donated, so they should turn out even cuter!

It's a Girl!

2011-02-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

Amy & Rich are having a girl!

Back in November my sister Susie announced that she was going to be a grandma. She had a feeling, for whatever that's worth, that it would be a girl. I made a bib.

And then another...

...for this new little midwest girl.

Blog Following Swap

2011-02-03T10:35:00.002-07:00

Or: How To Find Some Great New Blogs and Ideas

And...maybe gain some new followers in the process!

As I was reading some of the blogs that I regularly read, I happened to find Homemaker on a Dime. Check out her linky party! Be forewarned: You'll want to check out all of the partiers' blogs.

One of the blogs that I followed from this party is Joy, Junk and Juxtaposition. The name of Karen's blog sucked me right in, and I love the picture in her header. I'm hoping that her posts on lamps will give me some much needed motivation to finish a lamp that I started to tear apart last summer.

Click the party button above and go have some fun!

Ruffled Kitchen Towel

2011-01-30T09:56:00.002-07:00

I had a difficult time parting with this towel, but the recipient loved it. Of course, have I made a similar one for myself yet? Nope.

Wouldn't this be cute with Valentine's fabrics?!

Balls, Baby!

2011-01-29T13:05:00.003-07:00

Another baby boy will be here soon. I asked my friend Kriston what the decor was in the nursery & she sent me a link to Babies-R-Us. Here is what I came up with to match:

This one has already been gifted, so no worries about him going to college with a baby-sized quilt.

Books, Baby!

2011-01-29T11:45:00.004-07:00

My newest nephew turns 1 month old today. He's actually my great-nephew, but that makes me sound so much older than I am. ~wink~

Knowing I had little time before his arrival, I was going to make this quilt over my Christmas break. I dug out the remaining Tidings and Tales fabric that I had and played. This is what I came up with:

Books, Baby!

I'm sure I don't have to worry about his delightful parents seeing this. Hopefully I'll get the rest of the gift package finished and shipped before he ~~goes to college~~ turns 2 months old.

Really, I've been busy

2011-01-29T09:47:00.005-07:00

Or should that be: I've been really busy? Busy not only with work, but in a quilty sort of way.

Since Thanksgiving, I've designed three baby quilts. Two are finished and one just needs binding. Designed and made a quilted table runner for a Christmas gift. Made other little Christmas gifts. Made an assortment of bibs and burp cloths.

And, finally finished a quilted throw for me!

I used Pat Sloan's pattern and Amy Butler fabric. I really like how it turned out & it's a perfect size (about 52" x 68") for snuggling with on the couch in this cold winter weather.

I started piecing the top about a year ago, then pieced the back last summer.

And so it sat unfinished...

I think Jacie's face is saying, "I dare you." So, a couple of weeks ago I took her up on her dare.

I'd show a picture of it draped on the couch, but the silk plants near by are very dusty.

Happy Howlidays!

2010-12-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

Another Bib

2010-12-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

I soooo love these Michael Miller fabrics! This bib is for a little boy, who will make his arrival next month. I hope that I have enough fabric to make another similar one for another little boy who will be here in February. Both of the moms are teachers, too. I really enjoy simple little projects when the rest of my life is busy and crazy!

A Simple Bib: Lots of Babies Coming Up

2010-11-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

Two boys, one probable girl, and two unknowns. This is for one of the unknowns. I'm not at liberty to say anything more. I hope that someone's premonition is correct. And for the record, I made something for the baby before she did!

Jacket Collar

2010-11-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

This past summer I bought the book Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt. I made a simple version of the skirt:

And a tunic:

Neither of these pictures do any justice to the garments, either how they look or how I feel wearing them. (A new camera would really be nice, but since that's out of the question at the moment this is what you get. Also, in the tunic shot, my 'photographer' has no patience, so after several shots, I was willing to go with what he had!)

I'm really not a ruffly sort of girl, but I soooo love the ruffle on the bottom of the skirt. I'm sure I will up the design ante by playing around with the pattern and fun fabrics for next spring/summer for a fun skirt.

For the tunic, I again was a good girl and made a muslin, incorporating changes for a FBA. Even though I'm on the tall side, my original changes of lengthening the bodice top was too much, so I ended up adding the most length to the center front, and not much at all on the back and sides.

At first, I wasn't sure if I would even make the jacket in this book. But, one day after looking at the different versions of the jacket, a brainstorm came to me for a collar. I did not have any denim pieces large enough to cut out the entire collar, so this is what resulted:

There are a variety of shades and textures of denim and I really like how it looks. I've also sketched out something similar for cuffs. Now, just to do them.

And to find the right khaki color fabric for the main part of the jacket.

And to make a muslin.

And to decide if I want to line it or not.

And to find the time. Sewing fun time is really limited this school year. With all the projects I currently have going on or have planned, I need to prioritize what I really want to finish first.

Sew many decisions, sew little time.

Remembering Veterans...

2010-11-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

...past, present, and future.

Reconstructed Tee Neckline

2010-10-21T17:12:00.001-07:00

No tutorial today, and not even a second picture of another tee that I did just like this. Just taking photos seems like a chore these days, because most of my "spare" time at night and on weekends is spent on my day job. OK, complaining is over.

This was a man's tee. You know the kind. The ones that are made for men and look like a sack on girls. I cut off the sleeves, some length from the bottom, then cut the tee up both sides. From a fitted tee that fits me well, I made a sleeve template, so that the sleeve is more like a set in sleeve. Side seams were determined from my own particular curves and I figured out where I wanted the sleeves to set on my shoulders. I sewed the sleeves on, then the side seams, and hemmed.

From the tube of fabric that was cut off of the bottom, I folded it in half and gathered. I cut the neckline to where I wanted it to be. The gathered ruffle was sewn onto the neckline. I made my own narrow bias tape and used that for the embellishment on the neckline. Voila! Man's shirt turned girl's shirt.

Easy Fabric Flower Tutorial

2010-10-16T13:08:00.005-07:00

Last week was Spirit Week at my school. I took advantage of Crazy Hat Day so that I could "dress down" on Thursday. This is the flower that I made that morning, so you know it did not take very long at all!

Materials:

Main Fabric: 3" x 24"

Contrasting Fabric: scrap size to cover button

Iron-on Interfacing: scrap size to cover button

Button to cover

Thread

Needle

Sewing Machine: You could do this by hand, but I have a sewing machine & know how to use it.

Buckeye Necklace: Doesn't everyone have one?! OK, you don't actually need this.

1. Grumble because you have to wind a new bobbin.

2. Wonder why you're grumbling, since you have a great machine that makes step #1 easy.

3. With right sides together, sew the short sides of the main fabric. I used 1/4" seam allowance. Size

doesn't matter on this.

4. Press open seam, then press fabric tube in half, wrong sides together.

5. Set machine to basting stitch.

6. Beginning about 1/2" before the seam, sew one row of basting stitches all the way around.

7. Sew a second row of basting stitches all the way around.

8. Pull up the bobbin stitches that do not go over the seam, and begin to gather.

9. Gather entire length as tightly as you can.
10. Pick up bobbin threads from basting that goes over the seam. Gather as much as you can.

11. Pull both sides of bobbin threads tight, and tie into a knot to secure.

12. Smoosh (technical term) potential flower in half and begin hand stitching together in the seam allowance.

13. Rotate flower 90 degrees and sew seam allowances tight.

14. Continue to rotate flower and hand baste, forming a tight center.

16. See step 15.

17. Continue until you are happy with the shape of the flower.

18. Sew button onto center of flower.

19. Use an advanced technilogical invention to attach flower to item.

20. Admire completed project that coordinates with reconstructed t-shirt.
21. Get dressed for the big game.

22. Text sister who just had carpal tunnel surgery and can't do anything with her hands.

23. Check dog's wardrobe and dress her for the big game. Decline the penalty of washing her collar.

24. Laugh at DH's shirt for the big game. It's a tie-dye that he didn't do, and it's even the wrong sport.

GO BUCKS!

Sister Sister Sunday

Clothing Construction

2010-07-30T16:32:00.005-07:00

I'm feeling the crunch of time with school starting soon. Next Tuesday for me and August 9 for my new kiddos. There are many positives for the upcoming year and the negatives are things that can be dealt with...like there's a choice. As excited as I am for the upcoming year, a big part of me will miss my days of doing what I want, when I want.

Last month I decided to try clothing construction again. Making clothing was my earliest introduction to sewing from 4-H when I was about the age of my 3rd graders. To this day, you will never find me making any kind of drawsting bag or triangular head scarf, since those were the very first things that I made, learning to sew. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing the matter with either of those, but they take me back to more years ago than I will admit. And I need to move on.

So, in the wonderful era of internet that we live in today, I did some research on how to make commercial patterns fit me. My problem is "the girls." I need an FBA (Full Bust Adjustment). Just to set the record straight, if you do not need this, be thankful!

I had a simple top pattern, Simplicity 5921. I followed the graphics from So-So Sewist using the McCall's method for my modifications. It seemed (seamed?!...sewing joke...haha!) to address my concerns and ended up working very well for me.

I was a good girl and made a muslin from my initial changes to check the fit...that was a first for me! This fits nicely, although it could be better if I had had someone to help me with the fittings. And the picture could be better if I had had someone to help me with the photography!

I added my own touch with the bias trim on the neckline, armholes, and hemline. Love the results, even though it took a lot of time to do. Now, I have fabric for another top from this pattern and have an idea of how to change the neckline, armholes, & hemline.

Time to go experiment.

Check out the fabulous finds from these links:

Fabric Fun Thursday @ Cheap Chic Home

Make It Wear It @ The Train to Crazy (Absolutely LOVE the name of this blog!!!)

Finished for Friday @ Lit and Laundry

Sew & Tell @ amylouwho

Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table and Dreaming

Easing into Work

2010-07-23T10:47:00.011-07:00

Does making items for my desk at school count as working? Earlier this summer I made myself a sewing basket to see how well I could handle sewing with vinyl. I did OK, so I made a covered basket for school. This really is a needed item, since I traded in my big bulky teacher's desk for a computer table and now have no desk drawers. I love it when functional meets pretty!

Embellishment: My first zipper project!

Then, I played around with covering a clipboard to match. Using light colored fabric for the front, I should have used two coats of paint before applying the fabric. Lesson learned.

Embellishment: Free-form flower.

The flower was an after thought. The big metal clip just looked too bare, and heaven forbid that a clipboard is naked. I looked and looked, then looked some more online for flowers to make, then ended up coming up with this on my own, because I wanted to use a variety of fabrics. Haha...and my first choice of a flower called for WOF and I was primarily working with scraps. The petals are simply cut circles, with a part flattened. If anyone wants a tutorial, just holler! (Like I have people reading this little blog!)

As pretty as this turned out, it simply will not work for my everyday clipboard that is my lifeline in the classroom. I broke out into a cold sweat one morning at work last year when I realized that I had left my clipboard at home. How did I function that day?! My clipboard gets thrown into my bag (or cart, depending on the amount of work I take home) and I'm sure that would wilt my pretty little flower. So...

Sparky! Go ASU! (and OSU)

Next, I made some little back-to-school trinkets for my co-worker, Joy. She really is a joy to work with. Honestly! That was not sarcasm! I used remaining fabric from the Professional Tote that I made for her a couple of years ago. Here are the items: clipboard (her lifeline, too), magnets, coaster (I put a Diet Coke on it...that's where we really differ...should be Diet Pepsi!), fabric fortune cookie, and a cover for our second lifeline, a district calendar.

See how I got my name on there!

The above picture is the inside of the calendar cover. I'm really liking the ribbon sewn on to hold sticky notes and pencil. Must make one of these for myself.

Linking to:

Sew & Tell Fridays @ amylouwho

Fab Friday @ Frugal and Fabulous Design

Fabric Fun Thursday @ Cheap Chic Home

Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple

Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table and Dreaming

Saturday Night Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

DIY Linky Party 8 @ Fine Craft Guild

Boost My Blog Friday @ Design It Chic

Flickr Favorites: Quote

2010-07-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

On the first Tuesday of each month, Art Mind has a theme for her weekly Flickr Favorites. This month is a favorite quote.

I really do not have what I would call a favorite quote. Last summer at about this time I also needed to come up with a favorite quote for a project in a class I took. I chose one by Mark Twain: Humor is mankind's greatest blessing. I'm using the same quote for this month's "assignment." So without further ado, here is my mosaic for the week!

1. Camera Laughter, 2. My Book: Earth's Laughter, 3. Young Laughter, 4. Stifled Laughter, 5. Laughter rises out of tragedy, when you need it the most, and rewards you for your courage., 6. Laughter and Happiness..., 7. laughter, 8. Laughter is the best medicine..., 9. Silly Pup!

Instant Gratification

2010-07-02T14:20:00.002-07:00

Well, almost instant as far as the sewing goes.

This week I have been working on a quilt top and a couple of bags, so I had the need to do something and finish. I have been trying to train Jacie to become my sewing buddy. She's made great strides this week in that department, sometimes laying & napping and being simply adorable. Even though I'm supplying her with her favorite toys, she sometimes gets bored and then it's like having a toddler around, so she needs to be removed from my room. Fortunately, she's easily redirected. If it weren't for constant interruptions from dear doggie today, this would have taken no time to complete.

I've had the little cardboard coffee thingies in my studio for ages to make a cozy. I've attempted a couple of knitted ones, but have just never been thrilled with the results. So while taking care of the little (ha!) puppy, I whipped this little puppy up. There are a lot of these online but I have no clue as to the sites where I've seen similar ones. I love the idea of the elastic for the closure.

It is a good feeling to complete something, no matter how simple.

P.S. Susie...if you ever read my blog, and become a follower, I might consider telling you how I did this!

My Go-To Skirt Pattern

2010-07-01T10:12:00.004-07:00

There are free instructions for drafting this pattern on Patterns That Fit You. I've made a few of these skirts now, and love how easy they are to make. Plus, I can easily adjust for any changes in my measurements. (Fortunately that's been a bit smaller in the past couple of years rather than larger!!!) By using my own measurements, I can easily place the waistband where I want it to be, and not at my actual waistline. Also, I like the narrow waist band that I made, rather than the wider one in the instructions.

This is as good as it gets for a photo, unless I can teach Jacie to use a camera. I foresee difficulties with that, seeing how she thinks that a camera strap is a leash!

Oh...and the hemline really is straight, but looks funny in this picture. I could have fiddled some more to get the picture to better show the skirt, but I have some sewing that I want to do! Plus (sigh) some cleaning really needs to get done. I just don't understand why the maid never shows up. I should fire her.

Calendar Quilt: July

2010-07-01T08:13:00.003-07:00

July's block started out with red/white/blue. After that, I just played with the fabrics.

More Grocery Bags...I'm sooo Green!

2010-06-30T13:16:00.007-07:00

I cannot believe how exciting my life is! More grocery bags to show! Below are the three that are completed to date. I put ironing aids inside the one below to make it stand up.

Mr. Ozona made fun of me when we exited the store together the other day and I told him that I saved 15 cents by using my three bags. He said that for 15 cents he wouldn't be concerned, since he wouldn't be using any floral bags. Well...I'm sure he didn't use the word "floral." The bagger at the store was equally skeptic about my bags when I told him that he could pack the bags full and they would be fine. These suckers hold a LOT more than those plastic grocery bags, without the worry that they will fall apart, sending items flying everywhere.

Ha! Solved the problem with Mr. Ozona! Here are the two bags that are cut out and ready to sew.

Aren't they manly?! I don't care that he's really not a Cards fan, but I'm saving the Badger fabric to incorporate in a gift for him...which I was going to make last summer. This blogging thing really brings out the worst in me, doesn't it?!

Sewing Basket

2010-06-29T09:07:00.015-07:00

I need to rethink my desk area at work, since I had my teacher desk removed and replaced with a computer table. That saves floor space, but loses desk drawers for necessities. I had made one of these covered containers (Simplicity 4232) a while ago for a gift and decided that would solve my problem of little supplies that I constantly use. I wanted the pockets in vinyl, so I could easily see things. Not knowing how my skills would be on the vinyl, I opted to make a practice one first. I did it! I am pleased with the results and now cannot decide on what fabric to use for the one for work.

Of course, I really should be doing some things other than playing with fabric today.

Linking to:

Flickr Favorites: Pledge of Allegiance

2010-06-29T06:01:00.007-07:00

1. CTE053, 2. American Flag of the United States of America (USA Flag), 3. Old License plate Map, 4. Constitution of the United States of America, 5. * Independence Day July 4th *, 6. One Nation Under GOD, 7. Westwood 9/11 Memorial, 8. 4Th Of July Independence Day (United States Of America), 9. monument stage

I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic
for which it stands
one nation under God
indivisible
with liberty and justice
for all

I chose these images because Independence Day is coming up. An added bonus is that I will be able to do something with this for my 3rd graders. As I was choosing images, creating the mosaic, and now coming up with the post, I have a rap version of the Pledge stuck in my head from a performance from my students.

For the past two years our wonderful music teacher has directed the 3rd graders in a patriotic presentation. All I can say is WOW! She's amazing what she can do with a group of 60+ mostly 8 and 9 year olds. Last month when the students performed for family, there were very few dry eyes in the house...teachers included.

Academically, this presentation aligns directly to our social studies curriculum. It is very powerful for the students when we can integrate learning into the arts. And very sad to think that the arts may be eliminated.

About two weeks ago the school board in my district held a study session to discuss contingency funding in the event that an upcoming override is not passed. For the elementary schools which service K-8 students:

Eliminate band
Limit music to 7th & 8th grade
Limit art to 7th & 8th grade

In addition, it was also suggested to limit PE to 7th & 8th graders, as well as eliminating all reading specialists. I understand the simple economics that if the money isn't there, cuts need to be made. Also, I believe that my district is not overly top-heavy, but reductions that could be made at the district level would be a drop in the bucket of the millions that may need to be cut.

Of course there were other cuts suggested, but I see these as the ones that would most impact the students. And teachers...continued more work and less money, but that's another story.

Art Mind Flickr Favorites for this week!

Calendar Quilt: January

2010-06-28T08:33:00.003-07:00

Here's my start. January 1 fabric is for OSU winning the Rose Bowl! Go Bucks! January 4 with the paw prints is for Macy. Such a sad way to start the new year. There are some snowflakes and blue mid-month when there were storms all over the state.

Off to go finish a fun sewing project for my studio.

Calendar Quilt: February

2010-06-27T06:46:00.002-07:00

February 2 is brown with little fur-ball type things, so that's Groundhog Day...such an important day for desert dwellers. Ha! We hope for 6 more weeks of our wonderful winters! Hearts on Valentine's Day. The rest are just random fabrics.

July's block is done, so it's time to start on August. I've got some fun school prints. Do I do the first week of school with those, or simply 5 black days in a row?!

Summer break is almost half over. I can't believe how fast it is flying by. But, all academic lesson plans are finished for the first week of school, as well as math for a month. This coming week my goal is to pump out 6 weeks of reading instruction. That alone will help to ease the first month of school with all of its craziness.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled SUMMER!

Homemade Laundry Products

2010-06-26T08:15:00.003-07:00

Over a year ago, one woman at work made her own laundry detergent and brought in a sample for us to see. We ooh'd and ahh'd over the gelanous mixture, sniffing and testing the texture with our fingers. I guess that many of us are of at least a certain age where things like that excite us. Just imagine the stimulating work conversation:

What are you doing this weekend?
I'm making laundry detergent.
Oh! What kind of soap do you use in your recipe?
I use Zote, because pink is my favorite color!

(Heidi, if you ever come across my blog, yes that's you bolded!)

Now, many of us make our own. I then had to try my own fabric softener. I put mine in a Downey ball and it has the added benefit of keeping the inside of the washing machine sparkly.

Here are the recipes that I've been using. And yes, it is time this weekend to make both recipes. Fun times to be had!

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap
½ c washing soda
½ c borax

Grate the soap and put in a saucepan with 6 c water. Heat until soap melts. Add soda and borax. Stir until dissolved. Remove from heat.
Pour 4 c hot water into a bucket. Add the soap mix and stir.
Now, add 1 gallon plus 6 c water. Stir.
Let sit for 24 hours and it will gel.
Use ½ c per load.

Fabric Softener
1 c baking soda
6 c distilled white vinegar
8 c water

Put the baking soda in a bucket. Add 1 c water. Slowly add the vinegar…it will fizz. Let fizz for a few minutes to dissolve the baking soda. Add the rest of the water. You can also add 10-15 drops of essential oil. Add 1 c to the final rinse, shaking first if you use essential oils. Or, put into a Downey ball.

Calendar Quilt: March

2010-06-26T05:46:00.002-07:00

The only fabrics that have any significance for this month are:
1. March 2 Dick & Jane fabric for Dr. Seuss' birthday
2. March 13 Tape measure fabric representing play time during spring break
3. March 17 A strip of pretty green for St. Patrick's Day

What I notice as I look at this block again is that there are fabrics that I bought for purses. That are not made yet. Four different coordinating fabrics to be exact. Well, one is started, but my design idea had a flaw so I put that project aside. About two years ago. Maybe it's time to revisit what I've done on that because it is a good idea (in theory), plus the design actually fits in with the ruffling craze I've been seeing lately. Do you think I can make it work?!

As I look closer, there are actually four purses/bags started in various degrees of completion. That sounded a bit better than figuring out the number of UFOs I have. Oh, and now I recognize another fabric for a potential bag. I'm going to stop looking. Now that my studio is almost in order, I actually have room to play around with more that bits of fabrics and have room around my machine to do some serious sewing...heavy interfacings, bulky bags, etc.

In my defense, I did complete two more grocery bags this week. I saved a whooping 15 cents yesterday at the store by using my own three bags! And two more are cut out and waiting patiently to be sewn.

Calendar Quilt: April

2010-06-24T07:12:00.003-07:00

When we first got Jacie, we didn't have an exact birthday for her but knew it was sometime in April. So, we declared her an April Fool. About a month later, I received an email stating that her microchip had been transfered to me and that paperwork had her birthday on it...April 13. Didn't know until then that she had a microchip. She's still an April Fool, sometimes more often than not! April's block has big paw prints for her birthday.

I goofed on the placement of Easter. I meant to put the pastel colored polka dots for that date. I didn't notice my mistake until the block was completed. Easter now has skull and cross bones. Oops.

The rest of the fabrics are just randomly placed. I just realized that I have most of a fat quarter left of a print with coins on it that I could have used for April 15. Oh well. The IRS takes enough of my money...guess I don't need to commemorate them for that!

Calendar Quilt: May

2010-06-23T08:50:00.004-07:00

Since yesterday I showed the completed June block, I figure I'll just work backwards. Maybe by the time I backtrack to January, my July block will be done.

On May 1 we brought home Jacie, so I started the month with a dog novelty fabric with "WOOF" all over it. We didn't hear her bark for about 3 days and commented on what a quiet girl she was. Notice the past tense: was! Honeymoon's over...now she's fairly vocal, among having other annoying habits that need to be broken! There's chili peppers for Cinco de Mayo, Crayola fabric for my students' last day of school, and then tape measure fabric representing my playtime during summer break. That's followed by some fun cocktail and watermelon fabrics. Happy summer! I ended the block with black & white for the Indy 500 race and one with red, white, & blue for Memorial Day.

Calendar Quilt: June

2010-06-22T12:01:00.004-07:00

In January I came across Pat Sloan's Calendar Quilt Along. I jumped in with both feet, coming up with a plan to make 12 blocks. Not only am I up-to-date, as of this morning I'm officially ahead by finishing June's block.

A big thanks to Kay for sending me some fabric scraps for this! They really helped to blend in with the fabrics that I was using to make it look summery. Plus, one of the yellows that she sent had circles on it that looked like the sun, so I used that for the first day of summer. I happened to have some soccer fabric, so I added that in for June 11, when the World Cup started. No other days have any real significance with fabric choices, other than just trying to make it look somewhat summery. But I guess that the beginning of the block sort of matches the mild spring we've had, while the end brings in the yellows and the desert heat.

This quilt top really is a lot of fun to do!

Flickr Favorites: Green

2010-06-22T06:09:00.002-07:00

Within Flickr, I searched "green fabric." I cannot even begin to say how many images I had favorited by the time I stopped looking. Then, it took me a while to narrow down the choices and I still ended up with a lot. This does put me in a creative mood...off to create something! (If Jacie will let me so early in the morning, since it's normally play time...or wild-girl time!)

1. White Fabric Flower, 2. Green, 3. Peaceful Green Japanese Brooch, 4. Green Felt, 5. Soft Blues and Greens Small Cloth Balls, 6. green floral fabric magnets, 7. Green Daisies - Fabric Button Ring, 8. Shabby Roses Necklace In Serene, 9. Blue and Green Stripe Fabric and Resin Pendant, 10. Sage green fabric rose, 11. Apple Fabric Pincushions, 12. green stones (embroidery), 13. green stripes fabric buttons, 14. Green Scarf Tassles, 15. Beautiful Cotton Fabric Buttons-Light Green With White Sakura 22mm, 16. Sweet Potted Fabric Plant - Green Damask Aloe by Jane Joss

Be sure to check out the other mosaics at Art Mind. I'm always amazed at some of the finds!

Modern Siggy Swap 2

2010-06-21T09:15:00.004-07:00

Last week I finished these blocks for this Siggy Swap. I have 101 blocks to send out and will receive 100 blocks in return, each from a different quilter. Everyone sends in an extra block, which will be made into a charity quilt. These were quick and easy to do. There are some very cool fabrics that others are using! The deadline to mail is July 1, so it will be a while before I get my new toys to play with.

The fabric that I used is Clementine by Me & My Sister Designs for Moda. ;-) Appropriate, since "me & my sister" are both participating in this siggy swap. Don't worry (Susie especially!)...if it weren't for the name of the fabric, I would have said "my sister and I."

Going Green

2010-06-20T13:22:00.016-07:00

For quite some time I've looked online at various shopping bags to made and just had not been pleased with what I saw. I also could not think of anything to design, so I've just continued using plastic. Then one day I happened to come across these instructions. I told Kay about the bag, and she made a few right away. Finally I made one, using her recommendation to use a Target bag for the pattern. It's very easy and the resulting bag holds a lot! I opted not to put the pocket on, but the plain bag easily folds up into itself and is small enough to slip into my purse.

Here's the full bag.

Fold into thirds.

Fold the handles over.

With the remaining length, fold over the third that has the handles.

Tuck in the remaining third into the opening from the top of the bag.

Tuck into your purse and be ready for those impromptu grocery stops for a few items. I need to make more to have them available for bigger shopping. I'm also thinking about options for lining the bags that could hold meat and other possibly messy items.

Flickr Favorites: Cobalt

2010-06-15T12:20:00.004-07:00

1. cobalt blue sea glass, 2. Cobalt, Pink, and Purple Glass Bracelet, 3. Cobalt Bottles, 4. Cobalt Glass Rays

Would LOVE to have some pretty pieces for my house...or my wrist, neck, or ears. But no, not the bottles. That picture made me laugh, though!

Mitsy's mosaic this week at Art Mind is fun...a craft party! A girl after my own heart.

Flickr Favorites: Border Collies

2010-06-08T07:32:00.002-07:00

None of these are Jacie, but found them as I'm learning more about the breed. I especially like the one with the tip of the tongue hanging out, since Jacie does that a lot...always during times when it's impossible to get the camera. Boot camp, um...I mean charm school, was supposed to start last Saturday, but that session was cancelled. Now we need to wait until June 23. This week's home schooling is centered around the command of "leave it." Maybe that will save some yarn, fabric, socks, and birds. The bird wasn't rescued on time last Sunday morning. Ewwww.

Head on over to Art Mind for more mosaics this week!

Fun Machine Embroidery!

2010-06-05T12:16:00.006-07:00

The blue skull and crossbones (needles & thread) is the logo for Urban Threads. It's one of their free designs and stitches up beautifully! Using Embird, I digitized the circle background with the applique. I love how it looks on this Michael Miller fabric.

I'm hoping that the resulting item turns into something exciting. Stay tuned.

Stash Reorganization ~ Mini-Bolts

2010-06-04T07:30:00.004-07:00

A while back I started to fold up my fabrics into pretty little squares using a quilter's ruler. It looked great, but quickly became messy again when I would pull out more than a couple to use. There was no way to keep up with it staying nice without spending a lot of time. I'd also seen some of the commercial items available, which are waayyy out of my budget.

Yesterday Crazy Domestic's topic was organization, including a great idea at The Little Green Bean. I ran to Michael's and picked up four sheets of foam board. After checking the size of my fabric storage baskets, I decided to cut the pieces 10" x 4", getting 14 mini-bolts out of one sheet. Here's the start, with this basket holding 38 cute little mini-bolts.

This will work! I can pull out several, and it's quick rolling the fabric back onto the mini-bolts. Then, they are easy to slip back into the basket. This is just the push I needed to get into the swing of making a big dent into reorganizing my studio. Woohoo!! What time does Michael's open? I need more foam boards. Until then, maybe I'll just dig out more messy fabrics, cut off the selvages, and get them ready to roll.

Kitchen Items for Me!

2010-06-02T11:28:00.012-07:00

I feel like I've just given myself a bridal shower. Or is this simply a case remedying "the cobbler's son has no shoes?" Don't get me wrong. I love making gifts for others, but tend not to do the fun little things for myself.

Below are the four square pot holders I made while practicing Sharon Schamber's (the Elmer's School Glue) method of binding. Although I'm getting better, I over-compensated for all of the layers of batting. It's OK...they're just pot holders to be used! For all of them, I simply sewed pieces of scraps together until I got to the size needed, then trimmed into a square and binded them. Or should that be "bound" them?

Next are the towels. The one on the left is from selvage edges, and it is by far my favorite. The third from the left is self-explanatory ~ a ruffle. There are so many ruffled items out there now, but I'm really not a ruffley kind of girl. I almost didn't make it because of that, but now I'm glad ~ it's my second favorite towel. The other two have simple edged borders of fabric, plus cut-outs of two of the fabrics. Right now I'm not that thrilled with either one, but had to make two just in case I fell in love with them after some trips through the washer and dryer.

And I finished my dish cloth yesterday. The colors match everything perfectly and there's nothing like a knitted dish cloth when hand washing those silly items that will not fit into the dishwasher. Under the dishcloth is a dish drainer towel that I made earlier. It's both functional and pretty. What more can a girl ask for?!

Next on my list for the kitchen is to use some of these fabrics to recover a lampshade. I'm not sure how I want to do it yet, but I'm thinking about playing around with French seams so that it might add to the character of the lampshade at night, rather than simply looking stupid with seam allowances showing through these lighter fabrics. The illumination at night might add to the striped thing I have going on in my kitchen. Or, I'd be more than happy to take suggestions!

Links to:

Matching Jewelry

2010-06-01T11:47:00.005-07:00

Yesterday I played around with embellishing some more kitchen towels. I still have one to go, so will keep everyone in suspense until they're all done. Also, all four of my square pot holders are finished. I'll have to take pictures soon, before I go and do something silly, like cooking, and get them dirty. Oh wait...it's Phoenix in June. Not much cooking gets done in 100+ degree weather that would warrant pot holders. And not that it's going to be 100 today ~ I think we'll have to wait for Friday for that pleasure that will probably last for five months. Nope, you'll never hear me say, "But it's a dry heat." What you will hear me say is, "I don't have to shovel it!"

Back to yesterday. I put the leaf in the dining room table so that I could be in the middle of all the action and not stuck in my studio, except when sewing small seams. (Read: I still haven't finished cleaning out my studio and all I can do in there is sew small seams.) That one lonely towel, mentioned above, still needs to be embellished because we needed to eat. I'd decided to make my favorite meal of BLT's, roasting ears (does that term give away where and when I grew up?!), and a simple cucumber salad that was great using basalmic vinegar. There's enough of the salad left that all I'll need to do is add another cucumber and some onions in it for tonight. There's also some leftover chicken breasts, so dinner will be easy tonight.

Oops. I was talking about yesterday. We were out of mayo for the BLT's. A quick trip to the store solved that problem. Despite the many people in the store mid-afternoon on Memorial Day, I was in and out quickly. With my short grocery list, I was able to use the express lane with 3 items to spare. Since pop (another term that may give a clue as to where I grew up) was on sale, I wheeled my cart out to my car. As I was bending over to get the items out of the cart and into the car, imagine my surprise when I noticed what jewelry I had on:

At least the pin heads match the dots on the ribbon, but it's rather embarrassing that I never trimmed the ends of the ribbon nicely. And yes, that's a Chico's shirt I had on...LOVE Chico's! A couple of years ago Joy and I met there to do some back-to-school shopping (NOT pencils, notebooks, and gel pens!) and almost got kicked out. Seems like our conversation while we were in our respective dressing rooms was a bit loud. We think that the employee took one look at us, realized we were over a certain age, and took the chance that we would be spending $$$. She was right. Joy & I were the best-dressed 3rd grade teachers at our school that following school year. There's absolutely no reason to mention that we were the only 3rd grade teachers at our school that following year.

Is it any wonder why/how I wore this jewelry to the grocery store yesterday?!

Floor Mat

2010-06-01T10:16:00.006-07:00

While watching the Indy 500 race on Sunday, I planned to start (and finish) this:

Instead, I started AND finished this:

A new floor mat for the kitchen! One down and 3 or 4 (or more!) to go. I've been in dire need of new rugs in the kitchen for quite some time. The current ones were inexpensive (cheap), unattractive (ugly) things I picked up. Oh, they served their purpose, but it sure was function without form.

I'd come across this product some time ago, which got me thinking about making my own kitchen rugs. Has anyone used this rug backing before? Does it really work? Is it really machine washable? The backing on this floor mat is outdoor canvas, so I'm thining the backing would be easy to apply.

After buying the fabric for the top of the mat, my ideas on how to finish it sort of evolved from other materials I had on hand. I jumped in and started sewing, not sure if I'd be able to miter the corners on the front with the bulk of the denim. It worked! I had to hand sew the mitered corners, but I think that the time spent was well worth the result.

Flickr Theme

2010-06-01T08:11:00.004-07:00

Last week Art Mind announced that the first Tuesday of every month would be a themed mosaic. I secretly groaned, thinking that school is over and I'm done with "themes" for a while. But, as I started searching, I decided to play along. And it seemed fitting, following the Memorial Day weekend.

Emptiness / Loneliness

1. Winter Eclipse, 2. Spirit of the Earth, 3. By The Light Of The Silvery Moon 5427, 4. Saguaro Sol [Explore #1!]

Now, go check out more of the mosaics at Art Mind!

Thank You

2010-05-31T07:57:00.002-07:00

Happy Memorial Day

Binding and Bias Tape

2010-05-29T07:04:00.021-07:00

Until now, my favorite way to finish both bindings and bias tape edges on all items had been to sew them on, flip, and hand sew. I’ve tried machine finishing them both but have never liked the results. The back side always was too messy. Hand sewing was worth the time invested. Plus, I’ve learned to enjoy the hand sewing because of how it turns out, and for the challenge of working on my stitches so that they do not show.

A while back, while looking for sewing tips online, I came across some video tutorials by Sharon Schamber. I watched the ones on how she does her binding with glue. It looked simple, so I brought some glue home.

My new favorite new sewing tool…

…Elmer’s School Glue!

Earlier this week I was talking to Kay and told her about those videos. A couple of days later I got a text from her stating, “OMG, you have to try the glue binding!” She had used it on a quilt (sofa protector) for her grand-puppy. So yes, I took my big sister’s advice and tried. I made two square pot holders. (These are for a friend.) I’ve got some kinks to work out on my corners, but the technique itself is wonderful!

Then I made two oven mitts for myself, following the tutorial from The Idea Room. Instead of ribbon edging the front pockets, I used the binding method. Those little strips are great for practicing how to figure out the seam allowance for when you want to machine stitch the binding instead of hand sewing. Next I made my own bias tape. I sewed it around the edges of the potholders as I normally would and used the glue on the back before stitching it down with the machine. They came out great!

I’m going to practice some more with square pot holders for myself, then trash my old, icky ones! There are still more towels to embellish, and the resident thief recently found a stray ball of cotton yarn that would made a pretty matching dish cloth. Looks like some knitting during the race tomorrow.

Here's a link to Show & Tell Fridays.

I Play With Beads, Too!

2010-05-26T14:10:00.005-07:00

My father had a silver dollar, given to him by his parents before he went to the South Pacific to serve the Army in WWII. He carried that silver dollar in his pocket every single day that he served our country, as well as every single day afterwards…more than 50 years. It became so worn, that the images on the coin were rubbed smooth. He often stated that he would be buried with his silver dollar in his pocket. He was.

I have a silver dollar that he gave to me. (I’m assuming that he gave all of my siblings one as well. If not, I sure will hear about it!)

A few years ago I decided that it would make a great necklace. So in a true DIY mode, decided that I would take a basic beading class, then learn more, and come up with something for the silver dollar. I did take a great class at the Bead Museum, did learn some new techniques, but have done nothing with the silver dollar. I’ve long since realized that it’s beyond my capabilities to ever be able to come up with something that I would want for my silver dollar necklace. One of these days I will contact a local artisan, DR Designs to come up with something for my silver dollar. I have two bracelets and a pair of earrings from her, and she does beautiful work!

As for my jewelry, I make it for myself and it's pretty basic. Some of the most fun pieces that I wear a lot come from beads in the "digger bin" at a local bead shop. Here's one of the few photos that I've taken. The bracelet was my first attempt using memory wire.

Now, what shall I create before thinking about what to make for dinner?

Flickr Hats

2010-05-25T16:54:00.004-07:00

Living in Phoenix, hats are a summer necessity. While I have a few nice straw/straw type ones in different colors, my go-to choice seems to be a denim baseball cap. I've got some ideas running around in my head for some easy embellishments on baseball caps, so stay tuned. Maybe the first idea yet this week?

1. hats looking for heads, 2. A girl with a hat full of stars and flowers, 3. 1950s Pink Silk Platter Hat, 4. For the Red Hat Society

More photo mosaics at Art Mind.

Lazy Days of Summer

2010-05-24T17:20:00.005-07:00

Today was a lazy day. The weather was unseasonably cool for Phoenix, not even getting up to 80 degrees. My dog and I both loved it!

This morning I took Jacie to school so that the office staff could meet her. When we got home, Jacie emailed her 'Aunt Darby.'

As you can see, they are both little thieves! Although biologically unrelated, Darby and Jacie have very similar markings on their pretty little faces. Here's what Jacie wrote:

My mom took me on a field trip this morning to her school to show me off. I started out by making things difficult for her, by me wanting to drive. I even honked the horn! She then made me get out of the car so she could block off the space between the front seats. It’s OK being in the back, but I really can’t wait until I’m old enough to drive.

I walked into the front of the school and there were a few women who were “awwwwing” over me. I sat pretty and wagged my tail like a mad woman while they petted me and said what a good girl I am! Then I just laid down and looked pretty! When my mom tried to get me to leave, I stayed put. The principal said that it looked like the school may have a new mascot. That would be fun…almost 700 kids to herd! Then one of the women asked Mom if she watched Dog Whisperer. That woman was able to get me standing easily with the leash & now Mom knows how to do it. I wonder what other kinds of lessons I’ll learn this summer. I did overhear her saying that she’s going to take me to a Petsmart class. Ha! She’s got to get me to walk on the tile in there first. The one time she took me, it was so slippery in my enthusiasm that I gave up and just laid down.

It’s naptime now and I hear the cool kitchen floor calling my name.

So later, while Jacie napped, I lazed. Finally, I decided that I needed to accomplish one thing, so I embellished a towel for the kitchen.

I've got more of these fabrics and plan on doing other fun things for my kitchen. But, for today, at least I did something.

A Gift of Thyme

2010-05-24T10:13:00.011-07:00

And time! Last Thursday I waved goodbye (with tears) to all of my now 4th graders. Today is my first "real" day of summer vacation. In between rescuing pinecones, chewed off bougainvilla branches, a dirty sock or two, and an empty 5 gallon plastic container from the little thief Jacie, I spent my first morning of vacation leisurely sightseeing in Blogville. One attraction was at Somewhat Simple.

This idea is not mine and I didn't make it, but as a teacher, I sure loved receiving it! It's simple, inexpensive, and thoughtful. This was from one of my darling little girls. I know there's a lot of creativity in her household from the adorable ribbons, bows, jewelry, and other embellishments she would sport at school.

Isn't this great?! I've often thought about starting some kind of an herb garden, and this just may be my motivator. I'll just need to get creative on where to put the pots to protect them from the desert sun and the Sun Devil dog who loves to chew plants.

I do have another idea for clay pots, too. Years ago one of my parents had her own plant business. Early that May, she came into my class and did a presentation for my kiddos. Each student received a clay pot and a plant to give to their moms on Mother's Day. I had the students ModPodge colored tissue paper onto the pots, then they potted their plants. They turned out adorable! I made one for myself, and while it lasted nicely for a few years out in the summer sun, it's now gone.

We also had a few extra plants and pots, so the kids that year made a pot for the office staff for Secretary's Day. If I recall right, I remember seeing that pot still up on a shelf in the supply room at school. I might just go in to school and see if I can rescue that ModPodge'd pot and get a picture. I'll do that during my lunch break at a workshop that I'm going to tomorrow...

...whoever said that teachers have the summers off lied!

I'm linking to:

Professional Tote 2

2010-05-23T12:07:00.014-07:00

Here is one of the Professional Totes that Joy ordered to give to a kindergarten teacher the year that I had the cottage license from Laura Martell of The Creative Thimble. The fabric is Tidings and Tales by Janet Wecker-Frisch for Wilmington Prints.

This fabric was also very fun to play with the placement on this Professional Tote! Here's the front:

I do not remember what font I used for the machine embroidery, but I love how it looks on the fabric. Here's the back:

And the two sides:

Inside views:

This last inside photo shows both the included message required under the cottage license, as well as how I modified the business card holder. That took some fiddling to do with the clear vinyl, but I'm really happy with the result.

I can't say enough how much I love these bags!

Studio Reorganization

2010-05-19T17:45:00.011-07:00

In my last big reorganization, I opted to take off the hallway door and the closet doors. That really opened up my small space. The tiny room was packed full, but very efficient for working. Even when my sister Kay was out here and the two of us spent a lot of time in there playing, we had enough room to work.

Now, it's a mess. I refuse to do any 'before' pictures at this point: I'm so embarrassed! I've started some simple things that will be both useful and pretty, one of which is rolling my ribbon on clothespins and putting them in glass jars. Ummm, I bought a package of 50 clothespins, and will need to buy more to finish. I had no idea I had that many spools of ribbon! I also find it a boring task, so I'm only about half finished. On the bright side, I'm using pins that I do not like to sew with to anchor the ribbons, so at least those pins are finding a good use.

The biggest issue in completing my cleanup and reorganization will be Jacie.

She's such a happy little thief! Although she's starting to learn the command of "drop," it takes a doggie treat and a few laps around the house or yard for us humans to retrieve the stolen goods.

The weekend after we got her, we put up a kiddie gate on my studio entrance. That's working well, but we're figuring that she could easily jump it, so now if I'm in there, I leave the gate open. So far so good, but where do I put all the piles of sewing items as I'm reorganizing??? I'm sure I'll come up with something out of necessity.

I really, really, really NEED to clean up my studio, since I can only sew small items now. My work space is cluttered, as is even the floor. I think I'm in for a real challenge next week, so that my fabric does not end up like my yarn, compliments of my furry little girl.

Yes, I woke up to this one morning at about 2:00 am when I went to check on her during the first week she was home. My little herding dog must have really been excited that she came to a home where dog toys were made out of SHEEP!

Flickr Favorites: Summer's Coming!

2010-05-18T18:10:00.008-07:00

Here are some images that are really getting me in the mood for summer break! I have a LOT of things I want to accomplish, but there must be some relaxation after a fabulous, yet long, school year.

1. Summer's Here, 2. Best wishes for the summer season !!, 3. The summer wind came blowing in..., 4. day 141_summer sundays, 5. Minestrone of summer fruit and basil sorbet, 6. Summer Feet, 7. summer greens 11712, 8. ~ Summer Sweetness ~, 9. Summer summer summertime,

My students made me cry yesterday. In art, the teacher had them make cards for me, which I read when we got back to our classroom. Then today, as I was dismissing them, I commented on how fast this week was flying by, and I got teary again. This will be one of those years that dismissal on the last day will be extremely emotional. I will really miss seeing these kiddos every day.

Now, go check out some of the other cool mosaics at ArtMind!

Professional Tote

2010-05-16T09:10:00.011-07:00

Posting about the oven mitts and the fabrics that I used reminded me of the most fun thing I've ever made.

About 2 1/2 years ago I bought the pattern for the Professional Tote, by Laura Martell of The Creative Thimble. Having seen the Dick & Jane fabric line by Michael Miller Fabrics, I knew I HAD to make a teacher tote. In playing around with the fabrics, it evolved into a gift for my co-worker. I think I started in January and was planning on giving it to her for her birthday in May. That in itself was a joke...I seem to never get gifts done early. Shortly after I started making the Professional Tote, Joy's step-father passed away. I finished it up quickly and sat it on her desk the morning she was back to work after the funeral. When she saw it, from my adjoining classroom I heard, "OH MY GOD!"

In two of the following photos, I've blacked out the embroidery showing her last name.

She loves it. She carries to work every day. She shows it off to colleages at workshops/meetings. She became my customer. I purchased a one year cottage license from Laura and made teacher Professional Totes for Joy's sons' teachers for end-of-the-year gifts. We joked that I was going to have to make my own end-of-the-year gift last year when I had one of her sons in my classroom.

No matter how hard I try lately, my thoughts keep coming back to my day job and all that needs to get done. Guess it's time to do some dreaded paperwork and gear up for the exhausing last week of school.

Oven Mitts and Towel

2010-05-16T06:52:00.009-07:00

Early this year I discovered The Idea Room. I probably spent the better part of a Saturday going through posts. Amy has wonderful ideas! From her tutorial, here is my spin on her oven mitts, using Michael Miller Fabrics.

I machine quilted the pieces before binding the edges. LOVE them! These were a gift for a co-worker, and at the last moment I decided to add a towel.

It was dark, but I managed to remember to take a picture that morning before heading to work.

Since then, I've made new kitchen curtains and have a bunch of fabric to play around with making pretty kitchen things for myself.

Summer...bring it on!

Toys for My Studio

2010-05-15T12:00:00.007-07:00

Between dogs, I've actually gotten quite a few things done. My sister Kay and I both loved these Stack & Nest Quilted Blocks and talked about making them. One Saturday I made one, and have most of two more cut out...one bigger and one smaller.

I LOVE how this turned out and can't wait for summer to have more time to play. One more week!

Back to Blogging...AGAIN!

2010-05-15T11:26:00.007-07:00

It’s been almost a year…a long, yet short, year of ups and downs. I guess that’s called life.

Shortly after my previous post, our 14 year old lab/pointer mix, Macy, had a stroke. While she could still get around well in her old-girl way, she seemed depressed for a couple of weeks. Then, she seemed to snap out of it, accepting herself as she was, and life went on. I pretty much quit sewing, because she would either get agitated when I was in my small sewing room, or lay at my feet where there was no room for me to move. I humored her and gave her no reason for me to say ‘no.’ She made it past her 15th birthday in November, and I then spent my last winter break with her. On Sunday, the day before I went back to school, she climbed up in bed and enthusiastically licked me awake. Shortly after that, she had what appeared to be a seizure, which we’ve lived with for many years, so we didn’t think too much about it. After a nap, it was clear that the end was near. We kept her as comfortable as we could that day and she slept in her own bed all throughout the night. The next morning we took that one-way trip to the vet.

Here’s a picture that was taken about a week before that. She really was a smiley-girl! As the meds kicked in on that sunny Monday morning, we saw her smile for the last time.

After a couple of months, we talked about the possibility of getting another furry girl when I was home for the summer. I’d periodically look at puppy ads online, as I did one fateful Friday evening after work. The next day, May 1, we went to look at a specific girl and brought her home…

Jacie! (JC for Jan & Conrad) Good thing it rhymes with Macy, for all of the times that we’ve called her that in that past two weeks. She’s a 13 month old border collie mix. She has a LOT of wonderful qualities and she is adapting well to her new home. And adapting to new rules! She’s smart, sassy, and a perfect fit for us.

Welcome home, Jacie!

Hot Peppers from the SW to the NW

2009-06-12T10:20:00.029-07:00

This morning, shortly after finishing this, I talked with Tonia. (Is there anyone reading this who remembers "Talk With Tonia" and her blasted video camera?!)

T: What are you doing?
Me: Just finished making a surprise for you.
T: What is it?!
Me: If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise.
T: If I guess the color, will you at least tell me I'm right?
Me: OK.
T: Blue?
Me: Yes. (hehe...I know she's not thinking denim)
T: And white, right?! (those are the colors in her kitchen)
Me: No.
T: Oh?

We chatted a little while longer, and she actually might be close with her guess from off-the-wall clues/comments that I made. She's going to tell me what she thinks it is after she receives the package, as not to spoil the excitement of giving a gift. It really is more fun to sew for others. That must be why I've had drapery fabric and lining, still on the bolts, for over a year and and half.

A while back I came across this tutorial by Betz White and knew I had to make this apron. Rummaging through my stash, I found some Robert Kaufman fabric, a black print from "Salsa Picante." That's when I knew that this would become a gardening apron for my friend, Tonia. She's been having fun with her first garden this spring. These peppers are appropriate...a touch of the desert that she left years ago.

I loved the appliques in the tutorial, so I included peppers that I cut out of fabric scraps. I used an applique stitch from my machine, then a zigzag and another decorative stitch for the pepper stems. It really took more time deciding where to place the peppers than it did sewing them onto the apron.

I also lined the apron and used bias tape that I made out of the pepper fabric for finishing. Happy gardening, Tonia!

New Bath Mat

2009-06-11T14:12:00.022-07:00

This was actually my first completed sewing project this summer. One of the joys of a sewer learning to knit (thank you, Kay!) is that suddenly sewing seems to become instant gratification. One of my crafty friends (a quilter!) from work sent me the link to this site, to show how she made a bath mat for her girls' bathroom. Here is my take on Sew Liberated's tutorial:

I have some kinks to work out with my techniques, but I hope to be able to do that when I make a bigger, matching rug for our bathroom. That said, I have two other very different rugs in the making. I have no clue where my current fascination with rugs came from, but I'm having fun.

Purse Pockets Tutorial

2009-06-11T11:19:00.060-07:00

Materials List
1 pocket from old jeans, cut leaving a seam allowance around pocket
1 piece fabric, about an 8"x8" square, depending on pocket size
1 small piece coordinating ribbon, about 6"
Thread
Sewing machine
Zipper foot
Patience (see Step #10)

1. Cut out pocket of jeans, leaving as much fabric as you can around the sides and bottom of pocket. An inch would be ideal. The top can be less, since that's often dependent on the how close the pocket is to the back yoke. Cut out a piece of fabric the size of your cut pocket piece, plus an additional 1" to 1 1/2" in length. (See notes at end of tutorial.)

2. Place pocket and fabric right sides together. Sew the seam at the top of the pocket.

Use a zipper foot to sew the seam close to the top of the pocket. You can see where the edge of the zipper foot butts up against the top of the pocket.

3. Open up seam and press, then fold fabric over to the back of the pocket, leaving about 1/4" to 1/2" of fabric showing on front. You may need to trim your seam allowance to get the size you like.

4. Fold ribbon piece in half and place on an angle, as shown. Make sure the ends of the ribbon extend beyond the edges of the pocket.

5. Baste ribbon in place.

6. Fold in half, right sides together. Line up edges of the actual jeans pocket.

7. Pin sides and bottom together.

Look at the seam in my fabric...on the prototype I made, I didn't have the fabric extending over the top. I like this version much better.

And...hey! My pins coordinate with the fabric!

8. Sew side and bottom seams.

The start of the seam can be awkward, so I used a sewing gauge to get it going. Also, use the sewing gauge as needed to complete the seam.

9. Clip corners and trim seam allowance.

10. This is the hardest part. Turn the purse pocket. I used the rounded end of a metal skewer, pushing and tugging, tugging and pushing, until it finally turned. This took longer than all of the other steps combined.

Tada! Finished. What uses can you come up with for this?

Notes:

The pocket I used on this only had about 1/2" seam allowance around the sides and bottom. By increasing that to closer to 1", it would have been much easier to sew and turn.

The fabric that I used is Michael Miller's Seafarer Circles. The design and colors are so fun and summery!

Pencil/Purse Pockets

2009-06-11T08:23:00.012-07:00

A few months ago, one of my mom helpers commented the chairs I recovered for my classroom. They were two old teacher chairs that were doomed for the trash. The design on the brown chair is from (I think!) Ann the Gran and I did the wording on the orange chair from Embird’s Font Engine.

This mom said she had a lot of jeans pockets left over after she had made some denim throws. Was there anything we could do with them for the class? I told her I would come up with something. This past school year was very demanding in many ways, and my creativity at a standstill. So, I asked Kay to help me come up with an idea. Her first suggestion was a winner: fold them in half and sew them.

Here is the prototype. Easy peasy, cute, and fun! I cut up a bunch of squares from a variety of fabrics, and brought in several different ribbons. The kids chose their fabrics and ribbons, I sewed the top seam, and my mom helper sewed the rest. On the last week of school I supplied the students with fabric paints and they put their names on their pencil pockets. During the craziness of the last week of school(not to even mention boxing up the entire classroom for summer construction), I neglected to get photos of all 24 pencil pockets.

If you like this project, stay tuned for a tutorial! These are a great size for slipping into a purse.

Back to the World of Blogging

2009-06-10T14:41:00.021-07:00

This is the third week of summer break and I’m really getting into the creative mode…slowly. OK, let’s face it that I’ve been slow about everything since the school year’s been out, which really makes the time fly by. Go figure!

I have some really awful photos of some parent helper gifts that we (me & my partner in crime at 3rd grade) gave for the end of the year. I started early, but ended up finishing/wrapping them at the last minute in the craziness called the last week of school, thus no decent pictures. And NO photos of a couple of the gifts.

For my mom who came in weekly to work with reading groups (among other things!): Above is the “Grrlfriend Market Bag.” The pattern can be found on Ravelry. I knitted a flower from Stitch ‘n Bitch Nation and put the funky big button in the center. The colors are bright, fun, and remind me of citrus fruits. I asked one of my sisters and a friend of what I should put in the bag. My sister Kay suggested the makings of an Italian dinner, and my friend Tonia suggested gardening tools and supplies, since when I asked her, she and her DH were in the process of planting their first ever vegetable garden. (Which gave me an idea for her and I’m almost finished with that something…come back later this week for photos!) I went into my local supermarket the morning of the last day of school, thinking I was going to load this puppy up with the makings of a pasta dinner. As I walked into the store, there was a display of plants, so the bag ended up holding a gorgeous spider plant. I knew this mom would be appreciative, but I did not expect her tears after I answered her that I made this. Yeah! Knitting was appreciated.

My gift from the mom above (and the rest of the family) was the Hello, Cupcake! book. Too fun! I’m not sure what I’m going to make first, but I will do something for a reunion that DH and I are semi-hosting at the end of this month for a bunch of people from our old neighborhood. The other part of the gift from this family was Eric Carle’s The Rabbit and the Turtle. On the last day of school, I only read one of the fables to the kids, but they liked it and were quick to articulate the moral of the story. Yeah! Guess I taught them something this past year. Back to the books…this mom wrote a personal note in the front of both, then signed by all of their family members. Not only am I thankful for the generous gift of the books, but am humbled by the thoughtful inscriptions.

The above set was for another mother who came in most Fridays to do copying, or whatever else we needed done. I’d made the Flower Power face cloth for myself a few years ago and LOVE it! For this, I made it bigger so it’s more of a washcloth, then made a cotton face cloth. The other item is a shower soap holder, which I just cast on and made up as I went along. I must admit, that I really like the little tags that I made up with fiber content and laundry instructions. The first photo is pre-blocked, and it really made a huge difference in looks after the blocking. The other thing I wanted to add to this was a spa head band, but in my limited time in creating this gift, I just could not get my brain to figure out how to do exactly what I wanted to do. Guess that’s on my “to-do” list now. This wonderful mom gave me…are you ready for this?!?!...a gift certificate for a massage! It’s been years since I’ve had one and am drooling over the prospect of setting my appointment.

Another parent gift was an apron and towel…sorry, no pics. I machine embroidered fruit slices (yellow, orange, and green) on one bottom corner of the apron and on the towel. She loved it, as I have loved her homemade BBQ sauce and jams! She gave me a gift certificate that I still need to use. Woohoo!

The final parent gift was a wine basket, and no photos here, either. This was for a mom who made lapbooks (the link gives you an example of what they are and the work involved in putting them together!) for the entire grade level, for the entire year’s language arts curriculum. 6 units x 50 students = 300 lapbooks!!!!! AND, she’s going to make up the first set for next year to get us started. My partner in crime at work, Joy (a non-drinker), loves to shop for unique wine bottles. She bought a couple of bottles of wine, a couple of wine glasses, along with a GREAT basket. I added in 6 cocktail coasters that I designed and digitized…machine embroidery, along with two bar towels that I embroidered my designs on it. Plus, I made up 6 wine glass charms. I think she liked it, based on her thank you note:

How do I say OMG?!?! The gift basket is unbelievable. Totally, the coolest! Thank you so much. Everything in there is sooooo cute. Truly unique and special. I'm not sure I want anyone else to use the coasters or towels. You guys think of everything. I just love it. You guys are awesome!

As I venture into this realm of designing and creating, it’s a great affirmative for what I’m doing. Now, just to keep up (or get!) some momentum to continue with my original ideas.

So many projects and so little time.

TGIF

2009-01-09T17:07:00.003-07:00

One work week of the new year down. No, I did not apply anything that I learned in Web 2.0, but keep coming up with ideas of what to do with podcasting. Maybe next week I'll take in my little microphone and try to get Audacity installed and start having some of the kids play around. I didn't mention Audacity earlier, but I downloaded that program. It was easy to download and to figure out how to use. I downloaded this before my podcasing assignment and did not include the Lame MP3 encoder, so I had to go back and do that to be able to use the podcasts that I made.

I'm entertaining thoughts of buying a PDR (Personal Digital Recorder), since that would make things much easier, but my initial search on them came up with ones in my ideal price range that say they are not good for podcasting, then ones MUCH pricier and out of my budget. Any ideas/suggestions, anyone?

Last Post of This Year

2008-12-31T15:41:00.004-07:00

I am soooo done with my Web2.0 class. It was very informative and I learned a lot, but it really sucked the life out of me. I'm not complaining, since I learned a lot of FREE applications that can be used personally. Also, many of the applications would be wonderful to use in the classroom. What my district does in the future will decide what can be accomplished for work. Some of the applications would be pure fluff, but others could really be used in a way to enhance student learning and achievement. As with any new information, it will take time for me to sort through what will be the most efficient use of time, both in planning/preparation, as well as with classroom time.

Overall, this was a GREAT experience. I have a file to go through to refer back to the applications, web addresses, login information, and passwords...as well as this blog to refer back to my initial thoughts for each application. I'm sure my thoughts will change as I actually start using what I learned from this class.

From my time zone, it's a little less than 8 hours until....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Podcasting

2008-12-31T15:23:00.003-07:00

Instead of creating an “About Me” podcast (boring!), I chose to podcast a short message to one of my sisters.

I’ve never been a fan of recording things, so there was that uneasiness. It might have been better if I had been home alone. Both Podomatic and Gcast were easy to use. Gcast may have been a bit simpler, but Podomatic made it easy for me to insert a photo. Since I suffered through recording my own voice, I did not find it necessary to also include a picture of myself…my dog’s much cuter!

My file uploaded immediately with Gcast, but with Podomatic I did something wrong and flipped through various screens to be able to find out how to fix my errors. All in all, that didn’t really take too long, though. Podomatic did make it easy to send the podcast url via email. I’ll decide which site I like better after I upload more.

Podcasting would be a great tool to use frequently in the classroom. I’d love to make podcasts of all of the spelling lists, then just play them weekly for at least Friday’s retest. Also, if students are absent, it would be easy for them to take the test simply by going to that week’s episode. Lessons could be recorded and used later for review/remediation as needed. Again, the information would then be available for any students who are absent.

There’s a lot that the students could do with podcasting. They could record stories, which would give them more fluency practice. They LOVE listening to the main story selection on CD each week, so podcasts would also be a way to easily include other short stories for them to listen to. It would be fun to have “guest” podcasters, such as parents, the principal, and special area teachers. Podcasting also would be a fun way for them to practice retelling stories. Then when they went back and listened, they could evaluate how well they did and what could be improved on. They could podcast information about topics they are learning about in science and social studies, which would be a good review of concepts.

I’d really like to set up a podcast of the weekly newsletters (Thank you, Joy!), with the kids reading the information. That might be a good incentive for some of them to complete work during the week so that they can have a turn at podcasting the newsletter. The parents would love it.

That said, I’m almost finished with this class!

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!

Podcasts

2008-12-31T09:49:00.009-07:00

I asked my sister for some suggestions of what to listen to, knowing that she listens to several. Then I also checked out iTunes under hobbies and was amazed that there were so many knitting podcasts. I listened to…

The Knitmore Girls This is a mother and daughter production. The topic is evident by the title. They discuss what they are working on and knitting in general. It made me feel better about having so many unfinished projects! Yes, I’ll listen to more of these podcasts.

Let’s Knit 2gether This one was a video podcast. The one that watched demonstrated several techniques, reviewed a book, then talked about various upcoming events. I’ll also check out more episodes of this, because the one I watched really was a great tutorial.

Socks in the City I checked this one out because the title cracks me up! She begins talking about various KAL’s (Knit-ALongs), then just babbled about socks. At the end of the episode she shared a vintage pattern.

Here is my first attempt at toe-up, magic loop socks. Maybe if I did listen to more of the above podcasts, it would keep me motivated to finish these in a reasonable amount of time.

Podcast subscriptions in the classroom: I think this would be worth some time spent searching for something relevant to share with students, now that I have a much better idea of where to go looking. But, that will have to wait until I finish this class. And write up my lesson plans for next week. I cannot believe how quickly this winter break is flying by.

Animoto

2008-12-30T13:21:00.004-07:00

This would be a good way to put together photos to share with family and friends. I'm not sure about classroom use at this time, especially with the age and technical skills of my kiddos. I'm sure older students would really have fun with this.

I had to come back in and edit this today, because yesterday I did something wrong and the video that came up was an ad for Animoto. Maybe I did it right now. I also noticed when I was fixing this that I had uploaded the required number of photos, but only 9 of them showed up in this.

Online Productivity Tools

2008-12-30T12:06:00.002-07:00

In order of preference:

ZohoWriter…I liked that a tutorial popped up, so help was easy. Uploading was fast and simple. The formatting was pretty good with the word processing.
GoogleDocs…Tedious to upload one document at a time, but the word processing was fairly simple.
ThinkFree…I think not. Again, computer issues with internet access when trying this site, several times, while all the other sites were fine.

Maybe it’s simply familiarity, but I would not be willing to give up Office for any of these. I really like Word and Excel, which are what I use the most. OK, you’re scaring me now! And making me wonder what will be in store for the district in the (near?) future. It would make sense for businesses to consider these options to save money with all of the licensing fees involved. If it comes to that, I’ll still be using my Word and Excel at home. For now.

Online Storage Sites

2008-12-30T11:51:00.002-07:00

These sites were easy to use for saving files. Right now, I won’t be using any of them, but would if I had to. It would be easy, but tedious, to transfer over all of my Word documents. I’ll keep my thumb drives for now, thank you very much! In the future it might be a way for schools to deal with the storage issues. Again there’s the concern of student safety with these sites, so consideration would be needed of the best way to implement something like this. My main concern would be with the sites that allow document sharing.

Discussion Forums

2008-12-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

One can find a forum for just about any topic. I’ve been on Yahoo for several years (but note problems from previous post!). I think all of the groups that I belong to are for members only. One is for a small group of friends who live in various parts of the country and the rest are for information/help on personal interests.

Discussions forums could be a concern, but if one was set up for members only, that would keep it safe for class discussions. Yes, I do think that there could be positive aspects to using these in the classroom if set up wisely.

Digg and Yahoo Buzz

2008-12-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

I really liked Digg better. It was easy to browse different categories by interest. Yahoo Buzz kept freezing up my computer! Yes, I know we need a new desktop, but it makes me wonder why it only happens with certain sites. I have no clue. No, I won’t continue to use Digg, although it was fun searching for items of interest. Like other assignments in this class, using that whittles away a LOT of time!

This might be good for older students. Some of the comments were interesting to read, which could lead to good discussions. Social implications? Maybe just seeing what is of interest to others.

Twitter

2008-12-29T19:43:00.011-07:00

Sheesh! A while ago I set up a Twitter account, and the only way to "find" people was to invite them by email, or to search for people through email accounts of which I do not have. I invited some of my family. Thank you Jo and Kay for responding!

Earlier today I tried it again, and I was easily able to find people, so I added on from my instructor's site that he gave us. I'm not going to play around any more. I simply do not see a purpose for this in an educational setting.

Also, I heard from one of my sisters that our nephew was on Twitter. I found him today, but would not add it to my following list. Yes, he's certainly more than legal age, but his comments posted were not something that I would add for this class. That also makes me wonder about what students would be finding on this site. Yes, I have a problem with this site now for educational purposes.

I did explain this site to family members, when the finding function was wacky. They signed up and wrote initial posts. I'm sure that none of us will keep going here...we'll email our thoughts instead.

Skype

2008-12-29T19:07:00.002-07:00

My test call from the Skype's website did not work, so I ended up calling DH on our landline to see if it worked. Yep. It was sort of fun hearing his voice on our computer speakers.

I can see use for this in my personal life. All of my family lives in the midwest, so we do rely on phone communication. All of my siblings are older, and I know that they really aren't concerned about their cell phone minutes when we talk. But, this might be a way to have some of those marathon conversations. I'm curious of how this works with an incoming call. I'll have to have my sisters set up a Skype account to test it out.

I honestly can't see a use for this in the classroom...therefore...I don't have any concerns.

Stat Counter

2008-12-29T17:45:00.003-07:00

I registered with statcounter.com and placed the counter at the bottom of my blog. The site's instructions were very clear and it was easy to do. Or was it easy because of all of the other things I've done for this class?!

Time to quote my instructor for this class: "Personally, I see no value in these stats to education other than showing or proving there are readers all over the world." This time I totally disagree! With my 3rd grade kiddos, I actually have a very good use that would be fun for them and reinforcing math vocabulary and skills at the same time. If I had a classroom computer to devote to a website, each kid could each take a couple of minutes every day to go and check the counter on the site and determine HOW MANY MORE visitors were on here today than yesterday. That would be a fun motivational way for them to be practicing subtraction facts daily. With the information they gathered, we could also do graphing, such as which day of the week has the most visitors to the site.

That also takes me back now to the cluster map and what the kids could do with that data. They would be interested since it would be theirs, and we could do more graphing of visitors from different locales. The kids could determine the categories, which would be a great source of authentic data for them.

Cluster Map

2008-12-29T16:47:00.002-07:00

This was fairly easy to do, once I understood the end results from the various programs that I tried. I agree that the use of these maps is only to show where visitors come from. But, especially for younger students, it could spark interest in learning about the places where visitors are coming from.

Slideshare

2008-12-29T14:31:00.004-07:00

Ugh. I really do not like Slideshare. First, my browser kept freezing up on me and that's the only site it has done it with today. (That tells me that I've been on the computer too much today, but I really need to finish this class.) I also did not like the vague instructions of posting/embedding the PowerPoint on Blogger. But, I do like the idea of sharing PowerPoints, since they can be great educational tools to use in the classroom...find an appropriate PowerPoint to integrate into lessons. This just makes me think of the other PowerPoints I have spent the time creating and don't use, because I don't have easy access in my classroom.

I think this would be better with audio. After a while searching and not finding any way to do that, I gave up.

I don't really see using this with my 3rd graders. LOL Some still struggle with logging in the sites that they need to now in a timely manner. My concern with this site is about the same as other sites. The students need to be able to evaluate the validity of information that they are accessing.

Coronado Island

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Slide

2008-12-29T12:42:00.003-07:00

I made a quick little slide show. This was fun! Oh yeah, and I think students would really have fun using it. I'd need to play with it more to see what other capabilities it has for application in the classroom. Because I've used Flickr more and need it for one of my own personal applications, I'd have to pick that as my favorite due to familiarity. Same goes for image storage.

Hey Kay! Are you reading this?!

YouTube, GoogleVideo, and TeacherTube

2008-12-29T12:22:00.002-07:00

I had never really played around much with YouTube, except for links from others that I had received in emails. I ended up searching YouTube and came across some excellent short clips to demonstrate how to do/make things. One was for making a simple Origami “box” that kids could keep in their desks. There were also some other good instructional ones make by kids. Also, there are some great ones to show various knitting techniques, so I used those as needed for a couple of projects I’m currently working on…problems solved without trying to figure it out on my own through trial and error.

I’d seen one of the Did You Know videos before, from a link from a friend’s email. I like the remixing and the improvements with more visuals. I guess I do see value in remixing/remaking to make content more personal.

Of course there are concerns with sites like YouTube in an educational setting. At school as well as home, content for children needs to be monitored. It’s our job as educators to monitor that at school and I’d tell parents that there can be value from their children using YouTube with supervision.

I loved TeacherTube! I found some great videos. One showed how to make a poster using Excel, so I tried that out and made a new poster for my classroom. Another used time elapsed photography to show plant growth, which would be great for my science unit on plants. There were also some very funny ones, one of which I embedded in a previous post. At this point, I don’t think I would actually post on TeacherTube, but rather use some of the great videos that are already there. The same concern holds true with Teacher Tube as YouTube, but parents probably would be more open minded about their children using that site.

My best find on TeacherTube was “Free Tech Tool for Struggling Readers.”
I went to the Word Talk site and downloaded/installed the application. It was very easy to use and would be WONDERFUL to have that installed in our computer labs. Since it’s used with Word documents, it would be great to have that capability for struggling readers and English language users to assist them on various assignments.

Hmmm…I wonder if there is anyone reading this who could authorize getting that into our computer labs?!?!

Voice Thread

2008-12-29T11:18:00.003-07:00

This was fun and I think students would enjoy using it to present information that they are learning about. It would be easy to have them create a summary of any concept with appropriate images, where others could go in and add additional information. Once they were finished with that, it would make a great review for a test, or simply a fun final project. I really don’t see any concerns at this time, especially with the way the free accounts are set up that limits use…with the age group that I teach, it would be something that I would need to monitor with my account.

Social Bookmarks

2008-12-23T15:36:00.004-07:00

I registered for Delicious. I've used it for the sites I added on, but really still like my Favorites, where I have files organized by topics. If there were a way to organize like that on Delicious, I'd use it more often, or almost exclusively, since I like the toolbar that was added on to "Links." (Or, I just don't know how to do that on Delicious?!?) I'd recommend this to friends who I know use a variety of computers in their daily lives...they could then find their favorite places where ever they are. Nothing really "shocked, elated, or amazed" me. I could see this used with students as they research topics and share their findings.

Teacher Tube

2008-12-13T09:23:00.001-07:00

I just started searching on Teacher Tube and thought I'd share this gem! Enjoy!

Bubble Guru

2008-12-07T15:12:00.001-07:00

So, I really really like the idea of Bubble Guru, especially for the lower grades. I think that something like this would be worth having on my website, but not for the price, as well as the investment of the web cam. If there was a less expensive way to do this…YES! (But then I’d want to hire someone else to video and NOT myself!) I believe that the video would have more impact for younger students, so that’s something to think about.

Bubble Share

2008-12-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

BubbleShare: Share photos - Easy Photo Sharing

This was easy and fun. I do admit that I didn't use the images from my Flickr account, though, since they are really rather boring for most people. I think that the kids would really have fun with this. It might be something to do with preselected photos and have them document as they go on a unit, which could be easy for 3rd graders.

Flickr Tools

2008-12-07T13:56:00.003-07:00

I could easily have wasted away the entire day playing around with all of the Flickr toys (tools), which were new to me. In order to waste time at a later date(s), I’m including the links for these three sites. After seeing some of these tools, I really am thinking to upload more (a lot!) photos in Flickr. The ones that I tried were all very easy.

Tools for Flickr Cool! Fun! I tried the captioner, colorpickr, and flickrsudoku.

fd’s Flickr Toys I played around with Jigsaw, Flickr Uploader, Trading Cards, and Mat.

The Great Flickr Tools Collection A couple of the first links that I tried were bad. Then, I REALLY wanted to see how Gickr worked, which said that it created animated Gif’s from your Flickr photos…a page opened saying it was “forbidden.” There was a really fun one for preschoolers and kindergarteners called AlphaLearnr, which let you choose from different photos for each letter of the alphabet.

With these being so easy to use, it would fun to quickly put together some simple things with student and classroom photos to use in newsletters and other parent communication. I’m sure this will turn into a list of classroom uses that are more beneficial to student achievement once I play more.

Flickr.com

2008-12-07T12:55:00.004-07:00

Last summer my sister Kay introduced me to Ravelry, a knitting community online where both she and her daughter were registered. I played around on it some, mostly using it to find patterns and get ideas. After a few months, I decided that it would be good to use some of the functions available, especially as I modified patterns that I was working on and needed to make the matching item. I liked that I could add the notes to my project to add in my changes…no more lost sticky notes! I think it was in October when I finally decided to join the crafting community and set up a Flickr account so that I could add pictures to my projects. I found Flickr relatively straight forward to use, although it did take me a few minutes to go back in and find out exactly where I needed to be to add my tags. I had left those blank when I originally uploaded the photos. I will continue to use Flickr in my personal life, but I’m not sure that I will take the time to upload all of my photos. That will probably be done on as as-needed basis.

Flickr would be a great way to set up files for various writing prompts.

Select photos to write about cause and effect. That’s difficult for my 3rd graders, so related sets could be added with increasing degrees of difficulty.
Series of photos to aid in logical sequencing. This could be used for a variety of writing…narrative, informative, directions, etc.
Fun, offbeat photos for students to write a narrative.
Select photos to use when teaching the 6 traits.

I really don’t see a problem with using Flickr as mentioned above, but there would have to be limits set if it were to be used in different ways, which could include the students setting up their own accounts.

Wiki Webpages

2008-12-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

Wow. I can think of many uses for Wiki in the classroom: simple editing practice, data collection, end of unit review, story writing, etc. The only real concern that I can see is that the teacher would need to monitor the content, but as long as the students know that is happening, I really don’t see much of a problem with that. The History page could also be a great learning tool as well, by showing the students what has been added/edited. The Weblogged Wiki Links was a great resource!