The Real Washi Dress

Here it is! The real Washi Dress, not from muslin this time. Though I do love the muslin one. This beautiful dress has the feel of a super casual dress but looks like a million bucks! This one will work for a wedding, interview, or just everyday. I loved this fabric when I walked into Bolt, it just lended itself to a dress and to be a true any occasion dress. The vertical vines just pull the eye down the dress

I spent a lot of time testing out the pattern on my "muslin" and was able to get the fit just right before chopping up my good fabric. I was so glad I spent all that time and waited for the tracing paper.

The fit of the original pattern Washi Dress from Made by Rae was very good. I just added in lower bust darts and moved the pleats out so it hung straighter down the front. I hope to try more of her patterns.

So glad it finally looks and feels like spring here in the Pacific Northwest. I've had enough of the grey rain for now.

Those sweet tiny sleeves and bit of shirring are the best details of the dress!

Kuma approved of those pockets in hopes I will fill them with her treats!

Such a cute little keyhole neck, I loved the simple ease of creating this detail and the yoke behind it so it will stay smooth and crisp.

I am now thinking this pattern would make a fabulous skirt with some altering. Well, now that I have successfully made my first clothing item from pattern after following every instruction, its only fitting that I would want to make it my own! Oh well. I loved the techniques this pattern forced me to learn. I stepped out of my comfort circle and I love it! Even if I make this exact dress again it will always be different fabrics and handmade by me!

Works in Progress

Snow Makes Me Want to Crochet

Over the last 4 days the PNW got about 6-9 inches of snow and  1-3 inches of ice, all depending on where you live, of course. I love the snow, however, I HATE ice. I have been seriously injured in the ice. Therefore, I choose not to leave the house when there is even a threat of ice. For two days I didn't leave the house and instead choose to be crafty.

Kuma, my precious one, loves the snow. She, like her non-furry mom, also hates ice. This is her on the second day of beautiful fluffiness. All she wants to do is play. She did not understand the picture taking. She just wanted me to find her bone for her that was buried in the snow and play with her. 

Snow doesn't really make me want to play anymore, maybe I am too old or jaded, instead it makes me want to pull out beautiful bright colors and be super crafty.

When the freezing rain started, I settled on the couch to make something pretty. Kuma followed suit, napping under my feet.

 I ve got a large bag of clothing donations next to the door and tub of yarn next to the couch, so the rug seemed natural. I have recently drooled over handmade t-shirt crochet rugs I have seen on Pintrest. I cut up a few t-shirts from the donations bag into long strips. Then started sorting through the HUGE stash of bamboo yarn I have hoarded for years. Most had been used for an awesome crochet granny square blanket. I have long since decided I don't want to make another crochet blanket and need to use up the left over yarn somehow.  So the crocheting began. I love the mindlessness of crocheting, especially the single stitch. I watched a movie and a few hours of Olympics and determined that the scrappy looking rug is exactly what my colorless dining room needed.

Obviously, Kuma thought otherwise.

I worked on this rug all morning and left it on the floor while I made lunch. I came back and Queen Kuma had claimed it as hers. Out of all the space in my huge house to lay on, she picked this rug, seemed very very intentional. I might have to give into that sweet face. The rug still has a long long way to go, but I love love it!

Snow Days

Here in Oregon we had some amazingly cold days where it actually got to -4 degrees. 

It is not at all what Iam used to but, I secretly love it!

I love the pattern that ice crystals create on my windshield, even if it takes 30 minutes to defrost the car to go anywhere.

Kuma certainly loved the 6 inches of snow that came and was still around 5 days later.

I enjoyed the first two days when I wasn't working. The other days were just a pain! Eugene is not prepared for this weather and the roads were a nightmare. Coming home to my sewing machine and this sweet bear's face made it so much more enjoyable!

The shut down of town allowed me the time to feel like I could stay home and finish christmas gifts like the Love Love pillow.

I think I love loved the inside of the pillow more after all the embroidery I did.

My beautiful Bernina did a lovely job on all my gifts.

Including this scarf for my sister In-Law.

I also finished my snowmen in assembly line fashion. These guys just needed faces and buttons.

Basket and Pouf Done!

 I have finished my foot stool pouf. It took very little time. After much deliberation I settled on making it 20x20x13, I didn't have quite enough fabric to make it 20x20x20 .I love it . I still think it could use a bit of foam so that it could serve as a stool, not just a foot rest. I really made it to got with these awesome chairs, I got for a steal over a year ago.   I think the dog likes it too. She is still too big to even think about curling up on this one.    

I also completed this crochet basket that I remade about 6 times in order to get the dimensions I was looking for. I love how this came out with the handle and all. Not quite sure where it will go, but I do think it is a nice size.

Happy Growing

Its been hot here and our Earth Day Garden has been growing. We had to move them off the stoop they got to be so big. I hope that we can get to them before the squirrels do. 

Our yard has turned into hay and started to crack. It is amazing to me that it can rain for 7 months straight and then this summer it is already dry. It seems like it just stopped raining. People don't really plant much into the ground with out a ton of topsoil or using container gardens. It has been quite lovely here. It is hot but, with out humidity and the constant breeze. I am rather enjoying it. We have done quite a bit of traveling, which I hope to share images soon.

 I am quite proud of our maters:

I am also quite proud of my Tater:

She turned 10 the other day! Kuma Bear, Tater Tot, Sweet Tater, Baby Girl, Fat Ass...is one happy dog.  This is her favorite bone and has been with us for many years. She is doing well for her age, she is a bit stiff, lazy and sometimes grumpy. Who can blame a 70 year old! She still loves to play at her age, get dirty, and eat. She is my protector and best friend. 

I love having her by my side and she seems to love being there too. She is such a well behaved happy buddha! She sure has grown since we got her, back when hubby and I started dating. Its hard to imagine life with out her. Happy Birthday Kuma!

 

The Rose Garden

 This lovely rose garden is blocks from work and is tucked behind The Raleigh Theater.
 I had too much fun taking pictures today. The sun had a great cloud filter today. The Garden was filled with flower gazers and picture takers. It is an awesome gem!

 Kuma really liked it too! She kept putting her nose in the air.

                                                  These blooms were as big as my face!

                                                Check out all the colors and varities.

                                                              Me and my sweet potato.
                                     On a side note: This is one of my most fave dresses ever!  My grandmother gave it to me years ago. I always thought it was an aunts...Nana recently told me otherwise. It is a Lilly Pultizer vintage 1960's. It is not in great condition, stains, broken zipper, ciggarette burn, frayed hem, odd straps. I thankfully did not do any of this damage...I could never forgive myself. I love the seersucker weight fabric and the print! It just so happens that it fits me perfectly. I wont give it up. It is also yellow which I love!

Henna Designs

 I am in love with using Henna. I get it from my favorite one-stop-shop, Sugar Magnolia. They have tubes of the pre-mixed Henna for $4.50. I have seen it for $15 at big craft stores, of course those are crazy colors that don't last as long. I love the traditional rust red color that it turns into anyway. I have seen many customers using it, they have amazing detailed patterns.  I started off looking a few design books that Sugar has. The patterns and images on flickr were inspirational as well. I noticed that no two were remotely the same. Then it makes it so much more personal if the designer creates their own patterns.
I love flowers and mandala circles. I did use a few key design elements from the images I saw on flicker, the dark three leaves and lotus pattern can be seen. The rest I came up with as I went along.  It took me about 40 minutes to complete the mini sleeve. The tube squeezes out a very consistent thin line. Much like a pastry bag to put on icing. Start big... the smaller your pattern the harder it is. It can be wiped off with minimal stain with in 1-3 minutes of application. Keep paper towel near by to dab the tip on or wipe away crazy lines.

Now, sit still. I find it is a very calming meditative task. I don't find it hard to sit for a while holding my arm up awkwardly, my hubby thinks I am nuts for taking the time to do something that takes forever  to dry and only lasts 4-5 days if you don't scrub it. Mind you that is coming from a guy that has a few large tattoos. I am sorry I am just not into pain. This just tickles and you have to sit still for awhile. Its a cheap summer creative fun.
I used about 2/3 of the tube. I just put the yellow pin back in and put in a baggie to use later. I keeps for awhile in a normal temp. environment.

These images are of after it sat on my skin for about 20 minutes. It is dry to the touch but has a nice crust formed. After this happens you can move a bit more freely. Try not to peel it off at this point. The longer that you and leave it on at this point the darker that it is when you peel it off. You can tell when it is done because the lines crack and little pieces flake off. Patience and sitting still is key to having clean dark lines.

This is the next day. I actually leave it on all night. I would not recommend doing this, you will wake up with little black pieces in the sheets. As Leah puts it, little ants.

I love it on my finger tips. I thought it was really interesting that they black out their fingerprints in some of the traditional patterns. I need to find out why...Do you know?



I had to throw in a precious furry face that sat next to me the whole time to feed her. She has patience for days!

The Dog is Too Happy

 This is my beautiful baby girl Kuma. She is a 7 year old American Akita. She is an extremely happy dog, as you can tell. She has a very large grassy green yard that is fenced in to run around in all day. She is all white and some how manages to keep herself very clean. She licks her self the way cats do. Its crazy. I personally have never given her a bath. My Hubby has probably 5 times. The spring weather has made her the happiest dog alive. She makes me the happiest Mama! She loves for me to take pictures of her. It generally takes Hubby standing behind me doing stupid things in order to get her to smile like this. She loves when everyone is together. She has been enjoying the recent family visits. She knew that my sister was at the door before I did. Kuma your Mama loves ya!

More Yard

My yard is much greener now! I love to hang out in the sunshiny privacy of the new yard. I wonder up and down, periodically playing with the dog, glancing at the ground. I was picking up glass and now rocks. I started throwing the rocks around the base of these beech trees. I noticed today a glint of blue. I began to scrape away the dirt and found the bottom of an old pharmacy bottle. It is super wedged in there. As I dug I looked up and saw the bottom of another one that is super close to the trunk of the tree. I really hope that they are intact.

New Backyard Inspires Art Project

So my backyard just doubled in size. What was previously scrubby shrubs and kudzu is now a beautiful fenced in backyard. Some would cringe at the amount of grass that we will have to mow come spring, but this area was a problem. I live in an area where there are lots of vagrant folks and they were hanging out in the shrubs at night. Not cool. Our landlord received access from a home that he recently purchased that backed up to the shrubby lot, so he went for it. He tore down the nasty chain link fence that ran behind the shed and gave us this beautiful 8 foot high wood fence.
We love it!

 In this shot I am standing in our original yard looking into the new yard. They left some beautiful young beach trees in the new part.

 This is our old yard, new grass going in. The dog still lays in the same spot under the magnolia even though she has such a huge yard to run in. She loves it when she gets whipped up!

I am standing with my back to the fence at the very back of the property. The little picket fence is to keep kiddos from fall over the low concrete wall that was not going anywhere. I kinda think it adds some charm. The green shed is falling apart and can't be moved. Its not loved by anyone, but it is necessary.
When they tore up the yard. All this old glass and dishes came to the surface. Originally, I was picking them up to save doggie paws. Now, I want to make something beautiful out of them.



They will clean-up nicely!

So It has been awhile...

I have a new job. I have been absent for awhile because I have a new job. I worked two jobs for awhile. I love my new job. I am learning new things everyday. I am so much happier than where I was. I have neglected my craftiness. I am super excited that I will have a bit more time to accomplish craftiness.

Since the summer ended the other day, I was thinking about the awesome trip to the beach at the beginning of the summer. I love this face that Kuma is making, all squinty eyed! The beach was completely empty and amazing.

Saturday Off?

I never have Saturdays off. This is a very exciting day for me. I have already accomplished alot, am hike, laundry, dishes, sewing, brunch,  and we are hoping to go to the party in downtown later. Here is Kuma today after the walk...she loves any time she get to go with... thank goodness it was cool.
She does not have blue eyes... the flash just reflects funny.

My final, largest sunflower is fading. I am sure it will soon be attacked by the wood pecker just like the other ones. I have enjoyed every aspect of growing these beauties. I will definitely be growing them again next year.

I also finished the blue section of Texas. Check out the teal barbwire fabric. I am so happy with the ease of this project. I know it will be greatly appreciated too. Working on the white and red next.