Tuesday, April 20, 2010

a moving tale

I've been trying all week to think of something funny to say about moving and I can't think of a single thing.

Perhaps you've been fortunate enough not to move recently. I'm pretty sure I've done enough moving for all of us as this is Move #4 in five years and somewhere in the fine print it says I can get my head examined for free with the fifth move. Sign me up.

And it's not the moving that's so bad, it's having to change names, identities and hair color every time. The disguises are really getting to me.

Just kidding there - no need to notify the authorities. All have been 'job-related' moves.

My little doily factory has been dismantled, numbered, catalogued and boxed. I'm up to 33 so far and I'm inching closer toward that final box -- you know the one -- that weird mix of random stuff like one flip flop, some loose rickrack, a can of spray paint, cat toys, a book about Cocker Spaniels and my wallet. Clearly labeled 'miscellaneous.'

Because that'll tell me everything I need to know four days from now when the unpacking begins.

Hoping to be settled very soon and looking forward to less of this

and more of this.

Be back soon!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

This was me when a package arrived from Julie at Jane's Apron.

That's right. I know I may have led you to believe my personal style tends to be more 'pajama-oriented' but at that particular moment I was just hanging out in my pink vintage-chic dress and white gloves, channeling Marlo Thomas during her "That Girl" years.

Back to the package.

Appropriately, Jane's Apron was giving away a copy of Apronology (which I want to spell Apronologie thanks to Anthropologie) and yours truly was The Winner!

~*~
trumpets blare, fireworks explode, confetti falls from the sky
~*~

Julie of Jane's Apron had two of her aprons featured in the magazine and I find that amazing and inspiring! How exciting to see something you've made published. Aprons off to Julie!

Let's all turn to page 48 and admire her work. Of course, I'm especially thrilled to see she sews with vintage linens. Love that!

When Julie emailed me to tell me I had won, I babbled on about how charming her note cards are (I had admired them in her etsy shop) and she generously included a set of them in the package she sent me. Thank you Julie!

All this apron talk reminded me of some of the aprons I've made here and there -- not many but here's few.
I've read Apronology cover to cover now and seeing all those apron ideas has definitely inspired me to get my apron on. Stay tuned for further details.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Math is hard.


 I was complaining recently about how much math is involved in sewing -- at least it seems to be in the kind of sewing I do. Fractions and ratios, division and decimal points. Definitely not why I went to art school. The math part, I mean. Funny thing is, the more math I do, the better I get. Gives me hope. So there!! Mrs. High-School-Math-Teacher whose quadratrics and absolute value equations along with other algebraic nightmares kept me awake when I should have been getting much-needed teen beauty sleep according to my guidebook, Seventeen magazine. Pop quiz me now!

Tools of the trade: Brush for chenille fluffing. Abandoned crochet hook. Random ball of vintage fabric. Cup of pencil nubs.

One of the latest items out of the Doily Factory required a little more math than usual. I wanted it to be in proportion to the real thing and to make that happen I had to convert decimals points to inches and then add in seam allowances which were fractions of inches and subtract my shoe size from my height minus my i.q. and maybe even cry a little bit.


Here's what I came up with. And I was only kidding about the crying. Maybe.

My idea to create an American flag pillow cover made from vintage tablecloths has been on my to-do list for so long now and I finally did it, math and all.

I also wanted to let you know this blog will be broadcasting live from inside a moving box sometime in the next 30 days as I pack up the entire Doily Factory and move it 4.7 miles and one state away, along with the rest of the house and Mr. Might Be Into Vintage Eventually.

The really good news is the Doily Factory will be *greatly expanded* in its new location and I'm so excited to have all my vintage sewing paraphenalia in the same room. No more dining room table expansion required!

And it looks like I dodged a bullet on Crafty Resolution #9 -- the one where I planned to de-stash due to lack of space.  Moving just seems so much easier.