W.I.P. Wednesday: Fashion Aid 6 May 2009

I didn’t think I’d have anything for you today as my main Work in Progress is work – finding it!

But, it occurred to me that if I found work, I’d have absolutely nothing suitable to wear.

Thankfully, Seattle – even in the legal sector – is fairly low key as far as dress is concerned. Still, I’ll need to update (and upsize ) my wardrobe a bit.

Back when I was like 9 or something, my Grandma gave me a shot at sewing on her machine. I don’t think I’ve touched one since that summer visit with her.

Like all other insanely complex crafty projects I undertake, I somehow believe that I’ll still be able to pull this one off even though I don’t have the time, space, materials, or know-how to do it properly…

Enter Angry Chicken’s 5 Minute Skirt.

5 Minute Skirt?!? No problem.

Ok, there is one little problem (or two, or three)…but let’s start with the first – I don’t know what fabric to choose.

You see, I want something that I can wear to work. And something I can wear with my groovy new rainbow tights.

I suppose just plain old black would make the most sense. But what about with a pattern in it? Too much with the tights?

What do all you fashionistas out there think?

Seen any fabrics around the Interwebs that would look respectable in the office and fun at the playground?

If participating in my W.I.P. isn’t stimulating enough for you this week (and I can’t say that I’d blame you if it isn’t), head on over to Shellyfish’s Wipster page to link up with other crafty folks.

Flora Child Giveaway Winner! 3 May 2009

Thanks so much for all your kind comments on my newbie felt craftivities last W.I.P. Wednesday.

I continue to look for a good fit – the craft that will allow me to thoroughly enjoy the process and end results.

So far, felting is in the lead.

Thanks, mostly, to the lovely and inspiring Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes.  Her work is absolutely exquisite!

How happy I was to see JumbleSon draw her name this morning as the winner of  little Tulip!  Congratulations and thanks to you, Lisa!

W.I.P. Wednesday – Food & Flora Children Giveaway 29 April 2009

Pressing on with my foodie Work in Progress, here’s

Anniversary Feast Update #2

So, the Mock Salmon Pate is most promising.  It’s been a very long time since I’ve tasted good salmon (aka, fresh Copper River King salmon) that I’m not sure how convincing this appetizer will be for JumbleSpouse (who’s a salmon connoisseur).  But, the texture is good and it has a “fishy” flair thanks to the Nori (although any salmon eater will tell you that the “real deal” does not taste “fishy”).  I’m crossing my fingers.

And, the vodka sauce smelled AMAZING as it simmered (I’m a freak-cook who doesn’t taste while cooking for fear I’ll jinx the dish).  So, no worries there.

But, be careful what you ask for…

I was bemoaning the fact that I didn’t have a pasta maker, and that it was making me feel a bit timid about completing the great Vegan Libre ravioli experiment via handmade pasta.

And, I shared the tale with Angeliki – you guessed it!  She just happened to have one tucked away in her cabinet.  I ask you – is there anything this woman does not have on hand, and is not willing to share or outright give to you??  She’s a Domestic MacGyver, I tell you!  So now I have no choice, but to press on…

Wish me luck.  I’m terrified.

Thankfully, I’m surrounded by cheerful, encouraging spirits today.

These little Flora Children have been popping up all over my place.  Above are the Hyacinth sisters, Violet and Forget Me Not.  Lily of the Valley, Daffodil, Rose, Iris and Poppy are just a few others who are getting ready to bloom.

They were inspired by Root Children (ok, they’re direct copies, but sssshhhh…) in Sibylle von Olfers’ book…

by my groovy, air-dry, invisibility pen (for tracing), the wooden flower sprites made by Syrendell, and Lisa & her Little Ladies’ gorgeous felted brooch work at 5 Orange Potatoes…

and a happy find at the Friends of the Library shop where we found a nearly-new copy of The Story of the Root Children for US$2!!

To thank the Craft Muse for providing all these lovely inspirations, to celebrate Flora and her beautiful gifts, and to share the love with all my blogging friends, I’d like to send this little red Tulip your way.

Just leave a comment here (no matter where in the world you live), and I’ll draw the winner on May 3rd – the final day of the Festival of Flora.

May your days be filled with inspiring W.I.P. and blessed by the sweet sights and smells of Spring!

Play-by-Play and Giveaway 28 April 2009

For those drooling over our anniversary meal, I thought I’d keep you up to date on my preparations…

Last night I made cashew cheese for the ravioli filling.  Any chef who makes a vegan cheese without nutritional yeast or tofu makes me a fan.

And WOW!  This is powerful, good stuff.

I cut the Vegan Libre recipe in half, but now I wish I hadn’t because the leftover would have been eaten in a flash!

Although the cheese recipe is raw, I sauteed the onions and garlic before adding them (’cause the Jumbles don’t care for raw garlic & onion so much).

Since the cheese turned out so well, I decided to press on and finish off the filling by sauteeing a little more onion and tossing in the spinach.

I did not add another tablespoon of Italian Seasoning.   The filling is very strongly flavored without it (thanks to the cheese).

The texture is positively dreamy…like a mousse.  I want to eat it with a spoon!  But will refrain.

This morning I hope to make the mock salmon pate, and then the vodka sauce this afternoon.

That leaves the pasta for tomorrow.  I must admit that I’m getting cold feet about making the ravioli from scratch.  If I had a pasta maker, no problem.  But, I don’t.  And rolling it to just the right thinness is intimidating right now.

May punt and make manicotti using dried pasta.

In other news, couldn’t find a commemorative Washington Merlot.  Just one more reason to move back to Seattle immediately!

Settled for a 2003 Cab from the Coonawarra region of Australia.  To remind us of our 6 month road trip in 2006.  At least it was on sale for $10 off their retail price.

Amidst a zillion other stresses and worries today, I am crafting like mad for the Festival of Flora which begins today, includes May Day/Beltane and ends May 3rd.

So, let’s have a giveaway!

Tomorrow at Work in Progress (W.I.P.) Wednesday, I’ll announce a crafty giveaway in celebration of Flora and her abundance. Here’s a teaser…

W.I.P. Wednesday: Taking it easy 22 April 2009

After last week’s craptastic craft session, I decided to take it easy this week. So, just a little knitting.

You may recall that I can only cast on & off, knit and purl. I can not increase, decrease, fix mistakes or read a pattern.

That’s why this project is perfect for me. The yarn is 100% nylon, purchased for US$2 at Hobby Lobby on a whim, and looks fabulous any way I screw it up.

It’s also the softest yarn I’ve ever felt. Perfect for Spring fairies to land on at our Nature table.

At W.I.P. Central, Shellyfish asked if we were trying anything new this week.

Why, yes. I am.

Today, Angeliki gifted me with this tin full of embroidery goodness! I had asked her to keep her eyes open in her thrift shopping for a hoop and floss. But, in her wildly generous, Angeliki-like fashion, she simply dug through her stash and came up with this! Isn’t she gorgeous??

I’m not sure what my first attempt will be…easy. Must take it easy. Any suggestions for a highly craft-challenged beginner?

Oh, and if you’d like to see what real crafters are up to, be sure to head on over to the Flickr pool or the WIPster blogroll.

P.S. I know it’s Earth Day and all, so the rest of my W.I.P. for today will be reported later – post Spring garden clean up!

W.I.P. Wednesday – Classic 15 April 2009

I saw this beautiful candle at No Time for Flash Cards today. Miraculously, I had all the materials on hand to make it (thanks to receiving several pounds of old – freecycled – crayons a year ago).

It looks so easy, doesn’t it? {insert maniacal laughter}

Take 1 – I had a little “helper”, so figured I’d ask him to hold the wick stick in place as I poured the wax. Wax all over inside and out of jar. Wick pulled up out of bottom of jar. Mission aborted.

Take 2 – New jar. “Helper” bouncing up and down next to me, repeatedly chanting, “I want to mix colors, Mama.” Poured first color in and all over the inside/outside of jar, all over uncovered countertop. Chanting from JumbleSon continues as he hangs on my arm, barely able to refrain from touching the tempting wax. I become more manic. Pouring wax and letting is splosh all over. Wax mixes. Camera batteries die as I try to photograph the catastrophe. Mission aborted. Mess left.

3pm is not too early for a glass of wine while I wait for the batteries to recharge.

Craft through the pain. Craft through the pain.

To see what REAL crafters are up to, go here or here.

W.I.P. Wednesday: Flower Bobs & Block Homes 8 April 2009

I’ve had it in my head that it would be fun and easy to make these Sweetheart Poppy Pins.

So, this week, I set to work. First, a shout out to Angeliki for scrap fabric and beads. Then a call to Shanti looking for bobby pins. (Honestly, whom will I mooch off of when we get back to Seattle???)

I found a few random objects around the house to serve as patterns – JumbleSon’s pewter cup, a tiny glass jar and Chinese coin. Then, begin to cut. However, I quickly learned that this was a job for my crocodile scissors (how glad am I that I splurged on the pinking shears?!?).

And yet, even with the lovely zigzag, I’ve noticed some frazzle evolving. And I also don’t like the how floppy the flowers are (even the best of poppies have only minimal flop, I should think).

After a quick consultation with Angeliki, I shall soon be back at the drawing board with glitter glue in hand. If that doesn’t work, it’s time for new (and gasp! perhaps, even purchased) fabric. Now where is that JoAnn’s coupon??

In the “completed” projects file, I thought I’d engage JumbleSon’s help making a wooden block receptacle this past snowy weekend.

Up until now, they have lived in my favorite lidless tin. But, when I found laundry detergent in a bucket with lid, I thought it would make the perfect home for his building materials.

And so it was.

Nevermind that he had almost no interest in helping glue the felt to the bucket, or putting the felt block replicas on the outside (so we’d know what it contained), or even moving the blocks from one home to the next. Honestly, I think Moonbeam was more into the project than he was!

So, what sort of craftiness is happening at your place? Need some inspiration? Check out the W.I.P. flickr pool!

W.I.P. Wednesday: Felting 1 April 2009

At long last, I have something to show on a Work in Progress Wednesday (as hosted by the lovely Shellyfish at Musings from the Fish Bowl). Of course, the project I’m reporting on today is complete. However, my mastery of the art of felting most definitely remains a work in progress.

Encouraged by my trial and error success at making Earth Eggs, I decided to move on to bigger things.

Spiral Felted Rock – Take 1

This time I wanted to felt a thank you gift for my lovely New Mexico friends who tolerated an entire Spring Break week with us. I imagined a doorstop, I guess, because the rock that called to me from my pre-trip walk was quite large (about the size of a grapefruit).

Using the felted candy cane tutorial from here, I wrapped orange roving around a pipe cleaner and molded it into a spiral shape.

Having no clue how to make my vision a reality, I took some more roving, wrapped it around the spiral (now on top of the rock) and around the rock. I put the entire thing in a big sock and tossed it in the washer.

The spiral came out looking great…sort of like a Celtic snake. The rest of it. Well…let’s just say our resident kookaburra will never catch a head cold.

Spiral Felted Rock – Take 2

I was in luck! Our lovely NM hostess, Grace, had just taken up felting. She had a foam block I could use and the local yarn shop just gave me a free felting needle when I came in with JumbleDistructoBoy!

I sat to work as he played outside one afternoon. First a big layer of roving, then the spiral, then a thin layer of roving – all on top of Grace’s foam block.

The needle poking began. At first I felt a bit mad (in the Psycho sort of way). But then I really started to enjoy it. In the psycho sort of way.

And, it was WORKING! Magic.

When it was sufficiently attached, I wrapped it and enlisted Grace’s help doing some wet felting by hand. Then, we put it in a sock and washed it up.

I don’t know if I’ll ever work out how to get the right amount of roving on these rock projects. Even after the wash, there was still HEAPS of excess. So, I chopped a hunk off the back, then used my new needle stabbing skills to tidy it up (closing any potential gaps). I soaked it in the sink again, then put it through the sock wash cycle.

Although it still didn’t shrink up as tightly as I would have liked, at least the spiral stayed in place and there weren’t any bits of rock peeking through anywhere. I don’t have any final pictures, but here’s the W.I.P.

I have lots of Works in Progress in my head, but nothing happening just yet as we’re still recovering from our trip. But, hopefully I’ll have something going by next Wednesday.

Until then, head on over to the W.I.P. flickr pool to see what other craftiness is in the works around the blogosphere.

Rockin’ Update 19 March 2009

Miri, thanks so much for the awesome tip on how to finish off the rocks! I was afraid to do all of them for fear it wouldn’t work, so I selected the 7 least “fit” ones, put one each in a toddler sock and machine washed them on the “Hot and Heavy Duty” cycle.

Here’s the result…

Perfect!

I especially love this little guy who’s hatching from his woolly shell…

Now I’m inspired. More to come…

Rock Talk 19 March 2009

Sweet Miri introduced me to felted rocks back in January. Then, when I saw instructions for how to felt rocks on Crafting a Green World a few weeks ago (and drooled), I knew I had to deal with my stance on wool.

I prefer to live without wool sweaters, socks, knitting yarn, and the like. But, I can’t seem to get over my obsession for the fuzz on folks like these (thanks for sharing your lovely Mother Earth, Root Children, Bee and Ladybug, Marina!)…

Like some vegans out there, I will wear 2nd hand leather shoes. I will also gratefully accept wool gifts (felted beings, hats, etc.). But, I am not willing to buy leather, nor am I going to purchase wool (or wool products made) from sheep I don’t know personally (presuming that if I know them, I’ll also know their owners and can monitor closely how they are livin’).

So, here’s my crafty compromise – 2nd hand wool roving. Freecycle, baby. Got 2 huge bags of it. One from local sheep, even.

I spent nap time today trying to work out how to felt rocks (which we’ll call “Earth Eggs” for Ostara). The instructions were simple enough.

We’d collected egg-shaped rocks earlier this week. I cleansed them with salt and blessed them before starting.

Then, I cut, separated and layered the wool. But, I think I wrapped the rocks in way too much wool because it was clearly not shrinking enough to form-fit them.

Had to trim about 1/2 of it off after the first round of washing. And even still, the wool just wasn’t “sticking” like I’d hoped.

They’re drying now and while there are a few that I think will hold, many of them just haven’t had that “shrink-to-fit” experience they really need.

And, I didn’t really enjoy working with wool as much as I thought I would. It looks so soft when crafted by others, but so far, I’m not feeling the love, or the nice meditative buzz that my felted peeps and bunnies were giving me.

So, all that vegan angst may have been wasted. I may not craft with wool again anyway!

And, as an aside, I have no idea where the energy has come from to do all this crafting! I’m glad for it, though