Scrumptious Sunday

This blog needs more structure. Without it I’m afraid it will turn into a terrible brain-child: Ill-tempered, out of control and whiny.

So, here’s the layout I’ve come up with:

Scrumptious Sundays (on which I will cook something that may or may not be absolutely scrumptious)

Whatever Wednesdays (on which I will talk about whatever I want, or potentially post an article I’ve written)

and, last but not least,

Fabric Fridays (It was really hard for me to say this in my mind… “frabic fridays… no, frabric Fiday… ugh.”)

Oh yeah, on Fabric Friday I will talk about things I am sewing/making. It may or may not include fabric, I suppose.

Without this structure I’d feel pressure to post something of worth on here EVERYDAY. And that’s too much for me. Especially since, aside from my personal desires to find satisfaction with my life, the only motivation I have to keep this blog going are the four people who have read this blog in the past week (and didn’t leave any comments… lame).

So, today is Scrumptious Sunday, and I had a little dinner party!

Main course: Lemon roasted chicken breast (crock pot)

Vegetable: carrots, broccoli and cauliflower (cooked with chicken)

Side: Red roasted potatoes

Dessert: Idiot-proof-individual-chocolate-cakes (courtesy of: anediblesymphony.blogspot.com/2009/01/idiot-proof-individual-chocolate-cakes.html)

This is the only picture I have of the food. We devoured it before I thought to take pictures! I’ll get better at this, I promise.

I may have stumbled upon a new obsession… or two

try{Typekit.load();}catch(e){}
Thanks to my friend Heather for introducing me to the wide, crowded, vintage utopia of Merchant Square on Arizona Ave. Aside from all of the adorable, painted wood furniture and netted vintage hats (which I already loved so dearly), they have a wide array of antique Pyrex bowls and dishes distributed throughout the store, nay, the warehouse of wonder.

They have pink Pyrex, green Pyrex, polka dot, yellow and gooseberry patterned Pyrex! But, of all the beautiful Pyrex in all the world (of Merchant Square) I found the most beautiful of all! According to http://www.pyrexlove.com/vintage-pyrex-pattern-guide/  I purchased part of the Pyrex Balloons Promotional Cinderella Bowl Chip & dip set  series 395. It looks cooler than it sounds…

It also looks less blurry in real life. Look at those hot air balloons! My favorite is the balloon pulled by birds!

I also have a bunch of gorgeous vintage dresses for sale! You can see them currently on my Flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ems_vintage/

Happy vintage hunting to you all!

-Em

An endless supply of things to love

The only problem with developing a hobby, or multiple hobbies at once, is not having the money, on a part-time teacher’s salary, to buy everything I WANT. Jut found both of these today while perusing Amazon.com.

There is, of course, another wonderful book by Lotta Jansdotter, the author of my new favorite sewing book. There is something about this adorable about this Scandinavian woman.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081186037X/ref=s9_simi_gw_s0_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1JMJ59Z21PMH1GWA67VG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

And then there was this book by Thaylon Allyson Gowdy

I am excited about making prints already! I’m going to try to do it without the book. I’ll post my success or mild failure, heh.

Also, I’m still working on the wall hanging for my sister-in-law. I WILL CONQUER.

-Em

A book I will love forever.

I got this book for Christmas:

and everything inside (with the exception of a weird “bucket hat”) is completely awesome. I already have my first request to make something from it. I will sew a hanging organizer for my sister-in-law, and friend, Heather.

Ideally it will look something like this:

The red thing.

Ok, more to come.

And my friend Jena is going to help me create my own banner for this blog. I hate using the templates the Web site offers… It just doesn’t feel like mine. Yet.

I’m off to sew.

Owls and Deadlines and Designers

Just when I’m at the end of my journalism-loving-rope, I get an assignment for an article and I get excited again. Oh, by the way, technically I’m working for a newspaper, but I’m not getting paid, and it doesn’t count as an internship because I’m not getting enough hours. It was part of my “practice makes practiced” idea when I moved down to Phoenix that landed me in all three of my less-than-fulfilling and zero-health-care-providing part-time jobs.

And that was a lot of hyphenation.

But I finished the drudgery of my weekly assignments, and as a cherry on top I got to write an actual news article. I called people, I researched people and I wrote stuff down about it. Now THAT is my kind of journalism. Honestly, I usually don’t care what assignments are, I just love learning new things and telling people about it.

So, new thing I learned about/found/God bless Burdastyle.com… OWLS.

Not just any owls, but the CUTEST, fat, simple owl “ornaments” in the world. Maybe you’ve found some that are cuter? So share them with us!

Anyway, I found this pattern and idea for an easy, cute Christmas gift you could throw together out of your fabric scraps, essentially. I think that’s a marvelous idea, but I don’t think they have to be holiday-specific presents. They could just be owl-gifts-for-no-reason-whatsoever. Who doesn’t love owls? Besides small rodents?

Here is my first attempt at fabric-owl-cuteness:

Step 1: Cut out two of… er…these shapes (What are they called?!)

Step 2: Sew them together, wrong-side out. (no picture provided, sorry)

Step 3: Turn them right side-out and use a chopstick or knitting needle, or something long and kind of pointy on one end, and poke all of the corners out all the way.

Step 4: Fold the top (triangle) down over the front of your “owl” Take orange or yellow tread and sew it in place at the very tip of the triangle. This makes your beak!

Step 5: Take a pen or black marker, and make a small dot on either side of the newly-folded-over triangle, so you know where to sew on your eyes.

Step 6: Attach black-button eyes. You know how to attach a button, right? If not: sew through the button holes. A lot. Then tie it off in the back of the fabric. Viola.

Step 7: Stuff your bird! Cotton, fabric scraps, paper if you want. Whatever you have lying around. I recommend something soft and light though, for sure.

Step 8: Loosely hand-stitch a straight line around the bottom of your owl. Once you’ve made a complete circle, pull the tread to close the bottom. Now, sew the bottom closed by hand, tie it off and you have an owl!

Feel free to attach a string/piece of ribbon to the back if you’re making an ornament. I know on Burdastyle they recommend using the yellow thread to create a loop on the back. It’s your owl; do what you want!

And now more my final topic: FABRIC DESIGNERS I LOVE!

Today’s highlight is Ms. Amy Butler. You can buy her designs (bags, etc) from her Web site, www.amybutlerdesign.com, or you can find her patterns and fabrics at a fabric store near you! I don’t think Joann’s sells them, but that’s because the fabric at Joann’s is not, and in my opinion as long as I’ve shopped there never has been fabulous. It’s pretty cheap though, so it’s good for somethings, especially when you’re broke!

Anyway, I spent an hour in a fabric store with my sister-in-law in Salt Lake last week, and I barely left the table with all of the Amy Butler fabrics and patterns. The bright colors and the gorgeous designs blew me away. I want to make everything out of her fabric right now.

Go check out her Web site: www.amybutlerdesign.com, and look for local stores that sell her items. Love her as much as I do.

(I know I posted that link twice… I just really wanted you to go to it.)

If you make an owl post a picture so I can see it!

Tags: amy butler, burdastyle, owls, sewing

Desperation calls for…. a new blog?

A year after my supposed “graduation” from a university print journalism program, I am here. But, where is here? Oh, that’s right: At the end of my journalism-loving-rope.

Last night I was ready to close the book and give up on a career in writing. “Perhaps,” I thought out loud, “I could find satisfaction as a substitute teacher, a secretary or a nanny.” And maybe those jobs wouldn’t totally suck all the time, but wold they be fulfilling? The only things I want to do right now are sew, craft and cook. Cooking and sewing could be very rewarding careers, unfortunately, I don’t know much about either.

As I was bundled up in bed, telling my husband that I was starting to wonder why I had chosen journalism in the first place, he suggested I try to find my passion again, and just “Write what you know.”

But what do I really know? I like to cook. I like to sew. I like to make anything and everything, and as far as I knew a year ago, I like to write. “I’m not an expert in any of these fields!” came my argument. But, I suppose no one starts out knowing everything.

So, I’m offering my experiences to the universe. My adventures in sewing, cooking, crafting and writing. My adventures in  finding satisfaction and some kind of health insurance! My thoughts, meandering through the empty letter box of the world wide web. I hope they’re received like the free ads for your favorite craft store and not the crappy coupon magazines that line my recycling bin.

I know I’m not alone in the world of beginners, young and old, and I hope to find more of you out there.

With fond fabric scraps and frosted sugar cookies,

Em

Tags: crafts, friendship, new beginnings, sewing, writing