While I was out and about, I came upon this song playing in the store and used the Shazam app (one of my favorite apps! ) to figure out who was singing it. It's Christmas Time by the Smashing Pumpkins. As much as I enjoy the holiday spirit, I can hit Christmas Carol overload easily so it was a bit refreshing to hear a different tune:
Anybody got other holiday songs that are a bit off the grid?
Friday, December 7, 2012
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Voodoo Girl
My friend Mike just released this song and video for Voodoo Girl:
It's a hypnotically ambient electro jazz tune. After reading the inspiration behind the song, I really dig the story of the violin in it. (Side note: I'd like to think I've got the limber moves like the dancer in the video but sadly, I'm sure I do not.)
Enjoy!
It's a hypnotically ambient electro jazz tune. After reading the inspiration behind the song, I really dig the story of the violin in it. (Side note: I'd like to think I've got the limber moves like the dancer in the video but sadly, I'm sure I do not.)
Enjoy!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Dallas City Satchel
It's been while since I sewed anything, so, inspired by a friend's upcoming visit, I decided to tackle the City Satchel from Sew What! Bags: 18 Pattern-Free Projects by Lexie Barnes:
First of all, I highly recommend this book, especially beginners. It's user-friendly with lots of diagrams and pictures with projects from "newbie" to "daredevil" levels (though I would say these levels would apply to someone who is very new to sewing). It covers a lot of basic, fun, and useful bags and organizers. And I really appreciate the spiral binding--so it lies flat when I'm working with it.
Even though this project was at the "daredevil" level, it was thankfully relatively easy to follow and sew together. After cutting all the pieces and ironing interfacing to the pieces, I was able to sew it together in about 3 hours, which included an annoying thread tension snafu with the strap. I had come across this Dallas Cowboys fabric at my local Joann's (which I'm dumbfounded that this is stocked here in South Carolina), which is perfect for my friend who is a lifelong Dallas fan. Since it was a fairly light cotton, I chose to iron on heavyweight interfacing (Pellon 931TD) to give it a bit more strength and heft. Since it was the first time I made it, I went with the measurements used in the book. Since I had bought 2 yards of the fabric blind, I decided to use it all to make the bag (versus the contrast design with two fabrics), including using it for the interior lining. It may have been a bit of Cowboys overload, but my friend appreciated it:
Regarding my stitching snafu--as I was edge-stitching on the strap, the threads kept getting tangled up. For what it's worth, the edge-stitching was for decorative purposes rather than functional, but it was still so maddening and I just tried trimming most of the tangled knots away. I fiddled a little with tension adjustment and I didn't have a problem with the rest of the bag.
I think if I make this bag again, I'd probably use the two contrasting fabrics (especially if I use novelty fabric like this). And I'd try to use thicker material to begin with rather than iron on interfacing. And I think I'd make the strap an inch less wide. But overall, I was pleased with my first run--especially that I kept all the logos right side up on the flap and bag body!
Looking forward to making another one--
First of all, I highly recommend this book, especially beginners. It's user-friendly with lots of diagrams and pictures with projects from "newbie" to "daredevil" levels (though I would say these levels would apply to someone who is very new to sewing). It covers a lot of basic, fun, and useful bags and organizers. And I really appreciate the spiral binding--so it lies flat when I'm working with it.
Even though this project was at the "daredevil" level, it was thankfully relatively easy to follow and sew together. After cutting all the pieces and ironing interfacing to the pieces, I was able to sew it together in about 3 hours, which included an annoying thread tension snafu with the strap. I had come across this Dallas Cowboys fabric at my local Joann's (which I'm dumbfounded that this is stocked here in South Carolina), which is perfect for my friend who is a lifelong Dallas fan. Since it was a fairly light cotton, I chose to iron on heavyweight interfacing (Pellon 931TD) to give it a bit more strength and heft. Since it was the first time I made it, I went with the measurements used in the book. Since I had bought 2 yards of the fabric blind, I decided to use it all to make the bag (versus the contrast design with two fabrics), including using it for the interior lining. It may have been a bit of Cowboys overload, but my friend appreciated it:
Regarding my stitching snafu--as I was edge-stitching on the strap, the threads kept getting tangled up. For what it's worth, the edge-stitching was for decorative purposes rather than functional, but it was still so maddening and I just tried trimming most of the tangled knots away. I fiddled a little with tension adjustment and I didn't have a problem with the rest of the bag.
I think if I make this bag again, I'd probably use the two contrasting fabrics (especially if I use novelty fabric like this). And I'd try to use thicker material to begin with rather than iron on interfacing. And I think I'd make the strap an inch less wide. But overall, I was pleased with my first run--especially that I kept all the logos right side up on the flap and bag body!
Looking forward to making another one--
Friday, November 9, 2012
Almost the most wonderful time of the year at Target
I swung by Target to pick up a few things and couldn't help strolling by the Halloween Clearance section:
Big mistake. I got sucked in and started contemplating ideas for next year with stuff they had on sale:
In the end I got a lot of Halloween gummies and boxes--at siren-calling prices:
On the plus side, gummies make great packing material in a flat rate box!
Big mistake. I got sucked in and started contemplating ideas for next year with stuff they had on sale:
In the end I got a lot of Halloween gummies and boxes--at siren-calling prices:
On the plus side, gummies make great packing material in a flat rate box!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween
This year I was pretty unprepared for Halloween. I just got back from visiting my mom and sister in NJ/NY on Saturday and then Hurricane Sandy/Frankenstorm happened on Monday. We weren't affected except for some high winds, but my family and friends in the Northeast were definitely affected. Some were fine with power but fairly locked in because of mass transit shutdowns and others had no electricity, water, or cell service. Fortunately, they all survived without severe damage to their health, cars, or home, though they all knew someone or lived in a neighborhood where someone wasn't so lucky.
I was encouraged to hear that, despite this, there was still a strong desire to still celebrate Halloween. One friend said that not only was it community bonding during difficult times but it's also a pleasant distraction that's fun for the kids. Besides, he added, all the candy was bought a while ago (as a fellow mom, I totally relate to this as one who tends to be well-stocked for Halloween way before the event). This totally motivated me to put something together--Frankenstorm wasn't going to be the Grinch of Halloween, after all.
I went to Goodwill last night and spent $8 on these items:
with a goal to become the Sun Drop soda girl:
I didn't hold out too much hope that I'd find a blank green ringer tee, but I did find light and dark green t-shirts that I just layered. I found the Sun Drop logo on the internet, printed it out on iron-on paper, and ironed it on the light green shirt. I took scissors to the Mom Jeans, which I turned into the cutoffs. I trimmed off the toes of the red socks to make into leg warmers. For the red head band, I cut up the toddler tights and put a few stitches in to make a loop. I had black tights and I just went with sneakers that I had with green trim and hope it wouldn't be a big deal not to have red sneakers. Ta da!
Besides my annual trip to Starbucks for my favorite autumn drink--the pumpkin spice soy latte--I hit Earth Fare. I had an impromptu conversation with a lady on vegan yogurts and she never mentioned my costume, which vaguely made me wonder if she thought I was dressed as I normally do. Which is kind of awesome, right?
The topper was coming in 2nd place (to a killer Fierce Five 2012 USA women's gymnastics team) at the costume contest at work.
And I was able to squeeze in carving our traditional barfing Jack O'Lantern:
Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!
I was encouraged to hear that, despite this, there was still a strong desire to still celebrate Halloween. One friend said that not only was it community bonding during difficult times but it's also a pleasant distraction that's fun for the kids. Besides, he added, all the candy was bought a while ago (as a fellow mom, I totally relate to this as one who tends to be well-stocked for Halloween way before the event). This totally motivated me to put something together--Frankenstorm wasn't going to be the Grinch of Halloween, after all.
I went to Goodwill last night and spent $8 on these items:
with a goal to become the Sun Drop soda girl:
I didn't hold out too much hope that I'd find a blank green ringer tee, but I did find light and dark green t-shirts that I just layered. I found the Sun Drop logo on the internet, printed it out on iron-on paper, and ironed it on the light green shirt. I took scissors to the Mom Jeans, which I turned into the cutoffs. I trimmed off the toes of the red socks to make into leg warmers. For the red head band, I cut up the toddler tights and put a few stitches in to make a loop. I had black tights and I just went with sneakers that I had with green trim and hope it wouldn't be a big deal not to have red sneakers. Ta da!
Besides my annual trip to Starbucks for my favorite autumn drink--the pumpkin spice soy latte--I hit Earth Fare. I had an impromptu conversation with a lady on vegan yogurts and she never mentioned my costume, which vaguely made me wonder if she thought I was dressed as I normally do. Which is kind of awesome, right?
The topper was coming in 2nd place (to a killer Fierce Five 2012 USA women's gymnastics team) at the costume contest at work.
And I was able to squeeze in carving our traditional barfing Jack O'Lantern:
Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Draw Something: Pop version
Still hooked on Draw Something. Usually when one of the choices is a pop reference, I usually shy away from it and go for a broader word like "tow truck" or "thorn". But every once in a while, if I think the person I'm drawing for is aware of the pop reference, I give it a go.
And some of my friends are pretty darn good at drawing pop references too:
 |
| "Gangnam" |
 |
| "Jaws" |
 |
| "StarWars" |
 |
| "Twilight" |
 |
| "Spock" |
 |
| "IronMan" |
 |
| "Beavis" |
And some of my friends are pretty darn good at drawing pop references too:
 |
| "Hulk" |
 |
| "Naruto" |
 | |
| "LOTR" |
Monday, September 10, 2012
Criminal Defense
Looking forward to watching the pilot episodes of a documentary series on the Nat Geo channel premiering tomorrow (Tuesday, 9/11) at 10pm and 10:30pm, Criminal Defense: And Justice For All. The series follows public defenders from the Legal Aid office in Brooklyn as they represent clients who have been accused of various crimes. A producer says this series is eye-opening and illustrates how important it is to have hard-working, dedicated public defenders in our justice system.
Which producer? My old NYC roommate and longtime Freedom Cooler co-creator, Dan!
Can't wait to watch it!
Which producer? My old NYC roommate and longtime Freedom Cooler co-creator, Dan!
 |
| July 4, 1996 |
Can't wait to watch it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)