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:: May 1, 2008 Camilla Engman Theme
Camilla Engman iGoogle home page theme! I got mine. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (1) :: link :: January 14, 2008 Pot Pie Recipe
In response to the pot pie video I got a few recipe requests. Here it is, kind of! Free-Form Vegetarian Pot Pie - One or two potatoes Saute or steam vegetables and optional tofu/tempeh till they are about halfway cooked. Meanwhile, make sauce by melting butter then stirring flour in. Cook butter-flour a bit. Stir in broth a little at a time, keeping the consistency gravy-like. Mix sauce with vegetables and spice it up good, especially more salt than what is healthy for you. Pour mixture into a baking pan or pans. Have someone pop the biscuit can for you because you're too chicken to do it yourself. Separate each biscuit into thirds, roughly (the "flaky layers" kind allows you to do this with ease). Feel a little un-Martha-ish for using canned biscuits instead of making your own crust, which is probably delicious but takes far more effort than you can summon tonight. Bake roughly according to directions on biscuit can, which you have to fish out of the garbage to read. Or, just go for 400F and keep an eye on it, you'll know when it's done. Let sit for a little while to settle and cool before digging in. Yum! You might worry that the biscuits will get all goopy if you save leftovers, but they don't really. --- posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (7) :: link :: January 3, 2008 Pot Pie
I made veggie pot pie on New Year's Eve Eve and friend Gregg made a movie of it. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (18) :: link :: December 5, 2007 Inspirations
1. How often does a craft-blog post bring tears to your eyes? This did it for me. A lady named Lenore wrote to Futuregirl Alice to request a pattern for her Octopus stuffie long before Alice had released it to the public (third pattern down). Lenore has a tradition of making a Christmas ornament for each of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. People, she has 99 grandchildren and great-grandchildren! So the resulting Christmas tree is just about the best thing I have ever seen. Making me even more gushy about this is the fact that Alice sent me the pattern in a swap earlier this year ... I asked her for it because Otto means "eight" in Italian so surrounding him with octopi seems a propos. 2. It looks like Susan's article about the Vintage Fabric Flickr group (with images and quotes me) made it in the new issue of Adorn! Hooray! Thanks Susan! I will be rushing to a bookstore to get an issue this evening. The group now boasts 1,500 members and is nearing 5,000 images. There would actually be at least twice that many but we try to stay on top of editing out the non-vintage and non-fabric pictures. 3. And here's some assorted vintage inspiration:
- Al Q's Vintage Kiddie Record Graphics, via Drawn - Vintage playing card graphics (click "playing cards") at Kelly English ... relatedly, I am crazy about Kelly and Kindra's letterpress stuff at Studio on Fire - Sugar Frosted Cereal Museum pool on Flickr posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (51) :: link :: October 7, 2007
I had that hump to get over with Twitter: first not getting the hype, then dismissing it as yet another contributor to our increasingly ADD culture. But of course I signed up anyway because I'm a joiner (I'm allowed one since I've held out and never done the MySpace thing). After a few updates ("tweets"), I had the light-bulb moment, and now I have to convince everyone I know to sign up and add me as a friend, because it's one of those services that is only as fun as the size of your network. If you didn't already know, Twitter is kind of a blogging/chat/texting hybrid. Its main appeal is convenience, you can update it through the web or your IM software or cute little desktop apps or even through your cell phone. If you're not reading this entry through a feed reader, you can see over there on the right that I added Twitter updates on my sidebar. I got an account for myself, kmel, and one to use for Otto updates, ottokight. I really, really wish I had started this back before he was born, because those zillions of little milestones go by so fast and Twitter provides such an easy way to record and broadcast them, e.g. one-handed while holding your little fussbudget in your other arm. Twitter may be perpetuating ADD but such is the new-mother brain! posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (4) :: link :: March 29, 2007 I Have Officially Arrived
(No, not the baby, just me ...) I was interviewed by the lovely Adrienne of Adrienne's Little World about quilting. I am all giddy that someone cared to interview ME! Adrienne and her friend Toya do a crafty podcast called Inspirational Wednesdays. In the current episode they talk a little bit about the interview and review The Modern Quilt Workshop book. Thanks Adrienne and Toya! And good luck on your quilting ventures! posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (10) :: link :: February 21, 2007 All Nighter
Sorry about the absence, especially to those people who are still volunteering to take the estate sale patterns. They are all spoken for! Thank you! I wish that former seamstress lady knew how much love there was for her old stuff. I've been knocked out by the flu since Friday. That + pregnancy = one sorry ass mofo! Last night I decided that I couldn't take another sleepless night of mouthbreathing and coughing so I went to my Approved Medications list and picked Robitussin. I worried about it and researched its safety and finally took a dose anyway. BIG mistake. I woke up at 11pm after taking the stuff at about 8, heart and baby pounding like crazy. I ended up awake, speedy and parched yet still congested and mouth-breathing and coughing, till 5 freaking A.M.!! When I may have fallen half-asleep it was those crazy work-stress dreams mixed with anxiety that I might have just seriously hurt my child. So, not a good night, despite the hot tea at midnight and the counting slowly and the breathing deeply. I still made it to work today, fortunately it's an easy and gentle day. I got three fabulous packages in the mail this last week. The first, and maybe the least exciting of the trio, is this, from eBay:
A baby quilt made from shirting in the book Last-Minute Fabric Gifts The other two packages deserve their own posts, and will get them, coming up next. I also have lots of works in progress I'm excited to show but are gifts for some of the 8 (!) pregnant people I know right now beside myself. Baby avalanche! posted by in Fabric , Miscellany :: Comments (6) :: link :: February 10, 2007 Hey I Got You Something at the Estate Sale!
At an estate sale this morning I got a huge box of vintage patterns for $5 -- I left without them but then envisioned them going in the dumpster and their former owner-seamstress thinking that was sad. So I spun around on my heels and went back. I thought you might want them. The women's patterns are, sigh, one size too small for me (especially in my current state) -- size 16 (pattern size), which means you should have about a 36-38" bust, 28-30" waist, and 38-40" hips. There are about 75-80 of them, ranging from the 50s through the 70s. I photographed the best ones. The ones you don't like? Use the tissue paper for gift wrapping! Most if not all the patterns are uncut.
And a bonus smocked pillow pattern to go with the ladies' lot:
The men's patterns are pretty fly. There are duplicates in different sizes of some of them. The shirt/jacket sizes are chest size 36-40 and those pants are size 32. And who could resist a men's cotton brief pattern? Those are sizes 38-44.
I am breaking the women's and men's patterns into two separate packages, unless you want them both. Maybe a swap for a couple yards' worth of cute fabric? Or whatever you propose. Please click on the photos to go to Flickr and see closer-up. If no takers, I'll put them on eBay. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (17) :: link :: December 22, 2006 Happy Whatever You're Having
I hope your holidays are filled with just as much perfect happiness. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (2) :: link :: December 9, 2006 Tossing and Turning
The Kim family tragedy has had me preoccupied for the last couple weeks as well. Seems like a LOT of other people have had trouble sleeping. I just wish all this (minor) suffering and distress distributed among thousands of strangers could somehow magically relieve some of the pain and fear that James Kim just have felt, and the immense grief that his family and friends are going through. You probably already know of the projects in the works (including the aart/craft auction by Lisa Congdon and family) that will hopefully relieve some of the family's financial burden. So at least there's some way we can help. . posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (2) :: link :: August 22, 2006 April Winchell: Craft Blogger
My favorite radio hostess/podcaster/awful music collector/blogger April Winchell eloquently enters into the world of sewing: "Things specifically created to house certain objects are like a drug to me, and sewing is lousy with them. Thread spool holders, needle separators, bead boxes ... containers that serve no other purpose than to hold those things and those things only. And if you can find a container that shaped like the thing that goes in it, like say, a scissor container shaped like a pair of scissors, well, that's it. I'm spent just thinking about it. $150 later, I'm back home with bags full of crap that now have to be opened and put into their respective containers. It occurs to me that this is how you amuse a profoundly retarded child." I'm just going to have to send her some stuff. Too bad I don't have any Jack Klugman fabric. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (1) :: link :: August 14, 2006 Make a Scarf-Book
A crafty turn from Boing Boing: Flout the book ban on UK outbound flights by printing a book from Project Gutenberg onto a garment. posted by in Miscellany :: link :: June 6, 2006 What the Hell, UO?
Urban Outfitters has done it yet again ... first they ripped off Johnny Cupcakes and Crown Farmer, in arguably subtle ways, now they've blatantly ripped off Dan Goodsell's fantabulous book Krazy Kids Food, in the form of a shower curtain. They altered some of the type but the graphics are lifted wholesale. Urban Outfitters is officially dead to me and needs to be destroyed. I have never been a fan of their cheaply made, overpriced, self-consciously hipster clothes, though I have regularly bought sunglasses and tapestries (for fabric) there for a long time. No more. Ugh. Please spread the word. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (6) :: link :: April 17, 2006 Protect Your Stash From Moth Babies!
Clothes moth larvae feed on wool, feathers, fur, hair, leather, lint, dust, paper, and occasionally cotton, linen, silk, and synthetic fibers. They are especially damaging to fabric stained with beverages, urine, oil from hair, and sweat. [ed. note: eeewww.] Most damage is done to articles left undisturbed for a long time, such as old military uniforms and blankets, wool upholstery, feathered hats, antique dolls and toys, natural bristle brushes, weavings, wall hangings, piano felts, old furs, and especially wool carpets under heavy furniture and clothing in storage. Damaged fabrics have holes eaten through them by small, white larvae and often have silken cases, lines of silken threads, and fecal pellets over the surface of the materials. [ed note: double eeewww.] Moths are destructive during the larvae stage. Adult "millers" or moths are entirely harmless. Prevention? Good housekeeping is critical for preventing or controlling clothes moth damage. Never allow clothing, rugs, etc. to lie in a neglected pile. [ed. note: no problem there.] Regular use of a strong suction vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool to remove lint, hair, and dust from floor cracks, baseboards, air ducts, carpets, and upholstered furniture is necessary. Keep closets and dresser drawers clean. Regularly clean rugs where they fit close to the baseboards and under the quarter round. Inspect stored foods and eliminate bird nests and dead rodents. [ed. note: awww, do I have to?] Launder and dry clean or steam clean clothes and other items before storage. Egg-laying clothes moths are attracted to soiled articles. Ironing will also destroy all stages of clothes moths. Sun, brush, and expose clothing to the weather. Outdoors, bright, hot sunlight, and wind will reduce larvae and damage. Frequent use of woolens and other animal fiber clothing almost assures no damage from clothes moth larvae. ... So there you go. I have lost some wool yarn that I had stored for about 10 years to moths (or something else with shredding powers), but fortunately it didn't involve all the nasty evidence mentioned above. It seems that as long as you keep your craft area free of dead animal carcasses and move your piles around once in a while, the risks are pretty low. Thanks, Rose, for inspiring this research! p.s. more than once in this post while trying to type "quote" html tags I typed "quilt" instead, which I think is nice. An ex-co-worker in the politics department who also loved country music said he always typed "country" instead of "county." Do you have any habitual typing errors that reveal your true loves? posted by in Fabric , Miscellany :: Comments (13) :: link :: April 15, 2006 Tower of Power
My recent IKEA trip yielded these wire drawers ("Antonious" if you're curious) that I'm using to store my cottons. I have an armoire that I also use but it's hard to take things out and put them back. It was also getting (ahem) overstuffed. Anyway this new unit it goes from floor to almost ceiling, so I had to collage the photos together to convey its power. Now it's so much easier to see, access, and group fabrics by color -- I'm just a little worried about moths and dust. posted by in Fabric , Miscellany :: Comments (2) :: link :: March 16, 2006 Audiobooks
I posted a question today to Ask Metafilter seeking audiobook suggestions -- maybe you can help me out too. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (8) :: link :: January 16, 2006 Netflix Friends
Do you belong to Netflix? Thanks to Melanie I've been brought into the Netflix friends fold. It's fun and voyeuristic to see other people's queues, ratings, etc. I especially like the "movies you disagree on" feature. Plus I need some ideas since the new releases I want seem to be perpetually on "short wait." So add me! kmelkight at gmail dot com. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (5) :: link :: January 3, 2006 Happy 2006
Happy New Year! Looking over the Year of Projects 2005 I was surprised at how little output there was compared to the amount of time, energy, and money I put toward thinking, dreaming, and planning for them, and especially, ACQUIRING SUPPLIES for them. No regrets or anything, the thinking/dreaming/planning/acquiring is just as joyful as actual making. I just hope that I have more finished projects in 2006 to be proud of. Here is a rundown of the near-future finished projects: • Hourglass Sweater. Still plugging away at the miles of stockinette. • Hat/Scarf/Mittens Suite (matching! A never-before attempted feat!) out of chunky Misti Alpaca in "chartreuse melange". This yarn just hasn't gotten the play it deserves. The mittens are the Super Mittens from Weekend Kintting, and are ABWI (all but woven-in); the scarf is the Lopi Lace pattern also from Weekend Knitting (almost finished); and the hat I haven't decided. • Cogitating on the A Day at the Beach quilt for Sarah's Denyse Schmidt quilt-along. The version in the book is so perfect I may duplicate it, only with the top in a second colorway for the backing. It should be quick enough to drop off at the quilter's when I pick up my Plain Spoken! posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (3) :: link :: October 19, 2005 I Like Buttons
The button machine rules! An old children's dictionary was harmed in the making of this first batch. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (10) :: link :: September 19, 2005 I Like Podcasts
My new job involves an hour commute each way. I thought it warranted an investment in an iPod and an Audible membership. This got me into podcasts, which I know you don't need an iPod for (you can listen to them like you would any mp3) but they just go so well with driving. I've sampled quite a few, and here are the ones I listen to regularly: Craftypod: I really liked #8, an interview with Extreme Craft's Garth Johnson Knitcast: interviews with the new generation of knitting celebrities! And the non-crafty ... Travel With Rick Steves: Everybody's favorite NORML-lovin' globetrotter has a radio show that is released weekly as a podcast. The Word Nerds: Discussions about language as it's really spoken, not how someone thinks it should be spoken. Except for those little pet peeves even the best of us have. What do you listen to? I'm always on the lookout for more. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (8) :: link :: September 6, 2005 Katrina Relief
Ugh ... this is all so horrific. I can't even process the scope of it all, so I'll just mention the measly things I am doing. I was thinking of selling prints of some photos from our recent New Orleans trip to raise a little money for the Red Cross and the Humane Society ... I ordered 8x10s of this one and this one from Shutterfly to see if they looked any good blown up. It's a bittersweet lucky feeling to think that I managed to see the city before the disaster. Also ... I hit on an idea for a Quilts for Katrina block or two or three ... now I just have to sit down and do it. Kelly has more from the quilt-relief world. posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (1) :: link :: August 10, 2005 Sew and Vac
Ask Metafilter: Why is it always Sew AND Vac? posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (1) :: link :: August 9, 2005 Misc Recommendations
Some things I've admired or enjoyed lately ... 1. Peacock Blue Fiestaware 2. The Last Picture Show, easily in my top 5 movies ever list. (I don't know what else is on there ... hmm ... have to think about that one.) Thanks to Ms. Cut-Out Witch I watched it on DVD this weekend. Before I read her ode to the film I'd thought it was an OK seventies movie that Texans might enjoy, but just for the Texas connection. Damn, was I off. 3. Listening to the April Winchell radio show archives. She's a genius and I will so get satellite radio if they give her a show. 4. This line of reproduction fabrics called "Mrs. March" from Reproduction Fabrics. DUCKS! posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (4) :: link :: June 17, 2005 Storage
All this notions storage buzz has got me thinking about sewing boxes. My mom and grandma both had those plain-ish but functional lucite rectangular boxes with two removable trays inside that had a place for everything -- spikes for thread, little bobbin cradles, etc. I don't think there are modern versions of those being made -- everything I see out there is kinda ugly. Right now I've got everything in a bright red toolbox, which I like except for the lack of nice specialized niches. Hmmmm ... Ruby Lane has lots of beautiful (many expensive) vintage sewing boxes for sale ... eBay of course has them too, with better deals.
And here we have "the Stacks" P.S. My Back-Tack pal asked me to drop hints about what kind of notions I need. My answer (maybe it will help people who don't know what sewists need): Flat Flower Head Pins are the greatest thing ever. And a girl can never have enough options to mark fabric in a washable way. If buttons are notions, well, I've recently gotten into those. Loop turners are frivilous but good (you should be able to devise home remedies, but I haven't) ... Finally, in general, anything from Clover (sewing, quilting, or knitting) is exciting. P.P.S. Looking on the web for "essential notions," I came across this book. Interesting! posted by in Miscellany :: Comments (4) :: link :: March 17, 2005 Finds and Acquisitions
eQuilter recently had a big anniversary bolt-end sale. Here's what I scored:
Some Amy Butler, some Jane Sassaman, a lavendar floral print that's a little too shabby-chic on its own but has a cool polka-dot pattern that I liked, and a crazy landscape.
Kaffee Fassett stripes, some red yarn-dye stripes, and a simple floral-geometric pattern that is more burgundy than I thought. I don't like jewel tones one bit, I guess the sale made me color-blind. And here are some recent web-finds: -- Oilcloth International has undergone a cute re-design since I last checked. (Hello Jennifer!) Check out the projects page for some excellent downloads. -- Shrinky-Dink Stitch Marker Tutorial -- A consolidated list of tutorials on Craftster.org -- I also added a handful of craft/textile-general weblogs recently to the sidebar: Amy Secrest (knitting-sushi), Angry Chicken, Buzzville, Kaleidoscope Art, Kraf-o-la, and Thimble. I'm glad to see us catching up to the all-knitting-all-the-time bloggers! If I'm missing any, please let me know. posted by in Fabric , Miscellany :: link :: January 7, 2005 Project Runway
Is anyone watching Project Runway on Bravo? OK, Heidi Klum is turning out to be just about the most awkward reality TV host imaginable, but the contestant-designers are suitably insane, it's great to see all that sewing. posted by in Miscellany , Television :: link :: May 13, 2004 CraftPop
CraftPop is a directory of crafty links. I'm finding lots of interesting stuff that is new to me. (via Offbeat Living) posted by in Miscellany :: link :: May 7, 2004 Recent Finds
Some interesting things I've come across recently: Paper Grocery Bag Baskets tutorial on Craftster. Keep the Faye: I recently acquired a "Choose Your Daily Disaster" magnet, and like the other goods too. Actual Size Graph Paper Generator -- makes graph paper (in pdf format) to fit your exact knittin' gauge. Knitted Fiestaware-inspired tea set from the upcoming issue of Interweave Knits. posted by in Miscellany , Patterns :: link :: April 7, 2004 Get Crafty
Getcrafty has reinvented itself as Supernaturale, and with it there's a far better system for the Glitter discussion boards. It looks like Supernaturale is branching out from/expanding the concept of "crafting" into something that encompasses creation in the wider sense. And the design is beautiful! Update: was this a semi-hostile takeover? posted by in Miscellany :: link :: January 20, 2004 Martha to Tees
This article (via The Morning News) takes WAY too many words to say that the people want to see Martha go free, but now that I know there's a market, it's time to re-promote my I BELIEVE YOU MARTHA T-shirt line. Somehow, four have sold since their debut in June of 2003, and none to my own self! Speaking of T-shirts. Even though I don't much like That 70s Show, there was an episode where Jackie wore a T-shirt with her own face on it, the ensemble topped by a sassy neckerchief. More people should make T-shirts with their own faces on them. Technology makes it so easy these days. posted by in Miscellany :: link
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inspired this purchase. I think some of this stuff has polyester content going on, but I love the patterns, especially the top-rightmost ones. 
In my last post I worried about the possibility of my fabric getting eaten by moths. 
