Bittersweet Xmas & a Pretty Red Bow

I love the happy, warm feelings of this time of year. The settling simmer of peppermint schnapps in my hot cocoa while I watch the lights twinkle. The childish grins bursting from excitement as they wait for a moment yet to come. But the songs that really get to me (now and any time of year) are those heartbreaking, bittersweet ones about longing.

There's the ones I've always loved. Like, my ultimate favorite.

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" :: 

Judy Garland (from Meet Me In Saint Louis)

Also, aversion of one of my favorite older Christmas Hymns. It's got some cheesy synth in it, but his take on this song is beautiful. I love the arrangement. James Taylor's music always holds a special place in my heart since it's one of my dad's favorites. I grew up listening to him from a very early age.

  

"In the Bleak Midwinter" :: James Taylor 

And there's always something about a group of people singing Auld Lang Syne ala It's a Wonderful Life. I like to tinkle this out on the piano at a glacier pace (because I'm not very quick on the keys) and it makes me a little bit sad and happy all at once. (But Judy's version will definitely only make you cry.) 

"Auld Lang Syne" :: Cast of It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

New to the sad song list this Christmas is a tune from a localish band (Cincinnati). The whole album is great, and they've made two Christmas collections.

"All I Ever Get for Christmas Is Blue" :: Over the Rhine

Bright-colored holiday decor is necessary to balance out some of the wonderfully bittersweet dreariness, I think. Here's something I made last year for my decor bin. A bendable bow to embellish a grand old mirror I refinished. (I found it in a friend's old barn a couple years ago and he gave it to me to clear up space - isn't it gorgeous?!) 

The bow is simply doubled-up pipe-cleaner with yarn twisted tight around it. I doubled it up to give it more strength, but it still doesn't hold much shape. Maybe triple it if you're considering trying to write a word with it or something. I know. Super easy, right? Not much of a tutorial. That's the best kind of project. And I think it turned out pretty super cute. I'll be using it for years to come.

 

Got any favorite sad Holiday songs you'd care to share? I'm always open to learn new loves.

Getting Ready - Babies, Weddings & Fall

Supposedly, the first official day of fall is around the corner. I would beg to differ. Today is the day. It's crisp out there. It's official sweater weather. The communal desire to pick apples and carve pumpkins is palpable. People around these parts are ready for a change in the seasons. (Here's a couple autumnal shots from the farm in Covington where my department held our staff retreat late last month.)

So, now... I'm finally in the clear of a long "season" of busy-ness and excited to tuck in for a cozy crafting season.

I made some little booties the other day. I made up the pattern on the spot, it's super easy. Its all single crochets. I started at the toe from a circle cast on, and then just added and reduced until I had a nice toe, then once I'd reached the arch started crocheting back and forth as if on a scarf leaving  3 or four stitches at the top open for the foot to go in. I blanket stitched the heel shut and added cutesy things when it seemed appropriate. This set made its way to my gal pal expecting twins.

Amongst sampling some of those tasty looking pumpkin baked goods on pinterest, I've got some serious autumnal work cut out for me. I have three more 2012 weddings and several babies in progress to make gifts for. I've done a little reconnaissance for the wedding gifts, and a little supplies shopping for the baby-kins but the real work has yet to begin.

I'm headed up to Michigan this weekend. I'll have to transfer my design to fabric and get a move on the detail work for wedding gift #1. Other crafts in the works include a possible recovering of my crazy blue chair. Several years ago I acquired 5 yards of italian merino wool herringbone suit material at a garage sale in Minneapolis. The seller was hesitant to part with the fabric, he told me he was a costume designer in the theatre world there, but gave me the bolt anyway (a crazy steal at $10). I had always intended to cover this cute little fainting couch I had in college. Now I'm thinking that my chair might suit the fabric well.

This isn't the fabric, but it's a pretty close match. What do you think? Should I make the transformation? Part of my reasoning is that I feel like my living room needs to calm down a little.

More to come. It has been a season of productivity on the work front lately, and my own personal projects fell to the wayside (hence my absence here). I plan to make up for my lack of creativity with an exponential output of awesome in the next couple months. Get ready.

Craft & Flick (or) Return of a Meal Sack

Last night, after mentioning in conversation for the umpteenth time that I intended to someday recover this old beat up lampshade in my living room I decided to take immediate action. So I spent a couple hours doing what I like to do best: 2-hour craft and a movie. I have troubles focusing one just one thing, sometimes. So when I'm crafting I often like to have a movie playing even if I'm not really watching it intently. 

The movie in question? Drop Dead Gorgeous, one of the best (and first?) mockumentaries ever made. Featuring a slew of funny actresses and a cut-through beauty pageant. The lead role, however, belonged to the State of Minnesota. Which explains (I get it now!) why I was really homesick for Minneapolis today. Just really wanting some hot dish, bars, and maybe a frozen lake and a few "ehs". Yah, you betcha.

The craft of the evening? (Pretty much unrelated to the movie, besides the county-chic style.) Flour/grain Sack lampshade cover! The lampshade actually was an accordion style lamp from which my mother had removed the accordions ages ago. When you're covering it, the lampshade's state really doesn't matter. Don't buy a new one for this project. Dumpster dive or shop for one at a thrift store. 

After searching through my fabric for the perfect material (this umbrella pattern from Alison's wedding gift was in the final 3) I stumbled upon this awesome old meal sack my aunt gave me this fall. (It still had grain in the corners that I had to shake out into the snow!) I simply ripped the seams out of the bag, and then draped it over the lampshade as I might on a dress form. Instead of pinning it into place, I hot glued. I'm sure there's a more mathematical way to approach the project, but that's not how I do things. (There are tons of tutorials on the topic online, of course.)

The finished project is really quaint and I'm pretty pleased with my productivity. Next project? Perhaps cutely camouflaging air conditioner covers. More likely, craft room storage. (And a movie, of course.)

Pinterest Project #1 - Crochet Wreath

Like many ladies out there I am currently wrapped up in a brand new obsession: Pinterest. I love the feeling of being a part of a vast community of stylish and crafty people. And I am collecting a list of projects to tackle in the near future. Feel free to follow me if you wanna, and if you are in need of an invite, I still have 3 left so give me a heads up.

I saw this post on Pinterest about a crocheted wreath. The gist was to single crochet around the girth of a foam ring. The lady had also added some flowery bits around the edges. It was super pretty and inspiring. I pinned it. And then what? I MADE IT!

I didn't have a big ring, so I took the styrofoam packaging that held a large glass candle in it and cut it into 1/2" rings with a bread knife. I think you could have the same kind of effect (a little more rounded) by using dessert-sized paper plates with the middles cut out. 

I had an old pair of magenta tights that had seen their last wearing (RIP- you will be missed) and I cut them into 4" tubes and stretched them around the styrofoam rings.

 

Half of the rings I left bare (the ones that turned out the best). The other half, I crocheted around with a pretty matching boucle yarn I had in my stash. Because I wasn't planning on adding any scallops I hid the bumpy seam in the back of the ring.

I wound more yarn through the rings to connected them in a large circle and tied a little teal bow on. (Sorry the pictures are so icky, I should have waited to take them in daylight but I was so excited!)

 

I like the jewel tones on a Christmas wreath. It's festive but unpredictable. Like me! 

Halloween 2011 (or) Tootsie Rolls On Parade

Tonight was my church's version of Halloween, "Trunk or Treat". It was an awesome evening of adorable kids and terrible foods.  My buddy, Renae, and I went as the accessories for her 4 month old daughter's costume.

Ella's daddy got a little jealous that he didn't have a tootsie roll shirt and so Renae crafted a Tootsie Roll "Pop" for him. (Get it?)

I made Ella's costume out of scraps in my craft room. Her twist-tie "hat" is actually half a tank top- split vertically down the chest and back and then resewn. The ear flaps are naturally created by the spaghetti straps. 

What a fun discovery! I may make some more tank top newborn hats. Maybe with less dingy fabric next time. 

Ella was such a good sport about her costume, hardly fussing with the hat at all. She was a little frightened when "aunt Sarah" first showed her the pom pom pigtails. What a doll, right? It has been so much fun being around during her infancy to see every new stage. Humans are such amazing creatures!

 I've got another pom pom project coming up. Next time with tissue paper. I haven't spent this much time with pom poms since my cheer leading days - when I was 11. Oh boy.

Spring Pillows on a Fall Day (or) Pushing all the Right Buttons

Do you have any idea how easy making your own covered buttons is? And they look so great! I have a great big urge now to buy a gross of covered button supplies and start using up all that awesome vintage fabric I have on hand. Is the market to full on Etsy for one more vintagey button maker?

These buttons made their debut on a recent afternoon pillow project I tackled. The replica handkerchiefs were a gift from my Aunt Sue. I had fun experimenting with freehand quilting on my mother's machine (without a quilting foot, I might add). The future intent for these cuties is to lounge on my teal, vintage couch when I finally find that perfect cozy apartment. For now, they are modeling in the great outdoors.

After taking these pictures, I noticed a similarity to portraits for high school seniors. What do you think? Is one of these pillows the homecoming queen? Class clown?

Modern Craft - It Ain't No OxyMoron

This last weekend marked an important passage of time. On Friday, I attended my final wedding of the 2011 summer season. (Though there are still a couple on the the horizon for the rest of the year.) The couple in question: Brittany and Jeremiah Lewis. They are a fantastic pair- hilarious, kind, attentive friends- both of whom I met through church. They are part of my small group "family", a rag-tag group of 20/30 somethings with little more than age and Jesus in common. (That's enough. We love each other!)

The Lewis's (I always get a little frazzled when making a name that ends in "S" plural.) are a fairly modern couple as far as style goes. They like clean lines and fresh design. Brittany, of course, was a gorgeous bride. In fact, I have never seen someone look so perfect in person. It was like a wedding gown model had stepped out of a magazine. Jeremiah mostly looked stunned. But he also rocked a white pin stripe suit and looked unbelievably good doing it.

I had intended to do a handmade gift for them for quite some time but kept putting off the designing stage. Mostly, I think I was worried that the final product would be too kitschy for their tastes. But I found the perfect modern frame at Target. It has both black and brown on it so it would go with almost any decor, and there's room for different pictures to cycle in and out of it. 

 

I got the place-holder pictures of the couple off of Facebook. Oddly, they are always standing in the same order. I guess they are creatures of photo-staging habit. The same goes for the picture I got from their wedding so I could show you their duds. (Their monogram, however, needed to be in the reverse order. JB is much nicer than the alternative. Not wedding gift appropriate.)

Start Seeing Sea Glass (or) Camp Sue-Dan

My Aunt Susan began crafting more seriously after retiring (quite luckily very early) with her husband, Dan. Dan began making wooden bowls on a lathe in the basement and Sue started collecting craft abilities. She began in the quilting arena with small throws and samplers and has now made blankets and purses and clutches for all her lucky relatives and friends.

I love to craft with her whenever I have a chance. She's always excited to learn a new method or a new hobby, and she enjoys the challenge of learning to do it well. This trip she brought along a book of embroidery techniques and some felt pieces and we spent several hours trying stitches together. (I found out that the stitch I use most frequently is NOT the chain stitch but the split stitch. Who knew? I just make stuff, I don't think about how I'm making it.) Sue gifted me some pretty variegated flosses and a cute vintage-y flower basket needle envelope. I've also got a new stack of pretty vintage reprint quarters ready to be cut and pieced for a little table runner.

Christmas 2009, our family spent at Sue and Dan's place in Cleveland. They had so many crafts and activities on the docket we dubbed their home "Camp Sue-Dan". (Puzzles, bowls, place mats, movies, games, walks, oh my!) One of our favorite activities was sea glass hunting in Lake Erie and then making pendants and earrings from our findings.

Sue brought her sea glass kits with her this visit as well. I made a couple cousin pendants to my -now worn and coppered- green glass pendant from our last jewelry making session. The toffee-colored one turned out very sweet. I love the way the glass looks with light in it. (The image to the right is a bracelet with a sea glass charm that I made for my mother for her birthday in 2010.)

I love when art reuses the discarded. Before hanging about my neck, this sliver of glass had a life as a bottle or a jar. Who's lips did it pass? How long ago? How many rocks did it rub against to become so smooth?

United States of Matrimony

This weekend was the payoff for a couple months of happy anxiety for the wedding of two of my favorite people in the world: Sinda Nichols and Niko Tonks. I wasn't around for the big reveal of their wedding gift, but I think it's probably safe to post about it now. If they've still not opened it- tough cookies. SPOILER ALERT and all that.

The idea of the design was to take the shapes of the (most important) states that they've lived in - both as a couple and throughout their youth- and fit them together like puzzle pieces to create their own unique country. The United States of Sinda and Niko feature: Michigan, Maine, Texas, Rhode Island & Minnesota. Hopefully they won't also include a state of confusion as to where to hang their new art. I'd be happy even if it hung in the bathroom. As, in fact, that is a place where a person's attention is arrested for a considerable amount of time.

The wedding was beautiful, the couple was wonderful and gracious, as always. At one point in the ceremony the officiant said "The couple recognizes that this does not make them BETTER than anyone else." As a frequent bridesmaid and wedding attender as well as a single lady, I appreciated this sentiment. What a weekend! I spent time with old friends and spurred some new ones as well. I nearly danced all the moisture out of my body and I'm still tired from how little I slept. I also want to relive the whole shebang, right here and now.

Being among people with artistic and loving minds this weekend made me long for the city life I used to lead. Summers in the twin cities were magical: full of concerts and picnics and bike rides to the beach. A few days surrounded by my old city friends (all of whom are now relocated to new cities across the country) has left my own internal compass spinning for a new location. It is inching up on a year that I've been outside Dayton, Ohio. My plan in moving here was to be closer to family. That has been a successful venture. I've seen my sister and the kids so much more, I've gotten to chill with my 5 (I'm so blessed!) grandparents and I've become closer to the cousins on my mother's side. Not to mention I've spent 10 months re-learning my parents and the great people they are.

Still, the places in which I've lived make up a big part of my self: Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota (in various orders and numbers). I miss them all. I wish I could puzzle piece them all together literally, creating a nation in which the people I love can be within at least 6 hours of me. Of course, in order to do that I'd need to add a few more states. And Montana, Texas and Alaska sure add a lot of driving time to my trans-united-states-of-sarah trips. All else aside, I'm just wondering which direction the compass rose will snap to next.

The Beginning of MY "Wedding Season" - 2010

All at once, it seemed, in the summer of 2010, my friends from college and the life beyond began to get hitched. I had experienced a similar rush directly out of college of Kentucky friends from childhood. That, however, I could explain as a regional fluke. But my liberal college friends? I was certain they wouldn't beat me to the "altar". (as if it were a race!)

Both brides of the summer of 2010 were old roommates of mine. For Alison, I made a quilted table runner featuring paper umbrellas like the one that we had hanging in the dining room of our 5th street apartment. We spent many nights having family-style dinners in that room, candles lit, bottle of wine between us. I hope the runner makes appearances during such - and more romantically inclined- dinners throughout her marriage.
Sam and Jon's summer feast wasn't a wedding per se, but I couldn't miss the chance to embroider these dish towels with leaping lambs. I imagine these towels will clean up some of the tastiest messes in the world.

Inspired, in part by my mother's habit of crocheting a blanket as wedding gift, I began my own tradition. I started embroidering and sewing gifts for my friends and family. Call it cost-saving, call it off the registry. I call it personalized. I hope that the things I make end up being around for years, and not in a drawer but covered in stains from overuse.

Wherein Art Fulfills Me

Forget everything else. Forget the time that's lapsed. Forget any promises I made to you or to myself. The only expectation I ever plan to hold myself to is to not give up. Today, that is shown by a half-thought, half-paragraph intro to a post about nothing much at all. Nothing much but something I can be proud of. And that's really something.
I am still a lady mostly unemployed, unfortunately. But my time fills itself well. I am busy with friends, with family, with church, but most intentionally with projects. I do love projects. As someone who has had several short trysts with unemployment before I have learned some decent coping tactics. I haven't found a cure for the restlessness or the frustration. BUT, I have found a way to secure some relief: MAKE THINGS.

After my community college course was over (Oh, by the way, I got an A.) and I had completed my video, I felt great need to have a new assignment to set my sights on finishing. Lucky for me, I've got a new set of deadlines to meet during the spring/summer season of - have you guessed yet?- WEDDINGS!

March belonged to my college pals Liz and Andrew. They are one of the all time greatest couples ever. I couldn't just get them something off of their registry. A soap dish wouldn't cut it as a representation of my love of their union. These complementary, customized aprons and "famous food couples" cotton dish towels did the trick. And dying the fabric, designing the images, researching fonts, and embroidering kept me busy and feeling productive for the better part of a week.

Take that unemployment.
Stay tuned for April's installment- coming soon!