Renegade crafters

The girls and I are going to the Renegade Craft Fair today at Fort Mason. It's a beautiful day today and I expect we'll have a great time.

Searching for the impossible?

So one daughter now has a tote bag with monkeys. And the other one, bless her heart, wants cockatiels.

I have a soft spot for 'tiels. The best pet in the world was Pee-wee, my cockatiel, who lived 11 years and died when my older daughter was not quite 6 months old. Younger daughter has seen only photos of Pee-wee, but she is enchanted by the sweet-faced bird with the delightful yellow crest.

Unfortunately, it's not the most common bird in popular culture. You try finding an iron-on pattern with a cockatiel. (If you find one, please let me know.) You'd think it would be a more common image — quite honestly, I think they'd be fun to stitch. Especially that crest.

The search goes on.

Not too early to think of Christmas

I've started the new job and in short order discovered that there's an annual holiday crafts fair. Woohoo!

On a related note, I ordered (and just received) blank potholders, placemats and bandannas. Maybe I'll embroider the potholders in pairs — you never need just one, you know. Bandannas ... I'll figure something out. Oh, I have some muslin and iron-on interfacing — bookmarks! Maybe add a bit of beading, too.

What I'm doing between jobs

Said goodbye to one job yesterday and will start a new one tomorrow. What to do today? Embroidery! Got Sublime Stitching's Monkey Love transfer and am doing a totebag for the older daughter, who loves monkeys.

I guess I really ought to see if I have brown floss, though.

Inspiration

I need a new idea.

I've gotten the coolest embroidery transfers from Sublime Stitches (@sublimestitchin on Twitter) and even Aunt Martha's, and have been working the dish towels. But I've grown weary of dish towels. I want to stitch something that someone will see besides me.

Napkins and placemats are one thought. Totebags are another. (Yes, I do have a felted bag to make — maybe I'll work on it tomorrow! — that will be embroidered.)

What I miss are the projects I did in my early teens, back in the dark ages — jean jackets, chambray shirts, worn-out jeans and cords. Big, elaborate things that rivaled Elton John's "Madman Across the Water" LP cover. Things that flirted with the notion of "wearable art" before working-class kids ever heard the term.

Kindred spirits

My daughters are not particularly crafty. Oh, they dabble in something or other, now and then; but mostly because they want to try what Mommy's doing. They are easily bored and move on to the next thing.

Which all made today that much more of a treat. Was at the girls' school track meet today and ran into an old friend from high school. One of her daughters spied my project du jour and practically whispered in awe, "Do you do embroidery?" So we spent a good part of the midday over dish and tea towels, me demonstrating and then letting her try her hand at it. She was such a sweetheart and was having such a good time, she wanted me to tag along with them after the track meet. :)

Book purses and more

Was in D.C. recently and saw the coolest thing at Eastern Market: purses made from hardcover books. Now, I know bibliophiles may be appalled, and I love books for reading too, but these were quite cool.

I have a couple of boxes of books that have sat around for YEARS waiting to be carted to the used book store ... well, one of them will be a test case. And in this case, the pages will not all go to waste: I cut out some illustrations and plan to decoupage them on the otherwise plain cover.

The toughest part appears to be designing the side gusset, so that the purse will open a bit. Otherwise I'd be limited to a slim billfold and a lipstick.

Also on my agenda: embroidery. I learned how to do this when I was maybe 7 years old, and every so often I pick it up again. It seems to be having a resurgence, what with books like Sublime Stitches or the Chronicle Books kit. I ordered some plain dish towels — talk about retro! And I plan to embroider the felted wool too — I have something in mind for the apple-green purse I plan to make.

Felting

I've discovered felting. It all started with some Manos del Uruguay knitted slippers that were designed to be felted. (Unfortunately they're still too big; must thread in some elastic.) Moved on to wool sweaters from Goodwill, which — if I ever find the time — will be deconstructed into purses and embellished with embroidery. Anyone know of a source for transfer paper other than the chalk tracing stuff from the fabric store?

News from chez moi

I know ... long abandoned, but not for much longer! Chez Craftymama will become a Web site in the not too distant future! Meanwhile, I will resume blogging on a more frequent basis. Look also on Twitter, twitter.com/chez_craftymama, to see what I'm up to.

Clam dip and chips, and other comforts

New Year's has never been my favorite holiday. I never really got into the party thing, and a day of college football is not my idea of nirvana, either. What made up for it was my mother's tradition of Coca-Cola (a rare treat in my childhood), potato chips and dip — French onion for her, and clam for me.

Somewhere along the line, clam dip went from balm for a boring evening to balm for all sorts of blues. When I moved away from home, a bag of Ruffles and the familiar small tub of dip — salty, creamy and punctuated by chewy bits of clam — was more than an occasional dinner on a melancholy weeknight.

Nor is it my only comfort food. Combination fried rice lifts my spirits, as does brown sugar cinnamon Pop-Tarts. And it's a good thing, too: It's nearly impossible to find clam dip now.

There's plenty of spinach dip, which is too close to healthy to be of much comfort. Bean dip doesn't do anything for me either. There's even still my mother's favorite, French onion. But no clam.

Not for lack of bivalves, I would think. One can find plenty of chowder on the supermarket shelves. Clam juice for cooking is a bit rare, but I figure that's more for lack of demand. I guess there's even less demand for clam dip.

It's a shame, too. Of all the legal, ingestible escapes from reality, I consider this one of the more benign. Liquor is quicker, as they say, but it carries well-known drawbacks. It comes in a small enough container that even if you ate the WHOLE DARN THING, you'd be better off than if you ate a whole carton of Haagen-Dazs. Which — admit it! — has been known to happen.

Out, damned spot

Some days are good. Children and hair both behave; adults conduct themselves in a manner commensurate with their age.

Other days, not so good. Grown, well-groomed women find themselves with the coordination of a 2-year-old in a growth spurt.

I have had days like that. Those days usuallly involve articles of white clothing. A perfect white tee, for example.

Said perfect white tee may dodge splattered orange juice, dribbled blue toothpaste, gray smudge from a grungy vehicle. One may arrive at work mightily pleased with oneself and one's well-fitting white tee.

But then there is coffee. Wear a fine white tee (like Gap's Essential T, pictured). Get a full mug of strong coffee. Commence drinking. And spill.

There is nothing — nothing, I say — like a half mug of hazelnut-flavored coffee poured all over one's chest. And mind you, this never happens to flat-chested women. No, only an ample bosom catches this.

And remember: Even if it is not hot coffee, it is still wet coffee. On a T-shirt.

No woman wants to take part in a wet-T-shirt contest at work, even if she is the sole contestant and sure winner.

It was the recollection of coffee-drenched tees and other sartorial calamities that fueled a recent conversation on spot removers. You know, there is always someone at work who has those and other lifesavers. Sewing kit, safety pins, clear nail polish, something for that-time-of-the-month, maybe even anti-static-cling spray ... and spot remover. Some hold by Shout wipes; others vouch for Tide-to-Go pens.

I've used them both. The wipes leave much to be desired when dealing with the fallout of a half mug of Peet's. I've had good results with the pen, but even that would have its work cut out for it in the wake of the coffee spill.

The spill of which I write was a particularly bad one. There was no simple fix. Sure couldn't take off the shirt and rinse it (although some might have welcomed that show). Couldn't just leave it, either — the whole front of the shirt had gone from white to brown, and reeked of Major Dickason's Blend and flavored Coffee-mate. I had no choice: I scurried up the street to a Limited shop (thank goodness for working downtown!), found the cheapest white tee they had, paid and scurried back to work. Ducked in the ladies' room for a swift change, and voila! presentable once again.

And hence my epiphany: To the emergency stash, add one dressy white tee. Needn't be expensive.

But keep it in a zipped bag. Wouldn't want to spill coffee on it before its time.

Speaking of light fixtures

It really isn't that difficult to install a light fixture. No special skills are needed.

If the thought of working with electricity is a chilling one, read up on it first. Most home repair books include it. While you're reading, read the directions that came with the fixture too. Familiarize yourself with the installation steps. Look up anything that confuses you.

Inspect your fixture and the hardware that came with it. Make sure you have everything the directions call for. It's a good idea to have a set of cap screws in varied sizes, which you can find at a decent hardware store. Check here also if you are missing mounting screws or other hardware.

If you have everything you need, shut off the power to your circuit. Never work with live wires. Double-check that the circuit is dead.

Removing a standard ceiling light is fairly straightforward. Remove the globe or shade and lightbulbs; unscrew the base from the outlet box. Painted in place? Give it a gentle tap or two with a hammer. Pull away from the outlet box, unfasten the cap screws and gently unwind the fixture's wires from the power wires.

Note the color of the wires on your new fixture, and in the outlet box. Like goes to like: black or red wires to same, white wires to same. Twist together; fasten with a cap screw. Tuck wires inside the outlet box if possible. Affix your fixture, using mounting hardware. Once it's securely and properly installed, restore the power ... and admire your handiwork.

Walking in my footsteps

I installed a couple of light fixtures this week. Which really isn't a big deal, in spite of my fear of electricity. (Let's just say I'm the poster child for outlet covers.) But it inspires awe in some.

It reminds me of the reaction I received when I first traveled to Europe alone. Wasn't I scared? How would I manage? (No, and quite well, thank you.) In both cases, I stepped out of a presumed comfort zone — defined by many things, but perhaps most of all by gender. Women aren't thought of as "handy." Traveling solo is seen as dangerous for females.

Perhaps more telling, women think these things.

I don't want my daughters to think that way.

My daughters see a woman who builds, repairs, installs. Their mom, not their dad, is in charge of talking to contractors and mechanics at home and waiters and ticket takers in foreign lands.

Don't get me wrong; their father is smart and capable and confident. They know this. But they know their mother is too. In turn, I hope they seem themselves that way as well.

One pillow

One pillow. Some scraps left over from other projects; a few bags of polyester stuffing; some piping and thread.

A fast-and-dirty project for a harried mom. Inspired by a magazine piece that featured the very same raspberry-and-lime color scheme in a young girl's bedroom. A floor cushion, a full yard across; Twister dots adorning a giant dot of a pillow.

Oh, but so much more.

A spot to share with a big sister, as she reads "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." A perch for a rogue's gallery of stuffed animals. And, at the end of a long day, a cozy place for a tired 5-year-old to curl up and drift to sleep.

Get your craft on

It's not just me. People across the United States are rediscovering the joy and satisfaction of craft.

Don't take my word for it. Faythe Levine's documentary-in-progress, "Handmade Nation," recently was featured in GetTrio.com's e-newsletter. What they said: "Having done the grand tour of craft fairs, galleries, boutiques, and visited with the crafters themselves, Ms. Levine is creating a movie about the process of those indie crafts people, the artists, artisans, and designers."

You can watch an eight-minute clip here.

Goodies in my in-box

Yummy stuff, courtesy of Fabric.com! My daughter's tastes must be rubbing off on me; I thought this Alexander Henry print (pictured) would make a very cool tote. In fact, if you look at their retro & mod quilting fabric, you'll find all sorts of delish prints. Amy Butler and more. Unfortunately I've missed their sale, but even their regular prices are good.

More retro treats, courtesy of Pottery Barn: quilts. Check these out.

HGTV.com's e-mail newsletter takes us to the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. New, enticing stuff, of course. My favorite: video on appliances for small kitchens. Lots of video, including top-10 must-haves.

It's that time of year again

School starts this week, and my living room is full of binders, pencils and everything else a kid or two needs at the beginning of the school year.

They may have everything they need, but I certainly don't. I need order. Not just in storing it, but in gathering it as well.

What I've learned, five years into this tradition, is:

• Keep the supply list all year. You may catch a sale in January, or otherwise run across a grade-specific item.
  
  
• At the school year's end, inspect and save extras.
  
  
• If you have the storage space, buy in bulk. You know you will need No. 2 pencils until the final SAT is done. However,
  
  
• Don't buy more than you will need. Wide-ruled binder paper does have an academic shelf life.
  
  
• Decide which is more important to you, and shop accordingly: convenience or price.
  

Organizational needs do not go away once the kids are in school. The more people one has in a household, the more one needs strategies for dealing with the stuff generated by those people. I find it gets ever more complicated living in an urban dwelling. City houses, condos and lofts tend not to have mudrooms, or even large entries or foyers, to provide landing places for backpacks, laptop totes, soccer gear and such. And even suburban homes are easily taken over by toys, junk mail and the like.

My personal challenge is my younger daughter's 9' x 10' bedroom. Space is at a premium here, so I began thinking of solutions before she outgrew her crib. Things I've tried or have considered include:
• A chest bed, with shelved headboard. The three drawers under the bed are handy now, and will become more so as she outgrows toys and wants more clothes. The headboard, with its three cubbies, provide space for her alarm clock, jewelry and hairband storage and a few favorite knickknacks.
• Ditch the dresser or chest of drawers. It takes up a large footprint within a small room, and doesn't pay dividends in flexibility. A better choice: a closet organizer. By using space vertically, you can claim the same volume as a small- to medium-size dresser in a fraction of the floor space. And most items still will be within the reach of a grade-schooler.
• I can't say it enough: Use vertical space. Hang shoe or toy caddies over doors or from the ceiling. Mount a column of magazine caddies in a narrow, unused space. Hang clothes on multiple-item hangers.
• Try magnetic paint to eliminate wall-hung boards. I can't personally vouch for its effectiveness, but in theory it's a great way to bypass the traditional bulletin board, its many stray thumbtacks and the inevitable holes in the wall.

Some more resources for getting organized and using space efficiently:

Mission: Organization from the HGTV show of the same name.

How to Organize (Just About) Everything: More Than 500 Step-by-Step Instructions for Everything from Organizing Your Closets to Planning a Wedding to Creating a Flawless Filing System by Peter Walsh. Strategies for just about every organizational dilemma, including several family scenarios.

Organizing from the Inside Out, second edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern. Not just the what of organizing, but the how.

A word from our sponsor

The ad poll has expired ... while many (ah, there's a relative term) indicated they weren't interested in ads on the blog, no one was adamantly opposed to them. Since Craftymama has to feed those Craftybabies, there will be ads in the near future. I'm certainly open to feedback on them; and if I'm not happy with them, they may well go away. I do hope that readers will find something of interest in them (just not as interesting as MY content, natch).

So many projects, so little time

For a long time, the urge to create deserted me. It has returned, for which I am glad ... but as always, there is the issue of time. There simply are not enough hours in the day.

I have patterns of clothes I want to make for the girls. There are slippers I want to knit and felt. The box covers I saw on vacation, as well as the jewelry that reinspired me. There is more home decor to finish.

Back to making stuff

Thought I'd show off my pole-mounted Roman shade. I like Roman shades, but the traditional mounting method — akin to blinds — is more work than I prefer to engage in. Also not conducive to frequent change.

But this pole mount version is a nice alternative. My only complaint: The shade tends to bunch along the pole when you raise it. I'm sure there's a way to firm the width of the shade; I simply haven't had time to contemplate it. Got an idea? Shoot it my way; I'll try it and give you credit if it works.