Happiness is Carolina Blue

We’re dashing out the door to catch a flight to North Carolina and will be back July 9. Although I’m originally from coastal N.C., we’re opting for the coolness of the mountains this year. Tucson is hot, hot, hot!



General Johnson and the Chairmen of the Board is an old North Carolina beach music group. I want to share their song Gone Fishin’ with you today as it perfectly echoes my feelings right now. I found a You Tube video that features the song. Just click to play.

This trip is going to be good for me as I’m homesick. I can tell I’m feeling this way because my mouth is thinking about Carolina barbecue, boiled peanuts, and sweet tea.



I’ve packed my Chairmen of the Board t-shirt. Carolina Girls is their most famous song—and I’m a Carolina girl through and through.



There are lots of activities planned for this trip, but we’ve also built in “slow” time. I’m going fly fishing as the mountains offer great opportunities with their cold, freshwater sites. I don’t much care about actually catching anything; the act of fishing is very meditative and relaxing.



This is going to be my fishin’ hat. It’s one I made last year (pre-blogging days) from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing: Patterns and How-To for 24 Fresh and Easy Projects. I love this fabric--it has the most wonderful oceanic mythology graphics, from mer-horses to mermaids to King Neptune, etc.

Okay, I’m leaving now and will be back on July 9.

Hugs!

Packing Light

The new airline fees for check-in luggage in conjunction with ever-changing security rules for travel have inspired me to pack light for our vacation. I’m taking only carry-on bags and not checking anything.



My new packing rule is that all clothing items must fit into my new Amy Butler Weekender bag made this week.



Miscellaneous stuff goes in my Amy Butler Sophia bag—also newly completed.



I made a zipper pull for each bag by painting a wood bead to match one of the fabric polka dots. The following photo shows the lining fabric for both bags.



A test run with both bags proved that everything fits perfectly just as planned.



Each time we travel, I make a trip book containing information needed for our adventures: itinerary, airline tickets, hotel/rental car confirmations, rental house contract, maps, National Park passport stamp program cancellation sites, letterboxing clues, birding checklists, and so on.



The notebook fits perfectly in one of the outside pockets of the Weekender Bag.


Graphic from The Vintage Workshop, text added by me. Click on the picture to enlarge for reading (if you're interested)

This is my packing list—my husband manages his own list and does very well. Except for carefully-planned cruises, I’ve generally over-packed for trips and not used 30 per cent of whatever I’ve lugged. This journey is a whole new exercise in packing restraint.

Traveling Games

When we meet for family vacations like the one we’re embarking upon on Wednesday, each family group brings a game to play in case of rain or when we’re ready to slow down and relax. We play poker, board games, make up our own games, tell ghost stories, and do most anything that seems like fun.



This year I’m taking a set of dominoes which can easily be tucked into my carry-on bag. I found fabric at Jo-ann’s for the exterior and used flannel from my stash for the lining to make a simple drawstring bag to hold the dominoes.

Blessings Friday: Love’s Promise

When my daughter arrived for our visit this week, she brought a simple quilted patchwork heart I had matted and framed for her in 1987 when she was seven years old. Lindsay wanted me to repair some tears in the paper backing while simultaneously preserving my name and the date I'd inscribed.



The point of the gift all those years ago and still applicable today was that life and time would bring a bit of heartache, but we must stitch our hearts back together with love and care. It represents my promise to her that my love for her is for always, something she can depend on.

Thank all of you for sharing my blog life and leaving “chats” with me. Each of your comments is a special stitch in my heart that brings me joy. Have a wonderful weekend full of love!

The Living’s Easy

Summertime, time, time,
Child, the living's easy.
Janis Joplin



This week has been full of activities with visits by various family members. Our son-in-law cooked for us one night. He made Chicken Piccata, fresh green beans, and homemade rolls while my husband and my brother-in-law Jim served as sous-chefs de cuisine.



While the men cooked, Lindsay (my daughter), Connie (my sister), and I contributed by engaging in pool quality control efforts, an activity much enhanced by the fresh strawberry daiquiris Jim made for us.



Here’s Philip’s recipe. This was very delicious.


Photo by Dub Scroggin

Since all of our family love anything related to astronomy, I made reservations for us to visit Kitt Peak National Observatory. This was a night program which gave us an opportunity to tour all the different telescope housings as well as look through various telescopes. Amongst the awesome things we saw were a ring nebula, Saturn and even the shadow of a ring on its surface, and (since it was almost full moon) the surface of the moon. Each of us was issued special night-time binoculars, a tiny red-light flashlight, and specific planispheres for our latitude here and taught how to use them.



If you visit Tucson, try to do this activity. It’s a very long program, but they give you a box dinner and you will love this experience. You have to make reservations at least 2 to 4 weeks ahead of time.

Another family group arrives this morning. My husband and I are taking some of our grandchildren to the Tucson Children’s Museum this afternoon.

Ancient Alphabets

Since I’m fascinated with all things Celtic, I thought making my own runes would be an interesting project. Upon doing a little research, I discovered runes really are not Celtic, but I made them anyway as the activity idea was already pretty much on my mind. When things get stuck in your head, you just have to go and ahead and give them a try. Wood was sacred to the ancient Celts, so at least I can honor that aspect.



Some mesquite branches salvaged after my husband’s pruning efforts worked perfectly for this project. I sliced the pieces with a jig saw.



After gently sanding the wood, I made a symbol on each piece with a marker and went over them with my wood-burning tool. Then I rubbed each wood piece with cedar oil on a soft cloth. A little book found at the used bookstore explains the runes.



I sewed a small leather bag to hold the finished runes and made a wood button by drilling holes in an extra wood slice.

More information about the origin and historical use of runic alphabets may be found here.

Japanese Knot Bag Revisited

I so enjoyed making the Japanese Knot Bag for my last give-away that I just had to make one for myself.



It’s a fun little reversible bag to carry on a summer night out.



I used two different fabrics from Judie Rothermel’s “Aunt Grace Ties One On” collection for Marcus Brothers Textiles, Inc. This first is #163.



The reverse side is #164.

Etched Seashell Bowl

I have a large seashell collection. Most come from beachcombing various beaches around the world and some my husband finds for me while scuba diving.



To make a centerpiece for our dinner table, I acid-etched three different seashell designs into a glass bowl. The designs are subtle and hard to see, but I hope you get the idea. One thing I learned from this project is to leave the acid on the glass for longer than the instructions on the bottle indicated. This glass bowl is quite thick and could have handled a longer “etching” period. All told, I’m still pleased with the outcome.



My supplies consisted of a purchased large glass bowl, rubber gloves, white Contact paper, masking tape, wood popsicle stick, and a jar of Armor Etch cream.



I drew three different types of shells and made a stencil using the Contact paper, taped each piece to a side of the bowl, layered on the acid with the stick, and let it do its work.



We put a few sea treasures in the bowl and now have a lovely display just right for summer. My husband took the photos.

Resources

• Frosted Glass Tutorial
• Glass Etching Tutorial (You Tube)
• How to Etch Glass with Your Own Designs (You Tube)
• Tutorial for Etching Glass

Blessings Friday: Photography Club Lessons

I’m appreciative of the bounty of opportunities in our community to learn new skills. My husband and I belong to a photography club; while he’s a good photographer, my skills need improving.

In April/May, the club held a contest where we were to work with “color” and submit two photos. On June 5, each photo was critiqued and constructive criticism given after which contest winners were selected. No one knows whose photos they are until after judging is completed.

My two submissions placed in the top four to my great delight.



Fourth Place—I fell in love with the peach-like velvety leaves and colors in this rose. The colors were too soft for the judges, they wanted more color.



Second Place—You'll recognize this as a box of embroidery floss. Although the depth of field and other details worked well, where I went wrong was blowing out the red colors on the right.



There are lots you can do with your photos. I used one of my rubber duck photos to make invitations to our annual pool party (last Saturday). I printed each photo on my HP Photosmart printer. Party details were printed on the back by flipping the photos over in the printer.



Magnets glued onto the bottom of tiny rubber ducks made a fun way for folks to post them on their fridge as reminders.

Hugs!

Diana Handbag

Lucky me, I was one of the volunteer pattern testers for Ginny’s new handbag design at iSew.biz. It’s called the Diana Handbag and the directions are easy to follow.



Front



Back



Front flap with button I covered with lining fabric



Front with magnetic closure and pockets (flap is lifted up so you can see)



Flap lining



The bag has pockets on both sides of the interior. You can find the pattern on Etsy.

Folding Fabric Trays

Marmadaisy has a tutorial for making folding fabric trays. These would make great gifts for Father’s Day or other occasions.



Since my husband frequently travels for work, I made one for him using some “manly” fabric. Pieces of cardstock in the middle, top/bottom and adjacent middle sides help give it form; the corner sections are fabric only.



I made one for myself using Shimmers of the Sea Shells, Surf color, by Sandra Banava for Robert Kaufman..



These little trays will be quite useful on our upcoming vacation. They fold flat for travel and are assembled by simply snapping the corners together—perfect for holding pocket change, watch, rings, etc.

Beaded Flip-Flops

Cox Communications is working on updating our cables and Internet access is sporadic right now. Yesterday they had some sort of accident which meant a cable was erroneously cut. So, I’m going to quick make my post and try to read some blogs and write comments before Cox gets back to work in front of my house and cuts me off again like yesterday.



I decided to give beading a try on a very simple project I saw in Sew Simple magazine. Some inexpensive cloth-covered flip-flops from Target and a couple of packages of beads from Jo-Ann’s were all I needed.



~ before ~



~ after ~

Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik haven’t anything to fear from me, but I did have fun.

Star Thread Pincushion

I don’t know why I keep making pincushions as I already have more than can possibly be used in my lifetime, much like all the aprons I’ve made. But Indygo Junction’s Vintage Pincushions pattern looked like fun, so I gave it a whirl. The pattern comes with two free vintage artwork images that you download via a special link they provide.



Some star-print fabric works fine for the backing.



The other image design I have is “Forget-me-Not” which will be made later as I’m still pondering what backing fabric to use. Then I need to practice restraint and any future pincushions will be for gifts instead of joining my personal collection.



Speaking of stars, at the beginning of each month I download a free map of the evening sky and calendar so we don’t miss any celestial happenings. This link will take you to Skymaps' download site where you can find the applicable map for your hemisphere, be it northern or southern. This is a great summer activity whether you have children or not.

Blessings Friday: Queen of the Night

Each year the Tucson Botanical Gardens hosts a “Weird Plant Sale” which I always try to attend.

I’m popping over there late this afternoon to see what fun plant I can find.

Years ago I bought a Night-blooming Cerus (Peniocereus greggii). It looks like a bunch of dead branches for most of the year but transforms itself in the summer by blooming on one night only. It is also called Queen of the Night or La Reina de la Noche. This plant is a type of cactus.

Ours bloomed Monday night. It has an exquisite but subtle scented flower that opens for one night only and then closes forever when the sun comes up in the morning. The scent of the flower attracts the Sphinx Moth which serves as the primary pollinator and sometimes a bat will visit.

Nature is certainly amazing; I hope your weekend is just as full of wonder!

World Environment Day

Today is World Environment Day, established by the United Nations in 1972. It is hosted each year by a different city. Wellington, New Zealand is this year’s main international host and the Chicago Botanic Garden is the North American host.




This year’s slogan is "CO2, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." New Zealand was one of the first countries to pledge to achieve carbon neutrality. Their focus is forest management as a tool for reducing greenhouse gases.

A few ways we can all help:

• Adopt a ‘green’ way of life
• Art made of recycled materials
• Buy a fuel-efficient car
• Dedicate your blog to World Environment Day on June 5
• Plastic bags: avoid them!
• Rainwater harvesting
• Replace your light-bulbs with energy saving ones
• Use sustainable modes of transportation (walking, jogging, cycling, skating, carpool

More information is available here.

Thinking of the world reminds me of travel, something my husband and I love to do. I’ve made new passport sleeves for us using a tutorial from Bunnybum. The fabric is an old map of the world that looks like a blueprint.

Leather Bracelets

These leather bracelet kits were on sale at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics in May so I bought a couple of them.

I wanted to test the kits to see whether they would be something relatively easy for my nieces to make when they visit in a couple of weeks. In summer, their attention span is that of a gnat because it’s all about the beach where they live. Since there isn’t any ocean with waves washing up on shore in Tucson, our pool will suffice.

Each bracelet only takes a few minutes to make and will work fine for a quick evening project while dinner is on the grill and before we get out the telescope to find star formations. The rest of the time, it will be hard to drag the girls out of the pool.

Apronista Swap Garden Apron

This weekend I received a fantastic apron from one of my sister Apronistas. Cathy of Aunt Daisy’s Cottage made it for me to use in my garden, something I’d been meaning to make for myself but never did. This is the Apronistas’ first swap project and the resulting aprons are extraordinary.


Photo by Dub Scroggin

The pockets are just right for my gardening tools. I could hardly wait to get it on and run out to pick some tomatoes.


Photo by Dub Scroggin



This apron is sturdy as well as pretty; it has a backing which will help it stand up to garden use. I appreciate that she thought of this. I love the fabrics, polka dots, little gardeners, birdhouses, and even adorable butterfly appliqués. And Cathy’s sewing is extraordinary, look at all the lovely details she incorporated, even writing a special little commemorative note to me on one corner of the back.

Everything about this apron is wonderful, but there’s also an extra element that tickles me no end. It has a secret pocket which totally appeals to my latent Nancy Drew persona. I won’t show it though because…it’s secret!

Thank you, Cathy!

Fabric-covered Foam Visor Tutorial

One of my favorite summer activities is floating in my pool while reading a book (never a library book in case I drop it). The little fabric-covered foam visor I wear to protect my eyes is looking faded and shabby, fraying at the edges and beginning to peel.



Instead of buying a new one, I decided to just fix it myself. I’m always up for trying something new. So, I figured out how to do it and wrote an easy (non-sewing) tutorial. It’s also available in PDF format here as well as in the Tutorial sidebar of my blog.

Materials

• Foam visor with elasticized cording
• Creative Hands Foam World Glue (non-toxic)
• Disposable 1-inch foam brush or whatever size you want
• Enough fabric to cover the top of the foam cap (less than a fat quarter)
• Enough lightweight fusible interfacing to back the fabric piece

Instructions

1. Gently pull the elastic cording on the visor out through the holes and set aside for now.



2. If you’re replacing the fabric on an old foam visor, peel the fabric off but save for using as your pattern template.

3. Pin your old fabric piece (or trace around the new foam visor) to your new fabric. Cut out.

4. Apply lightweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of your new fabric piece per manufacturer’s instructions and cut out.



5. Paint the top of your foam piece with the glue. I use wax paper under my paper/gluing projects and a disposable foam brush; then I can just roll up the whole mess and throw it away when done.



6. Carefully layer your new fabric piece on top of the foam piece and smooth gently. I also edged the sides with the glue just to make sure it sticks well.



7. I put another piece of wax paper over the top of the glued visor and placed a hardback book on top to keep it flat and smooth while it dries. If the wax paper sticks to your visor, you merely peel it off later once your visor piece is good and dry.



8. When your project piece is completely dry, poke holes into the holes in each corner of the visor from the underside of the new cap brim. I used the original holes on the foam as my guide.

9. Insert one end of your elastic cording into the hole from underneath the brim and then do the same for the other end.



Done!