Quilt Project

About a week ago I was at Joann's browsing the fabric aisles, when I saw a woman picking out a lining for her quilt. It was very beautiful and I thought to myself that I should give it a try. I knew that it would be a bit difficult since I just started sewing, I didn't have the adequate tools, and I had absolutely no clue how to piece together a quilt. So, I went on the internet and watched a few tutorials. After 3 days of frustration, elation, and all other emotions in between I finished! Yay! I am quite proud of my work, even though it is very uneven and messy. Tee hee.

Behold!

This is Gema enjoying the quilt.

Most of the fabric was purchased from Etsy. The lining and blue and butterfly fabric was from Joanns.

Here are some things I learned:

1. Buy a rotary cutter, it will make things sooooo much easier.

2. Get yourself a long ruler.....

3. Make sure the batting and lining are wide enough for your quilt.

4. Don't have your pets in the same room while you are working, they slow things down by taking naps on your work.

5. Make a note of the speed and length of your stitches, otherwise your stitching will be inconsistent.

6. When sewing, make sure your fabric doesn't bunch, otherwise you will sew over the bunching and it will cause ugly bulkiness.

7. Never rely on your "eye balling" techniques, that will give you unwanted headaches.

I sure there were other lessons, but this is all I can think of for now.

Enjoying my Freedom!

Yay, I survived my first semester of Mortuary School...(no pun intended). It was very challenging compared to my undergraduate studies. I have done well, so next semester I get to embalm and take restorative art! How very exciting. Now that I am on vacation and have plenty of time I started making things again. A few weeks ago I purchased a sewing machine with my tax return money (I didn't spend it all) and I have been playing around with it. Here are a few things I made. I need to pratice my straight sewing. Tee hee

avoiding the unavoidable

Finals are here...eww. I needed some sort of outlet, so here are some pictures that I have taken and photoshoped. Enjoy.

Chispita!

I couldn't resist posting pictures of Chispita, my spastic dog....tee hee

Spring Cupcakes and Crochet!

It's been a while since I've posted a blog. Mortuary School has been more time consuming than I anticipated. I find it harder to keep up with the school work, compared to my undergraduate studies at UCR. It also doesn't help that the standards are so high (i.e. a passing grade is 75 and above and the range for an A is 100-93%...arg!) Anywho....I've managed to squeeze some time for baking. A while ago I found a recipe for rainbow cake (http://www.omnomicon.com/rainbowcake) and I decided to try it myself. However, I didn't make it a diet or a cake.....Here is the result!

The mini cupcakes took a while to make...but they are soo darn cute!

I've also started making a blanket out of crochet hexagons, however at the rate I'm going, it's going to take a while to finish.

Can you tell I love all colors of the rainbow?

photography

Hey there! I haven't knit much, but I have been experimenting with photoshop. Here is what I've made so far.

The first picture is me sporting my vintage camera. The second pictures is my old sewing machine. The third pictures was taken in San Ignacio, Belize. It was one of the rooms in which we were housed during field school. I love the fourth picture. I took it about three years, when I was in Camecuaro, Michoacan. It's a very lovely and busy place. The water is actually crystal blue-green. I didn't do much enhancing. The last picture is of my camera, again. Toodles for now.

Succulents, mittens and more!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted a blog. Mortuary School and the coroner's has kept me busy, but I sneak in some craft time in between. Tee hee. So, what have I been up to, you ask. Besides emersing myself in the exciting world of funeral history (:/), muscle nomenclature, and interesting fluids and aromas. I've been playing with fabric, plants and yarn.

First the Fabric!

A few weeks ago I was driving down Tampa and I noticed that the Joann's store was closing. I was sadden by this, but mostly curious about the sales. I walked in telling myself I would not splurge....yeah about that....I came out with about $80 of merchandise. The fabric was irresistibly pretty and cheap (sort of). Since I do not know how to sew, I asked my long distant aunt (and neighbor) if she could make me needle cases. This was the result:

Cute aren't they?

Now for the plants.

I visited my friend a while back and she showed me her terrariums and I thought they were awesome, so I thought I'd give it a try. I used a vase, pot, and jar to house my succlents, which were purchased from Home Depot. Behold.

Having the plants around remind me of my days in the UCR greenhouses, just exnay the aphids and nematodes...and cute greenhouse guy. (sigh)

Lastly the yarn!

It gets really cold in my house and at the Coroner's office, thus the birth of these awesomely cool, I mean warm, fingerless mittens. The yarn is Tonalita and it was purchased at Unwind located in Burbank. I love the color changes. I have yet to finish the other mitten, hopefully I get that done soon.

Okay enough rambling and back to studying. Eck!