Plastic Fusion

Yesterday after spending 5+ hours on my final I rewarded myself with a plastic fusion experiment. Now most sane people would not think that melting plastic bags together and omitting potentially harmful chemicals in the air would be a "reward". But I am not "most people" and also not very "sane". Any-how I had a blast creating my own plastic fabric. If you would like to try I used this video tutorial and this regular tutorial. My one suggestion is to use an iron you don't like...I rephrase that, use an old iron as long as you have a new/ better one (who really likes irons/ ironing?) I can't show anymore picture of my creations because I am planning to give away my plastic creation to one of my blog readers. (So all 9 of you can hang in suspense until I finish it and send it to one of you). 

I also wanted to let everyone know that I am pretty sure this fusion didn't omit harmful toxins into the air of my apartment, so I still have all my brain cells, and no ozone was damaged in this experiment. I love the environment

Now to avoid doing school work and work on my quilt!

Hasta Luego! 

Lauren

Amy Butler...I'm in Love

 Yesterday was Market Square Day in Portsmouth. This means the main roads were closed down and stores had tents in the street and there were lots of people there with crafts and stuff. I wandered around all the tents looking for good craft ideas. Sadly, all of the sewn things I saw were things I have already done (10 minute head bands), or purses that looked like my brother sewed them. I honestly think I could have sewed a better purse with my eyes closed, or one arm tied behind my back...okay maybe not, but you get my drift.  Charles and I had plans to meet at 5 when he was done working so once I was done wandering the outside tents I walked around some more and ended up at the Portsmouth Fabric Co. again. I remembered my pledge from earlier in the week and decided I would just browse. WORD OF ADVICE: never, never, never go into a wonderful fabric store with intentions to only browse. Duh! 

I have been hearing about Amy Butler since I first started reading sewing blogs, and I was interested. While "browsing" I stumbled upon an entire section of Amy Butler fabrics, and I instantly feel in love. 

If I were getting married I think I would register for 2 yards of every fabric Amy Butler ever made (is this allowed? I'm thinking about it, seriously). It's pretty expensive, I'll have to make rich friends. Basically I stood in this section of Amy Butler Heaven debating if I should break my rule. When the wonderful fabrics overtook my better judgement, I then spent another 30 minutes trying to figure out which one of these wonderful fabrics should come home with me. 

I ended up picking this green flowered print. I only bought a yard because I couldn't justify spending more than I make in an hour of babysitting on fabric that I promised myself I wouldn't buy. Did I mention that I have no idea what to make out of this fabric? I'm afraid to cut it. Maybe I'll just hang it on my wall.

Eww it's raining again and I have to go to the library and do a final project. I think when I am done I will get around to fusing plastic bags. 

Have a great day!

Lauren

No Pattern? No Problem!

Ta da! Here's my no pattern skirt. It was pretty easy. However, when you have no pattern you have no one to remind you about cutting on the bias, and you sometimes run into trouble because you didn't cut on the bias, and then you swear a little but quickly get over it. My only complaint is that my head is cut out of this picture...I need to work on using the timer on the camera and positioning it so my excited face is in the picture. But I was too excited to post about my new skirt to try taking a new picture. Plus my 5 blog readers know what I look like anyways. 

Goodnight!

Lauren!

More Coupons!

ARG! More coupons came today! Normally this would be a cause for celebration, yet since I went on my rant about hating Joann Fabrics I feel guilty about shopping there. And if shopping at chain stores wasn't bad enough my dad e-mailed me this sad story which makes me want to shop there even less. eww. 

This new hatred has lead me to search through my reserves and make some wonderful finds: 

I have decided that I shall not purchase anymore fabric until I make things out of the lovely fabric I have already. The purple dots one will be a shirt, because there is only a yard. I want to make a skirt out of the striped one using a no pattern idea I found (thanks Betsy Ross!). I'm not sure about the other two fabrics, but I have a lot. By my best math impaired guestimate I have 2 yards of each. I might make a dress out of one of them, probably the pink one. I have been thinking that I will just try to make a dress with no pattern. I realize this is very idiotic of me and will no doubt end disastrously, yet I still feel a burning desire to try. Have I mentioned that I want this hypothetical dress to have smocking? I bet my mom can just hear the phone ringing with me crying at the other end about what a colossal mess I have made. My justification behind this is that the fabric has been sitting on a shelf or in a box somewhere for the last 3+ years, so I can't remember when/where I bought it or how much it cost and that means it was free, so it would be okay if I messed it up. I could always rip the messed up dress into tiny shreds and stuff them in my neighbors speakers, thus inhibiting their gay music listening.  

Now I shall go begin the no pattern skirt. No pattern....it just sounds so scandalous. 

Adios Amigos!

Lauren

The Quilting Continues

I have finished sewing the quilt squares together. This could sound exciting to the unexperienced quilter, yet I know that I still have a long road ahead. Here's a picture of it.  This is my favorite square of all. I think it's super jazzy. 
In case you were wondering 2 curious blog readers how our trip to the specialty fabric store went, it was great! The store was kind of hidden, and seemed small but was full of wonderful fabrics. And surprise surprise when you ask the employees a question they know the answer and where to lead you and even give you tips as opposed to attitude and aisle numbers(and no one there was wearing fairy wings).  I wish I had enough money to shop here all the time, but alas the specialty store does not send 50% off coupons to my house to tempt me with their cheap prices and poor service. (this has been a jab at Joann fabrics in case you were lost in my rambling). Also I thought that this trip was so going to be great because Charlie was taking me, and he hates shopping, especially for fabric. Little did I know that he would make me wander around the Kittery Trading Post looking at boats and guns for over an hour before hand, I suppose that makes us even.  Although why we were looking at the hunting section is beyond me, we're vegetarians! Anyways, I found exactly what I was looking for to make the baby project I have in mind, but since I have made this blog available to my friends via facebook, I must keep it a secret until after the next baby shower I attend, lest someone see and ruin the surprise for my unsuspecting pregnant friend. (In one of my summer classes the professor lectured the other day about how some kids don't know how to use commas and either don't use any or use too many....the sentence above leads me to believe that I am one of those people who overuses commas in an attempt to look smart).

Off to check the mail for coupons from the enemy.

Lauren!

Baby Shower! eek!

Today is Lorelei's birthday. It's too early to call her and ask about the gift though. I am anxious to see if she likes it :)

Also I have started school again, summer school to be exact. I sort of feel like I am being punished. I thought only bad kids had to go to school in the summer. What have I done wrong!!!! Anyways classes go from 8-5 (even more punishment!) So when I get home I must do readings and quizzes and other school related th

ings. In other words I have converted my desk from a sewing station back to it's original purpose of a school desk where I keep my computer and not a sewing machine, bummer. 

On another note I have finished all the squares for my quilt, hurray! However, sewing them together is quite another hurdle. I'll get there, I promise. 

Also I am going to a baby shower tomorrow. Here is a picture of the finished product. I am quite pleased, however I hope I don't have to make another one for a few years. I also bought the baby a book (SLPs learn all about how important reading to your baby/kid is so I must spread the word to all of my pregnant friends).  This particular book has a lot of rhyming, which I have been told is outrageously important for learning to read and write, and is possibly the reason why Dr. Suess was so rich. 

I am going to another baby shower in July so today Charles has agreed to take me to a specialty fabric store to buy supplies for the present I have in mind to make. I'm not sure why he has agreed to take me somewhere like a specialty fabric store on his day off, but I will not complain about it. I think he thinks he did something wrong and I shall not let him think otherwise until we get home. (I hope no one reads my blog for relationship advice). 

Now I must go try to convert inches into yards for the baby project that I have been thinking about in my head. It is such a curse that I have been given the ability to think of ideas for sewing projects in my head and visualize them so well, but have not been graced with the ability to do the simple math it requires to make these projects a reality, thank goodness for boyfriends and calculators. 

Have a Happy Day!

Lauren