Polka Dot Creations

I think we all knew it wouldn’t be long before I cut into another swapped sheet, am I right? That’s ok. My predictability is part of my charm. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

This “pink & orange daisies on green” sheet caught my eye right away when it arrived. I love it! It was originally sent in by Beth. Tonight I used my usual Sew What! Skirts pattern on it, and made an elastic-waist skirt. I would have ventured outside of my comfort zone and tried something new, but I loved the daisy print so much, I didn’t want to experiment with it and risk rendering it useless!

I probably should have waited until tomorrow to photograph the skirt - I feel like the colors in the image just aren’t as fabulous as they are in real life. But what can I say? I’m completely impatient. I just wouldn’t be me if I waited 14 hours for the photo shoot The tank top is new, too, although I didn’t make it. I got it at Target, and frankly, was skeptical that it would look ok on me. I like it though. The only thing this outfit needs now is a matching daisy necklace to wear. I’ll get right on that

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In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I would show you how I made my Mother’s Day Skirt last year. This is potentially a no-sew project - that’s how I did it, since I didn’t have a sewing machine a year ago, nor would I have known what to do with it if I had! It’s a fun project because the result is a collaboration between parent and child, and because your kids will find it cool that Mom is wearing their drawings around town!

Here’s what you need:

• white cotton peasant skirt (I used one of these)
• fabric dye (I used these)
• decorative ribbon
• images to transfer (I used a book of “I love you because…” drawings that my son gave me for Mother’s Day)
• t-shirt transfer paper
• decorative buttons
• iron-on adhesive tape or sewing machine & coordinating thread

Dye the skirt

Follow the directions on the dye package to get the look you want. I like a “mottled” look when I dye, so I usually just dump the fabric in a bucket of dye, swirl it around for a while, and then try it in a bucket of a different color or two before I decide I’m done. The results are unpredictable, which is part of the fun, I think. For this skirt I used a few shades of green and some brown.

Hem the skirt

This skirt started out practically floor-length, which was too much for me, so I trimmed off six inches, and then hemmed it. The ideal way to hem the skirt would be to use a sewing machine and do it in the traditional way. If that’s beyond your skill level (as it was mine), you can use adhesive tape that is designed to be ironed on. There should be instructions on the package. It’s a simple, although possibly more time-consuming and less permanent, process.

Once the skirt is hemmed, use your method of choice (iron or sewing machine) to attach the decorative ribbon about an inch from the bottom of the skirt.

Replace the buttons

Remove the plain buttons and add some pretty ones to match the new color of your skirt. I used buttons I made from polymer clay, but you can also use store-bought buttons.

Transfer the images

Print your images onto t-shirt transfer paper, remembering that the design will be a mirror-image. Be sure to reverse your image before printing, if there are words on it, or if direction is important to you. I actually forgot to do this for one of the images on this skirt, but you can’t tell until you get close and try to read the words!

Things to think about:

• As I said, I made this skirt a year ago, before I knew how to sew. If I made it again now, I would definitely sew it instead of using the iron-on tape. The adhesive has held fairly well, but I can see places where it is starting to come apart.
• In general I like the mottled color look, but I think a project like this might benefit from a lighter hand as far as dye goes. Either a paler color, or less variation in color might compete less with the images.
• I would suggest trimming around the image on the transfer paper before applying it to your fabric.  I didn’t do this, and the lines where the transfer was applied are quite clear, and maybe a bit too harsh.
• If you’re not into wearing child art on your person, this same technique could work nicely with your own line drawings or even simple photographs.  I could imagine a “garden” of flowers decorating the lower tier of a skirt like this, for instance.

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The swap is coming together! I’m still waiting for about 15 packages, but I thought I should get started sorting, and assigning. Packages have all arrived here from those who have been visiting the Flickr group and telling me which sheets they like, so it seemed like those people would be the logical place to start. I’ve divvied up many of the sheets and put them in envelopes ready to go. I haven’t sent them yet, though… I’m thinking I should wait for another few packages to come in, just in case there might be some better matches to be made.

I did pick out which ones I’m keeping, though. It got a bit out of control…

I had intended to swap six sheet pieces, but then I found another sheet that gave me three more, and one of the swappers gifted me with three more pieces (thanks, Regina!) So twelve it is. And I’m pretty sure these are them.

So there I was, after supper tonight, face-to-face with a tempting pile of colorful fabric, thinking about the special “Moms Day” tomorrow morning at the little guy’s preschool.  Clearly I needed a pretty skirt to wear.  And clearly none of the dozen or so existing skirts in my closet would do.  Clearly. I thought for a moment that I probably ought not to dig into my new sheets until the swap packages had been sent out. (Isn’t is cheating to start making things before anyone else has had a chance?)  But in the end, the urge to make something new won out.  Yeah, I know you’re not surprised

I seem to have wrap skirt fever lately, so that is what I made.  I used the beach wrap instructions in Sew What Skirts as a guide as usual, and I took advantage of the sheet’s existing hem.  Since it’s Eamonn’s school I’m going to tomorrow morning, I asked him to choose a sheet from the pile for me to use.  He picked this pretty butterfly floral pattern from Jackie.  It’s perfect for me - I love the pattern, and the colors are some of my absolute favorites.   Thanks, Jackie, for a lovely sheet!

I can hardly wait to play with some of the other sheets in my pile now.  I’m going to try to control myself, though…  for now.  One of the sheets I kept was a plain yellow one.  I initially thought a completely plain sheet would be boring, but I’ve since decided to think of it as a blank canvas instead.  I have big plans for it now, involving fabric ink and polymer clay buttons.  Stay tuned, because you know if I actually do it, you’ll be the first to know!

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Have I mentioned how much I like spring? I think I appreciate it more every year, as I grow to dislike winter at a similar rate. After a long cold spell, nothing invigorates me more than being able to throw open all of the windows and feel the lovely warm breeze on my skin. It’s been hard these last two years having a little one with seasonal allergies. The windows remain closed just when I am feeling an intense need to have them open. I realize the physical toll of the pollen on Eamonn’s teary eyes and runny little nose is more profound than the emotional toll of a stuffy house on me, and so the pleasant breeze remains just out of reach. And all of us hope for a day of rain, to wash away the pollen and allow us to welcome the outdoors in. If the weather report is to be trusted, we may get that day tomorrow.

So, Polydelphia was fun. I did eventually manage to win something! This is a fun, colorful dragonfly pin by Kim Korringa, and I am finding it hard to stop looking at it. I am mesmerized by the wings. I’ve made similar ikat-like blended stripes myself, but I never put them together in this way. I love the combination of stripes and swirls. So pretty. I won’t post images this time of all of the auction items I didn’t manage to walk away with on the second day, but you can see them in my flickr account, if you’d like.

I expect my visits here to be few and far between this week. I have a certain 8-year-old’s First Communion this weekend and would kind of like to have my house in decent shape for the inevitable invasion of relatives. Plus, in an astounding display of forethought (yes, that is sarcasm, in case you didn’t recognize it) I scheduled a swap for this week. So while I’m cleaning the crafty supplies out of the dining room, I’ll be working around 100+ vintage sheet remnants. The current count stands at 116, but I’m still waiting for, I think, seventeen swappers’ sheets to arrive. There could potentially be another fifty sheets showing up here in the next few days. I’m having a lot of fun with this, but the timing really could have been better. I blame the US Postal Service. If they weren’t planning an increase on Monday, I’d be taking my time with this instead of scrambling to save my 20 cents per package

One last thing before I go… I’m thinking of shutting down my radio station. The big thing that’s holding me back from doing it, is that, frankly, it’s cool to be able to say, “yeah, I have a radio station.” But when I think about it, is that coolness really worth almost $200/year to me? I’m leaning very heavily towards NO at the moment. So I’m looking into alternatives. I still want to be able to share my favorite music with anyone who will listen. But I want to do it cheaply and without the pressure of updating my playlist every couple of days. I’ve really fallen down on the playlist-updating part of the job lately. Live365 gives me about 7 hours of playlist time with the package I have now, and unless I rotate songs in and out frequently, hearing the same 7 hours of music is going to get pretty old pretty fast to my listeners. My stats definitely back this up.

I’m looking at last.fm right now. With their plugin for my media player, every time I listen to music on my computer, it is noted on my last.fm profile. Visitors to my profile can listen to a radio station that is built based on my personal listening history. So, if I’m on an Indigo Girls kick, and playing RItes of Passage while cleaning the kitchen all week, my last.fm radio station is probably going to be queuing up “Galileo” for your listening pleasure. And, if I prefer more control than that, I can create a playlist, filled with songs I’ve listened to that I specifically choose to share. I’ve been building a playlist for the last few days, if you’d like to have a listen!

I don’t have any last.fm friends at the moment, so if any of you use the service and would like to be friends, visit my profile and add me.

And now I must be gone.  There’s laundry to fold, a dishwasher to unload, and orders to get ready for shipment.  And I see a certain 5-year-old on the other side of the room who looks like he could use a good tickle

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I guess I’ve done a fair amount of polymer clay related travel this year. I hadn’t realized it until two Real Life friends said to me, when I told them that I was heading to Philadelphia this weekend, “you’re going away again?” They’re just jealous And what’s not to be jealous of?

I’m here to sell books and videos at the Philadelphia Area Polymer Clay Guild’s annual retreat, otherwise known as Polydelphia.  I really enjoy my trips to Philly, and I’m not just saying that because of the sales I make.  It’s those sales that make it possible for me to get a hotel room and pay for gas, but I really enjoy the social opportunity.

Yes, I said “social opportunity.”  I know, I know, you may have seen me today with my nose buried in a magazine, or engrossed in a frustrating phone call with my pay-as-you-go cell phone company [who would’t let me “go” until I’d “pay”ed despite the fact that I still had a few days before the minutes expired], or having a chuckle during an IM conversation with my husband.  Those things probably didn’t look particularly social.  And they weren’t.  But with the exception of the phone call, I always stopped what I was doing when someone approached the table.  Just ask Neil.  His end of our IM conversation was so funny, I had to close my laptop lid on him just to keep from being distracted away from my socializing.

Usually when I sell books, I leave it at that, but I happened to have my newest earrings with me, and figured, “why not?”  Glad I did, since I sold two pairs today

It wasn’t all socializing and book selling though.  There was also a decent amount of eating.  And speaking of eating…

If the person who brought in this maple fudge is reading this right now, I just want her to know that whoever she is, she has set my diet back several weeks.  I couldn’t keep my hands off of these delectable little squares today.  So soft, so melt-in-your-mouthy, so mapley.

What do you think of this earring and necklace set?  I know it’s kind of hard to tell, since the image is somewhat blurry, but you see, I didn’t think it would be necessary to have a crisp image.  I figured they would be mine soon enough and that I could take them out to gaze upon them whenever I wanted.  Alas, my ticket was not chosen in the silent auction.  Farewell, sweet Julie Picarello earrings.  I hardly new ye.

Check out this set by Jana Roberts Benzon.  I don’t think the pendant is really my style, but what about those earrings?  Aren’t they cool?  They would look so lovely peeking out around my soft brown curls, don’t you think?  Good thing I have the mental image (and a nice, crisp photo) to keep me company because somebody else won the actual jewelry.  Bummer.

Grant Diffendaffer:  Man of polymer.  Maker of interesting tools.  Writer of amazing book.  Benefactor of unique choker.  Lisa Clarke:  Loser of silent auction.

These are weird.  These are so weird that I felt in no uncertain terms that I must win them.  I must own the weird Kathleen Dustin Smithsonian-caliber earrings and wear them with my Target t-shirts and thrifted sheet skirts.  I put more tickets in this bucket than in any of the others.  It was the last auction item called, and the whole time I was waiting to hear them call my ticket number, I was imagining myself in them tomorrow.  That burst of yellow would be perfect with the skirt I’d brought to wear.

I suppose I don’t have to tell you that somebody else won my weird earrings.

Somebody tell me that there is something cool for me to win tomorrow.  Poor me.  Always a ticket-buyer, never a prize-winner.

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So many things I feel like chatting about, but I must, by necessity, keep quiet. There’s a fairly long to-do list today that can’t be postponed. I’ll be in Philadelphia this weekend, and am not prepared at all. I wish I were not half asleep. Allergy Boy had a rough night, and by extension so did I. I am currently a walking zombie. Perhaps I’ll be back later, but most likely I’ll be spending my “free” time folding laundry or taking a quick nap. *yawn*

I’m off to take Allergy Boy to the last session of Kindergarten Workshop.  I’d skip it and just stay home to catch up on my lost sleep, but it’s the day the kids get to ride the bus for the first time and get a tour of the school where they’ll be going to Kindergarten in September.  It’s kind of an exciting little event.  Not to be missed.  I’ll just forgo my usual decaf and head straight to the high-test stuff.  Have a happy Friday!

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Well, I have to admit, I didn’t realize just how much people were going to like Boring Office Guy. I mean, I found him really funny, but I’m his mother. I told him this morning about the 7-year-old who was watching his video repeatedly and who wanted to call Aidan with complements despite being a complete stranger.   Aidan was impressed and all grins.

He desperately needs a hair cut, but now I’m afraid to do it. What if all of his power is in the curls? What if he ceases to be Boring Office Guy, when he is given a more clean-cut appearance? Perhaps we need a new character - Prematurely Bald Man, perhaps? I guess that depends on just how bad an experience we have with the clippers

Busy few days ahead. I am just realizing that the 3 or 4 things I was planning to do tonight are going to have to wait because I committed to attending a Pampered Chef party. It’s not all bad - sipping wine and adding to my stoneware collection - but the timing could be better. Too much to do right this very moment! It took me half the day to finish this post - I’ve been squeezing parts of it in here and there where I can.  I would have just skipped it, but I can’t very well leave out one of the days of Color Week, can I?  

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We interrupt Color Week to introduce you to Boring Office Guy:

Apparently in this house, trying on a new suit is enough to invoke an entire alternate persona complete with theme song.

Also, please say hello to Mr. Oops I. Scalpedhim

Evidently I am not to be trusted with clippers once I’ve let the boys’ hair get too long - I go completely crazy and buzz it all off. Actually, I think it looks pretty good right now, but you should have seen it before he hopped in the shower and washed it. I was so sure he’d be wearing the “My Mother Cuts My Hair” look for the next several weeks, but I think we may have dodged that bullet

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I have roughly ten minutes before the little one and I have to head off to Kindergarten Workshop - our school district’s excellent, parent-run, 3-morning program that helps prepare the kids (and the parents!) for Kindergarten. I went through it with Aidan three years ago, and now it’s Eamonn’s turn.

Before we go, though, how about a little orangey goodness for Color Week?

I think my favorite is the last image. I would have liked to include more of the note, but I didn’t want to publicize any of the names of Eamonn’s classmates, and thought blurring them out would look tacky.

I’m off to get educated. Have a great day!

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Today is Yellow day for Curious Bird’s color week. Not surprisingly, yellow was not the easiest color to find around this house. I thought of the first shot as I was dozing off last night, but the rest were scavenged in the few minutes before the school bus came. The school bus, which, now that I think about it, would have made a nice yellow image, too!

I just came back from a “Volunteer Appreciation Tea” at the big guy’s school this morning.  It was a sweet and simple affair, with refreshments and student entertainment.  The various musical groups (band, choir, bell choir) shared with us some of the songs they were working on for upcoming concerts.  He is not involved in any of that, so I didn’t actually see him.  I had to bring the little guy with me, since he’s home on Tuesdays, and despite the fact that I set him down with a cookie, a Where’s Waldo book and an I Spy book (did I mention this took place in the school library?) he still saw fit to indulge in poorly-timed outbursts.  Or maybe they were well-timed, depending on your point of view…  I’m hoping the bell choir didn’t hear his declaration that “this is boring.”  I know several people heard him yell “Argh!” when he turned to a page he recognized in the I Spy book.  This child really doesn’t get the idea of inappropriate outbursts.  His teacher has started sending him out of the room during circle time lately because he can’t control his loud burping.  Yikes.

Parenting is such an adventure.  When I was younger I imagined myself as the mother of 3 or 4 well-behaved little girls, who were really more like living dolls and who needed very little correction from me.  It never occurred to me that boys were in my future.  Some boys need to be taught that belching proudly with their mouths wide open is not something that teachers appreciate.  They need to be told that, as much as I may share their feelings on the subject, it’s inappropriate to express their dislike of the grade-school rendition of a High School Musical II medley until after it is over and we are safely alone in the car.  Some boys don’t come with a filter, and resist all attempts to have one installed.  Of course, it is just this lack of filter that can be awfully entertaining.  It’s a fine line to straddle…

And now I am off to be a responsible adult and pack/ship some orders.  I’m still doing very well in that department, so go me!  I’ve been on time (even better than on time, actually) for a week now, which is longer than I’ve been able to keep it going all year!  I think I’ve finally turned a corner business-wise, and I’d hate to blow it now, as much as I’d rather be catching up with some of my favorite feeds this morning.
It’s time to get back that great reputation I had, oh, five years ago, for being a speedy shipper! [What happened five years ago that touched off my decline in productivity?  Hmmm.  Could it possibly be that boy without a filter that I was just talking about? Naaahhh ]

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