The Poor Jeans

My kiddo is hard on his clothes.  It doesn’t really matter what he’s wearing, chances are it will have a hole, pen ink, or a stain on it before the end of the day.  I swear it’s like magic.  The other day, he brought me a pair of jeans with a huge hole in the back and asked me to fix them. 

The holes after patching.  How do you do this to your clothes, child?!

I, being the crafty mom, said no problem, let me whip out my new sewing machine.  Then I realized that not only did his jeans have one massive hole, but they had a bunch of smaller ones too.  I went ahead and patched them up, but they are about ready for the scrap pile. 

The front side close up of the hole.  I could have trimmed off the fringe before sewing, but I like it on there.

A friend of mine, Kristin from Craft Leftovers (and Ames C.art, yay!), introduced me to the method I used.  I added a piece of canvas to the back side of the hole and sewed like crazy over the space.  I could have done it more artistically, but there were a lot of holes.  My patch job is only prolonging the suffering of this denim.

You can see at least two more holes on his jeans...

A close up of the backside large hole.  Once I was done sewing, I trimmed the canvas to size.

Kristin wrote a book on mending, Mend It Better, and it’s recently come out and had great reviews.  If you are looking for a great resource on making your clothes live longer, check it out.

Reading to Write

There are loads of books about writing out on the market today.  Go check out the reference section in your book store or search through your library.  There is a book for almost every topic you need help with. Sorting through them may take some time, but I’ve found a few gems tucked in the shelves.

One of my favorite books is The Poetry Home Repair Manual by Ted Kooser.  Reading this book totally changed the way I write poetry.  It was like I found the missing piece of my writing in these pages.  I’m not saying this just because he is from my home state, although it might have factored into the reason I picked up his book in the first place.

One of the first books I ever read about poetry, outside of school, was The Poet’s Companion by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux.  I recently received my own copy of this book through Paperback Swap.  It’s been ages since I’ve read it, but I can’t wait to tuck back into the pages.  There are exercises and writing prompts spread throughout the book.

What are some of your favorite books on writing? 

My nose is running away with me

Douglas Adams once wrote in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy:

In the beginning, the universe was created.

This made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. Many races believe it was created by some sort of god, but the Jatravartid people of Viltvodle VI firmly believed that the entire universe was, in fact, sneezed out of the nose of a being called the Great Green Arkleseizure.

The Jatravartids, who lived in perpetual fear of the time they called "The Coming of the Great White Handkerchief" were small, blue creatures with more than fifty arms each. They were therefore unique in being the only race in history to have invented the aerosol deodorant before the wheel.

The Jatravartids would not like to hang around me.  I have two white handkerchiefs in my coat pocket, another in my pants pocket, and a stack of them freshly laundered and ready to be used. 

I’m thinking I need to embroider ‘Don’t Panic’ on one of them.  Or little blue creatures in the corners. 

Inspire: "You always a smartass? Nope. Sometimes I'm asleep."

I happily finished a swap this weekend.  It was based on Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series.  Dresden is a wise-ass wizard with a listing in the phone book.

Why is Harry my inspiration for the week?  Because he does what he needs to do and gets it done.  He could be hiding away, soaking up the magic and power but instead he lives (well, lived) in a one room basement apartment that had once been invaded by zombies.  He's had more than enough offers to go to the dark side, but he stands his ground and remembers his morals. 

Although it seems like he cracks more wise-ass pop culture references than Buffy sometimes, he's a good guy.  Sometimes we need that to remind us of where we stand.  Plus, I need a reminder to stop being so serious all the time!

"Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar" 

- Jim Butcher, Dead Beat

Inspire: The Thing about A Series

I love reading books in a series.  It lets me hold on to the characters longer.  And sometimes, things jump up and wave at you four books down the lane. 

Simon R. Green does this sometimes when he throws his characters from one series into another.

Terry Pratchett just jumped even further into my favorite author spot last week by bringing back a character. 

I've always loved Pratchett's Discworld.  It's been my favorite series and setting for a very long time.  My very first, and only if I remember right, cos-play character was Eskarina Smith, the female wizard, from Equal Rites.  It was a my first Discworld book and holds a special place in my heart.  This was the only book she was ever featured in. 

http://hedysa.deviantart.com/art/Eskarina-Smith-130571143?q=&qo=

With that said, I yelled and laughed and jumped up and down with joy when Eskarina Smith appeared in I Shall Wear Midnight, a Pratchett YA book about the young witch Tiffany Aching. 

How awesome is that?  After 35 other books, Pratchett brought back what happens to be one of my favorite characters? 

My absolutely favorite author ever.

Write: Words are Hard

Words are hard.  You know, writing things down on a blank page, putting one after another in some semblance of order.  It's hard.  There are books and books and books that tell you how to do so, how to pluck words out of the air and create an idea.

I think I might start picking them out of a dictionary.

Jim Butcher, one of my favorite authors, came up with his second series of books on a dare.  He said good authors could take a bad idea and make it good, so he challenged someone to give him two random ideas and he would right a good story.  He was given Roman soldiers and Pokemon.  Out of those, he created the Codex Alera.  In my opinion, they are great books.

I think it's a great exercise to take random words, random themes, and put them together as a writing exercise.  It gets the brain matter working and the thoughts flowing together. 

So here's what you can do.  You can either cut out words, pictures, or themes from a magazine, internet printouts, books, etc, and keep them in an envelope to pull out when you need to.  Or, if you don't like to plan and/or loose your envelope (do you get the feeling that's happened to me?), grab a book off the shelf, flip through the pages, and stick your finger on a few words.  There you go.

Now go write already.

Inspire: Cooking from the Past

I'm going through a vintage phase, in case you hadn't noticed previously.  And I'm a terrible book hoarder.  Book sales are my weakness.  But what is even worse than sales are piles of free books.  I haven't figured out why, but my local library has a shelf of free books next to the door.  In another room they have books to sell.  I think they are all donated by various community members.  But why this free book shelf?  Are they books they can't get rid of any other way?

I thought so, but I have found a few beauties that I would have paid for.  I would have paid quite a bit for the one I recently found.

A Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book binder in fantastic condition.  I'm pretty sure it's from 1951 to judge by the copyright dates.  How freaking awesome is that? 

The binder even has a plastic thingie in between the rings that says Patent Pending.  I think it was supposed to help the pages turn? 

The pages and dividers all seem to be in pretty good shape.  Some of the dividers are fraying at the tabs from use, but they are in no danger of falling apart.  The pictures of food make me laugh and go eww at teh same time, but it's full of interesting information.  There are multiple pages of how to identify and cook different cuts of meat.  There is a page that tells you how to cook spaghetti noodles.  The recipes all seem to be no nonsense things and several recipes are on each page.

I'm over the moon with this find.  I want to use it, and I think I will use the homemade noodle recipe, but I don't want to run the risk of ruining it with a spill. 

Do you have a favorite cook book or regular book find?

Create: Ah, Accomplishment

I've cleared off a couple things from my To Do list this week.  Of course, there are a couple more things added to it... but at least some of it is gone!

I'm quite happy to show off my new bag - sewn and embroidered by me.  I took a pattern from Burda Style and modified it to fit what I actually wanted it to do.  I made the front flap longer, got rid of the buckle (which I might add in later), and changed it so that the flap went over the whole bag not just the front part.  I also got rid of the recessed zipper so that my bag just opens up.  And I changed the straps.  I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

However, this bag has not been on my To Do list for very long.  A bag has, so I'm glad I finally got this finished.

Something on my list for longer, however, is a repurposed hardback book.  I tore out the guts of a free book I got at the library and added in my own paper.  I'm really happy with how the process went.  I expected it to be hard for some reason, but it was just as simple as my normal book binding techniques.  I found a great new tutorial online that shows the sewing well and a tutorial for making the book.

 The cover of the book.  It is The Return of Adam Smith by George Montgomery.

 The guts of the book.

 New blank pages!

My new notebook.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Create: A Work in Progress

I decided, like every year, to start on my xmas presents early.  This year I actually started some xmas projects.  Maybe they will be xmas projects...if I can get them done on time.  I've got months to go and I'm worried about getting them done!

I found this fantastic book at Hobby Lobby back in January.  It is Crocheted Afghans by Melody Griffiths.  I normally don't buy new craft books, I rent them from the library or find old ones at book sales.  But I had a coupon and there were a good number of projects that I wanted to make.

The project I decided to start on and am dreading the weaving of ends is this one.  It's called Roses and Daisies Throw.  It has one hundred small squares joined together to make up roses and daisies.  Right now I'm working on the daisies and I may double up the number and leave out the roses all together.  I'm not that big a fan of them.  But I may change my mind. 

Part of the reason I wanted this book is that it has a bunch of projects perfect for scrap yarn.  I have a bunch of yarn that I got from my great-grandma.  She can't crochet anymore and so gave most of it to me.  That means I have a lot of yarn, but not all of it in the best of colors.  This throw lets me take the smaller colors and use them for something.  It doesn't matter how much I have or how little, I can just switch out colors as I will.

I've been rotating a group of three colors to make six squares and then I change colors.  I've just about reached the point where I think I might have to repeat colors. 

Here is the one I'm working on now.  It's not the best choice of colors, but once I use the blue outside the center on the next set, I think it will look fine.

I haven't been working on this for awhile but I picked it back up this week.  I've been watching the first season DVD of Supernatural and doing this keeps me from feeling like I'm extremely lazy for sitting on the couch. 

And tonight I go to my concert!  Yes!!!!

Have a great weekend!

Inspire: Sandman Slim

It's been some time since I posted about something that inspired me rather than events and calendars.  But this one should make up for it. :) 

I used to roleplay and read from the cyberpunk genre.  We're talking William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Blade Runner, and Shadowrun.  I like the gritty anti-heroes who would rather watch you die than save you without cash up front.  I like the characters who have deep flaws but save the world anyway.  

Unfortunately, it's been quite awhile since I read anything in that genre.  Then I found this book with a quote from William Gibson on the cover:  "An addictively satisfying, deeply amusing, dirty-ass masterpiece....Sweet."  Of course I had to pick it up.

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey isn't quite cyberpunk, but it's a fantastic book.  The book starts off with the main character returning from Hell (the place where Lucifer lives) after eleven years and mugging some rich guy in a cemetery.  And it only gets better.  The guy, Stark, as he likes being called,  finds a punk-tiki bar called Bamboo House of Dolls.  Then he chops the head off an old friend who is one of the group who sent him to hell.  But don't worry, the guy is still alive, just isn't attached to his body.  Yeah, Stark is a magician.  At one point, he attacks another magician with a toilet plunger.

Stark was betrayed by his magical buddies and sent to Hell alive.  He found a way out and now is back for revenge. 

It's a great book and one I'm very glad I got to read.

Inspire: Women Out Of Bounds

I recently received my first requested book from Paperback Swap.  It is Women Out of Bounds, a book about historical women who broke out of the bonds that held most women of their age.  It includes women such as my favorite pirates, Anne Bonney and Mary Reed, as well as a female human cannonball, a woman who sold winds to sailors, and a woman who ran for president of the United States.  And no, I'm not talking about Hilary Clinton.

This book, although I've only leafed through it so far, has introduced me to some amazing women.  These women didn't just stand up because they wanted to flout the authority of men.  No, they did it because they wanted to be themselves.  I'm amazed that these women haven't been given more notice.  In fact, a good majority of the American women in this book I've never even heard of. 

As a feminist, of course, I enjoy this book.  I think that any woman should enjoy this book.  Of course, I think that any man who believes that women are his equals should enjoy this book.

But this book also resonates with me on a different level.  Not just 'we are women, here us roar!' and 'Equality!' but as a person starting to really understand what it means to be herself.  As I have mentioned previously, I have spent the majority of my life hiding from notice beneath a thick shell.  I have been frightened of doing what I wanted because I felt someone would laugh at me, someone would say that I wasn't good enough, I wasn't bright enough, I wasn't enough. 

But I've been changing.  I've realized that I am myself, and no one can put me down unless I let them.  I am talented, and bright, and creative, and joyful.  This book has not told me 'how' to find myself or how women should stand up for themselves.  It just relates the women in the past who were in such difference places than I am, and they did things their own way.  They didn't care what others thought.  They didn't care what was normal or proper.  They just went out and did it.

This attitude, this feeling of knowing oneself, is something that everyone should have.  Female, male, orangutan.  Know yourself and do what you feel is correct.

Who are you?