Cleo Dee's

Uptown Warehouses

2012-03-05T11:35:00.000-05:00

I've discovered that posting on here can be a bit sparse when the only thing I seem to be doing is After Effects tutorials and sketching. Also, injuring your back and hip and having to sit quietly propped up with pillows on the couch doesn't help. When I wasn't on the couch I hung out in Scott's chair because it is super comfy and my chair is not. I played through Super Mario Brothers 2: Yoshi's Island while I was over there. Please go play this game. It is beautiful. I first played it on my Gameboy Micro (which was gifted to me in a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day '05). It was fun but I really missed out on the backgrounds and all of the extras like little birds and frogs that hop around certain levels. Plus, it has Yoshi all the way through.

Since my chair is terrible and I couldn't stand with my injury I decided to finally buy a drafting chair that was cushioned. We searched around Pittsburgh but sadly couldn't find anything that would work since my desk required a fairly low raised chair. I ended up ordering a chair but it did lead us into the world of used chair warehouses.

First off, they do not eff around with the names of their company. Tri State Office Furniture, Office Furniture Warehouse and Used Store Fixtures, INC. I found it charming and really helpful. I knew that when I went to these places I would find chairs and other fixtures. No surprises here.

There was one place in particular that I loved and even though I didn't find anything there I'm totally going back. It was in Uptown (who's history is pretty awesome, and of course, like most places in Pittsburgh and other cities got screwed in the 1960's and hasn't really recovered). Scott and I walked through here during the G20 and discovered a delightful antique store that is less a store and more just a 3 story warehouse full of anything you can imagine. After the ground floor you walk up narrow sets of haphazard steps and will randomly find doors. You're not sure if you're supposed to go in. You're half expecting to fall through the floor at any moment.You weigh your options briefly and then decide to go for it. You open the door and find a 3 story shelf full of accordions. The man who runs it is also very friendly and charming.

The Used Store Fixtures warehouse had a similar vibe. The ground floor had odds and ends for store displays. Mannequin heads, hooks, shelves. Basically a lot of stuff I wish I would have known about while doing Cleo Dee's. It would have been great to grab this stuff locally. We were directed upstairs for the furniture selection. You have to walk up 5 flights of stairs and it gets colder the higher you go. We reached our destination and a rotary phone began ringing. We were told that someone would meet us up there but he took awhile to arrive so we wandered about. It was chocked full of bakery cases, those orange and yellow booths that were always in pizza shops that had arcade games, filing cabinets galore and of course chairs. Office chairs, doctor's chairs, those beauty salon dryer chairs. There were also loads of trash and recycling bins of various sizes that were for sale but currently being used to catch the water falling from the leaks in the roof. A guy finally came up and greeted us, kindly told us to mind the bins and and to let him know if we needed anything. He then disappeared behind some furniture stacks. I was bummed I didn't have my actual camera with me and that it was a rainy day since the pictures I took aren't that great but they're worth a look.

Can you find Scott?

We were tempted to ask the price on this since all of the drawers were full of letters and numbers. It was also full of papers with fonts on it. Beside it was another set of drawers filled with giant letters.

Although we didn't buy anything that day, this is on my list of places to return to. We'll probably head back there and to the antique store. I'm definitely bringing the camera and perhaps inquiring more about these if they're still there.

squirrel!

2012-02-17T09:00:00.001-05:00

This is what Ico is always watching from the window. There are two of them. They are also obese. I did this mostly to keep them away from the bird feeder because what squirrel can resist corn on the cob? But I have grown pretty attached to them and Ico is in love. Also, it does melt my heart when a fat little squirrel looks me square in the eyes with one little piece of corn in his mouth.
My dad keeps me in supply of corn. My family home is surrounded by fields that we rent out to a farmer in the neighboring valley. He plants a lot of feed corn for his cows so before he harvests it my dad gathers up a bunch of it and stores it in these awesome old metal bins.Sadly I will run out of corn before my next trip home. I can only assume the squirrels have dire consequences in store for me when this day comes.

homemade play dough

2012-02-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

My nephew's birthday is coming up so I decided to send him a little homemade play dough kit. I found the containers and the lunch box at the craft store. Everything else I had on hand. There are tons of play dough recipes online and they're all fairly similar so I sort of just picked one at random and it worked out rather well. There were two things I changed. The first was to add an extract to the play dough. I used lemon (it was a close call between lemon, lemonade and strawberry). This isn't necessary but the original scent made me gag while stirring. I also used coloring gels instead of regular food coloring which was a lot easier to work with. A friend had just given me a box of 8 different colors so I didn't even have to mix anything. Tip: wear gloves when mixing the colors. Once it's in the dough it doesn't come out. But at the beginning of the process it does so you will have rainbow hands. If this is your thing, then disregard this tip.

I whipped up a little drawstring bag to store some googly eyes and mini cookie cutters to use with the dough. I figured the play dough would be fun with some accessories and also, what small child doesn't like to walk around sticking things in bags?
I want to make this for more children. There is nothing more satisfying than rolling play dough around in your hands. It's texture is different from store bought play dough- it's more velvety and it stretches farther without breaking. Also, cooking it was pretty fun too. It's on the way down south right now. I hope he enjoys it.

new monitors!

2012-02-13T09:00:00.001-05:00

The second monitor that Scott gave me a couple months ago finally died. It had a good run, though. Scott bought new ones for himself and then gifted me with his old set. They are fancy and 4 inches larger than my old ones. It makes me feel impressive. It also makes learning after effects a much more enjoyable experience.

200 Stitches: Don't Stitch While Sick

2012-02-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

Here are stitches 13-16. I was sick and thought embroidery would be a delightful thing to do. I was wrong. So very, very wrong. So enjoy seeing what happens when you're trying to learn new stitches and you're not at the top of your game.

#13 Twisted Chain Stitch (did get better once I got going)
#14 Coral Stitch. Oddly enough, when I practiced it as a fill it went quite well.
#15 Scroll Stitch. Nope.

#16 Double chain stitch. The first one went well and then it just went downhill after that.
#17 Crested chain stitch. Terrible.
These 2 were the last I did before I gave up. I could feel myself blurring out on the directions. Needless to say, these are all going on the list of stitches to try again.
But, at least I made it through my first month of stitches. From now on I'll be stitching and posting them in small groups since I'll have to do about 16 a month and I feel that anyone who reads this may be bored to tears with that many posts about stitch exploration.

Exploration

2012-02-01T13:00:00.001-05:00

The other week when we had yet another day of 60 degree weather in January I took a walk around the still new neighborhood and tried some new areas. I happened upon Edgewood which everyone claims is terrible. The part I was in was full of BMWs and renovated Victorian mansions. Also, a super fancy miniature library that's right behind the miniature country club. Sadly I can't check out books since I'm not an Edgewood resident but it's still nice to visit. Here are a few of the gorgeous things I saw on the stroll.

There was a cluster of old churches and synagogues in this area. One was now a police station and another was the Western PA School for the Deaf which was gigantic.
I had been following signs for a library but the signs were a bit off so I used my phone to get me to the CC Mellor Memorial Library. It was gorgeous. The stairs were marble. This was the stairwell.

Since the library is only for Edgewood and private it relies on donations so there were so many old books that I can only assume were in the parlors of all the old houses. And most seemed to be donated long ago when you still wrote call numbers on the spines. Although the library still uses the card catalog system. That was a treat to find in the backs of the books. This then led me to promptly find the card catalog to peruse.

I continued my walk and came across a house I'm kind of obsessed with now. It was beautiful and I couldn't tell if it was abandoned or not. I also loved that not much had changed since it was built. It still had a driveway that was a half-moon so there were 2 entrances to the street with old brick right beside the modern sidewalk.

The house went further back than I realized. I also couldn't tell if anyone lived here although the sides porches had things on them but it looks like whoever owns it only keeps up the front. The sides were in poor repair and the carriage house looked like it hadn't been painted in ages and had a sagging roof in some spots. I took a photo of that but only had my cell phone with me so they're not the greatest.

carriage house

one side of the driveway

Since it was so nice that day I forgot that it was still winter and the sun was going to be setting soon so I had to book it back to my place before it was dark. I can't wait to head back to this area and most likely peek in on this house again. I'd love to see it with all of the trees in bloom.

A Farewell to Tentacles

2012-01-29T23:29:00.002-05:00

I have over 50 squid for sale in my etsy shop. I think this is the most I have ever had. This doesn't even include magnet and brooch squid, apron squid or Tadly and Abigail. In fact, my shop is as full as it ever has been. Or, will be for quite some time. A long time, actually. Basically forever. I have mentioned before about branching out to other things. I am knee deep in those other things at the moment. One knee is in the learning pit. The other is in the embroidering wares pit. A partial knee is in a pit that involves helping the dear husband manage and schedule his business. I never even knew I had another knee but one day, poof, there it was, hanging out in a pit.
This past year was not great for selling plush squid. But I am grateful to say it was the first time in 6 years I ever even came close to a bad year. Which is amazing and awesome. But, as with anyone selling niche pieces of art, one bad season can be nigh catastrophic. So there have been changes in plans. Although, after 6 years the changes are more along the lines of kicking myself into new territories that I was planning on going in anyway. I'm kind of glad I had a bad season because I probably would have dragged my feet even more with the new plans if I hadn't. I still love the squid but I'd also love to do new things. New things that can't always be expressed in cephalopod form. New things that will make it impossible for me to sew squid and Tadly full time. So now, with the Cleo Dee's shop nicely stuffed I am taking a knee out of the squid making pit. I'm not planning on doing any shows in 2012. So with that in mind I have put up the last of my squid and Tadly stock. My custom squid listing will still be available but the Squid a Month Clubs will only be available until the listings expire. March 28th for the 1 year and April 6th for the 6th months. I will keep the shop up as long as the squid on there are around. For the 2012 Holiday Season I will be listing my leftover squidtivites and holiday squid. This blog will focus more on original embroidery and the making of miniatures (in felt and other materials) plus when I'm more comfortable some peeks into what I've been learning. There will still be some squid a month club photos popping up since I have 3 clubs open for another 14 months. And of course the usual stuff will still be on here. Posts about the odd things I see, how I've spent my entire weekend seasoning 5 pieces of cast iron and I'm still not done MY GOD I AM STILL NOT DONE. And of course posts about my giant cat. Update: right now he is sitting on the floor by my chair sneezing. It sounds wet.
I hope you don't mind all of the changes and that you find something of interest in my new stuff. And I hope you enjoy the final batch of squid that are in the shop. I think it's a pretty good selection of all of the favorites. Not only your favorites but mine as well. I have loved what I've done these past 6 years and am thankful that you all have helped me experience what it would be like to travel around the country selling stuffed squid out of steamer trunks. I hope you've been able to tell that in my work and in my blog and that you stick around to see what I cook up next.
Thanks again, Friends.

200 Stitches: Zigzag Stitch

2012-01-29T09:00:00.002-05:00

If you're not using pearl cotton thread then these stitches should be much closer together. So this looks more like little mountains than zigzags.

Miniatures: brew pot

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

200 Stitches: Chain Stitches

2012-01-27T09:00:00.035-05:00

#9 Chain Stitch

I was familiar with this one since it's also one of the first basic stitches you learn. I loved the look of the chain stitch with a whip stitch (middle) and also the back stitch running through it (bottom) especially with the color combination I chose.

#10 Open Chain Stitch

#10 was kind of a pain but I do like the like of it. In real life the side stitches look like they are a different color than the rungs of the ladder. This one will need some more experimenting to discover the right combination of thread count and spacing.

#11 Heavy Chain Stitch

#11 will also need to be visited. In the book photo it has this beautiful feather quality that I couldn't get on my first try here. Afterwards I did a quick google search and found better instructions which immediately made this stitch make more sense so next time shouldn't be as much of a fail.

Miniatures: panini sandwich

2012-01-26T13:04:00.000-05:00

200 Stitches: Chevron Stitch

2012-01-25T09:00:00.007-05:00

Perfect for all of your greek revival needs!

200 Stitches: Perkinese Stitch

2012-01-23T09:00:00.013-05:00

I have never used this stitch or really seen it before but I love it. It'll take a bit more practice to get this down but this is another one I'm marking for further practice. It would be great for a nice border around something. Or some sort of nautical themed embroidery.

Introducing: Minature Embroideries

2012-01-22T18:06:00.001-05:00

The necklaces! They're finally completed! They are up for sale at my new shop Sister Dee's This and That. So please go ahead and check them out.

I attached the last couple hooks Saturday after we dug ourselves out of the snowstorm. Then I photographed and edited like crazy today. There are 4 brooches and 15 necklaces in total. The embroideries are 18 x13mm at the smallest and 18 x25mm at the largest. Probably the smallest I have ever embroidered. I also stuck with my trusty felt for backgrounds. All of the jewelry findings are made in the USA, specifically in New England by various artisans (you can find out more at fallenangelbrass.etsy.com). I liked the look of the antiqued black brass for my embroideries and loved that everything was made by small businesses as well.

200 Stitches: Split Stitch

2012-01-20T09:00:00.025-05:00

Please excuse the poor photo. The sun hasn't been out much around here. This is another stitch I know pretty well but normally only stick with one color thread so I didn't pay much mind to the note about only using soft, untwisted thread. You absolutely need untwisted thread for this one. And no matter how hard you try you cannot correct this during the process. Please heed my words. Abandon twisted thread, all ye who embroider.

Day after the SOPA/PIPA Blackout

2012-01-19T15:49:00.000-05:00

Good job, Internet! From my last check on this support in Congress for SOPA/PIPA has gone from 80/30 (officially for/against) to 65/102.
You can keep up to date here:
http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/

Also, I think the sign this woman is holding sums up why not only Congress needs to read these bills but we do too.

SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T10:39:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't heard of these bills please take a moment of your day to check out the following links for more information. There is also a wealth of articles and whatnot elsewhere out there, since the consequences of these bills (or similar ones that will most likely come) are pretty substantial. Depending on where you go on the internet you've already seen the effects of the protest/awareness campaign for the day, but just in case:

www.theoatmeal.com
www.reddit.com
google
www.fark.com/

200 Stitches: Stem Stitch

2012-01-18T09:00:00.001-05:00

Ah, the stem stitch. This one is a favorite of mine for curved lines.

embroidering in 1

2012-01-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Doing some more mini embroideries. These have been a bit harder since they're a good deal smaller than the initial necklaces I made for Christmas. Hopefully I"ll have the finished products ready to show by the end of the month.

Squirrel Watcher

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Enjoy your weekend!

Squid a Month Club (November Vampire)

2012-01-12T21:18:00.000-05:00

200 Sitches: The Back Stitch and Variations

2012-01-10T10:07:00.004-05:00

I remember doing these stitches a lot when I was first starting out. I had forgotten how much fun they are to do. Heck I even remember the exact spot I learned this. It was in the apartment of a woman named Dot.
I wanted to learn embroidery but my Fibers professor didn't teach a full course so she set me up to do independent study for a semester. I went to Joann's and bought the cheapest book I could find with the best pictures to learn from. It looked like one of those old workbooks you would get in elementary school that taught math via coloring shapes and doing mazes. That book was so worth it. Heck I still have it and recommend it to anyone who wants a good instructional book. The diagrams were clear and comprehensive and taught you as if you had no clue what you were doing, but didn't make you feel like a dick for being that way. I only ever completed one of the projects but I had about half a yard of fabric where I would practice the stitches over and over again. I was in love.

One of my jobs in college was working as a home aide for the elderly. I would visit their homes after I was done with classes. I would make them meals, bathe them, help them with laundry. Anything that would make it easier for them to stay in their own home and be as independent as possible. Plus I would be there for company, I think this was the thing they enjoyed the most and that helped them the most. Also, I had a blast hanging out with the ladies (I never once took care of a man, everyone was a widow except one awesome lady who was proud to say she was an old maid). They loved seeing whatever fibers project I would bring and showing me some of their work as well. One woman cross-stitched her family from photographs. It was pretty impressive, especially the charts she would make for them. Even more so given the crippling arthritis in both hands.

I started learning embroidery when I was working at Dot's apartment. She was a former teacher and, like several other ladies I worked for, went to school at my old college. Back when it was still a teaching school. She used to tell stories of how she would hitchhike from her town that was about 30 minutes away if she missed the train. Dot was sadly suffering from Alzheimer's at this time. She was at the stage where she could sometimes remember the present but spent more time talking about the past. When we would take walks through her building she would talk about her childhood in vivid detail and mention things like how she hated wreathes on doors because when she was young the only time you put a wreath up (which always had a black ribbon) was to indicate that someone in the household had died. She also had the worst case of sundowning I had ever seen. At some point in the evening after the agitation and pacing had gone down she would mistake me for an old college roommate where she would ask me questions about my "current beau". This then led to a freak out that we had a big test coming up that we needed to study for. After a few shifts I realized one thing that seemed to help her was actually studying for the test that was coming up. Her favorite subject was art history. After I found this out I always made a note to bring my art history books for her to look through and honestly, she was pretty good at quizzing me on paintings. If she had a particularly rough evening she tended to be in bed by 8pm. My shifts didn't end until 11 so I had 3 hours to kill before the next aide arrived.

The early bedtimes happened at a lot of the houses I worked at. There's only so much light housekeeping you can do when someone is sleeping but you still need to be there if they get out of bed (or fall out of bed, which happened upon occasion and good lord is that ever a terrifying experience). This downtime led to me being able to work sometimes 24-30 hours a week while being a full-time student. So hey, if you're in college and like old people might I recommend becoming a home health aide?

200 Sitches: The Darning Stitch and Variations

2012-01-09T09:00:00.003-05:00

First off, the note included with this stitch was that it's "very easy to work on evenweave fabric" which is what all of the stitches in this book are worked on. I gotta say, I think I'd only be able to work this on evenweave which is also why the recommended use is as a filling stitch for blackwork. I had thought about doing all of these on the same fabric but decided against it. I usually work all of my embroidery on plainweaves since I'm normally doing freestyle embroidery (word.) This is just a fancy way of saying I embroider focusing more on the design and use the fabric as a background instead of counting threads in the fabric.

So all of this to say that this stitch, as you can obviously see, failed. I thought about redoing it or trying an even weave fabric to try again but I think from this point on I'll just make a note to come back to certain stitches. The point of this exercise is for me to break out of the habit of using only a few stitches so I'm more focused on just trying them at this point instead of perfecting every single one. I think this will also help me to not get sidetracked from the main goal.

Squid a Month Club (November Pilot School)

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today he got his wings.

200 Sitches: The Holbein Stitch

2012-01-05T09:00:00.002-05:00

200 Stitches: the Beginning

2012-01-04T09:00:00.002-05:00

I was inspired by the blog the Big B to attempt to learn (or relearn) 200 stitches this year. I tend to use the same stitches over and over again and I need to stop that. I figured the best way to combat this is to crack open my stitch bible that I've had for about 5 years and go through it cover to cover. It's also a prime time to use up extra fabric in my stash and all of the left over embroidery floss I have kicking around.

First stitch was the "running stitch and variations". I need to break out the ruler since my eyesight is too poor and my apartment too dim to count threads in the fabric. Next up, the Holbein stitch! EMBROIDER FTW!

Already this exercise makes me want to finally dive into getting an embroidery hoop stand. Mainly so I can look like Madame de Pompadour in her lesser role as royal embroiderer.

The New Year

2012-01-03T22:40:00.002-05:00

First off, my New Year so far has involved loads of MBMBAM. Go click on that link to hear a sampling of the show. And then head on over to Maximum Fun to bask in the wonders of podcasts.
Alright. So this here blog. It is 2012 and many things are afoot in the world of Cleo Dee's. Although really things started changing it up in early 2011. Perhaps I'll get into that at a later date but right now I"ll be vague and mysterious (read: I don't feel like typing all of it out at this time.) From now on there will be a little less plush and squid and more embroidery, fiber projects, sketching and wacom tablet and After Effects learning. Only the first two will be seen on this blog for a long time. Hopefully by the end of 2012 I'll have something to show in the other departments. But for now I'll leave you with the promise of being back tomorrow with the first installment of the newness. I hope you stick around. I"ll try my best to impress you short of balancing on a ball. I am shit at balancing.

Embroider Everything!

2011-12-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

For most of the girls in the family I decided to try my hand at some pendants. I embroidered some designs on my trusty felt and then attached them to some pendant trays with a glass glaze. I'm writing this before I gifted these so hopefully they went over well. I'm thinking of making some more for the shop since I can never get enough of embroidery tiny things.

Pre-Christmas Squid

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

An insane amount of Christmas cookies have been baked, spicy nuts have been mixed and jarred and presents have been wrapped. Not much to write or photograph about that so hey, enjoy some squid pictures and enjoy whatever holiday or non-holiday you're celebrating this month. See you soon!

Ordering Deadlines for the Holidays

2011-12-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

I just added some new stuff to the shop. Also, here are the ordering deadlines for Christmas:

Last day for custom or made to order items is December 16th.

Last day for ready to ship items is 10am eastern on December 19th.
If you order after this your package will not arrive before Christmas.

Bazaar Bizarre Cleveland 2011 This Weekend!

2011-12-09T12:38:00.000-05:00

Saturday 10th 10a-9p
Sunday 10a-6p

78th Street Studios
1300-1301 West 78th St.
Cleveland 44102

This weekend, as you may have gathered is Baz Biz Cleveland. Since I didn't get to do many shows this season Clevelanders (Clevelandites? Clevies?) are going to have a feast at my table. Some new Tadly designs will be making their debut along with my aprons (although I only have a few of those left to bring). Plus a good amount of new squid that aren't in the shop. Also, I have found some items while cleaning out my inventory area. These haven't been seen in quite some time and will never be made again so get 'em while you can.

Squid skirts:

A mini skirt and a pencil skirt. Both size 13. Obviously both black.

I have 4 packs of card sets. They include 1 of each of the designs seen above. Parcel wrapped.

Hope to see you and yours this weekend!

Squidtivity

2011-12-04T13:19:00.004-05:00

This is the fifth year that I've been making the squidtivity so I figured why not make a moving tribute? Since I'm married to an animator I just turned around from my desk and we hatched a plan. Basically that meant I took some pictures and he stayed up late for a couple nights and banged this out. He is also the man behind the signs at my table, my tags and my flyers and we share a lot of similar design sensibilities so he pretty much knew what I would like. He was right. My favorite part is the wisemen teetering down the hill.

The video showcases the original squidtivity but over the years I have added more. 3 more in fact.They now make up what is called the complete squidtivity. I like to be offical and descriptive.

The squidtivity is a tribute to the nativity plays in the church I grew up in. It was a very small Methodist church with an organist that would fall asleep during hymns and at least one choir singer who was always off-key. Our nativity plays consisted of a fake baby snagged from the nursery and swaddled in a towel. It hung out in a manger built years ago by one of the church members. Everyone in the nativity was also in the choir since it was a musical. We had a narrator that would move the story along and at key points there were Christmas hymns. The wisemen (the only 3 men in the choir) had the grandest entrance. They would come in from the back and sing "We Three Kings" until they arrived at the front of the church. They walked very slowly so they could at least get 2 verses in. A few years I ended up as the angel. They knew I was too shy to ever sing a solo so they thought the better route was to convince me to play the flute, which I had only been playing for 2 years. One year they made my younger cousin play with me. We came in on the side in our white acolyte gowns and tinsel halos, mumbled to the shepherds and then butchered "Angels We Have Heard on High".

All of the squids are handmade by me. They are made out of felt (35% wool) and are hand embroidered. They're only available during the holiday season, and it's one of the rare things that appeals to both devout believers and atheists. Through the years we have gotten every possible reaction from this. From cries of "Blasphemy!" to fits of giggles. Grab one today!

Thursday's Accessory

2011-12-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Family

2011-11-29T09:00:00.004-05:00

I got a consignment request from a lovely squid a month club member earlier this month. A few years back she had purchased a mom and baby squid from me for a friend who was expecting. That little girl has come to love the squid and parents and friend decided squid would be a way to further explain the awesomeness of having a baby brother. The deadline for this was pretty tight and it took me a few days of staring at 4 bolts of citrus colored felt to figure out how to go about this one. Here is the result:

Each squid and accessory have magnets placed securely and strategically inside of them to enhance the fun of what you can do with these guys. This includes magnets on the backs so you can slap them onto large chunks of metal. For some reason this was always important for me to do with my own magnetic toys as a child. I based the accessories on the descriptions of the family so the neuroscientist Dad is holding a brain, the chorale member Mom has her music book. The daughter has butterfly wings while the baby got a moon and stars themed blanket.

The wings of course are also magnetic so I needed to make sure they looked good from either side. I sketched up a pattern and then cut all of the little shapes out by hand. They were cleaned up a bit after this photo and another set was made then green felt sandwiched in between.

Also, choir book!

I then went to town making it look like the squid family went to a department store photo studio to celebrate their new family.

I'm hoping the daughter enjoys her squid and her new brother.

New Squids, Super Holiday Sales and Small Businesses

2011-11-26T09:00:00.048-05:00

The shop is now stocked with loads of items for the season including some one of a kind items like the tattooed lady squid and the knife throwing act. Hopefully I have all of your squid needs covered for the season. Please make sure to check my shop announcement page for order by dates. Each order over $20 until December 31st will come with a free gift (hint: free mini squid!) and if you order now through Monday November 28th you will get 15% off each order! Just enter the code "cephalopod" and you'll be set.

And if you're into printed goods you can check out my husband's shop. He'll be selling some pretty awesome prints based on themes such as the smartness of reading and holiday cards based on characters like the Krampus or the Catalonia poop log. He will also have 5 extra and unnumbered star charts for sale. If you get a chance, mosey on by his shop. You will not be disappointed.

This year has been rough for a ton of people and running small businesses can be trying in the best of times. But all of this wouldn't be possible for any of us running shops out of our homes, studios or storefronts without your support, whether that's by purchasing our creations or passing along our names to your friends.You guys are awesome. You are what keeps us going.

Thank You.

Correcting the dirth of Thanksgiving tunes

2011-11-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

Here's a little Tadly and Abigail to get you into the Thanksgiving spirit this week.

I'm doing sewing and I'm still alive

2011-11-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

Hello,
Except for some Thursday Accessories post I have been away from this blog. So enjoy this scene of my desk from late last night. I've been working away on some super fun custom pieces along with getting ready for Baz Biz Cleveland. Due to some unexpected issues this will be the only show I'll be doing this holiday season so Cleveland will have loads of squid to choose from.
That also means that my etsy shop will be stocked for the holidays as it has never been stocked before. Everything will be up for the Monday after Thanksgiving and every order until the new year will include a gift of a free mini squid. So if you missed me in your city this year please check out my shop and grab something if it tickles your fancy.

Thanks friends,

Bethany

PS

Thursday's Accessory

2011-11-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

the cosmos

Thursday's Accessory

2011-11-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Accessory

2011-11-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

matrimonial doughnut

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T13:09:00.000-04:00

We're hoping our new neighborhood is full of trick or treaters tonight. There is much candy to pass out.

This seemed like the perfect day to post one of the squid from the latest Squid a Month Club:

Thursday's Accessory

2011-10-27T12:11:00.002-04:00

Fall Walk (photo dump)

2011-10-25T09:00:00.002-04:00

I spent the morning finally exploring more of the neighborhood while listening to the new Tom Waits album. Both did not disappoint.


Frick Park from the bridge

Makes me feel like I'm in New Jersey

New neighborhood. Wide streets, ample parking! No drunks!!

The squirrel is winning

New Things

2011-10-21T12:47:00.000-04:00

I spent my sick days photographing new items for the shop. All but the squid pins are up (need to wait for a sunny day) but hopefully there's something there that will strike your fancy.
(also, free shipping until Oct. 31 if you enter the code FREESHIPPING during checkout)

Thanks guys

Thursday's Accessory

2011-10-20T09:00:00.001-04:00

manatee

The Wedding Couple

2011-10-19T09:00:00.003-04:00

I received a custom request for a wedding present earlier this month. Actually the requester was the girl who we "gave" our old apartment to (our landlady asked us if we knew anyone who would want it). I dropped these off so I could pick up some things that got left behind. It was fun seeing an old place you lived in, especially since you rarely get to do that. I also got to see some adorable guinea pigs hanging out in our old living room in their super crazy fancy pen. Those pigs have it made. Anyway, the squid were for a couple who had recently wed in a doughnut shop. Since they also weren't wearing traditional wedding attire I changed up the colors of the squid to match the outfits worn. I made the squid groom match the human groom's shirt color and embroidered a similar pattern onto his tie. The human bride had an adorable bat dress that I wanted to represent somehow so I gave the squid bride a little bat necklace. And since they were wed surrounded by doughnuts I figured it was only natural to have them each holding a doughnut half, ready to be united.

Also, to make this extra cheesy and lovey dovey, the bride is holding the doughnut with the groom's initial and vice versa for a nod to the whole exchanging rings thing.

Thank you, Columbus!

2011-10-18T12:47:00.000-04:00

This weekend was Craftin' Outlaws and it was lovely. I haven't done this show in a few years and it was nice to be back in Columbus. I also adore the folks who put it on. We had a lovely breakfast (giant baking sheets with freshly made cinnamon buns) plus a lovely little vendor gift bag. It just made the day that much nicer.

My neighbor was the ever delightful umbrella girl productions so I stocked up on greeting cards and a fancy little scarf. I was hoping to grab a cape from Amy D but sadly she was sold out by the time I walked over there. I totally wish I did more shows with her. That lady is hilarious.

After the show was hopped back into the car and headed to our old neighborhood to catch World Inferno play. We had about an hour and a half to kill before which killed my energy so sadly the show was not as enjoyable for me as it could have been. I was almost falling asleep but the band was fantastic and the crowd was hilarious. I forgot that the success of crowd surfing is inherently tied to alcohol consumption. I didn't make it to bed until 2:30 Sunday morning which meant I had been up for 23 hours straight, but it was worth it.

See you Saturday at Craftin' Outlaws Columbus!

2011-10-14T13:21:00.000-04:00

There will be a smattering of new items for Craftin' Outlaws including loads of new felt colors and since I haven't been there since their launch, Tadly and Abigail will be making their debut.

Columbus, OH
Gateway Film Center
11am-5pm

Hope to see you there!

Thursday's Accessory

2011-10-13T09:00:00.001-04:00

library books

Squid A Month Club (October Cosmos)

2011-10-12T09:00:00.001-04:00

And another Squid a Month Club squid. The description for this was "second career astronaut" and was the conclusion of this squid story.

Tina Kova is back from space and ready to share the marvels of the universe. All of her photographs are being posted via NASA's twitter feed but she has a whole new way to showcase her experience. She is at the opening exhibit of her space embroideries and is having a delightful time going into the specifics of space walking and needlepoint.

Ico is doing a crap job at protecting our pumpkins

2011-10-11T09:00:00.001-04:00

Squid A Month Club (October Anatomy)

2011-10-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

One of the Squid a Months for October. The description I had to go on was "anatomy"

Erin has been preparing for her latest school report all week. She just put the finishing touches on her skeleton suit and is now practicing her report in front of the mirror. She's pretty confident on explaining blood flow without her notes but she still needs to work on being able to identify all of the veins in her illustration.

Report cards

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

A five part series of a journalist/historian tracking down the owners of old report cards he found marked for trash. Most of the ones discussed are from a sewing trade school from the 1920s. It's pretty amazing seeing what became of these people and experiencing their timeline. My favorite story is the one of Mary Meyer.

I feel like my report cards would be rather boring compared to the trade school report cards. I don't even remember much about mine except I always thought it was crap that my gym grade always pulled down my GPA. Except for that glorious year I was in the Band gym class with Mr. Spangler. Just a bunch of fellow woodwinders and percussionists playing floor hockey and capture the flag in the most non-judgmental high school period ever experienced.

Fall Photo Dump

2011-10-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

I've been really excited to not only have a front (and back!) porch to decorate but a cozy little apartment that has working heat. We even have hot water in the bathroom sink. It's so amazing to wash your face in the morning and not freeze. My flowers aren't dying inside and all of our vents are blowing out hot air instead of cold. I have not experienced this in 5 years and it is glorious. And now: FALL!

The Vanilla Experiment

2011-10-04T09:00:00.002-04:00

I decided to start making my own vanilla after I had used up the last of my imitation vanilla. Mainly I did it for fun and to see how it would taste. I never bought the actual vanilla in stores because it's so expensive but I've had it in baked goods and I at least could tell a difference. I bought a 750ml bottle of vodka and 15 vanilla beans online for a little under $20. There are some differences in flavor for different beans. I got Madagascar beans because they are supposed to have more of a straight up vanilla flavor. You can also try different alcohols for different flavors. I stuck with vodka since it doesn't really add anything to the beans. Usually when I try something out I like to do the basic of all recipes to see if it's something I like to begin with.

Once I got the beans and the booze I set to work. I opened the bottle, popped in the beans and gave it a shake. It needs to be kept in a dark place so I put the bottle in a paper bag and placed it in the back of my pantry with my vinegar/lemon cleaner. A couple times a week I gave both of them a shake. It was pretty awesome watching the transition.


Day one.

3 months.

5 months.

Recipes vary on how long it takes to make the vanilla but a few months is usually the consensus. Most people say they keep a few beans in the jar and just add fresh beans and alcohol to keep it topped off. It of course keeps pretty much indefinitely. As a bonus you can take your used beans, split them and add them to sugar to make vanilla sugar. I haven't tried this yet but I'll probably get around to it later this week. There are also a crazy amount of other ways to use these beans afterwards in recipes.
I tried out my vanilla in some baked goods and I have to say it was quite better than the imitation vanilla. My friend Erin decided to make her own vanilla a little before I did and we decided to trade. I forgot what type of beans she used but she used bourbon for the alcohol.

Erin's bourbon vanilla

Her vanilla has a slightly different hue than mine and the bourbon vanilla was better in chocolate items (especially brownies) while mine was good for items like vanilla cake or lighter baked goods. All in all I think it was worth it for me to spend the money and time on this. Although it is more expensive in the start I think it does end up beating imitation in the long run for me. Mainly because I bake and cook a good chunk of our food. It lasts longer, can be replenished and the beans can be used for so many other things. Plus it's always rad to have various jars in your kitchen in different stages of transformation. Makes me feel like I have a lab.

Dad Got a Trail Cam

2011-10-03T09:00:00.002-04:00

My dad got a trail cam. He then propped up an old stump and added some cracked corn and some apples that he got while drilling near an orchard. All of this is in the far side yard, past the field and near the grove of pine trees. Sometimes he walks up after dinner to throw out leftovers. He has been sending me photos of what creatures have passed by. I'm posting a few highlights here but you should check here to see the full album. It will not disappoint.

I was pretty impressed with the quality of the photos and it was just really amazing to see the property that I spent so much time exploring in a different light. I just love all of the quick little "snapshots" of my home. It was also great seeing all of the animals that hang around our house, most of them I've seen quite often but 2 in particular were surprising. The black vultures and the black squirrel (they're at the link). Black vultures just recently started coming back to our part of the state and my Dad had never seen them around there before which is pretty exciting. The black squirrels have also started to appear lately. My dad hadn't seen one of them since the late 70's and the one on the camera is the second one he's seen this year.

A murder of crows

little buck

gray squirrel in the fog

Racoons. The two on the right are fighting over some chicken skin.

Little bear.

The Internets

2011-09-30T09:00:00.002-04:00

Some lovely things I've seen this week.

Sundries and Plunder

Seeing these yet again brought up one of the issues with wearing glasses. I would love nothing more than to wear these (or any of the other awesome masks they make) to a fancy Halloween party/dinner. We could make hooves to go with them.

Oh and those ribbons! Oh my goodness!


little goodall

A friend sent me the link to this shop mentioning that this was going on the list of "things to buy when you have children". There is a gray fox as well. My goal is to have twins and buy one of each and then let them loose in the woods. I will occasionally squee when one of the fox children runs past. Since I received this link I have watched this woman be interviewed on etsy's front page and now place her shop on vacation to get caught up on orders. It made me so happy to see this. I love seeing people who are making original, well made and beautiful designs get rewarded for their talent by being able to make even more of the things that they love.


just oh my word, the craftsmanship. And those claw sleeves just kill me.


matilde beldroega

I saw this little fella the other morning and I want him so badly. I love the design on the goat in particular and holy crap that little cloak he's wearing! I also love the faces of the dolls she makes. Barely any stitches used but still expressive. I especially enjoyed the little smirk on the girl below.

She even makes the shoes!

Thursday's Accessory

2011-09-29T09:00:00.001-04:00

Cats in hoop waiting to be sewn into miniature dishtowels.

Holiday Squids! Up! Up!

2011-09-28T09:00:00.002-04:00

Fall and Winter is my busiest time of year.

My sewing takes place everywhere.

And I have little piles of finished work hanging around waiting to be packaged.

So once again I am listing my Holiday Squid early so you can get a head start on your shopping. Also, this gives me a head start on my sewing. All of them are Made to Order and will take 2 weeks for squid and 3 weeks for Squidtivity. As a thank you, please enjoy free shipping on any holiday order. Just enter the code FREESHIPPING during checkout.

You can check out all of the holiday goodness here.

Squid A Month Club (September Robot)

2011-09-27T09:00:00.004-04:00

One of the squid from the club, the lovely lady had requested "squid robot".

Maker Faire New York

2011-09-26T09:00:00.002-04:00

So this post is behind the times but as soon as we came back from New York there was oodles of work to be done. I don't think you can really put into words the awesomeness of Maker Faire and even taking pictures of the place is hard to do so I'll focus on some favorite parts.

While in my booth I spotted this guy wandering around. I pointed and Scott immediately went off to photograph him. The weekend involved a lot of pointing and running off to catch something.

First off, the Bust show was great and I had a blast talking to all of the customers and meeting so many that wanted to talk shop and getting to see why some of them were there (from hackers to robotics teams). Tadly was welcomed warmly and everyone was totally down with the whole plush/animation thing we have going on with him and Abigail. We shared a tent with a lovely gal named Francesca who makes awesome cards that she hand cuts from vintage magazines and the like (we came home with a few). We actually ended up being 1 tent away from the metal dragon that I posted about earlier and that thing did not disappoint. I was excited about it after seeing the video but you really can't comprehend this thing unless you see it in person. Actually, I won't even mention anything more about it because it kind of needs it's own separate post.

The show is in and surrounding the New York Hall of Science. The grounds are actually where the '64 World's Fair took place so peppered throughout were buildings and statues from that event. The Faire is in zones and we of course were in the craft zone. In the Science Hall you could wander through the museum and stop at tables set up throughout. You could make paper cranes, catch a speaker (Scott saw John Hodgman!) or you could enter a darken room and play games that people had developed or watch other crazy stuff made out of lights and strings or people playing instruments with gameboy parts.

My favorite thing in there was a group that made lights for bike tires. They had a simple set for $50 and then were showing off entire wheels that have text and pictures on them (like a monkey running). I tried getting video but my camera was too slow. Outside was a sprawling mass of tents both big and small. There was a Maker Tent where you could learn to solder, make a flashlight, lock pick etc. There were lots of high school robotics teams showing off their creations. People were there with crazy bikes you could ride around. You could be pushed on a giant swing that was constantly "raining", only stopping when you passed through. A team was showing off their work with making a robotic arm work with only your thoughts. And you could sit down, be hooked up with electrodes and try it out for yourself.

It was exhilarating to be around such a large mass of people who were exited to make things and learn. Sometimes I get a bit bummed being around others who seem to not only not care about how the world works but actively mock people who are trying. Trying to learn, comprehend, interact with the world around them, make things, anything that will make the world or even part of someone's day a little better or just more exciting and fun. This place had none of that and it was wonderful to behold. It made me exited to be doing what I do and it was just great to walk around and have everyone marveling and sharing all sorts of ideas.

My favorite scene I witnessed that summed up the spirit of this weekend involved a bike (or two) tricked out to be a moving cart. The pirate riders would stop occasionally in the crowd. This time they stopped in front of the metal dragon and the rocket statue. One pirate passed out foam swords and encouraged attacks on himself. A second rider antagonized the children and adults from inside by poking out of various windows. Mostly everyone would focus on the riders but occasionally they would branch out. I witnessed a wonderful fight between a mother and daughter. When the pirates were "beaten" they rang a bell, the swords were given back and off they went.

Thursday's Accessory

2011-09-22T09:00:00.003-04:00

Custom Accessories.

See you Saturday and Sunday at Maker Faire New York!

2011-09-16T09:00:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone,

We will be at Maker Faire NY in the Bust Craftacular section, booth/tent #52.
New York Hall of Science
September 17th (10a-7p) and September 18th (10a-6p)
You will see new Tadly and Abigail and loads of new squid. And! My aprons will be there, which rarely get to make an appearance due to lack of display space.
It's going to be a gorgeous weekend (no rain in site!) and you will see awesome stuff. Like really, really awesome stuff. I highly recommend including Maker Faire in your plans. Because this will be here for you to ride.

Did you see this?

YOU CAN RIDE THIS.

It is the closest you will ever get to riding a dinosaur for a myriad of reasons.

Hope to see you there!

Thursday's Accessory

2011-09-15T09:00:00.003-04:00

cinnamon buns.

Maker Faire prep work

2011-09-13T13:53:00.001-04:00

The days are counting down to when I need to pack up the trunks and head to the Hall of Science in Queens on Saturday and Sunday for Maker Faire New York. We'll be in the Bust Craftacular section, Booth 51. It promises to be a splendid Autumn weekend so stop by and say hello!

You can find more info here.

The Plucky Farmerette

2011-09-11T23:38:00.003-04:00

The show that I had mentioned last month has ended so I'm pretty tickled to post the shots of the squid I had sent out to Indiana for it. The show was carnival and side show themed so of course this was the first set I made for it:

I was pretty excited about the prospect of making sideshow themed squid and I wanted to make one more. I had recently finished Fruits of Victory and had Farmerettes on the mind. I had never heard of the Woman's Land Army and I highly recommend checking this book out to hear some amazing tales about some amazing women. And since this was a carnival-themed show I was also thinking about the tattoo ladies on the side show circuit. So, put those two together and you get Millie, the tattooed Farmerette.

Millie has spent quite a long time collecting all of her tattoos. She thought it was such a shame to have to hide them due to Victorian sensibilities so she took matters into her own tentacles. You can catch Millie being billed not only has a tattooed lady but as the only tattooed land squid you will see this side of the Mississippi.

I used the same technique for her as I did the sailor squid. I had a lot of fun sketching out agrarian-themed designs but sadly didn't get to use all of them.

And here are some close ups of the tattoos:

The pea pod was my favorite so I decided to make a little headband to complete the squid.

The inside of the pod contains 4 peas but sadly I couldn't get them to show up very well in the photos. I would really love to do more tattooed squid but I'll probably have to wait until after the holiday rush. I already have some ideas for other themes to embroider on tentacles.

Tadly Series 2

2011-09-09T12:49:00.005-04:00

The Tadly revamp series is up and for sale! And if you need a refresher on Tadly you can go here to check out Tadly and Abigail's story and adventures thus far.

Apple Tadly

Cat Tadly

In celebration of the 2 new Tadly designs I just finished we decided to revamp the old designs. This revamp was partly inspired by the discovery that a certain someone in the household destroyed an entire army surplus duffle bag of Tadly plush. I thought it would be safe under the bed since it did not look like there was enough room anywhere under there for Ico to reach it. I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

Scott and I sat down to design the new guys and tweak the old patterns. I then took some time to redo the construction of them all and am now hand sewing everything completely. The only thing not sewn on are the glasses which are attached with felt glue. The hand embroidery allowed me to play more with the colors and feel of each design since you can get the thread to pop a lot more on felt than with machine sewing.

Tadly

Abigail and her book.

Russian Dancing Bear Tadly

Abigail and her letter.

Stump Tadly

Purple Tadly.

Thursday's Accessory

2011-09-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Aprons

very soon

2011-09-05T09:54:00.000-04:00

This week will be pretty rad if you like tentacles on other animals and objects.

Thursday's Accessory

2011-09-01T09:00:00.000-04:00


cheeseburger.

Fun story: We were at a craft show where an animal rights group had a table that was showing videos of slaughterhouses on a loop all day. One of them stopped by my booth. She picked up the squid who was holding the tray of burgers and asked if these were veggie burgers. I said no because squid are carnivores. She left in disgust.

Photo Dump Wednesday: Flora

2011-08-31T09:00:00.001-04:00

These were taken on my droid while walking around the side yard at my family home on my last visit.

GeeGee's Needlework

2011-08-28T19:27:00.002-04:00

This piece hung in my grandmother's farmhouse when I was a little girl. My gram passed away when I was in elementary school and thankfully my mom loved this as much as I did and made sure to take it. It has hung in the entryway of our house ever since. I'm pretty certain that my gram's mother made this. We called her Gee Gee and I have a few things that she made. Most notably an apron that my mother wore when she was a toddler in the 1940's. I'm not really sure when this embroidery was made but my guess is the 50's, perhaps the 60's. Gee Gee also died when I was pretty young so my only memory of her is a Muppet Baby version of Nanny. I remember being at her old and creaky home watching TV on the floor with my brother and having a pair of orthopedic shoes in thick stockings serve us Hydrox cookies and milk on a tray. I always thought the tray was a nice touch. I also remember her funeral being the day I found out that my family has a tradition of kissing the person in the coffin goodbye so my second memory is my mom guiding me towards an open coffin and telling me to give Gee Gee a kiss on the cheek.
I really wish I would have known her better than this because the stories I heard about her later where all tales of her being quite the prankster. When she worked at the local sewing factory she stuck a pair of mannequin legs in a vent and then hid nearby. Whenever someone walked by she would yell for help. My favorite photo is one where she decided to practice the layout for her funeral. It has an 80-something year old woman flat on her back in the grass holding a lilly with her eyes closed and a slight smirk. She really knew how to commit.
And with that we're back to the embroidery. My mom said it was loosely based on their daily life at the farm. She always had the chore of feeding the chickens. They had a lot of chickens and they enjoyed pecking her legs so she was not a fan of them. The only other person she ever pointed out was that my aunt was possibly the girl feeding the ducks (and thus once again getting away with not doing any of her own chores). I always assumed my grandpa as the wagon driver with one of his many trusty dogs following behind. The last dog my grandpa had was a gray toy poodle named FiFi. FiFi would ride with my grandpa on the tractor while he plowed the fields and looked after the horses and the sheep. He also took FiFi to the groomer's once a week for a wash and color-coordinating nails and bow. FiFi was also a boy. I was used to most farmers I knew having little dogs they took along with them during their work but none were like FiFi. I also assume that my grandmother is by the house in the upper left hanging out the wash. An uncle (the twin to my mom) is fishing. My other uncle (twin to my aunt) is loading up the apple cart. And I'm totally lost as to who the other man in the orchard would be but I'm guessing it would be my grandpa's father who was the previous owner of the farm.

I never really attempted embroidery until I was in college and did an independent study course in Fibers one semester and taught myself. I hadn't thought about this piece in ages but quickly realized that it was a pretty big influence on me and my obsession with having large scenes that you can dive into and find intimate details. Embroidery also tapped into my love of neo-impressionists and of course, pointillism. I still remember having my little mind blown in second grade when we had a class on the paintings of Seurat. I couldn't wait to have my turn to look at the print up close. It was fascinating going near and far to see when was the precise moment that the splotches started to work together to convey a recognizable image.
When I returned from college after my first attempts of embroidery I had a whole new appreciation for this piece. I love that she rarely used anything but a straight stitch to convey shapes which I find I do as well now. I know so many stitches but I really love just sticking to simple dashes, satin stitching and of course the lovely colonial knot. Sometimes I'll work in a fancy stitch and then pull it all out because I find it distracting. It's also great to see how few stitches she used to convey something that you can instantly recognize (like the ducks and the crows.) I really enjoy how she used white to pull everything together. I think these objects could easily look like blobs if it wasn't for that.

Every time I walk into my dad's house this is the first thing I see and I am so happy it survived to be passed down along with plenty of tales of GeeGee.

note: all of these photos are pretty big so you can click on them and zoom in. You can also find some more shots here. I had to take all of these shots with the embroidery still under glass so sorry about some of the glare. Speaking of this still being under glass- the back of this is just as fantastic as the front. I love all of the bits and pieces she used in the framing.

Best Thing I've Seen All Week

2011-08-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Emily Carroll's art always amazes me (I especially adore all of her centaur illustrations) but this story was amazing- especially the way she set up the pages. I won't spoil it for you but man, it is amazing.

The Prince and the Sea by Emily Carroll

Thursday's Accessory

2011-08-25T09:00:00.003-04:00

These were made to hold mac and cheese and mashed potatoes.

Wedding preparations

2011-08-24T09:00:00.020-04:00

As I said yesterday, Megan had her wedding at her parents' house. It took a few days to ready the house, side yard and the desserts. Her parents have a gorgeous and large house so hosting 25 people was tight but totally doable.
After Megan picked me up from the Mega Bus and treated me to breakfast we made lots of to-do lists and cleared off the deck where the dinner and dancing were to occur. Doing this was kind of terrifying but also really fun. I was in charge of hooking up the furniture with a hook her dad had fashioned and lowering it down. I only dropped one thing. I consider that a victory.

It was fun wandering through the basement and picking things out that would make for cute decorations.This is where the candles around the cake and all of the birds came from that are seen here. Their basement storage is set up like a store with several large racks lined up on 2 sides. It's awesome.

On Friday Megan was dropped off and I ran errands with her mom. This ended up becoming a mini tour of childhood friends. We went to a bakery that was just opened by an old friend Jena (her cupcakes were delicious, by the way). I spent many a summer day in her pool and spent a load of time running around with her in high school. The next day I ended up at the farm of another friend named Lisa where we picked up the chicken for dinner. Her mom opened up a catering business out of her house that Lisa helps with which seems like a natural since her cooking was always a highlight of my frequent stays. Being there also reminded me of an incident of playing in her hayloft with some other girls. We were climbing to the top and 2 girls fell off and landed on top of each other on the hard wooden floor. Luckily they missed landing on the tractor and even more luckily neither had a scratch on them. I can still remember the dead silence in the barn as we waited for them to move after the fall.

Anyway, back to the cupcakes. Megan had hydrangeas as her bouquet and centerpieces so she found a tutorial for making hydrangea cupcakes. She figured it would be best to have the bottoms pre-made so she could just focus on the icing. It was smooth sailing and the result was lovely.

She modified the icing by just using 10x sugar and butter so it wouldn't be as heavy.

the favorite.

perfect.

Megan's mom also made welcome baskets for Philip's out of town family and friends. I found this to be incredibly sweet. Megan and I went to a local farmer's market to pick up some fruit and we of course picked up some whoopie pies made by some local Brown Suiters. The basket is rounded out by the local favorites of Hartley potato chips, candy from Asher's candy store and brochures of what to do in Mifflin County (which really does involve lots of cow sightseeing). Not pictured are some great postcards for our local festivals and plenty of options for wagon rides and eating heavy German food.

The napkins I posted about earlier looked pretty swell on the table (although I didn't get a picture of them) although we were sadly one short. Luckily Scott took a bullet and opted for a paper napkin. We also made tissue paper poofs that hung over the ceremony. I was on the fence about these but Megan swore that they would look fantastic in the trees (they were married on the spot where the fire pit usually stands). She was totally right.

Megan gets a new nickname

2011-08-23T09:00:00.001-04:00

This is a little sneak peek at my best friend's wedding that happened this past weekend. I'll post more because there are lots of pictures of the making of. Her and her lovely husband Philip wed at Megan's parent's house and beside a bit of catered food everything was made and set up by the family (with some help from Scott and I).

Getting ready to board the Mega Bus.

2011-08-18T06:00:00.004-04:00

See you next week!

Abigail Recommends

2011-08-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

Hello, my historical poets! Today I bring you a very dainty and old book. A Vintage of Verse was written by Clarence Urmy in 1897 with only five hundred copies printed. It is a lovely little book to take along with you to read in the warm sunshine. And although it focuses on the land of California, parts of the poem below remind me of my own days in Central Penna. Although I would substitute the cow bells with sheep baaing.

Toward twilight-time we slowly pass

Along a road whose winding turns

Are decked with dainty wildwood flowers,

With trailing vines and graceful ferns;

Along a rail-fence runs a quail,

A bluebird darts amid the trees,

And cow-bell echoes, dimly heard,

Are wafted on the evening breeze.

Best,

Abigail

Busy Bee

2011-08-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

This bee is part of a larger onesie but sadly I can't find the other pictures for it.

Microscopic

2011-08-15T09:00:00.063-04:00

A good while ago I participated in an art show in the southside that the Steel City Art Collective put on. It's taken awhile to post these photos because of camera problems but here you go. This also means that it's for sale! Check it out at the shop.

The theme of the show was "something from nothing" which put me in mind of seeing things microscopically and the little worlds that go on around us every day. I'm always amazed at all of the tiny components that make up larger objects. Just like Bjork. I spent some time researching different images of items that would make good embroideries. Most of them are pretty true to life but I did tweak some of the colors and such. You know, cause I'm an artist.

I started off by sketching everything out on paper and making notes on colors and such because 1. It never really occurs to me to use colored pencils and 2. I don't think I'd use them anyway. I'm used to doing embroideries so for me everything starts out being sketched in a way I know will work for thread with the knowledge that I only have a limited amount of colors to work with. I probably have about 80% of all of the colors of floss so I just crack open my thread boxes and take a look. I also like to crack open my thread boxes when I'm stressed and organize them. Sometimes I go ROY G BIV and sometimes I try to make fun gradations. I also like to write down all of the colors I have so I know what I'll need in the future. I lead a wild life.

After this I used tracing paper to transfer everything onto fabric. This normally works pretty well and if some of the chalk doesn't stay on I just trace over it with pencil before it fades. The designs were too small and intricate (they're all in 1" squares although some are much smaller) for this so I just got to work as fast as I could. A few faded before I was done so I free-handed (free-embroidered?) the last few. All but one of the images was done with one strand of embroidery floss. The closeup of #9 at the bottom involved 2 and 3 strands of the various shades of orange.

After I was done I numbered all of them. At the show I printed out lists so you could take a stab at guessing what each one was and refer to the cheat sheet as needed.

As you can see I made two of these hoops. Here's a little closeup. You can check out more closeups at the shop. The answer keys are included with the hoops.

Carnivale

2011-08-12T09:00:00.001-04:00

I sent some squid to Paper Crane for their carnival/sideshow themed show. It will run until the 28th but here's a sneak peak of one of the squid. Stop by if you can. Everything showing will most likely be delightful.

Thursday's Accessory

2011-08-11T09:00:00.001-04:00

summertime

Sailor Squid (and working with stabilizer)

2011-08-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

This was another squid for last month's Squid a Month Club. It was the final squid of a one year run for a girl in Colorado. Her mom has been ordering them since 2008 and I have adored her lists. These lists always have the staple interests such as Dungeon and Dragons, video games and cats (me and this girl would get along splendidly). Every year though it's fun to see what new interests she has. Her mom just re-ordered and there's now a new element of medical science. I also learned that she took some in for show and tell once. I think I melted briefly when I read that email.
So, I had been holding off on the tattoo description on this list for the year since I wasn't really sure what to do. I knew the tentacles of a standard squid would be too small to really do anything so I decided on the Limited Edition style squid. I couldn't draw directly onto the felt with the accuracy I needed so I dug through my supplies cabinet. I have a shelf that has odds and ends that I like to keep "just in case". This has proved fruitful. In college I needed some plastic for a Fibers project. I bought half a yard of that plastic that people use to cover picnic tables. I never thought I would need it again but I hung onto it. Once I started making squid I snip some off occasionally to make the safety goggles for science squid and also a welder's mask for another custom piece. So hey, sometimes it pays to be a pack rat.
Anyhoo, I dug through my embroidery supplies until I found some stabilizer. I can't even remember what I bought this for but at some point I purchases some of the insanely thick stabilizer but have never opened the packaged. I figured this would be perfect. I was kind of winging this so in case anyone else out there isn't sure how to use this stuff here's a little how-to.
I started off drawing my designs on a template of the squid since they needed to be exact. There really wasn't any room for error on the arm tattoos.

After that I took some strips of stabilizer and placed them on top of the drawing to trace the designs.
And then I got to work.

Once I was done I cut away any extra stabilizer that I could get to and grabbed some water and a paint brush to dissolve the rest. Normally you're supposed to soak but I found it better to dab and brush on the water since I was working with felt. I accidentally used one of my non-squid markers with this so my outline also washed away and I had to redraw it. Also it stained some of my white embroidery floss so I had to cut that out and sew it again. That was a pain.

After all of this I just waited for everything to dry.

The squid is a tad stiffer than it would normally be with the stabilizer but I kind of liked that side effect. It made the tattoos stand out more.

This guy didn't seem quite finished after I sewed him up so I added a little something extra.

As soon as I finished with this guy I wanted to do more. As of last month I have. The latest one was inspired by my reading of Fruits of Victory and a sideshow carnival theme of this lovely show.

(update: here are the finished squid from the carnival show)

Bulk napkins

2011-08-09T09:00:00.001-04:00

This week I'm helping to sew wedding napkins. It hasn't gone as smoothly as we had hoped but it's still fun to sew together. Hopefully they'll be done this week and thankfully my friends are having a very small wedding.

Lucy was the only cat that was interested in the sewing party.

Annie was not as interested but was close enough to suffer through getting a new kerchief.

Photo Dump Monday

2011-08-08T22:33:00.000-04:00

Some visuals of what I've been doing lately

Celebrating the new felt colors with a new squid project.


sewing my best friend's wedding veil

Play breaks for everyone.

Thank you, Japan.

2011-08-05T09:00:00.001-04:00

This morning I am off trying to find a last minute maid of honor dress for my best friend's wedding. We were at the bridal store last week to find her wedding dress. I mentioned that technically I would be her Matron of Honor. The lady helping us at the store said that the trend lately is to use the term Goddess of Honor. Ladies, this whole thing of inserting Goddess into titles has.got.to.stop. I know what you're going for but the execution has failed.
After dropping this fun fact on us we got to picking out wedding dresses. The ladies at the store (who were very nice and helpful) seemed to not know what to do with a bride who was so laid back, had a month to plan a wedding and also seemed freaked out by the trying on process. Apparently I had blocked out the whole awkward part of borrowing undergarments and having to have assistance with gowns although I think that might have been more that I was in this store for about 15 minutes. I tried on the first dress I saw when I walked into the store and then was out. At this point I thought the worst part so far was the Goddess comment. Then Megan found the dress she wanted. Megan said "alright, I like this one. This is the one I want" Lady: "So this is it?" Megan "yea!" Lady: "So you're saying Yes to the Dress?" Megan "yea". I thought this was some sort of fluke but then it happened with the bride to be to the right of us as well. Luckily we were ready to go after this.

Well, that's more than enough about bridal stores so hey, check this out! Japan sent HD cameras to space a few years back. They took this on the moon. It's narrated and so beautiful. Although seeing anything from space is amazing it's kind of nice to actually be able to make out something so well. It makes that whole "holy crap, I'm on that planet right now" feeling even more spectacular.

Thursday's Accessory

2011-08-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

My desk is lousy with Squidtivity and other Holiday themed squid at the moment. These wings were created 2 months ago. The Fall and Winter season never really ends around here.

Squid A Month Club (August Astronaut)

2011-08-03T16:18:00.000-04:00

On the list of this particular club member was the description of "last astronaut".

Tina Kova is elated to be the first squid in space although her excitement is tempered by sadness. She's on the last NASA flight and is determined to make the most of it. She's gotten clearance to use her own camera creation while on a space walk. While repairing DEXTRE she will take a break to photograph all of the wonder around her. She'll also take a break to bask in the knowledge that she has gone where no cephalopod has gone before.

Tadly Sale

2011-08-02T22:07:00.001-04:00

This picture that Scott made for the facebook this week inspired some things. First, it inspired me to finally settle on what the new Tadly and Abigail design(s) will be this year for craft show season. Second.
It inspired a SALE!

A pretty epic sale actually, so if you ever wanted a Tadly or Abigail of your own now is the time to strike.

In the shop until August 15th enter the code MIMICUS and receive 25% on any purchase of Tadly or Abigail. There are 11 designs in all to choose from.

Roadside America

2011-08-01T11:30:00.000-04:00

Hey Look! It's August 1st!

I was gone most of last week. We were out in New Jersey to visit family. On the way home from our whirlwind trip we did take some time to head to Roadside America. I don't think I could do a better job than Scott did with the photos and such so you should check out the post below. I don't think I'll ever get sick of going to this place.

Roadside America

Best Thing I've Seen All Week

2011-07-22T23:08:00.000-04:00

Suffragettes under Surveillance.

Way to be, Suffragettes.

Thursday's Accessory

2011-07-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

Yet another accessory for a squid I won't be able to show you until much later.

I am sick.

2011-07-19T22:10:00.000-04:00

Totally, totally sick. I am spending my time cuddled up on the couch with this guy sewing a special squid and waiting for Fringe to become good. I hear it takes half a season.

And what the desk looks like day to day.

2011-07-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

Although I do always clean up my desk at the end of the day. I swear.

Best Thing I've Seen All Week

2011-07-16T16:59:00.000-04:00

Through Scott I've seen quite a number of reels but this one really stuck out to me. It's by Emma Rose-Dade who is a model maker and animator. I just adored how even in her reel she still had a mini story in there. And that story was a tad bittersweet, but man, look at those amazing flower pots!

http://vimeo.com/26137145

Work Space

2011-07-14T16:36:00.001-04:00

Our new place is pretty much put together. I'm still getting used to my new setup but so far, so good. To make enough space for our couch I placed my desk onto the fireplace mantel. Luckily the height was perfect for risers. I was thinking of doing a standing desk anyway so I also set it up for the perfect standing position for me.

When not standing I bought a pretty sweet vintage draftschair on Ebay for super cheap. I did have to get a cushion for it since my chair was still about 2 inches too short to reach. I also remove the black tins under the green stand (which is actually the leaf for the kitchen table) while sitting.

I've surrounded my monitor with work books and my vintage book collection. There's also some terrariums and family heirlooms thrown in there as well.

There are built-in shelves on either side of the desk. An old pie safe holds printer paper, tags and my squid templates.

The other side is where the black tins reside along with boxes for mini squid accessories. The old suitcase holds all of my embroidery bins and the regular sized accessories.

It's nice being surrounded by all of the lovely old brick and not feeling so caged in by a massively sloping ceiling anymore. Most of my supplies (felt, mailing supplies and also finished work) now reside in the bedroom but I actually kind of like having them out of the way. I also enjoy being able to have more of an atheistically pleasing work space. Having the couch to chill out on upon occasion has been fantastic.One of the things we wanted most with a new place was a workspace and living space combo. Our old living room was a glorified hallway since we basically just live at our desks.
Obviously we knew we weren't using all of the space we had at the old (2-story) apartment but I don't think either of us realized how much we would love having our home and work space consolidated (i.e. that dreaded word of downsized). I was amazed at how often the first question people would ask when I told them we were moving was if the new place was bigger. I was also amazed at the reactions I got when I said it wasn't and that was ok. I feel much more involved with everything in the apartment and the consolidation makes tasks much more streamlined. Although we could use at least one extra closet I think the size of everything has worked for us, and heating this winter won't be such a nightmare.

Inspiration Cat.

2011-07-13T15:46:00.000-04:00

Insomnia has kicked in this week so this is all I could come up with today.

Jam. Really not much to say about it.

2011-07-12T23:09:00.000-04:00

Sunday I went over to Megan's. It was too hot to bake so we made some quick jam.

You have to put the lid on immediately so the jam was in no way ready to try and I just picked my share up today. Hopefully the 10 minutes we worked to make this stuff is worth it.

The Farmhouse

2011-07-11T13:38:00.001-04:00

The Farmhouse is across the road from my Dad's. Our home sits on the 49 acres that was originally the pastures and fields (we still rent out the fields today). The house was built in 1846 and my great-grandparents and grandparents owned it until my gram died in the 90's. The man who was born there wrote a small book about it that I have sitting on my bookshelf. It was typed up in the 30's I believe and photocopied within an inch of its life. The story goes into great detail about where the ice house, orchards and pond were and where the Methodist minister's cabin was in Kearn's Woods (you can still find the outline of the foundation in the winter.) The man also adds how the village reacted to having a minister who was a Little Person in the area (side note: while looking up what the preferred term was for Little People nowadays I found this great exchange). The family that bought the farmhouse after my family is selling it during a divorce so it's been on and off the market for awhile now. Since it's empty I walked up and took some shots. I'm amazed that I still have a very clear image of what the inside looks like although I did spend a good deal of time running around top to bottom of the house and the barn.

Best Thing I've Seen All Week

2011-07-08T11:42:00.001-04:00

Watching the final space launch

I love that you can stream the entire process with various views of the launch. We've come a long way from the first launch in so many ways. Good luck, Astronauts and although NASA won't be sending people to space anytime soon I can't wait to see what other amazing things they do next.