Popping Out for Fabric

Saturday saw me hanging out (so American) with a friend who wanted to go fabric shopping. I thought I'd been pretty spoilt by the shops I'd seen so far so wasn't expecting much. Uh-huh? It was basically an aircraft hanger.

There were at least four aisles. My vision went blurry after a while. They had *everything* from a muppet STD...

...to milk bottle tops on netting.

Random aside - aren't these colours amazing together? And the textures?

Mmmmm. And even Christian Grey would have been satisfied by their range of cords.

And where else can you get pompom trim in ten coloours and two sizes?

No wonder they had shopping trolleys at the start. And just when you find that ideal print...

...you realise they have it as a complete colour range (?).

Unbelievably, I actually left the store empty handed. There was just too much to choose from. Plus, as you can imagine with a store that size, everything was just a little bit...

...dusty. Although I am sure I'll be back in the future. The prices were very good.

Latest Sewing

It might seem like I've just been out sightseeing in recent weeks but in fact the sewing machine is out and has been putting itself about.

The quilt top I found complete but neglected a few weeks back has been quilted, backed and bound and is ready to go off for the Hands2Help Charity Drive.

Initially I just stitched in the ditch (tech term referring to using invisible thread on the front and something that blends with the backing on the back to sew along key seams evenly over the quilt so as to ensure your sandwich of front, batting and backing is securely held together at regular intervals) and then sat back and gave it a good stare intending to quilt it further. Those are my cat pj bottoms and cat slippers you can see in the photo - good staring clothes. In fact after a week of staring I concluded it was good as is. Any more quilting would have detracted from the pleasing uneveness of the hand stitching so I added a yellow binding...

...(the edging on the quilt) and now it just awaits a label (to say who made it and when) before it gets posted to Layers of Hope. From the Hands2Help website (link in left sidebar):

Quilting 911’s mission is to enhance the lives of 911 Telecommunications Operators (911 Dispatchers) and their families during times of illness, disaster, loss and tragedy by inspiring hope, faith and optimism with a quilt of warmth and comfort in order to make a positive influence in the lives of those who make a difference everyday, one quilt and one stitch at a time.

So that's good.

Then a certain best friend of Pooch's. who is a dedicated Superdry addict (brand of clothes) and who had voiced regret at their not doing a baby range, and who is expecting his second son to arrive any day now, is soon to be in receipt of this.

It is made from a second hand Superdry t-shirt and is my first time using popper tape. I used this free pattern which does not include seam allowance but even a non-mother like me can see the neck is too wide. I'd definitely change that if I made it again, plus I added feet to the pattern. The pattern is in german but I used an online translator - if you've sewn a bit before it's pretty obvious what is happening.

Then, I've been making a batch of One Hour Baskets. It's a free pattern and very easy. This one went off to a friend in London for her birthday.

These two are made from some of the rescued upholstery samples I picked up when I went here.

I've also made two others but no photos yet.

I also found time (still no job) to make the basic mini quilt for the #handpiecedmini swap on Instagram.

I do love the hexagons. There is hand stitching to be done on this but it is coming along nicely. In the background you can see some nine-patch blocks in flower fabrics (I was doing a pile of craft-ironing). I came across these when I was unpacking the things I had stored with my Mum but not taken to Japan. It occurred to me that I could use these to make my own proper contribution to Hands2Help (I don;t count the one I just finished off). That meant that my plan to make a Drunkard's Path quilt which I talked about in this post went out the window, at least for now. Which is a shame considering my major achievement:

All thanks to my Craftsy Sewing With Curves course. Ah well, the knowledge won't go to waste.

That, apart from my finished EPP Feels Like Spring Pouch which I sent off without photographing (doh), is it. Except for one secret project which I started putting together yesterday. These are the fabrics.

It's not something I've done before so is very fun and I am quite excited to see how it will turn out!

Pooch just found out yesterday that he has to do a work trip back to London for a week, leaving on Friday! The jetset schedule of the super-technical. At $2k per ticket I won't be joining him so I'll be home alone to craft up a storm. Expect more finished objects soon!

Lowriders in Mission

I had read about this in SF's FunCheap Newsletter and, with find memories of Eddie Guerrero nestling in my brain, I made my way there on Sunday with a hesitant Pooch in tow. "You don't even like cars." he tried telling me as we walked there. That is true, in that I wouldn't sit down and read an article about the latest Volvo, but I do like craft - and customisations like these can only be done by true craftsmen. And craftswomen.

From wikipedia:

A lowrider (sometimes low rider) is an automobile or other vehicle modified so that its ground clearance is less than its design specification. 

Yes, I can imagine that is the minimum requirement. However, it goes on to say:

Such modifications ...alter the vehicle's performance by changing the vehicle's aerodynamic properties, to lower its center of gravity, or to change the effective gear ratios of the drivetrain.

This is where it gets interesting. You see the car in the background of the white one, to the right? That's not just jacked up to display its underparts.

Well it's not, they actually drive around in that position. Not stuck like that, but dynamically moving up and down and jigging up and down and so on. There is a video here. Not all of them do that - some are more about the custom paint, accessories and dashboard. So impressive.

And of course there were a few other vehicles. Apparently (now this is according to a WWE commentator so is quite possibly not true) in poorer areas where a car is out of reach you get Lowrider Bicycles.

The back cart of the this one is purely for the sound system.

And who can forget this little pedal car.

I can just imagine my ickle niece cruising the neighbourhood in that!

This event was held as a fundraiser for the school whose playground it was in and there was a real community feel to it. San Francisco definitely has a much stronger neighbourhood/community feel to it than similar areas in London. But then people also manage to shoot each other more. Pros and cons I guess.

More Oakland, More Cats

I was early for my cat appointment this week so I took a tootle around Oakland. Actually I was looking for a cash machine, but en route I found a huuuuuge lake. 

There weren't any ducks visible but there were geese flying about and also the usual urban birds. A blackbird had found a chunk of bread and was about to fly off with it when something slightly bigger - possibly a Thrush? - strong-armed it away from him. To add insult to injury, the Thrush didn't even fly off but just sat there munching on it. 

The poor blackbird was left hanging about waiting for a chance to get it back. Can you see him on the left? I felt so sorry for him!

Next to the lake was the Cathedral of Light. It looked fairly impressive from outside - quite like Liverpool Cathedral. 

Artistic close-up. 

There was a service going on or I would have explored inside too. 

As often seems to happen, a block or two away from the money buildings, you get the run down houses and homeless living on the street. 

This weird house reminded me of The Munsters! The van outside is a phenomenon I've become familiar with since moving here. It seems like white vans and trucks are fair game for graffiti artists, judging by how many of them you see covered from top to bottom. I have no idea how the owners feel about it but you certainly see a lot of them. You also get the wall-based graffiti although it tends to be murals rather than the tagging you more often see in London and Tokyo. 

After a good perusal of the area I was ready to catify myself, and I was not disappointed. 

He later moved from the 'bagel' to the 'baguette'. 

Then there was a guy called Pilgrim who I just read was adopted this morning. 

So adorable. Then a different ginger boy was curled up with his mouse. He had assumed more of a 'croissant' position. 

And then there was the little 8 month old who was my best buddy on this trip. I didn't get his name but he was so adorable. He was very curious about anyone going past outside. 

I started off sitting in that chair and he came over and jumped up in my lap and was adoring the strokes. Anytime anyone went past he'd put his paws on my shoulder to get a good view out. 

He really was instantly loveable. I can't wait until we're in a flat that allows pets so that I can actually leave one day with my adopted cat. This little black cat was just the latest in a list of cats I've longed to be able to take home with me!

I Don't Actually Know What I'm Doing

When I graduated the most hated thing said to me was along the lines of "Oh, but you can do anything. You could get any job. You've got all your options open!" I didn't want lots of options - I wanted a clear indication of what I should do next whether this be some internal instinct, an actual hand on my elbow guiding me towards an actual building, or something in between. I now find myself in the same god awful place, with the exception of graduate training schemes, for which I am now somewhat age'd.

I've transitioned from left to right. 

I need to be able to go back to the UK 3-4 times a year so that's 8+ weeks of holiday I need straight off. All my experience is in England so I'm unfamiliar with any US working practices. I've just had 18 months off. My main field, project management, has different qualifications over here. I kind of feel like a 3-pin bird in a 2-pin world.

In fact I kept finding myself humming Jake-the-peg yesterday which won't make much sense to most people and is, in any case, almost as non-pc, given last year's court case, as two-little-boys. I seriously thought Rolf Harris was innocent, right up until the guilty verdict. Anyway. I digress.

I have pondered consulting a career advisor but my experience of them in the UK has suggested it is a good career for people who also don't know what to do with themselves, which doesn't necessarily make them suitable to advise you on your own direction. Pooch is away for a few days for a conference so I'm using the time to have a bit of a think. Any advice? The more specific the better.

Sunprints and Massdrop

I got this lovely fat quarter bundle in the post yesterday!

It is Alison Glass's Sun Prints - 17 FQs all together in a 'cool' colourway. I got it for $42 including tax and shipping (which was free in this case) so less than $2.50/£1.70 a FQ. Bargain! A few months ago another quilter posted about Massdrop and I signed up for their emails so see what kind of things they had available. What with all the upheaval of recent months, this is the first time I've had a chance to participate in a 'drop'.

What happens is that someone (anyone) puts forward a suggestion for something they'd like to buy. This then becomes a 'poll' that anyone can vote on. Voting doesn't commit you to buying, but it helps the site owners work out what would be of interest to their customers. They then go off and contact the manufacturer and ask them if they'd like to offer a special deal. The manufacturer offers a deal so there is a start price if one person buys, then some percentage less if, say, 20 people buy, then another discount if, say, 50 people buy and so on. You can see current votes here and current drops here. Although there are a tonne  of quilting things you also get lots of audio equipment, shaving apparatus, high end pens, geek chic and pretty much anything else people might desire.

I am not affiliated with Massdrop, except as a customer, but they do have one of those "invite your friends" links so if you want to have a look and see what's what then click here to register and if five of you do, and then buy something, I get something. Not sure what so don't feel obliged! But I have been very happy with their service and will definitely be joining in future drops.

A Bonus Quilt

I went to lovely Scrap this morning. I was looking for plant pots, plant pot saucers and low volume fabric. I ended up being moderately successful, although quite a lot of high volume fabric came home as well. How much would you guess this lot cost?

There are about 30 bundles there varying from postcard sized to larger than a fat quarter and it includes Kaffe, Kaufman, Moda and half a dozen other recognisable names. $12 was my total - except that as well as a HUGE pile of fabric I also came away with a hand quilting hoop I could probably hula with (or at least my ickle niece could), a nice wooden picture frame, a load of plant pots, plant pot saucers and a finished quilt top. All for $12. I felt bad only topping it up to $20. The quilt top is pretty amazing.

My photos are awful as it was very overcast today and we still don't have proper lighting sorted out.

There seem to be about six different yellow fabrics in play. I assumed it must be machine pieced from the size (72"x84") but quickly saw it wasn't when I examined the back.

Tiny stitches and quarter inch seams! I can't imagine putting all this effort in and then not taking it any further - but it will not go to waste. As soon as I saw it I realised I could finish it and include it with my own Hands2Help quilt for charity.

I thought I had scoured every inch of Scrap when my eye fell on two large filing cabinets as I was leaving...

Ermergerd. There were thousands. I have a few wish listed vintage patterns that I must look up the names of before my next visit. Scrap is a seriously amazing resource. Then my eye fell on one other thing. I'm not going to embed a picture of it here, but those not easily offended might like to know what I spotted inside a bag awaiting sorting. Made me laugh - goodness knows what kind of art project those were part of!

Quilts of my own making have also been on my mind. I laid out the final section of my Mum's EPP quilt last night.

This is why I was so pleased to have found the hula-quilt-hoop - I plan to hand quilt this sucker once it is all stitched together. I have been doing a lot on it recently as the new flat is still in great disorder leaving me unable to easily access my supplies or sewing machine. Tomorrow brings a table and chairs and a sofa (we've been sitting on the floor since Saturday). You can imagine that I am greatly looking forward to the arrival of both!

Hands2Help Update

Moving has sucked up all my time so I haven't much to blog about at the moment. However, having now got all my possessions in one place for the first time in 18 months I am reunited with all my fabric. This is what I will be using for my Hands2Help charity quilt.

At least, this is it minus two other matching cuts which got separated from these ones and are elsewhere and yet to be unpacked. I bought them from the Fat Quarter Shop at least 2 years ago - possibly 3 - and they seem perfect for this as they are all half yard cuts.

As for pattern, I plan to make use of the excellent Craftsy course "Playing with Curves" to make a drunkards path type quilt such as the one below, by Karen Ackva.

Circles ahoy!