Crafty Garden Mom: 2015

11/27/15

CGM Podcast Episode #79: ThankFull

Listen to the episode here

Show Notes

Life Update:

When Garageband goes wrong...try and revive Audacity?!??
Anxiety and crafting mojo

WIPs/FOs:

Finished Sam's socks, made from Knit Picks Felici yarn in the Countess colorway
Will be casting on Maddy's socks in Felici yarn soon
Art journaling
Going to pick an easy (simple squares) pattern to make a lap size quilt for mindless piecing - nothing fancy right now!
For much better/fancier quilting being done right now, listen to (iTunes):

Hip to Be a Square podcast
Very Lazy Daisy podcast
Off Kilter Quilt podcast

Classic Movie:

I Was a Male War Bride with Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan

Also mentioned: Miracle on 34th Street, and Pocketful of Miracles with Bette Davis and Glenn Ford.

The word I was looking for was PYGMALION!!!!

(also a movie that predated My Fair Lady, with Leslie Howard)

Book Reviews:

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

The Scam by Janet Evanovich

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Thanks for listening!!

CGM

10/1/15

Banned Books Week 2015: My Mini Quilt!

Banned Books Week is currently being celebrated around the U.S. and Sandy and I are also holding our annual BBW Mini Quilt Challenge. If you're not familiar with this cause, head here and here for some basic information (thank you Nonnie for sharing the Backstory podcast link!). Then head on over to the Flickr group to see the wonderful submissions, past and present, for the mini quilt challenge. If you'd like to enter, just make a mini quilt (approx. 8 x 11 or a little larger is fine) representing a banned or challenged book you identify with.

This year I decided to keep it simple and depict a scene straight from a book that has stuck with me years after reading it: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This book opened my eyes to a culture very different from the one I live in, but also to the haunting and devastating effects of war, class divide, and poverty.

9" x 12.5" fusible applique, free motion outlining and quilting.

Quote says: "For you, a thousand times over."

There is still time to enter your mini quilt in the Flickr Group!!! Have your entry in by 10/4 for a chance to win a $25 Powells bookstore e-card.
UPDATE: The winner is Nikki P! Congratulations and thank you to everyone who entered. come back in 2016, we are sure to do it again.

CGM

9/23/15

CGM Podcast Episode #78: Reflection Time

Listen to the episode here

Show Notes

Life Update:

Life, work, kids...what's been going on chit-chat.

F.O.s and WIPs:

Who? Hat completed: free pattern by Sara Amoroso

Ravelry project page for pictures.

Knitted socks for Samantha out of Knit Picks Felici yarn in the Countess color way
Banned Books Week mini quilt

BBWMQC Flickr Group for pictures of past projects and to enter in 2015.
Prize I am giving to 1 entry: $25 e-gift card to Powell's Bookstore.
Enter by 10/3 (end of Banned Books Week).

What I'm Watching:

Poldark (Masterpiece Theater on PBS)
Stitch TV Show with Pam and Lynn
Upcoming: Home Fires on PBS
Korean dramas (K-dramas). Here are some of my favorites so far. I use the (free) DramaFever app on my iPad or computer to watch:

Healer
Coffee Prince
Secret Garden
Fated to Love You - the Korean version. (There is also a Taiwanese version I have not watched.)
City Hall
Lie to Me

Classic Movie:

If a Man Answers

with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin

Books:

The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows

The Fold by Peter Clines

Mademoiselle Chanel by CW Gortner

Thanks for listening!!

CGM

8/3/15

Knitting F.O.: Hermoine's Everyday Socks

I finally finished these toe up socks and am so pleased with how they turned out. The pattern is Hermoine's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder. It is a free pattern on Revelry, and I highly recommend them if you're ready to branch out from a plain (vanilla) sock pattern to something with a little texture.

I used Madelinetosh Tosh Sock yarn in the Copper Penney colorway, and now I am ready, like so many others, to start hoarding skeins of this stuff by the barrel. It is divine to the hand, wonderful to knit with, and the saturation of colors are consistent throughout the whole skein. I have a skein of it in Tart and Faded Blue Jeans, and am looking forward to working with those soon.

To make the Hermoine's Everyday socks I did Magic Loop method with 1 size 0 circular needle, 40 in. length. I actually knit 2 socks on 2 of these needles so that I would be finished with both pairs at about the same time. This worked well for me with my first pair, so I stuck with the method and it worked brilliantly again. The pattern is a simple 4 row repeat of knit and purl stitches. I only did the pattern repeat on the top of the foot and then around the whole leg until I got to the 1 x 1 rib for the cuff.

Next up in my knitting is the Who? Hat by Sara Amoroso.

CGM

7/25/15

CGM Podcast Episode #77: Did I Mention My Vacation?

Listen to the episode here

Show Notes

Life Update:

I had the house to myself for a whole week!!!!
Girls were spoiled for a week with Nana and Grandpa
Organization/decluttering
Health update/NIH

F.O.s and WIPs:

Knitted socks almost done
Art journaling
Craftsy classes I recommend: Knife Skills, Clever Cuts, Knit to Flatter (I think I called it Fit to Flatter in the podcast)
Creative Planning

Banned Books Week Mini Quilt Challenge!

See the BBW blog post here for instructions and details. Visit bannedbooksweek.org to find a book for your mini quilt inspiration. Sandy and I are excited to host this for a 4th year and can't wait to see what you come up with!

Classic Movie:

My Six Loves

with Debbie Reynolds and Cliff Robertson

Book Reviews:

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

on sale 7/28/15

The Flying Circus by Susan Crandall

Thanks for listening!

CGM

7/13/15

Art Journal Page: Live a Great Big Life!

Products used: fish and chips deli wrap paper for background texture, Dylusions paints in squeezed orange, fresh lime, and vibrant turquoise, white Posca pen (my favorite white paint pen!!) magazine cutout, Tim Holtz wing stamp, shattered roller stamp

Thanks for stopping by!

CGM

7/11/15

What I'm Reading This Month

I am catching up on a whole bunch of "fluff" reading while on vacation the beginning of July...in between binge-watching Korean dramas!

Beautiful Secret by Christina Lauren

Recipe for Disaster by Stacey Ballis

Grey by EL James

And this hot advance copy dropped into my hands, so it will definitely get read!

After You by Jo Jo Moyes

(on sale 9/29/15, this is the sequel to Me Before You)

What are you reading this month?

CGM

7/9/15

Art Journal Page and ATCs: Being Brave

I was recently part of the Lifebook 2015 ATC swap where the theme was "Being Brave/Courage." This was the first ATC swap I've participated in, but definitely won't be my last! I am having so much fun creating these little works of art, and purposely not letting myself take more than 15-20 minutes with them. Another great benefit to making these is that they provide inspiration for working on a larger scale, like in my art journal.

Here are the 2 cards I created for my partner (already sent to her last week):

Products used: magazine cutout, Tim Holtz Ideology tissue paper, gesso, gelato, Tim Holtz chit-chat stickers

And a few close-ups:

From these 2 ATCs, I then moved into my art journal using the same background materials, but adding a larger magazine image:

Close-ups:

(Modeling paste was used in the flowers for added surface texture)

Thanks for stopping by!

CGM

Note: ATCs = artist trading cards, 2.5" x 3.5" art cards for trading with other artists

7/8/15

Art Journal Page: Love Wins

Products used: Dylusions paints in rainbow colors, watercolor paper for the heart, Dylusions shattered stencil, Tim Holtz Tall Text stamps, butterfly stamp, bubble wrap, white gesso.

CGM

6/26/15

CGM Podcast Episode #76: That Good Ol' Disney Magic

Listen to the episode here

Show Notes

Life Update:

Summer has begun! School year finish, dance recital
Our Disney 2015 Land and Sea vacation

We set sail on the 5 day/4 night Disney Dream.

Cast off deck party with Disney characters

In the amazing Kids Club

Coffee Break!

Beautiful sunset from our cabin balcony

No one told me about the PINS!!!!

F.O.s and WIPs:

WIP: Copper Penny knitted socks - pattern is Hermoine's Everyday Socks by Erica Lueder. I am using Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in the Copper Penney colorway
Art Journaling and making ATCs
Outlander blocks - see previous blog posts

Book Review:

Armada by Ernest Cline

Thanks for listening!

CGM

6/23/15

What I've Been Up To

It's been rather quiet around here, and while I could blame it on general life-craziness I'm more apt to say it's due to my desire to simplify things and that includes doing more on Instagram or Twitter than blog posts. However, I still want to share more pictures and information about what I'm working on and what's making me happy these days.

I am planning to record a podcast episode this week, and have already queued up several blog posts about sewing, gardening, knitting, and mixed media projects. I have also started video recording some content! However, my tech-challenged self is still figuring out how to edit in iMovie, so those will take a little longer to get up and running. Stay posted though, I am really excited about being able to share stuff via YouTube, via a dedicated CGM channel.

Maddy had her dance recital a few weeks ago, and other than getting to wear makeup and be on stage, her favorite part was getting flowers. She has had such a good experience with dance, and is eager to continue in the Fall.

I have been bitten by the ATC (artist trading card) bug, and making these little 2.5" x 3.5" works of art every few days. I started out by cutting up a large sheet of mixed media paper then adding acrylic paint for a background. In my job as a book buyer I receive covers of mass market paperbacks, mostly romance novels, that I usually end of throwing in the recycling bin after making a decision on them. It finally occurred to me that I could use the images in my ATCs as a focal point. Here are a few of my first attempts:

I have also been working in my art journal and while I've moved on to watercolor lately, I have also been doing some collage with magazine pages:

I also had the opportunity to test Jennie Pickett's (Clover and Violet patterns) new planner supply case pattern which I will do a review post on soon. I haven't spoken very much about my love for paper planners, but I have used one for years and years. I tried to go the no-paper route, using my Blackberry or iPhone for keeping appointments and to-do lists but it just drove me crazy not to write things down.

I have a very bad short term memory (it flies out of my head almost as quickly as I hear it) and over the years I have found that the process of writing something down, then seeing it several times, helps me to remember things easily.

Over the last 3-6 months I've noticed an explosion of planners being used, as well as crafters using them as a creative outlet by decorating the pages. I don't like my pages to be too busy, but I am enjoying having a little fun with some of the excess of supplies in my studio. Here's an example of this week's layout in my planner, mainly using scrapbooking rub-ons.

I don't allow myself to spend more than 10-15 minutes on creative planning, because otherwise it will become more about the "artsiness" of it vs. the actual organization and planning. But I am enjoying looking through others' layouts on the #plannerlove and #plannergirl feeds in Instagram.

So that's a little of what I've been up to lately. I'll chat more in the podcast, so stop on by!

CGM