Ugh

I'm STILL SICK! What is going on? I think what was a cold is now a sinus infection. What's weird is that I felt absolutely fine yesterday, until I fell asleep watching the SAG awards and woke up with a slight fever. SO bizarre. I feel OK now, but I think I 'm developing a bad cough.

Steve and I didn't see any celebrities up in Park City. Not a one. It was so sad. Steve made the observation that Park City during the Sundance Film Festival is the only time where people on the streets actually look you in the eye as they pass. Steve kept waiting for someone to mistake him as Ryan Gosling, which wouldn't be rude at all (but somewhat of a stretch)!

Speaking of celebrities and the SAG awards (and since I haven't sewn in a couple of days), here are my favorite dresses from last night and the Golden Globes. Agree or disagree?

Hailee Steinfeld in Prada. I love how young and daring it is! It think my little sister should wear something like this for prom.

Angelina Jolie and Anne Hathaway in Versace and Van Cleef & Arpels, respectively. Sleeves are in  and I'm loving it!

Emma Stone in Calvin Klein. Love love love the sleeves and simplicity, but surprise sexiness, of this dress.

Ok, back to bed.

Amy Poehler is More Funny than Tina Fey. That's the truth.

Still sick. 

Still no sewing.

Waiting for Whitney's lining to come in. 

Waiting for the throbbing in my head to go away. 

TONS of Park and Recreation though (instant play netflix).

Can I take a sick day?

Sore throat, congestion. Let's face it, I'm sick. Steve got me sick-- he's always the carrier of the virus, and never actually feels it himself enough to call in sick. I hate it. So no sewing today. I have to rest up because tonight Steve promised me we would go to the Sundance FF to stalk movie stars. I love movie stars. I'm hoping to run into James Franco or Dustin Hoffman. I've already rehearsed what I'm going to say to them. Notice how I've rehearsed lesser-known movies so they think I'm really smart:

Oh Dustin! My favorite movie of yours is, of course, The Graduate! But I love John and Mary as well! (all true)

James! You went under such a transformation in Howl! I loved it! (not true-- didn't even see it).

I've also imagined the entire cast of Inception walking on Park City Main Street toward me decked out in their suits, and then I faint or throw up from shock. Steve said if the entire cast of Inception wanted to be pen pals with me, he wouldn't mind. He's so modern and free thinking. 

Here is a blooper from filming my video for your enjoyment (and to see what a "dork" I AM):

I better win this!

This weekend Steve and I made the video for the "Next Sewing Star" contest that I told you about. The winner gets a 10 minute TV spot to show how to sew something. The connections I would make if I won would be the real prize. Needless to say, making this video was a pain in the butt/embarrassing/hilarious. 

We had to film the video three separate times, and I ended up changing my top 5 times. I was a little self-conscious. We kicked Bridgette out the room twice due to her inability to not climb up on me whenever I sit down to sew and her growling at the rumbling truck outside the window (which was too cute for words and TV). Steve spent his entire Saturday night figuring out how we can edit an Iphone video on our HP computer (seems as though SOMEONE made it more COMPLICATED than it REALLY should be-- hence the three separate takes).  All in all, it came out. Now I have a video of myself out there in the universe for the world to see, and I am posting it here on my blog to feel like I own the thing. I better win this darn contest.

I can't really watch it. It is sooo painful. Steve says I talk like this girl. ugh. I do like the top I finally chose. 

my favorite part: that passive aggressive look in my eyes when I say the word "opposite". 

Oh, and if you want the instructions for this bag, it's here.

Why do zippers hate me?

 

As you may be able to tell in this blurry picture, this is a broken zipper on my new woven PD. It zipped to the top, but then popped open. If this is your first time reading my blog: I HATE SEWING IN ZIPPERS. I have never been particularly good at it. For some reason, they always pop open after zipped op, and I need to get to the bottom of it. 

I am speaking of invisible zippers, and when one sews invisible zippers, one knows that they have to be ironed first to make them really flat so that the needle on the sewing machine can get really close to the zipper teeth. One of my theories as to why my zippers suck is that I may be ironing the teeth to melt (?). Has anyone else had a problem with invisible zippers popping?? Please tell me what you have learned. I really need it. 

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I had a fitting at Whitney's today for her skirt, and of course I forgot to take photos AGAIN. I ordered the lining I mentioned before, and it probably won't be here for another two weeks, so that project is on hold for now. Maybe I'll remember to get photos of the actual finished project. Don't hold your breath.

Oh Rose, you're such a snob.

Still working on my newest PD today. Because the skirt is woven and not knit, it is a lot harder to fit over my ba-donka-donk. Knits mold over your body, whereas wovens don't. Wovens have a lot more dimension and body. So with this woven skirt, I had to let out the side seams on the back pieces about a half inch. No biggy. The nice thing, is that I'll be able to transfer all this work to my paper pattern and I'll have the adjustments needed for every woven PD after! Great right?... right?

I have a fitting with Whitney tomorrow for her skirt. Pictures to come!

I have too much bloom. Perhaps that's what's wrong with me.

Now I know what your thinking... you thought I was making a skirt out of this fabric for Whitney. Well, I am. This PD is for me! I got an idea last night to test out the PD in a woven, but with a black knit top. I'm liking it a lot so far. Imagine a black bow on the center waist. Cute, right? I have to get a zipper for this PD because the waist can't be stretched out to fit over my shoulders like the other PDs, since the skirt is a woven and doesn't stretch as much. Yay for another PD!

Cut it out

I am cutting out and putting together the skirt for Whitney today. This Friday is her next fitting. What do you think about this for her lining? It's a stretch charmeuse. I love yellow and black together-- so classy. And mixing prints is all the rage, even though this won't even be seen by Whitney and her husband ;)

Get a Load of My Living Room, Ladies.

You're eyes aren't fooling you. That's my new Ikea couch (I caved-- but I am happy about it) and yes, that is a birdcage hanging from my ceiling. Pretty cool, huh? I have made an "eclectic bird's nest" for my husband, bridgette, and myself. Let's get started on the tour, shall we?

My mantel. Pretty basic, but with a few antiques here and there. The owl vase I got here (sadly not online anymore), the buddha and the Chinese lunch box are gifts from my China-bound brother, and the two bookends are antiques from the Salt Lake antiques store Euro Treasures. 

These candles are amazing and perfect for every home, especially one that houses children, because they are battery powered. That sounds cheesy and kind of stupid, but they are so realistic looking: *they actually flicker* and smell like vanilla. I found them at Smith's grocery store for 75% off in the Holiday aisle.

 

Ah, my birdcage that houses Patrick the owl. I bought Patrick to top my Christmas tree. I am so in love with Patrick and his cute nest that I couldn't put him away. Now he hangs in my birdcage with battery-lit candles. How precious. 

My ikea couch. I hunted for an affordable couch in 6 different furniture stores until I found this $600 couch. It is so hard to find a gray modular couch in that price range, let me tell you. I went into a RC willy or some other store like that, and the guy helping me needed me to define the word modular for him. I did not stay there long. Ugh...

 

 My lamp that holds pictures of my brother and his wife, Yusha. Also a picture of me and Steve. The framed napkins above the couch have embroidered birds doing household tasks. These were made by Steve's late grandmother and they were passed down to us. These napkins were framed in all different silver frames. Another picture of them here.

My entry way table and shelves of dishes. I changed the nobs on this table from chrome "modern" nobs to blue and white nobs to go with the dishes and my curtains a bit better. I got these nobs at World Market (half the price of Anthropologie nobs). My blue and white dishes were a gift from a very nice neighbor for my wedding. The blue and white bowl on my entry way table is another gift from my China brother. The 1930's looking radio is actually a reproduction with a built in CD player. I got it on Ebay as a Valentine's gift to Steve a few years ago (best gift ever I say).

My dining room table is farmed by two posters (that are actually wrapping paper) from Details in Salt Lake. The candlesticks were a gift from my sister Anna from zgallerie. The candlestick will look better on a longer table when I have a house someday, I think. It does look kind-of funny on such a small table. O well. I still like it.

These bird nest pictures were a gift from my mother, also bought at Details. 

The birdcage, in all it's glory. I love it love it love it. We had to use some of Steve's famous "handicrafts" to get this thing hung. The tiers of the birdcage are not fastened together for easy storage, so we had to think of way to fasten it and hang it without hurting it (ie: drilling holes). Steve had a genius idea of using twine and rope-- does the job but still looks good. Thank goodness he is an engineer and not a banker, or else this cage would never have come to fruition.

Handicrafts: wrapping twine between the tiers to keep them together.

I've learned to just watch TV while Steve does this stuff. Sometimes we get in little tiffs when we do these projects (which happen a lot). Best to just let him work.

Yay for Steve! Hanging things like birdcages or other items from tall 11" ceilings like ours is a great way to use up other wise unused space. More fun and more creative than just using a table. 

That was a lot of photos and words. Holy Moly. It only took three years to create. 

Pictures, finally. I keep my promises.

Just before the Christmas holidays started, Whitney from Lehi asked if I could make her one of my shirts. I said, "But of course!". She wanted something stretchy, black, comfortable, but still cute, and mentioned that she loved this neckline on my black PD, but wanted it in gray. The outcome was better than I had hoped. The top fits her perfectly (since it was custom made) and gives her a great waist. All this for $60? Why am I not selling more (hint, hint)?

  

As Whitney signed the check, she said, "I'd rather spend my money on something like this than something else that I'm just going to give to Desert Industries in a year." I couldn't have said it better, Whitney. 

Close-up on neckline

The bow on the shoulder.

 Ah, I love it when I do a good job at something. It makes me feel good, worthy, proud. But the list doesn't end there! Whitney also hired me to make her a couple pencil skirts (for $100, my going rate) as well. How exciting! Last night I made up a skirt mock-up in muslin to fit her today. Perfection ensued. 

I forgot to get a picture of her actually wearing the skirt as I was fitting it. Oh well.

Whitney wanted a large, flattering waistband and a great vibrant color. Originally the first skirt was going to be red, but now we are doing it out of this great yellow cotton/lycra jacquard.

It'll be some skirt! Happy Friday.

Anthing for publicirty, right? Plus, my face is very symmetrical. Very good for TV.

I'm thinking about entering this competition, because I'm a sucker for attention. 

Still working on Rookie's stuff. Pictures tomorrow.

One, One One, One One (that's how I pronounce today's date)!

Working today, per-usual. I'm sewing up a shirt and a few skirts for this lady this week and next. Pictures to come.

Also have Poor Man's Wife stuff.

And desperately waiting for THIS in the mail. I AM SO EXCITED. Those pics will ABSOLUTELY be posted. My family has made so much fun of me for spending all my birthday money in it, but I don't care! Pride be damned! And my living room is going to look fantastic.

Sorry for no pics today. Bot I just spilled lemonade all over my husband's desk, so I am a little distracted...

Couch-less

Yesterday I was feeling pretty energetic about changing my living room, so I got rid of my parent's couch that they bought in the 70's when they got married. It was a 65" modular black and white uncomfortable 2-seater that Steve and I have hated since the day we got it. My mom refuses to let us sell it for "nostalgic" reasons. I hate that couch. I hate that you can't lie down completely flat on it. I hate the wood arms that make it impossible to half-lie down.

The couch in my living room pre-removal.

We removed the couch last night into storage until my mom and dad come pick it up. It was the one thing left in my living room that wasn't perfect. I had a ballsy idea about recovering it, but nothing can change it's stunted size. 

Steve and Bridge somewhat enjoying the couch. I think Steve just wants a place to snuggle our baby.

 The only problem now is that we don't have a couch. The one I want from Z-gallerie we can't afford quite yet, and I can always get one from Ikea. Do we wait for the nice one or just get the cheap one? Should I try my patience out and get the sofa I want in a few months? 

Until I decide, this is my living room. Cozy, isn't it? It actually reminds me of a failed model home. 

Arriving at my 24th year never felt so good.

Well, Ladies and more Ladies, I finished my chair. The stain is dry, ever stitch is sewn and in place. I have to say that it was a complete success, and a wonderful thing to wake up to on my 23rd birthday. I don't feel any different whatsoever. My sister, who is turning 27 this year, says it doesn't really hit you till your late twenties. We'll see. For now, it is a happy day. 

Why does this happen to me ALL THE TIME??

Yesterday and well into last night I finished sewing the cushions for my chair. I KNOW I KNOW, the chair is basically done, and in three days no less? Well, not entirely. But let's go through step by step everything I had to do to finish these darn cushions (no, they were NOT nice to me at all). 

For some insane reason, I took apart the seat cushion completely about a week ago. Which means that when I actually started sewing the new cushion cover, I had no idea what piece went on which cushion and the order. I also had NO pictures taken of the cushion before I started sewing. What I learned: take photos when you are recovering anything. It will save you hours of searching on the internet for a chair that isn't even made anymore and save your eyes from looking really closely at the monitor as you try to figure out what is going on on these darn cushions in pictures that have your chair in the background. I went to bed Tuesday night trying to figure out how to put together the seat cushion with pieces that I wasn't sure were right at all. It finally dawned on me yesterday afternoon that what I thought was the seat cushion was actually the back cushion and vise versa! The feeling was like a soft breeze of what I can only describe as "hallelujah". A total surge of energy came with that soft breeze and all I wanted was to get this darn chair done. Completely done. 

Two problems.

Number 1: As I tried to zip up the last zipper on the back cushion, the zipper broke. FAIL. I had a temper tantrum afterward that resulted in me slamming my bedroom door in Steve's face... not cool. As it was 9:33, Joanne's was already closed. Steve and I share a car so going to Joanne's tomorrow for a new zipper would mean waiting until about 5:30 when Steve got home. Case in point: I am impatient. So what did I do? I sewed the opening up instead. When I feel like putting in a zipper that wants to cooperate, I'll put it in. But for now, the cushion is sewed up completely. Ha!

The back cushion, in all it's glory. Piping around the edge, even! Piping is supremely easy to make and also makes unprofessional jobs look paid for.

The seat cushion went off without a hitch. I have to say, that besides all the problems I did have, recovering this chair was easy. I don't want to jinx myself, but I honestly feel that anyone with a little sewing experience could do what I did. Granted, I only had the seat and back of a chair to do plus it's cushions. No arms. Arms would be harder, I believe. 

Can you imagine trying to stuff the seat cushion in the back's cover (as they are completely different shapes)? I tried. I tried until I admitted to myself I was doing it wrong. 

And then here is problem Number 2 as to why my chair isn't quite done yet: I had to do some retouching on the stain of the arms. It is still drying. It has been drying for about two days now. Did I mention I am impatient? Hopefully pictures will be here tomorrow....my birthday. 

Recovery of a chair, part deux

I had a sudden burst of energy last night after dinner. I saw my chair, and I saw the fabric lying there, looking so pretty and perfect for my living room, and I couldn't take it any longer! I needed a recovery!

This is just the seat of the chair, the pillows come after. It was SOO easy to do. I cut out my pieces using the old chair fabric as the pattern, and then just tucked and stapled. I then put the stained arms back on. I can tell you right now the hardest part of the whole chair is going to be the pillows. 

Recovery of the back:

The back piece of the chair was the most complicated. I had to attach a giant piece of fabric without showing any staples-- harder than it looks. First I stapled the material right sides together to the top of the back, flipped it over, and used these long strips of nails to attach the sides.

Long strip of nails that the chair already used before with the fugly fabric. I straightened it, positioned it in the fabric with the spikes coming through, and then nailed it into the chair.

 

One side done! With the other side, I did the same thing as the first and stretched it as tight as I could. I then nailed the bottom of the piece of fabric to the chair. Viola!

The corners were a beast to make perfect. This one pictured may need some hot glue as reinforcements.

I love this project, and I'm gonna love this chair. I hope the cushions are nice to me.

When I saw I lost a follower this morning, I slammed my mouse on its soft pad.

POST EDIT: I found a picture of my chair in the background of a photo of me.

We usually put our coats on it to cover its fugliness.

This week and next, I am trying to recover this load of wood and cotton:

 

That's right everyone (all 89 of you), I am recorvering my living room chair. I bought this chair about a year ago when Steve and I were living in our tiny 400 sq ft apartment in P-town (Provo). The chair was so large that we couldn't fit it in our living room/office/sewing room/dining room. We left it in our Rav-4 for three months till we moved in the apartment we are in now. Yes, we lived like white-trash for a few months, but you gotta do what you gotta do. 

I was dumb and didn't get a picture of the chair before I tore it apart. I didn't like looking at it really-- it had a New Mexico theme going on. But when I saw it for $75 on KSL, I knew I wanted to recover it and make it my own one day. We bought it, and I dreamed of its new clothing for a whole year.

Early in December, I had just cleaned my whole apartment and I was feeling very energetic and go-getter-like. I saw the chair as it stained my entire blue and gray living room with its nasty South-American themes. I grabbed my beautiful sewing scissors, and started cutting, tearing, and pulling, until all that ugliness was gone. Mind you, I am smart enough to realize that I needed to keep all the pieces whole in order to know exact dimensions for the new fabric. If you have a chair you are dying to recover, I council you to just start tearing and ripping, and you will learn how to recover it through the process. Luckily my chair is only upholstered on the seat, with craftsman style handrails, so I don't have to deal with recovering arms. Steve and I sanded and stained the arms ourselves (which took 4 days to dry because we put it on too thick, and probably have to re-do from gunk falling on it those four days on our balcony). 

Blogger is being dumb again and won't put my photo right. The handrails do look good, just don't look too closely, thanks.

I am really excited to do this, mostly because it is one thing I have always wanted to do but never been brave enough to try. Now I am! I am seamstress and i can do this!

If anyone has recovered a chair and has any pointers for me, please leave them in my comment section or email me. Thank you much.