Calamity Kim

Rusty with words

Each time that I have come here to write I have stopped and deleted it, not ready yet to write about anything. I have been either cocooned or running the roads each day; thinking and walking and talking as if nothing has changed, yet so much has. Getting older is inevitable yet we never seem to think it will happen to us. We will all die and yet our society does nothing to prepare us for death or how to deal with the loss of loved ones or friends.

It's always a shock, even when we know the diagnosis or expect it because the person is getting older. Some people we even wish would die, so that they wouldn't suffer more or because they have taken the last train to Crazy Town and will never know who you are again. It hurts and how we choose to deal with that pain reveals a lot about ourselves. You always feel like you are alone, but if you talk about it with friends you quickly discover that everyone has a story about losing someone and you know it is part of life.

My birth Mother put me on a bus to my Father when I was 5 years old and never really wanted a relationship with me. We had plenty of chances over the years but it was always difficult to be in the same space as she was, knowing that she could never explain why she made that choice and that I wanted more from her than she could ever give. We were strangers. Right up until she died. She could have tried to say goodbye but she didn't.

I have spent months thinking about it and am finally at a place where I can breath freely without the knot tight in my throat, choking my words and taking my energy and joy. I have grown and am at peace. I figured out a lot of stuff that I really didn't know had been bugging me all these years and I feel lighter. Stronger. Free. People often don't know what to say when you tell them your Mother died or your son died- they are dumb struck and quickly recover with soft words of sorrow and sweetness. It's not easy to talk about. I haven't really wanted to. It was too difficult to explain. Now, you know I love zombies, vampires, ghost stories and lean toward the dark shadows that dwell in my heart. I have always had a bit of the macabre about me. Spiders and mice, skulls and black cats don't scare me. I believe in heaven and hell and demons and God. You cannot have the light without the dark.

I am sentimental and love Victorian memento mori to death. My sense of humor has returned and I wake up each day with a happy heart. It took a while but I feel ready to return to my lovely little Blog and share some crafty exploits with you all. I used to write everyday and that was so therapeutic. I am still walking everyday and am getting ready for the big craft show I do each year in Dec and will post about some things I will have for sale there.

So many good things have happened to me because of this Blog and the friends I have in Blogland have helped me stay sane and feel loved. My life wouldn't be the same without this and you and so thank you for being here. For being patient. For being kind. In a life spent with family members who would rather not love me, I am glad to have a connection with those of you who share a love for textiles, quilting, embroidery, and share that friendship with me. Searching for the right words, feeling rusty, ready to come out and play. Maybe now I can get back on track.

Finishing things is a satisfying and rewarding feeling isn't it? This bag has been thumbing it's nose at me for a year and finally she is finished.

Time to go make dinner.

Thanks for stopping by, checking to see if I am still alive.

I am.

with love, calamity kim

Calamity's Got A New Bag!

I know I've mentioned "Word of Mouth" Cafe/Diner (on 6604 Gateway Ave) and how awesome the food/waitstaff/owner is and I might have mentioned the Estate sale place next door, but today we had breakfast and then moseyed next door and I hit the wicker purse strawberry jackpot!
I saw a photo of a purse similar to this and that's what inspired me to make a million velvet strawberries last year!
I never could find a wicker bag to add some to and ended up making
my own quilted bag.
This one is spotless inside and out and must have been stored in a plastic bag (or airtight time capsule) because it has no dust, dirt or sign of wear!
I also picked up (grabbed!) the crocheted pillowcase- it is so lovely and perfect! I just admire all that crochet work, really because I know how long it would take to create something like this!
Doesn't it just scream SPRING!!!!??!!
I could live without the kitschy plastic lemons but, still, it's just too fabulous not to completely fall in to handbag heaven with!
I'm so happy that I can hardly stand it!
Now, I'm going to go weed a flower bed and then I'm going to go get some flowers and plant them- maybe a few tomato plants too!
Have a lovely day!
xo,
calamity kim

where did you get that bag?

Today in the grocery store, as I was looking at the sugar content in various duck sauces,  a woman leaned over and pointed at my purse and said- "wow- I love your bag! Where did you get it?"
I turned it over so she could see the yoyo's and embellishment on the "right" side and said: "I made it."
 She looked at me quite surprised and said-"you made it?"
It's 3 years old and still getting the compliments! amazing!

This bag is similar to the one I made for myself except it's in shades of Autumn.
 I am making it for a friend of mine who made a lovely knitted scarf for me.
 I will be sure to give her plenty of business cards for when the admiring folks want to know- where she got her bag!
I'm not bragging, no far from it, but the universe seems to keep repeating the same refrain: Make those quilted yoyo bags, kimmie!!!
If only I could force myself to make them each day in and day out, but I thrive on chaos and can't conform to that much rigidity and repetition.
 I think I would grow tired of them and fall out of love with the process.
 They take a concentrated effort to place the yoyo's and buttons and beads and leaves in the right configuration without it being too much or too little.
Like a certain bear chair, it has to be just right.
 So I spend a lot of time searching through my button tins auditioning this or that while the frustration grows and I finally just sew it down and then another and add a leaf or maybe a bead or a small charm.
It has to flow.
It has to look as if it were growing in a garden.
 Perhaps the garden of a seamstress, who never could grow a real garden because her green thumbs had been used like pincushions for so many years that she couldn't use a trowel- the pain was to great to withstand.
I used to garden but never make time for it anymore.
 I want to stitch and sew and use my time in creating things of beauty.
These are called "Lucky Bags" by the way, cause you are lucky if you ever get one!
 They take so much time-30-40 hours and that's just crazy to try to sell.
Maybe I should call them "Love Bags"- because everyone who sees them loves them and they are a labor of love.
time for sweet dreams,
 goodnight my calamitous friends,
 xo,
love & stitches,
 kim

Yoyo's blossom on a Spring Morning such as this

I have been struggling to put down the paper/stamps/ink pads long enough to sew.

I need to be sewing.
My first great love was embroidery and I learned it while very young.
 Then came sewing after I got my first tiny orange Singer. I never could make very good Barbie clothes, but I tried.

After Home Economics and the disaster that was my first blouse,  I didn't sew again until I made my first curtains. Then a baby quilt of a teddy bear laying cozy underneath his own blanket for my son Troy.

I wove baskets for many years and it would not be until later that  I learned to make bears, rabbits and dolls.

Then came doll quilts, journal covers, aprons, pillows, purses and everything else.

Last year I became enamored with Catherine Moore's Art Doll Stamps called Character Constructions and then found Kimberly Crick's lovely faces and mermaid templates.

I have been making paper dolls ever since.

I am like a woman under a spell- enchanted by these small persona's that emerge when I stamp and cut,  glue and give sparkle.

This week, after setting my stamps aside, I began working on some purses- quilted purses with yoyo and vintage button embellishment.

It's already been 3 years since I made that first one- or it will be in July and I have almost worn it out.
Everyone loves it and some people only remember me when they see my bag.
So, as the bright greenish yellow haze of pollen descends on every visible surface around me,  I close the windows, turn on the air and take a Benadryl and count the days until the oaks finish blooming and I can breath again! My throat started hurting yesterday and I hope I am not getting sick. Please just let it be allergies!

Getting Around To It

I just Googled strawberry quotes and found this site, which sure has more than an hour or two's worth of strawberry trivia, recipes, images and etc.

I wanted to start this post with something deep and profound but really, this is Calamity Kim.
Who am I trying to kid?
I am rarely deep and profound.
Maybe crafty and inspired and definitely enthusiastic but I have never been able to remember quotes and spout them off like some other folks I know.
 I wish I could.
I collect books of them and have that widget with quotes here on the blog because I like em.
One of my favorites is by Sophia Loren- "All I am I owe to spaghetti"
Perfect.
"All I am I owe to Strawberry Shortcake. And don't forget the whip cream."
Maybe I can go down in history as being the first person to say that.
You can quote me!
Two of my other current favorite quotes are:
"I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch."
 said by Gilda Radner (1946-1989)
and
"Life is what you make it. Always has been. Always will be." said by Grandma Moses (1860-1961)
So today, I used my taste in fashion to make something that made me happy.
It isn't finished yet but I took pictures as I worked on it and I will add the strawberries after I make them.
You'll see.
Better go to the potty, get a drink of something and settle back- get comfy.
Take your shoes off.
Come sit with me in a rocker on the porch while I tell you a little story.

 Several days ago I was finishing up that mermaid quilt when I realized that I :
     a.) had dulled my rotary blade to the point of annoyance and
     b.) had cleaned my sewing room and forgotten where I had put any spare blades I may have bought and saved for a rainy day.
So, I headed out to JoAnn's.
We also needed coffee and I decided to go to Albertson's because they have the Yuban that the Mr likes in big tins. Once I got there I saw that Albertson's was going out of business!
Big signs everywhere! Not any great prices and lots of empty isles- I hadn't been there in months! So I felt bad for them and then when I went to JoAnn's I was kind of worried that they too, might close!
So of course,  I took a peek at the fabric to see if I could help stimulate the economy and help poor old JoAnn.
 She's like a cheap hooker- you just can't resist her temptations no matter how bad the lighting or disorganized she may be.
I picked out a few fabrics- thinking apron and grabbed the rotary blades and a cute little acrylic quilting template 2 1/2 x 2 1/2" square- for future prairie points- they are great for scraps!
So, this morning after feeding the squirrel and getting a cup of courage I wandered into the sewing room and started a project that I have been thinking about ever since I saw those luscious strawberry purses- (do I have to link back to them? I'm exhausted!?)
On the way I grabbed a record- an album,  (Hotel California but it doesn't matter) and used it as a template for the batting.
 That new blade is ever so sharp!
Life is good, isn't it?

Cut out two pieces of batting. I use cotton- natural colored
Cut out two pieces of fabric for the lining.
 I used strawberries in an old fashioned sort of print
I used the blue as my base knowing that the strawberries
are going to hang there in front of it.
Then I cut a few strips of black and white polka dot- don't measure just rip through it and cut them up. Place one on either side of the blue and stitch down using a 1/4" seam allowance.
This is so easy- it's just stitch and flip and press and then add the next strip until the circles are both covered.
Then machine quilt in straight lines- starting in the center and working to the right and then to the left until both circles are machine quilted.
You can do different stitches or add ribbon or whatever you want.
 I sometimes use torn 1/2" strips across this as I quilt it but I didn't here cause of the strawberries. You'll see.
I put in two inner pockets and both of them were added by hand after I quilted the layers.
That's the calamity!  ummm- no, it's not! but it would be if you sewed them on first!
If you were doing this and had half a brain you would want to add the pockets to the lining before you begin to layer it with batting and stitch & flip that top layer. If you did that it would close up the pockets and that would be a true calamity! So, just hand sew the pockets on through lining and batting layers only. Thanks Joan for pointing that out to me- ! I knew I sewed them on afterward for a reason...

The other pocket I stitched two pieces together and left the bottom open and then turned it inside out and tucked in the seam allowance, ironed it and then hand stitched it in the bag.
The strap template is cut from some brown paper- you can use newspaper- 28 1/2" long 2 1/2" at one end and 6 1/2" at the other.
Use a ruler.
Do not attempt to do any sort of math or algebra here- just measure it and cut out the darn paper.
 Stop being picky.
Fold it in half and make sure it is even.
 Cut out two outer pieces and two from the lining and two from batting.
Stitch small ends right sides together and press open and flat.
Layer with batting in between and machine quilt in straight lines or
whatever you want.
Then trim edges and stitch large ends together ( lining sides together)
 making a circle.
Take a piece of fabric wide enough to cover the seam with 1/4" turned under
 on each side and stitch down. then turn under edges and iron flat and stitch down close to edge.
Now cut some of the blue fabric (or whatever your main center fabric is) into 1 1/4" strips that are at least 17" long.
 Look at the round fronts and find the center by folding and putting a pin to mark it. Then find the center of your 17" strip and pin at center then pin around edge covering front and back of quilted edge.
 I like the raw edges and you can cut your strips on the bias for less raveling or use real store bought bias tape. You could stitch scraps of small rectangles together and use that as a binding. Whatever.
Just don't get all freaked out and throw it down because you hate doing bias.
 This is fun and meant to help you chill-ax as the kids say.
Once you have done the top portion of the two circles you are going to pin the strap starting at the bottom center.
Stitch the bag front and back to the strap.
Then stitch together some more of the 1 1/4" wide blue strips to edge
 the entire bag.
Iron seams open before you start sewing it to edge of bag to minimize the bulk.
 It also helps to fold this in half and iron it to give a center crease. You will have enough to fold over the edge and stitch down covering the raw edge.
 I went over it about 3 times- all crazy and uneven to give it a handmade look. It will wear and be softly raw edged.
I am going to make some strawberries and hang them on the front...and it needs a closure- maybe a button or some magnets or maybe I will think on a drawstring to insert inside it.
 That would be awesome!
 But right now it kinda hurts my head.
I have to go get some small pearls to use for seeds.
 I might ride my bike if it doesn't rain- I need the exercise and fresh muggy humid sweltering air, don't ya know.
I felted the two blankets I found last week at the thrift shop and might audition some berries made from them.
 I bought some velvet on eBay and it hasn't been delivered yet, so I am sorta waiting for that.
We'll see.
Thanks for sitting here with me and listening to me blah, blah, blog on and on...
 Do you like the round purse?
What do you think? Easy peasey?
 Any questions?
Let me know.
n the meantime, I think I have to go get some beads...
 Love & Stitches,
Calamity Kim

Monday Inspired me to Make a Gnome House Bag

monday, originally uploaded by calamity kim.

This is the start of something good- Bag Week here at Calamity Kim.
This page from my purse calendar is inspiring enough to make me want to make one of my own...maybe with yoyo shingles... what do ya think?
Sound fun?
Let's go get started!!

***This article has been edited several times to add the house bag as it progressed!****

Monday's Bag Looks Like a House,
It's big enough for a brush or comb...
and maybe a wallet, pen and pad to call it home.

***** later, after running errands and getting some chores done I sat down and drafted a simple house bag pattern.

Here are the front and back sides and the ends.

I scanned them and stored them in Flickr.
 Then I went and stitched them to a backing fabric and layered some cotton batting in between leave the bottom open for turning.
after I trimmed the seam I turned them inside out and pushed the corners out nice and sharp and then ironed them down smooth.
Then I cut some chipboard (cereal boxes work great) to the same size as the sides and bottom except I trimmed about 1/4" off each side.
I am starting to get a bit sleepy tired so I am going to stop now and pick this back up in the morning.
 I think the windows and door fabric is by Michael Miller but I will check tomorrow.
I am going to make red and white polka dot yoyo's for the roof shingles..
I think...
I do have some fabric that looks like pinkish shingles..
.I really think the yoyo's would be so cute though.
 I will continue this post tomorrow with dimensions for you to make your own little Gnome House purse...
I wonder where those magnetic latches are that I bought for bags a few years ago...
I wonder if I can make a bag a day?
 I bet by Friday it's gonna be a tote bag!...
.g'night sweet sisters in calamity...
 the sandman is on his way..
Do you think it should be a different bag each day or a different house?
I could make a red riding hood house bag and a Hansel & Gretel witches house bag and a Chicken House for you Baba Yaga lovers out there...

OK, so it's Tuesday, 6:12 pm and I am stuck on the roof.
I cut the pattern and layered it with batting and stitched it and trimmed the seams.
Making sure to cut in to the dip where the scallops meet so that it won't pucker when I turn it inside out.
It looks OK but I need a handle. Thinking.... Thunk.... Thinking.....
apparently I am smitten with the tortoise shell plastic and only like the clear acrylic enough to buy one set.
I could use wooden beads or fabric or maybe some chain with fabric or maybe...
Maybe I'll just run real quick over to Joann's and she what's available...
 I know I need to make some red & white yoyo's too..
Because there aren't any in my little storage drawer... Fred says to go buy a "cheap purse" and use the handle...Oh, so sweet yet so wrong. I want to make one. The perfect one... what is it? wood? wood grain fabric? I can't see it. Maybe if I just shut my eyes for a second... any ideas? Maybe this is a good time to say that a house purse a day is ambitious! very, very ambitious! Maybe a house purse every other day! sheesch! I will be back. k

So I bought several kinds of bamboo handles and then made some tabs to install the handle.
I did bend a needle stitching the tabs on because I went through the cardboard. Now I am going to hand stitch the roof panels together.
After I hand stitched all the openings closed I then stitched them together. Then I sewed one edge to the top edge of one side.
That way it is secure but can be opened wide!
 To carry pixie dust and marshmallow treats and paper dolls.
I stitched down a velvet ribbon to use as a tie- it wraps around the butterfly and holds the roof down nicely. This bag won't hold a ton of Benjamin's but it would be great for a light day.
So, I am still in the designing stages on how to make it really strong without being too heavy-
Amanda and Cheryl both have suggested that plastic canvas so I will get out my bike and ride over to the store tomorrow to get some.
I have several more House bag designs written down and the next one is going to be in Honor of Frieda Kahlo and the paper doll and apron I did for the newest edition of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine which should be out at the newstand any day now.  
I am going to still add some red and white polka dot yoyo's to this roof...but technically it is finished.
 The Frieda bag will be her Blue House, of course! with some skeleton beads for the handle...and who knows what other Frieda-ish things I can come up with! So come back real soon- I might be finishing something else real quick!