Calamity Kim

The Earth Laughs in Flowers Collage Girl Smock

I just finished adding a pocket to this and it's ready to go in the Etsy Shop!

That's the pocket!

This apron is made from white 100% cotton lawn (that I bought to dye but love it in white) and is light but not sheer. Very comfortable in this hot ass hell summer we are having!

It is a size medium-large and has been preshrunk and washed after finishing. The wrinkles are just gonna happen and add to the shabby chic appeal. You could starch it I suppose, but where's the fun in that?

Here's the side/back view. It has a cool criss cross and it really is comfy.

This shows details of the roses at her feet- it says: Oh you silly thing, laugh why don't you?!" I found the fabric online and just loved it so I bought enough to make several aprons from.It is from licensed artwork by Cori Dantini and I am thrilled that she has also created a line of giftware with Demdaco. I recently saw some ornaments and wall art including an owl clock that will be going in my sewing room!  I plan to make bloomers to go with it but they will be in a separate listing.

Two posts in one day- that's just crazy!Must be all the coffee I'm drinkin!

Thanks for stopping by!

Back to the sewing room!

calamity kim

Tea in the Tree House with Bill Murray Stitched Portrait Bag

I started this bag a few months ago and just finished it!

It is a machine stitched portrait of Bill Murray that I used sulky solvy to create. I could step it out in a tutorial, but not today. In fact I would like to teach a class on this because you could do a portrait of anyone you like- your dog, rabbit or grandbaby.

First of all, my bags are called "Lucky Bags" because they take so long to make, you're lucky if you ever get one! LOL, right? No, really- it's true! I am also going to finish one this week that I started lining in Dec of 2010! Now, that is indeed a very lucky bag! Maybe I should call them "bags of patience" because they are, patiently waiting to be finished. The inside pockets are embroidered vintage linens and it has a magnetic snap closure. The fabrics are all quilt fabrics like Martha Negley cupcakes and tea cups. I used Bari J to collage the tea pot and cup on the back side of the bag which was made from a very old and lovely vintage quilt square. Also a bit of Martha Negley fern fabric to let you feel as though your'e in the woods. The handle and inside lining are made from a heavier Ikea wood grain fabric to represent the tree house. I always stick a few fabric benjamins in the pocket or use in it the lining somehow to give prosperity to the bag. They are sewn with a story in mind and this one is about a daydream of having met Bill Murray and offered him tea and cupcakes up in the tree house. He is a man of mystery and I do think there are wild stories of his escapades because he can get away with anything- after all, who would believe it?! So, it took a while, but it's finally finished and now I will be listing it in the Etsy shop. Hopefully someone will love it as much as I do and wear it with happiness. Now, to get back to that other bag of patience! with love and stitches,

yours in calamity,

kim

Who Loves the DR?

I do!Not the "going to the Dr cause I'm unwell kind" but the "it's bigger on the inside" kind!

It doesn't matter which Who you love- the older ones are quite silly but I would love to knit this Dr's scarf!

The special effects are hokey and cheap and that makes them even more wonderful. We started watching the new version done by Stephan Moffat and once he became David Tennat I was in love. This is a really great fan site- Not Tonight Dalek and this picture and the end video are shared from their site. He has great gifs  too, like this one:

 

In case you don't know about the Dr, that's Matt Smith above and below:

He sometimes wears a fez, but always has a bow tie. 'Cause they're cool.

Just one of the things I have become a big fan of in the last year. There are deep and convoluted story arcs in the modern version and I simply cannot wait for the next season. It's a romantic fairytale in space!

C'mon Dr! We want a new adventure!

Here's a link to fun paper craft pdf's so we can make some tardis and daleks while we wait.

And I'll just leave you with this:

 

Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies — Night will fall and the dark will rise when a good man goes to war.

missing u, dr who...

calamity kim

How to Alienate Blog Readers By Not Ever Posting

It seems that I am Blogging less, but in my mind I write everyday.

I practice sentences in my mind and they get rejected as too flowery or insincere.

I used to Blog every day. Remember that? or are you new here?

How did I do that? I guess I was driven and full of newbie excitement.

I used to get up and practically run to my sewing room each day. The years change us. Have I become lazy or is it that as I joined local Guilds and Groups I started to be gone more than I was home? Out in the real world, my possible prose left here to rot and wither, untouched and abandoned.

There are so many reasons why but the question really is: will I Blog again?

I try every day to think of something to say.

Snags and Fragments of sentences come to me as I am crocheting or sewing and I still take pictures but the time to come and sit here seems too long to spend.

I guess time is money for me now and I can't afford to waste it. Even as I type this I know I could be using my time differently. I could be finishing something to list on etsy; could be preparing fabric to dye; could be packing up books I sold on Amazon; at least 20 things easily, off the top of my head, I could be doing rather than this.

How about working on this quilt? Yes, I could do that.

But even if I weren't writing this I wouldn't really do that- it is a quilt best left for another day. A  wide open with promise and hope kind of day. This afternoon is already cloudy and thunder drums out a tentative beat in the distance as the daily rain rumbles our way.

Rusty words.

I haven't been using them as much or baked any pies like this in a good long while.

These pictures are from my Flickr Explore photos- which means someone working at Flickr thought them good enough or interesting enough to be on the Flickr page. It makes me feel good. Blessed. Loved. Proud even.

Flickr started off as a place to store my digital images and soon became a place where I met other artists and connected with people from all over the world.

It was just my 6 year anniversary at Flickr.

My how the time flies. It was my my space my Book Face before there was one. Now Pinterest vies for attention but I still love Flickr and always will.

Without all those digital images I am sure I would soon forget all the things I have made. Taking time to fold paper into flowers was such a peaceful and happy segment of time. I remember taking that picture and then knowing it was good. It captured the zen, the upcycle, the moment.

Remember Bench Mondays? I wish I still did them. I think I used up all my benches and lost the energy to go seek out new ones.

It's so hot. The glare from the sun is so bright. Don't have any filters for the camera...etc...excuses why but mostly I forget until about Wednesday and then I snap my fingers and say: "damn! missed bench monday again"!

I so loved it- the marking off of the beginning of the week with a ritual like that just made me happy. It isn't possible to work in every week but I feel disappointed that I can't remember to do it at least every once in a while.

The rain has already blown in, fast and furious, moving further west to the beach to blow out over the sea while I wrote this.

Sips of chai tea, pulling words out and dusting them off, trying to figure it out.

What I want to say, maybe is that I still have more to say.

Lots more to make and do and share.

Ideas poor out at night as I lay in bed, soft sheets and smooth quilt above. I hear my husbands breathing become a pattern of soft sounds, he dreams while I think about making something beautiful.

Ideas reach up from the calm, still thought pool below- Stephen King talks about that pool in his book Lisey's Story (I've been reading a lot this summer) and I want to Blog it but there just hasn't been time. Not unless I drop something else. Slot this back in. Try to work up some momentum.

It's just so easy to forget when there is so much social networking now- blogs you love to read- my bookmarks are stuffed and I keep a tutorial board on Pinterest to hold all the places of cool stuff to make- before I would have blogged it here and been spreading the word- now I know that it's easier to just put a link to my pinterest and say check this out!

Look at all that time I just saved! I can go make some yoyo's or pre-wash some fabric or sew something fun to wear! No, really, I will be blogging more. I am not trying to be funny, even though it kind of is...

after I go cut out some sleeves and finish these tops...maybe...sooner rather than later...

maybe it's still cloudy with distant thunder...

never meant to leave you here hanging...

just sort of wandered off the path...

thanks for stopping by and sitting a spell.

joy & peace & love always,

Calamity Kim

Alienate is such a cold and terrible word but the rain does make the flowers grow!