this-is-katrin

[this-is-katrin]

It's been a while, but I finished another project. Envelope style pillow covers. My old couch pillows did not have removable covers and were dry-clean-only. It was beyond time for an upgrade. So today, when I came home early from work due to a sinus cold, was the perfect time for this easy project. It took me less than an hour to cut, serge, and sew 2 pillow covers. I also won bobbin roulette by about 2 inches!

I'm in love with this fabric from Joann's (super sad to see them closing) and am really glad I bought some extra that I can get another project out of.

[this-is-katrin]

Do you ever feel grumpy, but not because you're actually in a bad mood? I do. Today it's because I am in the mood to do about 15 tasks that have been pending (both leisure and not) but I only have time to do 2 or 3. And because I can't do them all, my brain has decided I can't do ANY of them. So now I'm grumpy and stuck in a state of anxiety of things I need to do but can't.

I know this is a common issue other people have, and that I can push myself to do at least a few things on my list, but my brain is mean and fights me every step.

[this-is-katrin]

I had a dream and now I need the story written.

It's set in the universe of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, but many decades in the future. We're ignoring all the other books in the series for the sake of this idea.

Several generations of kings and queens have passed through Narnia. None age much, but all pass the crown on to a new generation after some time.

The once happy and thriving kingdom of Narnia is now under the rule of a queen who took the role as an interim ruler until the next generation came to take their place but has no intention of giving it up. The world is nothing as it was before. All is dark, lifeless, and sad.

The new generation of kings and queens eventually come to take their place, but upon reaching the castle they feel something is off. Not all agree and they eventually are approached by some castle guards. They are welcomed awkwardly and ushered to a set of rooms of the castle where they are locked in under the guise of waiting for the queen.

A castle worker who is faithful to the kings and queens of narnia finds Queen Lucy who is more of a myth/legend now. They tell her what's happened and she is the only hope. They tell her of a way into the castle that only she can access due to how small she is.

Lucy makes her way to the castle hidden under a cloak and enters thru the dungeons. There she meets several creatures, including some old friends, who help her. She makes her way to the new kings and queens, divising a way to retake the thrones for them.

She leads the new generation to a meeting of parliament and the queen, keeping herself hidden. As the queen does everything to discredit them, Lucy finally reveals herself. She discredits the queen and strips her of her position as interim ruler. Lucy crowns the new rulers herself and returns to her quiet life knowing the kingdom is safe again.

[this-is-katrin]

Random thought of the day:

What if wearing underwear on the outside of our pants actually made us superheroes, but no one knows because we're trained from a young age not to. Some kids have it happen but the behavior is "corrected" and years later they think they just imagined the superpowers.

[this-is-katrin]

Story idea: Harry Potter actually takes place in an eldritch universe.

Wizards and witches use wands fashioned from special magical trees and creatures. These wands cause fantastical things to happen when combined with the correct words. What if the trees and creatures were actually eldritch entities and by using the wands they enter into a contract with them. Over time wizards and witches forgot where their magic came from and new generations are born with some magical ability to promote another contract with the eldritch entities. In return for use of the magic, the eldritch entities get a part of the witch or wizard's soul and a sort of chaos is created in the world (which of course the eldritch love). But how does the wand choose the wizard? Perhaps it reads their souls and bonds with the witch or wizard who most closely resonates with the eldritch being associated with the wand. Harry happened to have a piece of Voldemort's soul in him which would have played a part in that as well.

Anyway, just an idea that I've been playing around with.

[this-is-katrin]

[this-is-katrin]

Mantra of the day: I love my job, jail is bad.

I really do love my job, but some days someone just irks you the wrong way and you're ready to walk out the door and never look back. But then I remember all the sweet and wonderful people I work with and suck it up for their sake.

[this-is-katrin]

I love and hate making things like this. They're a pain with several nit-picky steps. However, how CUTE are they?! These I made for my sister's birthday (probably will get stolen by her husband too) but I already have another 2 started for my bestie. Let's see how many I can get done before I lose my sewing mojo again.

All fabric and materials from Joann because 30% employee discount. Also, pardon the mess in the back. I am a messy sewist.

[this-is-katrin]

Is this not the cutest thing EVER?!

I have been sitting on the project for literally months because I got busy with Christmas. It has taken me a day (mostly because it's a new project and I had to seam rip the neck) but I already want to make 50 of them. A towel, fabric quarter, interfacing, and ribbon. That's it! This one is meant for my MIL, but I think I'm gonna have to make myself one for each holiday too!

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Looking for a simple and cheap way to store fabric? I have an idea for you! I hear a lot of people talking about using comic book boards, but I just don't have money for that. I also don't have huge shelves or a dedicated sewing room to use for organization. So I've had to come up with my own method.

Pardon it not being instagram worthy, but here is my personal solution. I bought a sterilite 3 drawer container. I think it cost me less than $10. It rolls, so I can move it wherever I happen to be working. Also, the drawers help to organize types, colors, sizes, or whatever your system may be. I only have 1 cart at the moment, but I will have to get a second for my stash in the basement.

I labeled the front with stickers from Dollar Tree. 1 set was enough for this particular project. You could use vinyl, paint, or even sharpie if you so choose.

Then comes the hard part. I purchased 3 24x20 inch foam boards from Dollar Tree to use for fabric boards. Based on my personal stash and fabric sizes, I chose to cut them into 4x6in pieces with an exacto knife (also from Dollar Tree). This gave me exactly 25 pieces from each board. I like this size because it leaves plenty of room to roll the fabric on and is small enough to fit 3 rows of fabric in each drawer. I folded the fabric into a long strip to roll on the board and placed them as seen below.

My cotton drawer is the nicest as most of them are between a half and whole yard. The knits were harder as I use them for clothes which usually means 2+ yards of fabric. I left the larger pieces folded and wrapped the smaller ones (1.5y or less) on my boards. The top drawer is miscellaneous things. Most are silky/satins, but there is also fur, lacey material, and some pieces too small for boards but too big for scrap pile that I'll likely use for doll clothes. (Also some cotton quarters that I haven't rolled yet.)

Overall, the whole project cost me about $15 and I can store a fair amount of my fabric stash. It's turned a messy pile that I had to dig through into a neat and organized drawer where I can find things with a quick glance. I absolutely love it and am extremely glad I did this!

[this-is-katrin]

I had a dream that the king and the queen of a small country had a daughter. They needed a son, a first-born son, so in secret, without telling anyone of their child’s gender, they travelled to the nearby woods that were rumoured to house a witch.

They made a deal with that witch. They wanted a son, and they got one. A son, one made out of clay and wood, flexible enough to grow but sturdy enough to withstand its destined path, enchanted to look like a human child. The witch asked for only one thing, and that was for their daughter.

They left the girl readily.

The witch raised her as her own, and called her Thyme. The princess grew up unknowing of her heritage, grew up calling the witch Mama, and the witch did her very best to earn that title.

She was taught magic, and how to forage in the woods, how to build sturdy wooden structures and how to make the most delicious stews. The girl had a good life, and the witch was pleased.

The girl grew into a woman, and learned more and more powerful magics, grew stronger from hauling wood and stones and animals to cook, grew smarter as the witch taught her more.

She learned to deal with the people in the villages nearby, learned how to brew remedies and medicines and how to treat illness and injury, and learned how to tell when someone was lying. 

Every time the pair went into town, the people would remark at just how similar Thyme was to her mother. 

(Thyme does not know who and what she is. She does not know that she was born a princess, that she was sold. She only knows that one night after her mother read her a story about princesses and dragons, her mother had asked her if she ever wanted to be a princess.)

((Thyme only knows that she very quickly answered no. She likes being a witch, thank you very much, she likes the power that comes with it and the way that she can look at things and know their true nature.))

The witch starts preparing the ritual early, starts collecting the necessities in the winter so they can be ready by the fall equinox. Her daughter helps, and does not ask what this is for, just knows that it is important.

The witch looks at Thyme, both their hands raised into the air over a complicated array of plants, tended carefully to grow into a circle, and says, sorry.

Keep reading

[this-is-katrin]

I bought this beautiful machine a few days ago. It arrived yesterday while I was at work and, of course, I opened it immediately after getting home. It smelled of plastic and machine oil, but is so pretty that you don't even care. I just unboxed it last night to look and admire its presence.

Today, after my husband dragged me out of the house for 4 hours (he bought me lunch and fabric so I'll forgive him), I decided it was time to take it for a spin. I read the manual cover to cover.

A word to the wise, always read the manual before working with a new machine like this. It had a ton of useful information about threading, types of needles to use, how often to clean and oil, and even tension troubleshooting! I hear so many people asking about tension settings, but a few inches of fabric and 5 minutes with the manual can set you straight.

Anyway, after a few minutes trying to figure out tension on scrap fabric, I managed a beautiful serged seam.

Black is top and white is bottom. I did tighten the lower looper (blue) a tiny bit more after this, but it was seriously not that hard. My actual project ended up with this beautiful serged edge

Isn't that pretty?! I left the colored threads in as this is a brand new type of sewing for me. But guys? I'm in love! The edges are absolutely gorgeous! I'll never go back to zig-zaged edges! I know sergers come with their own headaches, but I don't even care at this point! I could not be happier with this machine.

[this-is-katrin]

3 days ago I started seeing feathers. I work at a craft store so it's not really that surprising at work. However, it was striking to me as normally they're in packaging or near the feather boas. I found behind my counter. Then 2 days ago my daughter found a big turkey feather in her backpack. I figured it was one she forgot about from a visit with family. Shexs been doing virtual schooling until recently, so it makes sense that she didn't notice it. I noted the presence and contemplated a possible meaning, but otherwise I let it be.

Yesterday... my boss asked me to apply for a management position! I have only worked for this business for 8 months and was completely stunned! I had contemplated applying for the management position but wasn't sure I had the qualifications. He urged me to discuss it with my family and apply if I wished.

I'm wondering if the feathers signified a coming positive interaction in my life, specifically my workplace since that's where I first started seeing them. Either way, I'm in a very good mood and put in the application this morning 😁

[this-is-katrin]

This is the correct way to draft a pattern after a long day, right?

Where's the glass? The bottle is made of glass, so isn't it technically already in one?

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Just finished a batch of these babies! Paczki are a necessity on Fat Tuesday in my house since husband is half Polish. I used this recipe from Pinteret.

It seems difficult, but half the work is just waiting for the dough to rise! The other half is actually frying them.

More fun comes when filling them. I make lemon and Holland creme fillings because those are my husband's favorite. I found more recipes on Pinterest for those.

These are both fairly simple. The Holland creme recipe should be cut in half or even a quarter unless you're baking for a literal army. It's incredibly sweet so a little goes a long way.

I'll be talking over half of these to work with me tomorrow. I'm hoping for no leftovers!

[this-is-katrin]

When you make food that impresses even yourself for Valentine's dinner. This was my first time cooking steak and it came out FANTASTIC! I have some modifications to make, but even my picky husband ate every bite!

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Pardon the messy hair. We've had this doll for quite a while and my daughter isn't exactly a girly girl. However, the dress is done minus the bottom hem. I even made a cute little veil to go with it! I need to get a barette to attach it to, but I already love the whole ensemble.

It's not perfect, but I'm very happy with the result. It's completely hand-stitched at this point which is a huge deal for me. Carpal tunnel sucks, right? It was cramping and numb as I was sewing on the lacey parts. However, I got it done!

I'll upload some better staged pics once I manage to make the boy's suit to accompany this dress. I'm still trying to decide if I want to make a suit jacket or just vest and tie. It's such a hard decision, amd how much work do I REALLY want to put in to this?