Sew Darn Cute

Safe Sparkle Rally in Burbank

Have you guys heard about how Ellen DeGeneres hates glitter and is asking our next president (whomever that might be) to BAN IT? Say it isn't so!

The Crafty Chica (aka Kathy Cano-Murillo) has taken up glittery arms and has organized a pro-sparkle rally to take place outside Ellen's NBC Studios tomorrow. I'll be there arm-in-arm with Kathy along with other crafty LA pals like Carla Sinclair (Ed-at-Large of CRAFT), Cathy of California, Erika Kern, Cathie Filian, Mark Montano and many more.

Oh and naturally I spent some time hand-glittering teeshirts to give away at the rally on CRAFT's behalf. I have ten to give away, so if you're anywhere near Burbank on Tuesday afternoon, I hope you'll stop by and join us!

Recipe Time: Roasted Lemon and Parsley Potatoes

So, since I've been working on my book, my days have been busier than ever. While I miss cooking, it's often the last thing on my mind. As a result, our dinners usually consist of a rotation of simple pasta dishes with 5 steps or less. Stuff like: 1. Boil frozen ravioli or whole-wheat pasta,  2. Microwave a steamer bag of mixed veggies, 3. Toss together with pesto or tomato sauce in a big bowl and eat. Or sometimes we'll buy whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe's and throw together a quick pizza with a jar of sauce (or again, pesto) and whatever toppings we have on hand-- pair it with a salad and call it done.

It's not the worst way to eat in the world, and it certainly beats ordering takeout all the time, but I've been getting SO bored with our food routine. Johnny noted recently that it had been a while since we made potatoes and that he missed them. Not wanting to go our usual potato route (mashed, or roasted with carrots and onions), I tried out this recipe (an adaptation of a few different ones I found online) and results were awesome. We paired them with a big salad of romaine lettuce, crumbled jack cheese, slivered carrots, sesame seeds and sliced strawberries in vinaigrette and it was the most satisfying dinner I've tasted in quite a while. Try these tangy potatoes and lemme know what you think!

Roasted Lemon and Parsley Potatoes

* 3 lbs. mixed small potatoes (we used a bag of new, red, and purple)
* 6 TBSP lemon juice
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/2 stick butter or margarine
* About 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
* Zest of one small lemon (yay for Microplane zesters!)
* Sea salt & cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Quarter the potatoes and put 'em in a 13 x 9" pan. Melt the butter or margarine, whisk together with oil and lemon juice. Toss with potatoes to coat, salt and pepper generously. Cook (uncovered) for 45 mins or so, then pull 'em out and mix in the lemon zest. Cook about 15 mins more or until nice and golden. Remove from oven and toss in the parsley. Eat until you explode.

The Antidote to Alienation

I came across this passage recently while reading Barbara Kingsolver's wonderful book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and was struck by how much it resonated with me as a crafter. So I thought I'd reproduce it here for your perusal since I think a lot of you would probably relate as well.

A lot of human hobbies, from knitting sweaters to building model airplanes, are probably rooted in the same human desire to control an entire process of manufacture. Karl Marx called it the antidote to alienation. Modern business psychologists generally agree, noting that workers will build a better car when they participate in the whole assembly rather than just slapping on one bolt, over and over, all the tedious livelong day. In the case of modern food, our single-bolt job has become the boring act of poking the thing in our mouths, with no feeling for any other stage in the process. It's a pretty obvious consequence that one should care little about the product. When I ponder the question of why Americans eat so much bad food on purpose, this is my best guess: alimentary alienation. We can't feel how or why it hurts. We're dying for an antidote.

Stitched Together

Since my blog has a brand new look, I thought I'd tell you a bit about the new banner design. About a month ago, I was lucky enough to find this amazing handmade quilt at the thrift store. I call it the "Holy &*#$@! Quilt" because I feel so fortunate to have found it. Most of what I purchase at thrift stores doesn't break the $10 mark, but this was priced at $89-- however I think we can all agree that it's worth that many times over. How could I resist?! It's an entirely hand-stitched double-sized quilt and has no loose threads or stains whatsoever. I adore the beautiful mix of colorful feedsacks with plain white and green fabrics, and the flower garden pattern is a classic. I feel so grateful to have been able to rescue a handmade beauty like this and make it a part of my home.

While we're on the subject of quilts, do you guys remember the adorable pair of 1970s-era twin sized quilts I thrifted last year, which (as the "Made Especially for You" label informed us) were sewn by a woman named Edna DeMerse? I got some fun e-mails and comments from you guys wondering if she was still alive, where she was from, who the quilts were made for, and so on. Well, the mystery has finally been solved! Edna's step-niece Gladys came across my blog entry and left this sweet comment on the original post:

Hi I was a step-neice of Edna DeMerse of Vallejo Ca. I was just surfing on the internet and here I am. She was a wonderful lady who passed away in 1995. She loved to make things and taught me how to crochet when I was a little girl.

How great is that?! Thanks so much for writing, Gladys. This is just part of what I love about buying things (especially handmade things) secondhand-- behind every item is a story. I feel so lucky that in this particular case, I was able to find out just what that story was.

Sending Up Smoke Signals

I'm here, I'm here! Just thought I should make note of that here since I've left the blog unattended since...late November! Yikes!! Sorry for the unusually long sabbatical, after the holiday Felt Club last year things got non-stop crazy between work and travel (and traveling for work), and this poor ol' blog had to take a backseat. I'll try to be better from now on-- promise. I even prettied up the joint with a new color scheme and banner design, so if you're reading this via an RSS reader, visit the blog itself and check it out!

There's no way I could catch you up on everything that's happened in the last 3-4 months in one blog entry, so you'll have to settle for a few highlights and some more frequent posting from me from now on. Oh and just so you know, I'm now blogging at CRAFT on a much more frequent schedule: five times a day, Monday through Friday. I'm even on the little blog masthead now, ha! It's a lot of work but I love, love, love it.

One thing I'd like to show off is latest tattoo, the scissors you see above (which match the needle and thread on my other wrist). The scissors (like the thread) were drawn by Jordan Crane and the tattoo was done by TJ Hernandez at American Electric. I love how it turned out and I think I'm done with tattoos for now...but don't quote me.

Sooo, I've been very busy working on my sewing book for St. Martin's Press, which is taking a bit longer than I'd hoped but all in all things are going great. The good news too is that we recently upped the amount of projects included from 25 to 30, which on the one hand is more work but on the other hand means MORE FUN! What's killing me is not being able to show anybody the stuff I'm working on. (I've posted a teeny, tiny sneak peek at one of the projects above. Nope, I can't tell you what it is. Nope, it's not a quilt or a table runner. Nope, I won't tell you!) I will post more sneak peeks here and there but for the most part things will stay under wraps. I can't wait to surprise you guys with the full package, y'know?

Some of the projects included are based on items I used to sell on my retail site, such as the crochet hook cozies and sweet treat totes, but most are totally new (and even the old-school projects have been tweaked and "kicked up a notch" to use Emeril-speak). The projects aren't just bags, either-- there's fun stuff for kids, items to make for your home, and more. Basically I'm super happy with how things have been turning out, but look forward to finishing things up and preparing for the photoshoot at the end of April. Whew!!

Speaking of books, have you heard about Susan Beal's Bead Simple yet? If you've ever been even slightly interested in making jewelry, you'll want to pick this up the minute it hits bookstores (March 25!). The book features a total of 150 fantastic designs that span a wide spectrum of beading and jewelry-making techniques. What's especially cool is that Susan enlisted nearly 40 crafty pals (familiar names like Jennifer Perkins, Cathy of California, Faythe Levine and yep, yours truly) to put their own spin on her projects. It's great seeing how different folks put their stamp on things and I'm so proud of Susan for putting together such an inventive and beautiful book. Yay Susan!!

PS: I'm so pleased that I actually finished a crochet project last fall (crochet being a craft that is outside of my usual Crafty Comfort Zone) that I have to share it here-- this is an owl amigurimi I made for Susan's soon-to-arrive baby girl! Narumi from Mr. Funky generously wrote out the pattern for me (it's not in her book) and helped me get started way back when and I'm happy with how it came out. I look forward to having more time to explore crafting for purely selfish reasons once the book is all done. I think next time a crocheted toadstool or gnome might be in order!