craft day

I've managed to con my roommates into making a new project with me each weekend. It started with one of them asking me to teach him how to sew. So, out I came with my sewing machine and we made a lovely red maloo knockoff laptop sleeve. It's way cooler than the one I made myself a few months ago. Alas, I may actually have more laptop cases than purses. I just can't justify making myself another. We got to go to Mood Fabrics (of Project Runway fame) to buy supplies. Man, oh, man could I spend my whole paycheck there.





Since I learned to knit last December (although not purl) our next project was to make this really cool scarf thingy. I just finished mine today. Apologies for the clashing shirt.



I'm pushing for some modular origami next.

i'm a winner!

No, really, I am. My zipper bag instructable won first prize in the Homemade for the Holidays contest. So congrats to myself. I've been making lots of these things and, obviously, giving them away as presents. Well, most of them. I may have kept three for myself. You can take a look at them on my instructables page or just scroll on down.

nostalgia

While looking through an old photo album of my mother's before the holidays I found this amazing photo of myself in my all time favorite halloween costume, a blue crayon. I think I'm either 5 or 6 in the picture. My mother and the woman who babysat me would spend days sewing me a halloween costume each year. I've been a dragon, a tiger, Pocahontas, and Miss Havisham (though at the time I did think I was a bride), but none of those compares with my blue crayon.



Discussing this glorious example for my childhood weirdness with a friend led to the unearthing of the following photo of my long lost ninja turtle bed tent. As you can see, I was a great admirer of Miss Havisham's style as child.



I spent hours inside this thing counting all the Donatello's, Michelangelo's, Leonardo's, and Rapheal's. The tent was semi-transparent and there was some really amazing light inside it when my room light was turned on. While I'm on the subject of strange things I loved as a kid, I ought to include my 4th grade presentation on time travel. I actually researched this out and made all sorts of little explanatory animations in hypercard. The original file is, sadly, lost to the gods of floppy disks, but I managed to find a hard copy and make some scans:

well, the title of this blog does have the word redux in it

So, it seems I've only updated this blog once since moving to NY. It's not that I haven't had ideas for posts. Or, honestly, time to write them. I just, er, haven't. But I am now! Prepare yourself for all the stuff I've done in the last 6 or so weeks, coming to you in a shotgun blast of posts.

boxes!

I have finally and at long last moved. And, because of careful planning and many many trips to Target, I managed to bring almost all of the furniture and stuff I might ever need with me in my parents' van. Of course, there's always a couple more things that I just absolutely need. The nearest Target is in Brooklyn and I didn't feel like trekking all the way there for a couple tiny plastic drawers. I almost went to the Muji section of MoMA's Design Store (really, it's not that expensive, you just have to be able to convert inches to centimeters to figure out dimensions). I might go back for their tiny stapler.

The previous day I had come across a wonderland of plastic, wire mesh, canvas and cardboard called The Container Store. It's two floors of every kind of box, closet organizer, drawer, file and other storage media imaginable. I picked up four of these beauties for my horde of makeup and jewelry. Boy do I love translucent plastic. Check out this stuff too:

A tiny version of the lasercut acrylic chandelier

A create your own size bag dispenser

A translucent plastic chair

And, of course, more delicious cube storage

back from ny

While I was there I (of course) stopped at the MoMA design store. And, well, I found some things I just couldn't not buy. My favorite by far is this sign by Richard Tipping. I love signage to my very soul and a bit of paranoia is good for everyone.



Sadly, the artist's website is under construction but there's still enough there to get a flavor of his work. Hopefully the online store will be back soon...I need to decorate my new apartment.

meat flaps

I love this short story! Possibly you will too. Make sure you stick around for the credits, they're v nice.