palo alto

The week of wearing many hats

| poppypeach

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The week finally came for the Textile Art Boutique and it was time to put on my retail hat and sell my stock inventory at my booth. Unfortunately for me the lack of people visiting the show this year was down 300 from 900 last year and I had to reconfigure my booth at the last minute which made me practically invisible at the show.

I really needed to be in a different location where I could display my rack without getting in the way of my neighbors – live and learn and I know for what to request for next year! Whether I will be making clothes is another thing? I really enjoy making and sharing my fun pieces but I really am in the wrong area to sell fashion – my ideal market is most likely Los Angeles or San Francisco where people are willing to dress up a bit more rather than wearing their exercise clothes everywhere they go! Still I am here in the suburbs and for now, I enjoy making what I would like to wear and I enjoy sharing these fun pieces. So on with the show and let me critique my booth below…

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For one the way the booth is aligned means people have to walk into the space to check out my wares, according to a fellow artist at the show. She mentioned she used this configuration and it is intimidating for a lot of people to walk into a booth to look and I certainly did feel that way when I was knitting away and watching the crowd go by. Being at the back of my booth behind my stock was another problem as I could not really engage in conversation. When I stood up to chat people got frightened and left – I think I wandered too deep into their personal space barrier! I find that I can talk to anyone, this is from experience as a freelancer coupled with my personality but from where I was in my booth I hardly engaged with the customers. The customers would just look at my sunglasses pouch, check out how it worked and walk off. Another problem was that on either side of me the displays of the booth were huge with using massive room divider screens to display their fabric canvases and cards on one side and on the other side lots of wooden risers to display stuffed animals and 3D textile pieces so my booth just got lost as people wandered by. Lessons learned from this year is to streamline my product line and work on my display at home before I head to the show.

Now to put on my teacher’s hat for the Halloween Goodie Bag workshop at the Mountain View Public Library. We now have a total of 8 machines for the libraries drop in sewing on Saturdays and for the Sew Sew with FabMo classes that I teach. We had about 13 students in this beginner class last Tuesday. The class made a goodie bag for Halloween from four 8″ squares and a felt stencil of a Halloween image. The class went for 2.5 hours until the library closed as some folks really enjoyed detailing their stencils. I really enjoy seeing what people create when they come to my classes, how they take my tutorial and customize it. November 15 will be the next workshop with an infinity scarf made from stretch fabric to take home all compliments of FabMo for the fabric and Friends of the Library for the machines, thread, and supplies.

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On Wednesday I took a small break and went to the hairdresser for a mom’s time out and used the Manic Panic Hot Hot Pink this time to dye my hair and I just love it! It is so vibrant on the lighter parts of my hair (the gray) and it takes so well! I love how I can change the color of my hair so often with such fun colors – I wish I knew about Manic Panic years ago as it is Vegan and a Semi Permanent!

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Sunday I put on my helmet and got on my red bicycle for a ride early in the morning. There was quite a chill in the morning with the added bonus of the trail being very quiet. I had planned on just doing my usual 30-minute ride up and down the trail but then I decided I would try and find a way to the middle school from the trail. I hopped off the trail at Crittenden right next door to one of the Google buildings and I spied this cool sculpture so I had to stop and check it out. I found the plaque and it read ‘Cast Bronze Horse – Deborah Butterfield May 2001’ and underneath it read ‘A Gift to the People of Mountain View From SGI’. SGI would have been in their heyday back then before Google had taken over the Shoreline area and I think the building (where Google is now) would have been the one my husband visited when he came to the Valley many years ago when he was working for SGI. And as my MIL mentioned, there is one of these sculptures in the lobby of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford – I knew I had seen this before but I could not remember where.

So the week ended on a beautiful 1-hour bike ride and all was good again. I just finished Missy’s Halloween Poo Emoji costume yesterday for Trunk or Treat this Friday! With Halloween this weekend it is very exciting!

Now to wear my student hat to get to studying as my classes start November 6th, for my Bachelor of Education so I can teach when we return to Australia in a couple of years. At least it is inside weather now and I can hang out at the library and study!

The Grand Finalé

| poppypeach

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The time has finally come with 3 days to the show I have been working towards. My inventory of stock has finally come together! This weekend is the FabMo Textile Art Boutique from 10am to 4pm at the Elks Lodge in Palo Alto. I finally completed my final piece for the day of the show which is a dress made from the cascades of colored fabric I have collected over time which I made into the skirt for the dress. As well the bodice is fabric that I found at FabMo – I love how it turned out and the skirt is a lot of fun to wear as I puffed up the hem with gathers to enhance the differences in the fabric.

My last few garments have been completed somewhat slowly in the last couple of weeks with little bits of time here and there and I finally made all the pieces that I have cut out ready to be sewn. The shift dress in the 1960s green and orange fabric has terrific hanger appeal and is very fun to wear – fancy a bloody mary anyone? The checked yoga PJs are super comfortable to wear and the feel of the fabric is wonderful, I am sure they will find a good home with someone. I know I used my fox yoga PJs all throughout my Australia holiday in the winter mornings doing my yoga sessions.

 

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Close up of the skirt above – I love the detail in this fabric

 

I found this velvet collection of cascades on my last visit to FabMo and it makes an amazing looking huge tote with denim straps – it is a mix of the luxurious and the utilitarian that will hold a heck load of stuff!

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As much as I would like to make more denim totes this is the last one as time is fleeting away and I think I have a lot in my collection and I need to have room on my table too! This beautiful butterfly fabric worked so well with this final bag for the show.

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So anyone in the Bay Area who is wanting to check out an inspiring textile show head on over to the FabMo Textile Art Boutique this Saturday, October 22, 2016 – hopefully I will see some of you there. I am looking forward to presenting my ‘Traveling Not So Light’ range inspired by my 8 weeks of travels and coming home to my sewing room.

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Brothers gonna work it out

| poppypeach

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That’s the Public Enemy song we used to listen to in the car hanging out down at the beach – now that is da biz!

Following last weeks cubby project with my daughter’s 3rd-grade class, here is what they looked like as a completed collection – I love this as an art installation and the bonus is that it is used to hold the kid’s binders and their work.

As I have two weeks of minimum days my days of preparing for the Textile Art Boutique have been shortened! I had to work extra hard last week and do a lot of prep and make to up the inventory so I can get going when I get time this week to do anything. Today was a complete right off with zero time to do anything except hand sewing and unpicking. With some luck and preparation, I can get some work done this week.

Last week I finished two smaller tote bags with outside pockets. Also, the denim tote bag collection is continuing with a checked pink bag. Plus as I felt a bit of a robot with just doing and making I needed a break to do some prototype design with a clutch purse. I love the Missoni fabric sample I have used though it needs some fine tuning for the next one I make.

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Pic by John Scarboro

Sunday was a family day with Bike Palo Alto! and my friend Cherie’s birthday gathering so we made some yummy baked goods such as a chocolate chip banana bread and lime coconut muffins. I volunteer with Safe Mountain View with Cherie and John, to promote safe riding for all in the city and it was fun to ride in a protected bike lane that led directly to a middle school. As Safe Mountain View we are trying to get some of these throughout the city so it is safe for all of us to get around. Hopefully, the City of Palo Alto can advise Mountain View that it is super easy to install and does not cost too much!

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Pic by John Scarboro

The kids are enjoying riding in the protected bike lane and feeling safe from the cars. At least the cars know that you cannot cross the white bollards on the road and cut off a cyclist.

 

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Pic by John Scarboro

 

One of the reasons we joke about why the bike lanes are not happening is how expensive the green paint is in Mountain View! Just to see this paint creates an awareness and not to drive in them, I am just pointing to the green paint right there in the city right next to Mountain View that it is possible.

 

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Pic by John Scarboro

 

Currently, my middle schooler is driven to school every day as I do not trust the roads he would ride on to get to his school – too many people distracted on their phones going to work. If this was a reality in the city I live in maybe he could ride to school on his own and I would feel confident that there is an awareness on the road for cyclists. Unfortunately, for now, construction of apartment buildings and development are a number 1 priority of this city without thinking of the impact of the infrastructure of the city and what does this mean for the traffic – just more cars and pollution!

A piece a Week – A Warm Hat for a Bubba and lots of cooking with Meyer Lemons

| poppypeach
This is the last post for the year – 52 weeks of being creative and making something every week has been a challenging though worthwhile experience…

A very happy new year to you!

Finally some time to relax and catch up on spring cleaning the house in time for the New Year. That has been one heck of a job with bags of recycling and a trip to Goodwill and boxes and boxes of kids books! Finally working through my last room today – the sewing room has been a good thing with getting everything organised for the New Year. New Year and new projects! Even our garden is cleaned up after the rain and the storms of the weeks past. Amazing what you can do when free time presents itself and you are on a cleaning mission!

This week I made a hat for our friend’s little bubba – who is now 2 months old. We had a sweet time yesterday hanging out with her. This is a little wolf modeling it before we packed it in a care package of a bag with books and Recipe Sacks super easy meal kits for busy families.

A bulky knit hat for a little bubba

Time to cook fun stuff has been wonderful with the free time and a bushel of Meyer lemons a friend gave me from her tree. I made Meyer Limoncello – with the help of this super easy recipe! There will be no Limoncello until the end of January though it will be fun to see the lemons and vodka mix together in our dungeon under the stairs. And I made Meyer Lemon Sables – one of my favorite recipes for cookies! Super easy and once they are rolled they make over 80 tasty little morsels.

Limoncello – I cannot wait to taste you!

Meyer Lemon Sables in their cookie jar

Today as part of our get out of the house and away from the cleaning mode we went hiking up to Los Trancos Open Space Preserve – it was freezing and windy and super cold up there on the mountain but we persisted and warmed up (once we were out of the wind!) We did 3.8 miles over 6 km with the kiddos over terrain with elevation at the end – which can be a bit of a struggle with the kiddos complaining! The mission was to find a power stone and make it back to the car for snacks and a drink – yay!! Initially we were on a .7 mile Fault Trail running parallel with the San Andreas fault line – which made it interesting for the kiddos. We powered up for a snack and wandered down to the Franciscan trail after the Fault Trail and then visited the Lost Creek way down low. Then came the climb up – according to my phone we climbed 26 floors today!

The kids love to climb and we found this lovely little rock collection to climb at the edge of the trail and of course they climbed to the top and what did they find? A buddha hiding in amongst the rocks! What a serendipitous little find with my readings on buddha this year and life as a vegetarian practicing Qi Gong. Qi’s to you all and may 2015 be filled with peace, happiness and harmony.

Here is the buddha surrounded by rocks and moss

Mama there is a buddha in the rock… 

On the end of a frosty trail with Pinky

Again taking my iPhone camera on a mission and seeing what the pics are like – I love the camera on this phone, check out this mushroom!

Do not eat this mushroom 😦 signs were posted at the trailhead, do not take any mushrooms

A piece a Week – Tote Bags for lots of stuff… and some tasty vegan ice cream!

| poppypeach
A sneak peek of what I will be showing at the FabMo Textile Art Boutique coming up on October 25th. In production mode I finished a small park tote and 3 patchwork large tote bags, perfect for picnics or your camera (they are quilted with a lining and pockets on the inside, so super soft). I found a couple of unfinished quilt tops at FabMo one distribution that had so much work put into them that I saw that they needed to be reworked into to something to be used and appreciated for its quirky beauty. Plus I really did like a lot of the fabrics quilted throughout. 
Small X body park tote

Large patchwork tote bag with ribbon detail – repurposed from FabMo fabric

Very subtle design on this quilt with a martial arts belt as a handle

For those who like checks with their flowers – quirky is the key here!

This week just flew by and last week was a doozy! The beginning of the week was cruising along until I got myself a flat tyre – boo! Fine and dandy and AAA came and saved my distress and then I had to drive to San Jose to take my car in to get a new tyre. The tyre was not in stock so I got to drive around in an SUV for a couple of days – the kiddos really loved the sunroof! And yes, secretly I did enjoy driving around in it too – the environmental activist inside me does not agree!! Anyway while waiting to go to my appointment I had time to whip up some strawberry and fig ice cream, just the thing to get your day on the right track. It was a vegan vanilla ice cream found on Food52 – I am so happy that I can eat ice cream and it does not mess with my insides like dairy ice cream. I think the picture below is straight out of the ice cream maker in a soft serve form with macerated strawberry juice on top – delicious.
Macerated Fig and Strawberry Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream – fun with my ice cream maker

My wheels for a couple of days – the Subaru Forrester!

 Oh and this week Mr Ash took up Martial Arts – here he is in his little outfit! I love it and watching the class and the kids in action is wonderful. I just need to get him to practice everyday which isn’t too hard as it is really good exercise for him after a day at school. I am hoping that he sticks with it and enjoys the benefits of martial arts.

The next Bruce Lee

Thursday night I went to the SF Etsy Meet and Make with the San Francisco Etsy team at the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design. We made super cute gold dipped geode jewelry. My friend Cristiana from Pebble and Fire made a necklace and I made a ring. It was a fun class using the supplies found on this Pinterest page from Katy Atchison who taught the us this fun craft. The gold liquid gilding mix was intense (keep the lid on as it stinks like chemicals) but looks so good! Any jewelry you have just sitting around can be jazzed up with this stuff and it goes a long way!!

At the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco – needle in a haystack!

Sunday I made more ice cream as the end of another weekend was upon us! I had a couple of mangos from my CSA box and they were so tasty (not as good as Bowen Mangos from Queensland), still these were California grown and local – yay!!

Vegan Mango Ice Cream

For this amazing mango ice cream with a base of coconut milk – here is the recipe, an adaptation from a recipe for vanilla ice cream I found on Food52 and another Vegan Mango Ice Cream recipe.

2 cans coconut milk (I used one light and one full cream)
2 cups mango chunks – cut 1/2 inch square or smaller
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
1/2 cup agave sweetner
1 tablespoon vodka
1. Mix 1/4 cup of the coconut milk with the arrowroot starch and keep aside. 
2. Puree half the mango chunks. 
3. Combine the pureed mango, remaining coconut milk, agave and lime together in a saucepan and bring gently to a boil, take off the heat immediately and stir in the arrowroot mixture. This should cause the mixture to thicken slightly. 
4. Whisk through the 1 tablespoon vodka (alcohol does not freeze and this is added to keep the ice cream smooth and creamy).
5. Let the mixture cool and keep in the fridge overnight – it will be nice and custardy the next day. 
6. Once cold and thick, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the manufcturers directions. My Cuinsinart ice cream maker takes less than 20 mins to get this going and it is so good straight from the ice cream maker! Eat straight away if you like a soft serve type texture.
7. Alternatively put the ice cream in a loaf tin and freeze for 2 hours or more with parchment and a rubber band to keep it sealed in the freezer. 
8. Serve covered in mango – this was fresh mango from my CSA and it was amazing once it was ripe!!

We all scream for ice cream – Enjoy!!!

New friends in the family

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Our new Vermihut worm hut is ready to go!
Our pound of worms that came in the post ready to go for our compost

Finally we are working with composting and we decided to buy ourselves a worm bin. I found the worm hut at Common Ground, Palo Alto for $100 and for $40 we bought the worms delivered to our door. So it was such an easy process and supporting a non-profit nursery as well. The guys there were very helpful and we were good to go. Being vegetarian it is easy to provide these guys lots of food scraps so the worms will be happy and so will we!