Gandalf Timmie

Reupholstered Ikea Skruvsta Chair

I took apart the chair and removed the fabric, carefully unstitched it and then used the pieces as a template. A combo of clear tacky glue and fiberfill was used to fill up the hole in the foam. When this fabric wears down I will try making a slipcover instead of taking the whole thing apart again (gazillion staples, achy fingertips).  No more gaping foam holes, yay! Next office chair will definitely be armless.

Homemade potato chips

Definitely not worth it for me. I made a big greasy mess and not all the chips crisped up well. I killed a couple trees trying to absorb all the oil with paper towels. And to top it off I got insta-zits from handling these semi-crisp taters. I think the food gods don't want me to eat this stuff, even if it is homemade.

Homemade ice cream - Round 2 - cheaper version

Here's a pic of some homemade ice cream I made last night. I wanted to test out the Trader Joe's whipping cream we had in the fridge. So after hand whisking the cream I added it to the blender with frozen bananas, vanilla extract, milk, sugar, and ginger powder. After freezing it over night I gave it a taste today, pretty good, but it left a fatty film on the roof of my mouth. Sounds appetizing, huh...as you can imagine it got sickening pretty quick. Next time I want to try adding an egg (is that safe?) and fresh ginger and leave out the bananas. The shelf stable whipping cream was way cheaper than fresh cream, I think it was $.99? 

UPDATE:

On second thought...I will stick to real cream next time. The TJ whipping cream contains carrageenan (seaweed extract) and I just read that this thickening additive is linked to some nasty stuff.

It's official...

I am allergic to fresh pineapples.  The inside of my mouth would tingly burn and I would start to sweat when I ate them, which I thought was normal, but this time my lips actually started bleeding. Never a good sign.

Timmie From the Black Lagoon

"From the ponds of New Jersey to the lagoons of Hollywood...who could have predicted this meteoric rise?!"

My entry for Sketch Lottery.  I know it is not a sketch, but I did draw all those bubbles one by one. :)

I'd like to create a mask or softie for every theme as a side project.

Mask is available in my shop.

Completed lily pad

Here's how the lily pad for a new Timmie parent turned out. The lily is removable and the pad is reversible with a lighter green on the other side.

Orange peel extraction experiment

On the left: orange peels lightly dusted with salt in white vinegar.
On the right: orange peels dusted with salt in vodka.

I'm doing this in hopes to extract the orange oil from the peels to make a cleaning solution for the home. It has only been a day but I can see that the vodka has started to turn orange so it appears to be extracting better. I might have packed in too many peels into the vinegar jar/ not enough vinegar.

I will leave it like this for 2-3 weeks and see what happens.

Timmie modeling a felt lily

Maple syrup medusa?

40% off coupon

with coupon code thanks40 @ SoSofties.etsy.com

Bunny head pattern

 

I ordered this mustard ~ yellow ochre bunny patterned fabric yesterday and am thinking about ideas of what I'd like to do with it when it arrives. One idea is to create a custom backpack to hold my mini paintbox for outdoor painting...

 

New Mini Satchel Added to the Shop

Available here.

Sewing project of the week: Hooded Poncho w/ pocket

 
Inspired by this design on Pinterest!

Here is what it looks like over my safari jacket: 

I added some leather straps and brass buckles to tighten it up a bit and for some visual interest. It was very "Juan Valdez a la druid" before I added anything, it still kinda is. I think it has something to do with this color material, very burlap sack-ish. If you want to try this I recommend sticking to darker tones like in the inspiration piece.

Work Apron Completed!

(click photo to enlarge)

It was on my to-do list for months.  I guess all the elements needed time to get together. I used the zipper from the hoodie that I recycled into the leggings to make a double pocket in the front and a pair of suspenders that I purchased in Italy made out of a cellulose material that has both the appearance of a paper bag and strangely, leather. Unforch I made the pattern before the storm/pre-halloween candy chewfest 2012 and it is a little snug on the hips. With some leggings underneath I think I can ease a little of the stress off those poor red snaps. I think a few laps around the block could help too. Also, I am very happy to finally use the cute red riding hood ribbon trim designed by Rosa Pomar that I had stored away from a few years ago.

Contemporary Currents Exhibit Status

The group show will be rescheduled due to power outages and flooding in lower Manhattan. I will let everyone know the new dates as soon as things start to recover from Hurricane Sandy. 

I'm in a group show. Coming up on Nov. 1st!

November 1-3, 2012

Opening Reception Nov. 1st, 6-8 pm

Chashama Gallery
303 10th Avenue
New York, NY

Between 27th and 28th street in Chelsea near the highline.

Free and open to the public.

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I will be exhibiting about 5 of my paintings ~ life studies.

Interesting Sunday sightings

Two interesting sightings yesterday- a lady casually walking her little black piglet in BK and New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham in Manhattan.  Sal and I sucked in our stomachs and puffed out our chests in hopes of being photographed but to no avail, he took a photo of the lady next to us wearing neon shoes. If you haven't seen the documentary on him I highly recommend it. It was inspiring to see someone so passionate about their work and working well into their 80's doing what they love.

Cute tissue box

Cute tissue box, originally uploaded by m patrizio.

Sal found these monster face tissues, much more fun than a dainty flower pattern.

Tops

All my tops squished together. For Autumn I'm looking for a pair of warm medium brown leggings or slim cut pants and a couple of sweater tunics to try to even out my pear shape. 

Pink striped thermals

Why should baby girls have all the fun? I found these in Italy @ OVS

Hoodie -> Leggings

I tried it...converted one of my zip up hoodies into funky leggings! After disassembling my hoodie I started to build up the leggings with the arms first and then stitched all the pieces together until they looked like m.c. hammer pants.  A few hours of cutting stitching darting and gusseting and I have some wearable pantaloooons.

Under the tuscan sun (and clouds)

I'm back from a cooking class / tour in Italy. It was beautiful and I really didn't want to come back home this time! I've added a set on flickr with some of the photos from the trip.

My loot from the nyc honey festival

Pear Keychains back in stock!

In the So Softies Shop.

Slippermittz™ Prototype

Good news: My sewing machine didn't explode trying to sew together 9 layers of material.
Bad news: It looks like a house slipper for a one-legged primate.

Slippermittz?

Working on a pattern for a smaller but thicker mitt.

Oven mitts

My first quilted oven mitts! Attempt 1 (on the left) I only used one layer of Insul-Bright in between the lining and outer material. After I stitched it up I realized it was too thin and wouldn't be enough heat protection. On my second attempt I added a layer of cotton batting along with the Insul-Bright thermal batting with more professional results. I am thinking of doing another version with 3 insulation layers... hopefully my sewing machine can take the thickness and won't explode. The "light-duty" mitt will still get some use though, I tested it this morning on an enamel cup with boiling water and it held up well.

Country livin'

Super simple felt mail holder

I finally got the guts to use some 4mm thick wool felt that I purchased in Iceland a while back. I embossed the leather rectangle by the opening with my house number and used recycled braided cotton shopping bag handles and wooden beads to hang. The holes were reinforced with nickel grommets.