New Year's Resolutions

So I shared this great video produced by Dr. Mike Evans on the effectiveness of New Year's resolutions exactly a couple of years ago, but it deserves to be seen again: "You are 10 times more likely to stick with a change made at the New Year." There may be a couple of reasons for this. The video is quick and informative, so give it a (re-)watch.



It seems that every time I make New Year's resolutions (serious ones that I write down rather than just tell people about offhandedly), I actually do stick to them for at least 6 months. And yes, changing habits a little at a time makes a difference.

This coming year, my resolutions focus on practicing and improving my writing. I've spent the past year helping students work on their writing skills. It's my turn to level up.

1. I'm planning to start this Jane-a-Day 5-year daily journal that uses Jane Austen's writings as prompts for very brief daily musings. I received it as a present a couple of years ago, but I could never get my act together. I start it in 2016. It requires just a quick sentence per day, so it shouldn't be too difficult to keep up (and yet I'm still probably going to miss days here and there).
2. I've also decided that November is a bad time to write a novel when you're teaching three classes, hence NaNoWriMo is not going to happen for me during their official month. But I'm happy to start a daily 30-minute writing habit, whether it's writing something new or revising/editing. But the writing habit has to be focused on a creative work rather than my journal, blog, or academic work.
3. However, it wouldn't be good to ignore my academic work. I have an essay that was accepted for publication (!!) so I'll be working on revising that once I get the readers' notes from the editors. I also want to write at least one essay on my new long-term project that I can submit for publication somewhere.
4. I've asked my significant other to get the writer's app Scrivener for me as a present so that I can revise my writing in a more orderly manner.

Looking at this list, I'm excited. For #2, I don't expect to write anything publishable. I just need the practice so that I can improve. (I tell my students this all the time -- writing is recursive. So you need to write, revise, revise again, get feedback, write some more, revise again, get more feedback, revise again, get even more feedback, and, if you're lucky, finally edit.) I'll need to ask someone to read a draft, which will be scary, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I also have to add a #5: the usual resolution to improve my health. In my case, I've gained quite a bit of uncomfortable weight, which I'll blame on teaching. I'm not a freak about becoming skinny, but teaching really screws up my daily life. For one thing, it's crazy how sedentary it all is. I stand for hours at a time when I'm teaching. However, my campus is not only super small but it's completely flat. There are no acres of hills for me to run across just to make it to my next class or appointment. Also, I can't tell you how much time I spend sitting so that I can grade all the writing I have to assign. Whew.

For another thing, I'm always up super late working on my class prep. I've mentioned before that I need to work on not changing up so much of my syllabi. In any case, when I don't get enough sleep, it causes a cascade of problems: I get hungry when I should be sleeping, I'm more likely to choose poorly (sugary and/or carb-y things), and my body doesn't have enough time to repair itself which leads to bloating and inflammation. Long story short, I'm not healthy at the end of a semester. It's definitely time to harness the power of a New Year's resolution to change things!

Anyway, good luck on crafting your own resolutions! Here's to an amazing new year. May it be peaceful, kind, and righteous.

xo, Gladys

Let's Catch Up

I've successfully completed my first semester teaching multiple classes. I'm sure it wasn't my best work (sorry, guys), and I can understand the reasons some students didn't put the class higher on their lists of priorities (though why they bothered to keep coming to class boggles my mind). However, I'm really proud of the students I was able to reach. Some of them were just wonderful, and I'd be happy to see them again sometime just to chat.

Also, there's nothing like teaching writing to make me realize how much writing means to me. I was asked to teach again this summer, but I had to decline. This summer is for writing (as well as for reading widely in my favorite genres) once again. I have inchoate ideas that need to be harnessed into new, better-articulated projects; and I have one actual writing deadline that I don't want to miss.

Since school let out a couple of weeks ago, I've spent a week in Colorado for vacation and another week recovering from the vacation (isn't that how it always works?). Some highlights of the trip: I rode a horse for the first time (and didn't fall off), I learned a bit about the fascinating history of the ancient Pueblan people (formerly known as the Anasazi), and I found out how scary altitude sickness can be: we were at about 8,000 feet and my son nearly fainted early on during the trip. I honestly thought he was dying, and I was torn between trying to keep up his spirits and breaking down completely. I'd never seen him looking so pale and bloodless before, except when he was first born. Suffice it to say, it was an incredible relief when he revived by the time we got him to emergency services. And I will hereon make sure he is completely hydrated during our travels.

Now that I'm back home for the rest of the summer (until my next trip, which will be right before the fall semester starts up), I'm focused not only on my professional goals but also on a couple of personal ones, one of which is getting healthy again. Finishing my dissertation last year really derailed my exercise schedule, and I'm afraid that teaching this past spring didn't help much, either; even worse, I returned to some bad eating habits because I didn't have much time to cook regularly. I've been most consistent with yoga, in part because I treat it like therapy, but I need to incorporate more cardio. I also need to eat more vegetables. This summer, it looks like swimming will be back on the schedule, and summer vegetables and fruit are always much more appetizing to me than the fall and winter ones. Hopefully, I can break the bad eating habits, at least most of the time. I think taking an 80/20 approach has been most successful for me in the past. We will see how it goes in the next couple of months.

Pictures next time.

Gladys

The Doctor Is in...

How silly is that title. But yay, I am done!!! I found out a couple of days ago that my dissertation was officially accepted by the university. I'm all but diploma at this point. I came back from my trip this past Tuesday, and since then I've been trying to catch up both on what I missed at home and on sleep. Still in a bit of a fog, to be honest (partly because I can't shake off the sleeping habits I acquired this summer, combined with having to wake up early to take my son to school), but I am definitely more relaxed than I was the past few months.

Getting the rest of the committee signatures last Monday was a nice experience. I had a lovely chat with two committee members. The last one was my other co-chair, and while waiting at the cafe for her I saw this:

Looks like the TARDIS has been moonlighting as a door somewhere, doesn't it? Haha. I thought it was pretty cool, seeing something like that while on a journey specifically seeking to become a doctor myself. ;-)

Co-Chair and I spent quite a bit of time talking about how to turn the dissertation into a book. I was just following her lead ... that's the way she works, constantly thinking about the next step. It was flattering, I'll admit. She's not the easiest person to impress, and she was quite happy for me and called the project original. It was probably the best face-to-face meeting we'd ever had. I'm still not interested in getting a job as a professor and having to move away, but I'm considering applying for postdocs in the L.A. area. We'll see. Competition is incredibly fierce all around nowadays.

After that meeting, I had a fantastic dinner with Joanne and Dorothy -- both of whom are members of the MotleyFlue -- and we took these:

Of course we had to take the requisite Fluevog shot, courtesy of Dorothy. I wore my new burgundy/black/pink Sandras and Joanne wore her blue Guides (which I also have). Our pose in the second photo is due to a private joke, but it actually turned out to be a good photo of us, which is hilarious since we were totally hamming it up! Anyway, I had such a fun time with these kickass women. (I have to say, I'm so blessed to be surrounded by amazing women in my life, from my friends to my all-women dissertation committee to my mom and sisters. I have some great men and boys in my life, too, but I definitely have close relationships with more women than men.)

Also, the food in the Bay Area is reliably excellent. That's one thing I miss about living there. If you ever get a chance, try Isla in San Bruno (yummy Filipino food) and Paisan in Berkeley (American). And the quality of the Thai food in San Francisco, even the small hole-in-the-wall places, is outstanding.

Anyway, I don't have anything big lined up for the fall, but I'll probably look into applying for postdocs. I also want to work on NaNoWriMo in November. I can't wait to go back to a very different genre of writing! Cheers!

xo, Gladys

It's Happening

Having a blast with my funny boy during a hike at Yellowstone National Park in June

I drove half the day to my university yesterday. I'm here on a mission: to get my committee's approval signatures for the dissertation and submit all paperwork to the graduate office. So far, two signatures down, two to go! I had a lovely long chat with one co-chair over coffee yesterday. Though I don't expect to go into academia, she suggested that I think about turning it into a book manuscript and publishing it at an academic press somewhere, and then offered some leads. (My reaction: Wow! Really?) Anyway, hopefully everything will be done by Tuesday. Cross your fingers that it all works out. It's still sinking in that I'm almost done. I'm really going to be a "Doctor" soon. Whoa....

Random but here are bonus photos of my outfit for a 1950s theme birthday party from all the way back in May. Man, I have been neglecting this blog.

Dress: Emily and Fin via ModCloth | Socks: Gold Toe (for girls) | Shoes: Fluevog Danielson

The shoes are Fluevog of course (I showed them off on the blog last year), and the dress is from ModCloth. Of course. When I find a winning combo, I tend to repeat it over and over. :-)

xo, Gladys

Done! (Or as done as I can be atm)

Just sent off the latest draft! which is hopefully the next-to-last draft! (Don't worry about my not hitting 60,000 words exactly; that was just an estimate anyway.)

I really wanted (and expected) to get this done 24 freaking hours ago. For some reason, I've been horrible at estimating how long the revising will take. (To be fair, I did add about 20 pages of new material in the last week and a half. That's the net number of new pages I ended up with. Who knows how much I deleted.) It took me ages to work on conclusions, and some sections just made me want to shut down my brain for the day. Which is sort of what I did, but in pieces. I'd take a look, tweak a sentence, maybe write a whole paragraph, then I'd walk away for a distraction -- 2048, Twitter, Facebook, Cumberbatch news, even TV and a movie. I don't think it was just lack of sleep that made me so distractible, although of course that probably contributed. I had to move around a lot, taking my laptop with me to the couch, to the countertop so I could stand while typing, to the dining table with the uncomfortable chairs, and back again. I even accidentally scraped my thigh (a little blood, even) without realizing it. I didn't figure it out until it started stinging from sweat (yeah, it's kinda hot over here this summer).

Anyway, long story short, this was the weirdest writing session I've ever had. Stupidly, I made plans for this morning, while all I want to do is sleep. It's not worth canceling, though, since my son will probably be awake in a couple of hours anyway. Well, at least I can get those couple of hours. Nighty-night! *yawn*

xo, Gladys

Slowly but Surely

So I'm reading what I wrote in my last chapter to see what needs revision, and I'm a little disturbed that I don't remember writing parts of it. I mean, it's the chapter I wrote most recently, not quite two months ago, so you'd think my memory of it would be better. At least it isn't bad writing. But man, I must have been half asleep when I was trying to finish it. Or maybe what's happening here is that, feeling brain-dead the way I have been for several weeks now, I'm shocked that I was so articulate just a few weeks earlier.

Anyway, still slowly chipping away at it. Not sure if I'll finish before noon today but at least I don't have to edit much more. I should be done sometime today. I've decided to be zen about the rest of it and not stress (too much) about all of the little things I can't get to. As I've been told, "a good dissertation is a done dissertation."

I managed to get half an hour of sleep earlier, but surprisingly I'm not feeling like a total zombie ... yet. My dear friend E offered to babysit my son for quite a few hours (no mean feat since she's got three of her own), which was super helpful. I'm deeply thankful for my family and friends who are being so generous with babysitting and so supportive of me. I couldn't do this without them, and that's a fact.

xo, Gladys

Still at It

Not gonna lie. There should be a cartoon writer with tears and maybe sweat streaming, pouring down its face. I'm not really crying (only a little bit), but it's almost outrageous how long this is taking. I honestly thought the draft I had to revise was basically finished. Either I was wrong or my brain is really slow this month. Maybe both.

So I had promised to get this latest draft in to my advisers by today or tomorrow. Well, today sure as hell ain't happening (I haven't slept), and tomorrow is iffy because of how long each chapter is taking to revise. Not quite done with the third chapter and I still have one more chapter to go, which is the one that needs the most help. Plus I have to finish the introduction, conclusion, and acknowledgments (which is arguably one of the hardest things to write). Argh. Argh argh argh.

Anyway, sorry to keep complaining about this project, but it honestly helps to write these quick missives. I get some of the whine out of my system and I'm a little freer to go back to the dissertation with an open mind.

xo, Gladys

Now Writing Gibberish

That is all.

Wait, that's not all: I need more sleep.

Also, revising is evil. Thank you, that is all.

xo, Gladys

At Work

"Gladys working on her dissertation"
Fun progress meter found here

Argh. I honestly wanted to come back here and share photos of my Yellowstone vacation with you. I still might, eventually. But that post (which requires me to spend a chunk of time editing the photos) has to give way to finishing my dissertation, which is due very, very soon.

The dissertation is almost finished, but I'm at that point where I'm so close to yet too far from being done. That's me above right now, freaking out over how to wrangle this thing that is, yes, metaphorically sticking its tongue out at me. I sent away my husband and son to Legoland for today and tomorrow, but I've seriously wasted the day doing chores and getting on the Internet (damn you, Benedict Cumberbatch, why are you always doing something in front of cameras looking shockingly gorgeous like a real-life Michelangelo sculpture!). I have so many ideas and notes that I have to incorporate, but I haven't been able to bring myself to go through this damn thing again. Though it's not as long as many dissertations I've seen, my brain is no longer in shape so I get tired quickly these days (okay, I'm just getting old). I want to honor the feedback I was generously given by a fantastic group of readers, including my committee members who are the ones that need to sign off on the thesis, but at the same time I just want to be DONE. Feel me?

Anxiously yours,

Gladys

{On a more serious, somber note, I've been following the horrific events in Gaza. With the world training its eyes on the killing and maiming and terrorizing of children, women, and men under occupation in that part of the world, I can't help but think of the connections with my own work right now. Although my project looks at American colonialism in the Philippines in the early 20th century, empire and militarism look similar everywhere, anytime.}

I Got the Green Light

Just wanted to share that I officially got the green light from my dissertation committee to revise and file by summer's end! Omg you don't know what a relief that is. It's also exciting. I AM ALMOST DONE WITH THIS! Plus it's quite validating personally. I'd forgotten that I'm actually good at doing certain things, which gave me pleasure, a long time ago, before settling down and having a kid. And more importantly, it's also a reminder that these things -- raising a child and pursuing my love of writing/researching -- don't have to be mutually exclusive.... Of course, I knew that in theory, but not necessarily in practice.

Again, this is not an academic blog; I'm just journaling (part of) the journey. And if you're like me, you probably like to know how things end.

(BTW, currently finishing up the Hunger Games trilogy, in preparation for watching the second film in the franchise. Almost done with the last book, which I find the most interesting so far. Most of the people in my life like the last book the least, but then, I'm fascinated by politics.)

More to come soon on how my June went. I'm still editing vacation photos. Happy last night of June.

xo, Gladys

P.S. This also happened in June! Not as exciting as getting my dissertation green-lighted, but definitely a highlight. LOLNERD

Full Draft of Dissertation Done!

Here's another Wordle to celebrate another finished chapter! I confess, it's not as good as the last one I finished (it's also quite a bit shorter). BUT it is the last chapter ... which means that I officially have a full draft of my dissertation! It's kind of a milestone for me. I hope this means I'll get the green light to finish my degree in the next two months, but seriously, even if my advisers think I need a few more months to polish it up, I still have a book-length manuscript under my belt. (Wow, I just reread that sentence and it boggled my mind.) That's a first time for me. Basically, now I know I can finish that novel. (NaNoWriMo 2014, here I come!)

Here's something else I wanted to share that I'm kinda proud of *_*:

I managed this about four days ago while I was on a break from writing (oh, all right, while I was procrastinating). I may or may not have gotten so excited that I started whooping and yelling around the house. I've only broken 2048 the one time but ever since then I've gotten close almost every time. Weird how that works. 2048 is such an addictive game. My brain likes it very much. The person who invented it is a genius. Oh, and there's also a Benedict Cumberbatch + otters version, but I'm always so distracted by the photos that I can't do a very good job.... ;-)

ETA: Here's a better 2048 with BC. I love the otters but this one has GIFs!

xo, Gladys

Chapter Draft Done!

OK, this is not an academic blog, but I'm so relieved to be done that I'm posting a Wordle of my chapter! I always do one of these Wordle things when I finish a chapter. Over 14,000 words, baby!

Oh, and you know what today is, right? May 4 ... Happy Star Wars Day! May the 4th be with you. (As it was with me, I suppose. Yay for being done! Though it almost burst my bubble when I realized that the last time I did one of these was YEARS ago. Yikes. But hey, I'll let it roll off my back. On to the next -- and last -- chapter ... after some rest and relaxation, that is. I need more sleep!)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Oliver + S Reversible Bucket Hat, Take 2

I didn't want to end the year without one last sewing project, and thankfully this one turned out okay so I can share it with you. Really, though, it's the model who's doing all the work here.

Even if a little blurry, isn't he utterly adorable? Those cheeks say hello!

This is my godson C wearing the reversible bucket hat that I made for him as one of his Christmas presents. If it looks familiar to longtime readers, it's because I have made this hat before -- from a free Oliver + S pattern available here -- and even used the same fabric for one of the sides (his mom picked the fabrics). This time around, however, I confess that I was pretty rusty due to not having sewn anything during the second half of the year. Sorry, C! Well, he doesn't really like the hat (yet), anyway. During the photoshoot, he kept taking it off -- hence the blurriness as I scrambled to take the photos in the waning light. His mom, my older sister, tried to help ... and I just wanted to point out the Doctor Who TARDIS slippers she's wearing in a couple of the photos -- another present from yours truly!

Speaking of which, I'll post some photos of our actual Xmas celebration, which sorta had a Doctor Who theme and made me seriously happy. And then there was the delicious food. And the adorable nephews. And the fun family conversations and music. I was in heaven!

Anyway, if you celebrate, I hope you had a wonderful holiday, too!

xo, Gladys

Space Dome

On top of the world

So remember the playground climber that I spotted at our local Costco a couple weeks ago? Yeah, we bought it. I asked my mom and siblings if they'd be willing to pool money with me and my husband to get it for the kiddo's upcoming 5th birthday, and they were like, hell yeah! *grin*

My amazing husband spent much of his free time since then prepping the backyard -- drawing some plans, doing lots of digging, and buying the necessary items to create a mulched area. THEN he started putting together the climber, which comprised a surprising number of pieces and bolts. He braved near-freezing winds to get this done in time, but get it done he did. With some (very) last-minute help from me and the kiddo, the climber aka "Space Dome" (still available here) was ready to be climbed by the end of the day last Friday. And, barring any horrible weather, it should be available for playing during my son's birthday party this coming weekend. (Btw, the theme we decided on? DINOSAURS!)

The lovely mulched area ready and waiting (with random piece of rubber siding that needed to be thrown to the side) (See also the vegetable patch in the background right, also ready to be sown with new seeds in a few weeks!)

My husband hard at work, as usual

All put together and ready to be moved onto the mulch

I think this thing looks so cool. I love the colors, the size, the shape.... It's perfect for our backyard, which we decided not to plant with sod grass and simply leave as dirt. With the vegetable patch and the climber, it's coming along nicely. And I'll admit that I'm excited like a kid about having the climber in my home. :-) I used to love climbing apparatuses like this when I was a kid -- anything where I could hang or swing like a monkey. Now that I'm a creaky old adult, I can no longer climb like I used to, but I have nice flashbacks when I watch my son. Moreover, he's always been a more physically-cautious kid than I was, so this is a great way for him to test and expand his limits on a regular basis. Thanks to his mama-grandma and auntie and uncle for such a great birthday gift!

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Classic Stripe Apron

My love affair with this Lotta Jansdotter reversible apron pattern continues -- it's my FOURTH one so far. (Here are 1 / 2 / 3.) After the first one (for Joanne, who looks ridiculously adorable in hers), I decided to make one for all of my close friends here for their birthdays because the apron looks fabulous on everyone. I have to say, I think it looks a little better on folks with a larger bust area than I do, so my friends have that covered. ;-) Anyway, I've got one more to go later this year.

This one was for super-cute S, who mostly wears solids for a very classic, low-key look. She's a runner and prefers wearing loose, comfy clothing. (I also found out that she loves paperboy caps, which would look great with her current hairstyle. Note to self for her birthday next year.) I almost chose dark brown or black but then decided to use something brighter. It helped that right before I sat down to make the apron, I saw her wearing a lovely red-and-gray striped sweater top; and it looked so great on her, I knew I had to make a fabric run after that. This striped fabric was the closest to that design that I could find. (Jo-Ann's Fabrics seriously needs to carry more striped fabric, especially since they have such a large selection of woven fabric. Anyway.)

Construction-wise, I liked the one large pocket at the thigh area that I made the last time and so I did it again. I also learned my lesson from last time and made sure to buy 1.25 yards of each fabric even though the pattern only calls for 1 yard each. I'm so glad that, this time, there was no scrambling and piecing together different fabrics to make the apron; while it turned out OK for the last apron, it would have ruined the classic look for S's apron.

A small meditation on sewing: I thought that I would get a lot faster sewing this pattern by the fourth time, but sewing is just a time-consuming project. Measuring and cutting take the longest, and perhaps I take longer now because I'm more careful about measuring. BUT, I have shaved off some time since I first made this pattern because 1) I wasn't pulling my hair over the pleats, which I figured out by the second time making the apron, and 2) I didn't need to use my trusty seam ripper at all. Oh, right, I also didn't have to do extra piecing since I had enough fabric. Hooray for the small victories!

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Oliver + S Tote Redux

It was an unusually busy week for me last week, and only now do I feel like I can breathe deeply again. In between various errands, dental appointments, impromptu babysitting, an appointment with an accountant, a birthday lunch, a birthday party, and a school field trip with my son, I managed to squeeze in some time for a couple of sewing projects. Here's one of them, an Oliver + S Mother-Daughter tote (free pattern) for my niece's 8th birthday.

If that sounds familiar, it's because I used this same pattern before to make totes for my 9-year-old twin nieces last fall (all three young ladies are cousins). Here's the purple tote:

As you can see, I tweaked the pattern by using one large stripe for the middle instead of two smaller ones, and using the same complementary solid-color fabric for the bottom, top stripe, and handles. While I loved the original patchwork feel, I was going for a different, more elegant look. I was inspired by the dragonfly/butterfly fabric and knew that I couldn't simply use it as an unrecognizable stripe on the tote. So instead I decided to "frame" it and make it the centerpiece. (If you're interested in how I dealt with the dimensions, I simply added the height dimensions of the two middle stripes, from 3.25 inches each to one larger piece that was 6.5 inches. The height dimension of the lining had to be increased two inches to 23 inches. The rest of the dimensions remained the same, but the change resulted in a slightly taller tote than the original.) I think the tote turned out wonderfully, and this time around I was more meticulous about cutting the pieces and doing any necessary trimming as I went along so that the seam edges matched as closely as possible (though unfortunately still not perfect).

Here's a closeup of the awesome dragonfly/butterfly fabric, superimposed with different handwritten designs appearing to be the work of a natural historian or entomologist. The fabric design is both lovely and intellectual, and I thought it would be appropriate for a youngster who is exceedingly bright.

I don't have a photo of the inside lining, but for some fun I used this colorful stripey fabric which might look familiar to long-time readers. I used the same fabric to make an art smock from another Oliver + S pattern last summer. For this tote, I had the stripes going horizontally since it looked better that way. I wanted to use a colorful fabric for the lining because I personally get a kick out of seeing polka-dotted or brightly-colored linings in elegant leather purses or wallets. The contrast makes me feel like I've got a fun little secret, like when I wear bright patterned socks underneath pants or boots. Just one of the things that float my boat. :-)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Wonder Woman Stuffed Pillow

This stuffed pillow was an Xmas present for Joanne, who is a huge Wonder Woman fan. (She's still on a search for the perfect Wonder Woman boots for her.) As you can see below, it was meant to be a stuffed doll. I bought the fabric from Spoonflower, and I was quite excited to make it. However, after I carefully cut out the front and back according to the directions, I found out to my deep dismay that they were not mirror images as they are supposed to be if you're going to sew them right sides together. Fabric design FAIL. So while it is a cute image and a great idea, you should know this before buying the fabric yourself.

What to do?

Well, it took me a while to commit to it, but I decided to applique the Wonder Woman cutouts onto fabric and create a stuffed pillow that would complement the birthday pillowcases I made for her. For added strength and to prevent the fabric from wrinkling while appliqueing, I used fusible web (Heat'n Bond Lite) on the backs of the cutouts, then I ironed the cutouts onto the pillow fabric.

Above is a closeup of the applique. Not too shabby ... but this is another skill that I'd like to practice and perfect.

Here are both sides appliqued. I pinned the fabric right sides together and sewed the edges of the pillowcase closed, but I left about six inches unsewn so that I could stuff the pillow.

Now time to stuff. These huge clouds were Poly-Fil and I used the majority of my bag. After stuffing, I stitched the opening closed by hand, using an even slipstitch.

All done!

Here's an iPhone photo of all of her three pillow(case)s together, courtesy of Joanne. (Nice Fluevog sandals, chica!)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Pillowcases Galore

I made several pillowcases for holiday presents this past season. I'm embarrassed to say that one pillowcase took me until last week to finish, but they're all finally finished and mailed off. I'm saving the last-made one for a later post this week, but here are the rest. They are all fun in their own way.

Yoda

You've seen me make a pillow like this before ... except the back fabric is different, and at this point I've basically perfected the envelope pillow cover. I made this for my dear friend Dorothy (one of the MotleyFlue), who loves Master Yoda. The measurements on this baby are almost exact. French seams inside. I dig how badass Yoda looks.

Thomas and Friends

My nephew wanted another set of Thomas pillows for Xmas. I made a set using different fabric for his birthday last September, but I didn't blog about it. I sewed the previous pillowcases as envelope covers. These are more like the typical pillowcases that you buy, open with a wide hem on one end. I just used a standard-size pillowcase that we already had to create my measurements. Again, my measurements for these were meticulous, and they needed to be because of the directional prints.

Invisible Zipper

I made these color-block pillowcases for Joanne's birthday which was in early December ... and, um, she hasn't received them yet. (She'll get them along with her also-late Xmas present, hopefully by tomorrow.) She asked for simple pillowcases to brighten up her couch, but I couldn't make the easy version, i.e. envelope. I knew I needed to use zippers on these. Thing is, I'd never sewed zippers on the edges like this, and I'd never sewed invisible zippers before. I had to do tons of research and look through different tutorials online to psych myself up to do it. In the end, it worked, though I used a slightly different method for each pillowcase. The stuffed pillowcase above isn't how it's supposed to look, but I just wanted to show you how invisible the invisible zipper actually is. (It's supposed to look more full and stuffed; I used a smaller pillow form than what Joanne has, just for demonstration purposes.) I'm happy with the way they turned out, but I am planning to practice sewing more invisible zippers. It's not that difficult, but it is a somewhat fussy business, and this is one of the sewing skills I'd like to perfect ... because I am seriously planning to make a dress for myself in time for spring. :-)

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Autumn Apron

I made this reversible apron last month for my friend E's birthday. It's the same Lotta Jansdotter pattern as the cupcake apron and the kitty apron. This time, I stuck one extra-large pocket well below the waistline on each side. I really liked this print on E's apron. Her favorite season is fall, and she loves leaves as well, so I thought this print would be perfect. (My personal favorites are the apples and butterflies, and the colors are fantastic.) The only problem I had with sewing this apron was that I ran out of the solid burgundy fabric.

Note to self: when buying solid fabrics at Jo-Ann's, buy extra because these bolts are less than 44" wide ... which makes a huge difference with this particular pattern.

To make up the difference, I had to use the second yard of the print fabric that I was saving for another project. You can see in the photo below that the side/back panels are made with the print fabric instead of being continuous with the solid fabric. Oh well. E says she loves it anyway.

Here's a closeup of the fabric print, which I really, really like. I bought it on sale, too. Should have bought an extra yard.

xo, Gladys

Sewing: Piped Throw Pillow

I made this throw pillow for my mom's birthday recently, using the instructions from Deborah Moebes's Stitch by Stitch: Learning to Sew, One Project at a Time. I've done the easy projects in the beginning, but this pillow is past the middle of the book. The main features: piping along the edges and a universal zipper, both of which are skill-stretchers for me. (I made a skirt two summers ago with a zipper, but it didn't turn out as well as this one did.) I got the beautiful fabric on sale last December at the local quilting/fabric store here.

Confession: I had meant to make this for my mom last Christmas, but after I missed the deadline I kept pushing it back for almost a year. The fabric is even called Lumière de Noël by French General -- Light of Christmas. I did begin the project last December; I cut the fabric pieces and started putting the piping together, but I think it was because the piping was so fussy that I felt like abandoning the project.

So fast forward to this past weekend, which was my FINAL deadline for this pillow. The fabric pieces and half-pinned piping had been sitting neglected in one of my fabric bins for many, many months. I finally took the plunge and tried to sew the bias tape around the 1/4"-cord to make the piping. Second confession: while working on finally finishing the pillow, I wish I had abandoned it ... or at least made a sample pillow beforehand to test the instructions. Here are my reasons:

1) I used a slippery polyester (poly/cotton blend?) red bias tape that I bought in a package at Jo-Ann's.  It's 2" wide and is basically blanket binding. Next time I will use 100% cotton fabric for the bias tape, even if I have to make it myself. The pattern instructions strongly suggest the 100% cotton, but when I was planning out the project last year, I had no idea how to make my own bias tape. The slipperiness of the polyester made pinning and covering the cord very irritating. Fussy is the word.

2) The instructions in the pattern I used were confusing at times, even though I figured it all out in the end. Another thing I'd do differently is that I wouldn't baste the bias tape so close around the cord; some of the stitching shows up on the outside once you've put together the pillowcase at the end.

3) And, most critical, there was one very definite error that turned my pillow into the "shabby chic" thing you see here. Instead of trimming the seam allowance of the piping to 1/2", the instructions said to trim it to 1/4". (There was a photo of trimming the seam allowance that looked like 1/2" to me, but I figured, since I hadn't seen any errata about the book online, that the instructions were probably correct.) That's a big deal since it gave me a mere 1/4" of fabric to baste, pin, and sew three different layers together. NOT FUN. Also, instead of ending up with an elegant-looking fitted pillowcase for a 16" x 16" pillow form, I had a pillowcase that was about 1/4" loose all around, or a 1/2" loose each in length and width. Yeah, shabby chic. (Sure, I could have gotten another pillow form sized 17" x 17" but I didn't have time.)

4) Inserting the universal zipper turned out relatively well, but the instructions were a little confusing ... which part is the zip stop? which end is the top or bottom? (apparently the zipper pull is in the top position when closed, as seen below) ... I had to suss it out by looking at the photos. I'm just glad it worked out for me.

5) There were two different ways that the zipper foot for my sewing machine needed to be used: one way with the piping and another way with the zipper. The instructions weren't very clear on that. That's why I messed up on sewing across the zipper teeth. I didn't have enough time to fix it since all the mistakes pushed the project to the 11th hour already. And the inside/wrong side of the pillowcase is, whew, ugly.

HOWEVER, I did finally finish this project which was a long time coming. It feels good to be able to cross off something on my list that had been hanging over my head for almost a year. If I make another similar pillow soon, I believe I'd be more comfortable with the project, and I could get that fitted look instead. Hopefully everything would be neater as well.

xo, Gladys