Librocubicularist- June 2017

I really do apologize for being so late posting this. The last few weeks have been really busy. In addition to the never ending battle to keep our yard looking well groomed, my husband and I decided that it was time for us both to get checkups. So we scheduled doctors appointments for both of us, which of course lead to more doctors appointments. I also had some extra crafting for a gift exchange that I participated in that took up a bit of my spare time as well. But you know, there's always time to read, so here are a few things that I squeezed in this month.


Literary Yarns: Crochet Projects Inspired by Classic Books by Cindy Wang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is super adorable! It has instructions to make your very own amigurumi style stuffies based on famous literary characters. There are enough details in the direction and variations for hair styles that it seems like it would be easy to create designs for your own characters based on these instructions. There are so many great things here it's hard to choose a favorite, although I think I'm going to go with Anne of Green Gables. There are several with great accessories that make me laugh, such as Captain Ahab with a toothpick peg leg and Julius Ceasar skewered with cocktail swords. There's even a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde that uses a doll joint so you can turn his head from one face to the other.


Urban Watercolor Sketching: A Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Storytelling in Color by Felix Scheinberger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book has a lot of basic information about watercolor paint works, how its made, and how it can be used. I also felt like it had good advice about composition and finding your own style.


Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Volume 1: Force Storm by John Ostrander

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This comic series is.... odd. I should say upfront that I've only read the first two so far. I have the third but haven't finished it. The blurb on the back of the book makes it sound like these are about the foundation of the Jedi. It was a little confusing to read at first because there was only a minimum of setup then launched into a story about a whole planet of people who are in balance with the force. There's a race of dark side wielding creatures preparing to attack. As you get further into the story it does begin to explain some things but I still feel confused. I think that a little more explanation up front would have made this series much more enjoyable.








DIY Temporary Tattoos: Draw It, Print It, Ink It by Pepper Baldwin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have never wanted to get a real tattoo, in part because I've never felt like I had an idea that I wanted to live with permanently. I really still don't but if I did this book would be a big help in working out exactly what I wanted to do. It covers a variety of topics related to tattoo design including subject matter, style, and location. While some of this information is specific to temporary tattoos (like which placements will crack or stretch) I feel like most of it would be relevant to creating actual tattoos. It would be a good way to test out a design before going permanent or just try a variety of things for temporary fun.

Dining Room Curtains- Finally

After having the fabric in our house for over five years, I have finally finished making curtain panels for our dining room.

There have been many missteps that delayed this particular project. Way back when I first started the project they were intended to be made with only two fabrics, the green print for the main portion and a white bit on the top with tabs. However, I miscalculated and didn't buy enough fabric so I needed to add on to the sides. I eventually went with the pale blue because it was inexpensive and matched our wall color.

Materials:

Main Fabric (green and white) 3 yds

Top Fabric (white) 1.5 yds

Side Fabric (blue) 3 yds

Curtain Clips and rod

Step One: Cut Fabrics to Size ( I used a rotary cutter and mat.)

 The green bird fabric is the easiest to cut, it just needed to be cut in half to make two 54x54 pieces.

Cut the blue in half long ways to make two long strips, 54x22.

Cut the white into 3 equal pieces about 15x 54.

Step Two: Make Header

Sew the white pieces together to create on long strip 15 inches tall by 162 inches long. 

There should be enough leftover to make tabs for the top but after seeing how much easier our living curtains are to open with the rings I decided to use them in the dining room as well.

Step Three: Sew on Side Panels

Sew one blue panel to the right side of a green panel. Sew the remaining blue panel on the left side of the other green panel.

Step Four: Sew Header 

Sew the white header strip across the top of one curtain panel. Cut off the remaining portion and use it for the other panel.

You should have two panels with the blue edges creating an outside border.

Step  Five: Hem all Sides

I used a small hem, maybe 1/2 inch, on the sides and bottom of the panels. I wanted the top to be a bit thicker since it was going in the clips so I made a wider hem, about 1 inch, double folded.

I decided to leave this set of curtains unlined because we don't usually have a problem with the extra light, we just needed something to give us a bit of privacy. Prior to this we just had the mini-blinds that were there when we moved in. We've recently moved a small cat tower near this window and wanted to get rid of the blinds to eliminate chances for them to be tangled in the blind cords.

Now you're ready to hang your curtains! I wanted to use a branch to tie in with the bird on a branch fabric so we save one that seemed about the right size. The plan was to spray paint it either white or silver and use it in place of a curtain rod. Here's a picture of the curtains with the branch before it got painted.

For the most part, it works but there are a few problems. First of all, it has a bit too much of a curve to it because it is hard to get the ends in the brackets without the middle being pressed to close to the wall. It is also a bit too big around at a few points making it impossible for the rings to slide the whole length. So now I'm trying to decide what I want to do with it. 

I have several options:

1. Just give up and buy a curtain rod.

2. Find an entirely new stick that is thinner and straighter.

3. Cut and or sand this stick down in the necessary places until it works.

I lean towards and kind of 1, 3 combo. Buying a super cheap temporary rod to use while I modify our stick.

Gil hung out with me while I was sewing using the table and fabric draped over it as a doggy fort.