Desert bus went off amazingly well.  They raised almost $400k for Child's Play, which is just mindblowing!

I've started working on a needlepoint piece that I think would be fantastic for next year's DB, but will also look fantastic on my wall.  Which is probably where it's going to go, but I can always make another one for DB.  I'm taking this pattern (called Nova, by Genny Morrow [link] ) and changing up some of the colors so that the middle section looks like Mario.

It'll be a Mario Mosaic!!

I'm the type of crafter that really gets bored with a project and ends up not finishing it, so this one is really fantastic for me.  I can do a square or two a night and be done, b/c each square is like a little Mini project: Each one is different!

Each square is 12x12 stitches, and the whole piece is 18x22 squares.  It's plenty of squares to make an 8-bit Mario with a nice border around him.  I'll post pictures of my progress soon.

I didn't get pictures of the other aprons before their applique's got put on, mostly b/c I'm LAZY, but I have finished photos of all 3 aprons up.  YAY!!!!

I'm almost done with one apron.  I just have to attach the straps that go around the neck.  I've spent a lot of time reading and rereading the pattern, so I think the other two aprons should go a lot faster.  It's looking SUPER CUTE so far

Once I get all 3 put together, I will work on reinforcing the Mama's with invisible thread so they don't fall apart, and then attach them to the aprons.

It's gonna be so cute!!

I posted a couple of new pictures on Saturday of the final fabrics Pat and I went to go get.  I spent yesterday cutting the pattern out of fabric.  I didn't get done, so I'm going to continue to do so tonight.  I've got 1 1/3 aprons all cut out.  hope to finish the 2nd apron up tonight.  Maybe start to work on the 3rd.

I don't plan on doing any sewing until I have everything cut out, that way I make sure I have everything.

I'll take pictures when I have everything all cut out.

Soooooon!

Hi Guys, sorry for the drop off the radar.  Work has just eaten up all my time!

I'll be back in the swing of things soon.

<3

Two mama's have been cut out and assembled!  Holy crap!  There's just one more to do!

I hope to have it done by this weekend so I can take them with me when I do a final fabric look-see.  I just wish the fabrics were all at the same place.  It would make this tons easier.

Oh well,

2 months to get everything done and mailed.  I'd like to have them done way before then so I don't have to worry about whether or not they will arrive by October 15th.

My outlines of the mama parts have been uploaded as the highest JPG quality Illustrator can do.  Hopefully it'll be helpful to someone

There's also a picture of my lovely assistant in there too...

Last month, Pat and I moved into our new apartment, and since then we've spent all of our time alternating between unpacking and watching episodes of Burn Notice.  Not much work has gotten done on this project until last weekend.

Last weekend I started separating out the line drawings into something I can print out and cut upon.  I started with the failed Mama, which is the hardest b/c it has the most tiny parts, but I didn't get as much done as I intended because of our continued unpacking frenzy.  Today, I'm going to finish the rest of my mamas.  I may even get it all cut out and ironed on!

Yay Progress!  I'll post PDF's or something of the finished printouts when I'm done with them.

I was also able to sneak away from the unpacking for a couple of hours and head over to the nice craft store in NE Minneapolis.  [link] reminds me so much of this awesome craft store in KC that carries a bunch of designer fabrics.  The ladies at CraftyPlanet really had no idea what was going on with all my back and forth and note taking, but I had a plan.  I found a bunch of cute fabrics that I like, ones that I think would be good for this project.  I'm going to pick 3 exciting patterns, purchase them, and then head to Jo-Ann to find some more subdued fabrics I can use with them.  The exciting fabrics will be used for the "reversible" side of the apron - something badass looking  (like this: [link] ) but without the felt applique on the front.  That way it's still awesome, and you don't have to ruin the stuff on the front!

Anyway, back to crafting!!

So, the boyfriend and I *finally* moved into our apartment this weekend.  It's been...ugh, so stressful trying to get everything together.  So, I put the DesertBus project on hold for 2 reasons: 1) I didn't have room to sew while living at my cousin's house, and b) I don't have room to sew at my current place right now with boxes strewn EVERYWHERE!

I've got the Applique sizes all figured out, I just need to get them situated and printed out on test paper so I can see how easily it will go.  It's something I really should have done a while ago, but packing takes time and energy and blah blah blah *excuses excuses excuses*

I'm giving Pat and I 1-2 weeks (August at the latest) to get my crap together and unpacked and give myself space to (finally) sew, then I'm going to sew the crap out of these damn aprons.

And probably other things as well, b/c I've had fabric and a pattern for a skirt for the last YEAR, and it's cute, and I want to wear it!  *lisa smash*

My last Cooking Mama is sketched - you can see them in the gallery!  Also uploaded is a picture of what $12 (35 sheets) worth of felt looks like: [link] .  It's like a beautiful rainbow!  I also picked up a 1" Bias maker while I was out getting my felt.  All the edging on the aprons is basically just a 1" bias, so I figured "why not"!

I also need to get a better (re: bigger) sewing kit/box thing.  The little one I have just isn't going to cut it with all the fabrics and gadgets I'm acquiring.  I should also pick up something like this: [link] to organize the projects I do have going on.  That one comes in a 3-pack, one for each apron, maybe?

My apron pattern came today!  I'm using [link] for my apron pattern.

Cute, yes?

I bought $12 in felt sheets today.  They're 8"x11", and there's over 30 of them, and I don't even have all the colors I want.  I need a couple sheets of brighter, obnoxious pink.

If I can find my camera, I'll take a picture of all my squares.

LULZ!

I also bought a sewing table, since I moved recently and no longer have access to the sewing accessories I used to have.  [link] is on sale for $70 right now.  It's the same one my mom has and folds down to a pretty small little thing, so it'll be nice and won't take up much space.  Woo!

So, I don't use DA very often.

In fact, I'm pretty sure "Practically Never" is the best description I can come up with to describe my usage habits. But that's about to change, for the short term.

My buddy Haley got me involved in this year's Desert Bus for Hope ([link] charity event, and I'm going to be making something for auction: 3 aprons with felt applique of Cooking Mama!  Utterly appropriate for an apron, yes?

Each apron is going to have a different version of Mama: "Very Good", "Good", and "Failed".  I'll get some pictures up so you can see the graphics I'm working off of.

I'm working on getting the designs for the applique ready to go, so I can order some printable fusing material and print the designs out on that.  it'll make it easier to deal with when I prepare the felt for cutting.

Now, anyone who views craftster on a regular basis is probably going "but didn't someone else do this already?"  And you know what?  You'd be 100% correct.  I'm stealing the project from this nice lady: [link] but since it's for charity, and it's going to be multiple aprons and the technique is different, I'm totally OK with that.  LOL!