Showing posts with label are. Show all posts
Showing posts with label are. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Japanese Brush pens are an occasion to what else draw!
Japanese Brush pens are an occasion to what else draw!
Gray ink brush pen, Muji black ink brushpen. A couple chinese calligraphy classes allows me to relax. The red ring you take off--it separates the ink from the brush array when inside the package. I kept it. Im a pack rat.
Delaying gratification. Been wandering into the Kinokuniya stationery store as a matter of course each time Im in Japan Town. I have more than enough drawing implements in my satchel. I have three or four sketchbooks in there, kneaded erasers, pens, pencils, ,waterbrush (and unopened spare), watercolor set, various hoarded coffee shop napkins for blotting, fountain pens--I am prepared for a drawing opportunity. Though most days I will not find one.
The bag is heavy. I have my GF-1 in there for photos that I will regret not taking, a copy of "And there you are" because this book was intended to replace the habit of carrying sketchbooks all the time. See Ive lost an entire bag with contents like mentioned above. Including a camera.
Old habits. "Then the terrorists win" internal argument loops and fades, results in carrying a reconstituted clone of the same bag, contents and all, anyway. Why not. If Im not drawing then what the heck Id just hang it up and buy a doughnut franchise.
But when the drawing does show up all recrimination is erased. More drawings want to show up. The need to try brushes and notebook papers and feeling some stories out glide in. The day is brighter in one corner.
The coffee helps, too.
Available link for download
Friday, May 26, 2017
Joggers Are The New Leggings
Joggers Are The New Leggings
Having made ten squillion pairs, Im pretty much over the Playful Kitty leggings pattern from Ottobre magazine 4/2014. Not only was I filling Doloress wardrobe with them, but because they were so quick to whip up, I made quite a few pairs for her friends when gifts were called for. The ruched detailing of the Green Lines pattern (from Ottobre 1/2014) was a nice variation on the theme, and that almost became my new favourite variant. But the Streaky Legs sweatpants pattern seems to have snuck in there and become the one that I reach for when knit trousers are called for now!
Pattern:
The Streaky Legs pattern from Ottobre 1/2015 (pictured below) is a very casual unisex trouser pattern that goes up to size 92. Because Dolores is a bit skinnier than some kids her height, I used the size 92 for length but the size down (86) for width. This approach worked well during my first foray into making them when I used the size 86 for length but size 80 for width. As I was making that first pair, I felt some concern that the dropped crotch style might be uncomfortable or annoying to wear. Although Doloress language skills arent quite up to giving me a full garment review yet, she hasnt expressed any dislike and they dont seem to impede her in any way.
The pattern consists of just three pieces: a front, a back and the ankle cuff. Both the front and back are cut on the fold, but a more economical fabric lay may be achieved by cutting the back piece with a centre back seam instead. I did that with the red rainbow pair you can see in this post. The addition of the CB seam also gives an easy indication as to which way round you should go when getting the wriggler dressed.
Fabric:
Although designed to be sweatpants, I reckon this pattern could be made in a variety of knit fabrics: jersey, interlock, Ponte de Roma/double knit (BTW, can anyone tell me what the difference is?), sweatshirting and french terry.
Cream Jammie Bottoms:
Recently weve been dipping our toes in the scary world of potty training, and it is becoming clear that separates pyjamas are going to be much more useful than the all-in-one type that she is busy growing out of anyhow. I always offer her the opportunity to sit on the potty in the morning (TMI for non-parents?!) and I can see that jammies that she can wriggle free from herself are going to lead to more success going forwards. I saw some suitable separates pyjama sets in a charity shop recently, but I decided to leave those for another parent who cant sew to snap up, and went home to search my stash for suitable fabric. The fun thing about sewing pyjamas is that you can use fabric that wouldnt be right for day wear. I probably wouldnt put a toddler in white or cream trousers as theyll become a stained hot mess within seconds, but cream pyjamas are likely to come into contact with nothing more stain-making than a bit of porridge.
The fabric I used was some luxurious and slinky organic cotton interlock from Offset Warehouse that they kindly sent me a couple of years ago to try. The contrast cuffs are made from scraps from the stash. Because both the front and back pieces were cut on the fold for these, I stitched little ribbon bows to the centre fronts to distinguish the front from the back at a glance. At least thats the theory. Rather than making matching pyjama tops from scratch, I turned some hand-me-down onesies/vests into T-shirts by cutting off the bottom and adding bands of contrast knit (see above). I now need to make a giant stack of these, along with some more pyjama bottoms, so that doing panic-laundry doesnt entirely take over my life. (BTW, here are some more ideas for reworking onesies/vests.)
Two-Tone Turquoise Joggers:
I made the above joggers for Doloress friend Arthurs second birthday. I know that Tanya, Arthurs mum, really appreciates handmade clothing that is well made above cheap shop-bought stuff any day, so I knew Id be on safe territory with these. The fabric I used was a very small piece of amazing turquoise interlock that was given to me by a student that I taught at one of Tillys Coco classes. Interlock is basically double-sided jersey, and this fabric was light turquoise on one side and a deeper turquoise on the other. The student (gutted I cant remember her name) used the deeper tone for the body and sleeves of her Coco top, and the lighter tone as contrasting cuffs and collar, which looked a-mazing.
Following that students lead, I planned to use the deeper tone for the trousers with the lighter tone for the cuffs. However, I couldnt quite fit both the front and back pieces on the remaining fabric, so necessity being the mother of invention and all, I had to make the front piece with panels so I used the contrasting tones for some cool colour-blocking action (seen more easily in the above picture). I literally wouldnt have thought to do that if I hadnt had to! I topstitched the seam allowance down where the panels join so it wouldnt feel too annoying around Arthurs knees, and I really like that row of visible stitching.
Rainbow Joggers:
Ages ago my best mate bought Dolores this phenomenal 1970s-esque rainbow batwing top (its from the Little Bird range, before you ask). Its still a little big but Im determined to get maximum use from its awesomeness. I love rainbow elements on clothing and was inspired to make a cosy pair of joggers that she can wear with this top featuring even more rainbows!
Using left-over scraps from the Girl Charlee sweatshirt lining of my sailboat raincoat, this is the warmest and snuggliest pair Ive made from this pattern to date. The sweatshirt fabric, however, has very little stretch so after cutting the cuffs from the same fabric, I abandoned them as I dont think shed have been able to get her little feet in and out! Instead I found a scrap left over from the best denim skirt ever made by me, which is way stretchy enough. The rainbow trim has been in my stash for longer than I remember, and I simply stitched two lengths down the side covering the side seams. I LOVE the combo of red, denim and rainbows! It reminds me of a childhood spent watching Sesame Street!
Thoughts:
Im really happy with all these versions of this pattern, and have almost got it out of my system now. When a pattern has to be traced out, like the Ottobre ones do, I feel it is a waste to only use that pattern once. I may have gone too far in the other direction now! But it is fun to see how one pattern can make such different looking garments, for different uses or to be worn by different people. However, Im now using the largest size of this pattern (92), so unless I dabble in some pattern grading, Im going to have to move on to a new pattern obsession soon.
Cost:
Pattern: £0 (the magazine originally cost £10, but having already used this pattern before as well as others from the same edition, Ive decided that its already paid its way)
Fabric: £0 (cream organic jersey given to me by Offset Warehouse, turquoise interlock given to me by a student, red sweatshirt fabric given to me by Girl Charlee, all cuff fabric from my stash)
Ribbon bows: £0 (I got them free back when I was at university and have had them in my stash ever since)
Rainbow trim: £0 (I probably bought this with real life money at some point, but so long ago that I cant remember and therefore Im declaring it £=nothing)
Total: £0
Hurrah! Everything came together to make five useful toddler garments for nothing but my time and energy, and the power needed to run my sewing machine.
What about you? Have you fallen in love with a quick and easy sewing pattern recently? How many have you made and do you have more lined up? Can you recommend a simple pattern that is great for making gifts, either for kids or adults?
Available link for download
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Jim Crow Laws Are Coming Back
Jim Crow Laws Are Coming Back
If you were born before 1965 and fell asleep in history class or just plain forgot, Jim Crow Laws were laws in this country enacted between 1876 and 1965. The laws mandated segregation of public utilities in the Southern states. Beginning in 1890 “separate but equal” status was given to African Americans and thus segregation. The Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional in 1954 (Brown vs. the Board of Education.) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 overruled the remaining Jim Crows laws. This happened during Lyndon Johnson’s administration who also got the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed.
The Essence of the Voting Rights Act was to prohibit states and local governments with a history of discriminatory voting history from making any voting changes before approval by the United States Attorney General or ad 3 judge panel in the District Court for D.C. Section 5 of this act has been renewed and amended by Congress 4 times, most recently in 2006 by George W. Bush.
Section 4 of the Voting Rights Acts was struck down with a 5-4 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. In essence they said things have changed in the south in the last 50 years and that part was now unconstitutional. By doing away with Section 4 that wiped out section 5.
Ah how things have changed in 50 years. Actually many good changes have been made in the last 50 years as celebrated in the March on Washington led by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. But then I just read how recently 25 blacks were moved from the Wild Wing Café in South Carolina after one white person who said they made him uncomfortable after they had waited for service for 2 hours.
Folk have taken the new Supreme Court Ruling as open season to make new voting laws, the intent of which is to limit folk (generally seniors, minorities, students and women) from voting. This includes our state, which has the 2nd highest voter turnout in the nation.
Tammy Baldwin has called our states leadership on this and is promoting a petition against such practices.
Frankly I don’t want to be lumped in with states like Texas, North Carolina and others the are trying to get these Jim Crow type laws back on the books. To me it seems like a money issue again.
Sign Tammy’s petition if you feel so moved and what to continue the work for voter rights began 50 years ago. Wait, make that 94 years ago when women got the right to vote.
Available link for download
Sunday, February 12, 2017
It’s Monday What Are You Reading
It’s Monday What Are You Reading
I’m linking up for the first time with a great reading linky, It’s Monday What Are You Reading, hosted by Shelia at Book Journey and Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts.
The reason I decided to move from 2nd to 5th was ultimately decided by books. As I thought about how big 5th graders are compared to 2nd graders…and all the attitude they might bring in their bigger selves…I suddenly had an epiphany…with bigger bodies comes bigger reading skills – well maybe that’s not a hard fast rule, but in elementary school I think it makes sense!
Reading...essentially my favorite sport! Don’t get me wrong some of my little second graders were great readers. But no matter what kind of reader you are as a second grader, well…you’re no fifth grader. So, my love of reading and desire to teach rich literature at a higher level I accepted the position!
I’ve since checked out about 40+ books from the library. I’ve always read a lot of YA literature. But, I haven’t been keeping up. Plus, a lot of the YA literature I read is geared more towards high school or middle school readers…so I’ve been reading.
Here are some pictures of this – you can’t read all the titles but you can get a sense of “she’s compulsively checking books out of the library…and may not be in complete control”.
I try to get the same amount of books in English and in Spanish because I will need to make sure to read and provide my students with equal opportunities to read authentic literature in both languages – no easy task my friends!
Here is what I’ve officially read or am reading most recently:
1. Steven Layne’s “Igniting a Passion for Reading”. This is not a book I will be reading to my students, rather it’s a professional development read. I am halfway through and am convinced Steven Layne and I are teaching soul mates. Everything he says or recommends I’ve either done in one – but less purposefully, or have contemplated. One thing he recommends is for teachers to focus their “personal for pleasure” reading on books that fit the age group they are teaching. I haven’t been doing very good at this…so teacher vow: “I solemnly swear to read MOSTLY YA lit this year” (except for during my commute when I listen to books). I highly recommend this book if you are looking for ideas for reading or are looking to be inspired!
2. Judy Sierra’s “Que locura por la lectura” which also comes in English “Crazy About Reading”. This is a book that is great for almost any grade level. It’s well written and clever. Older kids will appreciate they lyricism and wit of the text. I’m looking forward to using this to set the tone in my classroom – Reading is AMAZING!
3. Gordon Zorman’s “The Island”. This was my first read by this prolific author. It was a little slow to start but I’m a sucker for anything that is a series! I love following characters indefinitely. I think this will be a great read for 5th graders – they will have to “freshen up” on their nautical vocabulary though!
4. Andrew Clements’ Frindle. I LOVED this book. The characters were all likable and the school setting didn’t feel contrived at completely out of touch the way some do. This is another read I hope to share with my students this year.
5. Thanhha Lai’s “Inside Out & Back Again”. I’m about a quarter through this book. This is an interesting read about a young girl in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is written from her perspective in verse. This isn’t a book I would normally pick up, as I prefer prose, but it is well done. I’m amazed at how much of her spirit, wit and will come through this writing style – more so than in your average novel!
6. Julie Kagawa’s “The Immortal Rules”. The first in a trilogy – which means it leaves the reader desperate for the second book. Typical! After Twilight I haven’t really read any vampire books, but this one was more “The Passage” meets “Hunger Games”. I enjoyed it, and found the writing to be well done and the characters interesting. I’m curious to see how the story continues. I do not think I’ll be sharing this one with my fifth graders. :)
7. Pam Muñoz Ryan’s “The Dreamer”. I’m actually reading the Spanish version “El soñador”. A good friend of mine did not enjoy the English version, but so far I’m enjoying the Spanish version. This story is about Pablo Neruda a famous Chilean poet. I’m only part way through but is following him through his childhood. The books is written in a mixture of prose, verse and stream of consciousness all from Neruda’s p.o.v. I do not know that this would be a great read aloud as a whole, but there are many brilliant sections with beautiful language for teaching visualizations, sensory language and figurative language. Also, if you ever want a peek into the mind of someone who is brilliant/incredibly easily distracted this book does it! Anything by Pam Muñoz Ryan is bound to be good in my opinion.
Do you have any recommendations for 5th grade? I’m making near daily library trips, so recommendations are BIENVENIDOS!
Come “friend” me on Goodreads if you’re a YA reader too!
my read shelf:
Happy Reading!
Mrs. Castro
Available link for download
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