Owls and... more owls.

So the owl-shaped phone cases I was making out of upholstery fabric samples (from my previous post) are finally done and up on Etsy!  They were very fun to make, but like most upholstery fabric, they were also very difficult to hand-sew.  Then again, there were at least 4 layers of fabric sewn together at once on each of these.


In other news, there seems to be a bad thunderstorm coming soon here.  It seems hard to believe with the extremely hot and sunny sky I can see out my window right now, but I guess all of us in the Midwestern U.S.  area should keep an eye out anyways.  As long as the rain doesn't stick around till the farmers' market I guess I don't mind.  The fridge is running out of vegetables fast thanks to my roommates...

Guess Who?

 Maybe the title should have been Guess 'Hoot' instead.

Starting on new projects based on some old ideas is more refreshing than you would expect.

It's been a while since I went back to making my patchwork owl phone cases, or at least that's what I think.  The last time I made them was all the way back in March. (I should really stop abandoning past designs.)

But giving it some time does have its benefits in the way you have a bit more knowledge and skill by the time you come back to the project, to really achieve your original idea.  Looking at the work for a while also makes your eyes glaze over any imperfections, so it's good to let your eyes refresh and come back to it later.  By the way, this is also a good method for a lot of other work like writing essays.  I promise you will notice typos much quicker if you take a break and come back to it later.

Does anyone else have similar ways of procrastinating working as well? 

Away From Home

Wow, May went by quickly.

I'm finally back from my short visit to my parents' place for the summer.  I've just unpacked and gotten settled down in my apartment again, and I'm already missing my little furry family back home.  (the human family doesn't count since I can call them anytime I want)

先月までちょっと休みを利用して実家まで遊びに行ってました。
ちょうど昨日アパートに戻ってきたばかり。
一晩しかたってないのに実家に置いてきたネコ達が恋しいです。
今は親兄弟が面倒見てくれてますけど、いつかまともな給料がもらえたらアニーとピーティー（下の写真）だけでも一緒に暮らせるようになりたいな。

The ever attentive Annie (gray) and Petey (orange) watching the neighbors' kids outside.

 Panther being his usual lazy self.

 and... Pickles.  If you can tell where she is on that couch.

I assume this look means "I'll get you for waking me up later, human."

I'm still dreaming of the day I can afford a place that allows pets, so I can bring at least Annie and Petey with me...

Coming back...?

Now this is embarrassing.  I haven't posted very often, have I?  Hopefully this will be changed with the craft-filled summer that is about to begin.

For those unaware, I was mostly busy with working on my senior thesis and BFA exhibition... as well as graduation!  Now, not that I'm trying to confuse you, but I technically haven't graduated yet even though I've walked.  I will be student teaching in the fall, and THEN I get my degrees.  Yeah, confusing right?

Here's just a few images from the projects I've been working on for my Bachelors in Fine Arts degree...

 As part of an experiment I participated at the Hatch Art Festival in Champaign, IL and sold these owl phone cases made with upcycled upholstery fabric samples.

 More birds!  Most of my exhibition consisted of these art dolls interacting with found vintage objects.

...and to top it all off, a giant centipede plush.  I still consider it an art doll though.

This summer will consist of updating my Etsy shop, and possibly re-opening my older account filled with super brightly colored pop accessories.  I may also update with costume making for Anime Central next year.  (I'm making maybe 5 costumes for various people) Let's see how this will work out!  Wish me luck!

A Surprising Return

Hello to anyone who is nice enough to still check up on this site! ;u;  I'm quite sure that many people have noticed the lack of updates here yet again, and I apologize.  It scares me a bit how long it has been since my last post. 

There has been some scary things going on in real life this year, which I do not plan to explain all of.  It has just been a lot of strange and unfortunate coincidences with funerals, friends and family in peril, and a few of my own personal issues. 

I HAVE been making things on a regular basis though.  Crafting, art, and cooking has been a big healer for me as I struggled through the end of 2011 and the first half of 2012.  The major support from friends and family has also kept me going, so one good thing that came out of the many ordeals is how it cleared up who are the really important people in my life. 
Here's just a few photos showing some things that's been going on during my break from blogging:

 A pink bunny plushie replica from Tiger & Bunny for a friend.  It's obviously lumpy from being hugged one too many times.  :) I may make more to be sold if anyone wants one for themselves or for a cosplay prop.

Here's a prototype for some round coin purses with colors/patterns inspired by Touhou characters.  I might ditch this pattern though and try out different shapes... perfectly circular patterns was harder than I expected.

My sweet little puppy!  Well, not quite a puppy anymore.  She's getting more gray hairs but she still reminds me why it's good to make emergency trips back to my parent's house every now and then.

From a fireworks show I visited with a few friends for 4th of July.  Unfortunately my camera was not very good at capturing the greatness of the giant fireworks... but it was still fun!

I won't be crafting for a bit since I need to pack up everything to move to a different apartment soon... but once I'm moved in I plan to change that!  Hopefully there will be many more creations and fun times to come.

肉団子スープ。。。

大学の近くのアパートに引っ越してから５日たちました。毎日のんびりたのしんでいますwww

月曜日からは授業が始まります。。。それまでに冷凍庫に作り置きのおかずをためなければ！

今日は野菜いっぱいのパスタソースを大量に作りました。しばらくは野菜不足は避けられるはず。

昨日は冷凍用の餃子を作っていたら皮が足りなくなってしまい、タネだけ残ってしまいどうしようかと悩んで片栗粉を入れて肉団子と白菜のスープをまた大量に作ってしまいました。

具だくさんのスープにごはん、手作りキュウリの漬物、そしてこの前つくった肉じゃがときんぴらごぼうをおいしくいただきました。こんなに手作り料理ばかり食べている大学生はこのへんにはいないかも。。。（ちなみにきんぴらのレシピはこちらを参考にしました。http://www.sirogohan.com/　私のお気に入りのレシピのサイトです！）

さぁ、明日の朝は大好きなファーマーズ・マーケット！おいしい果物と野菜を友達と一緒に探しに行ってきます！明日は何を作ろうかな。。。

Mealy Peaches Quick-fix

数日前に母が買ってきた桃（ホワイトピーチ）がちょうど食べごろと思い切ってみたら中身はずいぶん残念な感じでした。所々ガリガリ、他はパサパサ、色は白とピンクではなくてちょっと茶色。。。

ちょっとがっかり。

でもこれはアメリカのスーパーで買い物をしていたらけっこうよくあることです。木でちゃんと熟す前に収穫される果物が多いせいでこんな事もあたりまえ。

なんとかこのパサパサな桃を使おうと思い作ってみたのはラズベリーと桃のスパイスジャム。

Some days ago my mom bought a few white peaches that smelled delicious, but when I sliced one open last night there was a not-so-nice surprise.

痣になっているところは切り落として種の周りの果肉も少しとってしまいます。後は皮を剥いて適当に薄くスライスします。

The infamous brown center and mealy bits of un-flavorful fruit. Ugh! I was very upset and ended up leaving it in the fridge because I didn't know what to do with it. I tasted a tiny slice and it was crunchy in certain places and some of it still had a decent flavor while other part were very mealy and dry. Unfortunately the other peaches were the same way. This morning I decided there has to be something these can be used for, and decided to make a quick peach jam. I sliced all of the peaches thinly as shown below to save the crunchy bits for texture:

切ったらこんな感じ。小さめな桃二個分で２８０gくらい。

冷凍庫に庭でとれたラズベリーを９０gほど残してあったのでそれも一緒に鍋に入れちゃいます。桃とラズベリーと一緒に鍋に次の材料を入れます：

砂糖　２００g

レモン汁　少々

オレンジ　二切れほどを手でちぎったもの

シナモン　少々

すべて鍋で直接混ぜ合わせてふたをしたら一時間ほどおいておきます。

I finished slicing 2 medium peaches (weighed about 280 g) and I realized I still had about 90 g of raspberries from my garden that I saved in the freezer. I decided I'll go with a spiced peach-raspberry jam. Here's what I used:

- 2 medium peaches sliced (280 g)

- 90 g frozen raspberries

- 200 g granulated sugar

- lemon juice (not measured)

- tart orange segments (pith removed, not measured. Probably 1 or 2 slices worth)

- ground cinnamon (not measured, yet again lol)

- 1/2 pack of unflavored gelatin (a little more than 7 g I think?) or pectin. I used gelatin because I was out of pectin and didn't want to go shopping.

このままだとあまりおいしそうには見えないですねwww　なんかグチャグチャ。。。

Mix everything other than the gelatin (which I let sit in a little water off to the side) in a pot and let sit with a lid on it for a while. I baked a pizza for lunch while I waited. The jam doesn't look very appetizing at first...

しばらくおいておくとこんな感じに水分がでてきます。きれいなワイン色になるはずです。

ここで中火から弱火でコトコト煮ます。様子を見ながら丁寧に灰汁を取るのが大事。

桃が透明になって柔らかくなるまで煮てください。このまま冷やせばアイスなどに合うソースができあがり。ジャムを作る場合はペクチンかゼラチンを袋の半分（３〜４gくらい？）水でふやかしたものを入れてください。今度は手元にペクチンが無かったのでゼラチンで作りました。

After about an hour it looks like this. Then I put it on low to medium heat until it comes to a boil and the peaches are tender. Also remember to remove the froth as much as possible. Then I add the gelatin and mix well to make it consistent.

後は消毒したガラス瓶につめるだけ。ホワイトピーチで作るとまろやかでちょっと大人の味なスパイシーなジャムの出来上がり。イエローピーチで作ったら多分もうちょっと酸味が強いはず？

明日大学に戻るので新しいアパートに引っ越すときに一瓶もっていきます！ルームメイトと一緒に朝ご飯にたべたいと思います。

Last but not least, pour into sterilized jars and you're done! If you don't add gelatin or pectin, this stuff makes a great sauce for ice-cream. I'll be taking a jar with me to my new apartment tomorrow.