campy pillows!

I am so glad I figured this out! Perfect pillow for camping, just stuff the clothes you aren’t wearing in, and you are golden. I have been sleeping on the one I bought for a long while now. I quite love it, but I’m glad to know how to make my own.

learning to make camp pillows

you tuck your clothes in them

in this little slot goes the clothes

it’s that simple.

then, lay your face on it.

I slept on a camp pillow like this for the past year

insert clothes

silky bag, twisty strap

twisted strap

over the shoulder

another bag, this one is silky.

It’s another one of the slouchy bags, but minus the drawstring. the fabric is silky, and too delicate for me to sew a button hole. it frays VERY quickly.

little girls like skirts.

another skirt! This one has an elastic waistband. made for toddler

This one has an elastic waistband, my first ever elastic experience.

funky pattern purse

2 fabrics chosen specifically for someone

face to face, then inside out

or inside out

this way…

I sewed on straps to make a purse

like so

done-zo

buttons?

I made this purse specifically for somebody who I know will love these patterns. Their birthday was Feb 6, so this gift is running late. I didn’t know how to sew then! Love you momma

big green bag

twas an old skirt. I guess it still is, just a shorter one.

attaching the bottom

making the bottom oval fit is a struggle

done! let’s fill it with bunches of stuff.

lots of room for stuffs

bag with a bow

making a big slouchy green bag from an old skirt. The skirt came to my ankles, so I cut about half of it off. So now I have a shorter, perfect length skirt, and a bag that matches perfectly…

once a dress, now a purse.

in the beginning, it was a dress. not a bad dress, but not a great dress.

I cut off the top, scrunchy part.

then I sewed the bottom and the sides together

and added a button

because I like buttons. now it’s a purse! a little purse, but a purse!

I went on another thrift store adventure, and found this not-bad-not-good dress. I saw potential in the fabric, so for 99cents, it was mine. I cut off the top for this litte mini purse fit for a toddler, or someone who wants to carry not a lot of stuff. The bottom of this dress provided me with a lot of cool material, I don’t know what it will become yet…
oh the possibilities.

it’s blizzarding, so I’m sewing.

I have been looking to make something a bit more complicated than long rectangles (ties) & fluffy squares (pillows) so I set out to make a gunny sack. And I did it.
eeep!

start by cutting rectangles & ovals, like 1st grade.

like so.

another snow day sew day

and then it gets complicated, because now we have to sew the ovals and rectangles together

It’s not quite oval, but close enough.

inside & outside.

I did it! I really, really did it!

snowing. I mean sewing.

put the pieces together, fold over a channel for your rope

the inside, and my weird rope hole

tie it in a bow, because bows are cute.

finished product!

snow day, sew day

I started with a thrift store dress

measured my hem, pinned it & ironed it flat

snip snip, then sew hem

all done!

finished dress! a little short to wear without leggings, I’m still learning

put a cute little belt on it, and some leggings, and done!

This dress was about 14 inches longer, which made it an awkward length.

So I cut the bottom off, hemmed it and then used the cut off piece as a sash. another thrift store score.

It’s a snowy day outside, so I decided to go to the thrift store and see what clothes I could find to re-create. I looked for unique patterns, and big ugly dresses that I could see a glimmer of potential in. Here we go sewing machine, it’s you and me, buddy.

and then, with the leftovers of the lavender dress, I made a girls skirt! I hemmed it at the top, leaving enough space for me to run a ribbon through it, like a draw string. I sewed another button on the bottom so that it would stay closed. The skirt is totally adjustable, so it will grow with the girl! That girl is Makya. Happy 5th Birthday!

a girls skirt from the bottom of a dress

Jon, the busy bee.

jon’s bookshelf of pallets

Jon’s first piece, a shaker design. my beautiful spice rack.

jon putting the lacquer on the table

Jon’s table is almost finished

construction in our studio apartment is… difficult.

jon’s method

nightstand, now all stained darker

jon’s first piece, a coffee table of palets.

Jon’s furniture making endeavor, a learning experience for us both. So far, he has made a coffee table, a night stand, a book shelf, a bed frame, a spice rack & a kitchen table. He has spent weeks putting together this furniture. It is all so beautiful.

South America (Sept 30- Dec 5 2012)

South America was quite the trip. Zach, Jon & flew from Miami to Lima, Peru, where we met up with Jon’s sister Rachel. From there, we adventured down the coast of Peru & Chile, stopping along the way to hike, camp & climb. We hiked the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu which took us 5 days. We found a crag just outside of Santiago, Chile where we camped and climbed for 2 weeks. Our camp was by a glacial fed river, so we filtered our water, cooked rice and played lots of rummy. Eventually, we made our way down to Patagonia where we backpacked in Torres del Paine for 3 weeks. We carried all of our food in, which made our packs extremely heavy. The views were worth it though. Incredible.

salkantay trek machu picchu

our couch surfer Ramon, who was a pilot and took Zach and I up over Puerto Natales

Cusco, Peru. I was SO HAPPY to be holding that sheepie

dune buggy rides

We hired a guide & his mountaineering gear to help us summit pisco, turns out, he wasn’t much help. we had blinding headaches, and all were nauseous.

machu picchu is behind us

machu picchu

locked out of our hostel in Cusco, Peru after a long days hike from machu picchu

Wayna Picchu, even higher up.

taking a flight in a little plane with our couch surfer Ramon in Puerto Natales. flew over penguins

summit attempt of pisco

Our couch surfer Marcelo in Puerto Natales

We met Michael, a crazy Israeli guy with good fun ideas

salkantay trek

sand dune sand boarding

hitching a ride to the trail head. Hiking the salkantay trek to machu picchu. 5 days

mt Pisco

dune buggy ride!

Oasis in Ica, Peru

Summit Attempt of Mt Pisco, 16,000ft

feeling tired

salkantay trek machu picchu

our couch surfer Ramon, who was a pilot and took Zach and I up over Puerto Natales

Cusco, Peru. I was SO HAPPY to be holding that sheepie

dune buggy rides

We hired a guide & his mountaineering gear to help us summit pisco, turns out, he wasn’t much help. we had blinding headaches, and all were nauseous.

machu picchu is behind us

machu picchu

locked out of our hostel in Cusco, Peru after a long days hike from machu picchu

Wayna Picchu, even higher up.

taking a flight in a little plane with our couch surfer Ramon in Puerto Natales. flew over penguins

summit attempt of pisco

Our couch surfer Marcelo in Puerto Natales

We met Michael, a crazy Israeli guy with good fun ideas

salkantay trek

sand dune sand boarding

hitching a ride to the trail head. Hiking the salkantay trek to machu picchu. 5 days

mt Pisco

dune buggy ride!

Oasis in Ica, Peru

Summit Attempt of Mt Pisco, 16,000ft

feeling tired

Machu Picchu

mt pisco

Oasis in Ica, peru. Dune Buggies

The Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu

Mt Pisco

Oasis in Ica, Peru

our crag & campsite outside of Santiago.

Lima, Peru

Mt Pisco

Summit of Salkantay trek tomachu picchu

Base camp for Mt Pisco

base camp for mt Pisco

Wayna Picchu

Machu Picchu in the background, we are on Wayna Picchu. the higher mountain

our couchsurfer Ramon was a pilot

Cusco, Peru

Machu Picchu

Salkantay trek to machu picchu

beauty, Lago 69. on the way to Pisco

on the hike to our crag just outside of Santiago, Chile

Mt Pisco

Cirque Hostel, Lima, Peru

Huraz, Peru

our first night in Lima. Cirque Hostel

You can see mt Pisco in the background. Huraz, Peru

machu picchu

Patagonia

Torres del Paine, Patagonia

the forest in Torres del Paine

Michaels creation, traditional Israeli cuisine.

the treck up to pisco

gotta wake up early if you are gunna attempt a summit

the oasis, ica peru

banannas hostal in ica, peru. the oasis

climbing outside of Huraz. we missed out though, apparently there is a mecca of climbing there, and all we found was 10 routes on a short rock wall

chilean money