Come Along and Ride on a Scrap-tastic Voyage

I've been feeling a little claustrophobic in my sewing room these days. I can never say no to fabric 'kick downs' or clothing people no longer wear. This has resulted in my sewing room being stuffed to the gills.

Such is the life of a pack-rat, but even more of an earth conscious crafter. There are SO many existing materials already made and ready for use.

I believe absolutely everything can be used again someday, whether it be packaging styrofoam or the thinnest scraps of fabric from my serger. I even fold up the wrapping paper from the gifts I have received.

I try to stay organized, I really do. Nevertheless, I am an atypical Taurus and the definition of unorganized. Much to my dismay, this chaos I live, breathe, and create for myself can stifle my creativity and overstimulate me more than you can believe.

Every so often I have to force myself to resituate everything back into "order".

I started with my dresser that houses my fun smaller cuts of fabrics. I folded and color sorted every last piece.
scrap spaghetti

rainbow goodnessbrowns to whites

My sense of accomplishment did not last long.

that's right folks, it's a cube of scraps

I looked around my sewing room saw that I had three fruit boxes FULL of random scraps. I knew what I had to do. I dumped every single box on my floor to force myself to deal with it. I color sorted all the woven fabrics and threw all the jersey scraps into another box. I ended up with a giant garbage bag stuffed with tiny fabric scraps too small for sewing. Of course I am not going to just throw this stuff away. This has become my pillow stuffing source.

Ta da!
Fast forward to a couple days later,,,,,,

A couple of work buddies and I hung out and got crafty together. I packed up my back-up sewing machine and my good ole 'Rock Steady' with color sorted scraps in hand.

action shot

It was so much fun to share with them what I love. I taught them how to thread the machine and straight stitch. They patched up larger pieces to make a couple of throw pillows (stuffed with my aforementioned tiny scraps) , while my Miguel and I patched up smaller pieces. The patchwork will be used for a house warming present for a dear friend....more on that on a later day.

yay for sewing

they were totally feeling the creative rush

we did it!

success!

What have you done lately to tread lightly?

Ramble On PaRt Two

So I've been busy sewing and neglecting the second post of my adventures.......but here it is as promised. Grab a cup of iced tea and bounce through my journey with me. :-*

Banana Bouncing through the forest

I think my favorite part of seeing live music is all the memories of of old friends and moments we shared over the same music that flood my mind{{{.....Does that makes sense?}}}

My friends near and far who have shared moments of time with me are forever etched in my mind. I am grateful to think of our time together and dance in their honor.

Anyways.....

Going on a three day leg of Phish was so amazingly fun. Miguel and I saw friends that we had not seen in years......not to mention gettin' down and dirty with the phamour phour.

When ever we have long distances to travel we try to break up the drive. We've found it makes for a much more enjoyable and restful trip.

On the way to Noblesville, Indiana we camped in a sweet State Forest in Southern Indiana to break up the drive up north. It was such peaceful way to begin out lil journey. We and enjoyed one of the trails and saw ToNs of wild mushrooms

trumpet-ly awesome-ness

This one reminded us of sea coral

Miggy fossil hunting

Before arriving at the Deer Creek venue we stopped at a few microbreweries within the town. Yum! We also had a chance to vend before the show on Shakedown....I really need to invest in a Canopy......it was flaming hot. Nevertheless, we took care of business and had a good pre-show time.

happy mama to be rockin the Jedi Mama dress

my lil spot

Anyways, the coolest part about hanging out was I saw a beautiful young lady who had purchased a dress I made and sold on ebay a few years ago. I did a double take when I first walked by her! We exchanged hugs and kisses. She continued to say that it was her favorite dress and she looks for my stuff on ebay. { Now that I am on etsy I forget to post something over there in ebay-land just for meare exposure purposes......**note to self :D }

The first set was really rockin with Moma Dance, Fluffhead, and Ocelot really tickling my pickle. In between the sets there was a CRAZY lightning storm. It was the gnarliest lightning I had ever seen, very ominous. It delayed the second set substantially and they actually let people go to their cars (we didn't go) for re-entry after the storm.

After much anticipation the show started up again. Drowned was a really exciting as well a Possum. 2001 was such a crowd pleaser. It felt good to soak up all that uplifting energy.

06/19/09 Verizon Wireless Music Center (formerly Deer Creek) - Noblesville, IN

1: Backwards Down the Number Line, AC/DC Bag, Limb By Limb, The Moma Dance, Water In The Sky, Split Open and Melt, Lawn Boy, The Wedge, Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, The Connection*, Ocelot, Fluffhead

2**: A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing -> Drowned -> Twist, Let Me Lie, Tweezer -> 2001 > Suzy Greenberg > Possum

E: Sleeping Monkey > Tweezer Reprise

Somehow, like crazy people, after the show Miguel and I made how way to a suburb of Chicago. It was a challenging situation because getting out the parking lot took 2 hours. It almost broke me, for serious. I don't know what the deal was, but it seemed like every line we were in didn't move. AnYwAys, these things happen what everyone wants to leave at the same time.

Needless to say we made it safely to Chicago and set out for the sweetest lake house ever. It was right on the lake front, super spacious with beds galore, and very homey. A friend of mine said it would make a great "hippie fall out shelter" because of the seemingly unlimited amount of space..... :-D

All of our time in Wisconsin was SO cherished because we spent time with a very dear friend who we had not seet in four years......I realized that is way too freggin' long to be without each other........

Hanging out with old friends is such an amazing feeling because you pick up right where you left off.

It was SO uplifting and I promised myself never too let that much time come between us again.....

06/20/09 Alpine Valley Music Theatre - East Troy, WI

1: Punch You in the Eye, Runaway Jim, Stash, Ya Mar, Bathtub Gin, Kill Devil Falls, Train Song, Farmhouse, Sparkle, Run Like An Antelope

2: Waves > Sample In A Jar, Maze, Makisupa Policeman > Ghost -> The Lizards, You Enjoy Myself* -> NICU > Prince Caspian -> Waste > Fire

E: Character Zero

My fav's of the night incluses Ya Mar (shout outs and mad love Ashley and Too-La), Sample in a jar, Ghost (I love you Becca!), Lizards, Waste (my sweet Mig), and Prince Caspian.

we had to go for a dip in the cool WI lake to cool off, though the "hot" weather there was a far cry from the southern heat in full swing now

"Let's do dis!!!"

Miguel caught my off gaurd here making pretty eyes at him early in the morning

This pic was bitter sweet....the last night of our "tour".....but geez I love these people!

This night Miguel, our old friend Cliff, and I broke away from our crew to get nice and close to the stage.....well not that close, but closer! We had ample dancin' grass that was flat enough so that you didn't twist you ankle. haha!

The show started with the band's children coming on stage in tribute to Father's Day.....I happily sent my Papa a text messge wishin' him a happy day. It was truely touching. Wolfman's brother was really fun, but Avenu Malkenu was freakin awesome! Trey was so funny when he sang in "just called my probation officer". That's right buddy! Keep your nose clean! ;-)

The second set really did it for me.Down with Disease, Velvet Sea (more mad love to Becca!), Reggae Woman (hooolllaa!), and Slave to the Traffic light.

06/21/09 Alpine Valley Music Theatre - East Troy, WI

1: Brother*, Wolfman's Brother, Funky Bitch** > The Divided Sky, Joy, Back On The Train, Taste, Poor Heart, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenu Malkenu The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday^^, Time Turns Elastic

2: Crosseyed and Painless*** > Down With Disease > Bug > Piper^ -> Wading In The Velvet Sea, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Slave To The Traffic Light

E: Grind, Frankenstein^&^

The encore got crazy! You could feel the happy sadness of the crowd wanting more.....The end of the first leg of summer tour was an amazing ride.......For Frankenstein Trey busted out a 5-neck guitar and Page's cute lil self busted out a vintage keytar he scored from a vintage instrument store in my hometown St.Louis.

here's a carppy pic from the screen, but yo uget the idea

Miguel and I capped off our trip with an evening in Carbondale, Illinois. We hit up a favorite Pizza Place (holla Quatros) and bar (Yeah Tres Homebres). We even walked around our old campus.....More memories flooded my mind.

Miguel in front of his first Dorm....awwwww

The young woman I was and who I have become. It was really humbling to get back to the woods where Mike and I first began our jourey together.

awww

deep in thought on Thompson Lake

All in all, I couldn't be any more grateful for my safe and gratifying vacation experience. My heart and soul needed the freedom of the open road, if only for a lil while. My creativty is bursting my mind as I type this........

Thanks for reading about my trips and I hope that you find yourself on a journey soon!

so much love,

B

Big Thanks to Phish.net for setlists.....

"When I think about you, I sew for myself"

Haha I couldn't resist!

 When I think about a festival(in this case Bonnaroo), I think about the chance to show off my skillz and network with other crafty mamas........ I try to gather all my favorite creations and make a few new ones to RePrEsEnT!!!!

 

I created and altered a few outfits for lil ol' me......

The first is a collaboration between my girl Justine and I......She custom made me a batik patch with "Lettuce Head" (yay for vegetarians!)  on some her her KILLER green  hand dyed fabric

I believe it's hemp, feel free to comment the correct fibers J-Bean.................

I've been on a mini skirt kick lately because the blazing Alabama heat is settling in around here. I paired the aformentioned fabric with some polyester stretchy dark green fabric.....stretchy fabrics are a must in mini skirts for maximum dancibility.  :) The pocket consists of the batik patch. I can wear it to the front or back depending on what I feel like......

The next creation is a remix of an old creation.  I took apart one of the first apron tops I made YeArs ago and made it SO much better......I had a pretty purple top that would never look right on me, so I salvaged the fabric........ The bodice design was inspired by Elyse of Elyse orginals and my fellow Gypsy Road member Cory........It features pleats under and across the bust for lots of support and style. 

The "skirt" of the shirt was actually the entire previous shirt.....I just flipped it and did some tiny pleats under the bust. I also added a velcro pocket with a scrap of some adorable Holly Hobbie fabric.

Lastly, I resized and lowered the waist of some shorts that were a kick down from an old friend. I wore them around the house and the flowly rayon fabric was really comfortable, but they looked like Mom Jeans. Ha!

I added a fresh elastic waist, a hip pocket on either side and cuffs at the hem......The best part about these pants are the 9 stars I appliqued to the back leg. There was a stain and I decieded to get funky with covering it up. It turned out so cute, right?

I want to make a few more things, but we will have to see if time allows.

Much love to you all,

Banana

warm wonder lusting

so i am sure that many of you out there are yearning for warmer weather. my studio gets SO cold even compared to the rest of the house. i hate blasting my space heater, but a woman can't get any work done with a big sweatshirt on....
Anyways, i've been thinking about this summer and how amazing its going to be. It's going to be my second summer of the rest of my life. :D I graduated with my BS last spring (2008). Back to my point.....
I'm sure many of you are huge fans of live music, like me. You probably all know about the phabulous four getting back together; Phish. There were thousands of people who entered in the lottery to purchase tickets before they went on sale to the public. Somehow, I was lucky enough to receive tickets to Deer Creek and both Nights of Alpine Valley. I also recently found out Miguel and I have tickets to the added Knoxville show as well. It's quite exciting and I can't wait to see many of my friends who I have not seen in a long time along the way and at the shows....It's all of these warm thoughts i keep repeating to myself to keep myself productive, despite the cold winter weather......I may live in Alabama, but it does get cold! Perhaps I am a littel spoiled by the sweet southern winds.......
In my meet and greet post I forgot to introduce my friends
Beebop.....and.....Rock Steady (I was a total TMNT kid)
Mississippian Fossils Miquel mined locally
These are first of the stock I have created for my artist show in April; decorative flags. My etsy team over at Gypsy Road suggested these...... What do you all think? All but one of these were created from fabrics in my massive fabric stash-a-roo. I straight stitched around each of the flags to keep the fraying from getting out of control.

Here is my newest creation. I have had the dress finished for a while, but I had been waiting on my fusible bond. Its a simple little Deady bolt, but I think it makes the whole dress

much love, Banana
AgreenBanana