Its just thursday

Thank you so much www.christiecottage.blogspot.com for being so sweet, and...

for putting me in this awesome treasury! Please check it out:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=119551

I have also been concentrating most of my writing efforts lately on my "oh the stories you'll tell" online class. It is being taught and hosted by the wonderful Natasha of www.thursdaysweettreat.blogspot.com who is sweet, encouraging, positive and a myriad of wonderful. The class was an excellent price, almost to the point that I feel guilty not spending more on it, but I wouldn't have been able to afford it if it had cost more so I will be thankful for small favors and hope that Natasha is getting as much out of the experience as I am. I have seen some amazing writing, there are so many very interesting people involved! This week we are doing more with photography so I am excited to see the visuals everyone brings into the classroom.

Here is one of my projects from last week:

"The Crack"

As many times as I have gone up industrial, I am sure I had seen it before. My thighs were throbbing as I went up that hill and it struck me long enough to distract me from the burning muscle sensation that I might describe as pain, if I hadn’t been doing it long enough to almost enjoy it.

Like varicose veins or a crackle treatment on pottery it was imperfect and enticing. I was reminded of my love of spalted maple, or marble. I was taken to the skeletons of vines up a wall in winter intertwining and spreading, with no leaves to hide the fascinating structure. A web cracked it’s way down the man made surface the way ice shatters with a sturdy blow. Proof that the lungs of the earth can not be constrained by asphalt I realized I was captivated by a crack in the road.

And finally, just for fun, this is a picture of Autumn playing dress up. She is wearing a brocade coat, pirate bib, red and white tutu, floral hat, and holding a princess light saber. The game went something like this : autumn handed me an item from her dresser, and I put it on her. Repeat until there was not really any way to put on more clothing. Autumn looks so silly, but too cute!

TUTUtorial! No Sewing required!

As I promised, I will be sharing my tutu making experience. I made a white TUTU for Duke City Derby's good VS evil bout. Our team won, by the way.

So, one of the most important things I have learned in life is that ALMOST everything is easier than it looks. The same is true with tutus.


You will need a few things. Ribbon or string, and Tulle. For ease I purchased rolls of Tulle that were not very wide. They sold it in many different colors at Micheal's in the wedding favor department. If you purchase it by the yard you can cut it so that it is 2"-12" wide. The narrower the strips the more ethereal and whimsical the outcome will be (see the tutu I made for Autumn) I used 12" strips for my tutu.

Measure your waist and add enough to the ribbon to tie the ends. I then folded the ribbon to make sure my tutu was centered and marked the waist measurement so I knew how many "knots" to make.

Decide how long you want the tutu to be and double that. Add about two inches (it will be dissolved in knotting and fluff) cut several strips of tulle that are that long.



I then tied the ribbon taught between two sturdy objects ( a bed and a playpen in my case) because I thought it made it easier.

This is the meat of making a tutu. this knot right here. To make it fold a strip of tulle in half and hold the loop up to the ribbon. Then bring the tails of the tulle around the ribbon and through the loop.



And repeat.


....and repeat

.... and repeat until you have filled the waist measurement. Then untie it from the objects that are holding the ribbon taught and tie it around your waist! Voila! An easy no sew tutu!


And just in time to make that fairy or princess costume for Halloween!



AND I used scraps (I trimmed the bottom of the tutu to make it more even) to make a tutu for Autumn.


If you like to sew you can make a variation where the string that you tie the knots around is just longer than the waist measurement and then sew the ribbon on top for a more finished looking waist.

Also, notice that in Autumns Tutu there are other colors, you can do this by alternating colors of tulle.