Easy Does Us » Aspirations

my first skirt.

amy — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:42:52 +0000

me & my fabric. what can i say, this was a proud day!

my sweet helper. he spends a lot of time in his underwear while we're indoors.

hello, and welcome to my sewing class! (i know, so fake)

i took sewing when i was in the fourth grade. i made a quilt. thee end.

i took sewing when i went to college when i was 21. i made a dress. thee end.

i took sewing just this past may, and let the chapters go on! cuz guess what? i am hooked and i am not giving up this time. ok, don’t judge by the photos above. i was just wanting to document my first project and then luke wanted to play photographer so i started acting like a nerd, which i find quite enthralling. but the very next day, i sewed my first skirt. and now, i really do see sewing differently and want to continue SEW badly. hahahahaha! eh hem, sorry. but truly, i am very excited and can’t wait to sew my next skirt & then soon, my first dress. this is the beginning of one of my biggest dreams, to have my own clothing line.

it’s on! & yay!

ps i will post the skirt soon. it’s actually in the dryer right now. fingers crossed i don’t find a wadded ball of fabric and thread upon removal. i would wail.

pps i got my hello kitty sewing machine at overstock.com, the reviews all over were outstanding and yes, i do love the utter cuteness of it. i got my fabric from joann fabrics which is also where i took my sewing class for only 17.50, what a deal!

ppps i got the tutorial to sew this skirt from here: sew skirt from scratch, pattern free!

here and there.

amy — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:12:39 +0000

i’m all over the place. so many things to do! but i have been really enjoying myself and loving my car windows rolled down as my hair flies around like madness and the sun streams all over me, it’s a happy place.

i sewed a skirt on sunday, from scratch. only had one small meltdown when i couldn’t pull the elastic thru the waist part thingy. i just scrunched up in a upright fetal position & said something to the effect of “can’t be easy, course not, cuz that would be easy!” big. fat. baby.

anyway. about 2 minutes later i grew up (insert my son walking in the kitchen to remind me that i am, in fact, a mother and need to act like one) & by golly! something clicked inside my whiny head & i got the elastic thru.

i am sooooooooooooo proud of this skirt. is it perfect? uh, notta. BUT! it’s way cute and i made it without a pattern. cuz i feel like if i start with patterns i might just end up having a ticker tape parade at the end of each sewing session.

so, getting used to my machine first. patterns (that remind me of mind boggling treasure maps), later.

i will post the skirt this week.

i don’t promise! but i will try.

ps i will also give you the source of my instructions to how to make a skirt without a pattern. just in case you want to make your own! if i can do it with my short fuse for learning & bad eyesight, then hey, you can too!

here we go.

amy — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:24:20 +0000

this summer i vow to get more of my summer wishlist done than i did last year.

although i did a lot of sweet things last summer… i aspire for more in 2011.

of course i have wishes that are “me” based.

but really, most of my them are for us as a family or just for luke.

& i really get more glee from the things we share than things i do alone.

imagine me spinning in the picture above all by myself, not quite the same is it!

ha.

anyway. looking forward to crazy hot days filled with sweet sticky memories.

i. love. the heat of summer.

love!

other worlds.

amy — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 19:03:59 +0000

working on some dreams.

be back soon.

sneaky.

amy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:00:06 +0000

if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you may have seen a post or two about my poetry.

i have been writing since i was 14.

i love writing. especially poetry. i started writing short stories in 2008 & was instantly hooked. so i’ve written about 6 short stories too.

i am also in the midst of two secret books, yes, i said secret. i’ve not told a soul. and though they sound quite serious, they are actually lighthearted and cheeky. i really have no idea when they will be completed since i put them last. hopefully before the year is up. my hope is to make at least 7 people laugh. or chuckle. or i’d probably settle for a clearing of the throat to release a semi-amused sigh.

anyway, i have been working on two photography/poetry books and i am just about finished with the smaller one.

so i am very excited. it is called Heart Drumming, not to be said as an action but rather a feeling.

this poetry is not funny. it is dramatic. it is stricken by love.

it is what one may not see when they talk to me. since i don’t think i look like or talk like the poet stereotype. i don’t think the stereotype is always right, of course, nothing is always right. but… and i mean no offense in saying this. but many poets well, they tend to be sad. or else bitter. or else call out to birds in a secret language & you think they’re joking so you laugh & then they’re like “what’s so funny?” & your face is all aflame & you try to cover it up and in the end you are going on about those ridiculously large maxi pads with wings & she’s got tears in her eyes. the bad ones.

if you would like to see the blog for the book… it’s here.

and if you would like to see my general poetry blog…. it’s here.

have a lovely nite.

in mind.

amy — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:32:48 +0000

a photo session.

amy — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:39:09 +0000

i started feeling better later last week. i really hit a low after the stem cell donation. i got home friday (march 5th) and the following saturday, sunday and monday i pretty much was crying throughout the day and had no idea why.

i’ve been given a few theories, one of them being that it could have been a side effect of the anesthesia. all i know is that it definitely was connected to the process because i felt that way immediately after it & then it faded & i was right back to my super sunny self! ok, mildly pleasant self with an extra dash of annoying sarcasm in honor of lost time.

i’m even wearing yellow pants today just to show off. & to confuse young and old alike, preferably at the same time.

so i had a photo session with my niece yesterday & i am really smitten with the turn out.

this was my first session with my new camera, my Olympus epl1 & although i was frustrated with it at times, i am committed to making our relationship work. i wish i could say it’s because i am just so driven but really it’s cuz i’m way too lazy to camera shop again.

& because it is a red flag when you start dreaming about purchasing the perfect camera & wake up dizzy & semi-angry when it all hits you that it was just a dream, but it felt so real!

and i really do love the camera, so i don’t want to let it go. i just need to be more patient, and i don’t have patience for technology. i am not a gentle soul with technology. i’m more of a “who’s that crazy lady wrestling her camera?“ i’m working on that.

today was 65, so me & nugget went to the park asap. the wind was blowing all around & though it thoroughly tangled my hair, i did love it so.

i am very excited for lovely weather.

DIY. who me?

amy — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:02:32 +0000

i haven’t really delved into the whole DIY thing, i mean when i first saw those letters together about a year ago i literally googled “what does DIY stand for?”

i then was like “oh yeah, duh”

and proceeded to do nothing DIY.

which of course means, do it yourself.

an acronym that bosses you around, how lovely.

so i picked these few DIY projects from CountryLiving.com because i think they are a great jumping off point. technically i’ve already jumped but i landed awkwardly & twisted my ankle & burnt stuff.

i’ve always done crafts with nugget but those don’t count either. although it is so fantastic that i can make the silliest, very- not -good craft with him & he’ll just love it. it always inspires me to make more junk for him to cherish.

hope you have a happy friday.

if your – what if’s – were.

amy — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:53:36 +0000

i really like these last two fortune cookie messages that i got:

simplicity and clarity should be your theme in dress.

& my favorite:

if you care enough for the result, you will most certainly attain it.

happy friday!

olympus e-pl1.

amy — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:45:32 +0000

my first practice shot with soft focus.

my second practice shot, this is right about when i started falling in love with soft focus. the sunlight was not even that great, yet it created a very luminous, gentle photograph.

a close up in soft focus.

just testing the clearity with completely still objects. again, the lighting was not ideal. i took this in auto, no special focus.

nugget loves to line things up. it's adorable. he lined up his cars and then proceeded to watch television with them. again, this shot was taken in auto only.

me, taking a picture of myself with my new camera in soft focus. i did this with my other two cameras too. i'm very sentimental that way. plus, it's a great way to keep track of each new hair-do as i grow with my cameras. oh, and the dress is not a nod to the weather, yeah right! i picked it out while playing dress up and decided to snap a pic before i had to put on my two pairs of pajama bottoms & grizzly bear robe.

nugget wanted me to take his pic after he caught me taking my own in the mirror. so without further ado or any pride, here is nugget, his fake cheese smile and my messy bathroom vanity.

this was in soft focus and low light, but he wasn't moving.

this was taken in auto only. very crisp and true to color. he was not moving though, i was dealing with a lot of blur with movement which concerns me. but it was a high ISO due to bad lighting.

practicing with the flash. i left it on soft focus, i started getting addicted to soft focus. this was taken in a very dark room.

i took a picture of my ring. this wasn't on macro. soft focus AGAIN!

so, last week my brand new camera arrived in a partially opened Fedex box.

i was very nervous.

just a couple months prior, i was over the moon when i ordered the Fuji HS10 but i had to send it back three days after getting it because it wasn’t what i thought it would be. and that taught me a valuable lesson, before you expend all that energy flying around for something, how about waiting until you actually get it.

so, this time, after placing my order, i sat very composed at my computer and didn’t even smirk, cuz a smirk can lead into a smile and a smile can turn into laughter and then laughter can make you dance and then dancing with a running start is well… flying…. so i didn’t want to risk it.

ok, maybe that’s a big fat lie.

i couldn’t help but be excited, but only in a “we’ll see” sorta way. a more cautious-excitement, if you will. like a blind date feeling. you’re excited but refuse to get too happy until you actually see him in person rather than his best photo from seven years ago that he gave your friend.

well, i actually am having a lot of fun with this camera. and am happy to say that i am going to keep it.

the pros so far: great image quality, art filters that really make a difference, great zoom, 3fps burst (3 frames per second), HD video, fantastic size

the cons so far: sometimes slow to focus, blurry pictures with lots of movement. but, these test shots were in poor lighting so i want to test movement shots in better lighting.

so, it’s a keeper!

i’m very excited to take it places this year, in the sun!

hello everyone.