LIVity

Okay well, my plan to create a craft room kind of, sort of morphed into me painting almost my entire house. So, I haven't done any work on the skirt I'm sewing since my last post.  But, on the flip side, my house is getting pretty lol Picture time!

Giselle sitting at the desk guarding her space lol

Here's the second bedroom, the craft room that started it all.  I went with a very light green instead of the bolder green that made my heart flutter.  I love this choice though because the space is Caribbean inspired, so I want to keep it airy.

I'm making a field trip to Ikea to look at some shelving within the next couple of weeks.  And the plan is to sew some storage baskets to place on the shelves.  I'm also planning on sewing curtains for this room.  And my most major purchase, which I'm still up in the air about, will be replacing the desk wit a sewing table.  We'll see about that though, if I do, it will happen a little way down the road.
I already posted this picture on my Facebook page, but I'm showing it off again to give the full effect because this is the bathroom that's attached to my second bedroom.  The color is Peach Blossom and was lighter than I originally intended, but ended up being perfect for this space.


The rest of my painting was hallways, stairwells and my foyer. They're now a sandy, neutral color, so not too interesting, but I'll show this pic because I finally got my wall sconces up.  I've had these in my garage for about four years!!


In other news, I finished reading 'The Red Tent.'  It was so good I not only reviewed it, I also added it to my recommended reading page.  So, I won't got too much into it here except to say it gives voice to the women the Bible brushes over.  It's a very interesting fleshing out their stories while lightly relating them to Biblical history from a female point of view.

And on to the next one. I'm currently reading 'The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings' of James Baldwin. Let's just say my recommended reading page will be receiving another title.  I mean, almost every line is underline-worthy. 

So, that's about all I've been up to.  Until next time...

~ With ♥ from Halima

     

Starting from the time I was born, I've always had a strange fascination with my feet.  I really don't like anything covering them and I abhor toe jam.  Absolutely, abhor.  Thirty-odd years later, my mom still laughs when she tells stories of how as I baby she'd try to keep socks on me.  But as soon as she'd put them on, I'd take them off and start cleaning any lint left between my toes.  And, 30 odd years later, she's still fussing at me to stop walking around the house barefoot.

So, imagine my surprise when as a little girl sitting at my Grandaddy's feet as he put socks on, I realized my feet looked just like his.  And let me tell you, my Grandaddy had some strong genes because just about everyone in my family has this man's hands and feet lol

Fast forward some years to when as a young adult and I began wondering what mark I would leave on this world.  Up until about four years ago if you'd asked me what it would be, I would have told you I wanted to write something beautiful that would inspire and be quoted by many people.  Now, that would still be nice, but I've really started to understand the importance of family. 

So, maybe my mark will simply be having a grandchild look back and remember me crawling around on the floor with them (Mema) or being told to "shake a tailfeather or say good morning, one" (Grandaddy).  And you know what, that's more than okay because in my opinion, that's what this life is all about.  If I can touch at least one person to the point where my memory lives on through them, then I did something right.



Oh yea, and for what it's worth, this is the post I promised a couple of weeks back.  I had to put the slideshow of my grandparents together, so I hope you all enjoyed and that it was worth the wait.

Until next time...

~ With ♥ from Halima

     

When I was on the verge of womanhood, I would read and re-read Proverbs 31 trying to ingrain the traits of being the ideal woman.  The summary to the left is bare bones and doesn't grasp how amazeballs "ideal" is, so check out the full text if you have a moment.  But let's just say, if she existed, she'd be that mom every other mom hated because her life was so daymn perfect lol. She could do it all and she had it all. 

Needless to say, I'd walk away from this text amazed, but also feeling defeated because let's be honest, nobody can ever achieve all of that. And if it looks like someone is, something is probably way off balance in parts of their life that aren't visible.

To make matters worse, Christianity doesn't provide any in depth examples of the inner lives of women, let alone those of the ideal woman . 

And that's why I loved reading The Red Tent.  The author, Anita Diamant, spun an entire story about the women mentioned in passing in the Bible and has Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, as narrator.  So kind of like biblical history told from a female point of view, but more character driven.

Initially, I thought it was a cool concept, made for a great read and so I was just going to add it to my recommended reading page. But then I started thinking about what Diamant really did with this book.  It wasn't preachy, but it showed Dinah and her mother figures encompassing the virtues of ideal, but very real and imperfect women.  Much like myself. I may not get it all or any of it right at any given time, but I try.  I try to be responsible and do that right thing when necessary, but sometimes I just want pure enjoyment.  I honor my family most times, but when it's time to set boundaries for my own well-being, I do that too.  But maybe most importantly, I try to keep faith.  Sometimes I falter and that's okay because everything will work out.

The last thing I'll leave you with is that this book truly celebrates womanhood.  From our hopes, dreams, strengths, weaknesses, pain, happiness, ritual, loving, wisdom, everything that makes us women, it just made me want to walk up to every lady I saw and fist bump them lol We are awesome! Read this book, ladies and then buy a copy for your mom and your best friend so we all can bask in our sisterhood :-)

~ With ♥ from Halima

     

This past weekend was my birthday weekend.  So, I didn't get to make the post I was planning, but I did get to speak and spend time with so many loved ones, I'm still on cloud 9.

I promise I'll have the other post within the next two weeks.  But even with all the celebrating, did get a chance to work  on my skirt, so I'll just give an update on that.

I found out the interface material I talked about in my last post was sew-in and Mimi G called for a iron fusible.  So, I had to make another trip to the fabric store, for a different kind of interfacing. Luckily this trip didn't take three hours lol

I sewed the panels of the skirt together with no problem.


And although I was a little intimidated by inserting the zipper, I did okay.


I started piecing together the lining too.  The pattern didn't call for this step, but this is something Mimi G added to the project.  I think it's a good idea to give the skirt a more finished look, plus it's great experience.


So I guess that's about it.  Check out my Facebook page for updates on my upcoming craft room project.

Until next time,

~With ♥ from Halima

     

~With ♥ from Halima

     

The first step was actually my least favorite part of sewing so far, the cutting. Even with a cutting board, I've managed to cut jagged edges. This fabric was easier to work with then the stretch fabric I worked with on my first project, the vintage headband.  I did cut pretty straight lines, this time, but it took a long time.  And I discovered that even though batting looks like a bag full of clouds, it's actually a pain to cut, largely because of its stretchy factor. If anyone has any tips on working with this, please share.

After cutting, I had to iron the pocket. This step got rid of the deep, folding crease that was in the material, but also created a crisp pocket.

Next, I arranged the layers of the caddy: batting, back piece of fabric, pocket and front piece of fabric. It was an interesting order, but because the project is worked inside out, it all worked out.

Finally got to the sewing part.  I pinned the layers together to ensure I sewed through all the layers.  The pattern called for me to sew up the two sides and the bottom.  I was a little hesitant about sewing around corners because I've never done it and after my "cut on the fold" incident, I figured better to ask the dumb question than to make another mistake, especially because I didn't have extra fabric this time.  So, I watched this YouTube tutorial for sewing corners. Very straightforward without making you feel like you asked the dumb question lol

This was after I sewed up the sides and bottom and flipped the caddy right side out.

And, after I sewed partitions into the pocket to make four pockets.  I have my fabric marker, seam ripper, fabric scissors, tape measure and straight pins stored with plenty of room leftover! The whole project only took about two hours which I didn't think was bad considering a broken automatic needle threader and about 20 minutes spent fighting with the bobbin.   Until next time.... ~With ♥ from Halima

Sooo...this past month I really dove into my pursuit to learn how to sew. 

I found a couple of basic patterns on Craftsy and also took the suggestion of a friend and checked out Mimi G.  I was really excited about her because she has free, online classes which walk you through patterns.

This led me to my first trip to the fabric store. Where I spent three hours.  In my defense, not only did I have no idea what I was doing, but I had to touch all the gadgets I never knew existed. 



Don't mind the three-day old wash-n-go. Was going to do something cute, but was migraining for four days prior to this pic and suddenly it didn't seem so important lol

The first project I decided to try was a vintage headband.  Simple, right?? Just sewing in straight lines.  The first night I worked on it things moved slowly, but I walked away feeling confident I could pick this craft up in no time.  I printed and cut the pattern and fabric. Then I created the main seams.  Sat back to admire my handiwork and noticed the pieces looked a little shorter than the pattern's picture, but thought maybe it was the angle from which the photo was taken.  Or maybe because there were two pieces that needed to be put together, the length would work itself out.

The second night started off bad.  I sat down with all the confidence in the world, thinking all I had to do was spend a couple of minutes putting the finishing touches on the headband.  I started sewing and part way in, had to add more thread to the bobbin.  No problem.  I'm a pro at this now, didn't even need to consult the machine's manual this time.  Rethreaded the machine and it didn't take me two hours.  Not a single problem. Until, I got to the automatic needle threader which would not budge.  I'm not too proud to break the manual out again, even re-watch the YouTube video on how to work it.  Ok, I'm doing this right why won't it move?? Pushed it again, the plastic lever snapped off.  So, I threaded the machine needle by hand.  Inconvenient because now I had to check the machine's warranty and call Singer the next day, but one monkey don't stop the show. 

Infant baby turban

Finish the headband and it's infantile. By this I mean, if anybody needs a vintage headband for their newborn baby girl, I got you.  My first instinct was right, the pieces were way too short.  Re-consulted my pattern to see where I could have gone wrong.  The only thing I could find was a sentence that asked for the pattern to be placed on the fold of fabric.  When I was cutting, it didn't really make sense because the pattern called for two strips of fabric and I thought it'd be neater to just cut two separate pieces.  So, I took "fold of fabric" to be interchangeable with "edge of fabric."  But after making a teeny, tiny headband, I decided to Google and discovered the technique of folding fabric before you cut it to keep it symmetrical for designs that call for you to fold and sew them later. 

This story does have a happy ending though.  Luckily, I bought twice as much fabric as the pattern called for, so I was able to make a new headband that night.  And I spoke with Singer two days later and they've agreed to ship a replacement piece for the broken threader lever free of charge.

I've already moved on to my next project and am hoping my next 'What's Happening' post will be less lessons learned and more me showing off all my pro sewing skills.

In other news, I finished reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. I still think everyone needs to read this, but I do think it's target audience is extroverts that have a desire to better understand introverts and introverts who may not understand or be completely comfortable with their nature.  You can read my full review of it here.


And lastly, I started reading The Red Tent.  I'm going to hold off on giving any feedback because this post is already insanely long. 

I've gotten word that I should give progress updates on my craft projects, so stand by for that.  It'll let me be in touch  more, but it'll also keep my 'What's Happening' posts from turning into epic novels lol Also, you can get more updates from me on my Facebook page.  Or if you really need to know what's going on with me from moment to moment, I'm @midnytebloom on both Twitter and Instagram.

Until next time,

~With ♥ from Halima

     

I recently finished reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.  I was really excited to read this book based off of the title alone, but after completing it, can honestly say my socks weren't blown off.

As an introvert, I have spent countless hours inside my own head learning and trying to be true to myself.  So yea this book provided scientific evidence, but it was about stuff I already know and accept or want to change about myself.  Having data to back it didn't make me any more or less likely to do that though.

I'm happy ending kind of lady myself, so now that I've given you the bad news, I can move on to the good news.  The book is broken into four parts and every chapter in part one, The Extrovert Ideal, is outstanding.

• The Rise of the "Mighty Likeable Fellow" details the shift from the pre-1920s American ideal that the best personality attributes dealt with virtue to the standard that it was more important to be exude confidence and likability.  
• The Myth of Charismatic Leadership really hit home for me. It gave stories of how it feels to be an introvert in settings where extroversion is not only the standard, but where introversion is almost snubbed and not allowed.  It also spoke to one of my biggest pet peeves; just because someone says something loudly and with confidence does not mean they are right.  
• When Collaboration Kills Creativity also struck a chord with me because it addresses the need to set introverts up for success by not making us work in a cookie cutter setting that is meant to promote collaboration, but just ends up being overstimulating for us.

The other parts of the book were interesting but not as personally impactful.  They include: Your Biology, Your Self? which is basically the nature/nurture debate and how and how much we can expand our temperament; Do All Cultures Have An Extrovert Ideal which followed the cases of a couple of Asian American students who grew up in a California town where they were the majority and their respective cultures were largely intact.  Overall this meant have ambition, but you don't have to step on everyone around you to use it;

"Soft power is quiet persistence"

And the last section, How To Love, How To Work which was more of a how to guide - how to pull characteristics from your opposite type, how to communicate with the opposite type and how to raise introverted children.

A quote Cain provided near the end of the book brought everything full circle for me.  She said,

"Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it."

Simple words, but they needed to be said.  As an introvert, it's easy to allow your voice to be silenced because you get so exhausted from trying to be heard in such a loud culture. But we need encouragement like that to remind us that what we have to say is important too.

~ With ♥ from Halima