It was rainy when we landed in Frankfurt and even rainier when we got off the train in Bonn. So all of my pictures are a bit grey and rainy. I mostly took photos of my food, but here are a few other photos I took with my iPhone.
Modern art in historic square
Dinosaurs at the Frankfurt Airport
Not sure what happened to these two
I was in Germany for a few days for work. We don’t have much free time on these trips. I was in meetings from 9-7 both days and had working meals most of the time. So one way I get to see a little more of the city and get some exercise is to go for a run each morning. Since I was also battling jet lag I only did about 2.5 miles each day. I ran along the Rhine River on a very nice path that was much wider than the ones we have in the DC area. There was a clear area for bikes and a wide enough area for runners and walkers. The weather was a cool 55-65 degrees the whole time I was there, which was perfect for running and not too bad for being inside in meetings most of the time. I ended each run at a bakery where I bought a breakfast sandwich and cappuccino. The sandwich was amazing, thick German bread, lettuce, cheese, salami, and the best part is they butter the bread.
When I travel I try to fit in with the locals. I’m probably not good at this at all, but I like to believe no one can tell I’m a tourist. The last few trips I took I pretty successfully carried my camera in a larger purse. The zipper broke on the large purse I used when I went to Amsterdam so I went shopping for a new one. I found a pretty brown fossil bag at Macy’s that is a great size. Most bags were either HUGE or tiny, so I was happy when Brian spotted this one.
I’d been thinking of making some type of protective camera holder for my purse for a while (like since I got my camera over two years ago), but I never quite got around to it. So for this trip I decided to make it happen. After a few searches on Google and Pinterest I found a few examples, but nothing I wanted to copy. There were a few examples of more elaborate camera holders made by covering foam with fabric. With these in mind I set to make my own pattern.
I made some bags with a flat bottom for Christmas gifts last year, so I used the same premise to make the flat bottom. I sketched out my design on newspaper, but when I assembled the pattern it seemed a little big. So I shaved off a half-inch of depth. I basically made a 8x5x5 cuboid by adding a 1/4 inch seam allowance on each edge that would be sewn.
I cut out four pieces of the pattern material and two of the batting. I used a pretty thin batting because that is what I had in the craft cabinet, but if I was shopping specifically for this project I might buy something a little thicker or fluffier or even a thin foam. The box is made by sewing the sides and bottom of the lining material, then diagonally to sew the bottom corners. I did the same with the exterior fabric and batting. I put right sides together and sewed the pieces together, leaving a hole for turning. I did a quick hidden stitch to finish it off. After finishing I realized it might be easier/cleaner to leave a hole in the bottom to turn, but you decide.
I’m happy with the result. It fits nicely in my purse with room left for my wallet and other necessities. There is also room in the cuboid for both my lenses if I decide to carry them both around. Its not enough protection for dropping my camera off the Eiffel Tower, but plenty of protection from keys, coins, lip gloss, and gentle bumps.
In preparation for our trip to Europe in a few weeks I purchased a new lens for my Canon DSLR camera. I just had the kit lens and wanted to get something with a little more zoom. I ended up buying a 55-250mm used from a nice local camera shop in Dupont. Yesterday Brian and I walked down to the mall to try out the zoom. We ended the day at the Nationals-Rockies game so I had another great opportunity to try out the zoom. I was impressed! We were standing above center field and I could practically call pitches.
This shirt was one of my inspiration-to-finished product in 48 hours activity. I have been seeing a lot of shirts with the cross and four letters. Some were for weddings using the couples initials and some were for cities with short names. I decided to use the word MAKE to celebrate the start of my new blog.
I used SketchBookExpress for design. I saved the design as a pdf and printed it at 150%, which printed out on four sheets of paper. So after a little cutting and taping I had my enlarged design. I think you can print directly on freezer paper… but I don’t have my own printer. So I put my design under the freezer paper and traced my design. Make sure you put wax side down for this. I cut the design out with an X-acto knife.
For the shirt I stopped by Forever 21 during my lunch break. I debated going to American Apparel, but it was 95 degrees and Forever 21 was a bit closer. I found some great shirts though so it was a smart choice. I picked up two heather crew neck shirts and a grey v-neck. Its no secret that I love turquoise so I chose the blue-green shirt to try my first design. I washed and dried the shirts first to make sure they didn’t shrink after I put a design on the front.
Since freezer paper is coated with wax you can iron it on to your shirt. I made sure to turn the steam off and carefully ironed the stencil on to my shirt. I had some fabric paint and foam paintbrushes in my craft cabinet so I went with what I had. A brush with a flatter end, might work better, but without much trouble I painted my design.
I waited 24 hours before removing the stencil. It stuck a little around the paint, but came up pretty cleanly. I am really happy with how clean the edges look. I let you know how it survives a wash, but now I’m making my next design!
Hi all! Around June last year I fell off my blogging game…. big time. It was summer, I was in a new relationship, and my blog of 7 years didn’t seem to fit me that well anymore. The year break, save for a few race recaps was what I needed.
My new blog will be more focused, organized, and fun! Join me each week as I make, take, and gait.
Make: Tutorials and more of the sewing, printing, cooking, quilting, knitting, beading, baking, and whatever else I get the urge to try.
Take: I’ll be sharing some photos I take while walking around DC and anywhere else I happen to be.
Gait: Some race recaps and hopefully a whole lot of fun exercise events and experiments.
make, take, and gait 