Where I am?

I do not know who, if anyone reads my little blog. If there is someone out there I want you to know that your Home Girl is just fine. I have dragged my behind to the Fashion Institute of Technology. Wish me luck? This is the last week of classes. I will be back after Christmas with something new. I'm making some cosmetic cases I want to share.

So, Peace Out! for now.

Live on 125th Street

On 125th St there is a fellow crafter whose name is also Brandy.Our last names are practically the same. Mine has an "er" at the end.

Brandy makes some really cool hats and scarves. Take a look. At the moment she does not have a blog or online store. So you must come to NYC to get one. I forgot to mention how reasonably priced they are. I paid $4o for the set I bought last year and it's wool.

I think I'm going to get a brightly colored one this year.

This is the hat & scarf set I bought last year.

Election 2008

So, I voted this morning.

I wasn't sure if I was going to post about it today. But, feel that I must. The first time I voted was for Bill Clinton. It was exciting for me. At that time I was part of a population that did not vote in large numbers. The youth.

Well today everyone was out. Old, young, educated, street educated. There was 1 woman who had had her get right before she came out to vote. Home Girl sang Rehab by Amy Winehouse.

I knew there would be a possibility for a Black President but, I thought I would be an old woman. Well I'm not and the possibility is there. Tomorrow I will know if Obama is our President.

ZOOLANDER

Last night I was on the subway platform waiting for the uptown 3 express. The train pulls in I walk towards door and see someone I know. I make sure I get in the same car as his. All the while I'm thinking to myself, "I know this guy from somewhere. Maybe he's a dancer I've seen". So, I'm on the train and it comes to me "Zoolander". He catches me looking his way. I'm sitting about 7-10 feet away. I ask if he was in the movie Derek Zoolander. He mouths back to me, "Yes I was".

My next thoughts were. Damn you are such a nerd. Who recognizes a character from a movie who appears for about 5 minutes. Instead of going out on the weekends I'm watching Zoolander. However I really liked that movie. The other thing is that I never recognize celebrities. If it were a major celebrity I would have been like eeeww. They are only out and about because they want to be sighted.

This man played Mugatu's assistant. He gives Mugatu a frothy latte. Just now I googled him, it took me 10 minutes. I found him. Nathan Lee Graham.



Nathan Lee Graham played the role of "TODD" Mugatu's assistant. Mr. Graham has a website if you are interested. He has been working since Zoolander. Just so you know. I think he's very nice looking. Check out those eyebrows.

The State of Me!

I was walking to work this morning and began to think about myself in relation to myself and others. I have come to realize that I am a selfish person. Not in the sense that I have no regard for others but in the sense that I do not do what I do not want to do. No is easy for me to say in my personal life. For instance: I gave up a chance to earn extra money this weekend because I have to work on a project for school. Your "Home Girl" is hurting for some extra cash right now. However, I have committed myself to school and all my free time goes toward that. Especially since I procrastinate.

I work in the textile industry as a sort of Office Assistant, Sample Coordinator etc. We have a busy season coming upon us. I have just realized how much of my personal time I was spending at work. I'm in school 3 days per week. I have not had the time to complete projects lately. The reason? I use to leave work on average around 7pm (we close at 5pm). Now I told myself it was not a big deal because I got to check out the blogs I like to read etc. Well I now realize that I was doing some work too. It does not seem like work when you can take a break and go to que jimenez, spirit cloth, or what is now neo sew & co.

Also, I do not post here alot because I do not usually have pictures to share. I usually get the want to "blog" when I'm at work. I am better able to concentrate. At the moment it is 8 am. I came in early today because I have a lot of work to do and wanted to get my internet on before the day starts as I will not have time later.

On the picture front. I take all pictures at my camera's highest resolution. This means that all pics must be reduced before uploading. My pictures are usually over 25MB. I take my pictures at a high resolution because you never know what you will use them for in the future.

Bug Hunting Season

Take a look at these 2 lovely creatures of mine.

The other night I woke to find them playing with this. I was able to shoo Coolie away but, Olmo is just too curiously curious. That's Olmo's paw.

I threw it out the window. I hope it is the flying variety of bugs. Every now and again you will see an uncommon insect such as this in the city. I've only seen this baby on PBS.

Focus

I'm back in school at The Fashion Institute of technology. I'm shooting for a Graphic Design degree. It looks as though it will take 3.5 years just for the Associates even though I will not need to take any liberal arts classes. I'm not doing a lot of crafting these days and may not for some time. I am going to make this blog more of a general Brandy blog. So, I will be talking about all of my shenanigans. I'm going to change the banner too. look out yall.

I'm Scared!!!

Our economy could collapse any minute now. I wonder what is going to happen over the next few days, weeks, months.

Here are some terms to learn. I must learn them too.
Sub-Prime
Prime
Indexes
Write Downs
Sell Short
Dollar Value
Inflation

Apothecary?

Well I do not post a lot. I read a lot of blogs but, rarely comment. As a result I do not get a whole lot of traffic so I don't feel bad about not posting often.

Well, your "home girl" is about to take some classes at FIT. I hope to get a graphic design degree. Wish me luck. I already have a degree from FIT so I will not have to take liberal arts.

The latest issue of Domino came out and the "Peacock Hues" article really caught my eye. I'm not usually a jewel tone person so I had to seize the opportunity. I scanned it and came up with a color story based on the swatches. I hope to do a lot more with this in the coming week but wanted to share my inspiration with you. The September issue is all about color and I like to get magazines when the focus is color even though I feel as though I have a good color sense.





I sometimes put olive oil in my hair. So I decided to make myself some herb infused olive oil. Here's what I did. I bought lemon, lavender, and rosemary. Used a vegetable peeler to peel off the lemon rind. Careful to not get the pith(all the essential oils are in the skin). I put the lavender and rosemary in a ziploc bag and pound them to bruise the leaves and then put them in oil. After all this I looked up how to and found Solarkat's Eco Blog. It's a cool blog especially if you like natural products. I found that I'm not far off the mark. However, this way takes 3 to 6 weeks.

Here is my work station.

Here is side view!

Here is another side view!

Well that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Oh, Oh, Oh! P.S.
Here is a photo of my Olmo. I usually do not get to photograph him because he's so curious that he walks toward the camera.I caught him while he snuggled up next to me. It's a little blury due to camera shake(I don't like to use the flash) but, you can still see his gorgeousity.

Status Update

There are projects that need to be completed. There are also projects that need to be began. The trick for me is to find the balance. Unfortunately the time will not be now. I have 2 totes to complete and 3 cosmetic cases to start. I am only being paid $20.00 a piece for the 3 of them.

I started a new project without finishing the last 2 I started. I kinda like this one. I don't think I will do a lot of embellishing on this one though.

I'm so tired. I feel like a child who needs guidance. I made a Bechamel sauce today. I have a friend at work from India who has never had Mac & Cheese. I wish I would cook more, create more, be more. But, I just don't feel like it.

I went to the farmer's market on saturday and forgot my camera.

Wassup With Your Home Girl

I have had some visitor's lately and it has given me much Joy. So I would like to give a shout out to Jude, mart bright, and clevelandgirlie. Thanks for showing me some luv.

I made this cosmetic pouch using the Indian applique technique from Jude's "What If Blog". But you may already know that. It's What If #91: Indian Style Patchwork. There is a photo diary over at Flickr.

I really like Jude a lot. She has given me a lot of inspiration.


So tonight I spent a good amount of time uploading images. I take pictures with my camera on the largest file setting that way I can use these images in any way I like. I then save them in a folder unchanged and I save smaller photos in a different account for posting on the internet. This is very time consuming but worth it in the end. Unfortunately I have a cat who thinks that I'm petting the computer so he sits right in front of the key board. Right now Olmo(that's his name) is listening to someone clean the bathroom. So he is sitting on the floor facing the door. He doesn't like the brushing sound yet he is still curious. I don't like making the brushing sound so I hardly ever clean.

Here's a pic of my creature:

I have some more pictures to share of the farmer's market that I will write about later but you can go to flickr now if you want. I won't get mad.

A New Day....

The post below reflected a low point for me. I have them from time to time. However, I do feel better now. Anywho...... here's a pretty pic for all you visual creatures.

What I'm Dealing With.....

There were some dark thoughts here but I have since deleted them. No one was reading this blog and then boom 3 people are and for me that's alot.

Here are some pics of what I have been doing over the last five days.

Indian Applique

Metropolitan Museum Of Art with my niece

I Got Loot Baby!

Behold, free fabric. This is fabric that was no longer needed. So it made it's way to me. I really like it a lot.

In the Works

I thought it would be nice to post some pics of what I've been working on.

Two tote bags. The turquoise one is going to be large. Both sides will be embroidered but, I've only posted one side. The top image is a detail shot.




This black and pink one is the first one I started. It has appliqued flowers in addition to the embroidery. I'm thinking of doing a tutorial because I think this is a cool thing to do. It also adds more body to a bag made with quilt weight fabric.


I filled in one of the flowers completely with embroidery stitches. It's my favorite little detail.

Tag...MTV Cribs Style

Well I've been tagged by neo sew mama. I hope I do this right

1. Post the rules before the pictures/descriptions.
2. Take a few shots of what's hiding in your fridge..freezer...pantry...cupboards. The more the better.
3. You can either simply just include the pictures or even better give some description of what's in there...your favorites...where you shop..how (or how not) it's organized...and/or whatever else you want to include. The more info the better...yes...I like details!
4. NO tidying up! If you want to turn around things so you can see the labels thats fine...but no re-arranging or cleaning things up. The whole point is to see things the way they actually are...naturally. If there is nothing in your fridge show that... Just keep it real!
5. Keep the tag going. Pick 7 other bloggers to join in on the fun and tag them by including their names after your post and by leaving a comment on their blog letting them know they have been tagged. I think it would also be great if you would let the person who tagged you know once you have posted your pictures.

Well there isn't much.

This is all I've got in the pantry.

In the fridge you will find bell peppers, cucumbers, and eggs. I had some broccoli but, I was cooking it as I took these pictures. I love food. I mostly eat out which is bad for my health, and my body. I'm really over weight right now by about 40 lbs. I eat the junk I buy right away.


This is what I have in the way of tea. Earl Grey, and Chai. Right now I have Cocoa Spice on hand. I like the Yogi brand. My other favorites are Red Bush, and Sweet Thai Delight.

I usually shop at Whole Foods. I love Pirates Booty cheese puffs. I also love I think the brand is Kettle Chips barbecue and Spicy Thai.

I'm going to tagging my home girl Lisa.

Just Tired

Well I've wanted a camera for a long time and finally bought one a few months ago. However, it has not been any fun for me. Here's why. I get home from work around 8 or 9 pm and I'm tired. By the end of the week I'm burned out. Saturday I sleep in, and on Sunday I do chores. Man that's no life. Notice there is no mention of sewing, exercise, or romance. I'm totally tired. TOTALLY.

Last 'til After Market

Well, I'm off to Quilt Market on Friday. I hope to see, photograph, and report some new cool things.

Meanwhile back at Brandy quarters your home girl is not feeling so happy. It's hard to make yourself feel/appear upbeat when you're not. Your girl is feeling really depressed. I hope to feel better soon.

Also, I'm getting bored with the whole blogging thing. I feel as though I'm talking to no one. I'm an interesting person. I promise you.

Well I won't be back until the 24th or so anyway. I will miss visiting the blogs I love though.

I have 8gb of storage space so the rebel xti will get a thorough work out.

Roses

Well I made the following roses and have decided to offer them to you as a desk top image. The image is in repeat. If it is too small for your screen tile it and you will not see any seams. Just right click and save to your pictures.

A Long Time In Blogging

It has been a long time. I always ask myself why more people aren't stopping by. The answer is two fold: I don't make my presence known enough and I don't post enough. I posted 4 time in April. Well this month will be different. I promise! Even though I am going to be working a lot.

This past week has been totally crazy. Wednesday night I was too through. So after work I went to get some Indian food alone. My usual co-conspirator had a class at FIT. So I ate all the food alone. I eat at a little place called Curry in a Hurry. About 2 doors down is an Indian grocery store called Kalustyan's. This place has every spice under the sun.

Kalustyan's

Curry In A Hurry: Chicken Tikka Massala, mixed vegetable, and nan.


There is also a little Indian Fashion shop that I love to look in but have never bought anything from.

I have resolved to do more sewing. Last month was the first time I made anything in a little over a year. Last weekend I got halfway through two handbags. I hope to work on those more this weekend. Next week Friday I travel to Portland for Quilt Market. I want to make myself a bag to carry my clothes in and a bag to carry my PURCHASES in. I have this tote bag I made at least 2 years ago. Well the poor baby is falling about and my friend Lisa is talking mad smack about it so I must do something about it.

I recently took some fabric home. Every now and then I see something that I must have. I hope to post some pics tomorrow.

Les Gardins Des Brandies

I have no idea what language that is but, you get the idea. I bought these really cool sketch books a few years back. Since I have been a part of the "Your Inspiration" Book pool Flickr group I have felt the need to really put some stuff in it. I have been busy this past weekend. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get the images to a good viewing size but hope to remedy that by Saturday.

Here is one of the spreads from my book. I plan to make this one Garden Inspired. I'm totally feeling flowers right now. These are hard hard pages. The next step will be to make mood boards in Photoshop.

Started on Saturday the 12th Finished Today Tuesday the 15th

Well today is Saturday. What a day it's been! I just came back from the vet. Olmo is cool. Coolie has to make a number 2 but he needs some help. So The lovely Dr. Pagano gave him an enema.

Now it's Tuesday and he still has not made a big one and if he doesn't the Dr. will have to go in.

Sunday the 5th Mr. Coolie was rushed to the hospital. I can not afford a surgery. I couldn't afford the hospital or the Vet this past Saturday. The Dr. at the hospital didn't find anything but, I knew my baby was not well.

You know that bunny pattern over at the Purl Bee. Well I printed it out enlarged and plan to make a few as gifts for my nieces. I cut it out using a reproduction shirting fabric. I almost feel like pulling out the machine. I found that the shirt pattern is not symmetrical.

Well I have made the bunny here are some pictures of Olmo attacking it. I mad clothes too but I haven't taken a picture yet.

His work done Olmo moved on!

The Dead Bunny. To be revived later.

I uploaded some more pictures. Take a look.

UP Date

I'm sick these days. My cat Coolie had to be taken to the hospital on Sunday night so I've been busy. I will be sure to post up this weekend. I'm really tired these days.

Cooking For My-Self

Well last night was a busy night for me. I came home and cooked for myself. So, now I have food to last through Thursday. I made curry black beans with brown rice, and broccoli in garlic oil.

The goal is to cook at home more, and eat out a lot less. I go through this every so often. Let's see how it goes.





Tonight has been busy too. I came home took some pictures of some of the handbags I've made. I formatted them then uploaded to flickr. 90 minutes later here I am writing in my blog.

I showed my blog to my boss and her boss today and they loved it. So, of course I left the office feeling really good about myself. I wanted to wait until I really had my blog set up nicely before showing it to anyone. I showed to Lisa of Cultured Expressions and she liked it too. Lisa is trying to get me to do more with my crafting.

It's really busy at work these days too. Oh, well I'll get through it.

MOTIVATION

This is something I have a hard time with. It's very hard for me to even get out of bed on most days. Every day I tell myself, "ok this is what you are going to do today". And you know what I never do. Unless I must, like no clean clothes: do the laundry, can't afford to eat out: cook food.

You want to hear something funny. I eat McDonald's. Yes I know it's bad but, I can't help my self. So here's the funny part. I rarely buy processed foods at the grocery store. You will never see "Lean Cuisine", "Hot Pockets" or any other types of these things in my refrigerator. Nope. I like to feel like I'm doing something good for myself when I cook for me. When I go out though It's party time.

Test Shots

I went out with the new camera today. I wanted to get the last remaining light. I just went to the corner of my block. Harlem is just full of beautiful architecture.

This one is just some bare branches. I love bare branches. Whenever I see them in at the florists I want to bring some home.


The ones below are of the church across the street from my building. There are more but when you take digital images you have to manipulate them in order to upload them.


Oh! One more. There are 2 special men in my life: Olmo & Coolie. Olmo is hard to photograph so here is coolie. Coolie weighs about 15-18 lbs. So, he's a big boy.

EOS Canon Rebel XTi

It arrived today. Too bad it's Monday cause I will not be able to devote a lot of time to it today. But, this weekend I'm going out.

I am so happy right now.

Weekend Work

weekend work
Originally uploaded by brandybwine

I have been wanting to do some embellishing with the yellow fabric for some time now. This will be the weekend for me. The blue is quilted. I'm going to use it to line a handbag I cut out. I scored the tie-dye pieces by being in the right place at the right time.

Any who, I don't feel like going home. I'm gonna do one more thing then go to the new kinokuniya store that opened up the street.

Camera Update

My camera has shipped. Well, not actually but, Amazon has sent the shipping info to the shipping company. So, I will be tracking it like every minute. Join me as I pray it will be here by Friday.

My Work Situation

Wow! I am being overcome with fabric in my work space. I wish I could just wave a magic wand and make it disappear. My room at home is becoming that way too. What's a girl to do? I don't know. I cannot take pictures of my work space but I can of my home space. So when the camera comes I will photograph it.

Whew! I must now get to work.

Papparazzo!

Well I finally ordered the camera I've been obsessing over for at least 8 months. It should be in my hands by Tuesday the 18th of March.

Neo Sew Mama inspired me to get it after her camera's LCD screen died. I'm getting the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi.

New! Camera

The camera that I've wanted for the longest is now on it's way. I'm so happy.

Re-Thinking

This Blog was initially set up to document my crafts. Well, as I have not been very creative nor do I have a camera, I've decided to write about Brandy. Maybe I will get that camera and post pictures too. Who knows!

Vintage China For Tea

Wow! I've been spotting this in a few places. First in the current issue of Domino and now on various blogs. I guess I will be going to the last few remaining Flea Markets here in the city next weekend to look for some? It's always mix matched but, that appears to be the style.

Well it's time to get ready for the Complete Jane Austin on Channel 13.