Rainy Pacific Northwest Playlist for those Rainy Pacific Northwest days

I love the Pacific Northwest. This quadfecta of states (it's a word!); Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon; has the best music, best people, best views, best EVERYTHNG. Now, I may be biased, but I have a theory. Part of my intoxication with the Northwest is the simply intoxicating scenery combined with the amazing music that seems to teem from these four states. It's been rainy recently - beautiful Northwestern Rain- so I put together a little mix of Northwesterny tunes together with various pictures from around the Northwest.

1. Furr- Blitzen Trapper: Portland, Oregon




2. No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses: Seattle, Washington

3. Pink Bullets- The Shins: Okay, this is cheating, because they formed in New Mexico...But they're based in Portland now!



4. Float On- Modest Mouse: Issaquah, Washington

5. Sixteen Military Wives- The Decemberists Portland, Oregon

6. Pop Song- Starfucker: Also known as Pyramiddd. From Portland, Oregon


7.Now We Can See- The Thermals Portland, Oregon

8. Throwin' Shapes - Minus the Bear Seattle, Washington

9.Albatross, Albatross, Albatross- Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band Seattle, Washington

10.Space Opera 77 Spokane, Washington (sorry for the quality...it's live)


Enjoy this small selection from a vast sea of wonderful music. What are your favorite Northwest bands?

-Katie

A little inspiration.

Here's a few awesome DIY/fashion/awesome websites that I get some of my inspiration from!

1) Threadbangers - This site has easy videos, a sweet blog, helpful forums and everything is so cool and interesting. It was definitely my catalyst for joining (if still slowly) the DIY movement.
2) Adventures in Dressmaking- This blog is...ADORABLE. Suzannah (is it weird that I call her by her first name...?) comes up with awesome ways to replicate expensive tees, tanks, dresses, skirts and more. This summer I will be definitely trying out some of her tutorials. So amazing.
3)Ravelry- Ravelry's a knitting website that's a worldwide community of knitters (ok, crocheters too!). It brings together patterns from all over and it shows what happened when other people tried the same patterns. It's search filters make it really easy to find the pattern you want and is really my go-to when I start knitting. If you're a knitter (where my stitches at?!) then you will love this site and if you've never picked up a pair of needles, go to your local craft store, pick up a pair, and find an easy pattern on Ravelry to try. I honestly can't rave enough.
4) Alisa Burke's Blog- Alisa Burke has a cool combination of tutorials, inspirational photos, daily musings and more that provide a good amount of inspiration. My favorites from her include a refashioned vest and a cute petticoat. Her style is fun, colorful, and a little bit messy which I totally love.

That's about it for now. What are your DIY inspirational go-to sites?

-Katie

soon to be a senior...

Katie is so inspiring - seriously! I've absolutely LOVED every single thing she's posted, (especially those hats, below, that I've been gushing over!), that I've been thus motivated to finally kick it into gear and POST AGAIN! :)   

I've finally decided what I'm going to plan for a bit of my Senior Project. You know those projects; the 'Final Culmination' projects that take weeks - months - to finish but are needed to grant you THE diploma.  Nick chose a 'Music/Inspiration' theme, but I'm going to go the more media-orientated route; a lookbook.

As you can tell from my other blog project, flower pony*, I've been obsessed with sewing recycled clothes, piecing together outfits, and taking photos like a fiend. What better way to use some of my photos than to piece them into a lookbook? I'm so excited to get started...here are a few shots I know I'll use:...

(shots from prom, of course...)

(handmade and self-altered tiedye)

(vintage pearls and handmade skirt)

(vintage denim shirt)

I can tell already that this project is going to take a LOT of time at the Kodak Printing Station...:)

Hats!

Ooooo....Hats! So I finally braved looped knitting needles and *drumroll* they weren't that scary! It's just like knitting, but faster...and easier. So less scary. My first project was a super cool slouchy beret, a pattern of which I picked up over at Ravelry, one of my new favorite project sites (but more on that later...). Anyways, the pattern can be found here BUT I have a few adjustments.
1) I used Thick and Quick Lion's Brand to get the gauge right and to knit these up thick...and quick...ok..self-explanatory.
2) I cast on between 55 and 65 stitches according to head size. I guessed and checked with some fixing at the ends so I don't have exact measurements...sorry!
3) Other than that I sort of used this pattern as a guide. I made a brim of about 7-10 rows (based on request by hat recipient) and I knitted the body until it looked about right, stopping with about 4 inches to go for the decrease.

Other than that, it was a really great pattern. It took me between 2 and 3 hours to do each hat and they were super cute. The fit is slouchy, fits on the back of the head and is perfect for gross hair days. I am selling them to friends for about $10 even! It was a quick and easy project that I HIGHLY reccomend for new knitters. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!




Knit on!
-Katie

Making a chic little headband.

I love those cute little feathery headbands, but the only ones I could find were selling for about $40...No thank you! So I hit up my local Joann Fabrics (I swear I'm putting Joann's children through college) and stumbled upon some materials to make my very own headband.

Tutorial:
Materials- Headband, glue, ribbon, feather, binder clips, jewels or other add-ons (this totalled around $10 for me)


1) Ok first you need to glue the ribbon to your headband. Work slowly,wrapping the ribbon around the headband in a spiral motion and adding glue as you work. Don't add to much or else it will bleed through. As you glue, attach binder clips to hold the ribbon in place while the glue dries. Let the glue dry



2) Now attach your feather. Mine came with felt backing, but if yours doesn't have that, I would reccomend adding it, so as not to clump the feathers. Clip a binder clip where you can to hold the feather in place. Now is when you would attach any other decoration to your headband.



3)Finally, where and show off your adorable headband!



Enjoy! More to come soon.

-Katie

Long time no blog!

Wow it's been a long time since I've posted. Sorry for the absence! I'm now officially done with AP tests (uggggghhhhh), the lacrosse season (FUN!), and am heading into the homestretch of the school year. I hopefully will be posting more from now on! I have a few projects to show off and maybe a story or two to share. More to come soon.


-Katie

Check it out

Check out Metropolitan Bait and Tackle. This video duo has been making videos for quite some time and I love their stuff. They have an online show called 'Old Friends' that is in its second season, and deservedly so. Each episode is around 3-4 minutes long: short, witty, and to the point. To top it all off, their shows feature some pretty awesome music. But don't just take my word for it, check them out and watch Season 1 and Season 2 of Old Friends.

(Here's a little sample)