My first tentative fight with my 7258 Stylist...

So, I'm getting a sewing machine from my parents for Christmas. I went to Hancock Fabrics to pick it out the other day. After debating with the manager and staring at the machines for about 45 minutes, my mom and I settled on the 7258 Stylist by Singer.

I'm pretty darn excited about it. So much so that I've already picked out my first project. It will be a pom pom pillow that was tutorialized here. I haven't decided what color scheme to go with or what I want to use it for. If the first specimen turns out well, I might go for a second run with a black/gold Mizzou theme.

Since this requires 12 yards of pom pom trim, I have been looking around online for a good wholesale site. That way, I figure the entire pillow will cost roughly $25. Otherwise, picking up the trim at a local fabric store could cost me an arm. I should have put pom pom trim on my Christmas list.

Mapping America

New York Times released an article reporting about the 2010 Census findings. The article is related to the finding that immigrants are now settling in suburbs instead of urban areas which was common in the past.

Attached to the article is a pretty cool interactive map. It depicts the ethnic background of the citizens in all of America's nieghborhoods and rural areas. For instance, my neighborhood "The Hill" zip code 63110 (census tract 1135) is 97% white, 2% black, 1% hispanic, 0% asian, 0% other. The neighborhood I grew up in and where my parents still live, Shaw Neighborhood, is the same postal zip code 63110 (census tract 1174). However, the breakdown there is 46% white, 45% black, 5% hispanic, 2% asian, 2% other.

These numbers are not surprising to me. The Hill is neighborhood that was established by Italian immigrants and is very heavily spotted with Italian grocery stores, bakeries, and restaurants. (My grandfather says the underground Italian Mafia tunnels are still in existence, even though they may not be utilized.) On the other hand, the Shaw Neighborhood does not scream one specific ethnic background. Neighbors are more open-minded as a whole and lower class citizens are given housing opportunities that are not often found in other parts of the city.

The above is the map of New York city, and the one below is Memphis. Both of these areas stir up conflicting emotions for me - belief in neighborhood and ethnic pride as well as optimism that one day neighborhoods won't be so ethnically segregated.

Looks of St. Louis

A mesmerizing depiction of casual daily living in St. Louis. Looks is the name of the company based in St. Louis that made the video. I love that they did not use any sounds of the city, only the background music, and that no individual emotions are captured - the only character is the City of St. Louis. My favorite part of the video comes at the end with the footage of the Forest Park balloon race which occurs every September. The colors are amazing and their use of speed in editing is so great!

Check out their videos of the Race for the Cure and the Gateway Cup (bike race) on their site as well.