The Ultimate Vanity--Viquena's Blog

Christmas Dress! Still can't make things fit...

2012-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

I made a dress for Christmas! Actually I made a dress that I mostly finished in October or early November but never finished fitting until December 24th. That way I could wear it to midnight mass to look great for my walk of shame out of the Cathedral. (Don't look at me, it wasn't my fault!) Pictures of this scandalous dress are few and those I do have are oddly lit, but hopefully you'll get the idea...

Disregard my rumples--I just got off work.

I used Butterick 6582 (the same I used for Jenn's wiggle dress that she NEVER GAVE ME PICTURES OF) and layered this ~carnelian red lace/cutout fabric hybrid--it's too sturdy to be lace but too hole-y to be a cutout fabric, is there another name for it?--with a nubby, tawny boucle-type wool blend that I shrank the dickens out of. It can't get much smaller! Here's a mega-close-up of the fabric.

Yeah! You don't know what part of the dress this is! It is like one of those pictures that you keep zooming out of until you figure out that it was a super-close-up of an old milkshake.

For a wiggle dress, it is surprisingly roomy. What that really means is that I still don't have the fit issues worked out. It might be a fabric selection issue or my determined nature to only make things in the wrong size, but it seems unavoidable. I keep hoping that I'll outgrow my mismeasuring/sewing stage. Heck, I can bike in this "wiggle" dress, that is wrong on ten levels! Also, check this out.

It's not a tumor.

What is with that shoulder lift? Looks like I need to do some minor disassembly, poke around there with a chopstick, then press that seam into the suburbs of Sacramento. Citrus Heights, I'm coming for you!

Without the protective sweater; with the protective dog.

Hopefully I'll be able to post the "2011 in review" summary soon. Stay tuned! If things get really crazy, I might even let you know what I've been doing in 2012!

Rainbow Collection: Michelle's Birds-in-Your-Head Green Laptop Bag

2012-01-31T22:52:00.000-08:00

I need to tie up Christmas stuff! Here goes...

Since Michelle normally negotiates for clothes all year long, I decided that I wasn't going to make her a dress or pantsuit or day-glo pantaloons. She had recently purchased a laptop, meaning she could once more go out and about and compute. "Excellent!," I thought, "I'll make a super-cute bag to lure her to coffee shops and parks and discotheques! Maybe she could even bring Olive along!"

Or not...

Then this seemingly innocuous laptop bag ate up the better part of November's craft time. I was following a How Joyful tutorial re-blogged by Craft: from Sew, Mama, Sew! I read through it a time or two with the diligence of a room full of Labrador puppies and figured I'd be good to go. It's a bag. Come on. Yeah. There were some...kinks to be worked out, especially with the amount of batting to be sewn into the handles and the final cut size of the foam padding that is built into the pockets and I'd rather not recall the bear that was turning the entire bag right-side-out through a two-inch opening. It became a huge trial because that cursed bag got in my head! Maybe it was me, I don't know, but I felt like there were parts when I should have just abandoned the instructions and followed my gut. I stalled and stalled and cursed and broke ~ five needles (those handles were death on my needles!) and finally wrapped it up with cattish finality on December 1st. By that point it was all I could do to trim the loose threads. I have enough extra foam and batting to give a go at another laptop bag (or something else with foam and batting), so we'll see how mouthy and irritable I am after that.

Never buy fat quarters unless you want to make quilts or really awesome laptop bag pockets!

All deprecation aside, the good part about this project was that it finally gave me a project to use a bunch of my smaller prized fabrics on. The inner pockets were made of some of my favorite quilting fat quarters and the outer shell was this (2009?) Echino fabric leftover from Bryce's wall hanging/curtain. The yellow handles and accent pieces were remnants from Michelle's yellow playsuit.

All in all, it is a nice little bag that should provide some level of protection to Burnt Chicken (Michelle's laptop). So though I didn't make an outfit, the level of intensity for this project certainly fulfills the Rainbow Collection: Green criteria. Besides, it looks dang good on Timber.

Technophobic dog says, "Get that laptop away from me!"

Huzzah!

Claire's Summer Fun Dress! in December

2011-12-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Yay for summer dresses in December! It really gives you something to hope for, since I've had summer on my brain in an incapacitating way for the past month. How is it in the 20s at night? How is that POSSIBLE?! Anyhow, Claire has long been talking about dresses of mine that she likes, specifically my 50s party dress. My goal had been to make her a version of that dress until I realized that I didn't have the pattern in her size. Dangs. The plan shifted into making a version of Burda Style 108 (March 2011), with the seam allowances included, unlike my last duel with this pattern.

more pictures from my porch, such class!

This fabric was a gift from Michelle as a thank you for sewing her a number of things. Can you picture it as something other than a spring-in-your-step dress? I can't. The original dress pattern called for a bubble skirt, but that seems a little silly on a grown woman. Instead, I cut the pattern pieces in the recommended length (a rather short and kicky 21 inches, ee!), gathered the tops and sewed it to the bodice. The hem is basic, as in without horsehair braid because I felt it would give too much lift to an already short skirt. Without the horsehair braid, the skirt falls about four inches above Claire's knees.

Gathering skirts is something I should put on my resume...

The dress fits her pretty well (no photographic proof, just trust me), gives her hips and everything! Now if only it would warm up a solid 60 degrees.

These photos were taken at the 11th hour, aka right before I wrapped this gift on December 24th.

Rainbow Collection: Bethie's White Eyelet top

2011-12-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

This may be a first for me--Bethie seemed to like her Christmas gift. WHAT?!

This eyelet top has been in my brain for a while. The fabric was picked up at a sale in a storage unit in Davis from when Riki was...selling fabric, I don't remember the line of reasoning behind it. This was probably the most usable piece of fabric I bought that day (what am I going to do with that army green wave design?) in spite of it being a smaller piece; I originally planned on making a dress for Stella, thinking that Beth would be crazy about it. I kept not making the dress and eventually adjusted my goal to make a top for Beth, which I imagined would pair perfectly with a dark grey cardigan (neutral colors to achieve her goal of looking French). I'd made the Sorbetto earlier this summer for a hangouts top and had originally planned to make the eyelet into a tank top, but it seemed like the right thing to do to slap some sleeves on it and make a delicate yet casual short-sleeved shirt. Claire of Sew, Incidentally drafted a pattern for sleeves for the Sorbetto and shared it on the Sew Weekly, so I was set.

I paired the eyelet with some tannish-gold liner fabric to provide much-needed modesty while giving the illusion of showing bare skin. Construction was not too complicated, but the lining caused some strife. The Sorbetto is not usually lined and I improvised on using the lining as facing, so there were some imbalances when I tried to affix the lining around the armholes to the shell fabric and sleeves. Specifically, the sleevehole lining came up higher than the sleevehole shell fabric, which was ugly and led me to curse and seam rip and curse some more. The only way I knew to solve the issues that rose out of using the lining as facing was to topstitch the hell out of everything--the neck opening and sleeves are topstitched into oblivion. Note to others: consider how fabric shifts when you're using lining as facing!

You've been topstitched!

I hereby declare that this top fulfills my Rainbow Collection: White requirement! I wonder if I have enough of this eyelet to make another Sorbetto...

Christmas is over, thank heavens...

2011-12-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

It is a tremendous relief to have Christmas behind me--all of December was lost to sewing, worrying about sewing, preparing to sew, and breaking needles. I break the most needles at Christmas. Especially on Michelle's gift, which took out a pack of needles.

I made lavender sachets to accompany most of my gifts (homemade and bought) this year, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. The sachets are a great scrap-busting project! I have leftover lavender if anyone wants another (or a first) sachet to put in your drawers or with your laundry as it dries, drop me a line if you would like one.

I'll post pictures of some of the things I made over the next couple of days, though I sadly did not get a picture of Cate's Janet-Leigh-in-Bye-Bye-Birdie-inspired nightie (from Simplicity 2749),

I used the 3rd version, naturally.

paired with the mini-Madeleine bloomers, nor of Chris's ranch bed pocket from Simple Sewing (now with more pockets than ever!); aside from those omissions, I think I got photos of all the handmade items. Better than all of that, I only used fabric in my stash as part of the big fabric destashing effort. Huzzah!

Totally Premature Rejoicing!

2011-11-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

Yes! I finished one Christmas gift already and I'm almost through another one. To make sure I took care of the most important things first, I made a gift for a very demanding recipient who would surely give me hell if I did not give them something wonderful and amazing for Christmas.

I played a dangerous game, placing a skirt so close to Olive's back end...quite a gamble.

Yes, I made a skirt for lil' nine-year old Stella, who doesn't seem to really know when I gave her something and when I ducked out of a gift-giving situation and just showed up for cake. Anyhow, I figured it was safe to post this because Stella doesn't seem to do much on the internet, and even if she did, she'd probably forget about her gift before Christmas.

This skirt was based off the tutorial on Sew Delicious for a little version of a skirt seen on Peggy from "Mad Men", which should also apply to making grown-up sized skirts if you're so inclined. The denim is from an old pair of jeans that I wore through (finally, something to do with those other than denim-bottomed bags!), and the fabric is something that Eschy bought a couple of years back at Bolt for me to use on an Anna Tunic for her. The buttons...

The buttons are from the Ephemeral Mailbox Museum from a time before I really knew how to buy notions. They're adorable and and I love them, but since I'm not as whimsical with my clothing as I originally thought, I've had a hell of a time figuring out how to use glittered cupcake buttons. Don't even get me started on how I'm supposed to use the glittered scissor buttons in the same fashion...

So, not a bad start to the season, right? Right. Hopefully I don't go on a sewing strike until December 15th just to bring myself to the appropriate stress level. I hate my subconscious balancing acts.

Bad weather coming your way

2011-10-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I finally fulfilled my dream of being a tornado for Halloween! One pack of assorted farm animals from Rite-Aid (~$6) and your existing set of black clothes and you've got yourself a gift-card winning costume! Farm animals, Chris's miniature train tracks and trees, and some of my bike pins were among the items to get swept up in the dervish known as Victoria on Halloween-Monday. Things to know if you ever make your own tornado costume: a skirt is probably a better idea because the debris on my legs kept getting tangled, and make the strings on your legs shorter so they can't get tangled! I lost some of the items just walking around the office, so don't be super attached to any of your debris. Oh, and be ready to spin ALL DAY LONG. Still dizzy.

Here it is in action:

In other news, I made Jenn a black and white houndstooth-type dress in this pattern this past month, fulfilling my new year's resolution, and a fabric destash as well.

Compliments: Butterick.McCall.com

I used the black version with the bows as the selected model. I made a huge mistake in not taking her picture when she tried it on at my house, as the louse refused to send me any pictures from the party she wore it to. I'll get her yet. For the record, the pattern calls for interfacing on the bows, but that made them waaaay too stiff and I had to hand-tack them to the dress so they wouldn't poke people's eyes out. I would not do the interfacing on the bows again. Her friend Sara had the same dress made for her in blue taffeta (Mad Men party, if you're wondering), minus the bows. Tres chic! At the very worst, I'll be able to report on my version, which is a brown/gold linen blend with a red lace overlay, no bows. I need to hem that beast and document it! I kind of want to wear it to the bazaar on Saturday, so I better get moving. Unfortunately, I'm getting sick as we speak. dangs.

September Blues

2011-10-02T01:14:00.000-07:00

September passed with a whisper. The entire month was lost to me, a transition month that failed to take me from summer to fall. September (and summer?) are gone now, and I don't feel that I have much to show for it aside from a lot of work-related stress. Though I feel like I fell back on my destashing project, I did manage some sewing in there: I made a long-overdue tote bag for Jenn, finished Merril's bloomers from the KDVS fundraiser, tackled a thrift store project, and thoroughly muffed up a Burda-style shirt (still trying to figure that one out). Since you saw a slew of bloomers earlier this year, and Jenn's tote was a duplicate of the gift exchange tote (though her version is lined and has pockets inside!), I'll show you two other projects I have pictures of, one of them a long time coming. And they're both blue!

Of course I could teach you macrame!

I got this dress at the thrift store for a dollar. It had some unsightly stains hip-level and the length was...questionable. It had a post-prairie missionary feel to me, but check out that border print! It definitely called for the skirt to be removed, shortened, and reattached.

Success!

Back in June, I complained heartily about making Michelle's maid-of-honor dress for Clara's wedding because the netting was such a nightmare. I sewed until my fingers bled--not exaggerating, I had to wear gloves and bandaids to keep from staining my powdery blue tormentor. But it turned out really well! (and I should hope so after the muslins and fittings and general anxiety) Here are some shots from a different wedding earlier tonight...

What is Michelle's exclamation lately? You know, it is shouted at parties, texted...hrm.

This was my second round using horsehair braid on the hem. It is still wiley and less-than-cooperative, but the effect is lovely and I *think* my technique is getting better. (it gives the bottom of the skirt that rolling body)

I was reminded tonight that the original inspiration for this dress was a lacey Erdem number, which tells me that I need to look at more fashion magazines/websites so I can strive to replicate (and re-interpret) notable things. I need to constantly remind myself of that.

Extreme close-up!

And that Burda style shirt...shis. What happened there? Well, first of all there were some ill-placed buttonholes, and the fabric might be less than ideal for the pattern (left over blue fabric from this dress)...you know what, I'm going to try to fix it. I'll let you know in a month or so if that worked out. Technically, it was my September clothing item to fulfill my resolution, but it needs more work if I'm going to ever wear it without a self-loathing grimace. Like I said, I'll get back to you on that.

Happy October!

Rainbow Collection: Blue Beignet Skirt

2011-08-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

Whee! I finally finished Rainbow Collection: Blue! (It also counts as my "August" item of clothing) We'll say that it is finished, though it is missing belt loops. I really wanted to be able to wear it for my Wednesday meetings on the 24th (after failing to meet my "wear the skirt to my meetings on the 15th. No? How about the 17th. No? How about the 23rd. No?" goals), so I set those scraps aside and called it a cake. Maybe I'll stitch them on later today if I'm not at the river.

Lunch break! Very bright! (Chris was right)

This fabric was purchased as remnant fabric from Britex last November. Even back then I was planning to use it for this skirt pattern or something similar. There was less than a yard of the linen, so there weren't too many other options. Finally, I would have a high-waisted skirt that was meant to be high-waisted instead of a skirt that crept up until you were forced to call it high-wasted. I've got too many of those...

No real comments on the Colette Beignet. It worked out pretty well, even installing the lining (which was snaky and sneaky and slipping all over the place). The skirt seems to have some stubborn stiffness along the button placket, but that is probably because I used too-stiff of an interfacing. The coolest part about the skirt is the button selection. Check it out!

I ordered these from LiDDesigns after becoming thoroughly disappointed with the selection of U.S. shippable buttons. The products from Thailand and Korea were interesting, but how long does it take for something to ship from those parts of Asia? I have enough delays without factoring long shipping times in! Anyhow, the buttons are perfect for the skirt and make sewing a worthwhile endeavor. Has anyone else had a hell of a time finding notions that complement your awesome creations?

This statue is right by my work in an art-walk corridor. Judging by the girth of her hips, I bet this statue has to make her own clothes, too.

The skirt will be great in the winter because it is surprisingly warm (unwelcome August discovery). Next on the list, I'm going to work on a "purple" challenge. I just dug out all of my purple fabric and found that a) I don't have much yardage of purple fabric, in spite of it being "my" color, and b) most of the fabric I do have is leftover satin from wedding projects. Someone should shoot me.

Project delay and other news

2011-08-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Work has been exhaustingly busy and I haven't had much time for recreational activities, so I've been working on "Project Rainbow Collection: Blue" off and on since the start of August. I finally got to a good point on the project (only buttonholes and buttons remain!), when I became 95% sure that I made it a size too small. So, let's delay that drama, shall we? Here are some other cool things that have been going on.

My street got bike lanes last Thursday! The City just came out and striped over the course of two days, no re-design necessary because our street was rather wide from the get-go.

You can still see the shiny reflector stuff all over the street. If anyone is heading to Burning Man, you should come roll on our bike lanes first!

Uncle Mark (Chris's side) brought us some dates back from UAE. They are much sweeter and stickier than the Medjool dates we're used to over here. They are wonderful!

Forty-five silver bullets lurk in the shadow of our fridge. "Aw," you may say, "that's not that many!"...

...except that there are twenty more in the fridge. Thank you, rafting!

I got these bundles of fabric at the Verge Arts Center Jumble Sale two weeks back for about $3. I washed five of the bundles yesterday all is well. The red and white bundle has some print errors on it (smudgey and confused like a sugar-hyped kindergartener finger-painting), but the others have decent yardage and are in good shape!

And let us mourn the loss of Buttons. Buttons died a violent truck-door death yesterday at 7PM. Buttons, you were a good iTouch and I really enjoyed my time with you. I'm so glad that I won you in that workplace raffle and that we had fun together. I'll miss you.

Rainbow Collection: Orange Paisley Sorbetto Tank

2011-08-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

This project is the summer top I was deliberating over after I completed Rainbow Collection: Yellow Playsuit. The fabric is a light and airy partial synthetic that I picked up at a garage sale--judging by the pleats and wide hem this remnant came with, I would say that it had a previous life as someone's curtains. I'm a sucker for reusing and paisley (and curtains!), so the whole scene was perfect! Which is why this top kills me...

You can't tell, but this log I'm balancing on is elevated off the ground Dirty Dancing style. Except for it isn't over any water.

They say the measurements don't lie. Or do they? I think my measurements lie much more convincingly than I'm ever able to. They don't start smiling and giggling, nor does their voice raise several octaves. My measurements say size 12 on sewing patterns, yet this top was cut to be a size 10 and still appears to be blousy-weird. It isn't so bad that I have to give the top away to someone, but it is just enough to irritate me slightly. My sizing expectations are based on Mena's experience with this pattern, and her stuff always seems to fit perfectly. Dag.

The basic form of the Sorbetto top.

I had entertained the idea of beading this top...some small gold beads to outline random paisley squiggles, but I opted against it. I decided that beading--though crazy fun like Nic Cage--would have weighed it down and possibly looked out of place on such a beach-sunset tank. I still have future plans for this pattern and lace, though...

Branches in my hair! Hair in my branches!

The next time I make the Sorbetto, I'll size it down a notch then maybe add some sleeves? Little tulip sleeves? I won't be happy until I have a top that get's caught on my load-bearing shoulders! Oh, and these pictures were taken (at dusk, because I procrastinate) in Pinecrest last weekend. Why am I not still there? I should be swimming!

Up next, I think it is finally time to make a skirt. I tell ya, I've been looking like a dog-catcher at work, time to add some work-appropriate items to the closet!

Black, Red, and Tan Party Dress!

2011-07-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

This party dress has been two years in the making! Not two active years, but two years filled with longing looks (you know, the sort that you gave that sandwich earlier today) and exaggerated sighs. "Oh imagined dress...when will we be together?" The answer the fabric always provided was, "Shut up and start sewing already!" I took this abuse from a (beautiful and charming) piece of fabric for TWO YEARS. I had put the fabric on a pedestal and I suffered mightily.

I'm just stoked to be here!

What makes this fabric (from Preet, natch) so awesome and worthy of two years of reverence would be that festive, vibrant border of not just flowers, but also scallops! Because this seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a hemmed skirt and a mess of appliqué completed without me lifting a finger, I was holding off on using the fabric, not wanting to spoil it with my normal mishmash of mis-sizing, wobbly seams, and hard cider.

So, flashback a month to mid-June. I'd been working my fingers past that first somewhat-unnecessary layer of skin to complete Michelle's dress (a future post, I promise!) in time for Clara and Brendan's wedding. It was the day before Chris and I flew out to St. Louis and I had no idea what to wear for the wedding. I bargained with myself. "You did such a good job on Michelle's dress, you DESERVE to go by something new!" I fully intended to hit up Sugar Shack with a purpose after work on Thursday evening. Then I ended up working until 7 and the store closed before I got my shop on. Sugar Shack waits for no man.

I wandered about the house, a puddle of despair seeping from one room to the next, wailing, "What am I going to wear!?" Chris, crazed man that he is, suggested, "Why don't you make something?" Because we both know that I am so skilled at whipping out perfectly-sized dresses in short amounts of time. In fact, as soon as the words escaped Chris's mouth, he looked like he had struck an infant: "what have I done?" However, I was just despondent enough to go for it!

I flipped through a mess of Burda Styles trying to find something that would work for the wedding and dug up dress pattern 108 from the March Issue. It was conveniently included in a wedding spread, in case anyone was having trouble figuring where you would wear a bubble skirt. Weddings and proms, folks!

They're bubble skirts...for a party!

Though I'm a closet fan of bubble skirts, this dress would have no such party at the knees; it would have a gathered poufy skirt starting somewhere near where most people have a waist. It would make the most of those pretty flowers and delicate scallops! Then stuff happened.

First off, they didn't have my size listed--the highest size they did have for this dress came within centimeters of my measurements, so I figured it would work out well enough. I traced the pattern from the magazine and cut out the skirt, then sewed up the side seams to form a large rectangle with an open top and bottom. I then readied the fabric (not much left at that point) to cut out the the bodice pieces. I cut them. Then I remembered that Burda Style does factor seam allowances into their patterns. I can't type what I said.

Hair in motion, dress in motion!

I didn't have enough fabric to cut out new bodice pieces, so I had to force the cut pieces to work in spite of their torso-hatin' ways. That is why the lines of the dress bodice don't look a whole lot like the lines on the pattern sketch above--the V in the back is much deeper and wider, the neckline more boatnecky. Also, the fabric was a heck of a lot more sheer than I ever knew...it needed to be lined and I didn't have anything that would fit that bill. In most lighting, you can see the polka-dot fabric showing through the bodice. However, all of these oddball flaws are quite dear to me and add to its eccentric charm.

Never giving this belt back to Michelle. Never!

Sadly, I don't think this dress is long for this world. I damaged the fabric by ironing it with a too-high heat setting, so there are fractious sections on the brink of deterioration. That was a lesson I would have really preferred to not learn the hard way.

These pictures were taken in front of the Governor's Mansion on 14th and H. Sadly, it is on the list of state parks to be closed by 2012. Fortunately, it is still open for the summer! Someone should go with me! Anyone interested? Or we can go look at our feet in front of the mansion, your call.

Very important shoe discussion

Rainbow Collection: Yellow Playsuit (for Mishunky)

2011-07-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

AWESOME! I have now completed my "yellow" requirement. This was kind of a cop-out because my yellow mission was pre-determined--Michelle bought this fabric in early June (along with some other no-strings-attached fabric) and demanded a playsuit. Well, a playsuit she shall have!

Disaffected? Disinterested? Pensive? Furious? Lost?

She demanded a playsuit after I completed the turquoise playsuit from March. The benefit of having made this pattern before is that I had a better handle on the sizing this time. You might notice that it...ya know, fits. We stuck with the Colette Rooibos (wonderful stuff!) and a sturdy yellow linen-like material from JoAnn's. The blue and white contrast fabric is also from JoAnns from some wonderful sale that was going on when we stopped by for notions for her bridesmaid dress. The blue and white contrast fabric is a little on the sheer side (I am forming plans for its next use!) and super soft like a face full of puppy bellies, but without the puppy breath or needle-like teeth. Pile-of-puppy fabric.

Close up of the contrast fabric on the neck.

In other exciting news, I finally used my double needle! It was rather easy, too! That wasn't a surprise, since I had read about how it is a really easy technique to make hems look more decorative; however, I used the double needle because my belief is that two rows of stitching are sturdier than one. Playsuits should be as strong as my will to eat chocolate!

Victory!

Thus, I declare Rainbow Collection: Yellow Playsuit a success! Doesn't she look like a daffodil of a geography teacher?

So much sass for one geography teacher...

Next up, I was planning on making a blue skirt from this linen I've had since last November...then I wore a particularly ugly shirt to work today with my suit. I also happened across this free pattern and though I'm not crazy on the pink there, I imagine many of my sheer fabrics would light up this pattern and make something box-of-crayons-wonderful to fulfill the "top-bits-covered" requirement of suit-wearing. With a slip, naturally--I ain't no sexretary!

What do you think should come first? Skirt that I've been talking about FOREVER or new summer top?

Romper Quest Meets Rainbow Collection: Red

2011-07-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty freakin' stoked about this. I FINALLY made a romper! After roughly six years of wanting one! Yes, this harkens back to that New York trip to an American Apparel store when Bryce tried on an "obscenely cute" romper (emphasis on the "obscene" part of that statement) and I thought to myself, "this is the most critical item of clothing I could ever own".

It's blurry because I'm excited!

As you well know, most female clothing items from American Apparel are more trampy than not, so I searched other places to find that wonder-playsuit of my dreams. Most of them were too short in the torso, or only fit one part of my body (take your pick, top half or bottom half: which will look good?). The rest were ugly as sin and/or made for underage prostitutes.

I found a pattern for shorts in the June Burda Style. The original pattern has side-seam pockets and back pockets, drawstrings to pull the shorts up at the sides (a cute detail that I always fall prey to), and a side zipper instead of a front zipper and button. I scaled it back a bit, so there are no pockets to be found on this romper--midway through construction I decided that I really wanted pockets, but since I never put pockets in I royally messed up the process and ended up ripping them out. Angrily. After that debacle, I decided I didn't even want to mess around sewing back pockets in, though I might try to add them a little bit down the road. Same goes for the side drawstrings.

Instead of putting the reinforced top waistband on the shorts, I threaded one-inch elastic through the waistband. From that point, I took a shot in the dark and cut a large trapezoid (since I'm pear shaped) and sewed to the waistband to cover my top half. From there, I tried it on a couple of times, (re)installed a zipper up the left side a couple of times, and finally found a spot that was close enough to magic for me. I made a casing for 3/4 inch elastic at the top of the romper and stitched everything into place, and ta-da! Romper Quest 2011 fulfilled!

Some serious wackness going on with the back due to the inevitable buckling of the zipper. Also check out my horrible swimsuit lines--those were not there last week.

The"red" fabric for this Rainbow Collection is a piece I got from Stone Mountain and Daughter for my birthday last year. It was on sale and I can't resist a sale...I think you know where this is going. When I bought it I had absolutely no idea what I would use it for, which is why I still have it a year and a half later. Ideally, the fabric would be a little heavier and I need to find the perfect belt to go with the romper. Next time, I suppose. Speaking of which, I think I should make a sleeved romper before the summer is up! Will I have time?

Who's that happy boxy girl?!

What do you guys thinks would work best for a belt? A sash style in a matching fabric, something in a contrasting fabric, leather, fresh mint? Let me know!

The First Step Towards a New Project is Admitting You Have a Problem: Project Rainbow Collection

2011-07-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

And boy, do I have a problem. Behold! My sewing area!

Please disregard Susan--she hates having her picture taken.

It's appalling, isn't it? It's like a six-year old quilter threw a tantrum. It is even worse when you peak behind the built-in counters.

Not-so-nice stacks.

Oh, the shame! And the June Burda Style bizarro photo shoot with the sexy family.

So, this amazing mess is what I refer to as "my stash". This massive stash is full of yards of fabric pieces and sizable remnants I've acquired since I started sewing three and a half years ago, and it has a lot of stunning designs and vibrant colors. Yet I still buy more fabric! Whenever I get the chance!

With this awesome stash (and my roaring, angry budget) in mind, I decided it was time to do SOMETHING about it. Enter Project Rainbow Collection!

The rules are fast and loose. I have to use fabric from my stash to check off every broad color category: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. I'll probably throw in black/grey and brown, though they aren't really in the rainbow that you picture gracing mountains and lakes. That's it, so I guess there is really only one rule. I'm not making myself go in color order because that is a surefire way to make sure I don't sew for a month or two, but I am going to focus on wearable items because lady likes new clothes!

Another confession: I conceived of this idea a week or two ago, so I already made the red item. It's actually kind of a coral shade, but it is filed with the reds and pinks in the fabric library. Yeah! Good start!

Thanks, Kermit.

Time to break the silence

2011-06-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

If you were wondering, I DID finish Michelle's dress in time for Clara and Brendan's wedding. Those of you who were at the wedding know that, since Michelle was clothed. What is somewhat more impressive is that I also made a dress for myself the night before I flew out. One night=one dress, but since when? Mine was black with red and tan flowers, and there were some...difficulties involved, but both of the dresses turned out really well.
Now, how do I say this...I didn't get pictures of either dress. Yeah, I totally dropped the ball on that one. Not only that, but all of the facebookers also dropped the ball as well, so I can't find a good picture of Michelle's dress anywhere online. Now I need to handwash both her dress and my dress so we can have a proper photoshoot. This photo is the best I can scavenge from online; it was taken around 2:30am at Caleco's.

See that sleeve? That sleeve is the root of one thousand curses!

Anyhow, let me bring you into my brain for this one. The mental picture I have of this blue dress is Michelle standing in front of the assembled wedding guests, a couple of steps behind Mikey. The hair has some more lift at that time in the night (can you imagine?) and the lighting was not so...brackish and neon. It is a very pretty picture, it is a shame that I don't sketch. Or use my camera.

The Alphabet According to West Sac

2011-04-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

*snicker

Today's bike ride from Davis to Sac was brought to you by the letter "C".

KDVS Fundraiser--Bloomers!

2011-04-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Yay, the bloomers are all done! Five pairs, sizes XS-XL in blue with lil' yellow flowers and dark blue embroidery (only shown in the last picture). In spite of the best intentions, the bloomers are the only things I'm sewing/completing in time for fundraiser. I ran out of time and I don't want to offer a sloppy product in KDVS's name. So, bloomers are the end of the line, and don't make me tell you how I managed to screw up what should have been a very cute and simple cafe apron. Another time. I'm really sorry, dudes--nothing sewn for you this round.

Bloomers are for playing!

and for monkeying around.

If you pledge during One-on-One tonight and want a pair of bloomers but find that your size is taken, there is still a chance that you can get them in your size! There will be a premium listing under the craft section available only between 8 and 10pm on Monday the 18th where you can tell me what size you want and I will make you a pair (limited to five). It's that simple!

Didn't DJ Sister do a bang-up job of stitching these? I think so. Thanks!

You can pledge to the fundraiser at fundraiser.kdvs.org or by calling 530-754-KDVS. Whee!

Late March Progress, Fundraiser Preview!

2011-04-12T22:21:00.000-07:00

Slipping in just under the wire, I was able to be "somewhat productive" for the month of March. I finally made the curtains for our bedroom!

I also made the pillowcases Cate had requested, though I didn't take any pictures. They even had a decorative ruffle, but you'll just have to imagine it.

Now I'm onto fundraiser items. First on the list are five pairs of bloomers in a pretty cornflower blue with small yellow flowers. (sizes XS-XL, one of each)

Michelle talked me into this fabric at a yardsale--I think it is bloomeriffic!

Though all of the fabric is cut, I'm yet to stitch them all together, thread elastic and ribbon, and embroider. (I'm hoping Michelle remembers that she said she would embroider them. Hrm...)

Five pairs of bloomers cut-out-yet-not-sewn; not particularly impressive looking.

So, also on the cutting mat are plans for potholders and a cafe apron. Any ideas for anything more guy-ish that I can sew before next Monday? April 18th, One-on-One will be awesome! (8-10pm)

Heavy Duty Playsuit!

2011-03-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

I mentioned this dress (opaquely) before; I cut the pieces out before we left for Mexico thinking I'd have all day on the 7th to work on it, thus finishing it kind of in time for the Sew Weekly challenge. A canceled flight from Cancun to Los Angeles made a mockery of my sewing plans and ate up all of my sewing-Monday, and the pattern pieces stayed in the bag until last week, when I set small sewing goals to accomplish each night, i.e. sew the bodice on Wednesday. I finally got to hem it last night, and I'm pleased to say that I am now the proud owner of a heavy (heavy) duty (duty) playsuit (heavy duty!)!

ease in fit makes it ideal for sassin'

I picked up this turquoise fabric last summer when Michelle and I were yardsaling to find raw materials for Burning Man. I loved the color and the fabric, which originally gave me pause due to its canvas-like properties, worked out really well for this project. Regrettably, there were a number of small stains and defined faded areas here and there on the fabric, requiring strategic pattern placement/cutting, but I think I was successful in not making a pre-stained/faded dress. My sizing difficulties continue; though I'm okay with it for this particular project, the dress seems big all over. Why is that? How are my inches different from the inches of pattern makers?

good for dancin' too

This is the Colette Patterns Rooibos dress, which has a fun opportunity to pick a contrast fabric for the top of the bodice. This is excellent because I used to have this ill-advised habit of buying fabric sample packs where nothing was bigger than a half yard. Um, I don't quilt, and you'll be hard-pressed to make anything other than a purse out of such a small piece of fabric. At least I struggle...

close up of the neckline, on Susan the dressmaker thinger

I fulfilled my sewing resolution for March, and it might very well be my Easter dress! But you never know, my next project might be another springy dress, in spite of the fact that my office wardrobe is seriously lacking.

Bake Sale!

2011-03-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

Ugh, after five hours of straight bakin' (seriously, no breaks in that business!) I'm ready to check out. For tomorrow's fundraiser bake sale for the Esch*, I'll be taking Orange Chocolate Pinwheels, sugar cookies (which may or may not be frosted, depending on how sparky I'm feeling tomorrow morning), and chocolate chip walnut cookies.

Sheep and moon sugar cookies cooling, a plate of reject cookies that will stay safe in my home. Sugar cookies don't look like much when they're not frosted, do they?

If you want some of these delectable treats, kick on over to See Jane Run (3910 24th Street at Sanchez) in San Francisco today/Saturday for snackems. This will be happening rain or rain, since it is going to rain. Chris and I will be there from noon to two (or so) with our baked wonder.
Time for bed!

*Eschy (Bryce) is taking part in the Wildflower Triathalon and is doing all she can to raise money to fight AIDS. See her fundraiser site!

Mexico Pictures--Our Digs

2011-03-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

The resort-type place we stayed at (thank you, Tom and Anna Maria) was super beautiful and really close to the beach, and with a gargantuan pool that spanned two or three city blocks and sat on three different levels. Some of the days, we just kicked around the resort either hanging at the pool or snorkeling. Or sleeping. We napped and ate a lot! This is the last batch of photos for your perusal, so I hope you enjoy them!

Two words: Pool Bar!

The whole place looked like a highly cultivated jungle, it was really pretty to walk around.

Our little segment of beach was great to walk on, but not so hot for swimming. As you can see, there is a pumice-like quality to the area.

By the pool, well manicured.

The wake generated by our snorkeling boat on our way to the reefs. Yes, I was singing "Rio" (there are pictures of that as well).

Sunrise on our little section of beach.

ahhh, so wonderful.

These are baby versions of fish we saw a lot of when we went snorkeling. These were in a tide-pool-like situation the morning we were watching the sunrise.

A nice jogger took this for us. We had a great time!

Mexico Pictures--Chichen Itza and nearby areas

2011-03-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

We signed up for a day trip to Chichen Itza, a pre-Hispanic city in the middle of the Yucatan peninsula. It is one of the new seven wonders of the world (as established in 2007) and is super neat. On our way to Chichen Itza, we traveled through a colonial town (Valladolid) that I totally want to check out more, and stopped at a Mayan "village" for food, shopping, and cenote time!

The cenote! This is one of the big attractions in that village. There is a cenote in Chichen Itza too, but I don't believe you're permitted to swim there. That one is just for sacrificing.

Well, jumping in was the natural thing to do. :)

See where that one dude is standing on the second highest level? That is where I jumped in from. (Blue Streak trained me well for this.)

Cenotes are limestone sinkholes--this one was 50 meters deep, so it was more or less like swimming in a quarry. Whoa!

The ballfield area in Chichen Itza.

The Observatory, where all kinds of astronomical shenanigans took place.

Chris and an unidentified structure (our tour guide was letting us wander solo at that point). Doesn't it look like there is a face in the building? Eek!

In front of el Castillo.

This shot is required.

El Castillo! We were pretty tuckered out at this time, and Chris was just barely putting up with me. What a champ...

Then we got back on the bus with all the liquored up people. (liquor was served on the bus, not in Chichen Itza) We weren't allowed to climb on any of the pyramids or touch anything, as the Federal government no longer permits it here, possibly at any of the ruins. What a drag!

Updates! Mexico pictures--Playa del Carmen

2011-03-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

Sweet business, I didn't realize it had been over a month since I last posted something. 50% of my February was spent ailing with some miserable sickness and the other half was spent trying desperately to catch up on everything I was losing control over. I'm healthy now, and was healthy for the whole trip to Mexico, so I guess I can't complain about anything.

Here are some pictures from our week-long trip to Playa del Carmen in Mexico! We had a great time, though I am now seriously behind in my sewing--in the month of February, I only managed to make a bed-pocket for Chris and finish Jennifer's skirt (which has its own set of complications). I'm still in the process of bargaining with myself about my 2011 Sewing Resolution (nope, didn't forget) to sew one garment per month, as well as really wanting to keep up with the Sew Weekly challenges. Later, later....

Chris in his super awesome beach clothes.

A wonderful helado de coco. mmmm!

Cycle tracks in Playa del Carmen.

The most delicious chicken tamales we purchased from a street vendor. There was a whole chicken wing in that thing, bone and all!

One of our many iguana friends.

The Ultimate Romper...

2011-02-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

No, I don't have it. I'm looking for it, or for a pattern for it. Mostly I'm looking for a pattern for it, since last week's foray at H&M reminded me that ready-to-wear pieces that cover my top and bottom are not proportioned correctly (that's right, their fault, not butternut-squash-me) and they are going for the "fancy romper" vibe. No. Sport romper, that's where it's at!

Image from Vilexa Boutique

Never in velour, never that tight.
My dream romper is something that has shorter shorts, short sleeves (capped?), and probably buttons for the top part, and a collar, I think. It is in a medium weight cotton or some other nice fabric that will wear soft and stand up to my spilling ways, and has some elastic gathering at the waist for definition.
Oh, and it is probably plaid.

image from Fabricana's Etsy shop

Have you seen a pattern like that? I haven't. Keep an eye out, okay?

What does your ultimate romper look like? Details, please!

Cover Your Fireplace! If you're so inclined...

2011-01-27T15:08:00.000-08:00

Being as I've been deliriously sick all week, I've had a lot of time at home. Most of that time was spent sleeping, but when you wake up at 2pm on a Thursday, you are suddenly grabbed with the urge to "do something". There was no way that I was getting dressed, so I figured I would show you some pictures from my last project which might come in handy for your home, or for a friend's. As Chris pointed out, many of our friends in houses have fireplaces they cannot use for one reason or another, including our friend Bryce. She had brought up the idea of covering the plyboard that blocks her fireplace with a fabric version of a fire, but I didn't get to act on that until a couple of months later.
What helped me jump in was this awesome black paper/fabric I have that I thought would be really awesome as the background, since most other fabrics wouldn't look cold enough to be the cavernous space around a fire.

I had originally wanted to use a red paisley as the majority of the fire's area, but couldn't find one that suited my vision so I turned to my wall o' fabric and willed myself to be open minded. The "red" section of my fabric wall claims almost as much space as the "blue" section, so there was a lot of awesome stuff to choose from. I ended up using some impulse buys from shopping days gone by, fabric/old-saris-cholis-etc my friend Preet donated to my sewing cause months ago (ever handy), and some of my favorite quilting fabric that I bought for love of the designs. This is a good opportunity to use fabric pieces of any size you have lying around.

Each flame tongue was cut, then had its seams pressed under, had the seams stitched under, then was placed on the fire background to be stitched on. It was annoying, but a good exercise in patience. The seam stitching made the final stitching part a lot easier, so I'm glad I did that even if the small fabric pieces kept junking up my machine.

The logs were the final part to go on, though I suppose it would look pretty neat to have them overlap with the fire more. I took some liberties with the wood selection: it was originally supposed to be faux bois, but I was feeling punchy so I used this animal print I had on hand. Bryce thinks it looks more like stone than wood, but I'm still a fan. Oh, the fire had to be stitched to the outline in there too. That's important.

And then we put it in front of her fireplace! (disregard the off-measurements--we never established what was length and what was height.)

So, if you have a fireplace to cover, make this project your own!

Bethie's dress and some sewing resolutions

2011-01-03T23:04:00.000-08:00

Remarkably, I finished Bethie's dress in a week; specifically, the week after Christmas. Also known as the week when I was both physically sick and sick of sewing. But, I have now completed my first dress using an unprinted pattern! It is also the oldest pattern I have used to date, being from 1954.

Beth tried it on when we dropped it off, and though I would like to take it back and alter it a bit (re-do the darts to their original width instead of the less deep version seen here, shorten it another inch or two), Beth seemed unwilling to give the dress back. I guess that is a good thing?

This is the first project of the new year, and it brings me to my sewing resolutions:

I vow to create one to two "big" projects per month, and
I vow to create more things for myself.

A "big" project means an article of clothing, not just a tote bag or traveling pouch. In spite of sewing for the past three years (anniversary of my first Craft Center class this month!), I still only have two dresses and two shirts I have made for myself. I never wear the shirts because of awkward fit issues and unforgiveable rookie-sewing mistakes, but I wear the grey dress bi-weekly and the green dress whenever I can rustle up an occasion. (There was also a drop-waist 60s dress fiasco in there; no pictures were taken and I donated it to good will because it made me look like frumpy maid)

So, more projects and more things I get to keep in 2011! Once I finish my to-do list for others... :)

Oh, and I'm also going to be more active or something. And leave my house more to hang out with you. Yeah!

Magic Kingdom Christmas!

2010-12-25T06:50:00.000-08:00

Sleeping Beauty's castle says Merry Christmas!

This is Just for Sizing!

2010-12-24T23:55:00.000-08:00

I can’t stress enough that this dress is just for sizing purposes! This is Bethie’s trial run of her sister gift. The theme I drew for her was 1950s, so I purchased a Vogue 1954 pattern in her size (more or less).

I naturally procrastinated quite a bit...I ended up sewing the following muslin-ish thingin' today.

Chris said that he's never seen me sew a dress so fast, as this only took me about four hours to cobble together. However, it isn't hemmed at all (why hem the muslin before you have the recipient try it on?) and there are some sketchy parts of it, like the front yoke...don't look too closely at that.

I look forward to making the legitimate version of this! It should be beyond awesome, all brown tweed and 50s.

Timber says, "merry Christmas!"

A Special Message from the Christmas Dragon

2010-12-24T06:24:00.000-08:00

The best Christmas gift in the world is a saucer of whipped cream.

Or the whole aerosol container.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Ah, gift exchanges...you're bringing me down, man!

2010-12-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today was our holiday party at the COG, replete with gift exchange. Below is an excerpt from the event appointment.

Please join us to celebrate the holidays SACOG-style with a potluck and "white elephant" gift exchange. A sign-up sheet for the potluck will be placed at the reception desk the first of December. ...We've modified the gift exchange from previous years with the hope that people will bring a gift that others might actually want and enjoy. For years, we had a white elephant gag gift, but we discontinued that tradition after people got tired of receiving the same old bad stuff every year. A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't enjoy receiving it, then it's likely no one else would, either.

Well, that is fair. Except...if we're not supposed to bring white elephant gift, why is it still called a white elephant gift party? I know I'm arguing semantics here, but it makes me snort each time I think of it. This prompted me to augment my original gift selection.

Behold, the White Elephant power pack!

I guess it is misleading. If you look at this for a split second, you are most likely to notice the Hello Dolly album and little else. However, when you remind yourself that we don't live in a flip book, you notice the Ginger Elizabeth bittersweet candied almonds and the (damn nice, if I do say so myself) tote bag. And the burned ELO CD is just icing on the freakin' cake.

You might have guessed this by now, but the person who did receive this gift disregarded everything but the Hello Dolly, so the legitimate gift of candy and a tote was lost...forever. He pawned all of the items off (minus the album, which he wanted to see if he could sell--ill-advised plan of action) on another co-worker.

I'm too sensitive for gift exchanges when there are handmade items on the line, as well as chocolate that I swear by. That was a damn nice tote--I finished all the edges (for once) and I think the color pairing is wonderful, if not a touch springy.

And Hello Dolly is WONDERFUL!

Correlation or Causality?

2010-12-13T22:43:00.000-08:00

While working on this purse,

I broke two needles.

I feel rather confident in my assertion that the purse broke the needles. I will defend this stance in court. But I guess the real question is how did some upcycled suiting and quilting cotton break not one, but TWO sewing machine needles? Anyone?

Christmas crafting continues, though I have been procrastinating like nobody's business on a particularly difficult pattern that has me in over my head. Wish me luck!

Beagle!

2010-12-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

Look at the cutest beagle in the world!

This is Murphy, who I found walking the streets of midtown, sans owner. Poor little pup was without human, so she hung out with Chris and me for a couple of hours until we were able to get a hold of her mom. Timber was "okay" with the whole situation, but I think he was pretty relieved to see her part. Oh gosh, I have an only child/dog.

Aside from that, I made a sunglasses case from found objects and wrapped a number of gifts. Exciting stuff!

Sacramento, get with the program!

2010-11-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

Behold! The only fall color that I have seen in Sacramento. What the hell, it is NOVEMBER! I think apple season is over and it is still all Indian Summer out there. Color me (if not the trees) disappointed.
*Sister Theme update: our theme is Decades! The decades selected were 20s, 40s, 50s, and 70s. And I bought a quilt at the Bazaar.

Eek! (Michelle and Sharon also bought quilts)

Current Status

2010-11-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

Today is the Bazaar, which means that today is the day all of the sisters get together and ~~bicker relentlessly~~ determine the theme for Sister Gift*. I made a cake to smooth things over as we use the process of elimination to figure out what will torment us the most for the holiday season.

*Sister Gift is the drawing of names between Beth, Jenn, Michelle, and myself; each sister must get a special themed gift for the sister who they drew--today is the day we draw names and select the theme.

Regrettably, most of our sister proxies are not here--Leslie's cat is sick, Bryce's parents are in town, and Claire lives down south. Things are not looking good.

In other news, I purchased an obscene amount of fabric for Christmas gifts last weekend. As you know, there is nothing to motivate me to do things I've been procrastinating on than to give me a more daunting task. Once I got home from the monumental fabric trip, I mended my two brown skirts and finally made a holder for Timber's papers (for his walks, not to keep him in the country legally). I think it is pretty cute, don't you?

Well, it is time to go walk that dog before we head off to Stockton. Sneak peak of Christmas fabric below, whee!

No definite ideas for this one yet, but isn't it pretty?
Send thoughts, ideas, projected recipients to me! (there is much more than this, but I already have those projects mapped out)

Timber is still a "Good Boy"

2010-10-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were wondering, Timber is still a good dog.

Oh yes he is, what a good dog!
by the way, I am incredibly relieved to be done with MTP Workshops. Whee!

PACKING TAPE!!!

2010-10-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

Christmas fun begins NOW! I received the keystone of my Christmas wrapping paper in the mail today--holiday themed packing tape!

Top to bottom, we have the Baroque Frame Tape, the Partridge of Joy, the Todd (just kidding, the Mod Blooms), and the Snowflake. The Snowflake and the Partridge are last year's designs; 15% off. The Todd was added to help us break the $15 dollar mark, which in turn yielded the Baroque as a free gift! Whee! If you are inclined to go crazy at Tapeswell like me, use the coupon code TSOCT which will get you the free roll of Baroque in addition to 20% off.
Gifts and letters from me will look so awesome this year! They won't look like trash! I am totally jazzed, in case you can't tell.
TAPE!

The Injustice of It All

2010-10-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Because of the extra night-time hours I've been logging the past few weeks, school was still in session as I ambled home past a nearby elementary school this afternoon. I couldn't help but notice a large cluster of 2nd and 3rd grade boys gathered at the base of a gnarled, mature sycamore. They covered a wide area on the southwest side of the tree, looking up and chattering. The group wielded two weapons: a football and black and red multi-purpose ball, the type claimed for basketball in the absence of a Spalding. These weapons were hurled and kicked at the southwest branches with all of the might of each eight-year-old boy given a chance, which is considerable if you take their size into account. On the eastern side of the woody mammoth, one impetuous boy continually tried to display his undeveloped climbing skills, likely thinking that if he could simply reach that first branch twenty feet of the ground, he could solve this problem.
In spite of their unwavering attempts to free whichever piece of sports equipment was sacrificed earlier, they next lost the football to the substantial branches. The bell rang a minute or two later, signifying their cruel defeat; California Sycamore 2, 2nd Grade Boys 0.
Washington Elementary School could use your extra footballs, or maybe just a large ladder would suffice.

Experiments with denim--opinions please!

2010-09-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Michelle and I were emailing the other day (before the desert claimed her) about fall fashion, she brought up a blurb from Robert Geller that she had run across in a NY Times article about the very same topic:

"ROBERT GELLER, designer I’m excited to get back to layering. One of my favorite things about cooler weather is that you can build up an outfit piece by piece and put together something really interesting — such as finishing up a look with a nice big scarf. I’m also looking forward to seeing denim used in a non-typical way this fall as well as a return to beautifully constructed coats that are well made and designed to last a long time."

In Michelle's brain, this triggered a thought process which culminated in the utterance, "denim obi!" Oddly enough, the same idea had been bouncing about this illiterati's brain (why don't I read the Times more often?), though I hadn't yet busted out the sewing machine. Thus, out came the denim scraps and now I have a four-panel strip of denim which is about eight feet long and five to six inches wide.

Enter another problem: How do I pull this off without looking like a girl wearing a pair of pants around her waist?

I will obviously do something to treat the edges of the denim, but will it be a simple once-over hem, or should I use some accent color bias tape? My machine (and needle) can only handle a once-over (that just means that I would fold the denim over once and sew it down--the raw edge of the fabric would still show on the "inside" of the belt, instead of having nice-non-fraying folded fabric--I don't know the technical term for that kind of hem unless "lazy" is technical) hem because the denim would be too thick for it to handle three layers of denim. My machine could handle my ample supply of bias tape, but do I have over 16 feet of bias tape?

I meant in one color, and you know that. *folds arms
So, thoughts? This could be a total bust, but I'm willing to try!

Clear Lake...

2010-08-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

was awesome, just in case you were wondering.

the view from my tent

magazines!

weird creek in downtown Kelseyville, all 'osed down

the most perfect dog's first camping trip

and Olive tried very hard to behave

I ate a shocking number of s'mores, Chris made lots of fires, Melissa's cast was pretty clean, Scott didn't drink nearly his share of Coors Light, Jenn had a hotel in her pop-up tent, Michelle made salami/cheese crackers, Olive kept vigilant guard against the raccoons (her brethren), and Timber got tangled. Repeatedly.

Everyone took a bath once we stopped camping. Victory!

Problem with the Ponies

2010-08-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the harness races in celebration of Scott's birthday; I can assuredly say that Michelle and I, like Aunt Sharon, have a problem with the ponies. Aside from the fact that there was no parking fee at Cal Expo, no entry fee, $1 beer, and $1 hot dogs, it was more wonderful than I could have imagined! All members of my family got the "crazy eyes" as we placed ill-advised bets.

The race near the finish!

The choicest part was when we found out that we (Jenn, Michelle, and I) could ride in the motorized starting gate, aka the wing car that starts the race. It was so wonderful because you're in this 1970something Cadillac with eight horses thundering behind you pulling little carts holding grown men. Not only that, but they've installed this odd cockpit type of thing in the car so you are sitting, looking backwards at all of the horse noses! I was incapable of speaking throughout this part, instead opting to desperately clutch both Jenn's and Michelle's shoulders while Michelle filled the role of announcer.

Clinging to the fence, rooting for our horses!

There weren't any big wins (or losses) amongst us until the last race of the evening; I placed a $2 bet on "Only in Lodi" to place (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), which yielded $28. Whoa! Hot dog! Not only that, but I thought I lost my original ticket for that bet so I had Chris and Scott buy me another while I took a joyride in the wing car. I found my other ticket (the original bet) this morning, so guess what has two thumbs and is going to spend some more time with the ponies?

This girl!

Pattern Weights, the solution

2010-07-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

What is something I have in abundance at my house that makes an excellent impromptu pattern weight?

Yep. Wine bottles. I actually remembered this at the beginning of July (the 1st, to be specific), but I didn't want to drop any hints about what I was making for Michelle's birthday.

Bloomers!

Also, some of you might remember the stories of how Jenn and Michelle used to make me cry by putting my clothes on the dog.

Revenge is sweet.

It is storming like nobody's business!

2010-07-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

I tremble with the anticipation of the power going out at any moment! Lightning is dominating the sky like a fifth grader in four-square! I avoid leaning on metal while outside!

St Louis! the City Museum

2010-07-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

So I'm in St. Louis visiting Clara and Brendan and we are having solid good times! We monkeyed around at the City Museum for several hours today and exercised long-latent muscles while climbing around. I didn't get any pictures of our outdoor feats of strength because the camera was in the checked bag for most of our time there, but here are some us-centric pictures from the dark hallows of the whale room.

There are ten or so floors to the City Museum and we only devoted time to about three of them; it will have to wait until next year when we're out for the wedding, which will be in the same building. whee! Most of today's time was split between the architecture section, the secret tunnels and slides (I was not sliding well today, too sticky), and the outdoor MonstoCity. MonstroCity is a crazy metal wonderland that stretches about five or more stories high and involves (sturdy) mesh tunnels, not unlike monolithic slinkys but without the movement, from each section to the next. Clara, Brendan, and I each scrambled through a wire tube, approximately four feet in diameter (sometimes a bit smaller) and 60 feet off the ground, to reach the inexplicably secure hollowed out airplane (looked just like the crashed on in "Romancing the Stone"!) 30 feet away. These numbers are all estimates since I couldn't find any hard numbers, but if anything, I'm under-exaggerating. Wonderful!

If we're back in that area on Thursday morning when we go to the arch, I'll try to get some external shots of the place, but you should definitely go there when you're in St. Louis.

Thoughts on the Sencha

2010-07-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

I spent roughly an hour last night looking at the Colette Patterns Flickr page for Sencha inspiration. By and large, I was not thrilled with a number of the products, but I think I figured it out. People were using very busy fabric, which obscures the pretty design features of the pattern, namely the tucks. Here is a picture from the Colette website (via polkadotoverload)

Now imagine 80 billion flowers and garish colors jammed on that. Yeah. Hrm. Well, at least the people who made them were happy with their results; I will attempt a different route.
Unfortunately, that means I'll have to actually acquire some monochromatic fabric--this will be much more difficult (and slow!) than any of us imagined.
Here's another thought, you all can weigh in if you like...what about this top in a translucent gauze? As in, wear-a-camisole-under-it translucent? I might give that a shot in the future.

'50s Party Dress! Sort of

2010-06-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

You might remember that at the beginning of June, I was yapping about making a dress to wear to Claire's wedding. Well, her wedding party was on the 19th and I didn't go naked. Behold!

The somewhat '50s party dress, based on another version of Simplicity 2588. I'm pretty happy with the dress all around, there are a lot of "bests" and "betters" tied in with it. For example, the bumps on the back zipper are much closer to non-existent, the zipper is well-installed, I actually used a method to hem the skirt (ganked from Gertie's blog), and I minimized my "winging it" with...some of the more critical parts. Now, if only I could find a belt that really matches it.

See, the bump in the back is way smaller, I think the dress is just a skidge too long for my torso and I need to slash out some of that length. Also, the top of the dress doesn't gap as much as the grey workdress I made. Yes, the bump is still there, but these are the little victories.

Here is something else I'm proud of. I tried on the pieces of the dress when I was stitching up the bodice to see if it was going to fit. It seemed like the dress would not be able to contain my midsection so I ripped out the back darts and made them much shallower and completed the dress from there. The dress was complete and I try it on and...something's not right. The damn thing is approximately one size too large in the midsection. Curses! But! Instead of just leaving it as-was and never wearing it again, I ripped the dress apart and re-installed the darts in their full capacity and--huzzah!--a dress that fits! Go me! I didn't wallow in my mistakes! (Chris might report otherwise, but that is another story.)
So yes, this dress is complete and in time for Make It, Wear It challenge. Whee!

Ranch creek time!

2010-06-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I dragged Chris down to the creek. The creek is wonderful right now! I just wanted to post some pictures to make you jealous of creek swimming. :) If you play your cards right, maybe you'll get a chance to swim too.

Serious joy!

Other side of the swimming hole

Magic!

Why am I not in water right now?

Mens shirt refashions

2010-06-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

It might be time for me to throw in the towel and not try any more mens shirt refashions for a stretch. They never quite turn out the way I expect them to and they eat up far too much time. For example, I stumbled upon this refashion in the CraftStylish email and thought it looked pretty cute.

Not only that, I remembered that Chris had a fun pink striped button-up shirt in the thrift store bag; this all seems like it should make for a really cute summer shirt, yes? Well...

Let me be the first to admit that I didn't follow the instructions to the letter--it simply isn't my style to do so. Maybe I had misplaced expectations, I don't know, but whatever the case that beast shirt is blousey as all get out in the back, making me scrunch my face like you just offered me the headphones blasting your Huey Lewis and the News marathon.

Overall, perhaps the most unflattering thing I've ever created... except for last summer's accidental maternity top. Man, I still shudder to thing of that one.

Stupid mens shirt refashions, wreckin' my day! I think a good number of us can remember the unfortunate tranny-top refashion from last summer, which I'm still trying to make work. Somehow. In spite of the negative shirt energy, I was able to make the necessary alterations to bring two skirts back into the "functioning" section of my life.

No number of refashions will stop me from dancing!

Pattern weights

2010-06-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

I recently came around to the idea of using pattern weights to keep the delicate pattern paper in place while I trace it instead of tearing it to shreds with stickpins. When I was making bloomers for KDVS, I had a stroke of genius and discovered the perfect household item that would double as a pattern weight.

Unfortunately, I forgot what that was and now I'm using kitchen jars; though handy, they leave much to be desired.

Did I tell any of you about the pattern weight revelation in April? Please remind me!

Finally finished!

2010-06-04T23:31:00.000-07:00

Cate's purse is done!

Finally, I can go back to focusing on myself. What a relief!

Notes on this purse:

I still can't measure. I had to adjust the lining approximately 80 times. I couldn't tell you why.
I like how the bird is lighting on the button. Yep, I planned that! But I still can't measure.
The outer Echino fabric was purchased expressly for this project, but the lining was donated by Preet last year, yay recycling! (thanks, Preet!)
I don't know why I was procrastinating so much, it only took me two nights of work--one for cutting, one for stitching. Could someone remind me of that next time?

I am medium pleased with the final result. My only quarrel with the purse is how it droops on the bottom when it is hanging. Dagnabbit purse, that is why you are lined! Actually, I take that back, I'm pretty pleased with this purse in spite of the sagginess. Might be my best looking satchel to date, and I had the foresight to include (two) pockets this time!

We'll see what Cate thinks next week. She's not too good at feigning reactions, so I just need to be there when she opens it. :)

Maker Fair Shenanigans

2010-05-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ah, good times at Maker Fair this weekend. This was my third time to go (twice in San Mateo, once in Austin) and there is a good amount of repetition between years (high altitude kites, those Monkeylectric rims I covet, the Lego league members desperately trying to ignore those tall-for-their-age 8-year-old boys reaching over the guard rail to cover Legometropolis in stickiness), but I still enjoyed wandering around and taking in the sights.
Who am I kidding, the real highlight was that I finally got to ride one of Cyclecide's crazy bike rides. Claire and I became one with the pedal-powered ferris wheel of sorts.

Terror!

Joy!

Terror!

Also pretty tremendous, I saw (heard? The place was seething with stolid giants) the OK Go show, where they all submerged themselves in water. Fishtanks on the heads of members playing non-submersible instruments...

and a mobile watersuit for that dream of a lead singer.

Quite the concerted effort to liberate him from that blobby contraption after the show.

Folsom:0, me: 1ish!

2010-05-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Yes! The trip to Folsom was more or less a success. It was completely a success in that I got there right as Chris John was getting off work, so Huzzah for me! Around 27 miles in two hours and five minutes, here is the recap.
I could not find my lil' bike pump, so I took off with all the other listed items from last post and some chapstick. I figured that in the worst case scenario, I would have to walk a fair amount and call someone to pick me up or find a bus route that would suit my needs. I took off at 3pm because I lost a fair amount of time looking for that rascal of a bike pump. By that time, I had been running around in my helmet for ~1/2 hour, loathing it the whole time but fulling expecting to leave the house any second.
For those unfamiliar with the American River Bike Trail, it is nothing short of lovely.

It is well paved and more or less flat with some gentle rolls that would not ever be called hills. When I first heard about it, I thought it was some gravel path perilously close to sheer drops into the American River. It is like I was living on a different planet back then, or I was just simple.

These pictures give you an idea of how pleasant it is. The river is off to your right in this shot, there is a healthy amount of tree cover for most of the trail, and some crazy looking birds with yardstick long tails and urban squirrels who were tired of the rat race at the Capitol. Wild turkeys too.

Previously, the farthest I had been on the ARBT was to Sac State with Chris. This is me, a fire in my belly from covering new ground!

For most of today's ride, I was as regal as a sack of cement in my bike saddle--I could not tell you why I was sitting so un-pretty, but I'm sure I'll feel it much more intensely in the morning.

By the way, the river looks freakin' wonderful right now. I repeatedly considered taking a tumble into it, in spite of the beautiful mid-60's weather.

Looking a little worse for wear somewhere around 15 miles (in skinny leg jeans, I might add). No, I'm not drunk, you can tell because both of my eyes are open.

Things were straight wonderful until I got to where the ARBT ends and where the Folsom Bike Trails are supposed to pick up. Here is a shot across the five lane highway where Folsom Bike Trails were supposed to make an appearance.

WTF, Folsom? Anyhow, it took a little bit of resolve to bounce back from that, I got my adrenaline levels amped up by biking on Hazel and Iron Point on a scabby looking shoulder with the occasional faded bike emblem chipping away from the pavement. It actually wasn't that bad except for the first part when I was acclimating to being off the trail. It was like being in detox, very scary and painful. But after that, it wasn't too bad except for the terror of knowing that most of the drivers overtook me without seeing me at all.

I made it to Intel, though. Glory days!

Chris gave me a ride home (he drove in case of any emergencies with my bike plans) and we went to Moxie to celebrate me living through my mission. :)

Now I only have to log about 18 more miles on the May is Bike Month site to meet my goal of 100 miles!

Folsom!

2010-05-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm aware that "Folsom" is not typically followed with "!" unless it was proceeded by "Get me out of--", but this is still exciting for me. I'm going to bike to Folsom today after my COG time to meet up with Chris and then...come directly back home. This is monumental because I've never biked this far before (~25 miles) and, well, I've never biked that far.
Things I'm going to take on this trek

patch kit, complete with wrench and small bike pump
helmet
camera
water!
snack-ums (sugar snap peas and an orange?)
cell phone
bike map (I hope to find one at the COG this morning)

Did I forget something? Tell me before I leave around 2 this afternoon!

Canada/USPS:0 Me: a powerful score of 1!

2010-05-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

Awesome! Incredibly stoked right now!
You see, last week I purchased some Echino fabric on etsy from a Canadian seller since no other shops were carrying the lion design I fancy. I found the fabric, fell in love, asked for a special listing, then was saddened to learn the seller was Canadian because that meant I had a two-three week delay in shopping gratification because shipping from Canada takes FOREVER! Seriously, I'm not exaggerating, it takes two-three weeks. So when Timber, Olive, and I encountered a package this afternoon, I assumed it was Chris's dorky Latin book which he ordered from Amazon. But no, what is this?!

My fabric came in! Way earlier than expected! Yes!

The double-weight gauze lion is supposed to be used for a shoulder bag...for me. Yes, I will finally make myself a bag. I've been thinking about it for far too long. I will need to put considerable forethought into this to make sure the lion is prominently displayed. I will also need to reinforce the bejeezus out of it, this fabric is like putting your face into a pile of puppies (you should really try that). I might have to select a different purpose for it, so soft. Hrm.

And this is supposed to become a bag for Cate's birthday. I need to pre-treat the fabric and start running on this one. This is a nice home-dec weight fabric, quite sturdy.

The fabric's hasty arrival also means that I won't have to buy other fabric from Sew Mama Sew (15% off sale right now) for Cate's satchel. To the laundromat tomorrow!

Last day at Vet Med!

2010-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, this is exciting! Today is my last day at the VMTH, after three and a half years of working here. Timber and I are here for the last time, at least in the capacity of employee with (former) blood donor dog, and we are leaving some parting gifts.

(one candy box is bigger because it coincides with a birthday)

Yes, dishtowels from Thelma! I got these back in November and I told myself (and anyone who would listen), "I'm going to give these to the girls when I quit Vet Med." Six months later, I'm finally going through with it.
Adios, Vet Med!

Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book: A New Hope

2010-05-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

As I recover from Sunday's embarrassing, completely uncalled for bike accident, I have been trying to organize all of my upcoming projects and ideas. Last week I received a boon from Michelle in the form of our mother's 1970 edition of the 1961 Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book, an item that survived one house fire or another from the looks of the spine.

This is exciting not only because of the book's history, but it is also my first technique-based book. I have a few project-based books, most notably Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing, and I have balked at acquiring more books of the like because it seemed limiting. This sewing book, however, compiles alteration tips and problem solving techniques alongside chapters devoted to special fabrics and recommendations on which fabrics are good for which projects.

I look forward to reading it cover to cover, in spite of the spiral binding's separation (curse you, Better Homes!). I feel like that would probably be a better approach than waiting until I screw up and then seeing what I should have done.

The first project I have in mind which uses this book's knowledge involves a dress I was thinking of making for Brian and Vanesa's wedding, or possibly Claire and Nick's summer "this isn't a wedding" event. I was likely going to use Simplicity 2588 again, though with a full skirt, without sleeves, and hopefully without the mini-hunchback bubble my plaid dress suffered. I want to use the chapter on alterations to fix that hunchback bubble, and the chapter on interfacing to line the dress since the pattern doesn't make any mention of lining. Oh, and it will be in Amy Butler's martini in green fabric.

image courtesy of Cotton Candie Fabric

I will continue to ignore that pile of shirts I mean to alter. I will ignore them for some time, until they magically disappear. Or until Chris alters them for me, wouldn't that be a dream?

Bloomers, much better!

2010-04-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yes! I finished the bloomers, more or less in time for the fundaiser (one day late). I'm pretty pleased with them and I feel they turned out very well, especially considering that this was my first time making the pattern, and my first time making french seams. Being a total monkey, I didn't take any pictures of my super stellar french seams so you'll have to pledge money to KDVS for the bloomers to see what I'm talking about.

Here is the size small

and here is the size large

The mediums have pink ribbons just like the large ones, all are quite cute. I made them out of some sheets that were donated to my sewing stash, so I'm really glad to have found something that worked well with the fabric pattern. Seriously, what was I going to do with light pink and green flower fabric? But now I'm thinking of making a pair for my boss's birthday because she really likes pink frilly things, we'll see what happens there.

For those not in the know, this week is the KDVS annual fundraiser, I made these bloomers as a pledge thank you. If you pledge $25 through the website or by calling 530-754-KDVS any time of the day or night before midnight on Sunday the 25th, you can haul home these bloomers; they are listed under the craft section. Now go pledge!

Bloomer style, bam bam

2010-04-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

Some terrible pictures, but I had to mark the occasion somehow and all of the batteries in the house are dead! (which means no camera. lame.)

I finished one pair (of three needed) of bloomers!

Can you believe this is the size large? I shudder to think of what the small ones will look like.

I'm going to bed now, I'll post some better pictures later, like when it is light again. Cheers!

That dress I keep talking about

2010-03-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally finished it! I actually finished it a month ago or so, then I made the other necessary alterations three weeks ago, and I even wore it to work two weeks back. Prepare yourself for multiple views of said dress!

This was Simplicity 2588, more or less the exact same version as the one I made for Michelle in blue, but this one has tabs on the front. See the button? It keeps the tab in place.

You have to do the sit test before you...um...buy the dress. Well, I can sit in the dress, so we're all in luck.

This photo serves two purposes: it shows you the wacky pucker in the back that resulted from my attempt to eliminate the weirdly large gap (I'm not wearing a bulky bra, that is all the result of sewing without foresight); and Chris, see? You can totally see that piece of lint on the dress. It's right there above the unsightly zipper bulge.

Even with the zipper mishaps (zip-haps?), I'm pretty happy with this dress. I'm still excitable about how the plaid pattern has purple accents, and I like the tabs bunches, and it is the most professional-looking thing I've made. I feel it is kind of understated, doesn't scream "I made this!! See? Look at the crazy things I did!" and that (on occasion) is a good thing. Thanks to Chris for photographing me. :)

Now, if you don't mind, old woman has to go to bed. The tweed ride is tomorrow and I just made some really shoddy repairs to a dress-type-thing I found at the thrift store. We're all dying to know if the seams will hold through the whole ride! Perhaps I will post on it?

A-Team Dessert, 3-23-10

2010-03-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

Chrisface and I were in charge this past week, and the perhaps-fortuitous discovery of rice paper wrappers at the Co-op yielded our big idea.

Ong Bak Rolls

Coconut Jasmine Rice

Raisins

Banana (sliced)

Toasted Coconut

Toasted Almonds

Caramel Sauce

Sadly, we completely forgot one ingredient I had been super looking forward to including, candied ginger. I really think it would have made the dish pop. As it was, things were a touch doughy as we under-fried the rolls. Also, this was my first foray into making caramel, yikes! Still, reviews were generally positive and I think the final ruling was "Success!", though not to the same degree as our last dessert. And now we have candied ginger, what are we supposed to do with that?

A-Team Dessert, 3-16-10

2010-03-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

Michellibal and Scottdoch joint-captained this one.

Lamarshmallow Haystacks, in honor of their favorite Davis politico.

Marshmallow cream

Lemon curd

Coconut

Fiber One

It was determined that the lamarshmallow Haystacks are best after they have been frozen for a time. Just a tip, because I know you're running off to check your cupboards, "Do I have enough time to make this before company stops by?"

Yes, you do. Now get going!

Curtains, middle room!

2010-03-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Another room, another project. I chose the middle room for the next batch of curtains, since we spend a lot of time in there. The computer and the dining table are in there, it is Timber's day room, and it is the first room you enter once you ascend the stairs. I think it is our most complete room, which is probably why I've taken to sewing in there instead of the front room. That means it is most deserving of some curtains, right?

Here is the before shot.

Once I installed the hardware and pressed them (heavier starch this time), the curtains were up in no time. Side note, I really wish we had a power drill. I have way more use for one than you would think if you just ran into me on the street.

I guess they have a bit of a country Americana feel to them, being as they are red, white, and blue. Also, this diamond patterned fabric I used for the accent fabric was far too homey for me to use on any clothing project. I actually have no clue as to why I purchased it (three yards, no less), it does not suit my style. But it does suit the curtains...and I had it long before I started this project so it totally counts as a de-stash.

I'm also quite proud of my little curtain draws, aren't they nice? I think so. Besides, if they aren't tied the Sacramento wind tries to tear them out the window. Delta breeze, you really exist!

That all said and shown, I'm staying the hex away from curtains now. It was pretty comforting to have something I could pick up any time of the day or night and start sewing, just as it was comforting to be able to stop at any time without worrying about losing my place in a modification or pattern. But it was also boring. And I want to wear something new, or at least new-to-me. I also have an extensive sewing to-do list as far as fixing clothes goes, and other things that have been on my weekly lists since December or earlier. Like fixing Michelle's tranny top, I need to get that done.

A-Team Dessert, 3-9-10

2010-03-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Chris and I made our first A-Team Dessert this past Tuesday. For those of you not in the know, A-Team dessert involves you building something as the A-Team would--out of found objects within your reach.
As Michellibal would say, "I love it when a dessert comes together!"
Meet Jengacake!

French Toast Fingers

Lemon Curd

Plain Greek Yogurt

Brandy-based Hard Sauce

Candied Walnuts

Scottdoch was pretty shocked that Chrisface and I could pull together something of this caliber, especially since I'm only a staff sergeant, but that is just the way we work.

The proud yet scared Chrisface with our creation (for scale). It was pretty darn good!

If you're a dog around here...

2010-03-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

...you gotta take a bath!

This was a big week for both Timber

and Olive.

Cheers to you, good hounds.

Long-Awaited Relief, Curtains!

2010-03-03T19:54:00.000-08:00

I'm at home after a day of rain, listening to the new Gigi lp (thanks Chris!), glass of wine in hand. This is how a night should be.
Latest sewing update. I finished my version of 2588 from the earlier post on Michelle's version, but I still haven't taken any pictures. What I have taken pictures of are the curtains I made in the front room! Below you will see the room before.

You might notice how freakin' dark it is in the middle of the day, therefore I was not concerned about blocking sunlight--there is no light to block.
As you may know, I have wanted to make curtains for a long time but balked at spending ~$7/yard for a kicky fabric when you need approximately eight yards/room. I also have a tendency to buy fabric I lovelovelove, spend a solid four-six months working up the courage to use it, and afterward I have some really oddly shaped fabric remnants that I cling to because I still lovelovelove the fabric. Periodically I take those remnants out and try to figure out if I could destash my collection and sew them together in a way that wouldn't look like "Quilts Gone Wild" footage, but I never came up with something I thought I could work with until now.
Granted, this isn't the best idea for a scrap buster, but it is pretty spot on for those awkward long strips I have in abundance.

This room was a bit of a trial run--the other room's will have mix and match curtains that are the same color but with different pattern accents. They will all have wonky seams.

Also, I don't know why the curtains are rumply. I even starched those beasts. What is their problem?

YES! Now we can run around naked!

Timber, meet snow!

2010-02-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

You've met Timber, right? The most perfect dog in the world?

Well, this is Timber. I've always fancied him to be a snow dog, pulling a sled across the tundra (most likely chasing some form of snow cat), but to my knowledge, puppers has never seen, much less ran across, the snow.

Last weekend Chris and I traveled to South Lake Tahoe and Timber finally realized his true calling.

Meet Timber, SNOW DOG!

Upon first contact of his paws to the powdery snow, Timbertoes rejoiced as all happy dogs smile: open mouthed.

The powder was a touch difficult for us to manage, since Timber would sink up to his torso with each step. *We broke into a golf course for this picture, by way a broken fence someone had crashed through days before.

Timber's walking-through-snow face is even more amusing than his I-don't-do-reverse face.

Don't we look like we belong?

I need to take Timber back up to the snow this year or the next. He has never been so happy! Unless there was pork involved.

Lamb tails!

2010-02-26T08:03:00.001-08:00

The annual terrifying event known as "lamb tails" occurred on February 15th. Dad kind of sprung it on us last minute (February 13th around 7:30pm, to be specific) but Michelle, Chris, and I were still able sever woolly appendages. All in all, it went pretty well. There weren't any hospital-worthy injuries, Chris developed a new technique for catching and passing horned lambs, Michelle was the champion of the bench (I tried holding lambs on the bench one time this year--then I fell off the bench because my legs couldn't reach the ground), and I didn't get killed. All around success!

Dad displaying his sorting skills.

Perfect little lambs in a pen!

Would someone PLEASE tell our father to stop buying and breeding horned rams?! They are a hazard! Though I must concede, the horns are a good defense against predators.

Chris taking a lovely lady to get her hooves and tail done.
(Gotta get my tail done! Gotta get my hooves done! Gotta look good tonight! Cuz I'm going to the barn tonight!)

The end of the day, that time when you finally have the excuse to cuddle two lambs at once! How do you think they feel about it? They look conflicted...

The damage done: 78 tails.

The twins pose proudly, knowing their good deed shall not be undone!

ah, winter

2010-02-04T21:46:00.001-08:00

One of the joyful parts of winter, if you ask me, is the surfeit of wonderful lovely citrus. I wish we still had all these oranges (I took this picture last week), but I ate them all in a streak of vitamin-C seeking joy. Over the course of a few days, natch.
If the winter continues by way of this rain, I'll start working on some form of dress this weekend. I purchased a mess of fabric last week at Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley last week and I'm anxious to try Simplicity 2588 again, though in my size this time. Which really only leaves one question: does anyone know how to pre-treat stretch wool?

Birthday Party Recap, Fashion Glimpse

2010-02-02T19:58:00.000-08:00

The colors of the evening: red, pink, and purple.

Even Chris and Bryce played along
What shoes did you think I would wear?
I say that Vanesa won "Best Outfit" for the night. Sadly, this picture doesn't do her adorable purple dress justice and you can't even see her festive tights, but still...

Birthday Party Recap!

2010-02-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

Ah, Valentine's Day Birthday! Michelle has been raising ten kinds of a ruckus, demanding that I put a picture of the cake on the internet, so here it is. Mmm, cake.

It was your basic yellow cake with four berry jam in the center and vibrantly colored frosting. It is powerful cake, there is still a small bit in the kitchen. But not for long!

Here is Claire in front of the craft carnage. She opted to wear the apron (last remaining evidence of the mac 'n cheese we tore through earlier) for most of the night, in spite of wearing our theme colors with her chosen outfit.
Here are three of our mailboxes, hanging out together on the table. You can't tell, but they are heavy with valentine loot. You probably can tell that glitter still rules supreme in our house; I get concerned when I think about how much Timber has consumed in the past few days.

A sampling of the valentines. Most excellent!

waste not, want not...or something like that

2010-01-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

I find myself really torn between opposing ideologies lately. Part of me desperately wants to buy new clothes now now now! while the other part of me spends far too much time considering the impact new shoes have on the world, the misuse of resources (my personal resources and in the broader sense too) and the waste generated by a constant stream of new clothes, and my general contempt for disposable culture. These feelings are causing me to re-evaluate many decisions I used to take for granted. Namely, it has added a massive amount of guilt to any and every shopping trip.
I've been the same size (more or less) sense high school. With that in mind, I haven't physically outgrown anything for quite some time, but rather have changed my fashion and had to acquire new clothes to accommodate my new style. Fine and dandy, I don't really want to be trotting around in those overalls and flannels any more than you want to see me in them. But aside from that, I've given away more clothes and shoes to the Salvation Army that I HAD to own a year or two earlier and thrown away clothes and tennis shoes that were spent after less than a year of wear. Looking at that waste, I've concluded that I am a rather foolish and impulsive shopper.
If you think about it, how is it that so many clothes are produced each season, each DAY for people to consume? How can we possibly use that much? Stores can't sell all of those clothes generated in wasteful quantities, but that doesn't mean the clothes are going to areas or people of need. Instead, they just generate more and more waste.
With that in mind, I need to make some changes: I need to be smarter with the clothes I already have by taking better care of said clothes, make repairs when possible, make wiser new purchases, and remind myself that we didn't always need so much. Part of this is poverty-induced, I'll give you that--another part of it is wanting to wear things that I can't always find in stores (vintage patterns, eee!). But the other part of me thinks I could better direct that money spent on new (disposable) clothes; like towards travel, owning another dog, good times at the bar with friends, my retirement, bike repairs, transit passes, really awesome food, pictures from my wedding, thrift store clothes that I will magically transform into something awesome, and a general sense of well-being. Oh, and tea. mmm, tea.
Don't worry, I will still shop, just in a less frenzied and ill-advised fashion. I hope.

Reasons I Don't Like Pattern Sewing

2010-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

After talking with Michelle last week, she convinced me that I should just make something for myself since I had not (successfully) done that for...oh, about a year or more. I took this mission to heart and bought a new pattern and some fabric to make myself something amazingly cute to wear to work--something that looked fabulous and I could say, "This? Oh, I just whipped it up this weekend."
As I indicated in the last post, I was putting on my best "Meticulous Sewer" face and trying to obey 2588's commands. I measured myself and used those numbers to determine what size to use (actually, two sizes--one for the bust and another for the waist and hips--I really wanted this dress to be perfect, which meant it had to fit over the Montana known as my hips), I transferred all of those annoying notches and markings, I read the instructions three+ times, and what do I end up with?

A dress that fits Michelle practically perfectly*. Timber is so upset, he can't even look at her.

Also, take note of the pewter United Nude shoes in front of Michelle. If she weren't wearing the brown belt, those shoes could be rocking with the dress.
*The dress still needs to be hemmed; I like this length a lot, so I'm going to keep it as long as possible. I refuse to put a lining in it. Because I'm lazy.

Precise Measurements

2010-01-18T13:36:00.001-08:00

This is what precisely measured fabric pieces look like with all of the markings transferred. Some might argue that when it is one in the morning (as it was when this shot was taken), most people wouldn't care if the markings were transferred or not. But I did, and I wanted to share that I actually followed a pattern's directions for once. Unfathomable, you say!

Here I am, en route to creating something with those precisely cut, accurately transferred markings fabric pieces. We all hold our breath with anticipation! Only Timber and I are holding our breath, really; Olive and Chris don't seem to care.
Here's hoping this dress turns out well! I would hate to have spent so much time fussing with the pattern otherwise. Ideally, I'll have an update (and a finished dress) later today.

CJ's shirt is done!

2010-01-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

I actually got it done in time for his birthday last week, but it was seriously great to be done with a project I started at the end of November or so.

It felt so great that I didn't even take any really good pictures of it before I wrapped it up and gave it to him. Hrm.

Anyhow, the idea of the shirt was to make CJ a nice western style shirt, but cooler because...well, I made it. I used the Simplicity pattern #6693, c1974, size 38 (I have the 40, too, just in case he grows). After secretly buying some fabric for this project, Michelle presented the idea of embroidering it. Yes, this shirt was the beginning of the past season's embroidery flurry for us. That took way longer than I thought it would since I was mostly stitching on the bus each day.

All of the embroidered pieces hanging out together.

The inner band of the collar.

After those pieces were done, I was able to start really working on the shirt. Shirts are difficult and the only advice I can offer is that if the pattern has markings you're supposed to transfer, you should transfer them. Big dots, little dots, crocodile mouths, transfer them all. For some reason I never think I need to transfer them, then I have to re-sew the sleeves eight or nine times. But, it worked out well enough in the end.

CJ was nice enough to pose for me today.

The pictures don't really highlight the embroidery at all. That might be because I was kind of in a hurry when I took these and Chris was complaining about the situation being awkward. We'll both work on that.

I intend to make him another shirt, I just don't know when or following what scheme. I have to make myself something first, a task I haven't accomplished in months!

Beth's shirt--Christmas gift

2009-12-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

I got the idea for this project from MyMamaMadeIt, specifically the ruffled jersey rosette project. I'm quite pleased with it, I think it is my most successful refashion to-date (apologies to Michelle, recipient of the tranny-top) I found the base shirt at the thrift store a couple of blocks from our house. It is some kind of cotton blend or another. A nice enough shirt, but kind of ho-hum if you ask me.The gathers/ruffles are not jersey in this case, but a polyester type shirt of a slightly brighter red that I cut into strips, sewed up, ruffled, then tacked onto the shirt and (full of frets) sewed onto the complete shirt. It looks really rumpled here because I wrapped it up after I finished but before I remembered that I wanted to take pictures. I get overly excited sometimes.

And here's a close-up of the ruffle once it was sewn on.

Chris voted (and I agreed) to keep the shirt asymetrical and only apply the ruffle to one side. Now I can only hope that Beth wears it!

Baking Day (a little late, part 2)

2009-12-29T15:00:00.000-08:00

And, everyone's favorite, the sugar cookies.

Why is it that the confection on which we spend the most time only yields about 8 cookies? How does that happen? Anyhow, the meringue powder yielded another beautiful batch of frosting even if we did forget to mix a yellow. Oops.

And the final product. Looking at this, maybe we should just use clear saran wrap, the green is doing weird things to our vibrant cookies.

Another year of sisters baking, and another year I did not take a nap! Mark THAT on your calendars!

Baking Day (a little late, part 1)

2009-12-29T14:25:00.001-08:00

Baking day! It actually occurred a little over two weeks ago, but I was quite busy with Christmas things so I didn't get around to posting the pictures from it.

All (most) of our materials for the day.

Jenn's crinkles. Which ones met the floor? Can you tell?

Fudge and magic bars, easy peasy.

Evil truffles, of course. Possibly my favorite item on the plate, and not just because of the cocoa powder I blow everywhere

Christmas decor! (part 2)

2009-12-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

Ooh, there are pine bits alllll over the house!

Our weaselly swag

Our rascally wreath (it looks kind of like any Stephens girl in the morning)

Our tree before the ornaments found it (is there a skillful way to put lights on a sparse tree?)

Our tree after the ornaments hung themselves in joy. Another year of tinsel, yes!

I think it all turned out pretty well. The only downer is that it is kind of too cold to hang out in the room with the Christmas tree, but that hasn't stopped me in the past.

Alameda flea market

2009-12-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

By the way, the monthly Alameda flea market is awesome!

Christmas decor! (part 1)

2009-12-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

We have our tree! It isn't decorated yet, but it is standing. Plus, we cut many boughs off of the trunk bottom and the man at the tree farm was kind enough to let me take home some extra boughs. From that point, it was the natural action to bunch them together with found ribbon and hang them on people's doors.

Extra boughs=extra swags!

The work table.

Bryce's swag of terror.

I'll take some pictures of our swag and other stuff tomorrow, hopefully the tree too!

Macarons REQUIRE parchment paper

2009-12-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

This is sad, possibly the saddest thing in the world. I wanted to try my hand at good looking macarons. I've made some ugly ones in my time (twice) but I was really going to step it up this time. But after the last bits of powder sugar were sifted and stirred, I realized, "Oh snap, we're out of parchment paper! How did this happen?" Well, surely there must be a way around this.

You might notice how I tried to compensate for the lack of parchment paper by adding another French item to the mix, the silpat sheets. The cookies did look pretty well formed on the sheet, but the sheet was not about to let those cookies go without a fight.

Macarons require parchment paper. There is no way around it.

Fashion "week" re-cap

2009-12-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

Fashion week yielded only one new thing for me to wear. No, I didn't take pictures. Why? I can't really tell you that.
But! I did get the new ironing board cover which opened up a whole world of shirts since I could then effectively press them and not look quite as homeless as the look I had been rocking. I finally hemmed the dress into a shirt and have received several compliments on it. I also sewed the basic parts of the ruffle/fuffle shirt (capped sleeves, new neckline, fuffle border), but now I need to tailor the bejeezus out of it as it is baggy in the bust and waist, tight in the hips, and droopy in the sleeves. What a mess! I had to call it quits on that project for the month of December so I could focus on Christmas crafts/gifts.
Oh, and the sister gift theme for this year is "dazzling". Yeah, I'm unsure of where to take that too, there are a lot of viable directions. and my sister is--

Magical holiday times!

2009-12-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

So, I'm not really getting much in the line of holiday spirit from my UCD job, but look how pretty the foyer of the COG's building is!

This doesn't really capture how magical the entryway is, imagine more sparkle and light. Since this phone picture was taken in the evening, the glisten has gone to bed for the night.

After leaving the COG, I walked through downtown for some errands and happened upon the wonder of wonders, the ice skating rink!

Between the shimmering of the rink and the hazy fog surrounding the massive moon, midtown was straight up enchanting last night.

*an aside, holiday crafts are forging ahead! I'm not sure which pictures I can post because I wouldn't want to wreck someone's Christmas. Also, we're getting our tree either Thursday or Saturday. EEE!

Timber the glutton

2009-11-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

It's raining like the dickens here in Sacramento and I had a long bike ride back from West Sac (where the ole truck is getting fixed), so Chris and I went to get some hot chocolate as my reward. We come back to our sweet dog, Timber. Timber seems to have found some mischief.

Oh, is that his box of chews on the ground? My gosh it is!

He's chewing on two at once!

Is that another one in his waterbowl?

What a glutton! We were only gone about twenty minutes and this is the damage he wreaked.

bike run-ins and the like

2009-11-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

On my way to work, I witnessed a near run-in between a Range Rover type thing and a bike. The cyclist was on the through street running through campus and the Rover was turning right onto the street. The driver somehow over-looked the cyclist and started to turn in his (the cyclist's) path, but was stopped by the cyclist's yell. No-one was hurt but I'm sure the cyclist was jarred and the driver apologized. The cyclist then instigated a confrontation and expletives were hurled as the cyclist pedaled alongside the Rover for about 200 yards, taunting and goading the driver.
I've been nearly hit quite a number of times and I've been in the same position as the cyclist this morning. I have no doubt his reaction was largely fear based because what dork on a Specialized wants to take on a Range Rover? But I don't see what good can come from berating a driver to the point where he thinks all cyclists are asses that deserve any accidents they get. Couldn't that behavior easily result in escalating confrontations that end with drivers deliberately harming cyclists, like the Los Angeles physician stopping intentionally and suddenly in front of cyclists? Granted, not everyone will react quite as violently, but for moderate drivers the best thing we as cyclists could do is make our presence known in a good way.
After witnessing this morning's interaction, I hung back on my Nishiki and once the yelling cyclist had passed, I pedalled near the driver and told him that not all cyclists are angry and wished him a good day. It got me thinking, couldn't that be a way to increase the good interactions between cyclists and drivers? What if whenever there was a near run-in with a cyclist, instead of being showered with curses the driver was politely addressed "Hey, I know you didn't see me back there but please be on the look-out for bikes"? Fortunately for me, I don't have too many run-ins with drivers but I witness a number of them. I would like to make a business card with a little message to the effect of "bikes just want safe journey, keep an eye out for us" plus some well wishing and it could have a website with bike information listed. And some cute graphic. You know, to make it look nice. Then, whenever some driver has the near run-in with a cyclist, they could get some helpful information out of it instead of an antipathy towards bikers.
What do you think?

Fashion Week!

2009-11-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

This week is fashion week in my apartment, I hope we're all ready!
What it boils down to is that I'm disappointed in my wardrobe and I want to mix it up, but I still don't have the kind of money needed to buy new items. Thusly, I'm going to accomplish some thrift store/found clothes modifications that have been on my list for a while.
Today, I stop by Ace to get a new ironing board foam/cover thing so things I iron won't have chain link marks on them. Tuesday night or tonight (if I'm really with it) I start on the (slightly modified?) ruffle-edged shirt I saw on My Mama Made It.
After that, I'm going to finally hem this shirtdress I have into a shirt. I'm doing this because the shirtdress is a touch short and frumpy looking on me, not to mention how I am un-nerved by its uneven hem.
There is alson an old wool plaid skirt Michelle gave to me. I need to make it shorter and a little smaller on the waist--this task is complicated by the skirt's adorable flare at the bottom, meaning I need to make it shorter from the top instead of just sewing in a new hem. It should be worth it though!
Check out this skirt tutorial, too (from Craft Stylish)! The scalloping on it is too much for me to bear, I wonder if I could pull off trying to modify a thrift store skirt with this idea? Not likely, we'll have to see how successful fashion week is.
*These tasks will not all be accomplished this week because I don't have hours and hours to devote to sewing. But, fashion "week" will continue until I accomplish what I listed. Pictures will follow!

more and more paperwork!

2009-10-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

So I just finished the paperwork to change my name at SACOG.

man, paperwork sucks here! :)

In all honesty, I spent an hour and a half at DMV yesterday. Not cool, but at least it is done!

Thank you's--the last wedding craft?

2009-10-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

I have all this time now that the wedding is over. I started making thank you's based on this Design Sponge article, encouraged by the fact that Pulp Papery still has a bunch of Artoz materials (envelopes, cards, cardstock, etc) on sale. Also, I used my paltry quantity of Delta frequent flier miles to subscribe to "W" so I could have some striking pictures to use for collages and projects like this.

Here are some of the ads that we used on Friday night.

I found a "frost" blue card stock that, when folded, fit near-perfectly into cheery yellow envelopes which were also on sale. I think this is going much more smoothly than the invitation scene did, but that might be because it is the only project I'm working on right now.

Here are some of the end results.

I bought extra materials when I was at Pulp Papery, entertaining the idea of making note cards for Christmas gifts. You might be one of the lucky ones! We'll see if that pans out.

Chris and I have to make at least 15 more cards, but then we have to move on into the world of actually writing the thank you's. I've got mixed feelings about the enormity of that task.

Honeymoon day 5--no photos, but a map of the route!

2009-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

After staying in Reno, we headed back to Sacramento by way of 80 so we could return our beloved Impala to the rental agency. It was all such a great trip, I would recommend any part of it to anyone!

View Larger Map

It was pretty awesome skirting the Sacramento Valley like that.
As a note, we don't have a whole bunch of pictures from the Honeymoon because we were filming most of it on the Flip we received from Chris's Aunt Marilee. Once I figure out how to take still frames from those, I might post some more. Or I'll post little videos from it.

Honeymoon day 4--quick run-through with photos

2009-10-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the Lava Beds National Monument near Tule Lake once we crossed back in to California. There was some blown out scenery there and only very hearty plants remained. What a difference from the luxuriant greenery we'd grown accustomed too!

It felt like most of our day was spent weaving in and out of the Modoc National Forest. And that's the truth!

An extremely common sight--Chris rummaging through the food bag.

We stopped in Adin once we were mostly out of the Modoc Forrest and got a milkshake (yeah!) and fries. As we descended into Susanville, I saw so many happy cows out grazing. Beautiful sleek black Angus cows, chomping incessantly on grass. We also saw starkly dried lake beds as we passed through the wide valley. Quite distinctly beautiful.

That night, we made it to Reno and I only lost $3 at the craps table.

Honeymoon day 3--quick run-through with photos

2009-10-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

I was really cranky the morning of day 3, luckily Chris recognized this and persuaded me to stop the car at the Simpson Reed Discovery Trail in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods. There were all kinds of fairies hopping about that morning, so we tried (unsuccessfully) to catch them.

It was a nice morning to new-boot-goof in the trees. It was a little chilly in the grove, but too pretty to pass up or rush through.

We passed into Oregon midway through the morning and that was pretty exciting to me! This was Rough and Ready Creek off of 101. Another nice short hike, I was really a fan of the wack-tastic geography there. Yes, I did play in the water a little bit, but mostly I just hopped around on the rocks.

We drove through the Valley of the Rogue (BEAUTIFUL!) starting from Grant's Pass and came out on the other end in Jacksonville, where we took appreciative photos of the fall color. We knew we wouldn't find anything so spectacular in Sacramento, curses! Chris gets full credit for directing us through the Valley of the Rogue, which is (I think!) my favorite part of our whole trip.

That night we stayed in Klamath Falls. There are no falls in Klamath Falls, but I loved it anyways. Seriously, I really like Klamath Falls.

Honeymoon day 2--quick run-through with photos

2009-10-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

In the morning, we ventured back to Mendocino for breakfast at a cafe (tea and coffee, scone and berry cream cheese danish) and to plan the next leg of our trip. We then walked along the bluffs to enjoy the ocean-y weather and avoid the car a little bit longer.

We took an ill-advised path to get back to the main part of town.

That day, we stopped for lunch at Richardson Grove, a very beautiful California state park with awesomely tall redwoods and lovely misty air.

That night we stayed in Crescent City. I think you're okay with me not posting pictures of that. :)

Honeymoon Day 1--quick run-through with photos

2009-10-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Timber gave everyone lots of "Good Morning!/Goodbye!" kisses.

At the Old Grist Mill where we attempted to have lunch. The rain thwarted us so we picnicked in the car.

Calistoga! California's old faithful.

We made it to Mendocino that night, and stayed at the Coast Inn in Fort Bragg. It was all centered around far east healing, pretty neat!

At dinner, I drew Chris on the butcher paper. I had a yummy seafood stew and he had some pasta thing with chicken.

Post-wedding

2009-10-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

We are now officially in the "post-wedding" era. I have time to look around me nervously and wonder what I should be doing.
Today, I introduced Chris and my husband (to my dad, I just wanted to see how it sounded), unsubscribed seven wedding blogs (!) from my google reader account, and signed in to my vscacciatore email account for the first time as a married woman.
Officially weirded out.
I also switched out the toaster, but that didn't seem quite as monumental as the other actions.
Wedding updates will come soon! I hear some people have awesome pictures out there.

Michelle finally gave in

2009-09-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

and m'lady bought herself some bronze shoes.

There they are! Can you see them? They're in the garden...

I also wanted to show what the completed organza flowers look like as referenced in the Fire+Synthetics post, which is why I totally covered Michelle's shoes. Not because I don't like them, just because I'm multi-tasking.
I need to make more organza flowers if you want to come hang out with a fire hazard of a girl. Please?

Barn update and pictures

2009-09-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

So, I went to the ranch this weekend and got to check out the barn. It has been leveled and they are in the process of hardening the floor. I was of the opinion that they tease the floor until it has "had enough" and distances itself from its (the floor's) emotions, but apparently that takes too long. Instead, they will be wetting it down with the water truck several times over the coming weeks until it takes on the appearance and texture of packed mud. Or something close.

It was exciting to see the floor completely level! For those who didn't see it before, there were plenty of dips, valleys, and rodent holes waiting to capture your heels, but this? Beautiful! Level!

They also graded the area around the front entrance to the barn to make for smooth walking. I bet you I can still fall there.

You can see a smidge of the barn to the left in this picture, and doesn't the vineyard look nice? I hope Dad leaves Backy out there for the wedding, too.

And Pumpkin says "Hi".

Notes, updates

2009-09-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

You know how people always say you lose weight before the wedding? You know, because you're so stressed? Well, I said it before and I'll say it again, those falsehood spreaders are up to no good, I've gained close to ten pounds leading up to this happy event. Woof. Hope the dress still fits!
As for the puppies, they have new names after a weekend of nomenclatural experimentation. Mason became Walter became Boy and ended up Dingo. Maddy became Perry became Girl became Olive. Those names are keepers, Dingo and Olive! I keep hoping that Dad will get too attached to them before he is able to successfully give them away.
Two days 'til the dress fitting.

OMG PUPPIES!@!!!!!

2009-09-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Look at the cutest puppies in the world!
And they are going home with me! (en route to Dad's house)
Is Dad ready for this small dog world? Only time will tell.

They're actually a little over one year old, I've tentatively named the one above "Maddie", short for Madeleine.

And her brother is "Mason". They had to be entered into the vet med computer as something, you know?

PUUPPPPPPPPIEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One month!

2009-09-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Today marks one month until the wedding!
It is pretty hard to believe it is only one month away.
I will celebrate by eating found food at work.

wow! more quilling!

2009-09-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

After I exclaimed "done!" this morning, I started looking at what other people are doing with their paper filigree arts and I happened upon Hila Rawet Karni on "All Things Paper".Hot dog!

Can someone tell me how to do this?