Nola Sews

Exciting news

2011-05-17T00:51:00.004-05:00

I may be seeing sewing time in the not to distant future!

You see, the baby has learned to crawl, and to be amused for 10-20 minutes at a time, and the oldest has a week of school left. This means in 8 days, I'll have another set of hands and eyes to keep watch! Perhaps those PJs from Nov 2009 might get made soon!

Pictures

2011-05-10T13:42:00.004-05:00

Here's the DS case with Shaun the Sheep- still in progress- in the picture its being blocked on the ironing board. I still have to sew the eyes on now, but it does have the sides sewn up now.

I am always amazed at how much better things I knit look once they've been blocked!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-10T13:29:00.002-05:00

Here's my big Mother's Day present- besides the usual breakfast in bed(eggs, grits and toast!!), cards and balloon(I've got an eight year old- balloons are great for all occasions!) Its a camillia bush. Not sure what color blooms, or when it will bloom, but its exciting! We've got it planted near the garden in the front yard. And as the eight year old said, now I've got flowers every year!

And a belated Happy Mother's Day to two special moms- my sister-in-law, E, who just became a mom earlier this year, and my sister, S, who will become a mom this fall! Welcome to the club!

Musings on sewing(or why it hasn't happened at all)

2011-04-27T01:14:00.003-05:00

You would think that after winning a new machine, I'd come home charged up about sewing and have at least several things on the sewing table in progress. Instead, my dressmakers form is still in use drying sweaters and my machines are all still on the shelf.
First, a few words about the new babylock. I've decided to keep my new machine. I wouldn't ordinarily buy a machine for just one kind of sewing, that seems a bit extravagant for my tastes, but when you've been given one, well, that's a new wrinkle. So its going to be my quilting machine. I have a Lewis and Clark Expo quilt from Hancock Fabric's Quilt of the Month in 2005(yes, I persevered through all the blocks, even after Katrina hit)that needs to be finished- the top is assembled, I just need to make the binding and back and assemble it.

Second, M has not been the easiest of babies. His brother spoiled us. Hubby was working full-time, going to school and doing clinicals, and J just was the easiest kid on the planet. Sure, he rolled all over the living room floor once he learned he could get there, but he'd sit there and play with things and not require my attention unless he was needing some kind of maintainence- food, cleaning, sleep. M, on the otherhand, has been a mama's boy from the start, and continues to do so. I'm posting at 1:20 in the morning, because the middle of the night is the only time I have to myself. Not exactly time to be cutting out material or sewing! I'm not complaining, mind you, I know I have it wonderful compared to some, but I'm just wishing I had more time to sew. It has taken me over a week to knit a case for J's DS in a Shaun the Sheep pattern(pictures to come, you can see the pattern and a picture here) when it should have taken at the most, a weekend. My mom's birthday present sits dormant on the side of my couch. My long-suffering sister's birthday present for 2009 is still a work in progress(wait, I can't really blame that one on M!!) You get the idea. I can read, I can play Angry Birds on my phone, but I can't do the things I love that involve points or sharp objects while holding a sleepy baby or nursing him.

I tell myself that in a few years, he'll be in school, and I don't want to regret that I didn't spend more time with him instead of spending time crafting. All that stuff will still be there in a couple of years. And if something terrible happens and I don't have all that stuff, I'll still have all my memories of time spent with my baby.

So, I have some knitting I'll post pictures of soon- and hope to update the boys' blogs with pictures after we go to the cool zoo waterpark at our zoo this week. I'm also thinking of having J start blogging on his page(with mom editing), which may make it more interesting.

Finally, I'm still battling with the same post-baby weight gain I had after J. Within a month of giving birth to M, I had lost almost all my pregnancy weight gain, and now, almost 10 months later, I'm right where I was a year ago! While I'm working on it, I am loathe to start making clothes for myself right now.

Why all Moms need a son

2011-04-27T00:56:00.002-05:00

J spent sunday night, monday and monday night with his grandparents. I met his Pawpaw halfway tuesday morning and picked him up. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store for a couple of things. While checking out, he found a paperclip on the floor, and proceeded to make a hook out of it. As we leave the store, he tells me, "If anyone tries to kidnap you, I'll hook them with my hook. I'm surprised no one has tried, since you are so beautiful."
Now, its around midday, and M has drooled all over the front of me, spit up on my shoulder, and pulled the neckline of my shirt all out of whack. I do not resemble a cover girl on any of the magazines unless one of them was running a "you'll be shocked to find out who this is" feature on their cover! But its nice to know that in some minds, you're always beautiful!(of course, his Dad tells me this all the time, so this may be where he gets the idea!)

I would worry about the kidnapping part of the conversation, but we had been discussing it earlier- he was being silly and said if you didn't want to stop when a flagman turned his sign to stop, you should just put him in the car and drive down the road, then let him out a few miles later and have his friends come get him. I said that could be seen as kidnapping, and explained it was a crime. Normally, I would worry why he was thinking that way though!

She's a Winner!!

2011-04-03T14:59:00.002-05:00

This weekend was the weekend of the Sewing and Quilting Expo in Schaumberg, IL, northwest of Chicago. So since I won a trip back when I last attended the show, I flew up with the baby and visited my sister and my mom flew west for the expo as well!

We stayed at the convention center hotel, and it was lovely. We were supposed to have connecting rooms, but unfortunately that didn't work out. But it was nice to not have to schlep our coats around and we could nip back to the room to rest between classes and let the little guy nap.

Last year at the show, we entered at least once a day into the door prize drawings. This year, we all saved all six of our tickets for the final day- they were giving away TWO sewing machines, and one of the instructors was giving away her whole library of books she wrote on fitting and sewing techniques. Mom and I were joking that since my sister had just got a steal on a new serger from one of the sponsors of the show, either mom or I should win one of the sewing machines! Imagine my shock and delight when after awarding the first machine, the man called out my name for the second machine!! So I am now the proud owner of a babylock Tempo sewing machine, which is considered a "crafter's" or "quilter's" machine. You can see it here, on the babylock website.

Its awesome, and now marks the second time I'm coming home from Chicago with a sewing machine! I'm tempted very strongly to visit the babylock dealer in my neighborhood to see if I can trade it in on an embroidery machine, however. We will see.

EXCITEMENT!

2011-01-05T22:29:00.001-06:00

I got my birthday present from DH and the boys- 4 heavy duty shelving units for the laundry/sewing room! So starting Thursday, I'm going to be getting that room organized and set up. I'm hoping that this means that once I have room on the sewing table for a sewing machine, I might actually get some sewing DONE!
I will take before and after pics and post them!

PLEASE!!

2010-12-15T10:04:00.001-06:00

Can you do me a favor? If you read my blog, please go to this site and vote from my friend K's dog? She's really really close to breaking into the top ten and I've voted from my phone, and both my web browsers, so I can't vote again!

Plus, Daisy is pretty cute! Top prize is a trip to somewhere exotic, but the other prizes aren't anything to sneeze at- free dog food!

Hint of the Day: If you belong to My Coke Rewards, free twelve pack coupons are only 30 points TODAY ONLY!

More Bargain Bragging

2010-11-15T20:57:00.003-06:00

I skipped Walgreens this past week. They are kind of annoying, since they consider their Register Rewards(RR) to be coupons and state in their coupon policy that the number of coupons used cannot exceed the number of items purchased. So a few weeks ago when they had Huggies diapers on sale, I wanted to use a RR and a Huggies manufacturer's coupon, and I had to buy something else to make sure I had enough items to even things out. So I tend to wait and think about deals at Walgreens and often just skip them.

But I did run into Rite-Aid. I know, years ago, I told my parents that was never shopping there again in my life(after quitting working there), since they treat their employees so terribly.(think no full-time employees, but everyone who is part-time has to work the maximum hours they can without being considered full-time, so they don't have to get benefits, but work long hours, among other things.) But I got 5 bottles of body wash for men(see previous post) for $2.99. Four bottles were free after coupons and UP!Rewards, and the final bottle I paid sale price for. We are good on body wash for a long time.

This week, Rite-Aid has my hubby's brand of deodorant on sale, buy one, get one free. Plus I have coupons that read the same thing, which means I end up getting *BOTH* for free. Which, since I have an 8 year old boy who uses his dad's deodorant so he can "keep the ladies close", makes this a good deal, as I think "we'll" be going through it a little faster these days. Plus diapers. In retrospect, I probably should have gone with cloth diapers with this boy. But I had no idea that there were such cool options for cloth diapers these days, so I decided to stick with disposables. To be honest, cloth diapers make me a little squeamish. Sounds funny coming from a mom, but there you have it.

Now I'm ready to hit the shower and go to bed. I baked a cake from the Amish Friendship bread starter a friend of mine gave me a week+ ago, and I think I'll be figuring out a way to get this to my mom's to keep it going while I'm there for thanksgiving. I think this would bake up awesome little mini-loaves to go with the glade candles(Target- $2.50 each, minus BOGO coupons, buy 5, get a $5 gift card) I got two weeks ago that will be part of DH's office xmas gifts- not the jar mixes, as I can't find a good deal on Mason jars.(Which is crazy, since my mom was telling me that she got stocked up for next year tonight buying them on clearance. They are regular price at my stores.)The recipe calls for it to bake into two large loaves, but I only had one loaf pan that I could find at the moment(it was a little crazy here earlier, just ask my mom, she called at the tail end of the nuttiness!) so I used my Bundt pan instead- its a sweet bread anyways- and WOW! Can I say how much I love my PAM for Baking?? This stuff ROCKS! I have a beautiful Bundt pan that I rarely use since no matter how well I grease and flour it, my cakes always stuck to it. Until tonight. I used the PAM for Baking that I picked up a few weeks back (sale plus coupon, good deal) and the cake literally FELL out of the pan. So I'm going to get some more!

I did get my sewing machine out this week to sew patches on the 8 year old's Cub Scout uniform- he was the second highest seller, selling over $1200 in popcorn and Saints gear! He got to put a pie in the face of the assistant cubmaster of his pack- a pie tin with reddi-whip- I'm not sure who thought it more fun, ODS or the assistant cubmaster's son, who was shouting encouragement and suggestions, "Put it in his hair too!!"

Bargain Brag

2010-11-09T20:33:00.003-06:00

Today was my shopping day. Early enough in the week to get the deals, late enough to not have too many crowds. I ran into Target and CVS for some bargains and came out with all of the following from both stores, with less than $20 spent *after* taxes and with a $5 GC to target and $3 in ECB from CVS left over!

Target:

6 Ore-Ida Steam and Mash bags
2 boxes of multi-size Tampax
4 cans Carnation Condensed Milk

total: $11 something

Basically, I paid around 50 cents a can for carnation(after sale and coupons), and I have 4 pies to make for sunday's cub scout thanksgiving dinner. The Steam and Mash were $1.50 a bag, regular price $4, and these are awesome to keep in the freezer for emergency mashed potatoes!!

CVS:

4 12 packs diet Coke (yep, I fell off the wagon)
4 Gain dish soap
1 gallon skim milk
4 Excedrin small bottles
6 SOBE drinks

total: $7 something.

Basically, the dish soap was free, the excedrin was 25 cents a bottle, the SOBE was BOGO, and the milk and diet coke ate into my ECBs I spent. Milk is cheaper there than at the grocery store though.

I still have to run to Rite Aid and Walgreens for a few things this week. So I'm hoping to keep my totals WAYYY down there as well. Rite Aid is stock up on men's bodywash- the census may see our house as having only one man, but according to the 8 yearold boy, there are two who shower at our house!! To the point where I was told, "this is MEN'S body wash, so you can't use it, Mom!"

Its that time of year again....

2010-11-09T18:42:00.003-06:00

Monday at YDS's dr appointment(3 shots, and another "perfect baby" rating from his pediatrician!), his doctor noted that we'd see her next after the holidays. Which got me thinking, time to figure out holiday cards.

I love the idea of a holiday newsletter, and quite honestly, we have a lot to be proud of with our oldest son, but I dislike the bragging aspect of it, especially since really, we aren't the only people with a smart kid!

So I usually find a nice picture and make up a photo card and send those out. Two years ago, I used a nice one and printed them myself, but honestly, the quality wasn't great, and the money I "saved" got eaten up by ink and photo paper. The next year I got them done at a local chain store, but the quality still wasn't the best.

This year, I've found the answer. Shutterfly has holiday cards! I've used them in the past for printing photos and making photo books and this year I learned they have photo cards!! Best of all, I can make a beautiful card without spending the boys' college funds! I've been looking at their website, and I have to say, I really like this one, as well as this one! Both let me have more than one picture, and the second one, lets me put in LOTS of them!

If you're interested in making your own card this year, here's quick links to Shutterfly's site:

Christmas Cards are here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

New Years Cards are here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/new-years-cards

Looking for a present for someone whose hard to buy for? Friends of ours get a calendar every year from their oldest daughter, with pictures of the grandkids on each month's page. Shutterfly has these too!

In interest of full disclosure, Shutterfly is giving me 50 free photocards for helping them get the word out, but honestly, I probably would have used them for my photocards anyways, since they are so nice! We used them this summer for birth announcements when the youngest arrived!

YIKES! October ALREADY??

2010-10-07T22:23:00.003-05:00

Its that crazy month, October and the first week is almost over already! At least I can say my house is mostly clean! We have something planned every weekend until the 30th, and I guess the fact that the next day is Halloween, really means we have something planned EVERY weekend!

DH is out of town this weekend, he's at his NP conference, so the boys and I are learning why its much better to have a two parent household! Well, the little boy hasn't really noticed any difference, but the bigger one misses his dad. They had a long talk last night about his jobs while dad was gone.(take care of mom and baby brother) The following weekend we take our camper up to Effie, the weekend after that we'll be at Effie, and then BAM! October is pretty much over and we've got a trip to Maine coming up in November.

Which means I need to get started on listmaking, because the bigger boy will no doubt need some clothes. I just spend an obscene amount on two long sleeve polo shirts and one zip front hoodie with his school name and logo on it today. I know DH has asked me in the past if I can't sew it on myself with my mom's machine, and I think I will look into buying the logo program for her embroidery machine, because even at half of what I spent today, it will be cheap!

Packing with a baby....hmmmm, this will be fun! He doesn't enjoy being put down much, except in his swing when he's sleepy, so it will be interesting!

Said baby is awake, so this ends the post!

Website information

2010-10-07T22:18:00.000-05:00

Some of you have requested access, and I'm happy to do so for you- and S, I deleted your post so your email wasn't floating out there for all to see- and next time, call or email my sister, she would have happily given you my address!

But, I can't tell you how it will look, I do know that the email comes from Kidmondo, not from me. There are two sites that you can access, J's and M's. So I'm off to send (through them) you emails to give you access. Its pretty simple, your email that you get the email at will be your login name, you make up a password and that's how you access.

Anyways, check your spam/junk folders if you don't see anything from KIDMONDO.

Will try to up load some pictures tomorrow after dr's appointment for M- he's getting shots, so that should eliminate any chance of going shopping!

Sorry, no pictures...

2010-09-30T13:26:00.003-05:00

I've thought long and hard about this, and I'm not posting pictures of the boys here. I'm not comfortable with it and most people who don't see them often have access to their websites- if you read this and are family or friend without access, please email me at my gmail account and I'll happily send you an invite to their website.

Now onto some sewing news:
The good news is I now have an instruction manual for my new to me machine. You know how when you get a appliance and you keep track of the manual until you know how to use it and then put it aside and over time it gets shuffled around until you need it and can't find it? Well, that's what happened to my mom. She got a new machine and gifted me with her old one(a husqvarna-viking Lily 555) and couldn't find the manual. Having never owned such a lovely machine before, I didn't want to mess it up without using the manual and so she kept searching for it and I kept searching online for one, and finally after a long time, I found a site that sold photocopies and picked one up really cheap.
So, if you remember those pjs that I cut out about a year ago, orange top and striped pants?(I just checked my old posts- it was November, after the sewing expo) Well, they are about to get finally put together! And I discovered that my new machine does the knit coverstitch like you see on store-bought knit shirts, so I'm VERY excited to get started. So tomorrow morning the plan is to sew once baby boy gets sleeping. I'm going to put together a pair of knit pj bottoms first to get used to the machine and then do the pair that I'll actually wear!

And then I have a pair of jeans to finish hemming for a very patient friend of mine. Then I'd like to make some new skirts for fall/winter, and if I can ever find the patterns on eBay, some tops and dresses that are EBF friendly!

I realized its time to start thinking of what to do for DH's co-workers for Christmas- I was thinking heat-resistant trivets, but I think I need something with less sewing time needed. I'm wondering what people think about those neat food gifts that you inevitably see around the holidays- the mix in a canning jar? I was thinking cookie mix, what to you think? Good idea, bad idea, good idea but use a different mix? Please comment- you can be anonymous if you want! :)

For those who are interested: baby boy gained a whopping two pounds from August to September, and grew another 0.5 inches- he's now two feet tall! Still on the skinny side compared to his brother, but I think he's just going to be built more like his dad!

And for those who know about my new couponing obsession: I bought $36 of shampoo and body wash this morning at walgreens for $5! Combination of sale prices and coupons! I'm good on both of those items for a long time!

Call it Nola DOESN'T Sew....

2010-09-06T02:35:00.002-05:00

Well, I got a lovely note in the mail from a dear friend, congratulating us on baby boy, and at the very end she very nicely added, UPDATE YOUR BLOG!
Actually, she was nicer than that, the shouting is my addition to the statement.

So, it turns out that when you have the house to yourself at 9 months pregnant, you don't really care to blog, or sew, or do much of anything! Instead I lazed around the house, cleaned up for my niece(s) and nephew who were coming home with DS, and did a lot of sleeping.

And then they had no sooner left, but DS #2(aka baby boy) arrived, 19 days early. Almost premature, but over 8 1/2 lbs! He's doing fine, mom is able to EBF so far(exclusively breast-feed), and all is well.

Sewing is just gonna have to wait. But my sister and her lovely DH are coming to visit this weekend coming, and we might just squeeze in some sewing time. Its hard to use scissors when a baby is in your hands, but when he's in someone else's, then you can cut out fabric!! :)

Pictures Soon!

2010-06-23T01:43:00.002-05:00

I finally figured out how to post from my phone!

Yay, me!

Anyways, I promise to post pictures of what I've been up to, and since ds will be out of town later this week, I will probably get it done this time!

No, I didn't disappear!

2010-05-07T23:04:00.002-05:00

We got a virus in our computer in early April, and then went on vacation, and just got it back at the start of this week, and to be honest, I just got around to setting the computer up tonight.

So I haven't downloaded pictures of what I've been up to, but it will be worth it, I promise!

I've switched gears into cross-stitching, and have been really enjoying it.

In other news, we've started taking Lamaze classes, and enjoying that too! We aren't the only couple having a second kid, and we don't appear to be the oldest people in the class....which is always nice! I'm especially pleased to note that I'm not as big as I thought I was! One lady is due two days before me, and is several inches shorter, yet appears to weigh the same as I do(not telling, but its a number I've never seen before! YIKES). As long as my Dr is happy with my weight gain, I don't worry too much, and try to eat healthy.

We still have no name, we think he may end up being Baby Boy Ourlastname! Ah, it will come to us when its right!

Happy Irish/Italian Day to all!

2010-03-21T20:27:00.002-05:00

Today was the Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade and we have hauled home a plethora of fruits and veggies.

Despite trying to not attract the attention of cabbage throwers at the end, we ended up with 12 cabbages. Most of them nice and small and tender, but still! More than 3 people will eat!

We also got about 5 pounds each of red skinned potatoes and russets; along with 1/2 dozen onions and heads of garlic; somewhere around 3-4 pounds of carrots(and numerous small packs of baby carrots); about 7 pounds of oranges and lemons and also the following:
1 box of mac and cheese
1 pack of pork ramen noodles, 3 packs of beef ramen noodles, and about 10 packs of chicken ramen noodles.

Then there was the candy and junk food- some of which got eaten before we ever got home- tootsie rolls, moon pies, chips, bubble gum, a freezer pop(frozen, no less), tiny packs of peanuts, a box of sweetheart candy, and possibly other things that I've forgotten.

There was also beads, stuffed animals and the like, and fake flowers. Despite the cold weather, it was a fabulous way to stock up on veggies!
Here's a sampling of our haul:

Finshed products and a bump!

2010-03-12T09:32:00.003-06:00

Here's some final pics of the twins' hat and mitten sets- the ones with the ribbons are for the girl, and the blue ones are for the boy.

I finished these on wednesday, putting the ribbons on, and then made one of the blue mitts that night.

Yesterday afternoon, I made the second blue mitt and then the hat, all in one quiet afternoon after work.

So these will go to their grandma this weekend and she will probably bring them with her on her next trip to see them!

And for my far-flung sister, mother and niece- here's the baby bump in all its glory! The top is *not* a maternity top, but the skirt most definitely is! Its at the point where my students are now asking me with rather hesitant voices, "Can I ask a personal question? Are you.....going to have a baby?" So much nicer that I'm teaching Math, and not Biology with all that entailed this time around! LOL!

Latest rejected name: Sean Payton Ourlastname. Only on the grounds that there is a 2nd cousin with the name Payton. ;)

Pictures and Progress

2010-03-09T20:28:00.002-06:00

So here's the baby hat and one mitten- the other one I hope to finish before bed tonight(9 rounds, shouldn't be a problem). The mitten does need the ribbon laced through the cuff as well, and then it will be done.

These are kinda small, as you can see in the second picture with my hand for size reference, so they will be for the girl twin, who is smaller than her brother. So I'll need to go up a bit in size for the next set, which will be blue, if you are wondering!

My other project in progress, because I can't just have one or two projects that I'm working on, oh no, is a scarf for one of my co-workers who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. So from "Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders" comes the Reclaimed Cashmere Lacy Scarf, made in pink acrylic/nylon/cashmere blend, which makes it machine washable.

No pictures yet, sorry!

Finally, I found the directions again for my sister's birthday present for last year, so I'll be able to work on that again! Funny, how when looking for something else, other things turn up! That makes project three or four, depending on how you count. But with testing coming up for 3-5th graders at school, and my job of hallway monitoring during testing, I know I'll get a fair amount done on the cable needle roll.(she knows what it is, probably forgot all about it when it didn't show up last may, but maybe luck will be with her this year!) Last year during testing, I got a somewhat complicated baby hat done during my stint in the hallway(I keep the halls quiet, monitor students' going to and from the bathrooms and call the office for teachers- they are not to have any kinds of interruptions while testing.) The best part - the hat was for a teacher in that hallway, who was lead to believe it was for another teacher in a different building!

More work done

2010-03-07T22:48:00.002-06:00

Well, I finished another baby hat today- the same style as the last one, except in baby purple- this will be for one of the twins that arrived late last year- now to get the second one done! :) Pictures tomorrow or sometime this week!

I also gave the coasters to my friend for her belated birthday, and she was very happy and had great compliments on my work. So I am going to be doing some more with the "skinny yarn" as one of my students called it, and see if I can't tackle a book mark next.

We've had beautiful weather this weekend, and its amazing that I've gotten any crafting work done at all- just too pretty outside for a change!

Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

2010-03-04T16:30:00.003-06:00

Well, I will be outnumbered for sure with no hope of catching up this summer!

We are expecting boy number 2, and it was very clear on the ultrasound that he will be a boy. Now for names! We had a girl name, and no boy names!

Aside from that exciting news, he is healthy, and currently a week larger than my due date would suggest. So we may have a baby sooner than planned!

DS#1 also got good news(besides the getting a brother bit) this week- he got accepted into one of the advanced studies academies for the next school year. So while he is disappointed that means getting up earlier, he will be glad to have the extra time in the afternoon to play outside!

Nothing new on the craft front- its been a busy week- maybe this weekend!

Back at Last!!

2010-02-28T19:05:00.006-06:00

Well, I wish I had some great reason for being silent for the month of Feb, other than the usual, "The Saints were in the Super Bowl, it was Mardi Gras, seafood season kicked off in a big way with the start of Lent....." Alas, I have no reasons other than the above. Well, that and the entire universe around me keeps getting the flu and I'm trying to keep me and the baby away from flu carriers!

But I have gotten a couple of things done and have pictures, so here goes!

First, I made a hat for a baby shower last week. One of the teachers at our school is expecting a little boy in early March, so I found a pattern for a baby hat that didn't scream GIRL, and set to work- for once I even had the EXACT yarn in my stash that the pattern called for- Lion's Brand Wool-Ease. Thanks again to my sister for letting me shop her stash last fall! I got about 6 rows from the end of the hat(okay, there's only 15 rows total) and realized that I was making it in about half the size the gauge called for it to be. Keep in mind I am doing this Wednesday on my day off- the shower is Thursday morning(er, yes, I do procrastinate!) and so I rip the entire thing out and start over. I finished it up later that day, and here's how it looked:

After spending the better part of 3 months off and on working on a set of doilies/coasters using a steel crochet hook and number 10 thread, I have finally finished working on them- they are done! I now have to iron them and weave in the ends so they look better than they do in the picture below, but they are finally finished and so the person I was making them for will finally get their birthday present!

And finally, a project that DH did for us, which has changed our living room for the better- we waited almost a month for this to arrive and now have finally put it together and have it set up: a computer cabinet. This one piece replaces a desk and a TV stand that was doing duty as printer/plant stand. While it is dark, it does expose so much more of the room, that it doesn't really darken the room that much! And it just looks cleaner in this corner now- I don't have a before picture to show, but trust me, the after is MUCH better! (And note to my mom: I finally washed the lace curtains- you were right, they needed it!)

Now my next task is two-fold: finish the hats and mitts for the twins, and get the 3 drawers from the desk cleaned out as well as that plastic three drawer unit you see at the lower left of the picture.

Monday is the big day: we will find out if we're having a boy or a girl- hopefully! If this baby is anything like DS, we won't find out anything about gender, though. If we do get a clear shot, and it is obvious what we are having, we'll let people know-otherwise we'll wait until we know for sure!

Who Dats and sadly, no crafts...

2010-01-31T16:19:00.002-06:00

Well, I can rest easier this week, since the NFL has decided not to crack down so much on the use of "Who Dat" especially if its not used with any other Saints logo/trademark. Not surprisingly, as soon as we end up headed to the Super Bowl, they decide they own the expression. Let me tell you, it got about as ugly over that around this city as the thousands of men marching downtown today wearing dresses!(whole 'nother reason- a late local sports talk radio guy said once when the Saints were having a terrible season, that he'd wear a dress if they went to the Super Bowl....so there were thousands of men out there in very cold temps for NOLA marching wearing dresses for him. Yes, its weird, even for us!)

Starting work last week has taken away much of my spare time....and add in the fact I'm still having rough days every now and then pregnancy-wise, well, crocheting has been put to the side. I did finish knitting the little pink ornament sweater and scarf I was working on-but then promptly gave it to a friend of mine with out taking a picture. You can tell it was worked on at two different times- the front was a different tension than the back! Working on it during the game seemed to be the mojo needed- we did beat the Vikings....however, I finished it before the regulation time ran out and so I went to work on the third coaster- which is now about 1/2 way finished. I'll finish it next weekend during the super bowl and work on the baby things I've started for some friends.

I'm still not breaking out the maternity clothes, but in a couple of weeks, I may need to. I'm wearing 1-2 sizes larger in the waist and depending heavily on my stuff with elastic waistbands! The fact that most of my cold weather stuff was tight before...well, the extra weight I gained last spring didn't help me fitting into stuff at all! :) I know I saved the two patterns I bought while pregnant last time, but if you think I can find them......Now it seems that NONE of the Big Three pattern companies sell maternity wear patterns any more. So I will have to do some digging on my days off and see if I can find them. The skirt pattern in particular sewed up really fast, so I'd love to make some light weight skirts for summer, which down here starts in May, leaving me with at least 3 months of hot weather! :)

Of Projects, Who Dats and Babies!

2010-01-18T16:17:00.002-06:00

Sorry, I'll warn you ahead of time- no pictures, yet. Maybe Wed.

Project update- the coaster set is almost done- one left to finish- we were in Mississippi the weekend of the 8-10th and I finished the first one, started and finished the second one, and today I began the third one in the set. This is my first time using the small stainless steel hooks and I can't work on it when I'm tired!

The baby hat and mitts sets I'm making for our friends who have twins is coming along slowly. But since one baby has already gone home from NICU, I do need to get at least one set finished!

I am almost finished with the little pink sweater ornament- I started working on it during the Saints-Patriots game, which they won, and then finished the knitting part during the Saints-Cardinals game, which they also won, so am saving the rest for this Sunday during the Saints-Vikings game. Wearing the same shirt, etc. Am I a little superstitious? Not as much as some Who Dats!(Saints fans, for my mom and others who don't live in this area)

And speaking of baby things and little pink sweaters- our big news of 2010 is that we're expecting a new baby in July! So expect the sewing to turn to maternity clothes and nursing wear, as well as baby things! We'll find out mid-March if its to be another boy or a girl. DS is pulling for a baby brother- although he has begun to tell people, "We are hoping for a healthy baby", which is nice to hear from him! This is also why since coming back from the sewing expo I have done no sewing- I didn't want to be sewing obvious maternity wear when we hadn't made our exciting news public!

We are looking forward to 2010 being super, for obvious reasons! :)

Backpack Almost Done!

2009-12-25T21:14:00.003-06:00

Its quite a bit bigger than I expected it to be- this takes up almost half of the loveseat that its being photographed on....and yes, the pocket is put on crookedly, but thankfully, 10-year-olds are very forgiving...:)

I need to go buy two buttons and D-rings for the straps so I can put them on tomorrow.

Crafts of Another Generation!

2009-12-24T20:37:00.004-06:00

As has been a tradition for a couple of years now, I got the kids- DS and his 2 cousins- another gingerbread house to put together this year- this year it was a more traditional house- last year was a train.

They had a lot of fun putting this together and had several discussions as to when they will start eating it- they've voted for tomorrow! :)

As far as the reception that the towels got- DH's boss loved his so much, he immediately attached it to his belt and said he was ready to go fishing with it. So I have plans to make him a fishing themed one with a bigger toweling bottom.

And this is it for me posting this year- I've got a lot of things on my plate for the end of the year and will probably have no time for a post. DH's grandmother passed away last week and we lost her sister this week- two funerals, 1 week apart. Add all that to the usual holiday stuff and the fact that I've been fighting off some kind of a bug, I don't see much time for blogging, much less sewing......but I'm trying to finish my nephew's backpack before they go home next week.

Pictures at last!

2009-12-16T21:48:00.006-06:00

Here's my starting point, above. Fully assembled toppers on the bottom left, toweling in the center. I got the pattern and directions from About.com, after searching for hanging towels.

A finished red towel.

Attaching the towel to the hanging part.

I put a fold about half-way across the hanger in the towel so it fits into the hanger right. Yes, I need some handcream very badly in this picture.

Getting ready to sew the final seam. I simply folded under the remaining raw edge, and sewed through all thicknesses of fabric, being careful to back-stitch at the start and finish.

Tomorrow night I have to put on the Velcro fasteners(see earlier post today) and wrap all 27 of these suckers. I'm thinking it would be a good idea to go grab a bag of bows on the way home from work tomorrow!

Pictures tonight...maybe

2009-12-16T17:13:00.002-06:00

The towel making process is coming to a close, which is good, since DH's work x-mas party is Friday, and I'm working tomorrow!
There are 27 people at his work, all of whom are getting a present- this year its kitchen towels with toppers that wrap around your fridge or oven door handle. There are 12 red towels and 15 blue ones.
What have I learned from this process? Next year, I'm buying the hot pad insulation from Clotilde, and going back to hot pads- two pieces, some binding and I'm done. This was too much labor- the toweling had to be cut into squares(and that is MESSY) then the pattern pieces for the topper cut out, the toweling serged on at least 3 sides to prevent further messes, the topper assembled and pressed, and then the two pieces put together. The last two steps are the easiest, but my back is killing me from sitting at the machine most of the day. And I still need to attach the velcro to the topper parts to stick them together. Long story short, I have no machine with instructions that will do a buttonhole right now, so no buttons like the pattern calls for.

And my mom was here last week, which was a lot of fun, and hopefully, she didn't get the stomach flu like I did- I think I was coming down with it while she was here, but no emails from her about that, so here's hoping she's fine! :) And if you're wondering, yes, that slows down the sewing process A LOT. Especially when you just feel like curling up and sleeping. But I'm better now, so don't feel too sorry for me!

Pictures tonight or tomorrow night, I promise!

Towels begun

2009-11-25T10:34:00.001-06:00

While working on making kitchen towels with holiday toppers, I'm also making apple pie and dressing for tomorrow.
I'll post some pics as soon as I get some taken!

Silent weekend

2009-11-23T13:48:00.002-06:00

Well, I've got a new phone. A new Motorola Droid in fact.

I'm not usually a "must have the newest technology possible" type of person, but the Droid was so cool, and really appealed to my inner nerd. So when Verizon made it possible for us to get one for less than $100(loyal customer discount, plus New Every Two discount, plus the mail in rebate), it was too hard to say no, and DH said "If you want it, get it!"

And I had done my research. Countless reviews- both from tech mag editors, and from people who got them the first week they were available. I went to the local Verizon store and played with both the Moto Droid and the HTC Eris. In the end, it was the technology, as well as the keyboard that got me- I liked having that separate qwerty keyboard the I could almost put both hands on.

So far, I love it. It has its quirks- you use something that really sucks battery power, like the internet, or brightly lit apps and the battery will go down. But this is to be expected. It has some fun things- a lightsaber app that lets you pretend you are in Star Wars- my 7 yearold thinks this app was just for him! My big complaint so far is that I can't get CBC's "Vinyl Cafe" like my sister can on her T-Mobile android phone. But I haven't asked her where she got it from again, either- I know she told me when I was in Chicago, but I forgot! Is it better than an iPhone? I have no idea- since I have never had one. My last phone was an ancient Nokia that barely accessed the internet and made phone calls. To give you an analogy, I've gone from driving a beat up 1987 Honda Accord to driving a 2009 SSC Ultimate Aero .

Now, as you might have guessed, this means NO sewing got done over the weekend, but the toweling came in today from Fabric Mart, so I need to get started on the gifts for DH's co-workers- my goal is to have them all made(all 30 or so) this week so I don't have to worry about them next month!

More posts with pictures coming this week, I promise!

Pajama Update

2009-11-19T19:35:00.004-06:00

Today was Day One:

I started by laying out what I'm doing: a tangerine stretchy knit T-shirt- Jalie 2005 view B with short sleeves and browns/pinks/oranges striped pj bottoms- McCalls 3370 with a self-fabric drawstring at the waist.

I had to spend most of the morning tracing out the size I needed on the top- its much like a Burda WOF pattern- except with the seam allowances already in place. Jalie patterns are multisized- this one has 24 sizes- from kids to adults! I'm hoping it sews up well! It has a front, a back, a neckband and two sleeves.

After a break for lunch, a break to iron clothes that were on the ironing board- 2 small boy dress shirts, 2 small boy dress pants, one pair of dress pants, three skirts, 1 jacket, and 5 dress shirts- so I could press my pant material, I got to lay out my pattern- one small problem:

If you look closely, the stripes are now going horizontally around the pant leg.(yes, I took the picture before I ironed, since you are looking at it closely!) This is not what I had in mind when I saw this material at my sister's last saturday! I wanted vertical stripes! So, I found a way to get them:

When I am done sewing up the pants, I will cut a small (1" finished width) strip of fabric to ruffle around the edges of the pants to add the length to these. If I need the length. They are 41" long with a 1.25" hem, so it may not be needed. I'll see when I get there.

Tomorrow is volunteer day at school, so I will most likely not get any sewing done- I am planning on taking the day off from sewing. More on Saturday.

Summary of sewing day:

*New Techniques used: 1 (tailor tacks instead of chalk marks on the pants)
*Laundry done while working: 4 loads, washed, dried and put away!
Bonus points for doing all the ironing!
*Supper ready at suppertime: Check! (Roast[cooked in the Crockpot], rice, gravy, corn, potato salad- one of DH's favorite meals!)

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

2009-11-18T17:11:00.003-06:00

It doesn't get much better than this! My mom decided to upgrade her sewing machine- a Viking Lily 555- and guess who was the lucky daughter who got the old one? Plus, she's coming to visit for my birthday next month- a present from my dad, who after 40+ years of marriage, still doesn't like being without her! Thanks Dad!

One thing that's really neat about this machine- my sister sewed her wedding dress with it, and then helped me finish the dress I wore at her wedding on it. (she put in the sleeves, a job I hate, but I have now learned some new techniques....so it maybe not so hateful any longer!)

It made for a very unique carry-on for my trip home from the Expo but it went through security with no problems. A huge thanks to my sister and DBIL who stayed while I slowly made my way through the line at security, just in case! My sister had already flown with it once to get it from my parents' to her place, so we were pretty sure it would er, fly. (sorry for the pun-I couldn't help myself.)

Here's a closeup at the stitch options on this machine! I know its going to be fun sewing with this thing!

Tomorrow the plan is to lay out and make a pair of pjs using the techniques I learned at the expo and some of the material I got from my sister!

I've also ordered the towel material I need to make presents for DH's co-workers and hopefully, there will be enough leftover for some extras for my co-workers. If not, I have other ideas for them- even coasters will work!

More pictures and work to follow! I'm off to see if I even have a pj pattern- I know I have the t-shirt pattern for the top, just wondering about the bottoms now.

Back from Chicago!

2009-11-17T18:48:00.004-06:00

Wow! Was that a whirlwind trip! It seemed like I just got off the plane and it was time to get back to the airport!

So here's a quick breakdown of my trip- and in true southeast LA fashion, we'll mention the food stops too! :) Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I left the camera at home when I realized that there was no photography allowed at the expo.

Wed- DBIL picked me up at the airport and graciously took the rest of the afternoon off to squire me around the city, getting a late lunch and fabric! Lunch was at Hot Doug's which if you ever get the chance to eat there- please do! The owner makes all his own sausages and hot dogs- we're looking at going again if we get up there for Mardi Gras- this time on a friday or saturday so we can try the fries fried in duck fat. After perusing the offerings at Vogue Fabrics downtown, as well as a high end woolens/silks store about a block away, I left with the lining material I came for, plus several remnants at Vogue that were promising! My sister kept reminding me I could shop her stash- more on that later!

Supper that night was at a marvelous Turkish(?) place- lots of great food like baba ganoush, hummus, fresh pitas, and of course, baklawa! (Sorry about the misspellings!) We got into our hotel and went to bed!

Thursday- classes all day off and on, as well as some great surprises- a very good lunch (hot dogs, swirled frozen yogurt) at Costco, very VERY good coffee and pie at IKEA, and great portobello mushroom ravioli(for me) at Olive Garden for supper. Big surprise of the day in classes- to get your hip measurement, SIT DOWN with the tape measure around you.(not rocket science when I thought about it.)

Friday- more classes all day, although we ran out really quick for a great spinach salad at Costco at lunchtime. Before our Alterations for Ready to Wear class, we slipped out to a Panera Bread Co and had sandwiches for supper. The reality of that class was that we should have just gone back to the hotel after supper- not much "how-to" was covered- but she did have some good things to consider before tackling alterations.(and will make me think twice before thinking, "I could just alter that here and here" in a store!)

Saturday was a lot of fun- we had our skirt yoke fitting class, and now we both have skirt yokes that fit us exactly(they may need some tweaking, but that's the whole point of taking *that* class with family- you'll see them again if you need help!) Then it was two different Construction tips classes for me as well as a t-shirt class. My sister took a machine quilting class, which was very interesting. What made saturday was at the end of the day, they drew names like they always did for prizes, and while neither of us won sewing machines or goody bags to bring home, I did win a Package A(5 classes, 3 days of admission) for the Expo next year in Illinois! So that was pretty neat! My mom is now planning to come next year too- so it will be more fun!

Then, we headed back into the city, where the plan was for me to shop my sister's stash, pack and we'd have dinner in there somewhere too. Several totes later, I had emptied two of her fabric totes and had one rather large one overflowing with yarn and fabric. So much so, that the total fabric you see in the pictures is not all-some is still waiting to be shipped to me from Chicago- but we did get all of this down to me for only $20. That was the nice thing about a direct flight- no worries about loosing anything! Dinner that night was at a local Indian restaurant, Hema's Kitchen, and it was wonderful! Its been a LOOOONG time since I'd gone out for good Indian food, so it was a real treat!

So a huge thanks again to my sister and her husband for a marvelous time- and to my sister for all the fabric, yarn and the huge boost to my self-esteem when you said I dressed so well when I lived in NH- you have no idea how much you made my day with that comment!

Hopefully, I'll soon have more posts of great things made with all this fabric- I see lots of skirts and dresses coming soon!

More Halloween!

2009-11-05T20:08:00.003-06:00

Since I'm not a huge fan of Facebook, MySpace and having one's picture plastered all over the internet in general, I'm somewhat cautious about posting pictures or even names of family and friends. So when it came time to post DS's pirate costume pictures, I had a problem, because he wore no mask, and all my pictures were frontal shots! So I did a little editing last night and came up with a picture that I'm comfortable with, and that still shows his ensemble.

What can't be seen well is his pirate "5'o'clock shadow". While waiting for his friend to come over so we could trick-or-treat together, DH said there's something missing. I ran outside, got some mud and smeared it all over DS's face where a beard normally would be. Then I put a hair elastic over one ear, hung an earring from a friend who didn't know I don't wear them on it, and taped the whole thing securely behind his ear.(See top picture, the ear on the right) That was all that was needed! If you look closely at the bottom picture, you'll see that the pant legs were shredded on the bottom, looking much more pirate like!

It was basically a costume from the closet/toybox- the shirt and pants were ones he had already, the head scarf was borrowed from my DMIL, and the sword and pistol were leftovers from 3 years ago when he first was a pirate(yes, that's what we've been for 3 years in a row now!)

He had fun, we had fun walking around a closed off neighborhood with him, his friend and his parents, and they got more candy than they needed. To the boys' minds, it wasn't enough, but when do they ever have enough? :)

Pictures!

2009-11-04T21:08:00.004-06:00

First up is something I had forgotten completely- you see, I'm not the only crafty one in the family- DH is something of an artist- which I am definitely not! So after finding a picture of a jack-o-lantern online that they liked, DH free-hand drew their version of it onto our pumpkin. Then DS got into the cutting(after we scooped out the insides, of course!).

We set it in the fridge during our warm days and it has lasted a nice long time!

Next picture is of DS's school costume- students who had gotten one of the first three charms for good behavior could come dressed as their favorite storybook character-thankfully, most Disney and Pixar movies have been made into books as well for a lot of kids!

One of his favorite books is Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel. Now we forgot, and thought kitty was a boy(she's not- its puppy that's a boy- oh well!) so he dressed as Bad Kitty. This took some thinking on our part, since all the cat costumes for kids at the costume place were for girls(all the adult costumes too, but they were called adult for a reason!). So we bought a tail, a mask and some fake fur from the fabric store, some double-sided tape and we had us a costume!

Onto other things- I've been very good(also very busy-see yesterday's post) and have saved almost all of my magazines that have arrived in the last 3 weeks for my trip next week. So I have Vogue, Harpers' Bazaar, W, and Crochet Today as well as a new knitting magazine for my reading on the plane. I will do the actual knitting and crocheting while at my sister's waiting for her to get home from work- HUGE thanks to my brother-in-law, who is coming to pick me up at the airport in the middle of the day, bringing me back to their place and then going back to work! No wonder she married him! :)

Pictureless post-sorry!

2009-11-03T21:07:00.002-06:00

Things are more than a little crazy here lately, but here's why-

1. October is always a mad sprint thru the month, and when it ends, we always sit, gasping for breath, asking where did the month go?

2. Despite my plans to slow down, volunteer and work less, I've been at school almost every day in October. Yes, no one to blame but me.

So now its November, and we're looking at another mad stretch of 7 days- tomorrow I'm home, cooking and cleaning. Thursday, Friday I'm working (subbing), Saturday is DS's big school bash- where I volunteered myself to work at-but its an easy station. Sunday will be family time, and then Monday I'm subbing again. (same room as Friday- same job I had for 8 weeks, so nothing harsh). Tuesday I'm getting the house cleaned up and ready to leave.........because on Wednesday, I'm on my way to Chicago, to see my sister and go to the Sewing and Quilt Expo!

I can't wait to go- its a matter of getting through the next 7 days first! I do plan on bringing my crocheting with me- I still have my nephew's backpack to finish, and I've started working on coasters for my YaYa sisters- you know who you are! Then there's the matter of baby gifts for a friend whose daughter is expecting twins! I am bringing back my new to me sewing machine, so I can't bring too much along!

When I get back, I need to get down to business of serious sewing, especially getting gifts made for DH's co-workers, so that isn't a big late night sewing deal like it was last year -running around trying to find a Wal-mart open at 8:50pm with vinyl, and thinking a clear shower curtain would work okay.....UGH! I'm making kitchen towel toppers this year, so if anyone has ideas where to get small hand towels, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I'll need about 30 or so....so they can't cost the earth! :)

DS was both Bad Kitty from the Bad Kitty books and a Pirate for Halloween- I'll post pictures later!

Awesome finds!

2009-10-14T22:11:00.002-05:00

This being a week "off", which means I am going in to work/school, but am not actually paid to be there- I just enjoy volunteering there- so I took most of Tuesday off to run errands.

I found myself at a different bookstore(same chain, different location) than normal, and picked up these three great magazines. Now I know that I have complained to some of you in the past about Burda, but this issue had a great set of business wear clothes- boardroom style, its called. I can't wait to find some time to trace out the dress and make it. I do need a sale on muslin first!

They also had the regular issue of Australian Stitches, but to get myself ready for my tops class that I'll be taking in November, I decided to get the shirts and blouses issue. Er, and if you were wondering about those tops I was going to make in September, no, they didn't get done....but they were on the list for tuesday- however, between a very bad memory(didn't have half of what I needed before I left the house-including the drycleaning- necessitating a trip back after taking DS to school, at which time I discovered that the application period for the magnet school system had opened, so I had to get his paperwork together) and getting stuck waiting to cross the river (a 40 minute wait where I hoped I wouldn't run out of gas), I ran out of time to work on the tops......I did get everything else on the list done by 12:30, got supper in the crockpot and had lunch ready when DH came home for lunch that day.

Unfortunately for my nephew, his backpack is still in the same state as when we last visited it in September. And I started a new project using No. 10 thread and a tiny #6 hook. Which isn't going well at all, so there are no pictures. But I have a lot of down time coming up, so here's hoping that some of my crochet and knitting projects get worked on!

I promise to get cracking on my work so I have more to post about! Its nice to have had this week be a slower than usual one with no subbing!

Some Assembly Still Required

2009-09-29T21:12:00.004-05:00

As per a reader's request, here's a picture of the backpack so far:

So far, its the back and the gusset. Now given that its been a week since I last posted and said, hey, *all* I have to do is put it together, I do offer the following in my defense.

1. I had an incredibly busy week last week- not only did I have my regular work schedule, my room is off the library which was running our Scholastic Book Fair- lets just say that I'm worse than the kids in wanting to be at the Book Fair! I did help the librarian in every spare moment I had!

2. I had to work my shift at the Cub Scout booth for their sponsoring parish's fair- only two hours, but in the heat and that does make one more tired than standing around in today's cool temps!

3. The directions were very confusing. I'll drive myself nuts to post them here, lets just say that I've been crocheting for almost 10 years now, and I was ready to pull my hair out- I did consult two others on how to read them and finally got help- the good night's sleep before I asked the second person probably did wonders too!

So I did the above sunday afternoon and now have the rest to go- but if my niece or nephew read this, do know his backpack will be in the mail before October is over!

On a totally different note, this sign outside a local jewelery store advertising their crystal commemorative baseball for LSU's College World Series win this summer *still* makes me smile! I wish they sold t-shirts with this on it! DH would love it!

If you can't read it clearly, it states:

We messed with Texas.......and Won!

News with out pictures

2009-09-22T20:51:00.002-05:00

My nephew's backpack is almost complete- all the pieces are made and it is ready to assemble. Hopefully sometime this week I'll eek out some time and get it put together.

And in the most exciting news of all(to those who don't know)- I'm going to Chicago in November! My sister and I will be attending the Sewing and Quilter's Expo in Shaumburg, IL.(may or may not be the correct name- I forgot and am too lazy to go pull it up.) She's been after me for few months now to come along, and suddenly, all things fell into place- she registered for her classes there and sent me her schedule, and I looked online, found cheap DIRECT plane tickets and now we're in business!

I'm looking forward to a weekend of sewing and learning, fun and lots of sisters only time for the first time since I got married- and that's been almost 8 years!(which isn't to say I don't want to see my BIL-but us girls are spending Wed-Sat together which will be awesome! Then some time sat eve and sun am with my sister and BIL, and home to my "boys" who will no doubt be ready for me to come home!)

The nicest part of all- my sister went "home" to our parents this past weekend and picked up my "new to me" sewing machine from my mom. Mom upgraded and I got the "old" machine! So since my sister was able to carry it on, I'm going to have it be my carry-on on the way home from the expo. So she gets some time with the machine before it comes home with me. Now here's my new goal- what would I sew if I had an awesome like new machine that has all kinds of bells and whistles for about a month? Maybe those tops I keep talking about?

I'm working for only a couple of more weeks, so then I'll sew for real. But in the meantime, perhaps I'll try to finish some of these UFOs and get some plans made for other things! One thing for sure after the closet clean out- I need some longer skirts for fall! The knee-length ones, while flattering, will be chilly as it gets cooler!

Closet Musings

2009-09-12T18:34:00.003-05:00

So in the interest of actually putting away the new skirts, and following my sister's instructions of monday to share what I can't wear-with specific people, so if you are one of the lucky ones getting a bag of clothes from me, thank her, not me- I went on a closet cleanout/reorg. Turns out I have more black T's than white[only one of those] and LOTS of shirts that I don't wear for one reason or another. So I got a whole bunch of them cleaned out, which gave me some more space. Then I went thru the skirts to see what could go and what needed to stay. One kitchen trash bag, two full grocery bags, three things tossed into the trash-paint and unknown stains on them- and a partial grocery bag later, I have a closet that is *still* jam-packed. Maybe another day I can go thru and weed some more. I do know that I have all 4 seasons hanging up in there and that would help matters some if I could just pull out the wool skirts- winter is still months away here!

Here's a picture of the box that started this whole day of reorganization, and the bags ready to go to their new homes! Sorry for the fuzzy pics, I'm using the laptop and could only send pics from the cell phone.[and DH needs the computer, so I didn't clean up the pics at all.]

Sew What? SKIRTS!

2009-09-12T11:05:00.003-05:00

When I got home yesterday, what should be waiting on the porch for me(okay, besides my beloved DH) but a BIG box of skirts from my sister who is not only destashing, but cleaning out closets too!
Soo, I have a whole bunch of new to me skirts, and this means cleaning out my closet- so as a result of my sister cleaning out her closet, myself and 3-5 other people are getting new-to-them skirts.

All of which is funny only because I had planned to sew some skirts this month, using my favorite book, "Sew What? Skirts!" which basically allows you to design both straight and a-line skirts that fit you perfectly. And then shows you how to alter their design into wrap skirts and others. If you sew and you aren't a big fan of patterns, this is an awesome book! So now I need to work on some tops!

Hancock's had a huge Labor Day sale on notions- the entire notion wall was 50% off with some exceptions(I'd love a day when a store has a sale with NO exceptions!) and I stocked up on some basics that I've been needing- along with some dress patterns. I'm in love with this Moschino dress I saw in "W" magazine this month- you can see it here. Now, this picture doesn't do the dress justice, and it does have a poufy, weird neckline, which I'd change, but I love the houndstooth print and the seaming on this dress. *ETA: Right after I posted this, and connected to the Shop Lady-Like section beside the dress, I found this dress, which is now on sale, however, I am quite sure, even after factoring in a plane trip to NYC to get very expensive fabric, I could probably make it for the same price or less than the SALE price. Still, this Fendi is a beautiful dress....

Sorry there's no pictures, but its been a crazy week. Now that I have a closet full of skirts, I have no excuse to not get working on tops- the material is even washed and ready to go! Maybe after I get some of my domestic engineering done- who knows? DH is on call this weekend, so it does mean we'll be close to home today anyways!

Fabric Mart Surprises!

2009-09-03T19:31:00.008-05:00

Well, my box of fun from Fabric Mart arrived today- I did something I'd never done before and ordered a mystery box. If anyone needs some metal zippers in various sizes and colors, let me know- I've now got lots! Also, two patterns from Burda, two sets of shoulder pads, some buttons, thread, a new seam ripper, some hem lace tape, and some other stuff. And a quilters travel book, which at first looked fun, but I realize now is useless- its a directory of quilt stores as of 1998. I haven't checked the New Orleans stores listed, but its a guess based on location of one of them, it "ain't dere no more". Another Katrina loss. I did get my $8 worth from the box, but am not so sure I'd order one again.

Now on to the fun stuff. I also ordered a mystery bundle of fabrics- at least 10 yards of various materials, not less than 1 or maybe 1.5 yards of each cut, only $15. Its hard to resist- this is my third bundle. But this time I got some useful fabrics!

Here's a picture of all the fabrics together:

On the far left is the Maggy London print I ordered and next to it the hammered silk, which apparently I mistakenly ordered the off-white, not the white. Oh well. The other 5 cuts are from my mystery bundle.

This is the most exciting of the fabrics from the mystery bundle. It's a black crushed soft material(haven't done any tests yet to see what exactly) with white and pink flowers embroidered on it. I'm seeing a dress out of this- they sent 3 yards!

This is pretty neat- its very washed out in the picture- but it is a very very fine wale courdoroy that is a dark butter yellow. At 2.5 yards, I can make almost anything, but I'm thinking skirt again- maybe the Loes Hines gored skirt I've been waiting to make. This yellow won't look great near my face, so a bottom is what I'm looking at!

This feels like cotton, but I'm thinking a cute summer skirt or maybe even a dress- I have 2 yards of it. Its got a mid-sized hibiscus print on it- very Hawaiian!

This is a thick fabric- it may even be reversible, its that thick. I think it will make great pillows- maybe even for our bed- it would be a nice touch of color against the winter duvet cover.

This last fabric is Waverley home dec fabric, but I'm not in love with it. Maybe if I had a little girl, or the sheets my mom had that are almost a match for this fabric, I'd love it, but right now I don't. I will likely end up giving this away, so readers, if you desire it, let me know!

All for tonight- and probably the weekend. We're expecting company for Labor Day, so I doubt I'll be sewing until after that. Work continues to go along well, and the boss paid me a huge compliment today. Thanks to Mom and Dad for raising me with a work ethic! :)

Blue Skirt Worn!

2009-08-30T13:25:00.001-05:00

So I got DH to help me mark the hem yesterday afternoon, after I got the house cleaned up (and more importantly, the table cleared so I could sew!) I pressed the line he marked, cut it all off below that line and then sewed 1/4" in from the cut. Turned this under, pressed it and then turned it under 1" and pressed, pinned and started hemming by hand. I got about halfway thru and got very tired- it was late- and so I finished it up early this am, as I wanted to wear it this morning. (Note to my moms- no, this is not typical behavior!)

And so here it is- as I wore it this morning- with the "wearable muslin" jacket from the 2008 SWAP contest- they go together well! I think all the tops I have planned for next month will go well with this skirt- so that's a bonus too!

Outfit Material

2009-08-29T08:02:00.002-05:00

So here's the skirt and top material I ordered from Fabric Mart. The skirt will be made from a Maggy London cotton lycra print, and you can see a picture of it here. The top will be made of white 100% Hammered Silk, which was on a fabulous sale, and you can see a picture of what it looks like here. Seems like I got the last of the white silk, so I'm linking you to the off white. I'm very excited about the fabric, as well as my ability to post links....I'm getting tech-savvy in my old age!

I'm hoping to have it done for the fall, but we'll see. These tops are going to be a priority first, although I will have some spare time for sewing today, as DS has a play date with his best friend this afternoon when we get back from our Cub Scout outing.

*Note: I am not sure if DH reads the blog- maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. But in case he does, I bought this with the bonus Kelly is paying me for taking a long-term sub job- a nice surprise I learned about on Thursday! And while I know you don't say anything about my fabric purchases, I know you probably wish more of them would become clothes! :)

Four Tops For September

2009-08-28T22:08:00.004-05:00

I'm embarking on a new quest- for September I'm going to sew 4 tops. Tops have always been a problem for me- I'm not the standard B-cup that patterns draft for, and they always end up too loose. So I'm going to make some blouses that look good looser, make them a little less loose, and go from there. If you look at my profile, I've posted the fabrics I'm going to use as my profile picture- the white, beige, coral and blue are already planned blouses- my quest to join in the 2008 SWAP, in which I sewed 1 skirt, 1 dress and a wearable muslin of the jacket pattern I was going to use for the silk tweed in the middle of the picture. So I will get some more clothes I can wear, as well as some more clothes that will work with the clothes I'm going to make!
ETA: Its the top three fabrics, and the blue on the bottom right of the picture.

And I have some really really pretty fabric on its way from Fabric Mart- irresistible sales on silk among other things and I have a top and a skirt(to be assembled, hehe!) on its way from them! I'll post pictures when it arrives.

This coming week will start my actual sub job- up until now I've been helping out in various places- as of Monday I will be in my actual classroom with "my kids". It should be less hectic than running around like I have been this past two weeks. I was at the wholesale club this morning helping pick up the snacks for positive behavior system sales at 7:30am and after a whole day of planning and photocopying and collating and organizing and a rowdy Cub Scout Pack meeting in the evening, I'm ready to drop! Sewing will have to wait for tomorrow- I'm off to curl up with a knitting book my sister sent me- lucky me, she ended up with two copies- its _The Baby Knits Book_, by Debbie Bliss. Really cute stuff!

Lazy weekend-no pictures and old stories!

2009-08-23T22:13:00.004-05:00

I've got nothing to show you! Well, I did move the blue skirt to a place where I can see it and remember to get DH to help me mark the hem- see, I have taught him something! Which reminds me of a funny story- Back when we were expecting our DS, I got tired of the same old rotation of maternity clothes and so decided to make some of my own. I made a skirt pretty easily- it had an adjustable waistband and somehow the skirt edges came out even, so I turned it under and sewed in the hem. The dress was a whole other game- the waist was gathered in the front, so of course, it was not even, and of course, I was trying to finish it last minute. So I was trying to teach DH how to mark the hem- I got frustrated trying to explain, and more than a little teary- we finally ended up with him wearing the dress with pillows under it so I could mark the hem....might have a lot to do with pregnancy hormones, hmmmm? I know I have a picture somewhere of me in said dress- its in the scrapbook. I'll try to remember to add in here tomorrow. I do look tired and drawn- it was near the very end- about this time of year, actually, and I was tired of being pregnant and terrified of the baby actually arriving!

I did start basting the sheer fabric to the cotton underlining, so perhaps if I work on it a little each evening, I'll get somewhere by Friday. Right now, I've got to get off to bed- we've had another one of our "Two hundred mile" sundays, and DS has just come by to remind me that "Its a school night and I need you to snuggle me in bed so I can go to sleep." He'd probably drop off on his own, but he likes the reassurance, and we spoil him terribly in some ways.

One quick story and then bed- he told his teacher friday he'd practice tic-tac-toe this weekend "with my girlfriend on Sunday, because when we go to Olive Garden, I get the kids menu and we can play tic-tac-toe on it." She was curious to know who his girlfriend was, but he wasn't telling- he left it up to me to tell her! Because of time constraints, we didn't go out with his girlfriend-who is the same age as his younger grandmother- for lunch, but DH has promised to teach him in the evenings this week how to win at tic-tac-toe!

I'll try to post more before Wednesday- maybe even get that skirt hemmed!

Works In Progress

2009-08-21T21:17:00.000-05:00

Here's my works in progress- well, three of them. Truth be told, I have probably at least 3 knitting projects underway in bags beside my couch, and another crochet project in there too! But here's ones I have pictures of- and my hope is that blogging about them will get me motivated to finish them!

First up is a light blue bias cut skirt, (from a commercial pattern, but I can't find it to tell you which one it is), which got hung up on July 9 let it reach its natural length before hemming. It was the first time I can recall putting in a lapped zipper, I usually just make put in an invisible one(which is funny, because most people would rather do the reverse...). But I hope tomorrow to get the hem marked and perhaps even sewn! I may be able to wear it this sunday, who knows?

The next project I'm working on, and really, really need to finish is a camo backpack for my nephew. He's seen what the finished product will look like, and was very enthusiastic about getting it when I'm done! I was supposed to have it done before school started, but didn't have much time to work on it the last week before school started as I had a friend of my son's over for three days and was busy keeping them busy! They had fun, so it was worth it!
I am using the pattern in the august issue of Crochet World, which in the picture beside the front and back pieces. Right now I'm working on the fiddly little bits that put the whole thing together!

My last project is the one I'm most excited about, because its been percolating in my brain since I got the material in a box of material from my sister over a year ago. Its a yoked A-line skirt pattern, Simplicity 4599. I'm using the dark brown material in the picture for the yoke, and the lighter paisley print is for the body of the skirt. Since the lighter material is also very sheer, I'm doing something I've never done before, and am underlining the skirt part. I'm probably going to put this off until Labor Day weekend, when I'll have a three day weekend to focus, as I have to baste the underlining to the skirt material before I begin sewing!

So that's it! Its been a busy week, being back at school and adjusting to a new routine. But DS loves his teacher, and we love her after being at open house last night! She's very fair, but firm, and very old school. Her methods have results, and after subbing for her a few times last school year, I was hoping we'd get her for our son this year- and we did!

Back to School with bags

2009-08-20T20:38:00.000-05:00

School started too early again as usual! A friend of mine works in a school that required her to bring not only her lunch, but everything else to school in clear bags. Since I had a lot of clear plastic tablecloth material leftover from last winter's coasters, I used them to make her some bags!

First, I made a tote bag with handles. Since her favorite color is pink, I used pink webbing for the straps, and then I used some gray fabric leftover from a skirt I made last year to reinforce the bottom side seams on the bag and to cover the top edge. To make the bag, I loosely followed a tote bag pattern from Sew Simple, Vol. 10. (its the cover project.)

Then, I made her a lunch bag. To make this one, I measured a plastic lunch bag my son had and then added about 1 inch all around to the measurements. I used half-inch seams and left the seams sticking out on the outside. I tried turning it inside out, to make the outside smooth, but this made the bag smaller, so I left the edges sticking out. Again, the top is edged with the same leftover gray material.