Proof I’ve done something since March

Here are some pictures of our back deck (refinished) and patio (new). My birthday present is going to be some patio furniture, so we needed somewhere to put it. Our back deck was already there when we bought the house, but it was in pretty rough shape. It had moss and fungus growing on it and kept on getting worse. It also had built in seating and two grills on it that really decreased the amount of free space. We tore out the uncomfortable seating and moved the grills to their new homes on the patio. I’m not totally happy with the color of the deck, it looks like it was involved in a bad self-tanner accident, but it is an improvement. Maybe the color will mellow after a while.  Here are pictures to prove we’ve actually done something!

Deck, refinished

Nathan’s trees, he’s very proud

Grills sitting on their new home

I’m Baaack…

I had every intention of posting on the 24th. But then I was sick, and hadn’t done anything new, and didn’t feel like it.  And then I took a class on making basic pants at the Needle Nook, and I was going to make them again and post them. And then I didn’t get around to it. And then a friend asked me to make some sweats for her son so he can be a bear in the school play. And finally got that done. See?

Click on the picture to see the bottoms!

I also sorted out my patterns again, and reorganized some other things in my sewing room. I finally finished the Simplicity Cardi-wrap. I really like it, so I plan on making more in other colors for this summer. I cut out the shell that goes with it too.

Really cute cardigan!

 I also started tracing off a Burda pattern and plan to start tracing off a new Vogue pattern. See you in at least ten days!

First BWOF pattern finished!

I finally traced, cut, and put together an entire BWOF pattern! I used it as my entry into the Pattern Review lingerie contest. You can click on the picture to go to my review.

PR Contest Entry

It turned out okay, I wish I was happier with it. The fabric is just a tiny bit too stiff, it doesn’t drape well enough. I have a top cut out to match it, I hope to get it put together this week. I feel quite a bit better today, I hope I’m finally getting over my cold. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Then again, maybe not…

So much for new and wondrous things… I don’t know if I can take a picture of the horrible headache I’ve had all day. I got it from breathing in the paint fumes from painting Nathan’s closet, so I will put up pictures of that once it’s finished. I’ve decided if I start some sort of chemical dependency, it won’t be huffing paint. It’s almost like can taste the oil-based Kilz in my mouth.

We did have a really good time on vacation (and my thermals that I made worked great!). If you go skiing, definitely go in the middle of the week. We didn’t stand in line for a ski lift once until Friday. I did have to hike down a mountain at Arapaho Basin. My ski came of while I was going across some moguls, and then the brake didn’t pop out. It went a good 2/3 of the way down the mountain, since I lost it at the top… I mean if I had to lose a ski, why couldn’t it have happened closer to the bottom? Luckily, some people on the ski lift saw it fly by and helped me find it. They said in went by so fast they thought it was an animal of some sort, until the saw me walking down the mountain.

I did finally decide on my entry for the lingerie contest on Pattern Review. Now I have 7 days to get it done… Hopefully I’ll have a picture of the top for you on Wednesday. Wish me luck!

FYI…

I’ll be out of pocket this week because we’re going on vacation! Hopefully, I’ll post on Sunday with new and wondrous things to show…

Annoyances… and other things

I had a really aggravating Sunday. Nathan and I finally got around to putting the wall sconces up in our bedroom. Had them wired in, ready to go, all they needed were light bulbs and their globes. We got the first one on, no problem, but the second one is NOWHERE to be found. I have this sinking feeling I sent it to Goodwill. Then, I was doing laundry this weekend. I have to admit, I let it stack up. Like, two weeks worth of stack up. We have an Electrolux front-load washer and dryer, and I love them. You can cram them full of laundry, and they do great. So I crammed a queen-size mattress pad in, put in the soap, and went on my merry way. Until about fifteen minutes later when Nathan noticed there was foam coming out of the washer. If you guessed that I forgot to buy high-efficiency detergent, you would be correct. So we had a sopping wet, overly foamed mattress pad, and a foamy, leaky washer. We got that all worked out, and I took the mattress pad down to the laundromat to finish washing it, since I didn’t think it would be the best idea to stick it back in the wash. Do you have any idea how much it costs to do laundry at the laundromat? It cost me $4 to wash, and only wash, that silly mattress pad! I didn’t have enough money on me, I thought my $3 would be ample to wash and dry my mattress pad. How naive! I had to borrow a dollar from some random college girls (borrow being the key word… I paid them back and gave them the detergent that caused me all the problems in the first place). Anyhoo, it was quite a day, let me tell you.

I also got some sewing done and set up a few more of my sewing supplies in my sewing room. Clicking on the patterns will take you to their reviews.

Ready to wear these skiing next week!

Really comfy sleep shorts!

Notions Rack

Vintage Sewing Notions… the buttons are my favorite!

Last thing, today I went by The Etcetera Shop (thrift store) while I was waiting for Buddy to get finished at the groomers. I had to browse through their patterns (of course!). I found a couple that I brought home with me, but the funniest/meanest one by far was a Simplicity pattern from 1968. It’s a children’s pattern for a “Girls’ and Chubbies’ Jiffy Dress in Two Lengths.” Ouch! Let’s not sugar coat anything here!

Update!

Exciting things are happening! I got my new book Fitting and Pattern Alteration in the mail today (I ordered on Sunday!), the people at Schnittvision finally noticed I sent my payment in last week and decided to send me out my patterns, and I cut out my leggings in smaller size. They fit so much better! Hopefully I get a lot accomplished tomorrow.

Great weekend, or greatest weekend ever?

My mom came up to visit me this weekend and we had a wonderful time! We watched the first episode of Project Runway, Julie & Julia, and did some sewing and shopping… It was great! Mom cut out Vogue jacket to get started on.I finished up some Kwik Sew leggings, that were, in a word, disastrous. That’s probably what made it just a great weekend, and not the greatest weekend ever (and that my husband wasn’t there, of course… love you!) . Seriously, they were the baggiest, most awful leggings ever. Whoever they drafted off of at Kwik Sew must have the thinnest legs and deepest crotch of any person dead or alive. Oh well… I also finished a shirt I started forever ago, and did some much needed organizing of my sewing supplies. I also realized that I’m going to have to sew like crazy to reduce my stash before we go to NYC in June. I want to go with a clear conscience, and not feel too guilty about all the new fabric I’m sure I’ll buy.

I saw this post about Schnittvision patterns over on The Selfish Seamstress’s blog recently. I felt compelled to buy some for myself, after all, they were on sale. It would have been practically a crime not to buy them. I’m (still) having the worst time in the world getting them ordered! I placed my order, and then e-mailed them to make sure I sent the payment correctly. No response. I finally gave in and winged it over on Paypal. It appears to have gone well there, they say my payments confirmed. However, Schnittvision still hasn’t updated my order status, nor did they return my second e-mail. I finally just tried using the contact e-mail provided on their website, and still no response! I guess I could just tell Paypal to cancel my payment, but darn it, I want those patterns! If anyone actually reads this and has any insight to offer, I’m all ears.

I also finally finished my entry for the activewear contest, and got my reviews for Kwik Sew 3660 and 3445 posted over at Pattern Review. Take a look!

Click to visit my contest entry!

As soon as I figure out how to enter my items, the picture will link to the contest items. I think I’ll also write tips on threading for the three-thread super stretch stitch and threading wooly nylon if it hasn’t already been done.

I’m doing decently well keeping up my resolutions so far. I only had one day since the start of the year where I haven’t worked on something sewing related at least once a day. On the making dinner and eating it at the table, well, that’s not going quite as well. We have made more of our meals at home, but we still eat in front of the tv… We’ll get there eventually, I guess.

Resolution #3– Pick something, anything, no matter how small, to work do on the house, and then get it done, every week.

(Another word on WordPress’s grammer check– I will not change reduce to cut because they consider reduce a “complex expression.” Good grief!)

Look what I found!

So the other day on my day off, I was trolling through the thrift stores in Hutch.  While I was in the Salvation Army, this little jewel caught my eye:

Pretty cute!

But then, I opened it up! Inside was a surprise even more exciting:

Bernina 707

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. It is a Bernina Minimatic 707! I can tell you are positively green with envy, just like the knobs on my new Bernina…

I brought the whole shebang home, and managed to scratch my car in the process. Don’t tell Nathan. I unloaded it, took out the 707, and put in my 801. Fits like a glove! It’s nice because the cabinet folds into a solid top, and the front opens up for easy access to the bobbin area. Oh, and the most exciting part was I got it all for $15. 

The door swings open on the front and you lift the front piece out

 Of course, it’s still not as nice as the cabinet I got from Mom and Dad for Christmas. :) I almost managed to sew for at least 30 minutes every day this week. I didn’t get to sew at all Saturday, but I sewed extra on Wednesday, so it evened out. I got my pants finished for the activewear contest, hopefully I’ll finish my top quicker than I did my pants.  I had some fit issues with my pants, but I’ll tell you more about it when I get the top done too.

I did have one big dark blotch on my week. I fell down the stair (yes, just one stair) and broke my Kindle. I was so mad! The screen is just stuck and won’t do anything. However, my story does have a happy ending. Kindles have a 1 year manufacturers warranty that even covers being fallen on by your clumsy owner. All I had to do was call them up and tell them what happened. My new Kindle will be here on Tuesday! If you like to read, I highly recommend that you get one. But only if you have good self-control, otherwise reading is all you will do. Dinner will not get made, dishes will not get done, laundry will sit around the washer and dryer. It’s not a pretty picture.

New Year’s Resolution #2: Make dinner and sit down at the kitchen or dining room table (not the coffee table, it doesn’t count ) to eat it at least once a week.

(P.S. Did you know that wordpress has grammar check? Apparently, I will slip into writing in the “passive voice.” However, it also is telling me I misspelled “sew”, so how smart can it really be?)

Brilliant!

I’m so excited!!! I got my Christmas present put together, cleaned up my drafting table, got things moved out of my sewing room, and started setting up things in the sewing room. I also did a little fabric shopping and found some exciting finds at the flea market this Sunday. I’m going to enter the Activewear contest on Pattern Review, and I also joined a group that’s going to sew at least 30 minutes a day. Thankfully, the group includes sewing-related things as well. I took pictures of  the start of my sewing room. Hopefully, Nathan will help me move the mattresses upstairs soon. Here are some pictures of what I’ve got done so far:

Before cleaning, of course.

I got everything here for $41! That includes 18 olfa blades and 2 pairs of scissors!

Not (even close) to everything is in yet, but it’s a start!!

New Year’s Resolution #1: Write on my blog at least once every ten days. Sorry that last year was so sporadic!