UFOs and other sewing . . .

I made myself tackle some UFOs that were piling up.  First is the Washi dress which I  cut out and started summer of 2020.  I needed the elastic thread to shirr the back and just never did so I got a roll of it and finished this sucker off.  I made it tunic length but almost wish I'd done it dress length.  No photos of me in it yet. 

Next up--the Popover dress from Gertie's Jiffy Dresses book.  It's the one on the cover.  There is only 1 pattern piece for this dress.  You use 2 for the front and 2 for the back.  The neck facings are cut on.  The shoulder ties and pockets are the only other pieces.  It's much like a tent dress that uses a belt to cinch in the waist.

Front of the dress.  The back looks the same only without pockets.  It's over a crinoline.

This one isn't a UFO.  I bought some lightweight linen on Fabric Mart for $11 a yard to make a summer dress and I decided on one of my favorite patterns from 7 or 8 years ago.  I'd made both views back then and decided I'd just cut this one street length.

Pretty simple little dress and super comfortable on the hot days we've been having.

I had some leftover linen and threw together some shorts/culottes with an elastic waist and in seam pockets.

UFO sort of.  This skirt is one from the thrift store that was huge.  It slid down on my hips so I threaded elastic through the waist band and that seems to have done the trick!  I got this last year and never did anything with it.  I really like it!

I have one more modern summer dress to make before I delve into some 1920s and Regency stuff.  It felt good to get this done.

If today is a preview . . .

of the rest of the summer, then I'm definitely ready! Those who know me, know that I am a night owl. The worst, and I mean worst thing about the school year is having to get up at 6 a.m. School was closed today due to weather related power outages so I slept until 8:30. Actually that is early for me, but I did go to bed before 1 a.m. By the end of the summer, I will be in my 2 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. sleep cycle which feels absolutely fabulous! It's amazing that my skin looks better and I can lose weight when I keep that schedule. Unfortunately there just are no public schools which allow me to have a schedule that would accommodate my biological needs! I think there should be a school cluster for those of us who wake up in the later hours. I bet grades would be better and the employees a lot sharper!

Yesterday, we had tornado warnings. Our principal decided to be proactive and we went to a code blue situation at 12:30 followed by tornado safety stuff at 2:30--sitting in the hallway with heads covered. It was insane as it was just starting to cloud up and hadn't even started raining. She did tell us to leave by 3:30 to beat the storm and the storm hit as I was creeping up Rt. 29. It was really torrential and all the overpasses had cars stopped under them. It was gone in 10 minutes, but not without causing some major destruction in parts of the DC metro area. I drove by the house to make sure no trees had fallen on it then proceeded to the bank and to Petsmart as the kitties' pantry was bare!

I haven't gotten a lot done this week because it was the week of the Stanley Cup finals. I'm not a big sports enthusiast, but I do love my hockey! There's just something about the grandeur and the history of Lord Stanley's Cup! How did the USA ever get so wrapped up in football? This is so much better! I guess it is just more dignified than the Super Bowl!

So I'm sitting at home thinking about all the stuff I would be getting done at school today with 3 planning periods! Tomorrow I have none so I will have to pay the piper and put in some major overtime hours now to close things down.

This summer will be one of hopefully getting things done around the house. I cannot spend money except on some house things. The BG&E 80% electric rate hike along with the increased gas prices will see to that. Fortunately I have a lot or projects to tend to. We want to put some heat blocking window film on our back windows for starters. I also have curtains to make for the dining room plus other sewing to do.

Then there is this:

This is my Victorian vanity bench. I'm loathe to admit that I actually sit on this every morning when doing my make up. I acquired it about 18 years ago and it was quite lovely when I upholstered it in the sky blue moire taffeta. Unfortunately, that was not a durable fabric and, as you can see, this stool is falling apart. The braid has come off and the stool is becoming unglued.

But here is the real reason I haven't attacked this project yet:

Greg loves this thing. When I am getting ready in the morning, he runs over and gets on the stool just as I am about to sit down. Sometimes he'll even turn his back to me as if to say, "Don't even think about sitting here!" I'll have to use a spare chair and he'll just have to suck it up. Here's the plan: I have to take the stool completely apart and I will paint it off white which the little darker carved wood trim being painted in a muted blue--sort of shabby chic style. Then I have this fabric:

This will be a lot more durable than the moire. I have a love-hate relationship with the craft of upholstery. I simply hate doing it, but I love the outcome. Fortunately, my little purchase of an electric staple/nail gun will make this job a lot easier the second time around. It's pulling out the old tacks that will totally blow! I also have a nice wood armchair that is halfway done that I need to finish upholstering. It was a wedding gift to my inlaws and I hope to finish it up this summer as well.

On the knitting front--I am finishing up Fete within the next week then I have to do the SKC knit along project. Stitch Diva studios sent out an email with a preview of their new patterns that are coming out:





Another summer love--dinners with minimal cooking! I'll be sharing some of my favorite summer recipes here. We just got in some tomato and pepper plants and I'll be putting in cukes, squash and melons when school gets out. Here is a favorite side dish which is in our fridge throughout the summer:


Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:
2 med.-large cucumbers
1 med. sweet onion such as Vidalia
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. parsley flakes or 1 tb. snipped fresh parsley
salt/pepper to taste

Peel cukes and thinly slice them. Half onion and thinly slice. I use the thin slicing blade for both. Place vegetables in serving bowl. Combine water, vinegar, sugar and spices in a jar and shake well to combine. Pour over vegetables and refrigerate until serving time. This dish is best when prepared a few hours ahead of time. Really refreshing when the weather gets hot!

Other news--I took Ems to the BMAfor the Baltimore Ink show last Saturday night. I have never seen such tattoo art in my life! I'm not a tattoo person, but I have to appreciate the ink that some of the participants were displaying! Some of them were literally covered. We're not talking biker tattoos either. It was true art!

It is now time for my
Bushism of the day
"I think younger workers -- first of all, younger workers have been promised benefits the government -- promises that have been promised, benefits that we can't keep. That's just the way it is." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 4, 2005

Huh?

Kitty cam: Greg snoozes in his favorite box.

Back in the saddle--almost!

I treated myself to a fun little dress at Loehmann's yesterday! Check it out!



I love it! It has a flounce running down the front and around the hem and it has lace trim on all the edges as well as inset lace on the skirt and at the waist! It sort of reminds me of the little hippy dresses I wore back in the day!

My hand is definitely getting better and I am looking forward to getting back to knitting. I plan on giving it a try this weekend. The problem is that I cannot really grip anything with my left hand yet, but I should be able to hold a needle. I have numbness in my thumb which I didn't have with the other hand. It is that tingling, pins and needles sort of feeling. Anyway, I go back on May 13th and I'm guessing I will start occupational therapy then. My first knitting projects will be the little Fete sweater I showed in my last entry--that's the little sleeveless one and this one:

I've loved this cardigan since I first saw it. It is from the Classic Elite booklet called "Make it Modern." I love everything in that book! This one is made out of Classic Elite Soft Linen. I am making it from a stash yarn! This is something new to me. I don't buy stash yarn. Don't get me wrong, I have a huge stash, but I purchase yarn for specific patterns then take months (sometimes even years!) to get around to making them. I happened to pick up 10 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Tweed at my LYS when it was being cleared out. This is a tweedy yarn in a faded denim blue with beige specks that will go great with jeans. It is cotton, silk, wool and rayon. It will be perfect. I'm going to try to swatch it to see if I can really knit!

I also ordered more Double Sea Silk for the other little sweater. I'm still fighting the urge to go to Sheep & Wool to pick up some Tilli Tomas. I have such mixed feelings. She discounts for this sale. I object to that company's business practices though. She has a price fixing policy. There was a retailer who used to discount and Tilli Tomas refused to supply them when they found out. Bah hum bug to that!

Speaking of price fixing--I saw this outside the post office yesterday and it set my blood a boiling:

How can this be? Wasn't the 72% increase they just enacted last year enough? As it is, I won't be running my AC much this summer. This is corporate greed at its worst. Well maybe not. BG & E (Baltimore Gas & Electric) can get in line behind Shell Oil. I just heard yesterday that they had record profits last quarter. So all this increase in gas prices isn't entirely due to OPEC. One would think that at some point US Corporations would decide to just do the right thing and scale back their totally obscene profits a bit --maybe to just the rude level. That will never happen!

Okay. That's enough of a rant.

On a humorous note. Many of you are aware of my love for the blog Stuff White People Like. It cracks me up. Boy, am I white! Anyway, this entry will be appreciated by my knitting friends!

I am still waiting for Bird to upload some photos of his newly shaved beard! For those who don't know, he had been growing it since October. This was for a bet in which he would win a case of bear providing he grew the beard until April 30. You can view the progress of the beard here. Those last ones look like mug shots of some homeless person! Fortunately he is shaving it before he tries to get a job!

Tomorrow is Friday! Yoo hoo!

Bushism of the day:
"They could still be hidden, like the 50 tons of mustard gas on a turkey farm." --George W. Bush, on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Washington, D.C. , April 13, 2004

Kitty cam:
Greg waits patiently on my bed while I get dressed in the morning!

Rock the Red!

That's the new motto of the Washington Caps! For those who are unaware, I am a hockey fan and a die hard Caps fan. As the commissioner of a high school ice hockey league, I spend a lot of time around the sport. Plus both my kids played and I spent the majority of my nonworking time in ice rinks!  Anyway--the Caps just tied up their playoff series with the Philadelphia Flyers. They were down 3 games to 1 and now they are tied and will go to game 7 in Washington tomorrow night! I'm psyched!

Something else I'm psyched about is this:

This is the Wraps Organica pattern from Stitch Diva.  It is made up of 4 different types of Tilli Tomas yarn in a variety of colors.  The total price of this would come to $260 but I found a kit for $158.  I may bite the bullet.  There will be an online live knit along on Tuesday nights starting in June.  My hands will be totally back to normal by then!  

That's about it for today!  Short and sweet!

Bushism of the day:
I always jest to people, the Oval Office is the kind of place where people stand outside, they're getting ready to come in and tell me what for, and they walk in and get overwhelmed in the atmosphere, and they say, man, you're looking pretty." --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 4, 2004

Kitty Cam:
Bar (AKA Harley) hangs around my head on the couch!

Patience is a virtue!

One, I might add, that I don't possess! It was obvious that the winning project for the next SKC KAL would be Fifi. I decided to swatch my Rowan Calmer to get ready. I think I have found the ideal cotton yarn. After knitting with the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece which I didn't love, this stuff is like Heaven! It feels like the finest merino wool! It has a rather unique construction which gives it incredible stretch! It doesn't split like the Brown Sheep did and it feels wonderful in the hands!

Even better is the fact that this yarn knitted exactly to gauge! Now the problem for me will be what size to knit. The finished bust measurements are 29.5" for XS and 33.5" for S. This sweater is to be knit with negative ease. When I knit Sahara, I knit it to a finished measurement of 31" to fit my 34.5" bust and it was perfect. As luck would have it, my ideal finished measurement is right in the middle of these two sizes! I'll have to figure this one out because of the stitch pattern but I will make it work.

It turns out that the SKC has decided to make this another double KAL. The other project will be Annie Modesitt's Red Carpet Convertible. This is actually a free pattern but Annie is requesting a donation. Her husband Gerry has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and will be undergoing bone marrow transplants and other major medical procedures. Please consider helping Annie out. She has designed some fabulous patterns such as the Backyard Leaves scarf and the Ribbed Silk Corset Pullover. Her new book of Romantic Hand Knits will be coming out this summer. I hope to make the Red Carpet Convertible as a top. I'm debating on the yarn. I'm thinking about using Artyarns Silk Ribbon in color 105. My second choice is color 137. I'm just not sure about the variegated colourway. I think this yarn would be a gorgeous substitution for the yarn used in the pattern.

Meanwhile, I was busy planning a couple of other summer projects. I found a discontinued yarn that I love! It's called Patina by Classic Elite and it is 70% Cotton and 30% Silk. The color is Mango. I purchased this yarn for Sizzle. In this color that top will definitely live up to its name!


Another summer project that I want to make is Coachella from the new Knitty. The recommended yarn is called Suede by Berroco. It is 100% nylon so that just doesn't appeal to me at all. So I went to the LYS to take a look. There were two possibilities: Berroco Bonsai, a bamboo tape and Wick, a blend of soy silk and polypropylene. I really like the look of the Bonsai, but it had no stretch. With this top, drape is more important then stretch, except for the fact that once again I am between two sizes. The Wick reminds me of Rowan Calmer. It feels almost the same and has a lot of stretch, so I figure that I can make the smaller size.


I had somewhat of a health scare this week. I had a couple of colorless moles appear on my chest where I've had a lot of sun damage. My primary doc thought one was skin cancer and the other precancerous so he sent me to a dermatologist. Fortunately she thought they were both precancerous and just zapped them with liquid nitrogen to freeze them off. Just hearing the word "Cancer" can be scary, but my doc told me that 50% of fair skinned people my age will get skin cancer. The sobering thing is that he said the sun damage done to cause skin cancer was done by the time I was 20! I mentioned to Ems that I might have skin cancer and she freaked out. She thought I was way too nonchalant about it. She said that she wasn't ready to deal with my mortality. She likes to think that I'll always be around. It's nice that my kids feel that way!

On a cheerier note: I wore some kitty shoes today! You can see why I love them!


Kitty Cam:
Samantha has a new friend!


And she seems annoyed that I've intruded upon their time together!