Missing in Action--catching up!

It's been a long time since I last posted.  Sometimes life gets in the way.  Turns out that late last fall I starting having some extremely painful cervical spine issues requiring physical therapy which made it difficult to do hand sewing.  I tend to bend my neck when I hand sew.  I decided to use the time to catch up on some quickie machine sewing tasks.

I have so many cotton and cotton/lycra knits in my stash that I finally decided to whip up some pjs.  I love wearing knit pj pants with t-shirts.  I keep a collection of sleeping t-shirts in long and short sleeves as well as tank tops but I did get some new shirts for my new pjs.

I found a cute pattern on Etsy for summer pjs (which I still have to make) and decided to use that pants pattern since it was made for stretchy knits.  I realized after printing out the pattern that it had no side seam which is a problem as I like to have in seam pockets so I needed to add a side seam and a pocket.  

I really like the pocket construction in my Maryland flag lounge pants.  It's folded along the free vertical edge and the top of the pocket is caught in the waistband to keep it from flopping in place.  So I decided to just copy that one. 

The rest of the process went pretty smoothly.  I like the way the elastic and drawstring go together on this pattern.  One thing I realized, though, is that I need to start using my serger again.  I'll have to take it in for a tune up because sewing knits on the sewing machine takes longer.

Here are the finished PJs:

These pants are soooo comfortable.  These cotton/lycra knits are fairly meaty so I'll need to get some lightweight cotton jersey to make some summer ones.  This is one of the reasons I'll miss Joann Fabrics so much.  They had the best selection of cotton printed knits and I've amased quite a stash of them.  Some were for the grand which never got made but they'll make great pjs for me!

Next up is the skeleton print tunic.  I've had this fabric in my stash for years.   I made the grand a similar tunic when she was 4 (she's now 9!).  I love this print.  The other print is for another project.

I made the pink version but without the hood.  I love hoods but they can get in the way for workout clothing.  I did follow the pattern method for the neck band.

The last of the quickie sewing projects was one I've been sitting on for a year.  It's the Society Dress from Gertie's patreon.  It's a solid 1940s style knit dress.  I bought the rayon knit over a year ago for this project and realized that I do not like working with these slinky type knits.  I like the final result though.

This type of dress would be a great travel piece as you can literally roll it up into a ball and shove in a backpack!  I have another of these cut out of the black print with moons and stars (pictured above with the skeleton print).  That print is a more stable cotton/lycra knit.  I need to fine tune the fit a bit more as it was still a little long waisted on me.

Last up, I whipped up a quick knitting pattern:  One of the many versions of the Miss Marple scarf that you can find on Ravelry.  I had some white wool Cascade 220 in my stash and literally ran out about 1 inch from the end of the project.  I was able to get another skein.

I really like this pattern a lot.  The design is very clever--the way one side feeds through an opening on the other.  It keeps it snugged up against the neck which is nice and warm!

I guess being sidelined didn't completely render me completely unproductive. LOL.  I'm back at making history clothing.  I'm also looking forward to making more modern stuff--some which has already been cut out!

I'm Baaaaaack!

I've been in a blogging funk. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I've gotten sucked into the national sour mood. I'm fortunate to be employed in a job I love, but unless you've been under a rock, you know that education has been a hot topic in the news these days. The message is that public schools are bad, public school teachers are lazy and don't give a shit about kids, charter schools are good and the Teach for America volunteers who agree to teach for 2 years with only 5 weeks training will save America's schools. I read that I my job performance should be evaluated by the gains in test scores of elementary kids who have no incentive to do well on said tests or who face no consequences for not doing well. There are those who feel that my salary should be determined by those same test scores. Given that I teach in a school that is 92% minority, 65% free and reduced lunch, and at least a third who don't speak English, I find the rhetoric to be depressing. Those of us who do what I do understand that this is all about political spin, saving money and ultimately privatizing public education. Hopefully no major changes will occur in my district until I retire in 2016. Our state superintendent, however, has other ideas. Keep in mind that this is a woman who probably hasn't been in a classroom in 40 years. The legislature is keeping her in check however and some major decisions now rely on the governor to make some choices. Hopefully he will use basic common sense and read some research pertaining to the issues he has to decide on.

Enough of my rant! I've been busier than ever at school as I lost a planning period and gained another class which is a new prep. However I have this to look forward to:

Mmmmmm. . . . MadelineTosh!

The green merino light is currently being used for a sweater. The brown on the left will be another sweater. The two singles--blue merino light and red sock will be shawlettes.

Speaking of shawlettes--Here are the two I recently finished:

 The first one is called Fan Dance and it is knit in Sanguine Gryphon Kypria which is a merino/bamboo blend.  It's simply delicious to knit with!  The second one is called Ruffle My Feathers and it is knit in Wollenstudio Sock yarn in Blue Bijou.

Here's another silly little project:

 

I loved the little iron on transfer so I decided to add it to a basic black tee!  

Other news--the kids have moved in together in the first floor apartment in Ems' building.  Her building is a gorgeous large house built around 1900.  They have the whole first floor and they enjoy some neat architectural details like oak paneled walls, ornate fireplaces, stained glass windows, 12 foot ceilings etc.

Kitty news--Samantha was diagnosed with cancer.  She had a little growth between 2 toes which we had removed.  The biopsy revealed it to be a slow growing cancer in the skin so in order to remove enough clean margin, she had to go back in to have half of her hind foot amputated.  She seems completely back to normal and hopefully we've seen the last of that!

Holiday time is fast approaching and I decided that my furry friends outside needed some help so I hung our squirrel feeder on the tree in the front yard.  The squirrels are rather comical to watch.  Sometimes there are 4 or 5 of them out there but only one at a time can get to the feeder.  They sit on a perch and open the top lid to get the food.  When the food gets low, some of them will go inside the feeder and when they hear a noise, the lid pops up as they poke their head out to investigate.  Well, apparently word has gotten out because the other night, a new friend was visiting:

 

DH was bothered by our new visitor and thought we should take the feeder down.  You know me--I thought he was cute and I welcomed him.  He cleaned out the feeder but he hasn't returned.  Perhaps he's found a better feast elsewhere.

This will be the first Thanksgiving without Jeremy.  He has to work Wed. night and Friday morning so he can't make it from the Burgh.  Ems is in the same situation so she may not make it either.  We're still waiting to find out.  I do have a good friend coming.  We hope to go see the new Harry Potter movie after dinner Thursday.

I plan on staying in on Black Friday.  I can think of no sale that would be worth putting myself through that madness.  That's what Ebay and Overstock.com are for!

I hope to be better about keeping up here.  I have a new blog project, however.  I was so depressed after the midterm election that I decided to try my hand at political humor.  You can find my alter ego at The Fake American.   Enjoy and be sure to leave comments!

Kitty Cam: The boys have been throwing hints with the weather getting colder.  They love the fireplace.