Busy weekend!

I've had a busy weekend! Friday, my friend Cat and I headed to the Burgh to see the kids. I had to bring Jeremy's car that we got him and pick up our station wagon so we decided to make a weekend of it. Friday morning we stopped at Joann's before heading out where I picked up some patterns on sale:



I figured I can make these from stash. I also got a vintage apron pattern and a purse pattern.

Then we headed out. We got to the burgh around 2:00 and ate at the Square Cafe where Ems is now working. It's a really nice place and the food was good! We headed off to check in to our hotel and picked up Ems when she got home. After stopping by Right by Nature to see Ems' roomate, we headed to the Warhol Museum to see the Shepard Fairey exhibit which was wonderful. Saturday, we went to Squirrel Hill and to Little's Shoes to look around. I was perfectly controlled and didn't buy anything there for a change. I did get some nice loose teas at the little tea shop on Forbes. We then went to the Carnegie museum to see the dinosaurs! It was a great exhibit! I'm sorry we didn't have more time to see more of the museum. We quickly went through the Polar Life exhibit and the Egyptian exhibit. News of the weather at home was making us a bit nervous as we were originally expecting about 2 inches of snow. When I checked the weather, they had increased the warning to 5 - 7 inches! We had a quick dinner at Mad Mex then headed out around 6:30.

The trip home was uneventful but we could see that snow had fallen once we got to Hagerstown. It was clearly worse in Howard County so we just took it slow. I was surprised that a couple of the bigger roads had not been plowed! We got home about 11:30 and Cat headed to her place. I was wound up from the trip so I ended up staying up quite late then sleeping in today.

I spent part of the day finding fabric online for my next big sewing project. It turns out that I have a formal to go to in March so I decided to make another gown. I wanted something elegant and I had a pattern on hand that met my needs.

This pattern is now out of print and I don't think that Vogue carried it for a long time. It took me a while to digest the instructions as they are really involved and hard to visualize. There are also a lot of pieces because it is assymetrical so most of the pieces are cut out in a single thickness of fabric. I only found one review on Pattern Review and it looked alright except that it had been made out of polyester which I don't think really works with this type of design. The folds in the drape don't lie flat with a synthetic and this type of garment really needs to be made of silk. I found a 30mm weight heavy silk crepe in bright red at Thai Silks and on Ebay and I've requested swatches. I will also have to order boning and figure out how I will bustle the train. I really love this gown.

Other news--I ordered some Icon Shoes! Those who know me know that I LOOOOVE Icon Shoes! They had a 50% off sale which included 50% off of sale items. I ended up with a make up bag and 2 pairs of sandals!



I'm thinking that I might get the purse to go with the "Yes We Can" shoes!

That's about all that's been going on. I'm plugging away at my red sweater and I've reached the end of the body up to the armholes. I now have to do the sleeves then join them and knit the yoke. I haven't gotten much done on that the last week because I had my winter concert and grades to do!

That's about it for now! Have a great week!

Kitty Cam: The tuxedo twins, Samantha and Harley, are spending some quality time together.

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.

Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down!

Who remembers that song by the Carpenters? Well it's a rainy day. It started raining yesterday. That cold penetrating kind of rain which we actually need to bring the water table up so we can avoid a drought this year. Unfortunately, I had outside bus duty at dismissal yesterday and I was cold to the bone after that! I stayed at work a little late then went directly home where I put on my slippers and fixed a latte. That felt good!

I'm trying to finish up some knitting projects before my hand surgery. I've decided that I need to frog about 3 or 4 inches off of Giselle so it will fit like that pattern photo. That's at least a week's worth of knitting, so I'm really bummed because I wanted to finish another sweater before my hand surgery. Giselle did fit. Then I blocked it and it grew. I also ran out of yarn before finishing the second flounce and I ordered another skein. Now, I'm wondering if I couldn't just use the yarn I frog from the body to complete the flounce. That would save me about $40. The problem is that it has already been blocked and stretched and I fear it would mess up the flounce which hasn't been blocked and stretched. I will save it. I'm sure I could use it to make something like this:

I'll have enough from the new skein left to make a nice cowl or hat, so I guess that is what I will do.

Here are the photos of Giselle so far:



It is just way too long. The end should crisscross above the waist and not meet in the back. I had to pull it up over the boobs just to make it shorter.
Here is the pattern photo:


Frogging will make mine fit like that. As much as it pains me to rip out 2 weeks of work, it would pain me more to spend over $100 bucks on a sweater that I don't wear. I will wear it if it fits correctly because I love the style and the yarn, which is mostly silk, feels glorious on the skin.

Here is the first sleeve flounce:

The shaping is done with short rows. I used to hate short rows because I had trouble knitting in the wraps. That is until I saw this video and this video. Cat Bordhi is a genius!

I bought a couple of new books:

Knitting New Gloves has some really interesting designs. I love knitting gloves for some reasons. They are portable for one. You can tuck the project right in your purse--unlike a sweater. I have never had a desire to knit socks though. Why spend the time on something that will be hidden inside a pair of boots? That's when I wear socks so I'm not wasting the time. The book on yarn is a resource. It reminds me of Claire Schaeffer' s Fabric Sewing Guide. This book is a "must have" if you sew. It goes through fabric structure and fiber content and tells what needles, seams, linings, techniques--the list goes on--to use. I refer to it whenever I start a new sewing project. The Book of Yarn is the equivalent resource for knitting. Also--I found a new source for cheap books! Overstock.com was even cheaper than Amazon. The shipping was only $2.50 and it was here in 2 days! What's not to love about that!

I've been reviewing some new spring pattern books and stumbled on some designs to put in my queue:

From Debbie Bliss Coastlines:



From Debbie Bliss Prima Collection:


From Classic Elite Make it Modern:


Also that cute little scarf pictured above is from this book. In fact there is nothing I wouldn't make in this book. All the projects use Cotton Bamboo or Soft Linen.

Another new pattern that is coming out:


This is designed by Wendy Bernard who also designed Sahara. I will be hitting up MD Sheep and Wool for the Tilli Tomas yarn for that one! She discounts substantially at the festival.

Lastly, I found this new pattern:

Yup! It's crochet! I typically don't love crochet. I can't do it mindlessly like knitting. But I will be a one armed bandit and I can do it pretty much with one hand, so I may undertake this project when I am home from school after my hand surgery. My other project will be that of putting a ton of stuff on Ebay. That's how I pay for my New England trip every summer. Sell stuff on Ebay then use my PayPal card to pay for the hotel. Gotta love it!

Other news: I came home from work on Tuesday and saw this in our yard:

Our new shed! It's huge. Once we get electricity in there we can rent it out for parties!

I think that's the end of this one! Later!

Bushism of the day:
"You're free. And freedom is beautiful. And, you know, it'll take time to restore chaos and order — order out of chaos. But we will." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., April 13, 2003

Kitty Cam: Sammy knows how to spend a rainy day!