Winner!

 Long, long ago - my friend Nichole who blogs as Lapdog Creations had a contest.  See she stopped by Tiger World on a vacation last year and fell head over heels in love.  Honestly.

So - when one of the babies got sick and died, followed quickly by another - she decided to put her blog to good use.  I have nothing but admiration for people who put their money where there heart is in terms of supporting causes.  There are so many that it's easy to get carried away.

Anyway - I donated to help Tiger World, it wasn't much, but hopefully it will help.

In exchange - I got these two lovely sewing books in the mail.  Tea Towels and Pretty Little Pillows.  Both are lovely and I have enjoyed having them beside the bed to look through and be inspired.  Soon, they will be moving to the Studio and hopefully getting used even!

Thank you LapDog Momma - I love the books.  But the real prize was helping out. 

J. Crew?

this is what I wore on Wednesday - see I'm still wearing me made.  I'm just not getting photos taken.

Last week  got my hair cut.  I had to find a new stylist since I'm not working downtown any longer and I wasn't willing to go downtown to get it done.  This girl did a great job - but I'm not so good at styling it myself.  It looked cute and I popped some scrabble tile bobby pins in.  They stay put and are fun.  If anyone needs some - let me know what letters you want.

Anyway - I had to run to the bank and the was visiting with the bank manager who said I looked like I had stepped out of a J. Crew ad.  My friend Anna said I didn't have enough collars and layers on - so we decided it was most likely the lack of color.

The skirt is a taupe and cream wool - it's not a herringbone, but the two colors do create a stripe which I altered up and down in each panel.  I can't even remember how long ago I made this skirt - but I know The Princess was still in high school and I was still sewing in the formal living room and using pattern master.  So it was long, long ago. 

When I first finished it - it was too big.  Story of my life.  I put it away for a few years thinking I would take it in - but really I know myself well enough.  I'm glad I didn't give it away.  It was also very itchy, I used the wool for a simple foldover waistband and that was a bad idea.  Now it fits very well (although I'm growing out of it - in a good way) and I just wear a cami and slip.

Oh - and the glasses?  I only wear them when I drive.  I had just gotten home and had JB's attention so I hadn't taken them off yet.  The sweater and cami were purchased. 

And now....  I'm off to make some new clothes.  Happy Weekend Everyone.

Not My Dog

Last Sunday while we were climbing to the top of a mountain we passed many dogs.

Big dogs, little dogs, all of them.

This guy needed a break and got off the trail and out of the way. 

We saw him again later at the top.

The Goodies - Part Deux

I didn't buy a ton of fabric while I was in Portland, but I did buy my share worth.

Our first stop was Mill Ends where they had some pretty fabric, but absolutely nothing that I had to have.  Remember seeing the fabric piled on the cutting table when JB was doing the floors?  Yea - don't need to buy just because it's pretty.

The next stop was Pendleton and I bought two more pieces of wool.  Both were off the $5/yard table and one screamed sheath dress to me.  We'll see.
That fabric?  Up there?  In the top photo?  From out last stop at Fabric Depot.  It was their sale weekend and while the parking lot was packed, you could move around and see stuff.  The brown and pink is a jersey that called my name.  It will be come a fun tee shirt.  Because I need some new fun tees to wear on weekends.  Under it is a length of white denim with a small amount of stretch.  It wants to be a button front pencil with those lovely blue buttons from the Expo.

And finally - this lovely piece of cotton.  I couldn't leave it.  It didn't fit the pattern in my hand.  But I loved it.  I think it wants to be a button front shirt dress.  Will give me practice for lots of things - matching the print, making a shirt dress, yadda yadda.

This weekend is the Spring Retreat in Dumas Bay with the sewing gang.  I'm so not ready.  I don't have anything cut, prepped or packed up.  I think I've decided to work on fitting different items that I want to work on while I have 27 other knowledgable seamstresses in the same room and then just taking things to work on when everyone is busy.  Hope I get something done.....

The Goodies - Part 1

When I am shopping away from home, I tend to look for stuff that meets 2 criteria. 1.) it's local to the area or b.) I can't get it locally.

Our first stop on Friday night was Happy Knits.  First - can I say how surprised I was that of the 3 yarn shops I looked up in Rav - 2 were open until 8 or later and the 3rd had pub knitting on the Friday we were in town.  Unfortunately - it didn't say where, so we couldn't join up. 

The first yarn meets the 'can't get it locally' criteria.  I bought 2 hanks of Tosh Lace in the colorway Corsage to make a Featherweight Cardigan as part of my year of the cardigan project - which I'm behind on, but who's paying attention really?

Next stop?  Twisted.  This was an absolutely lovely store and I focused on Portland Yarn Dyers.  I might have gone a wee bit crazy (greedy) while in the shop.  Thankfully JB supports this craziness and realizes that I'm just stocking up for our retirement when I can't afford to buy yarn and probably won't be able to see well enough to knit anyway - but we don't talk about that part.

The first yarn I saw and loved was Black Trillium fibre studio in the colorway Marguaux.  It's destined to be socks.  Yes - more socks. But sock yarn is so much easier to purchase on vacation than a sweaters amount.  Just sayin'.

Next - I went local to Seattle because I can't get it locally.  I picked up Hazel Knits Lime Granita which is the color of really good mint chocolate chip ice cream.  The only thing it's missing is the brown flecks - but that's okay.  It's a lovely soft color and will most likely become socks with some sort of leafy pattern.

My last local purchase was Pico Accuardi in the colorway chocolate covered raspberries.  I knew I was so very close to finishing up both pairs of socks that I had brought with me on Friday night, so the girls working at Twisted that night, not only wound the hank up for me, but they also grabbed their trusty gram scale and divided the cake for me so I could knit in my favorite method.

I pulled the yarn and some US0s out of my bag on Sunday morning before checking out of the hotel and started a variation on the Cotty.  I got pretty far on the drive home, eh? 

Weekend Away

JB spent most of the last week in Portland, Oregon.

See - every now and again he has to head to Portland and go to school.  Usually he drives down for a one day class, drives home the same day and then goes to work the next.  However, this week he had two 2-day classes and was in Portland the entire week.

I decided that I'd take the train down on Friday and spend the weekend with him.  Friday the train was delayed out of Seattle and I didn't have time to kick around on my own - but that's okay.  JB met me at the train station, we went back to the hotel and got settled for a minute, found a movie we wanted to see, then went yarn shopping. 

The girls at Twisted recommended The Farm for dinner and it was fabulous!  After that we decided that we were too tired for the movie.

On Saturday, we got up bright and early and due to the woman making the plans - we ended up in Downtown Portland when we were suppose to be in West Lin to meet Mary and her hubby. 

They were delightful.  The 4 of us had breakfast and then we broke by gender.  The men took themselves off to the Roadster and Gun show while Mary and I went fabric shopping.  I had my camera with me all day - and didn't take a single picture.  I know - bad blogger. 


On Sunday we headed home.  But before we tackled I-5 and the Seattle traffic we detoured to Multnomah Falls.  The day was perfect for spending 90 minutes trekking up a mountain to get to the top of the falls.  The first photo is of JB's back while he was at the first overlook with the entire Falls above him.  the second photo - we were on the way back down and are just to the side of the bridge you can see halfway up in the first photo.

Good fun was had by all. 

Me Made Failure

Well - I had a feeling this would happen, I'm still wearing me made every day and weekends are as hard as I thought they would be, but I'm not getting photos taken. 

So how about I distract you with some pretty handknit socks?

This pink pair I designed.  They have lace up the foot and a fold over ruffle.  They are the last pair of socks that my FIL saw me knitting and he was just fascinated.  He would just sit and watch and then he wanted to guess how many stitches were in a pair.

The fit is perfect, just the right amount of negative ease and oh so girly - I love them.

This second pair was knit for JB for Christmas last year.  The pattern is called Par 5 based on the designers favorite hole on her favorite golf course.  According to her - a Par 5 is very easy.   I don't golf, but I thought the higher the par number the harder the hole.  Anyway - these were super easy to knit.  I did them top down with an after-thought heel. 

The main color is Eagles blue and the contrast is a dark grey. 

He said they were a wee bit tight going on, but perfect once he was wearing them.  The cables add a bit of interest and kept me from poking my eyes out making is favorite socks - a very boring 2x2 rib.  

Crazy Idea

Sorry about the scary photo.  That is my knee.  See - I had this crazy idea that it would be fun to do a fun run/walk every month of the year, and then make a blanket out of the tee shirts. 

Well the first one was yesterday.  Apparently I'm a klutz.  I tripped over the road, falling and skinned my knee - thank goodness it's still tights weather!



The really good news?  It was just under 4 miles and we managed to finish in 50 minutes!  We set a pace of 13.23 minutes per mile or some such thing.  The bad news - I might be either too old or too out of shape to do this.  My hip is killing me today.  

Me Made Catch Up

Friday, March 4 - handknit cabled turtleneck and handknit pink socks.

Saturday, March 5 - Red Print Skirt

Sunday, I worked on a cardigan which I threw on over my yoga pants and tee shirt - there is no photo .



Monday, March 7 - black and white print KS 3777 skirt and white KS tee.





Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - grey & white houndstooth skirt.

Wednesday - jean skirt, TS tee, handknit topper.

So far, I've really only missed one day.  Not too shabby.

Favorite Outfit So Far

 March 8, 2011

it's a toss up.

Tuesday I wore the houndstooth straight skirt that I labored over last February.  I think this skirt took me a month of weekends to get done. 

I wore it with a grey turtleneck, grey tights and grey boots. 

Man - I really do shove my stomach forward when I stand, don't I?

Anyway, I felt quite comfortable in this outfit all day.  I might make this skirt again with the new Simplicity straight skirt.








March 9, 2011

 Wednesday I wore the new denim straight skirt. The pattern is Simplicity 2475.  I add a ruffle to the center back panel.  The denim has a fair amount of stretch.  I sewed the princess seams with 6/8" seams instead of 5/8 - taking an inch out of the skirt to give the denim room to stretch and fit, not stretch and get too big.

The blue tee shirt looks way too big in the photo, it's Textile Studio's raglan sleeve top. 

The topper is a cabled caplette made with malabrigo rios.  This was a fairly quick knit - maybe taking about 8 hours all added together and 3 and half hanks of the malabrigo rios.  I think I'll make hat from the leftovers.

 

Apollo

No - we do not have a new dog. But we did have a 'guest' dog for 4 and half days.

The longest 4.5 days of my life.

Apollo is a year old rotweiller puppy and he is a busy, busy boy.

My dogs didn't really enjoy having him here.

But now they are acting like they miss them.

Button, Button

These will get framed

 These are the buttons that will be framed.  They are tiny and rather non-descript and with 8 of them, there really aren't enough.  I see them on a blouse or something.   I just loved the way the looked and thought they would make nice art.

What a very interesting way to turn buttons into art?  And sort stuff from your button box to find sets.  I don't know about you - but my buttons are all a jumble.

The other buttons were just interesting to me.  There were some very pretty silver and turquoise ball buttons. 

In 2 different sizes - I grabbed 12 of the large ones and 6 of the smaller - I thought they would be nice added to a cardigan with the smaller being used as embellishment on the sleeves. 

 Next up - another stamped card of buttons.  But I thought these were lovely and could be used somewhere.  There are only 7 of them, but they would be a lovely accent on a cardigan or a button front skirt or even a shirt dress that doesn't button all the way.  

Finally - in the same booth as the ball buttons I ran across these lovely blue and white buttons. They remind me of old blue enamelware and I love them.  I can clearly see them going down the front of a white beignet skirt.  However - I believe I'll take the Simplicity straight skirt that fits and figure out how to make that a button front.  I think I can do it.  And I know it fits.  Now to find some heavy white denim.  Please don't point out that wearing a white skirt has the same risks in my house as wearing wool. 

I Went to Expo

and while I seemed to spend my entire budget - I really didn't come home with much.  At least not in as compared to years past. 

This year I was on a button kick.  One booth had buttons sewn onto cardstock and embellished with stamping.  I bought one card that I actually plan to frame and hang in the studio - it's just that pretty.

On the fabric front - I bought a that beautiful red wool from Pendelton.

Mary - Pendleton will be having their sale while I'm visiting - you game to go shopping?  I've had such good luck with the straight skirt pattern lately that the plan is to turn the red wool into a lined straight skirt.  I can do that - right?  So - in honesty - this is what scares me about wool - first, the care.  I have slobbery dogs.  I asked the woman at Pendelton and she said yes, I could put it in the washer, just do so on delicate and hang dry.  Washed before making equals wash after making.  I'm good with that.  

Second - the pressing - there is all this talk of needing special tools.  Half of them I don't know what they are or what they are for.  I have a ham and a seam roll (which I need to replace as one lovely dog ate one end), but a dabber?  Anything else I have to have to sew this up? 

As I was looking at the beautiful red fabric I said to my friend E - it's lovely, but I don't wear red.  She just looked at me and laughed.  Finally she said, ummm, yea, you do!  I was wear the red print skirt with the lovely lining, a red turtleneck, brown tights and red ballet flats.  Umm - yea, guess I do.  

Boutique Blog

Last month Chan nominated me with the Stylish blogger Award and then today Beangirl did the same.  I am honored - thank you girls.   Today's title?  Brought to you by Mary Nanna.  Why?  Well Beangirl gave her list of criteria for who she nominated and it was:  they read my blog and comment and have fewer than 100 followers.  Followed by:  Guess we unpopular gals have to stick together.   I'm still thanking Beangirl anyway.

So the rules say, tell 7 things about yourself nobody knows:

*I'm so ready for a new tatoo.
*I just make a denim skirt that I love. 
*I have 3 years of Burda Magazine and have never made a single item.
*I just completed my first successful Ottobre patter and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
*I want a shirt dress pattern that works, but I would rather have finished clothing before tackling that project.
*I hate quilting, and yet I'm drawn to quilt patterns like a moth to flame.
*I don't really love wearing handknit socks.

And now - the nominations: 

Leslie
Carolyn
Mary
Mary Nanna
IrishGirlieKnits
Jessi
Shannon

thanks for the inspiration girls.  

Me Made 1, 2, 3

Have I mentioned how much I hate having my photo taken lately? I'm in desparate need of a haircut and (apparently) a stylist. Plus - with JB I get one shot at a photo. I'm guessing Sal's hubby takes more than one photo.  Anyway - onto the first 3 days of March, what I wore, what I made, and what was handmade:

Skirt:  KwikSew 3777, this is one of my favorite skirt patterns ever.  This one started life as a dress that I just couldn't make work.  So, I took the bodice off, opened up one of the seams to add a zipper and a waistband.  It's more summery than wintery - but it's okay.  Looking at the photo - the taupe turtleneck is a bit too dark for the skirt - guess I'll need to find some different tops to wear with it.

Wednesday was a tough day.  I was very tired and really didn't care.  I threw clothes on.  Pulled my hair up - which I rarely do for public appearances (there is alot of silver at my temples!).

Jeans are from Old Navy and have seen better days.  Top is from a vogue wardrobe pattern, I honest don't remember which one.  The back comes over the shoulders and pleats into the front.  The fabric is left over from a dress.  I also made the cardigan and my socks.  The socks are beaded and I didn't notice the beads at all - except for occassionally catching the sparkle. 

Thursday I felt more like myself.  Wednesday night I received 2 packages in the mail.  I got a beautiful hank of yarn for a test knit I agreed to do as well as a beautiful cowl - more about that later.

Well - I wanted to wear the cowl as 'jewelry' and honestly - the new office is frigid.  So I pulled one of my very few solid color skirts.  I started with a simplicity pattern for this one - the Carolyn skirt - and cut it up, adding cut on godets for flair.  In all honesty - the skirt is too big for me, but I still wear it.  I added a hot pank cami and a white tee.  Then I pulled on pink earings and the cowl.  I felt very pretty all day. 

Remember earlier this year when I signed up to play Pay it Forward?  Well I received this beautiful cowl from Amy.  Not only is it handknit - but she spun the yarn to make it too!  I love it, it was warm, cushy, comfy, not too tall, not too short and not itchy at all.  Also - my favorite mix of colors - brown and pink! 

love::love::love

Gone to the Dogs

Beau



Lucy

and now you know why I refuse to put nice furniture in the studio/dog room.

However, when the opportunity came up to grab these chairs, I jumped on it.  See there is no furniture in  the studio except the sewing chair.  Makes it hard to have friends come over and since I have some sewing friends planning to come - well.

Of course the chairs are draped with blankets (yes, they are what you think they are and no I did not purchase them!) but the dogs don't care and I'm happy the chairs aren't covered in dog hair.  Happy Thursday everyone. 

i made art

Last Friday JB, Miss L, The Princess and I went wine tasting in Woodinville. Those of you who know me - know I don't drink wine. So I grabbed the camera and knitting. I was also the DD.  All of these shots are straight out of the camera.  My camera has some pretty interesting settings.  The middle photo is my favorite - do you have a favorite?  

Dropped

off the face of the earth - apparently. didn't mean to - life just got a bit crazy.  big decisions on the job front, changes, kids visiting, crazy house and wee bit of a vacation.  we've had snow in Seattle - which you have no idea what that does to this city.

i got a Wii and Wii fit and I've been upping the workout anty.  i've done boxing for 2 days and my back is sore - sad? 

i finished the sunflower quilt - will photograph it before it gets mailed to the princess.  we did not, however, get the elastic put into her pink socks.  a week goes by far too fast. 

the picture has nothing to do with the topic - just some nekkid trees from downtown Seattle.  i'll share more photos from our quick vaca/visit (i took almost 300!).  plan to have an outfit to get posted - not sure if i'll post daily or weekly.  and hopefully some finished sewing soon!