After It's all Said & Done

Wow- whirlwind of busy-ness, and luckily, it's all done. *phew* The In-Laws packed up & headed home, the work somewhat settling (we'll see!), and the Gamer's birthday plans set in stone.

Now to get back into the grind of life for the next month (yikes) 'til the Gamer heads to Idaho ahead of me & the MolliePie.

It's my sister's 18th birthday (congrats!) today, and while I don't have anything specific for her at the moment, I did make a commitment to take her summer clothes shopping when we're both in Idaho- should take a nice ch$nk outta my wallet, and make her happy with her apparel for the hot (HOT!) Idaho weather.

I'm in & out this eve, so I'll leave you with some pictures- new favorites! (Until the Gamer whips out the camera again & surprises me!)

Sometimes the Waiting is the Hardest!

And once again, I've been Neglectful Nellie on this blogging 'biz. My most abject of apologies, but- I did post a disclaimer from day one!

Now on to life!

My darling MolliePie is growing up with a zest for life, and a hardiness that I'm sure comes from my side of the family. (did I mention that when I was younger, I tagged along after not one, not two, but SIX BOYS on a daily basis, trying to be one of them? Yep- rough & tumble was my middle name!) She's talking & running & growing up to be a beautiful little lady, in between all the temper tantrums & terrible toddler-ness. (Cute, but it's got to stop!)

The Gamer is trying to venture out into the outdoors, with sometimes comedic results (forgot to bring bug spray did we? No coat? Oops!) but overall, he's doing so darn well for a city boy whose skills lie in the technological aspect of things. He, too, is growing up!

In my news, the sewing machine bit the dust, and I'm sending out for a replacement (if anyone from Singer is reading this- You guys' need to work on your efficiency regarding manufacturer errors & warranty replacements!) since mine really IS just inherently *wrong*. Until then, I'm tracing & cutting out pattern pieces, readying fabrics, & looking for coordinating fabrics & notions online. (I realized I have no zippers, and I'm definitely going to need some... along with oh... a whole SLEW of other things, LOL) Sewing is turning out to be expensive, but I console myself with the fact that my thrifitiness means that I've earned as much money selling things as I've spent on fabric this year- Always good news!

So I'll leave this catch-up post with this one.... My handy-dandy Saturn (She ain't so purty, but she sure does get the job done!)

Gorgeous around *These Here Parts*

So for once, it has been *gasp* beautiful here in town. Now keep in mind- normally it's a big wetland; swampy, marshy, and always just a tad colder & wetter than you'd like. But lately things have been just beautiful and sunny, and I'm telling you now, we just plain don't know what to do with ourselves! Most of us don't have air conditioning installed, and *maybe* own one small fan, so we just keep our doors and windows open, hoping that there's a good breeze and very few bugs.

Outside of that, in my creative life, I've hit a roadblock- my "trusty" sewing machine decided it didn't want to cooperate, so I'm sad to say that it's been shipped out & should be back (fixed up!) by this weekend. Until then, I'm tracing patterns out of my Ottobre (love/hate that thing!) and cutting out fabric... I'll have all of the evil tracing & cutting done on a few different things by the time my Singer gets back!

And now I'll leave you be with these pictures that were taken last evening.

So Long!

I feel ever so bad- I've been such a neglectful blogger! But- I did say that this would more than likely happen.. So let's work to BREAK that pattern & get me typing!

To start.... I recently got a sewing pattern book (Ottobre 1/07) in, and am in the midste of a love/hate relationship... I've been going back and forth rather fiercely. At the moment, I'm in the hate phase, hence my time spent here on the computer, rather than at the sewing machine! It's just so hard when you have nearly no sewing skills, and there's a minimal amount of instructions... But then again, there would need to be pages upon pages of instructions for it to be done correctly by me! (Yes, I really do need THAT much help!) Overall though, it's a wonderful magazine (book?) and I would recommend it- for the price, you get a lot of patterns, which even if you DO have to work for them, are inherently great. Where else would you get patterns for costumes, a tutu, a swimsuit/leotard, coat, hat, and multiple tops/pants/dresses for $15 US? (And lets be honest- the cheap thing is what's really keeping me in line!)

What I HAVE been loving is shirring- I've wanted to try it for a while, but haven't been able to find the elastic thread (try that in a town of 1,700, that doesn't have a designated sewing/crafts shop!). But, I was able to get my hands on some, and I'm SO glad! I made the MolliePie a shirt out of my coveted material (so girly & classic looking, at least in MY eyes!), and then went to make myself a shirt... and in my thriftyness, thought I could use a LOT less fabric than I needed. HAH. That did NOT turn out right (when I wear it you can't see the shirring because it stretches, LOL!) so now, it's a cute dress for the MolliePie! (Which is never a bad thing at all!)

OH- and to give credit where credit is due- I found the tutorial on how to shirr the shirt/dress on a blog I found in my browsing(I spend wayyy too much time browsing blogs!)- Kuky Ideas. (The link is to the tutorial, but her blog is SO darn fun in general. She's so very crafty and friendly- I have her bookmarked!)

Outside of that, it has been a busy life here in the home. The child is teething once again, which just leads to crankies all around- be it from the husband, child, or self. But it'll pass, and she'll have a brand new pearly white to show from it!

Without further ado- my *almost shirt* and MolliePie's new DRESS!

It's a Beautiful Day....

.... and I'm cooped up in here!

That's precisely what I was thinking the entire time at work today. Somehow it's always the most beautiful of days when you can't enjoy them, whether you're stuck at work, a prior engagement, or just somehow end up sick on the one sunny weekend of the entire summer (That was my summer '08!). But- I get to go home tonight to the most gorgeous little girl ever, and that makes it all worth it.

Without further ado- the ugly dress I've been working on, made out of re-purposed mens shirts and sewn together using my own self-drafted pattern... a tad too big, but still comfy as all-get-out!

Long Days lead to Longer Nights

Busy bee of a day- worked a good full day, then went to a Graduation (or *Grad* as they would shorten it in Canada!) ceremony. There were a few rough moments in it all, but over everything, I'm proud of the graduates, and I'm proud of the MolliePie for making it through the entire affair- that's a long time for a little lady!

My plans for the rest of the evening are nothing more exciting than lounging, enjoying a blueberry lager (Exquisite. Quite possibly one of the most delicious drinks I've ever had the joy to consume. I'd recommend it to anyone!) watching some television, and browsing blogs, more likely than not linked by the talented women on the sewingmamas.com forum, a place where I've wasted many a recent hour. No- I take that back. A place where I've INVESTED many a recent hour.

So to leave you for now... And be back again tomorrow?

Back at it!

So here I am again! Told you I'd be back. :)

Rather uneventful day in all, but I did learn that having a two hour break in the middle of the workday makes for a MUCH happier worker overall- After spending two hours with my MolliePie, who just wanted mama to hold her, I'm that much more cheerful when I get back to work. Good things!

Sad Things- I realized that although with my last project, I was really getting somewhere and moving ahead as a seamstress (hah!), when I went to put the sleeves on the bodice of my re purposed shirt for MolliePie, I found that *oops!* I don't know how to attack sleeves! And *oops!* I made my sleeves too small for the arm holes!!! (That's what you get when you draft your own patterns & cut some things with more seam allowance Folks!) So- I went online & googled away, and I think I have a slightly better grasp of the basics of sleeve attachment, but we'll see. Wish me Luck!

Signing off with my time spent last night in between the sewing revelations- Baccalaureate! It's that Graduation time of year!

Day One: Back at the Wheel

So I've tried the *blogging* thing before, but it has not a once worked. So this time back at the wheel, I'm hoping that I can stick with it, even if no one ends up reading!

And for starters... How about an intro shot of what I saw last night, just outside and to the right of my humble abode.