NYC

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. Yes, folks, that's right: pictures from the hottest weekend in NYC in, well, forever. I took the train from Baltimore Airport to Penn Station which allowed an early morning walk through the Garment District on my way to the hotel. Then, we took one of those double-decker tour buses around the city. My husband had never been to NYC and wanted to see as much as possible and it was just too hot to do it on foot. And you get to see the Vogue skirt in action. We traded photo shoots with another couple while we waited to leave from Battery Park. The next part of the tour took us through Brooklyn where we got to stop for ice cream and a nice photo in a quiet, older neighborhood. Amazingly I don't look nearly as hot and droopy as I felt. The cotton skirt was a great idea. It has pockets and was a cool as anything could be at 106 degrees in Central park. Ok, this picture is Madison Park, but whatever. It's still pretty interesting, no? The kid is asking the guy how he got the piano to the park. The answer was ......
The only fabric shopping I got to do was a quick run through the part of the fashion district while my husband cooled off in a local bar. But I really was just too hot to really get into it much. And a lot of the smaller store aren't air conditioned very well. I did find Paron's and rummaged through the annex and found these 3 fabrics. All are Italian: silk & cotton, rayon and cotton, and wool (from left to right). Prices were good and cuts were generous. The two bottom "things" are some novelty elastics from one of the trim stores. Just fun.
And finally, just to cool us all off after trudging through the scorching sun for hours:

Been aquiring a bit....

As previously reported, I spent last weekend at my friend Karen's House. You saw a couple of her newly acquired machines in my previous post. Now it's time to see what I got. Because we didn't JUST play with vintage sewing machines. We also shopped. Kind of a lot. I even spent a bit of time shopping on line while there.

When Carolyn first posted her Fabricmart shopping spree, I promptly "ran" over there and put the yellow/black/white floral border print in my shopping cart. And then procrastinated and it was gone when I went to check out. I was quite sad but decided it was meant to be, put on my big girl pan-ties and moved on. Then I heard via the Internet grape vine that there was more available. Well, not to miss out twice, this time I double-timed it over and snagged my own panels. I also picked up some navy Vera Wang (far right), also Vera Wang black/white wool, and a grey wool. All really nice, though the navy is shinier than I'd expected. But it's lovely stuff. And because I'm an odd sucker for mysteries, I purchased a mystery package for $5. Not fabric, just sewing stuff. And I was quite pleasantly surprised. There are around 15 zippers (well worth the $5 all by themselves), about 5 yards of some odd, blue homedec trim (hmmmm), about 5 yards of elastic, a big handful of prefilled bobbins that don't fit my machine, some other trims and a WALKING FOOT! I haven't tried it yet, I have one for my Viking but I'll give it a shot on my New Home and Singer. And a couple yards of some blue lining fabric. A nice little grab bag.

When Karen dropped off her machine at the repair/quilting shop I browsed through some boxes of vintage patterns. For $1 each I picked up 3. I love the neckline on the Vogue - not the collar, but the pleats. Remember Vogue Paris Originals? Take a look at the sleeves on the short sleeved shirt. I love the way they're attached. And the long sleeved shirt still has the monogram stencils. Eat your heart out, Laverne. They also had some UT cotton that's hard to find when you don't live in East Tennessee.

Now, lest you think it was all fun and games, there was an ugly wind storm that knocked down trees and power lines. This tree was in Karen's front yard. And to escape the dark and powerless house we had to drag off more than a few branches off the road.

I have a few more things to share, but will save them for another day. And don't forget to change your clocks! (next week - um, thanks Carolyn - where's my embarrassed face? and glad I didn't mess with my clocks!)

Whew!

I really need a vacation from my vacation. This was an exhausting trip. Hauling luggage, fighting crowds, walking miles, fighting crowds, drinking too much, fighting crowds, eating too much and fighting crowds. Everywhere we went was just packed. And that makes it hard for my son to navigate when you can't get to curb cuts or small children are darting out or families are walking slowly across entire hallways. And it feels like we just missed Christmas this year, skipped it all the way. And it was cold. I was just cold the whole time.

Ok, whining over....

BUT there were no airline issues or problems, even going into Detroit 2 days after an attack and the same day as another incident. I've been in/out of Vegas a number of times and this was likely the easiest and fastest I've ever been through security. We got the middle seat empty, landed early, no worries. Of course we started at 4 am, but over by 4pm and 3 time zones. So don't listen to the fear mongers on the Today Show. Airline travel IS still possible. Really.

The new City Center just opened in Vegas, still a lot of empty spaces but also some really pretty flowers: And some odd, but cool, ice sculptures.

I did run into a friend at the Venetian. That's Mr. Dumpty to you. (yes, I made the scarf I'm wearing. It's the one my son said looked like an Abercrombie and Fitch. I think he meant that as a compliment). And we walked through the new Zegna menswear store and petted the wool. Makes me want to go shopping at Michaels for some nice fabric to play with. Really nice stuff. A nice touch on the front pocket of the men's slacks was saddle stitching for the top stitching. Very nice.

I have one day in Detroit before heading back to DC on Tuesday. I'm having dinner with a couple of friends and have them scarves for Christmas. Here they are laid out on the floor blocking (I hope). Actually, the black one may have too much acrylic to block well, but the blue is "Wool-ease" so should do ok. I knitted the blue on on the plane - going and coming. It's "Sky blue". The black was a Debbie Bliss for JoAnn's, my friend said she needed black. And I need to fringe the blue one, still.

Well, my pizza's here, so chow.

Found it!

I DID leave my camera cable at my son's. Yea! I really thought I'd gotten it before I left his apartment, but no, it was still here. So NOW you have photos.

I flew into Detroit this morning. Reagan was an absolute mess. I printed my boarding pass yesterday and then left it on my desk so I had to reprint at the airport. BIG mistake. The lobby was jammed and packed and full of angry, annoyed and impatient people. Most of whom were just unable to comprehend that some of us only needed to print a boarding pass, not check luggage or steal their seat or any other evil act. I was sworn at and had my bag shoved around. I finally found an empty kiosk and in less than 2 minutes had a new pass and was on my way to security. No lines there - all still on the floor above. Down to the gate where the flight before us still hadn't boarded. 2 gate changes and 2 1/2 hours later I was on my way to Detroit. To add to Delta's confusion with the increased holiday travel and weather delays they'd chosen just this week to move the Northwest flights from the other terminal. Timing, as they say, is everything.

Picked up my rental car and drove to where my son lives, he was out with friends so I went to the bank and then got my glasses adjusted (yeah, knew you'd be excited). Then I went back to Skeins on Main. This time to ask for help. I added an extra row to the scarf I'm making for Kevin and when I tried to tink it back it got ugly and uglier. I frogged a few rows and things went down hill from there. I spent some quality airport time trying to repair this to no avail. It just kept getting worser and worser (as my sister used to say). I went in hoping they could put me back on track. And let me say that I have to take back a lot of mean things I said about them. Karen, one of the instructors/employees was there, she taught the last class I got to attend and taught me to cable. She fixed me. She fixed me good. THANK YOU KAREN! She was not only helpful but so very nice about it. I stuck around a bit after the fix and knitted for a few. She found me a new pattern for another scarf, reversible like the one I'm knitting (it is somewhat longer now). The cool thing about this pattern is that it looks the same from the front and back - a good thing in a scarf since both sides show. The wool is almost black, "Obsidian" I believe. I bought it at Fibre Space, it's a Miss Babs "Yowza whatta skein" . For a guy's scarf, this is nice wool, washable, stretchy, pretty. But it's slow going for me, but I have a long flight tomorrow to work on it.

And finally, the long awaited pictures of the fabric I bought in San Francisco:

And snow. SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW. Last week on my patio. Yeah, we had a bit of drifting. It was still there when I left this morning.

And, finally, my son's new car. Pretty, isn't it.

Then I stopped by JoAnn's for a couple of pieces of fabric that I liked last time I was there, but passed on. For 2 of the 3 I bought I got the last on the bolts. And the flannel to re-do my bargello quilt and some really bulky yarn for a quick scarf for a right-after-Christmas gift. Off to dinner in a few minutes and an early ride to the airport in the morning.

San Francisco, the return

My BFF and I took a few days to escape reality and headed to San Fransisco last weekend. It was a short, but quite fun trip. We stayed at an older, remodeled hotel near Union Square, took a wine tour of Napa Valley, and shopped some and went to Alcatraz. All in all, a success.

Chinatown was my favorite shopping. It's just fun and you never know what you're going to find. For instance, this little pile tucked away in the back of a shop on Grant: Yes, this is fabric. All silk, most at $20/yard. There were some really pretty pieces tucked away in there. I told a couple of my close friends, but they promised to keep quiet about it. (The bag in my lap is from Laura from her ghost story challenge - it was the perfect size for this trip and quite appropriate, I think).

The wine company tour was nice, we hit 6 wineries and got tipsy by 11am.

My final haul, most of which was shipped directly home from the wineries, included some interesting items.

The green fabric was from the Chinatown shop (I purchased 2 pieces from Britex but see I missed photographing them. Dang). My son's a fan of Alexander the Great, the curved black piece is a wine bottle holder, the blue box is a travel jewelry box and the scarf is from Chinatown - 2 for $10, Karen has a green one. And no trip to SF is complete without a pencil sharpener in the Golden Gate Bridge.

I'm back, a little bit

And I think I know what happened to my photo's when they wouldn't post. Amazing what a little R&R will do for you. Or perhaps it was the alcohol fuzz?

Regardless, we had a blast in SF, the weather was beautiful, the shopping fun and the wine available. More to come when I have a chance to transfer my photo's to my computer.

For now, here're a few pic's from Novi. Long overdue, but still fun.

First, a quiet shot before the hustle and bustle of the day began. Classrooms were in the black r0oms on both sides. Beside and a little away from the exhibitions so it was fairly quite and roomy.

Second, are a couple (um, or so) quilt photo's. The Expo wasn't primarily quilting, but there were lots of pretty ones featured and I took pics of my favs.

One of the prettiest booths with lots of buttons and ribbons and trim, oh my!

Of course, THE KING! He's showing us his patch pocket in the works. He showed us how to do this and gave us a pattern. Mine turned out quite nicely, thank you.

And the haul. Much smaller than I thought it would be, some stay tape for knits, a marking pencil and a fix for my foot fettish. And the purse organizer I SERGED.

And finally, what NOT to buy at a sewing Expo. You all have seen those gathered, puffy, one-size-fits-all-because-it-stretches-from-XXXS-to-Car-Cover? Well, here they are, in all available colors. And doing quite the business, I might add.

No, I didn't die.

Or drop of the face of the Earth, or run off and join the circus (don't tempt me) or get sucked into a black hole or have a computer failure or break my right hand. But life did intrude very rudely into my life and it was immediately followed by a big blue funk that I'm still struggling out of. I had sincere plans to update my Novi Expo adventures that Sunday. Instead, I spent most of Sunday at the ER, my son totaled his car about 4:30 that morning. I wasn't even aware he'd left the apartment and I got "One-of-those" phone calls. He was unhurt, but because he has no feeling below the waist and was quite confused we went to the hospital. And since they were very busy that night - apparently my son wasn't the only idiot out driving that night - we had quite a wait. Made it home around lunch time. What this has signaled is that there are some real changes coming and amoung these are a requirement for me to spend a lot more time in Detroit. And yes, I have a day job. I'm not happy about a lot of things right now.
On an up side, I am still going on my mini-vaca. Leaving tomorrow (God willing - and he hasn't been very often lately - and the creeks don't rise, a better bet - the rain has stopped) for San Fransisco. Wine country, Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, seafood, snoop-shopping. Quick trip - probably as much traveling time as vaca time. And not without it's own worries.
But I did get a new tote bag JUST IN TIME. I won Laura's ghost story challenge and she sent my wine-themed tote bag that arrived today. Nice size, beautiful work and a cork as a zipper pull. Does it get any better? Yes, I'm a little geeked. Live with it.
I do have a few photo's from the Expo. I took them, I downloaded them. I may as well share them. Well, next time. Blogger isn't cooperating and allowing me to post. Sorry. But maybe I'll be in a better posting mood and you'll better shots. And San Francisco and the farmer's market from the early fall.

Interesting People

Last night, after doing some high end shopping at Target we had dinner at a local fine dining establishment, okay, Applebee's. As we were eating they seated a couple of women on the other side of the planter from us. I wouldn't have noticed them - middle aged, frumpy dressed, pudgy - but the older woman had a rather loud voice that carried. So I heard her order the Mongo Pina Colada, Caesar Salad and 2 steaks medium well. And water - no ice - to take her pill. Then waiter brought the wrong drink and no water. Then a CHICKEN Caesar salad. Hmmm. Anyway, all of this started us talking, "Yes, I heard you order to Mongo size".... Point to this long diatribe - the 2 women were mother and daughter. From Regina, SK, Canada. Remember we're in D.C. They travel the U.S. every summer for about a month. They drive (well, apparently the daughter does). They've been to every state except the New England ones they're covering on this trip. They make sure they go to the capital of each state, which they know better than I do. Take the back roads - avoiding the interstates - to see the country and get the feel for the area. They'd spent yesterday in the District on The Mall. They were going to go by JFK stadium for a photo shot and ball cap (for a nephew, I believe - they were a little frumpy but not that bad). Then up through Baltimore, Pennsylvania, NY, Vermont, NH and Maine. Probably hit a few more of the small states up there that they know are there, along with their capitals, flowers, birds and trees, that I've missed. They've seen more of my country than I have. I was quite impressed, if you can't tell. They were really fun to talk to, quite adventurous. I hope they have fun on the rest of their trip. But they're almost done with the good old U.S. of A. They don't know where to go next year. Europe?

In sewing news, I got my nice gift from Julia. When we played a game. It was a handy purse organizer that I can definitely use. Maybe find my keys in the morning? It could happen. THANKS, JULIA! I emailed you.

I'm working on BWOF 08-2009-113 It's a cute style, but a lot of futzing around the top. Once I get the neckline top stitched down, it will go fast, I think. I should finish tomorrow. My fabric is a very light crinkly almost gauze from Hancocks. So light the zipper seams heavy in it.

And I want to make some nicer sleep wear. Liana really made me think about my FRUMPY night wear. Yes, the grape PJ bottoms are awesome. But perhaps it's time to kick it up a notch? I'm going to crack open my Kwik-Sew Lingerie book There's a chemise pattern I'm planning on using. Now while Liana has nothing to worry about, I'm hoping I will get off the What Not to Wear to Bed list. Did you know that JoAnn's has almost no black lace? Brown? yes. Black, not so much.

I'll try to get some picks for my peeps tomorrow. Hubby's visiting his mom, so I have the weekend to sew.

Abducted by UFO's

That's pretty much sums it up. My sewing mojo (and apparently blogging along with it - sorry) has been sapped by the UFO's piling up around me. These included some black pants from, oh I dunno, March maybe?, another pair of pants from June-ish, the skirt from the last post, and my quilt that takes up a lot of room. What do I do when I'm not sewing? I go on a short vacation (Atlantic City, baby - for you Friends fans), have friends visit, shop and apparently eat. Eat my way right out of my UFO's. One of the reason's they aren't finished (ok, no, I'm not too fat - yet - to fit under my quilt).
But the black pants are too tight and don't hang right to hem them. Yes, I know I could just measure another pair and do them and finish them. THEN they wouldn't be UFO's would they? The other pair lacked a hem and some buttonhole re-working, the BH didn't do well and left too small an area to cut. I was tired of trying so I cut it anyway and it did cut thru some of the threads so I need a little handwork there. I did get them hemmed. Handwork just isn't my strong suit, I'm afraid
My skirt is finally hemmed. It really needed a hand hem due to the depth (or lack of) the hem, the flare and the smoothness of fabric. That's done.
I worked hemming a pair of RTW purchased on one of the above mentioned shopping trips (see Atlantic City and their bodacious outlet mall - no sales tax on clothing in NJ).
My quilt is quilted (YEA!) and the edged trimmed for binding. I'd bought binding for it but (a) had single fold and needed double (b) had 6 yards (yeah, not so good that this estimating thing I guess) and need 24. I went to JoAnn's at lunch on Monday to get the right stuff, but at $3 for a 3 yard pack, I just couldn't do it. Instead I marched over the quilting notions and bought a bias binder maker. (no, not the fancy Simplicity one, the Dritz one that you use your iron with, though thinking about making 24 yards of this stuff does bump up the appeal of the high dollar Simplicity model) So, now I need to make some binding. I DO have enough fabric (barely), but not enough time. I'd like to get this done both for the space in my room and because my batting is fluffing all up in my nose and eyes and on my machine and carpet **cough**.
The commute from Alexandria to Columbia is really starting to wear. 2 hours out of every day is now spent in the car and my DH (not necessarily DARLING) works until about 6 every night (we ride together). That puts us at home around 7 with dinner still to do. And repeat the next day to leave the house by 7 am. NO LIFE. None. Sewing? What's that? TV? We still have one? Reading? Yeah, I do that - work emails all day long. Looks like it's time to get serious about finding a house in this area. (yeah, and the apartment management's really ticking me off, so that's helping focus on home ownership again)
Anyone planning on attending the ASG Expo in Novi, Michigan in September? I'll be there with bells on (if I have time to sew them, that is) on Saturday. I'm registered for a S Betzina class (oh, Sandra, you of the invisible zipper tutorial, I worship the very machine you sew on, please share additional enlightenment with me. NOW!), a Kenneth King class - Son of Cool Tricks (can't believe I actually got into this one, yeah!!) and Sewphisticated Knits (or similar - my knits are a disaster and I'm hoping this class with cure that. I'll be really disappointed if it's serger only). Drop me a line if you'll be around and we can meet and shop and talk a bit. I'll be the short, slightly overweight, middle aged redhead carrying sewing notions and bags. You should be able to pick me out of the crowd, no problem.
I owe pictures, but apparently the UFO's sucked the life out my camera, as well. I at least need to share the quilt. You've seen black pants before, right? In hopes of doing this over the weekend. Friday's supposed to be my day off, but I won't get to take it this time. That's why it's called FLEX TIME, you have to be flexible about it. **sigh**
And I'm editing to add this Time article on a topic near and dear to my heart. Covering it, even. I think it both speaks the truth and will make you squirt your coffee out your nose at the same time. That's a good thing, by the way. Enjoy.

Do You Want to Play a Game?

Julia's Sew Sweet and Special asked if anyone wanted to play. The "game" is that the first 5 commenters that say "I want to play" will get something from her. Conditions are that you take what she sends, and that you play on your blog. Well, I want to play. So, here's the deal: you want something from me, be one of the first 5 to say so, leave your blog addy so I can contact you to let you know you are a winner (or a wiener? HAHAHA!), and play on your blog. I will send you something. It is my choice, and I promise it will be sewing related. It may be good, it may be bad, it may be funny, it may be cool, it may be just want you always wanted or just want you threw away, it may be something for you to make, it may be something I made. It's just a crap shoot. And I have a year to do it (though I hope it doesn't take that long!). Sew, Do You Want to Play a Game?
I drove back to DC last Saturday, a week earlier than planned. My son was doing well and the doctor said he could drive and load his chair and all that Jazz, so I was just in the way. His hip was still hurting and he's on an antibiotic (one more day), but seems to be doing well. My husbands going to spend next weekend with him.
The last night before I drove back I went to an old favorite beer and wings joint for the best Buffalo Wings west of, well, Buffalo. And big beers. And felt like it on Saturday morning. Not the best scenario for a 9 hour drive. But worst WORST WORST of all was that I left my box o' feet (sewing machine, that is) at my son's apartment. GRRRR! I had them in the desk drawer and didn't remember to get them when I packed. GRRR! again. Of course he's taking his own sweet time in mailing them back to me. Remind me of this next time he wants something, deal?
I finished my fabric post cards this morning (thankfully, the foot I needed for this was still on my machine) and will mail them out tomorrow. I've already received one from Laurie. I'll post pictures of all of them, including mine, when they're all received. But I wouldn't want to ruin any one's surprise if they peeked here. You just never know who's watching, right? I thought this was a blast to do and I know I'm really going to love it when the rest start rolling in. But I also thought it was a bit tedious by the end. I made 10 cards and doing the same thing 10 times was a bit much for me, I guess. That's probably why garment sewing appeals more to me than some other crafts. I may do this again, but not right away. (subject to change when I start finding goodies in my mailbox)
Speaking of goodies in my mail box, Wendy promised to send me a BWOF tracing for a pair of lounge bottoms from an issue I don't have. After saving it from the big New Jersey fire of 2009, she mailed it time to get to me before the holiday. AND she added an Independence Day bonus. The skirt she's wearing in this post. THANK YOU WENDY! And, hmmmm, she also sent me some fabric for making welt pockets. Is this a hint that I've procrastinated long enough? Made enough Marlene pants with OUT the pockets? Hmmm???
But since my husband will be at my son's next weekend and my box of feet should arrive this week, I'll get to sew next weekend. I'm thinking PJ's, no welts? And my July BWOF has a pair of pants I like and a pair of shorts. Passing on the poncho for now, though, I think.
And, despite the fact that it's only about 70 degrees right now I know that it really IS summer. How do I know? Yesterday we hit the farmer's market, then I got a little sunburned in DC roaming around for the 4th and tonight we had green fried tomatoes. YUM! I won't make them more than twice a season, they're just too fattening, but they're soooo gooooood and so summer. (And limiting myself to twice seems to keep them special).
If you're still reading, thanks for sticking through this whole picture-less post. I promise I'll drag out my camera soon.

Update for mid-week.

For those of you who just can't get enough of me... (that'd me my dog, really, that's about it) I got my BWOF pants cut out last night. I did, of course, skip the welt pockets (I'm still so ashamed) so these will go together pretty quickly. I will have finish all the seams, though, as this stuff ravels like the dickens. Just comes off in shreds. Oh, and I am COMPLETELY! out of interfacing. Not sure how that happened, but there it is. So I'll have to make a run to Hancock's before I can finish them. How annoying is that? Note to self: check to make sure I have a zipper for these BEFORE going shopping. [insert rolly eye icon]. I cut them out during a raging thunderstorm while the lights flickered and the far left lane of Highway 1 flooded and dinner baked uninterupted in my gas oven.

I washed up the brown linen and swirly fabric, also. The swirly will become a blouse that I have the pattern traced for. I want capri's out of the brown linen and don't know what pattern to use for them. Does this count as adding to stash if I use it this season?

And I replaced my sloppy sewing of the shorts carriers with a bar tack. Despite needing some practice with that stitch (it isn't self setting or automatic on THIS machine) it's a better look. I probably won't mess with any more of them. Just put them on and wear them.

If our weather ever warms back up. It's only about 65 today. JUNE in Washington DC. Where's all that global warming I keep hearing about? Must all be over a glacier somewhere, sure isn't over me. Let's see, what winter will this be? We've had Dogwood and Blackberry, so is this Magnolia Winter? Eh? Or Fireworks Winter (that may only occur in Michigan, not sure).

Now a little work for all you, my loyal followers. LOL. I will be spending about 3 weeks in Detroit this summer and will take my sewing machine with me (driving). What essentials would you also take to sew? There's a JoAnn's nearby, and I'll have my Envoy so space isn't an issue, but don't want to be ridiculous on taking stuff. Lists???

Whew!

I finished both my BWOF blouse and piecing my quilt this weekend. Friday was my flex day, so I had an extra day. And I put it to good use.

First, here's my quilt all pieced and ready to sandwich and quilt. I found a dark blue sheet set at Target that I will use for the backing and I already have the batting. I played a bit with quilting stitches, etc. But haven't made any decisions yet, other than I will use yellow machine quilting thread, found at Hancock's yesterday. If you look at the close-up picture you can see some of my wonky strips that I ended up with. The story of that was handled in detail at SG. I have that thread bookmarked for the next time. And will likely be doing some Amazon shopping.

My BWOF blouse is completely finished (well, I need to open one buttonhole a bit more). In the end, I did as suggested: held my breath, stuck my tongue out and but the button holes in. I changed my mind about the buttons. I liked the white, but the light on the shirt isn't really white - more of a cream so I didn't want to use stark white buttons. The smaller black ones were OK, but I just wasn't in love. I found these at Hancock's yesterday and DO like them. They don't jump out like the white ones, but I think they do well. (Not sure what the red shadows are - flash reflection maybe. It isn't on the shirt). The colors are much true-er here than in the earlier post.

Today, I FINALLY loaded my 4-D embroidery software and realized that I need more thread before I can embroider anything. I smell an on-line shopping excursion.

And I cut out another pair of Marlene pants. Even I'm getting bored. But I need pants and these are fast to do if I can focus enough to do them.

I was aided in my sewing progress by a fall I took on Thursday afternoon at Union Station. Right smack-dab on the train platform. Right ankle turned and down I went. After realizing that I hadn't broken every bone in my body, I thought I was OK and would walk it off. But by the time I walked down to the Metro platform, changed trains, walked home, and took the dog out I was just about unable to move. It was some better on Friday, but I stayed in and babied it. Still some sore, but apparently I won't loose the foot or even have to walk around with one of those blue platform shoes on. And it gave me quite the excuse to stay in and sew.

My first Award...

My BFF nominated me for the sisterhood award. Thank you! This is my first blog award and I really like this one. I'm happy to be part of a sisterhood, a group of (mostly) women who feel a common bond across oceans, continents, age, race and family situations. I will nominate the next 10 tomorrow. I'm tired tonight and want to nominate those who haven't already been tagged.
We drove up to Philly today and walked around the historic district. It was ok. The weather was great, though it's been so cold that all the sidewalks were damp with condensation, even dripping in places. We didn't stick around for the Liberty Hall tour - we couldn't get in until 4 and that would have made us too late getting home. Didn't want the dog to explode. My favorite was Ben Franklin's grave (yeah, I know that's weird) and steak sandwiches.
I made another Jalie T yesterday. Not so wild about this one. The fabric is a soft yellow - a little "little girlish" for my taste and my machine didn't gel with this fabric as much. It's a soft knit from (yes, you guessed it) G Street THE WALL. It wanted to stretch the fabric, so the neck and arm bindings kind of curled up and the seams aren't very straight. Too much pressure on the foot, I think. Don't get me wrong, I've purchased worse, but it's not as nice as the one last weekend. Oh, but I did solve the mystery of the neckband - I'd traced out the wrong piece. There are 3 views with 3 neck bands and I'd cut the one for the cami, duh, no wonder it was so large. That was a quick fix and start to finish was about 1.5 hours. This was some fabric from my stash and I still have a ton of it.
Speaking of having a ton of it, I'm thinking of getting rid of it. Any one interested for postage? (Sorry, US only) I'll put up a picture tomorrow. It would be nice for a little girl or baby, it's just not me and I think I have about another 2 yards or so. "What was I thinking"? I also have a lot of a mossy green knit purchased on the same shopping trip that, again, just isn't me. Again, I'll post some pictures either tomorrow or Monday. My son's still in town so I'm a little busy and don't want to drag the stuff out.

First Jalie

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, though spending a week in Boise feels like it may be right on the edge. I had a 3 day conference/training session at our former home office in Boise, ID. A day to get there and a day back and you've blown the week.

I won't bore you with the conference except for one "team building" exercise that was a ton o' fun. We did an (Yellow) Iron Chef competition. Yellow iron is construction speak for the equipment used. Four groups, 4 recipe: pork, chicken, tuna and beef. A secret ingredient: porcini mushrooms. Points for taste, presentation and creativity. They actually turned us loose in the cafeteria's kitchens with 3 of the chefs/cooks from the cafeteria. My group's recipe was chicken - we got to choose 2nd, and the beef was taken by the first choice team. Stayed away from the tuna - it's fast but hard to get right. 1/2 the group of 6 went to the kitchen and half set up the display table. I was part of the kitchen group that fried 48 (yes forty-eight) chicken breasts, added pasta (we got points for creativity on that part), wilted spinach, made sauce and sauteed mushrooms. The outside group borrowed a painting from another part of the building, added wine bottles and glasses, candles and designed the menu. And yes, WE WON! The golden spatula, LOL. Actually a wooden spoon with a gold ribbon. It was seriously fun and really hard work. And we had no blood or burns on any of the crew or contestants.

I have had no word back from Pfaff on my machine. I'm going to call them tomorrow, I just didn't have time last week. **sigh**

A few weeks ago I made a run to G Street and one of the items I bought was the Jalie tee shirt - the one with a tank top and cami options. I traced out the pattern for the tee yesterday afternoon. I cut it and sewed it up today. I was thrilled with how easily and fast it went together and how nice it fits! I put the sleeves in flat and then sewed up the side seams. I've wanted to try that method and since the Singer doesn't have a free arm this seemed like a good choice. The neck binding was off. It was too long, I'll have make sure I cut it right, not only did I not have to stretch it to fit, I cut off about 2 inches. It looks a little stretched, but better after I steamed the crap out of it, so after it's washed it may be fine. About 2 hours from laying out the fabric to wearing it. All in all, for a first try with a cheap knit from G Street's WALL of $2.97 fabrics, I'm way excited. I had only about a yard of fabric so this was a good match. I cut a size "V" and made no alterations (except the neck thing mentioned above). And I hadn't hemmed it yet in the picture. I see more of these in my future, maybe start haunting the XXL size teeshirts for the nice fabric

In other news, the green skirt is a wadder - it's HUGE to start and way too stretchy. Eh, no big loss, there was no passion for that project, it was a filler.

I also made (yet again) another pair of the infamous Marlene trousers. The flash washed it out, but you can see some detail with the lighter flash. Whew, they look great, they really do. But what a trial. I did everything backwards that I could think of: put the pockets in backward - twice; put the fusible interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric at the zipper (fixed with a Sharpie, LOL); made the pleat and dart the wrong way on one side; made one leg of the lining half backward (one seam right the other inside out). Surprised I didn't hem them folded out. I think because I was in a hurry, I wanted to take them with me. I made them from a beautiful black wool/camel blend from Fabric Mart. It's still only $7/yard and there's some left. It's really a nice trouser fabric - but very warm. I used the "other" side as the right side, so the basket weave doesn't really show. And lined it with the rest of the purple from the Burda skirt. I like the look and feel of the lining. I think the purple is a very rich look. I did the side pockets - the fabric side of the right pocket stayed backwards, it was too late to fix it when I noticed it - but no welt pocket yet. Hell, I'd've probably put it in with the pouch on the outside and in the center of my stomach on this pair. But I did finish, and I did take them them and wear them. I re-hemmed them today, they were a little too long. I won't get much more wear out them this year, though. They are definitely winter weight. But you should snag that fabric while it lasts. For $7/yard this is high end stuff.

Speaking of the Burda skirt, the March issue (I ordered my subscription last Saturday and my first issue came yesterday! That's some service, Pfaff should pay attention, here) has a dress with the same waist treatment. And it's their "special" pattern for the month that includes directions. NOW I know how to do the skirt. And I will likely make another one armed with that knowledge. And if you're looking at the skirt from January, get the directions out of March and you'll be done in a flash.

I want to RAVE about GLP. As mentioned, I got my first issue only a week after I placed my order. AND, I had asked to start with February, if possible. I received 2 emails apologizing for not being able to do this for me. The second one even provided local places where I might could find a copy (G Street included). This is, seriously, the best customer service I've had in, well, maybe ever. I responded to the second email telling them this. We all need a pat on the back now and then.

My son's birthday was last week. He's 21! Holy cow, how did that happen? He's coming to visit this week and over the weekend. I likely won't get much sewing done, but that's cool. I think we're going to drive up to Philly and see the historic district.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a nice New Year's Eve, whatever you did. We went out to dinner at a very nice French restaurant in Old Town, then hung out at a Spanish restaurant/bar until after the ball dropped. So I'm moving slowly today and already took a nap. Otherwise, it's football, hot wings and chili for the day.

And a day to (finally) catch up on my blogging. A little.

First up is the wadder that was to become my next pair of "Marlene" pants. I really loved this fabric, it's soft and warm. But I just couldn't get the zipper in right. I told you I was stupid stuck. Well, now I'm stupid done: This was the 3rd complete install and had at least 4 corrections. And it's still wrong. I didn't realize it was still wrong until I'd taken out all the basting and finished the waist band - again. **sigh** And I cannot CANNOT get buttonholes in this. I've taken out 3 and that's not fun. I used 2 different machines, both did okay on samples but not on the real thing. ARRRGGGGHHHH! I really wanted these.

Also disappointing is my Burda skirt from the Vogue fabric. I just missed the match. I thought I got it, but didn't. Obviously. I'm going to hem and wear it anyway. I've bought RTW that's worse, but I'm not pleased.

More fun is the stuff I found at my MIL's. The best are these scissors: My BFF scored a pair of these from her aunt, who would have been a contemporary of MIL, so these must have fairly common in the 50's-ish. If you don't know, they are buttonhole scissors. You can set the screw to limit the length of the cut, start the cut toward the handle and you get a clean button hole. I was hoping to use them on the grey pants. **sigh** I think these are just way the heck cool all over.

I also scored a box of buttons from the dark ages. I really like the purple ones and the red ones on the far right. And a pathetic stash of patterns, but I do like the apron and will make the one top right without the ruffles. Not pictured is a box of Griest hemming feet and tucker. Also pretty cool and I will use with my Singer 201.

My grandniece has been very wary of my son. I think she doesn't understand the chair, but she seemed to get over her fear of the chair over Christmas. Who needs Disney World? We had dinner for 16 on Christmas night. It was pretty much chaos and I'm really glad to be home and more than happy to spend New Year's vegging in front of the TV.
Sometime in mid December my re-admittance into sewing occurred. I guess I could dig out my sewing machine receipt for the actual date, but it doesn't really matter. I have progressed reasonably, I think. Though I really stalled out in November and December. But I started the year with the hounds tooth skirt: and finished the wadder pants. Come to think of it, that doesn't sound much like progress..... I participated and finished the June Capsule, made a couple of Burda patterns, thumbed my nose at my mother's "No Vogue" rule, went to NYC to shop, wore items I made, and organized a friend's sewing space. It's been fun, and I'm glad I started this blog to track my trials, tribulations and successes.

For 2009 some plans are to go back to NYC, likely with a stop in the Baltimore area to meet up with some sewing friends from SG. Make more Burda, thinking about a subscription. Not take out every seam I sew. Make a blouse - collar, cuffs, buttons, that kind. Finish up my dad's estate. Move. Again. Maybe Paris in the fall. Brush up on my French.

So thanks for reading, and hoping 2009 is happy, prosperous and healthy.