AAARRRGGGG

It's only Saturday and I'm pooped. I went to get one car inspected, yesterday (a day off for me) to start the stupid-hard registration process for Maryland. Spent an hour on the phone with my insurance agent (why????) to get it insured - this was the third phone call and still don't have that done (why???). Then my son and I went to see a movie - The Black Swan. I won't spoil it for anyone - but that's one weird movie. We enjoyed it, but was weird.

Now for today. We have 3 THREE 3 house showings today and one tomorrow. That means I just spent 4 hours cleaning and then will have to vacate the premises for 3.5 hours for the showings. What do you do for 3.5 hours with a dog and a paraplegic when it's 20 degrees outside? Seriously, I want to know? We started this when the question was "what do you do for 3.5 with a dog and a paraplegic when it's 95 degrees outside?" I'm some seriously tired of this. Last weekend was the only weekend since I moved into this house that I didn't spent a huge chunk of it cleaning furiously and then killing time. And only about 2 of them were in decent weather.


And, because this is - at its soul, a sewing blog. All this is cutting into my sewing time in a big way. I put the first stitching on the quilt binding yesterday. That is all.
Even the dog won't look at me.

I promised and I deliver

I promised some pictures and you shall have them.

When we moved our son out of his apartment we tossed a bunch of stuff. Hauled off stuff to the Salvation Army. And rented a Budget truck (btw, there's a reason it's called "Budget"). As it turns out, we divested ourselves of exactly the right stuff. Check out this truck: I don't think another sheet of paper would have fit in there. But I will say that it didn't shift an inch in 500 miles. The grey metal thing is a weight machine. So far, the only exercise I've gotten out of is moving it around the country.

And, because this IS a sewing blog, I'll show you a couple of photo's of my sewing room. It really is nice. I've really only unpacked about 1/2 my stuff and the stash I unpacked is on the closet shelf. But my machine is on the table and I can even find some of my supplies and notions.

And more later. Gotta keep you coming back....

Still hanging around

I know I've been absent a while, but there's just not been much going on that I thought anyone would be interested in. Especially, no sewing. None. I traced a Burda from September - my introduction to the new and very hideous pattern sheets. My eyes may too old for that! I chose a very simple pattern - only 3 pieces, and still made a mistake in tracing. Erg. Then I cut it out of some of the fabric I bought at JoAnn's in Detroit. A good chunk of my stash is still packed in boxes, so my choices were limited. And that is as far as I've gotten. So, wait, does that count as sewing? Maybe? Oh, and I FINALLY FINALLY put the buttons on my navy wrap skirt that I started back in the apartment back in May. At least it was May 2010.
We've put our house on the market and I have to keep the house clean for showing. So instead of my big, nice sewing room I have a sewing machine on a table. And everything else is in the closet in boxes. **sigh** I may have some time on Sunday - there's a showing on Saturday so no sewing tomorrow.
While I was in Detroit with my son's surgery, my husband lost his job. I should say "sort of" because he has a ton of vacation time and that held him until he found another position. Same company, different coast. So we'll probably be moving to Washington. The OTHER Washington, as in State. And that is why our house is for sale. We moved in over Memorial Day weekend. And it was for sale again before Labor Day. **sob**. I'm just hoping it sells fast and we can get this over with.
I do have some photo's I can share, if I can find my camera cable. Maybe if I actually looked for it? I should give it a try, you think?

Moving. Part Infinity

This past week we moved our son out of his Detroit area apartment and into our house in Maryland. This has been a lot of work, as when I said "we moved", I meant my husband and I packed, loaded, drove, unloaded and now are unpacking his stuff. The house mods aren't done yet so we (ok, my husband) is having to play human elevator to complicate things. I have a picture, somewhere - when I can find my camera, of the truck literally packed to the rafters. But nothing shifted or broke. It truely was a wonder of packing marvel.
I feel like I've been moving forever. And there may be another in the not-too-distant future. My feet hurt.

I'm back, part two

First, thank you all for such a warm welcome. It made remember part of why I blog and how much comments make me smile.
And whoops, if you were fast enough you found this entry as one line when I hit the wrong computer key. Now, lets finish the post....
karent: you know you're right! It DOES need an iguana! I'm going to have to find one and applique it on the corner. If I'm going there, I may as well go all the way.
Wendy: I've taken peeks at your new apartment (remember, I said I was still cyberstalking youse guys - had to say it: you ARE in NJ). LOOOOOVE your view. Are you in Jersey City? I spent a couple of months there a few years ago. I liked it, it was an improving town and very vibrant. Our company built the light rail there and we still operate it (that's why I was there - auditing the jobs). I hope you're enjoying your new digs, I know I am.
And a word (or 2...) about our move. 3 years ago we put our house in Detroit on the market and rented a townhouse in NoVA. Thinking our house would sell we rented furniture (ick) and moved in sparsely. A year later the lease was up and the house was still ours. So we found a smaller apartment in Old Town, hoofed it to Ikea and The Room Store and set up housekeeping. While standing in line with 4 carts of build-it-yourself furniture my phone rang. It was my son, "MOM! I think we sold the house!" Timing is everything, is it not? So 2 years ago, in May, we closed on the sale, moved my son to an apartment in Detroit, packed up most of our house to storage and some to the apartment (are you still with me here?) And started looking for a house in NoVA. Then our office moved to Columbia, MD. So we started a torturous commute and house hunting in MD. Insert a few family disasters and a picky husband and coming to grips with housing prices in the DC area and another year goes by. We finally found a house that I love and he likes. We jumped through more hoops than circus poodle for the mortgage company and closed mid May. Moving day comes and hubby gets a call from the guys unloading the storage unit: "um, it looks like there was a water leak sometime, lots of mold..." Over all, not as bad as could be. Lost 2 living room chairs, the kitchen table, LOTS of books (including a few my son had that were special and signed by the author), some linens and Christmas decorations. We DIDN'T loose anybody, the family photos, most of our furniture, or even our sanity. But yesterday was spent in the garage fully assessing the damage and disposing of losses, washing some items and separating out the good, the bad and the ugly. It was a hard day.
Soooo, we had dinner in a tree house. Not really - it's a restaurant in Ellicott City built onto the side of the hill that climbs up and lots of trees. So you're outside overlooking the town in the trees. Feels like you're in a tree house. And you've had a butt workout getting there.
So now I'm off to plant a few flowers and haul stuff out of the garage and into the basement that has become a mess.
Sorry, no pics. When I find my camera cable, perhaps I'll entertain you with snap of moldy chairs and books. I know you're looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I'm back after a bit of a break. It's been a very busy and not always happy spring and I just didn't have the energy to blog. Add to that a new work computer that blocks me from signing on (or commenting on others' blogs), and a more cumbersome photo editor and you guys got nada. Zilch. A big old goose egg for a long time.

As a second to the above - I still read all ya'll's blogs. I do. But can't post comments from the office. And don't have a lot of time in the evenings. But I'm still cyper-stalking your every stitch. Be secure in that knowledge.

I spent a week in Detroit with my son and an unexpected hospitalization and turn of events.

We bought a house (FINALLY!) and moved in.

We had no Internet or cable for almost 2 weeks. And survived. Barely.

So I now have a new house with a new sewing room. There's a bonus room over part of the top floor. We'd hoped to be able to put my son up there but it won't work, so it will become my sewing room. Complete with WINDOW!!!!! bathroom, small fridge, closet and a lock on the door. My Ikea shelf didn't survive the move so most of the room is still in boxes. The machine is on the table but that's about it. Oh, and I have a TV up there. Yea! Project Runway for all. The photos were taken before the old owners moved out, it was an older son's bedroom in it's past life.

My last sewing before the move was to finish piecing this quilt. I've barely started quilting it - not sure how I want to do it. So it sits and sits. I actually have named this one: Aruba Waves. Karen and I went to Aruba a few years ago and when I started piecing this, the colors just kept whispering "Aruba". The pattern is French Braid and made from a Jelly Roll (knock off) that I couldn't resist from JoAnn's. It's backed with the same fabric as the edging. Not sure how I'll bind it, yet.

So we are now residents of Maryland. And I need to renew my car tags and can't find the title. My DH (use the "D" however you wish) has no freakin' clue what he did with it two years ago when he registered it in Virginia using, btw, an old Michigan title that still had the loan attached. So if and when I DO find the freakin' title it isn't a clear title. I can't even give this car away. A little testy about that, can you tell?

Now that I have Internet and the move behind me, perhaps I'll blog more regularly, though there's no sewing in site. My son has a major surgery scheduled for June 21 that will keep me in Detroit for a good part of the summer. Then we'll move him in with us and see the end of Michigan. I tend to knit in Michigan. Whatever.

On your mark, get set, Bargello...

Or, how I spent my Sunday.

After an extremely busy week I finally made it to JoAnn's on Friday to get my batting for the Bargello quilt. I'd originally figured I could use the stuff I had on hand. But the instructions recommended very thin batting, i.e. flannel. In fact, either striped or checked flannel. No big deal, but it did involve a shopping trip I had no time for.

So here is my progress so far:

Starting with 4 sets of panels, sew them together into a tube - this photo is on the sofa I wanted to coordinate with. Then cut them in the widths as required. I used a pattern out of a book, so they told me how many of what width to cut. I did that last weekend and labeled them in the same order as they are listed in my directions. And yes, I know that 4 does not come before 3. Even in quilting. So when I started piecing I could look at my chart and see that strip #12 (the center and first strip used) is a number 2 from my group (next time I will letter these, rather than number, as the strips are numbered and it would be simpler to work with).

The first assembly step is to lay out the batting (flannel) on the backing. Backing face down, batting face up making sure to be as straight as possible. Pin at regular intervals.

Next, lay your first - center - strip down on the batting face up. This is where the checks or stripes come in handy. You need to be very accurate with this strip. It's like hanging wallpaper - get the first one right or the whole room will slope down hill.

Pin the second strip to the first, right sides together, like any seam. Then you sew these together and onto the batting/backing at the same time. Your result is a quilted back but smoothly pieced front. This is the halfway point. So from the center to the end at the right side. This will later be cut into 3 pieces for 3 place mats and bound. And done, as the quilting is already complete. Cool, eh?

I also got a little work done on the vest. The outside is together and tried on for fitting. Good with that. The lining has the markings done and the back darts and center back seam sewn, with the gap left for turning. And may I say that silk sure is slippery stuff to work with. Like trying to sew water. We'll see how this turns out.

We walked downtown this morning for breakfast at a "European Cafe", then strolled through the art fair in progress this weekend. Apparently the new rage in art is digital painting - enhancing (Photoshopping) a digital photograph and then printing it on canvas. I'm not convinced this is high level art, but the results are pretty cool, non-the-less. It did inspire me to play around with Photoshop a bit. All the pics in the entry are Photoshopped. Usually I just use Microsoft photo or whatever came with the computer. I'm wondering if there is a real difference at this level of use. It sure takes longer with PS, probably 3 times as long. Is it worth it?

And we house hunted Friday afternoon and Saturday. Finally, on Saturday, we saw some real possibilities. All four were acceptable for the most part. One had a garage too small for our cars, one had a nasty hot tub that would be a pain to remove and no exit from the basement, and one had no rough-in for plumbing in the basement. That leaves one on the short list. It's brand new - never lived in. A short sale that could be a PITA, but a pretty good deal on the home.

And Tennessee lost. Going out on a limb here and say we need a new quarterback. Period.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

My BWOF blouse is coming along nicely. Slowly, but nicely. I haven't done a collar in about 30 years, so I had to work that out. But it looks good, I did the underside just a tad smaller than the top and it turned under well, the collar stand looks nice. It wasn't fast but it wasn't hard once I figured it all out - I started out with the stand upside-down. I finished the collar tonight and did one sleeve. I was ready to put the sleeve in when my machine decided to wad up thread, so I figured it was time to quit, make a pizza and watch House. I don't think I did the sleeve band right, though. There wasn't enough to fold under. Made it work, but not happy. I may recut the other one wider. Did I do something wrong? It said 1.25 inches...

Haven't touched the quilt in a while, been sewing the BWOF and I finally finished the skirt-that-started-as-a-dress. A little Steam-a-seam and it's hanging in the closet. Of course I have nothing to wear with it, as it was supposed to have an attached top. More sewing? Jalie T-shirt? Note to "she fights like a girl": this is what happened to the dress. And I haven't gotten back to deciding whether to try again or not. We'll see.


DH is out of town again this week, so I will probably at least get the BWOF finished. Then I think I'll go back to the quilt for a bit. Finish the piecing. I still have no backing, so...


We had a beautiful weekend, here on the East coast. Not just warm, HOT. Played a little (bad) golf, looked at a couple of houses - hated one loved the location, Liked one hated the location. We'll keep on looking, there's a big old ton of houses out there. We haven't signed the new office lease yet, anyway. And my son will likely have surgery in June that will take some time. So I'm not in a hurry.


Well, I know this was a fascinating update. Try and stay in your seats and not jump up and run to your man-friends to share. Keep this gem to yourself.

Short Weekend

I can't believe it's Sunday night already. Maybe Saturday afternoon, but not Sunday night.
I got my haircut yesterday morning. I knew I was past due, but when the salon looked me up they said I was last there in June. That would be 2008. Yeah....
Then we spent the afternoon - ALL afternoon - looking at houses in Maryland. Lots and lots of Maryland houses. In the rain. Lots and lots of rain. But, as I was told, at least we could eliminate any with leaky basements.
I did make it to JoAnn's in Columbia, MD. I will give that one a thumbs up - for a JA's. It was clean, well stocked, organized and they had 3 cutters and still the lines were LONG. So long that I didn't buy anything that required cutting, W was with me and he has zero patience for anything fiber related - I only had the time he spent next door buying maps (of Howard County, MD, duh...) . The place was packed - mostly in the sewing area. I'd forgotten that JA's is a Viking dealer. And they have an EXCELLENT selection of feet. Like all of them... And they were all in stock. And the sales lady was nice and knew her stuff. I was restrained - I only bought one - but then I just bought on-line and from the dealer (where are the red-faced icons when you need one?) . I got a box to put my feet in and labeled it today, in a small fit of organizing (aka avoiding finishing the taxes). Um, and a quilting ruler that I put to good use today. And the batting for my quilt, a cotton/poly blend. But still no backing for it. That was all the fun stuff, unless you are a safety pin fan. Oh, and I FORGOT the elastic for my skirt. Yeah, the real reason I went in the first place. It was on my list and everything. I blame the feet, I'm easily distracted by shiny things.
I have finished sewing all my quilt strips, cut all the strips into squares and sewn 2 blocks. LaurieH over on SG suggested that I should add a more solidy (tone on tone-ish) fabric into my quilt. Well, it was too late on this one, but I will definitely follow her advice on the next one. I'll post some pictures tomorrow evening, and you will see that the busy-ness needs breaking up. It is definitely still okay, but a calmer stripe would have been a wise choice. Thanks LaurieH! That's why I LOVE the Internet.
And that's the whole weekend. Seriously. Oh, and I did some laundry.

Where, oh where, did my second page go?

I am right, smack dab in the middle of M5466, the view in the pic (complements of McCall's) and I realized that I am missing page 2 of my instructions. Now I don't find that particularly surprising considering the absolute chaos my home has been in for the last 3 weeks, but it is particularly annoying. The bodice is done, except the back/zipper. The front skirt is done to the pockets and pleats. And the back pleats are done (I contemplated changing out the back pleats for darts, but my fabric is lying nice and flat, so I don't think I'll have butt fluff issue - I'll let you know, stay tuned). Sooooo, what's next? Do I sew the side skirt seams (yes, I think), then attach skirt to bodice (yes, I think), then do the back to include kick pleat and zipper. Now about that kick pleat. I just struggle with the darn things. They can't be that hard, but I just don't get it. Everytime. And I wanted my directions for it. **sigh** So if anyone can help me out with this, I'll mention you on my world-famous blog as a thanks. I promise.

I had also decide when I started this dress, that I didn't want the pockets, so I didn't cut them out. But I didn't pay enough attention to the line drawing to realize that the pockets were an intregal part of the skirt and they either had to be included or the skirt modified to do away with them. Well, sisters, it was way too late for THAT. So I had to cut the pockets out tonight. I did the pocket lining out of some dark green lining fabric I had left (see the "Sunday Afternoon Skirt"), to reduce bulk and allow for better movement. The cotton wants to hang onto itself, so I think this will make it move easier. Again, I'll let you know.

On the home front, for the first time in over two weeks we came home to peace and quiet. The fans and dehumidifyer are gone, the dry wall is up and almost all painted. The hole in the ceiling is covered. And they were all gone and no one was here and there was no noise. Ahhh. Now we're not done by a long shot. No siree, bob. We still painting to finish, carpet to replace, baseboards to place and a boat load of cleaning - they still aren't clear on the whole "COVER IT UP, DAMN IT" concept. And I wonder how I lost page 2?

The final image for tonight is my bedroom with the closet contents vomited out into it. If you can find page 2 in there, I'll give you a cookie - if I can find my cookie jar.

What I did on my relaxing day off.

I took Friday off to do some shopping, sewing and general nothing. I knew they would be working on the drywall in the apartment and wanted to be home to make sure they covered up the furniture and electronics, etc. The crew did show up around 10 - not MY idea of first thing in the morning- and hauled in all their equipment/ladders/plastic/mud/pans/scrappers/..... A big mess later, they were unclear on the idea of covering furniture, they got started dumping water around, spattering drywall mud and dusting with dust. I got an email telling me I hadn't done my timesheet - and believe me that's the reason I get up in the morning, so I haul out my computer in the corner of my plastic coated crowded room - I think about 6 people there - uncertain. Timesheet software times out, just gets slower and slower, tried to email for help, no go. The fire alarm in the building goes off. Now this is a common event - so far the building has failed the fire marshall's tests. Sooooo, still have 7 people (including me) piled in my living room, the fire alarm blaring, my timesheet locked up. One of the drywall guys noticed we had almost no water pressure - also not that unusual. Then one of them went out in the hall and came back in and said, very calmly, "did you see all that water?" WHAT WATER!!??!?!?!?!?!? There was at least 2" of water in the hallway floor right outside my front door and more pouring down the utility closet across the hall. I ran down the stairs to tell the front desk - where the heck's my phone!?!. They already knew and the fire department was already there. Apparently there was repair welding going on on the 6th floor (I live on 5th) and it got too hot and set off the sprinkler. Now, true to form at this point, the water pressure blew the sprinkler head off and broke the pipe. Enter THE FLOOD. No water actually flooding into my apartment that way, but we had a lot of water that seeped under the walls. Something ironic about seeing water puddled around the washer/dryer drip pan. Not so ironic is all the stuff out of the closet now piled in the bedroom. That closet is the main storage area of the apartment. We got a visit from the fire department, 3 HUGE fans, and a humidifier blocking my hallway. We also will get drywall pulled off the closet and replaced - yeah, that won't make a mess. And more new carpet. My son's coming to visit next weekend and this won't be finished. ARRRRGGGGG!

But somehow in the midst of this I finished a sleep shirt for the Nightwear sew along on SG. Now I DON'T have pictures of this because I just plain forgot to take them this morning. I'll do that later. It turned out nicely.

I've started the McCall's dress, so far, so good. I don't think this one will be put in timeout, but finished this week. Here's the fabric: From Hancock's clearance. It's a really soft drapey cotton. It washed well and handles nicely. Has a little bit of an Asian feel to the print. I have a ton more of it. I think it would go well with K's planned JCC, if I recall the colors right?
Well, I'm off to take a shower, we worked in 9 holes of golf in the heat with sunscreen so I need to get that off me before I go to bed. It will be interesting to see what kind of mess I come home to tomorrow night. **sigh**

Oh, and I still haven't done my timesheet.

THE DRESS and beyond

Here, finally, are the pic's of the Vogue dress. I'm very glad I took it out of time out. I really do think it learned its lesson and will not make the same mistakes again. Wish I could say the same for me. You can see one of the STOOPID things I did here. Take a look at the left and you will notice a, um, shall we call it, um, generous seam allowance? Sometimes known as not cutting the pieces out all the way. This was discovered when trying to match notches, side seams and ends. Just didn't work out well. ARRRGGGG. I won't talk about putting together 2 pieces of the bodice wrong 5 times. SHHHH! And the tendency for my machine to eat the fabric at the beginning of the seams, or that I failed to mark notches on more than one piece. Those items, I'll just be silent on.

Here are the finished photo's. I'm very happy with it and won't point out all my flaws. After putting the bodice together, the rest was a breeze and I wore it to dinner on Saturday night. It really is VERY low cut. I'm wearing a cami under it, but may add a panel to make it easier to wear.

Next, I'm going to share some photo's of the on-going "work" to restore our apartment after the water damage. Damage occurred on Mother's Day during the torrential rains that deluged the east coast that day. Apparently there was some value engineering going on and some flashing was valued right outa there. Take a really good look at the ladder. No, this isn't in a third world country, nor is this by a local contractor. TURNER CONSTRUCTION (did I say that loudly enough?) built this thing and is doing the warranty work.

And finally, on a much more fun note, I will leave you with a picture of my GStreet haul from last weekend. The photo's don't show the fabric to it's best, but every piece there was off the $2.97 table and includes a couple of really nice heavy weight knits (for the PJ sewalong), a rayon Lycra that feels like a cloud (light green), some stretch cord for fall, and a couple of other fabrics. Also, is MY VERY FIRST BURDA WOF. I feel like I graduated, or something. Entire haul cost me just under $70, and probably is around 20 yards of fabric. The pattern is for a quick jacket, a very easy pattern. All really nice stuff.

There are more photos on my flickr of all this fun stuff.

Odds & Ends

I was going to wait until I had photos to post, but decided you'd waited long enough. So I'll catchup now and add the pics later. I've taken the pictures, but haven't gotten the whole transfer process done yet. And likely won't tonight, either, just in case you're THAT interested.

I finished my V8489. Photo compliment of Vogue website and appears rather pixelated to me. Yuk. Anyway, I made it without sleeves, for summer. And it's shorter than shown, and I think they're showing the shorter choice. I'm only 5'4" and it hits me just below my knees with a minimal hem. I used this from Fabric Mart and had JUST enough to eke it out. So any longer and I'd've been SOL. Now I know the other reviewer on PR (and I'll add mine when I load the pics) said this was easy. I didn't think so. I cut it out at the end of May and got started, knowing it would be put away until I finished the JCC (it has the forbidden black!). I pulled it back out last Saturday and went back to work on it. To me, the bodice was like an f'in Origami exercise. I put some of them together 3 and 4 times wrong! So I wadded it up (next, I MUST remember to remove the pins before I do that) and put it in time out. I'd planned to leave it until the next day, but every time I looked at it I got mad all over again. I got over it on Saturday, finished it and wore to dinner. And I really do like it. YEA ME!

We had some water damage from some rain storms in May that the apartment complex is finally going to fix this week (so they say). We're talking some MAJOR fixes: remove the drywall & insulation from the entire wall and replace it and then replace &/or clean (depending on location) the carpet. Now this isn't my first venture into dry wall and I'm not looking forward to it. Especially with these bozo's at the helm. It seriously makes me want to cry. The mess will be overwhelming, I know, I've cleaned that stuff up before (sanding part, rest is just ookey). I do hope they tape off my sewing room before they start and cover all the furniture.

Since I knew I wouldn't have my dining room table for a few days (that's where the water damage was) I did some cutting out yesterday. I cut out M5466, view B. (photo compliments of McCall's and kinda fuzzy again). I think I'll make my neice a dress out of my leftovers - she's only1.5 years so it doesn't take much. I also cut out another night tee shirt from my NewLook (no number , but too boring to matter. I cut it down 2 sizes from last time - even for sleeping it was just big and odd. I may experiment with some fun stitching on this to dress it up.

Now I don't know if I'll get any of this done. I'm meeting a friend for dinner tonight, a colleague (maybe) on Tuesday night and maybe Wednesday again. But it's ready and waiting.

I'll get some pictures up sometime. I promise. Really I do.

Light at the end of the tunnel

We made it back to DC late last night after driving through a monsoon for 10 hours. Seriously, folks, it was pouring when we left Detroit and had to drive 35 miles out of our way because I75 was closed. Say "Goodbye to Michigan - land where it's acceptable to close major freeways for months at a time". Slight weather break in Ohio, and picked up the rain plus hurricane winds in Pennsylvania. Kacy slept the whole way, but she always does, she's such a good little traveler. NOT such a good leash pooper, though. Unload the car at the doors to the elevator, open the door, prop open the door with a computer bag - I KNEW that thing would come in handy! Slide all items into the foyer and push the elevator button. Wait. Watch the dog shake and freak. Wait. The door opens and start sliding all items into the door. Every 10 seconds, the elevator bitch (for the visually and apparently hearing impared) yells, "Door Closing, step away from the closing door". Yeah, that helps the dog calm down. She's on her belly trying to dig her claws into the tile floor, no way is she getting on that thing with those moving boxes. Up to the fifth floor with the still shivering cowering dog - I'm waiting for her to pee any second. And repeat the box dance: slide them out of the elevator, Open the door to the hall and prop the door open with the computer bag - I've used that thing twice now! And you said it was a waste of money, geez. Slide everything past that door into the hall. Now start carrying stuff down the hall. Real easy with a 70 lb dog freaking out at the end of the leash trying to simulatiously trip you and pull you over. Dump the stuff in the apartment, put on a rain coat, dig out an umbrella - remember the typhoon - and take the dog, who hasn't peed in 6 hours - outside. Walk around for 1/2 hour with no results, go back upstairs and watch her pace the floor. 2 hours later, repeat performance. Give up for the night and repeat in the morning, Noah's rain included.
We're getting our furniture delivered and stored on Wednesday. Soooo we're almost done. This has been a long time coming!
Karen's coming to DC this week, she has a conference in the District. We'll meet up for dinner a couple of times and she's going to spend Saturday night here. Probably hit GStreet on Saturday afternoon and then do dinner in Old Town. I suspect she's going to want her Janome back, though. Ah, well, it was a good run.
I worked on my skirt for the June Capsule some. Got the zipper put in - first time, most beatimously. Tried it on and it was too big, so I had to take it in and the lining so I didn't get it finished. I might tomorrow night, though. The rest should go fast: attach lining, waist band, hem. I may even try a button hole for the waist band. Hey, it COULD happen. When KT & I go to GStreet I need to find some coodinating fabrics for this for the capsule. I will need another skirt fabric and at least one top. I'd like to do 2 tops, but that may not happen. Have to do an accessory, too. I'm thinking belt, but maybe beading. Something simple and quick.

I made my first Craig's list posting today: FOR SALE FAST: This stuff has to go so I have room for my real stuff on Wednesday. I'll give you a great deal!
Well it's late and I have to work tomorrow. Good night lurkers.....

Got ta keep on movin'

Oh, yeah. Still in the throes of the relocation. The team they sent to do the move - Max and Ed are really good. Nice guys, taking care of our stuff, getting it done. As of this evening they have everything packed and the all the storage loaded. They'll finish loading tomorrow morning, we'll meet them in DC on Tues or Wed. Tomorrow's K's day to move. He's stuck upstairs now because his stair glider's been taken down. Not happy about that, oh and he has Buddy's Pizza poisening. Whatev....
Movers told us "everything you guys have is heavy. Yeah, I know. And we have soooo much junk, um stuff, um items to store. We've been here 13 years, that's just a long time. And it's a good sized house so we had lots of room.
Well, for those of you hoping for a thrilling, fun post, just keep on looking. Just too tired to be witty tonight. Tune in later for better prose. But never poetry.

I'm a real blogger, I'm a real blogger.

I got my first comment on my blog. Thanks marji, I can take off my training wheels, get off the porch and run with the big girls. Yes siree, I'm in the big league now! Seriously, it was great getting a comment. I need a great ol' big smiley face right here: . Sorry to drag you down at the end of the post, it's been a rough week.
Lets see, today's update: we have our actual pack/load/payoff/deliver dates. Salvation Army will be here sometime tomorrow. THAT was an adventure: call the 313 number: "where're you located?" "oh, then you have to call this number: 734..." Me: "ok, thanks" call the 734 number: "Oh, you have to call the 313 number. he's been giving out our number and it's wrong. Tell him you want to talk to his supervisor" **sigh** call the 313 back: "I already told you, you have to call the 734 number. You have to tell him it's his job to schedule your pick up. Tell him I said for him to do his job right" WHAT!?!?!?! My job to tell the moron at SA how to do his job? Fugetabutit, I'll call Goodwill. 4 unanswered numbers later, I call Veterns, they don't want furniture. **sigh**. Next on the list is St. Vincent DePaul, but apparently the Parish was closed today.. WTF?? Soooo, back to the genius at Salvation Army: "Oh, yeah, guess I needed more coffee: you need the 248 number. Have a nice day." Oh, they'll be here between 8 and 3 tomorrow. Are they in training for the cable company?
Went by the Salv Army thrift store to look for K a table, nothing, but I did get about a dozen packages of bias tape for $1.02. Some of it was the really old stuff - rayon in a soft grey. Others were a bit less nice, but for $1.02, what the heck, shoot your whole wad.
W's back's getting better, he went to the doctor and was told it was a strain, nothing major and it is improving. So's his mood and his ability to purge junk. Except the kitchen. Still hanging on to "cooking with low cost protien", that's a dinner he'll be eating alone. Tofu Curry's just not on my list. I'll whip up some Hungarian beet soup first.
Well, I'd better get some sleep so I'll be well rested for the Salvation Army pick up tomorrow, wouldn't want to not be at my best.

Movin' on IV and Sewing

Still working on cleaning out the house. What a collection of junk we've accumulated in 13 years! And never realized what a pack rat W is! It goes like this: W: "We should go thru those cookbooks and clean out the ones we don't use" Me: "okay, good idea, we have a ton and only use a few". So I drag a chair over to the fridge, climb up, still can barely reach the books with my little stumpy arms, and start pawing thru them. I pull out a book on Hungarian cooking - yes, Hungarian, who cooks Hungarian? Goolash. Done. So I hand the book to W to put in the Salvation Army box. W: "I didn't know we had that. Why don't we ever cook anything out of it?" Me: "Because its Hungarian and nobody cooks Hungarian, especially me". W: "Well, it might be interesting, put it back". So I climb down from the chair, drag the chair back to the table and to upstairs to cull thru 80's clothing. I just don't think his hearts in this.
We did manage to get through about a filing drawer of old junk and I threw away papers from as far back as Franklin Road. But the Pack Rat return and wouldn't let me toss closing paper on houses we lived in 25 years ago. I think I may have mentioned his attachment to old stuff?
AND he hurt his back. He can't move, has to go to the doctor tomorrow, he's been taking K's old muscle relaxers all weekend, so he can't drive. He can't bend over and can't lift anything. Cleaning out the storage unit presents a problem without him. It's all his junk, I'd've tossed his wagon, bent fence pieces and broken doors years ago. But no, the Pack Rat reigned.
We signed the lease for K's appt yesterday, but they're a little hosed up in move in time, we won't get him in until Thursday or Friday, we really needed him out sooner. Hopefully we can get the Salvation Army in here on Tuesday.
Haven't heard from our carrier yet, so we're behind on that schedule.
I met the new owner this morning, I think she's been stalking our house. She's met the neighbors, scoped out the bus stops, scouted out the budding flowers in the back yard. I'm a little creeped out, frankly.
I hate moving.
On to sewing. I joined the June Capsule sewing contest. In a capsule, 4 items and 1 accessory, 1 may be purchased, one may be sewn before June. At least one top and one bottom. All must go together, including the accessory. oh, and NO BLACK!!! Yikes. I think my plan is:
Use the skirt in process for my "sewn before June". It's from a Mills Creek remnent in mauves, taupes, tans and greens from G Street in Potomac Mills.
Use a white shirt for the "purchased"
Make a top with the color of the skirt
Make another skirt to wear with the top and the white shirt.
I think I'll try a belt for the accessory, as I think the skirt needs one. Or I may do some beading if I have time.
If time allows, I'll make another top instead of using the white purchase one, we'll just have to see.
I've never done any kind of sewing competition, nor any kind of coordinated sewing, so (sew?) this is a big step for me. Pretty sure I nothing in my stash that will work for these, so I'll have to (get to?) go shopping for a couple of coordinating pieces.
This does push back my self imposed mini PJ swap. I already have the fabrics for the 2 tops for this. I need get two more for bottoms or use the rest of the knits for short bottoms if I have enough left over.
In my cleaning out, I found - and kept - a calendar my mom used briefly as a diary. It was for the year I was married. I won't get sobby about the point that the only mention of this was on the date: "B's Wedding", my point was more painful. She had a series of entries about sewing: "looked for patterns", "found fabric", "finished cutting", etc. At the end: "finished E's dress. She doesn't like it. NEVER AGAIN". Someday, my friends, we'll have a talk about my sister. And then about my cousins. Mom had cancer during this period and frequently felt ill. She died about 3 years later, and this dress was likely the last thing she ever made. I know I took her machine even before she died, she told me I could have it, she wouldn't be sewing anymore.
Well, now that I've cheared you guys up....on to other pursuits

Movin' on III

Well, I'm home now, got here this afternoon, haven't heard from our carrier about the move, K's apartment won't be ready when they said it would, and W's plane was major delayed out of Chicago. AKKKKK! I was really hoping there would be a big ol' "sold" sign in my front yard, but no..... Cleaned out one bag of clothes and tossed some bathroom stuff. Not really very productive on this. **sigh** No sewing for me for a while, though I did pet my Singer. And it will come and live with me now. Looking forward to that, I want to use the feet. Yep, feet don't fail me now!
Oh, but I had a fantastic idea this morning on the plane: I have a grand-niece to sew for!! YES!! Why didn't this occur to me before!? Toddler girl clothes?? A sewer's dream! Pink, ruffles, no fitting issues, I'm now on a mission. Look out Natalie, you're going to be one hot baby!

I had to leave my current project unfinished. A straight skirt using V8363 view A without the overlay. I'm using a Mills Creek remnent from G Street, the Potomoc Mills store while it was in close out. I got the skirt and the lining cut, darts - all 16 - done, the side seams and back on fashion. I didn't get the zipper done, so I'm stalled until I get back and unpacked. I really love the fabric, tans and mauves - very springy, not so drab. I can wear to work, I think I'll add carriers to dress up the waist with a belt. I WANT TO FINISH THIS!!! Then I want to make a toddler sun dress! Natalie NEEDS a sundress. And matching bloomers - aka diaper covers. And maybe a purse, cause little girls just love purses.
Been lurking around other blogs, and I think I need to make some changes here. Any ideas? Anybody? Suggestions? Recommendations? ANYBODY out there? I know there've been a couple of lurkers..... what would make you come back? Obviously listening to my horribly boring life isn't doing it.....
Well, "What Not to Wear" is on and no one's reading, so.... see ya.

Movin' on II

mThe final details on the house sale were finalized on Friday evening. We'll go back to D next weekend, move K out and get 'er done. Wow. Fast. After so long with no movement, it's just like lightening. Kind of scarey.
K was here this weekend. We went into the District yesterday, he wanted to see the National Archives, but the line was really long, so we had lunch and went to the Art Gallery and then home. Today was cold and wet, so we went down to Ikea and just hung out. Not very exciting, but I hope he enjoyed being here. Hopefully the weather will be better next time.
While down at Woodbridge I went by GStreet. Annenet (SG) said they were closing that one, but I didn't realize she meant NOW. There was very little merchandize left - most has been moved out to their other stores. Really depressing. I picked up a yard of a mauve print for a skirt for $3. 3 yards of some lining stuff at $3/yard and some yellow knit for a shirt to go with my PJ pants. They didn't have any clearance sale items, they're just moving it to the other stores. The only "deals" were on floor model machines at 40% off, and they were all taken. Found more at Hancock's yesterday, notions wise. And picked up some blue knit for PJ shirt. Won't get much sewing done between now and end of May, though.

The times they are a changing

I think we FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY sold our house in Detroit. Had to get a little creative with the fiancing to make it work, but we seem to be over the hurdles. Closing's the 15th, really fast here! K's got to find an apartment - I think he's more than a little nervous about that. This means giving up the only home he really remembers and his dog. I'm uncomfortable with the whole idea of having to more family home. Our apartment and his apartment. Where's home? Where do we do Christmas? Thanksgiving? The Superbowl? OTOH YEAH! No more Michigan house. And I can get the rest of my stuff and stop living like a vagabond.
Fun Stuff:
Finished the b/w skirt/top. Turned out nicely, fits well, looks nice. So wish I had a camera. (and a frowny icon). I can wear it soon, next warm weekend evening.
Did a muslin on a pair of shorts that are bleck. Try yet another pattern, these looked like old man pants cut off at the knee. V8085. I've also tried M5391 - too low cut and tight (WOW!) in the crotch. This leaves V2532 in my stash to try. I own V8365, but it's very low waisted like the McCall's and that's not what I want. I'm still envisioning my green silk in a pair of shorts.....
AND I redid the "wizard suit" as W calls it. The reversable robe I made so many years ago. Turned it into a smaller robe AND a pair of PJ bottoms - yes there was a lot of fabric! I'm thinking of turning this into a "Mini PJ SWAP" with the addition of 2 more bottoms: gold and Navy and 2 Tops: gold & Navy. If my math is correct, that will provide me with 11 combinations by adding/removing the robe. Really, it's 9 + the robe. Maybe I'll hit Hancock's this evening....
I got some be-u-ti-ful stuff from Fashion Mart when they had their 30% off everthing. Couple are wool, so they'll hand with the rest of the stash until late summer/fall. One is a really nice knit stretch with a funky retro print in brown/black/lavender. Not sure what I want to do with it, though. Maybe summer dress or top, I have a couple of yards, so lots of choices. But I want to use it soon to wear this year while the fabric's in fashion.
I do owe - here it is - Fabric Mart a public appology for some comments I made about some of their fabrics. This was my second order from them. First was unimpressive, don't know what to do with most of it, just not what I expected and would use. This order was lovely. The 2 wools are very nice and the knit is SOOOO cute! So, I take it back!