Costumes and BWOF top

So I finished one costume and then my oldest decides he wants a cape with hood instead of a cloak...So yesterday I took an emergency trip to Joann's and found black Halloween fabric (on sale). Today I will cut it up and hopefully get it sewn. I had a date for breakfast with my mom and then some shopping but weather is miserable today so we have postponed.

Yesterday I finished Burda WOF 8/2008 tunic 118. I made it with long sleeves since I'm always cold and I wanted to be able to wear it this winter. This style really needs a belt and I think it will look great with tights and boots as a dress.

They built a ballpark

Last week I was a chaperone for my son's 5th grade class trip to Camden Yards. I love Camden Yards so I was pretty excited when he told me I had been picked (there are so many parents that volunteer to chaperone that they pull names out of a hat).


The kids got a tour that it was fun and very informative; you get to hear neat stories about Baltimore and how the park got built. It turns out it was a woman who came up with the (brilliant) idea to build a ball park not a stadium and who was responsible for the decor. One of the things she insisted on was to have the seats all the same color (Camdem green).


The view from one of the private rooms

These days the Orioles are not doing so well and the price of tickets borders on the ridiculous, so I truly enjoyed visiting the park for the mere price of the tour, and I got a cool button to boot.



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In the sewing front I'm almost done with the costume

In the knitting front I finished the back for Michael Kors cardigan from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2007. I have visions of wearing it with a belt as a vest.

That wonderful time of the year

So Halloween is coming and although I've had the fabrics for my youngest costume for weeks no sewing has been accomplished. Yesterday I took the pattern out which I graded down from adult to what a tall 8 year old could wear. This was 2 years ago so he's done some growing since then.

Here is the pattern:




And a picture of my son when I first made it:



I used the version in the center and added a hood, he was a character from a favorite game. Now he wants to be a different character from the game, but I will still be able to use the basic design, instead of a robe it will be a shirt and pants and the armor will reach his waist; he also wants some kind of hood, but I still don't have a clear version of how he wants it to look like, I'm sure we'll find something from one of our other Halloween patterns.The new version will be all black in different designs and textures (he went to the store with me to pick out the fabrics). Yesterday I got his new measurements and had a little bit of time to work on the pattern. I hope to get it cut today.

A couple of small FOs

I posted these in Ravelry but I know many of you don't have access, so here they are, they gave me a sense of accomplishment ;-)

The socks are for my DH who was always borrowing my wool socks. The pattern Basic Ribbed Socks is free at Ravelry.




The crocheted scarf is the One Skein Scarf from Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. I used leftover worsted weight yarn from Berroco (discontinued Sensu Wool) that was used to make my first sweater many years ago. This is the only crochet book I own and I really like it. The instruction part is very clear and it has a lot of nice projects.



Happy Tuesday everyone!!

Nui and Metru

Nui and Metru were our gerbils, brothers that we got from a very generous young girl who found out her gerbils were not both boys when she got a litter of pups. They were named by my boys after the city of Metru Nui a fictional city in the world of Bionicles, a branch of Legos. Nui and Metru lived beyond the expected age of gerbils (2 - 3 years) to the ripe old age of 4. Metru we lost a few months ago and Nui joined his brother in gerbil heaven yesterday. They were the hit of the Science Fair at school when my youngest with help from his dad built a maze to test how fast the gerbils would navigate the maze and if a treat at the end made a difference in their speed. Nui was by far the most social of the two, he loved to come out of his home and play and loved to sit on my oldest shoulder and tickle his face. Metru loved his food and preferred to stay in and always close to his brother. I was reluctant at first to get them, my husband convinced me and once I saw them I had no regrets. If they are hand raised by a reputable breeder they are social and well tempered, they don't smell and they required minimum care.

We'll miss them and with such a good experience my family is ready for the next pair!

Forgive the pyracantha

Pyracantha is one of the nastiest shrubs available for landscaping in my area. Not only does it have thorns that can get as big as 1 inch but if you get prick by them they give you a big red welt that not only itches but burns, therefore the common name "fire bush". To add to its attributes, mine which is probably around 50 years old (it came with the house) has grown so big that it only produces fruit if I let it go wild, which means no trimming. Since my shrub is planted next to the driveway along with two quinces, another shrub with very nasty thorns ( I don't know what the previous owners were thinking), I need to keep up my trimming if I don't want people and cars to get scratched. But I forgive the pyracantha, why? because this fall I will have a beautiful mantelpiece full of gorgeous berries, and so will my neighbor since I have plenty to share.

Burda's Duchess dress and the coat sew-along

Here I am with my new dress and my gorgeous SIL

I wore my Burda WOF dress (3/2008 116)this past weekend to a wedding we went to in New Jersey. I was lucky that it was a warm weekend if rainy. I love my dress, it feels very girly and I love the way the skirt flares out.


My brother and his bride


My family goofing off at the reception

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So I cleaned up the sewing/guest room on Monday and started thinking about the coat for the sew-along. I'm making the pattern for the lining while I wait for the coat fabric to come back from being steamed at the cleaners. Burda WOF tells you to place the back piece on the fold and to add 1 inch for the pleat but says nothing about how to deal with the vent ?? So I'm pulling out Easy Guide to Sewing Linings which always answers my questions. As soon as I get the fabric back I'll test a couple of fusible interfacings. I'm still terrified of the welt pockets this pattern has since I have never made them before, but I keep telling myself one step at a time, one step at a time.

Here is a reminder of what the coat looks like