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

Construction Details of Burda WOF 3/2008 116

Ignore the button, it is not the one I will use on the dress.

This dress as designed does not include a lining, I wanted a lining in part because my fabric, a rayon with a crepe texture, was semi-transparent and I didn't want to wear a slip. I just cut two dresses one of the fashion fabric and one in Bemberg. After constructing both separetedly (24 fish eye darts in total!), I basted both together at the neckline and armholes.



I made the bindings for the front slit, neckline and armholes using the wonderful gadget you see in the picture. I bought it for quilting but I have used it more in fashion sewing.



The binding was applied first to the front slit, then around the neckline enclosing the seam allowance (of both lining and fashion fabric) which had been trimmed to 3/8 in and and the top of the zipper. The seam allowances at the armhole were also covered with binding after attaching the sleeve/ruffle.



Applying seam binding around armhole




The sleeve/ruffle will show the wrong side if not doubled. I chose to do it as indicated in the pattern. As you can see is hard to tell the wrong/right side in my fabric. The hem was finished with a satin stitch.




Here is how the inside looks with the full lining. I will post a picture with me wearing the dress after this weekend, since the wedding I'm going to is on Saturday.

Friday Musings

I woke up this morning and felt that the pain in my neck has sort of moved to my right shoulder. What did I do to make the pain come back?I have no idea...I haven't been doing my arm exercises, just my walks and the stationary bike. Oh well at least I'm not getting the nasty headaches I've gotten in connection with the neck.

After reading Barbara's post over at The Furry Mind where she asks if blogging was worth the effort, I started to wonder how many of you out there read this blog. I signed up for Site Meter, the free version ,I'm curious but not curious enough to pay for the extra services. I know I'm guilty of reading blogs and not commenting but then I remember how much I enjoy these blogs and how nice it is when I get comments, so I will make it a mission to leave a note.

Anyways I leave you with another version of Simplicity 4076. I used up a 1 yard remnant from Metro Textiles. This time I used the honeycomb stitch in my Bernina for the hems, I think it nicely echos the print design.




Have a great weekend full of sewing time!

The zig zag crochet skirt

I finished this skirt from Interweave Knits Crochet Fall 2005 a while ago. Well, I finished crocheting a while ago and then it sat waiting to be sewn together. As I expected it takes a while to sew since you have to change colors quite often and then there's all those tails to be woven in. Anyways I used Red Heart Lustersheen which gives it a nice drape and weight. Because I substituted yarn and it was my first crochteted garment I struggled getting the gauge right. All in all I'm happy with the skirt, it will be fun wearing it this fall.

Here is a couple of more views, I really like the kick in the back.

A change of plans

I have a wedding coming up and so I decided I needed a new dress. I found a beautiful rayon print and matched it to Vogue 7793 (OOP) which has been in my stash for a while (as has been the fabric). After modifying the pattern I found out not even shortening the skirt by several inches could I fit the pieces in the yardage I had. So I remembered it this Burda WOF 3/2008 116 dress was a runner up for this fabric. I have loved this design since I first saw it, and even more so after I saw Trena's version in a knit. So I have traced the Burda and it is ready to be cut.



I am making the short version but using the sleeves on the wedding dress using the rayon print below.



Because I had spent the time with Vogue 7793 I decided that instead of putting it away I would look for another fabric (as my mom said "I'm sure you have some other fabric in your stash that would work"). Well I found a beautiful cotton lawn that I bought in my only personal visit to Metro Textiles. Because of the light weight of the fabric I'm interlining the bodice and adding a lining to the skirt, using white cotton batiste also from Metro Textiles.



Have a great day wherever you are!!

Back to School

Well like every parent with school age children I was looking forward to this week.

It started out very nice, on Monday I spent the school hours at my LYS with friends for a sit and knit.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I worked, the first weeks of school and before I'm always really busy interpreting (think of all the forms to fill out and all the new info teachers need to convey). Before school started during with of my sessions I pulled something in my neck during one of my sessions and now every time I aggravate it I get a headache. So I haven't been able to sew or knit and today was the first day when I have been able to use the computer for more than 5 minutes.

On Thursday morning (5:30 am to be precise) I woke up to my DS being sick. The poor guy spent the morning that way but thankfully by dinner time he had an appetite and was feeling pretty good.

So this morning with no fever and a stuffy nose I sent him to finish his first week in high school. By 7:30 am I was on the phone with said high school, DS had a slight temperature and was nauseous. I get DS 2 up to get him ready for school, ask my husband to take him to the bus stop, get dress and with Clio (the beagle) in the car I head to the school.

So here I am. I would love to do some sewing today since my neck is better but I know that cleaning my house needs to come first. Here is hoping that next week is less exciting...

What the Olympics is making me do

I am not a sports person, I love to swim but that is it. However I love to watch the Olympics, especially the summer Olympics. I keep telling myself that they only come every four years and that it is okay to drop everything, except my knitting, to watch it. So while I wait for some knitting help from a very kind contact at Ravelry (she's sending me her lace charts and changes she made to the pattern from Interweave Knits I'm working on) I casted on socks for DH. The yarn is Fibranature Yummy a 100% superwash wool that I got at my local yarn store. Of course I could sew together the crocheted skirt I finished months ago or the beautiful cotton tank top that I could wear now. But I can't do that while I'm watching the Olympics...so back to knitting socks.

In my mailbox

So I had asked my brother and his new wife to try to find me a Patrones magazine when they were honeymooning in Spain. And...




The above shows up in my mailbox! Four! 1,2,3 and 4!I did a happy dance. I also got two knitting magazines Katia and Verena and a crochet magazine.

The bathroom is done, well it still needs paint and the hardware. It turned out beautiful! Today I had the boys help me with some cleaning up. There is still a lot to do but we are getting there.

I was able to cut another version of Simplicity 4076 and traced Burda WOF 5/2008 121. Can't wait to get back in the sewing room!!

Verena Knitting Magazine

I was in my local Barnes & Noble the other day and was very surprised to find Verena magazine on the stand. I am familiar with the Spanish version sold in Spain; let me tell you that my mom and I have always loved this knitting magazine and when my mom used to spend a few months in Barcelona every year or so, she would hound the magazine stand because as soon that it was out it was gone.

This version looks very much like Burda World of Fashion. There are many, many designs and I liked quite a bit of them. There are very fashion forward but in a way that they don't go out of style (I still find the designs of issues more than six years ago very modern).

Have you seen this new (to the US) knitting magazine? Let me know what you think!!

No picture

Well my house is officially a construction zone. The bathroom remodel is coming along fine and it will be wonderful when it is all done. Of course have to go out to Home Depot again this morning even though I went there and to Lowe's yesterday.

So not much has gotten done in the sewing/knitting area. I was hoping to finish some knitting projects that just need sewing up. We'll see.

A little bit of everything

Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg

So I'm back from the family vacation in Florida. We had a great time spending two weeks of fun. We had a week of making day trips to St Petersburg and Tampa and spending time with family, and four days at the parks in Orlando.

We were thrilled to be home again but now it is time to catch up with things. This week DH and I are trying to finish getting everything we need for the remodeling of one of the bathrooms, the fun starts on Friday. I also have to start thinking about school supplies...where did the summer go?

I got a chance during vacation to do some knitting. I finished the back of the Square-Bodice Pullover from Interweave Knits Summer 2003. It is my first true lace knitting and it is going slow, when I get confident and stop counting my stitches I end up frogging.





I will be doing only knitting this coming week while the work in the bathroom is being done (family is doing the work and so the sewing room will be a guest room). I do however plan on doing some tracing of patterns and hopefully some cutting. Yesterday I started on Burda WOF 5/2008 121. I am going to eliminate the skirt wrap like Tany and Karen among others have done. I will make mine in a solid red jersey I bought from Kashi a while back.

I leave you with a couple of pictures from our road trip...yes we drove over two days and it wasn't too bad. We got to listen to two Terry Pratchett books, we all like his books and this way we can also have our own book club discussions. Carpe Jugulum was the favorite where we are entertained by the three witches that are regular characters in his books.

Pattern Review Simplicity 4076

I believe at least one of these views has been made by everyone in the sewing community. I chose the scoop neck top with cap sleeves because I needed a pattern that took one yard to make and I really liked this design (I actually bought this pattern for this view). This was a stable poly knit from my stash that came from EmmaOneSock a long time ago. I like the way it turned out and I will make it again with another one yard cut that I have.

Crabs, birthday, baseball and fireworks

We had a fun-filled weekend. My brother and his wife came to visit and we made the most of our time together.



On Friday night we had crabs. It had been a long time since I've had crabs and enjoyed them very much as you can tell from what was left.



We also celebrated my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday mami!



On Saturday we went to the Bowie Baysox game. We love these games, you get great seats for reasonable prices, great stadium with easy, free parking and a firework display. What more can you ask for?



Speaking of fireworks, my brother showed me the fireworks setting in my camera and I had fun taking pictures. I think I got a few good ones.