Not Quite Vintage

guess who was back?

if you guessed my friendly neighborhood rabbit, you were right. There he was this morning as I walked to the garage, relaxing... in a new place! No eating (yet), just lounging. I wish my life was that easy.

Not much crafty going on around here. Life just seems to be getting in the way, but I am working on it. This week, I have something every night after work, except tonight... and I think I want to take a cue from my rabbit friend and lounge on my sofa and catch up on some mindless television or read my book.

The minute I have something new to share, I will post. Promise.

p.s. I love how I caught the sun rays again in the picture. Must be something about the early morning light. Wish I had been sitting on the Adirondack chair with my book and a nice cup of coffee instead of on my way to work...

if you can, avoid...

getting in the way of a high speed softball thrown wildly by an overzealous left fielder. This is what I did last night at softball. I know, it is all part of the game. Many girls I know would have just gotten out of the way, but no, I really thought I could catch the ball on the hop and make the play. At least I kept the ball in front of me and didn't let it go out of play and allow runners to score. But I didn't make the out either. And now I have this really pretty bruise that I am sure will get worse in the next couple days and will take a couple weeks to go away. Fun. I guess, no skirt wearing for me. Now back to sitting uncomfortably in my work chair.

my friend the rabbit...

Well, not really. Being one of the only yards in the neighborhood without a resident canine, my yard has turned into a safe haven for the bunnies. Most of them just run through the yard, while one, fully grown rabbit, likes to stay around and lounge. If you look hard at the picture, you can see him all spread out and relaxing in front of the bush on the left.

 

While lounging, he snacks on my lawn. I have never known a rabbit to snack on a lawn. Flowers yes, lawn no. Especially a zoysia grass lawn. Now I have a large ugly bare spot where a lovely green lawn used to be. Just a bare spot with zoysia runners crossing it (it is almost like a vine that runs across the ground, although this one is bare). Ugly, Even my bushes look sparse this year (oh and goodness they need some trimming).

This saga started probably two years ago. I came home from work one day to find my rabbit friend laying in the yard, with close to a 2 foot long by 6 inch wide  bare spot behind him. He had been snacking and inching along all day. My presence in the yard had no affect. He just laid there until I came awfully close with a stick.

This morning, I had to get pretty close to him to get him to vamoose. Although, I am sure once I got in my car and drove away, he quickly made it back to his favorite lounge space. He may even be there when I get home tonight.

What is a girl to do? 

P.S. I do love how my iPhone caught the sun’s rays...

crafty to do list: shirt and skirt

I haven't really felt like sewing the past couple nights. It has been hot and humid in St. Louis and it always takes me a few days (sometimes weeks) to adjust to our brand of summer weather. I was able to pull my lazy (maybe unmotivated is a better choice of words) self off the sofa to trace a couple patterns.

First, I traced the blog world's favorite summer shirt, Built By Wendy Simplicity 3835. I have some blue and white checked shirting fabric all washed, ironed and ready for when I am ready to sew.

Second, I worked a bit on redrafting a skirt pattern I have had for a long time, Simplicity 4701. I was inspired by an Anthropologie skirt - a seersucker number, with three panels, seam binding and buttons. I just love how the two front side panels are on the bias. So, I turned a two panel skirt front into a three panel skirt front. Seemed easy enough. I even added seam allowance to my pieces. I hope I didn't mess it up.

Now that I have the patterns ready, I need to get sewing. I have high hopes for the next week.

I can't wait till I have a new shirt and skirt (anthro worthy) for about $15. Fun.

What is on your crafty to do list?

P.S. Sorry about all the updated posts. I don't know how to size my pictures anymore in the new TypePad interface!

hi there... and a sun hat

Well, I think I am back... My posts may be a little less frequent, but I feel like I need to get back to blogging. Without it, I can be a little craft-lazy. All of you lovely readers help motivate me to keep going and try new things. It is an amazing feeling to have a virtual support group. And, I know that I need the creativity in my life, even when the times are tough.

Accomplishing anything is great for the self esteem and just going into my craft space and turning on the sewing machine helps me feel like things are normal. Not sure what normal is anymore, there has been so much change in my life over the past 4 months, but anything that helps me cope and keeps me moving forward is a good thing. This crafty blog world I am lucky to belong to helps. Lots.

My crafty to do list keeps getting longer, Seriously, all of you have created some amazing things lately... and I have hardly accomplished anything. Over Memorial Day weekend, I did have a chance to try out Lotta’s sun hat pattern (between rain storms and gardening projects). Before I started, I searched out what other bloggers had to say about the pattern. Many had problems with the fit and others didn’t think the pattern was quite clear. So taking their notes, I added a 1/2 inch to the width of the brim and crown so that it would fit my noggin. And, surprisingly, the completed project fit. I meant to take off about a half inch from the brim before I started, but didn’t, so I do experience a bit of blindness while wearing it, but it definitely blocks out the sun (main purpose for the hat since my dermatologist implored me to keep my face out of the sun this summer). Overall, I am pretty happy with it. It isn’t perfect and it surely looks better on my topiary than it does on me, but I like it.

 

If I had to do anything differently next time, I would remember to take at least a 1/2 inch off the brim before I start. In addition, I may angle in the crown a bit toward a smaller top circle. This may help with the “I look like I have a flower pot upside down on my head” phenomenon my friend Dawn had with the hat.

I hope to make another one soon - this time in black and white with a splash of color on the inside.

gone fishing

I know, I haven't been back all that long, but looks like I need to take another blogging break. I'm not sure how long it will be... I am hoping (really, really, really hard) that it is a short one. Some other priorities need to take precedence and my creative side is on the blink, so I think this is a good choice for me right now.

Yes... I know I am deserting my No Soda April participants a couple days early. My thoughts are still with all of you and I appreciate all your No Soda April support. It has really made it easier for me to succeed. Lets hope I can keep it up once I am in the "I can have a soda every once in a while" stage. I am hoping it just doesn't taste good anymore.

Keep up all the good crafting. I will still be checking out all of your blogs and Flickr photos when I get a chance.

No Soda April - 24th day update

So, it is day 24 of my effort to kick my soda addiction. I feel pretty good if you ignore my current scratchy throat and allergy eyes. I make it through most days without even being tempted, but there have been a few hard moments. At the of my first week, I had a dream about drinking an ice cold fountain coke. It was so real that I remembered the dream the next morning - and I hardly ever remember my dreams. Then last week, a fellow cube-dwelling friends popped the top of a soda late in the afternoon. Just the sound of the can opening gave me a craving. I rushed to make some iced tea to get me through. And this week, almost out of habit, I caught myself ordering a large coke instead of an iced tea. I caught myself and corrected my order, but I still would like to enjoy just one.

Other than those instances the hardest time was at my friend Lara's wedding shower/bachelorette last weekend. I didn't really have a choice for the non-beer (or wine moments, although I am a beer girl... its the irish in me I think... dark beer too)  moments accept for water. Late at night, soda would have been a great option, especially since I was getting tired. But, I was good. It is instances like this that make my soda effort more about breaking the everyday habit and working to create a plan in which I can have one on a special occasion.

How are all of you doing? 

for lara's wedding shower

Hmm, what should I get Lara for her wedding shower? After thinking for a long while, I decided to go the handmade route for her shower gift and to make her a pretty little apron. I wanted her to know I was so happy for her and thinking about her, and handmade seemed the right way to go. Plus, I just wasn't inspired by anything I saw in the stores.

I looked through my stash, hoping to find the perfect fabric. Not knowing at all what her colors might be - she is moving soon - it was hard, so I settled on a retro fabric apron just for fun. And surprisingly enough, I had all the supplies at home!

I was inspired by the apron pattern at Bari J. It gave me a starting point... the pattern doesn't go all the way to the end in the instructions, so I sorta winged it once I got to the waistband. And then I made up my own pocket too.

I am happy with how it turned out, although I would make it a bit wider the next time. I really love how the fabrics coordinate... even the back is white with little red polka dots.

Overall, it was a super easy, super fun project. I really need to make myself one!

some sewing inspiration

It seems like every time I turn around, I am inspired by something I see around blogland. Right now, this inspiration is focused around clothing... And my list of patterns I may want to try out keeps growing.  So, in order to get a handle on this and to be prepared when I actually encounter a pattern sale at the fabric store, I needed to start a list - an official list, pocket sized, perfect for my wallet. I came up with this business card sized “I need, I want sewing patterns” card. And it even has room for more... And I know that will fill up fast. If you want your own, click here.

So, where am I getting inspired? Well, to start, there are a few great flickr groups dedicated to sewing clothing:

• Simplicity Sewing Patterns
• Sew Stylish
• Built By Us
• Burda Style

And Burda also has a great site, full of sewing tidbits (named sewpedia), patterns (many are free) and user examples. I recently downloaded the Desira Top (a great wrap shirt) and the Charlie Bag (a grocery style tote bag). I sometimes find the site slow to load, but if you can get it to work, it is worth it.

If you are looking to search the pattern catalogs before heading to the fabric store, each has their own site:

• Simplicity 
• McCall’s 
• Butterick 
• Vogue

I love to do this. Especially if I see a pattern on someone’s blog or on Flickr and want to learn more about it, from the styles it is available in to how much fabric would I need to make it.

That is all I can think of for today, although I know there is more inspiration out there. I'll pass it on along the way.

Anna Tunic, part 3: finished

Whew! My Anna Tunic is finished. I am so glad to check this off my Crafty To Do List. Overall, it was a good sewing experience. I may have experienced some struggle and slow progress, but I am pretty happy with the end result.

Why pretty happy and not really happy? That probably has more to do with me than the shirt itself. I am just not ready for sleeveless yet and I am not quite sure if this is the best clothing option for my body type, but I am going to try to pull it off. The pretty happy comes from everything I learned while sewing. I took a leap and reworked the collar to make it work better for me and also took in the side seams to improve the fit. I am also happy with my craftsmanship (craftswomanship), especially the back buttons. My buttons line up and the panel lays flat. Plus, my edge stitching is pretty darn straight. I have to give my new sewing machine some credit for that part - It sews so smoothly and consistently, I love it more every time I sew.

So overall, a good sewing experience. Amy’s pattern is really good. It throws some unique stuff at you, but if you calmly read it a couple times, it all falls together. I sometimes find myself reading the instructions out loud. It helps me focus and figure things out.

Next time I sew a piece of clothing, I am going to keep a few things in mind. First, I will ask myself how will this really look on me? Sometimes, I need to remind myself that the cute trendy patterns might not be the exact right style for me.  Second, I will remember my budget. Sewing clothes seems a bit more fickle than bags or home goods. There is more of a chance of not liking it or it not fitting, so I will try to be more mindful of what fabric I choose. I love the fabric I bought, but the tunic probably cost $25-30 total if you include buttons, thread and lining fabric (not to mention the pattern). That is a lot for something I may or may not end up wearing. Skirts might not fall into this category as summer skirts are close to foolproof... How do you feel about sewing clothes for yourself? Any tips or trick?

I tried to take a picture of myself in the tunic, but not with much luck. I don’t have a full length mirror, so I tried in the bathroom on a stool, which didn’t work. So then I just turned the camera at me and ended up with some bad angles. Here is the best of the bunch. It gives you an idea (I wore a little white t-shirt underneath in effort to shield you from my pale Irish winter skin, but that didn’t really work).