tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5169788266641195682024-03-12T16:54:46.281-07:00The Crafty Vixen's DenCathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-25591774075294518612019-09-19T09:50:00.001-07:002019-09-19T09:50:42.531-07:00Resurfacing<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Well folks, it has been quite a while since I posted. I'm not sure why I am today, except that I just found a cool blog and they hadn't posted in a long time and I thought "how sad", then realized that I had done exactly the same thing!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">So here is a post with a picture of my latest project in the works.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span id="goog_1212286546" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><span id="goog_1212286547" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">This is a locker hooked piece that I plan for a cushion cover (I think, maybe). The three crayons are there because this was for my yearly Spin In's crayon challenge. Everyone randomly picked 3 crayons from a bucket and had to make something with those three colours. You could use as little or as much of each colour as you liked and the three colours had to make up at least 60% of the final item.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">I still have to add the blue for the sky but the rest all came out of my stash. I was pretty darn proud of that!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">The other big project at the moment is below</span><br />
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That is our new cat Vex and her 3 little surprises.</div>
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Vex showed up in the backyard one day and after a while we assumed she had been abandoned. There was never a notice on any of the local FB pages nor were any flyers ever posted. </div>
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We adopted her one night when we had a terrible storm (I couldn't leave her out in that!!!) and then realized about a month later that she was pregnant. Fortunately she only had three but it has been a HUGE learning curve for me and the family as no one has ever done new born kittens in our house. EVER! </div>
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It has been great though and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Now we just have to find homes for them when they are ready. </div>
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I will try and keep posting and maybe catch up on some projects I have done in the past so there is some kind of record out there. </div>
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Until then...ta ta for now!</div>
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Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-80149188822385228712014-07-21T11:45:00.003-07:002014-07-21T11:45:57.636-07:00The Prom dress - finished!Well, I know I teased you all with a post that included the fact that I was making my eldest daughter's prom dress so here it is. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pUNt3PfKlh8/U81dW8jy8qI/AAAAAAAAAmo/QrzmoR4C6pw/s1600/just+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pUNt3PfKlh8/U81dW8jy8qI/AAAAAAAAAmo/QrzmoR4C6pw/s1600/just+C.jpg" height="320" width="111" /></a></div>
I used McCalls 6893 and some lovely fabric from Fabricland, with some ribbons for the straps. <br />
The blue was a bit of a pain to sew but once I figured out what it needed (to be held taut while sewing) it went well. <br />
There were a number of fittings to get the top correct and I did not add any boning as a) I've never done boning before and b) her bra already had some. <br />
I also didn't do an invisible zipper as that's something else I've never done. <br />
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The top has about an inch more coverage than the original as neither my daughter nor I was happy with the amount of clevage showing. There were some adjustments for a full bust but I think I kind of did it backwards (taking in at the top and sides) rather than doing an FBA. Eh, it worked, who cares how! I also shortened the bodice (see previous post) and added that length to the skirt (which was needed) as a precation <br />
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Since it did take so much work and the fit is quite lovely now I'm taking the rest of the material used for the skirt muslin (a thrift store sheet that's really nice material) and making her a white summer dress. Why waste a good fitting, right? I'll be adding pocket to the sundress version because everyone needs pockets! <br />
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Here's another picture of C and her beau B. Aren't they cute? <br />
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Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-81322719743498492232014-05-20T16:06:00.000-07:002014-05-20T16:06:47.984-07:00Can you be petite and not...at the same time?It was a holiday weekend recently here and for me that means sewing! <br />
I was working on two seperate projects but both of them led me to that above question. <br />
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The fist project is DD1's prom dress. Yes, I get to make her dress and honestly, I'm thrilled. A little scared, but thrilled. <br />
Here's the pattern we're using, <a href="http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m6893-products-47892.php?page_id=109">McCalls 6893</a> and here's a picture of the view we're working on. <br />
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At the same time I was working on a <a href="http://www.sbccpatterns.com/shop/sb322-tonic-t-shirt/">Tonic T from Skiin Bitch Curvy Chicks</a> for myself.</div>
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Now they are technically a company for petites and at 5'7" I shouldn't fit into that. </div>
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But!! </div>
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In the course of test fitting DDs dress and straight cutting (after comparing to t-shirts I already own) I discovered that the best fit occured when I took out 3/4 of an inch from DD1s bodice and left my t-shirt alone. Even after knowing that others lengthened the t-shirt by up to 4"s.<br />
(DD is only a wee bit shorter than I - 5'6") <br />
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My conclusion - neither of us are "regular" petites but we're probably both "top half petites". This is something that NEVER would have occured to me before but it's pretty hard to ignore and it sure explains why t-shirts can be very long on both of us. <br />
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Things that make you go Hmmmm<br />
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My next topic - different sizes front and back? LOL <br />
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Ta<br />
Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-76554701452234919592014-01-13T11:25:00.002-08:002014-01-13T11:25:32.087-08:00OMG I made leggings! Hello all, sorry for the radio silence lately. I have some posts partial written but 2013 just didn't seem like "the year of finishing posts" or something. LOL<br />
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Today though I have a doozy because I broke out of my comfort zone and made something I never would have thought I would or could! That's right I made leggings!<br />
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Now, let me say that I don't usually wear leggings (and never as pants, sorry I'm just too old fashioned and too big for that...plus I have a flat tush so they don't have a rear to accentuate lol) but I'm going to Quebec City next month on a field-trip with DD2 so I knew I needed some extra layers.<br />
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I was thinking about sweatpants (too bulky) or normal leggings (too thin) and then I came across some fleece lined tights. Now that sounded warm and not too bulky, but my first purchase was terrible. They weren't fleecy at all (which means a soft fuzzy inside to me) and they looked moth eaten when they were on!<br />
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My next thought was some fleece lined leggings I saw but I after my first purchase I was hesitant to spend that kind of money.<br />
Then I saw some posts and happy reviews about <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/SewingCake">Cake Patterns</a> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/163894399/pdf-espresso-leggings-cake-patterns-riff?ref=shop_home_active_2">Espresso Leggings</a><br />
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and discovered that they were <b>a</b>) available in my size and <b>b</b>) totally customizable!!! I thought...I have got to give these a try. So I bought the PDF off of the Etsy site and started doing some measuring.<br />
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This weekend I finally got around to cutting out and sewing the pattern I traced out and I am thrilled!<br />
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The leggings I made aren't 100% perfect but baby, they are sooooo close (98%?).<br />
I have never had a pattern fit like this on the first test and I can honestly say that the fault is not the pattern it's me and only because I was being extra cautious.<br />
The best news is that they fit my apple shaped front, they don't bag over my flat tush and they don't bunch up ANYWHERE.<br />
They do need a wee bit more room in the front thigh (seems my thighs are like my abdomen - more in the front than the back) and they are a bit long (tall?) in the crotch-waist (which has NEVER happened before but is totally due to me being paranoid about things rarely fitting me there). Totally wearable though and so comfy. These test ones will probably become dog walking leggings for wearing as an under layer with my jeans to keep me warm. I don't need much more than that for walking at night here in the rain-forest of BC.<br />
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For Quebec I have some polar tec with lots of stretch (Sewing Cake recommends 5% spandex/lycra) coming the mail from <a href="http://www.therainshed.com/">The Rain Shed</a>. They have been a great place to deal with and I'm in love with them.<br />
I ordered a couple of samples around Christmas and then just ordered my fabric choices last week. Now normally I would never order material to make something for a trip in less than three weeks (NOT the fastest sewer) but the Espresso pattern is so quick to sew up, I have NO worries that I'm going to be able to get 2 pairs of leggings done in time for January 31st.<br />
As soon as I do I promise to post some pics...just not of me wearing them LOL<br />
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**Sewing for Apples addendum - one of the things that I did when I did my measurements for the pattern was to measure and use 2 separate measurements for my waist.<br />
I took a separate Front Waist and Back Waist measurement and inputted those numbers in rather than just the 1 number.<br />
One of the problems I have as an Apple (carries weight in the front mainly in the abdomen) is that while a pattern may fit my waist it will often "pull" to the front because there is too much material in the back and not enough at the front.<br />
By doing the two measurements I fixed that and my leggings don't skew at all. YayCathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-30693442431908243112013-06-23T11:07:00.000-07:002013-07-06T21:32:33.844-07:00Refashioning my RefashionIn my last post I remade some new knickers but as I mentioned they weren't quite perfect for my apple body shape.<br />
After wearing them for a bit I noticed a little problem and it's one I'm way too familiar with; there isn't quite enough material in the front. They kept slipping down. Now a quick tug brought them back up but that's not really the thing I want to be known for at work or out in public! LOL<br />
My first thought for a solution was just to add another row of the elastic lace at the top.<br />
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That worked.....sort of. It added the necessary coverage in the front but added way too much at the back and sides. Not a huge issue but as we all know, most sewers sew because we want more than just adequately fitting clothes - we want clothes that really fit us. Adequate is for off the rack!<br />
What I really needed was what I have now called an FAA. That's a Full <u>Abdomen</u> Adjustment. It's kind of like the familiar FBA (Full <b>Bust</b> Adjustment) but a little... lower. Same theory though; more material needed width wise and height wise, to cover a fuller figure part.<br />
Has anyone else ever done something like that? I'd love to see what other sewers have figured out for the "apple" figure.<br />
Please comment if you know of another blog that's talked about this! <br />
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My next attempt at a fix went kind of like this.<br />
Start by marking the center back, center front and sides with pins.<br />
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I want about 1/2 or less of the elastic width at the back (I wanted the elastic at my waist and not my hips but I could have left it where it was, no problem. I also thought it would be easier to re-fashion this way rather than going to no increase at center back. I'm not 100% sure what I will decide for the pattern fix. Maybe 2 patterns?!?) - pin elastic 1/2 way down.<br />
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I need all the extra elastic width in the front - pin close to the edges.<br />
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Find a nice easy slope for a transition from front to back that doesn't leave wrinkles (3/4 of the way down at the sides?) I did this part while I was sewing, no pins. Not the most scientific or precise method, but it worked for me.<br />
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Sew and pray and see how it turns out. Hey, not half bad. It looks a little odd but after wearing it for a while it's pretty darn comfortable! Besides, who's going to be looking at my undies anyway?!? Well, except for you all!<br />
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Thanks <a href="http://www.sewsassy.com/">Sew Sassy</a> for having minimums to buy so that I had enough lace left over to make over most of my new panties! (I did not have enough to re-re-fashion the blue ones as I used blue lace on 2 pairs. I may take it off the 2nd pair and use it on the first or I might just make those wear 'around the house day' undies, where no one cares if I have to adjust periodically.)<br />
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Next - figure out how to make all these changes onto the paper pattern I made when I had the originals all laid out flat. I could actually end up with a drawer of nice underwear for a change! LOL<br />
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<br />Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-38470251384293364352013-06-18T21:25:00.003-07:002013-06-18T21:25:49.394-07:00Refashioning underwear. Well, as you can see, not a lot of posting has gone on in the last year.<br />
There are a couple of reasons for this but probably the main one is that I haven't done a heck of a lot of crafting. There has been a wee bit of sewing and the same of knitting but since I was barely feeling the crafting mojo I had even less blogging mojo going.<br />
I will try and remedy that! I promise.<br />
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So to start my latest project (I promise to catch up on previous projects soon) - underwear refashioning!<br />
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A while ago, while away from home I popped into my favorite clothing store. I didn't find any regular clothes I wanted to buy but just at the end of my visit (as younger family members were getting tired of being there - parents, you know what I mean!) I spotted a sale on knickers. So, I quickly grabbed the 'special' (5 or 6 for ?$), paid and headed out the door.<br />
Problem was I was assuming that if I wore pants in a size Q (Like I'd really tell anyone what size I wear!) then panties in a size P/Q would be the right size....wrong! They were close and maybe for fancy pants only worn for an hour or two they'd be fine but not for regular everyday wear and as they were cotton....<br />
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So they sat, languishing in my underwear drawer too un-comfy to wear regularly and too new to throw out.<br />
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I thought I might be able to do a re-fashion on them but never really got around to until - I realized I was going to be traveling with a school group next year and rooming with someone I didn't know and who I just really didn't want to share my slightly ratty (but comfy) knickers with. Eeek!<br />
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Eventually I came up with a plan; first take off the top elastic and see if that helps. The real aggravation to the fit was the top elastic biting into my squishy bits. Those bits of mine are squishy but not quite that much! <br />
I tested the fit on one pair after removing the elastic and it was much better but.....not quite good enough to bother with a whole lot of fussing, if you know what I mean, so I left them.<br />
A lot of the time if I leave a project I'm having trouble with and let my sub-conscious work on the problem, it comes up with an idea.<br />
Which it did!<br />
My sub-conscious said; if you're going to take the top elastic off and replace it with elastic lace (which I find much more squishy-bits friendly) then why not take the panties apart at the side seams and add a strip of the lace down the side too, adding some extra to the side seams?<br />
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Sub-conscious....what a great idea, let's go try that. So we did and here's how it went and what I learned along the way.<br />
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Step 1 and 2 - take off the elastic at the top and take out the side seams so you're left with a flat piece like so.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iDFLN_MJ8p0/UcEvgHONm2I/AAAAAAAAAgI/E8jB51Sl8ak/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iDFLN_MJ8p0/UcEvgHONm2I/AAAAAAAAAgI/E8jB51Sl8ak/s320/032.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Step 3 - pin some elastic lace (purchasable in a WIDE variety of colours [the variety I got]<br />
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and widths for a great price from <a href="http://www.sewsassy.com/">Sew Sassy</a> ) to the sides. I used 2 inch wide elastic, Sew Sassy has a lot in that width and more in other sizes.<br />
As you can see I didn't do a hem on the bottom, just did a quick fold-over and assumed the sewing of the side would take care of it. So far it's working.<br />
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Now you don't have to pin your lace to the very outer edge of the fabric. If you don't want/need the full width of the elastic feel free to just pin your lace where you need it. You can trim back your side seams later (for fullest see-through) or do a 2nd line of stitches at the edges of the elastic (so it doesn't flop around or fold over on you.). The choice is up to you!<br />
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Step 5 - sew the side elastic. I used the magical 3 stitch zig-zag. I LOVE this stitch for sewing anything knit. It flexes with the knit, it's easy to do and I like how it looks. Tie off all your threads and trim the elastic at the top.<br />
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Step 6 - pin (if you want, I didn't bother by the 3rd pair) and sew the elastic lace around the top of your underwear. I will admit the I didn't pin, or pre-cut the elastic for this step. I just laid it down and sewed for a bit, then laid more. When I got close to the end I cut it where it gave me enough for a bit of an overlap, then sewed up one side of the overlap, across the overlap at the top and down the other side to the very beginning.<br />
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Voila! New to me knickers!<br />
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One of the things you may find is that your panty material, if it's a knit, may try and roll over on you. To combat that I would lay the elastic on the material down from the top and sliiiide it up to the point that I wanted, unrolling the fabric as I went.<br />
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As an add on - I did some more modifications based solely on my body shape after I finished. I'm an 'apple'. That means I carry most of my weight in my front which causes some interesting problems in fitting. I will share those modifications in another post later.<br />
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<br />Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-80322972469590775742012-06-12T13:53:00.000-07:002012-06-12T13:53:07.584-07:00Silky Pillowcases - done!Why yes, yes I do post a lot more when I'm on vacation, how nice of you to notice LOL!<br />
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Well here we are, two posts in two days. I'm thinking this is probably as close to a miracle as I'm going to get this week ;-) Here they are, two green "silky" pillowcases with Tiana borders.<br />
They aren't perfect but one of the things I've had to learn over the past few years is that perfection and I don't really do well together. I'm not perfect, my sewing isn't perfect but on the other hand I certainly pay more attention to detail than the big clothing/decor corporations and I'm learning to be okay with that.<br />
So ...ta da!<br />
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Pretty simple construction just one big rectangle sewn up 1 side, Tiana border attached (with some fancy stitches my machine does) and then sewn up the other side. Both sides were serged since this material frayed like crazy.<br />
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There's really nothing special about these except that they're probably one of a kind, fill a need for Little Miss C and they're danged pretty. I guess they are special! Time to wrap them up!<br />
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Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-27834753491793423722012-06-11T16:04:00.000-07:002012-06-11T16:09:47.542-07:00On the sewing tableThis week I'm off (on leave, vacation, escaped...what ever you want to call it!), so of course I have lots of sewing planned (and a whole lot more chores planned too!). I know I won't get it all done...I never do, but I thought I'd give you a glimpse of what's on the sewing table waiting to go. <br />
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First up is a birthday present (don't worry, it's for Little Miss C and she's too young to be blog reading on her own!)<br />
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By the end of the week (or even earlier I hope) this will be a pair of "silky" pillowcases with a Tiana border so a little princess can sleep happily without having to choose between a Disney pillowcase or a "silky" one. Ah if only all of life's dilemmas could be solved to easily.<br />
Green was not my first choice for this project since Little Miss C is more of a pink or purple girl but it was the best match the store had and who knows, maybe it's her new favourite colour, since we all know *that* can change in a heartbeat with a <strike>5</strike> oops, 6 year old. <br />
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Next on the table is a mix in blacks and whites;<br />
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This will become the No Pattern Bias Skirt in the current (June/July no 161) issue of Threads. By the directions there are supposed to be 5 different materials but again my local fabric store failed me and I could only find 4 that fit my requirements. Besides a desire for black and while like the picture in Threads my biggest need was mainly that it be cotton! For me there's no point in making a summer skirt that's supposed to be for hot weather wearing if it's not cotton or linen or some other natural fibre. Sadly that means a limited selection since Fabricland has an affinity for polyesters and such. With no air conditioning at home or really at work either (not that I'm likely to wear a skirt to work!) and being a larger woman...natural fibres are my true friends!<br />
3 of the 4 are shirting material with the 4th (top) being a quilting cotton. I know, I know, that's pretty much a no-no for clothing and it's SO not the same weight as the others but hey...it's skeletons and pins! I couldn't resist! Keep your fingers crossed that I can get this work with only 4 patterns of fabric. I'm pretty sure I can but extra good wishes never hurt.<br />
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Well, if I plan to get any sewing done I'd better get a move on.<br />
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Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-43590712895080341022012-06-04T21:23:00.003-07:002012-06-04T21:23:43.816-07:00What is or isn't sewing?<div dir="ltr">
<span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">I was getting ready to write
today</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">’</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">s post</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">
(</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">it was going to be about how
I didn</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">’</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">t sew this weekend</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">) when I</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">started to think about the things I</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">*</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">did</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">*</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">
do</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;"> this
weekend</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">; mended some stuff, restyled
a shirt so I</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">’</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">d actually wear it, hemmed a pair of pants and spun some
lovely wool.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;"> </span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Of the 4
main things (besides laundry, grocery shopping and dishes</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">..ick</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">) I
got done this weekend 3 of them included a needle and thread</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;"> so why don</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">’</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">t I,
at first "glance", consider that sewing?</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">An
interesting question that made me think. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Is it
because I think of sewing as a creative process? Possibly. Sewing has always
been one of my cr</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">eative outlets and I love that sense of</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">accomplishment</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;"> I
get when I have taken a pile of papers, materials, and threads and turned them
into something else.</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Within that narrow definition then what I did this weekend
would not qualify as sewing. But then, if not sewing</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">…</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">.what?</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">The
major</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">components of
sewing</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">were all there; scissors,
needles, thread, a plan. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Perhaps
it</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">’</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">s that there is a difference between</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">“</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Sewing</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">”</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;"> and
just</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">“</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">sewing</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">”</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;"> to
me</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;"> and</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"> <span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">“</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Sewing</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">”</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">
involves some creative process to me</span></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">.
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Something to
think about. ;-) </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Ta</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-61203128342337953982012-05-20T17:27:00.000-07:002012-05-20T17:27:25.469-07:00I sewed!I finally did some sewing! After a bout of procrastination, a skirt mental block and 2 months out with a bum hip (who knew sewing could be so dangerous?!?!) I finally got some sewing done this weekend.<br />
Even better? It's a long weekend here in Canada so I have another day!<br />
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Who knows, I might even get something worth taking a picture of! <br />
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In the meantime I will share a picture of my first finished project of the year.<br />
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This is a short row scarf I made from a pattern in spin Off Magazine. It's a very easy pattern and my first ever time knitting short rows. It's made from hand spun yarn that I spun last year after buying the roving at the Ryder Lake Spin In. It's from a wool I don't remember with angelina and silk mixed in. You can see some of the gleam of the silk in the 2nd photo. It's lovely to wear and I'm quite proud of it.<br />
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So stay tuned, I might have some pictures of sewing soon, now that I'm back at the sewing table. In the meantime here's a look at what I'm back to working on; Simplicity 8640<br />
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Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-85795810630205962152012-01-09T18:56:00.000-08:002012-01-09T18:56:39.942-08:00What's been going on?So with such a long break between posts it would probably be good to do a little explaining on what happened.<br />
Basically life happened, and then it snow balled and then it got embarassing to have not posted for so long.<br />
But I'm over that and I have lots of sewing news to share.<br />
First (and because I have no pictures right now) the life part;<br />
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As you know if you read my blog earlier this year, Scooby became a bit of an escape artist. In June/July he reached a new pinnacle. He not only got out of the backyard he jumped over the balcony to do it! I'm not sure why but for the first year ever fireworks totally freaked him out. So up over the balcony he went, over the yard fence and into a major intersection not far from our house. Happily (considering) he was found by a dog friendly couple who got him into their car (not hard, trust me!) and they took him home with them to safety.<br />
At that point he became a much more restricted doggie and sadly he was fine with that. It got to the point that he didn't even want to go outside by himself at all, even to eat. And for a dog that lives up to his nae....that's a huge thing.<br />
So now, a few months later we have moved from a dog that was outdoors 24/7 to a dog that's indoors 24/7! That's a pretty radical change for him and for us.<br />
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Add to that some ex-husband and family drama, a teen and a tween and well, you have a pretty busy life and a busy me. But I really missed blogging so I'm back and I promise I will do better....well, better than the last 6 months anyway!<br />
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Right now the camera is unused and there's a fair pile of things to photograph and lots of projects in the works (2012! It's a big year for costuming folks!) but for now I'll get this up and then see what happens.<br />
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Thanks for reading Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-3397746345371626932012-01-03T19:05:00.000-08:002012-01-03T19:05:42.529-08:00I'm backHopefully for a good long haul this time.<br />
I have lots of things to tell the world about but in the meantime a little haiku for you all......<br />
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<div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"></span><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">The days pass slowly</span></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Then rush by, too fast to see</span></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span lang="en-ca"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Book Antiqua;">Why no posts lately </span></span></div>Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-75502024461539529272011-06-17T19:41:00.000-07:002011-06-17T19:41:33.369-07:00Stanley Cup Final - the aftermathI'm sorry to say that this is not going to be a sewing related post. Frankly there hasn't been enough sewing done in this house to warrant one. :-( There will be one soon though, I promise.<br />
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In the meantime I wanted to take a quiet minute or two and write a bit about a rather bizarre local event that some of you might have heard about in the news. They're calling it Riot 2011 or The Stanley Cup Riot or the Vancouver Riot.<br />
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It was a travesty, it was sad and awful and is in no way something that Vancouver or BC is proud of. For those who don't know the story the Vancouver Canucks made it to the final round of the Stanley Cup. They fought hard and took it to 7 games. That final game was played in Vancouver. We lost. And then some people got really stupid. There were fires and looting and people got hurt. Lots more people got scared.<br />
The only good thing to say about the riot is that no one died.<br />
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We as BCers are ashamed at how a small group of people acted. We just ask that people remember that it was only a small group and that it in no way represents the rest of us.<br />
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There are some good things that happened during and after the event and I would like to focus on that.<br />
There were people who stood up for what was right and there were more people that stood up for them.<br />
A lot of people came out into Vancouver where some of the worst damage and looting happened and helped clean it up yesterday.<br />
After 2 police vehicles were burned Wednesday night another police car was found today covered in notes of gratitude and well wishes for the Vancouver police. It is a beautiful sight.<br />
Some people have realized that what they did Wednesday night was wrong and have come forward and turned themselves in. I applaud them for doing the right thing. I know that admitting you're wrong is never easy. Wednesday night they were people to be ashamed of, today I can feel a small piece of pride in what they did today. <br />
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This is not an event to be celebrated but perhaps, if we learned from it, we can celebrate that.<br />
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Ta! <br />
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PS To all those people who posted about their "accomplishments" during the looting or posed after being caught on camera being stupid....do the rest of the world a favour and don't procreate..Please!!!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-72096811008461779802011-05-08T11:11:00.000-07:002011-05-08T11:11:54.659-07:00It's Polyester Pants time!Yep, you read that right folks.<br />
My next project (delaying my actual sewing for me! Which I will write about later) is a pair of 1970's polyester pants. Miss C is doing a project for school and needs a costume for it so .... here we go.<br />
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I'm going to be using a vintage pattern from a Golden Hands books, specifically this one. The pattern for the pants on the cover is included in the book.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gK8N43Nc0e4/TcbZo3vHGMI/AAAAAAAAAdY/Zdpr3aduTYI/s1600/70%2527s+pants+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gK8N43Nc0e4/TcbZo3vHGMI/AAAAAAAAAdY/Zdpr3aduTYI/s320/70%2527s+pants+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I have a small collection of these 1970's Golden Hands books. They're kind of fun and luckily they all seem to have their sewing patterns still in them. Each issue had a free sewing pattern stapled to the middle of the book.<br />
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The pants are actually rather cool because they don't have a zipper front but instead one that buttons up, kind of like sailors pants. I don't remember having a pair of these but then I think I lived in jeans pretty much through the 70's. LOL<br />
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Here's another interesting feature of the pattern;<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b4TRXZ80e8M/TcbakCuwfDI/AAAAAAAAAdc/ByIrc9l19gs/s1600/70%2527s+pants+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b4TRXZ80e8M/TcbakCuwfDI/AAAAAAAAAdc/ByIrc9l19gs/s320/70%2527s+pants+004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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This is the whole pattern piece for the pant back. Not very long huh? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TZaBdjg2FAw/TcbbOyQiTiI/AAAAAAAAAdg/mkpL26BIcAY/s1600/70%2527s+pants+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TZaBdjg2FAw/TcbbOyQiTiI/AAAAAAAAAdg/mkpL26BIcAY/s320/70%2527s+pants+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>That's because part way down it says "Cut on this line and insert 18.5 inches".<br />
I found that really interesting. I'm not sure if this was just to save paper or maybe to make the magazine less bulky...? No matter the reason it's neat. Naturally I didn't cut it there but rather traced the pattern to the size I needed and added the 18.5 inches while I was tracing.<br />
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So hopefully today I'll get everything cut out and the markings placed. Then it will be easy to get some little bits of sewing done during the week.<br />
I find if I have everything cut out I can fit in 15 or 20 minutes of sewing during the week, but if I have to cut stuff out I stall until the weekend. Weird huh?<br />
Well, off to continue working.<br />
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Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-34008485216146727762011-05-02T16:33:00.000-07:002011-05-02T16:33:17.907-07:00It's now completeWe had a lovely weekend here and since sunny weekends seem to equal me wanting to sew I managed to turn a remnant into an apron for Miss S's costume so maybe people will stop telling her she's very "fancy".<br />
<i>shrug</i> I know, I don't understand how a fairly plain dress with about $2 worth of trim can be fancy...but there you have it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EmvQY0Bof6A/Tb88cas0cpI/AAAAAAAAAdE/YM8Hb7Ygnek/s1600/Villager+costume+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EmvQY0Bof6A/Tb88cas0cpI/AAAAAAAAAdE/YM8Hb7Ygnek/s320/Villager+costume+002.JPG" width="206" /></a></div>So this is (hopefully) the final costume for Miss S. <br />
It dang well better be the final costume....the play is in 2 days!<br />
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Here's a quick snapshot of the gusset I did for the dancing.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nnx0hPk_UwU/Tb89u-CZfxI/AAAAAAAAAdI/MZAnPL-eAHY/s1600/Villager+costume+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nnx0hPk_UwU/Tb89u-CZfxI/AAAAAAAAAdI/MZAnPL-eAHY/s320/Villager+costume+001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Basically I opened up the arm hole seam up until ...the notches probably? Then I had Miss S put the dress on and raise her arms. I measured the gap that opened and made sure it was going to be enough and not put any strain on the arm hole. From there I just made this football shaped thing (cut on the bias for maximum stretch) that was the length of the portion of the seam I let out by the width of the gap created.<br />
Pin, sew and done! FYI I sewed the gusset in by hand as I felt I'd have more control. I was right. If I was to do this again I would sew one side of the gusset down and then sew the sleeve in going across the gusset rather than the armhole. But of course I was doing this after so....hand sewing was easier. <br />
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Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-70867966845529956632011-04-25T19:18:00.000-07:002011-04-25T19:18:18.477-07:00It's doneNo pictures of todays work as it's a dull rainy day here today but I'm happy to announce.....it's done!<br />
The gussets are in and they worked out well; the Villager can stretch for her dance. I'm very happy with it and hopefully the teacher will be too.<br />
Here's a bonus pic of the Villager dancing.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f5rzciouh64/TbYq9tPBmuI/AAAAAAAAAdA/c5si84LhXcs/s1600/Villager+costume+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f5rzciouh64/TbYq9tPBmuI/AAAAAAAAAdA/c5si84LhXcs/s320/Villager+costume+004.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-55859801755546546242011-04-24T20:51:00.000-07:002011-04-24T20:51:01.544-07:00Villager Costume progressSo today sees the villager costume virtually complete!<br />
In fact it would be complete if it wasn't for the fact that said villager is dancing during the play and apparently needs to raise her arms above her head.<br />
So today I've been researching gussets. I've done gussets before in T-tunics so I'm starting from scratch (thank goodness). As of right now I'm tending towards the thought of a football shaped gusset rather than a square; just seems easier. I've taken the seam apart and asked Miss S to raise her arm and a 1 1/2" gusset is looking like what I'll need.<br />
For now it's time to let the brain work on it while I do something else like watch Amazing Race. Yes, my Sunday night guilty pleasure.<br />
Here's a picture of all the trim done though I think it makes a real difference. Enjoy!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XcBgLTcqxDU/TbTsFuHaD7I/AAAAAAAAAc8/v2ttoE9llI0/s1600/Villager+costume+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XcBgLTcqxDU/TbTsFuHaD7I/AAAAAAAAAc8/v2ttoE9llI0/s320/Villager+costume+001.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-61758004858463542011-04-23T13:28:00.000-07:002011-04-23T17:13:09.641-07:00Saturday ProgressWow! It's been just over a day since I posted on the dress and I can't believe how much I've gotten done.<br />
I'm not a fast sewer so this has been a real journey for me. I think the difference here is that I've made this dress before which isn't something I do very often. It has really helped.<br />
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So, what <b>have</b> I gotten done?<br />
Yesterday the main parts of the body got sewn together and then I took the back and inserted the zipper. I figured it would be easier to do that while the back wasn't attached to the rest of the dress - less material to cart around. After pinning I decided to pick stitch the zipper in. Call me a perfectionist but the thought of having an obvious zipper in a "medieval" dress just irked me. I knew though that I don't have time to do lacing so....a fairly innocuous zipper seemed the solution. Plus I like hand sewing. <br />
The sleeves got their cuffs on and then I hand stitched the ribbon on while they were still flat. To me it seemed only logical and easier to do that before the sleeve seam went in. The ribbon looks really nice and stitching on the flat allows the ends to be hidden in the seam.<br />
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Today;<br />
Today I started with sewing the back to the front and doing the first official dress try on. It looks pretty good but it did need to be let out a bit. I was actually expecting that so it didn't bother me since I'd already planned it out in my head.<br />
The reason I was expecting it is that the first dress was made out of a knit that we found on the clearance rack so it's fit was a bit looser and more forgiving. It was so forgiving that the first dress actually has no zipper at all!<br />
I got that done and approved by Miss S and then moved on to the sleeves. The sleeves and facing are all attached now but I need to play with the sleeves a bit. They're a very close fit and hence don't have a lot of reach to them. When you're dancing you need 'reach' so I'm going to add an underarm gusset in a bit. My brain is currently thinking on that.<br />
While my brain simmers I got the facing sewed on and pressed and understitched and pressed again. I don't know that I've ever understitched before but I have to say I will certainly do it again! It made the facing look so nice.<br />
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Right now it's time to walk the dog again and then I'll work on hand sewing the ribbon around the neck line. I want to do that before I tack the facing down so the facing can hide all the stitches. We have a bunch of movies for the long weekend that I borrowed from the library plus HP and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 that I bought so I'll have lots to pick from when I do the handsewing.<br />
That's it for today although I'll try and add a picture later today too.<br />
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Ta!<br />
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Presenting .....one picture!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lL3e0if5yD0/TbNqm9B7dLI/AAAAAAAAAc4/vu6Bq6jA52s/s1600/Villager+costume+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lL3e0if5yD0/TbNqm9B7dLI/AAAAAAAAAc4/vu6Bq6jA52s/s320/Villager+costume+001.JPG" width="204" /></a></div>If I was really going to give in to my perfectionism I'd be worried about the bodice wrinkles but frankly I haven't got the time. Probably a good thing, don't you think? lolCathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-66716558026315791812011-04-22T12:01:00.000-07:002011-04-22T12:01:34.299-07:00Villager Costume FridayAllrighty! here's todays update on the villager costume for Miss S.<br />
First a picture to show the colours;<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4-kXxOqdfDM/TbHMEBDi1XI/AAAAAAAAAc0/UEA3zLnwWsg/s1600/Villager+costume+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4-kXxOqdfDM/TbHMEBDi1XI/AAAAAAAAAc0/UEA3zLnwWsg/s320/Villager+costume+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The green isn't really showing up well, hopefully when the dress is done I can get a better picture but the ribbon is pretty darn close (at least on my monitor!).<br />
I got 4 m of ribbon and right now I'm not sure where it's going to go. The pattern has it at the neckline and the join of the sleeve/cuff. I'm not sure if I like the sleeve/cuff thing. I'll probably make it all up and then decide. Especially as the ribbon is something that may get done after the first deadline.<br />
Mrs B wants the costume by Tuesday but the play isn't until the 4/5 of May so.....what she sees on Tuesday may not be the final version LOL<br />
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So far I've gotten the pattern redraft done (the neckline needed to go up a touch and I had CRAZILY thrown out or lost the bits of the bottom the straightens the hemline!)<br />
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All the cutting out is done and all the serging is done as well.<br />
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I always serge the bottoms of facings so I don't have to finish them another way and I also serged the bottom hem (in case it's not hemmed for Tuesday) and the bottom of the sleeve (ditto).<br />
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Not bad for not even noon here. <br />
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Time for a break now and the dog needs a walk.<br />
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Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-5084313013638948062011-04-21T22:53:00.000-07:002011-04-21T22:53:07.675-07:00Bi-polar Seamstress?A little while ago the <a href="http://www.sewweekly.com/">Sew Weekly</a> question of the day (to win one of the wonderful pin cushions!) was three words that would describe your approach to sewing this year. I said "little bits, regularly". I then explained that I need to try that out because I seem to go in fits and starts with sewing; sewing like a crazy woman for a period of time and then not touching sewing for an age because I's burned out. A bit bi-polar in the sewing am I. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground and I <b>know</b> that's something I need to work on because I know I'll be happier that way.<br />
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Sadly it doesn't look like it going to happen right away.<br />
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In Miss S's school they do a musical every year. This year is The Princess and the Pea and Miss S is a villager. Villagers are to wear a floor length, long sleeved "medieval" dress. Really the teacher isn't all that picky except for sleeves and skirt length but um.....I'm a bit of a perfectionist and a bit of a costume snob so I couldn't exact take <a href="http://thecraftyvixensden.blogspot.com/2010/07/so-many-projects.html">Miss S's 1909 skirt</a> and add a ruffle or something >shudder<<br />
Nope, just couldn't do it!<br />
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Instead I decided to use a pattern from Miss C's 2008 Hallowe'en costume.<br />
Here it is made up as a pink and black witch;<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DLGtZ55ClQY/TbEUlr3cFtI/AAAAAAAAAcs/40S6_TY43x0/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DLGtZ55ClQY/TbEUlr3cFtI/AAAAAAAAAcs/40S6_TY43x0/s320/011.JPG" width="228" /></a></div>I know, doesn't seem particularly medieval but if you look at the pattern envelope;<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1-UjbbqIY70/TbEVVBU-JFI/AAAAAAAAAcw/JrR7wY5wYHc/s1600/s9891c_ezr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1-UjbbqIY70/TbEVVBU-JFI/AAAAAAAAAcw/JrR7wY5wYHc/s1600/s9891c_ezr.jpg" /></a></div> You can see how medieval could be used to describe it. I'll be doing the long version but without the yoke and collar and decidedly no angel sleeves this time around! The material is a sage-y sort of green and we found some lovely plum (?) velvet ribbon to oomph it up. I'll do pics tomorrow if the sunshine holds.<br />
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So now that we have the teachers okay, that's what I will be spending my holiday weekend doing.....sewing like a maniac...again! Costumes are due Tuesday. >sigh<<br />
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Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-11514670455118861242011-04-18T19:35:00.000-07:002011-04-22T11:35:14.613-07:00A Winning ScarfA while ago Sally over at <a href="http://www.alreadypretty.com/">Already Pretty</a> (one of my favorite blogs - check it out if you don't read it already!) did a give away for a 360 scarf from <a href="http://winterscarf.com/">Winter Scarf.</a> I thought it was a neat concept and since it was open to international entries, entered and forgot about it knowing I'd never win.<br />
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Ha! Shows you what I know!<br />
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I did win, got to pick my colour and my size (yep they have sizes, because of how they're made) and once I got it...fell in love! <br />
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It's a really neat concept in that it's kind of like an old fashioned ascot sort of thing with velcro. Go to the site, they explain it MUCH better! LOL<br />
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Here's what it looks like (picture is from the website and hopefully I'll be forgiven for borrowing it for my little review ) <br />
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Bottom line is that I got it, thought it was interesting, wore it a couple of times and became a <b>complete</b> convert to it. I totally love my scarf and I wear it pretty much every day. I especially love to wear it walking the dog because there's lots of bending over for the picking up of...um..well, dog poop! Which is the <u>LAST </u>time in the world that you want to scarf to untie and drop down onto the ground! Or worse, miss the ground. Ewwwwww.<br />
That's never a problem with the 360 scarf. It never falls or untucks or gets into my face when I'm bending over or wrestling with the dog. It's total heaven. Plus, since I got mine in the <a href="http://winterscarf.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=187">plum and pink </a>it's a lovely pop of colour up by my face too! And we all know how that can make you feel better...about walking a dog in freezing rain...okay, it might not make you feel better then, but the colour is great and when it's horrible out you can tuck your chin into the folds of the scarf and keep warm! LOL<br />
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Anyway, I love this scarf and if you're tired of scarves untucking or flopping in your face you should think about getting one! Plus they have cool matching accessories. I think I need to treat myself to the hat for next winter since (theoretically) this winter is over (if you ignore the snowfall last Thursday!!!!!) <br />
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Ta!<br />
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(PS - I didn't get this scarf in trade for a review, I won it fair and square and just love it so much I wanted to share!)Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-1909884377077748602011-04-17T16:37:00.000-07:002011-04-17T16:37:29.844-07:00Mending and WinningWhen I first thought about this post, as I was driving to work (I do a lot of writing in my head at various times, driving alone being one of them) the original thought was that it was about 2 separate things; the mending I had done on the weekend and the neat prize I won a couple of Monday's ago (being that I take <b>forever </b>to post things.) <br />
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But as I continued to drive it occurred to me that my mending was kind of like winning too. Hmmm How? Well, I'll explain in a bit. <br />
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This weekend I decided to get some mending done that had needed doing for a while. First up was Miss S's pj pants that she got for Christmas a couple of years ago. The girls both wear those pj pants a lot so they're already wearing thin and Miss S caught hers on something and gave them a lovely tear. <br />
I also had her jeans to fix...again! I swear I will never buy jeans from Sirens again! Never never never! I have no idea how many times I have fixed those 2 silly things but I swear they're going to drive me nuts. Then I decided that maybe I should do some mending for myself.<br />
<br />
I know! What a concept!<br />
A mom that actually does something for herself every once in a while. LOL It's so rare I just had to write about it.<br />
<br />
I have a t-shirt I bought quite a while ago that is a lovely colour and even has some visual interest with embroidery/surface work. It's a good colour for me and much nicer than most of my wardrobe (or at least so my kids tell me) because of the embroidery. The problem? The backside of all the embroidery and stitches Drives Me <b>NUTS</b>! It itches like crazy and I can't stand to wear the thing for more than about 1/2 an hour. So it has sat in the sewing room since the first time I wore it.<br />
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Saturday I found some very light weight knit that came from...well, ...goodness knows where! I honestly don't remember when or where I got it (yeah, I'm a sewing hoarder, does that surprise anyone? Not anyone that knows me, trust me lol). Anyway I took that and basted some pieces on the back of the embroidery area just basting around the general area leaving lots of room around the design to work with.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-URN67cpH5iw/Tat3ngo2w1I/AAAAAAAAAcc/5VvgL3lM2FQ/s1600/081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-URN67cpH5iw/Tat3ngo2w1I/AAAAAAAAAcc/5VvgL3lM2FQ/s320/081.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Then, while watching some TV I did some very tiny stitches from the right side to really sew it down. When that was done, I went around to the back again, took out the basting stitches and trimmed the "embroidery cover" a little closer to the little stitches.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDOk5iToH2Q/Tat3v2yITqI/AAAAAAAAAcg/oDG1WLx1UwA/s1600/082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDOk5iToH2Q/Tat3v2yITqI/AAAAAAAAAcg/oDG1WLx1UwA/s320/082.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It doesn't look like anything great from the back but I wore it to work this week, a couple of people noticed the "new" shirt and complimented me on it AND it didn't itch a bit!<br />
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Yay! So I won there for sure; a new shirt to wear that didn't cost me a penny and time spent watching TV that I didn't eat. That's a huge thing for me and something I always have to be careful of. Win and win!<br />
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<br />
Now on to my winning something from somewhere else (rather than my closet).<br />
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If you read the <a href="http://www.sewweekly.com/">Sew Weekly</a> (and if you don't, you should!) then you've seen the <i>amazing </i>pin cushions she's been posting about for people to win. I have to say that it totally blew me away the things that people have thought up and done for pin cushions. I thought there were maybe 2 kinds and I can't be happier to have been proven wrong! There are some increadible, gorgeous, funny, cute and/or adorable pin cushions out there folks. You'd be amazed. Even more amazing for me.....I won one! Can you imagine? <br />
This is the gorgeous one that I won;<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d85Lsnr22iA/TapgtIIPrGI/AAAAAAAAAcY/pjsvuBMYJbE/s1600/soon+to+be+my+pincushion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d85Lsnr22iA/TapgtIIPrGI/AAAAAAAAAcY/pjsvuBMYJbE/s1600/soon+to+be+my+pincushion.jpg" /></a></div>Beautiful huh? I love the colour especially. A good 1/3 of my wardrobe is red so it's kind of obvious I like it, wouldn't you say?<br />
If you want to see more of Jane's lovely creations check out her Etsy store <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Janefoster">Jane Foster Designs</a><br />
I really like her Doves <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/39337617/scandinavian-style-dove-games-screen">here</a>. The detail is divine!<br />
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Now I can't give you a review of Jane's pin cushions but I will as soon as my little parcel get's here.<br />
In the meantime I'm going to work on a review of a scarf I won earlier this year that richly deserves the glowing review it will get. Stay tuned for that!<br />
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TaCathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-83264000206825810222011-04-02T20:54:00.000-07:002011-04-02T20:54:20.064-07:00That Dog!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxt9gY7c77s/TZfvCRADFLI/AAAAAAAAAcM/v7HaD2V39iA/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxt9gY7c77s/TZfvCRADFLI/AAAAAAAAAcM/v7HaD2V39iA/s320/015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I swear the dog is either going to kill me (stress) or himself if we're not careful. <br />
As you know, (at least you do if you've been reading this blog lately) Scooby is still getting out. Even though we fixed the crappy fence on the east side of the house, Hou-doggi was still turning up outside the back yard. <br />
Last night we thing we think we figured out how. <br />
<br />
Yesterday we resurrected his old lead line that we put him on when we first got him. We stopped using it because he managed to tangle himself around anything and everything he could reach in the backyard and then howling about and driving the neighbours nuts. For this version we planned on just having him on it <i>only</i> when we were home and checking him regularly to make sure he wasn't tangled.<br />
<br />
It was a good thing we had that plan because last night when Miss S went to check on him she found him virtually hanging himself on the gate on the west side of the house! <br />
<br />
I hadn't thought to check how far the lead line would let him go on that side and apparently Scooby figured it would let him go out over the gate. <br />
Well, it <b>didn't </b>so he ended up hung up "on" the gate instead of outside it. Poor guy. He doesn't seem to be hurt but he was sure upset last night and so were we. He's all safe now and his lead line no longer let's him get to the gate. <br />
Now at least we know where to start with the continuation of the plank fence re-make.....yay.<br />
Yeah, I'm one of those crazy people that tries to find the good in things.<br />
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For this weekend though I'm going take some time off from fencing and try and get some sewing done. I still have my swing jacket to finish and the pile of mending isn't going away on it's own. :-(<br />
Wish me luck!<br />
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TaCathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-6801519165781732822011-03-28T21:21:00.000-07:002011-03-28T21:21:46.523-07:00Dog fence fail!Well his precious furriness,<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U-CEKoAekJ8/TZFc7k28RvI/AAAAAAAAAcI/NNVqGrU2aHk/s1600/050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U-CEKoAekJ8/TZFc7k28RvI/AAAAAAAAAcI/NNVqGrU2aHk/s320/050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <i>>she says with just a touch of sarcasm< </i><br />
known as Scooby, has managed to find a new way to get out. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">~sad face~ </div><br />
As of today he has gotten out 3 time since we finished the fencing and right now we can't figure out where or how. We suspect we know the how though. The only thing I can think of, since he's not going through the fence or under is, is that he's going over. Admittedly it's not very high but he's never gone over before :-( <br />
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Looks like we're covering ALL the chain link with 5/6 foot planks.<br />
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Rona is going to looooooove me!<br />
My sewing machine and serger, on the other hand, are going to think I don't love them. :-( But I do! I really really do!<br />
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TaCathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-516978826664119568.post-71533449030454740652011-03-24T22:29:00.000-07:002011-03-24T22:29:17.605-07:00Hou-doggie? Dog-dini?I'm not quite sure what to call him but I can tell you that lately all my creative brain power has gone to this gorgeous face and keeping him safe.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6I2KzlyPAZk/TYwNq3K6ApI/AAAAAAAAAbc/tKlgCxjvrd0/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6I2KzlyPAZk/TYwNq3K6ApI/AAAAAAAAAbc/tKlgCxjvrd0/s320/023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Apparently after 3 and a half years of happily living in the backyard with no troubles (excluding the odd hole and terrorized squirrels) Scooby decided to wander out and visit the neighbourhood! We have no idea what prompted this escape and the following ones (6? 7? I think I've lost count!) but we have now spent the last 2 months plus a bit trying to make our green chain link fence so he can't get out. Or is that make over? <br />
<br />
ARGH!<br />
<br />
First you have to understand that this fence is not the best. We have five sections of fence around our backyard. The back, the east side and the east gate section are all made from good quality chain link and was well done. The west side and the west fence are...umm....crap! Seriously this section looks like it was made from stuff found at a garage sale or on a scrap heap or in a junk yard or something! The uprights aren't straight, the fence leans and the chain link is never quite big enough!<br />
When we first got Scooby I was rather leery of the fence which led us to put him on one of those long leads attached to the closeline. He then proceeded to wrap himself around anything and everything he could reach in the back yard; the grape arbour, the patio posts, the clothesline pole......you get the picture I'm sure. So, we had to abandon that, and let him loose in the yard...and that went really well! He never dug under the fence, he never tried to jump the fence, in fact he never seemed to really think about the fence.<br />
<br />
Until recently.<br />
He started by going through a section in the gate, then beside that spot, and so on and so on!<br />
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At first we tried to patch (with wire fencing zap-strapped on!) the pieces he was going through but very quickly we realized that patch work fixes just weren't going to work and another solution had to be found.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mnPgLs1cD5k/TYwTV5pEfHI/AAAAAAAAAb4/L9tYaW08H2g/s1600/044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-mnPgLs1cD5k/TYwTV5pEfHI/AAAAAAAAAb4/L9tYaW08H2g/s320/044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I thought about replacing that section but I wasn't sure we could afford to hire someone to do it and when I asked around...our fence was too small for any larger contractor to bother with and we didn't know anyone who could do fence work who was smaller or a handy man. I suppose I could have advertised or something but I'm kind of a hands on type of gal so I started thinking. I also thought about running a whole new section of fence, but that would entail concrete and this is just not a good time of the year for that and we needed a solution ASAP.<br />
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Here's what I came up with - planks!<br />
Yep, I decided to put a wood fence up ...over, the chain link. See, chain link (as I discovered) isn't the best fencing for dogs. On top of everything else....they can climb it. Since one of Scooby's escapes was up and over a piece of fence, I decided that planks were the way to go. <br />
Now I had a format, and the start of a plan but how to get the planks up? Well here's what my crazy brain came up with.<br />
First - uprights; attach wooden uprights to the current metal upright with u-bolts to start and later with zap straps. The u-bolts led to more problems than I wanted and the zap straps were not only cheap but fast!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-29OXdgVmWD4/TYwSGjxLp-I/AAAAAAAAAbs/no1mfinX_1I/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-29OXdgVmWD4/TYwSGjxLp-I/AAAAAAAAAbs/no1mfinX_1I/s320/041.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Then - screw cross pieces of wood to the uprights (those cross pieces are horizontal by the way, I used my level, it's true!) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UHWRVx14SaE/TYwSk-9AfNI/AAAAAAAAAbw/HrTHgkyk-C0/s1600/057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-UHWRVx14SaE/TYwSk-9AfNI/AAAAAAAAAbw/HrTHgkyk-C0/s320/057.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
3rd - screw planks to the uprights.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TFhsLUZn4TE/TYwTB3UO8jI/AAAAAAAAAb0/cbRx5NQPW_c/s1600/059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TFhsLUZn4TE/TYwTB3UO8jI/AAAAAAAAAb0/cbRx5NQPW_c/s320/059.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Voila! A fence.<br />
By using the existing infrastructure I made a new fence by myself (with Miss S's help - it's her dog after all!) and did it without having to dig or take down the old fence and make the yard even easier to escape! <br />
Here's the first section we finished - the gate part. If you look closely at the left hand side you can see how straight the fence is....not. The plank is straight. The upright you can see is attached to the metal post so....Fence, not so straight!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6opCGxdvnSs/TYwO_99yHzI/AAAAAAAAAbg/sbS4oxnBn8I/s1600/036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6opCGxdvnSs/TYwO_99yHzI/AAAAAAAAAbg/sbS4oxnBn8I/s320/036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Then Scooby did this down the other section of the green fence.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hiLWhNhNoqU/TYwQTEKbWsI/AAAAAAAAAbk/pPuYkRQCNDw/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hiLWhNhNoqU/TYwQTEKbWsI/AAAAAAAAAbk/pPuYkRQCNDw/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-igaLqxACYaw/TYwQbGGOypI/AAAAAAAAAbo/vwBfLPQkaOs/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-igaLqxACYaw/TYwQbGGOypI/AAAAAAAAAbo/vwBfLPQkaOs/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>How you ask? Well I caught him trying to make another and he did it by grabbing fencing in his mouth and then flinging his rather large body side to side until a hole opened up big enough to squueze out of. Our neighbour apparantly caught him too and yelled at him. That didn't stop him for long though. <br />
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So here's our "wonderful" fence, hopefully complete. Hopefully this is the end of my fence building career.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IubtN7hnGrU/TYwU8waUvMI/AAAAAAAAAcA/vxVwh4tEgJc/s1600/fence+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IubtN7hnGrU/TYwU8waUvMI/AAAAAAAAAcA/vxVwh4tEgJc/s320/fence+002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Ta!Cathihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00754571992726282988noreply@blogger.com3