Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Well, the popcorn kickoff went swimmingly in my opinion. There were lots of laughs, lots of excitement about door prizes, and nobody fell asleep or talked loudly to their neighbor because they were bored. Now if we can say the same thing about the Friday lecture, it will have been a great week, despite the fact that I didn't sew anything. 

And at work I've made the transition to electronic medical records with lightning speed, if I may say so myself. So I've got nothing to whine about at all....other than the lack of sewing mojo. I even went in Daphne Fabric and Lace today (home of $2/yard fabric!) and came out empty-handed. I'm hoping that when we go to the beach I'll get jazzed up about my new sewing room and dig into the mini-stash I left over there. 


Now that makes me think of George Carlin's comedy bit about going on vacation to Hawaii. You pack a big suitcase. Then you run into someone you know who wants you to stay with them a couple of days, so you take a smaller suitcase to their place, and so on and so forth. It was really funny when I was a teenager. 

And speaking of the old days, I heard "Lady" by John Denver today in DF&L. (La-dyyyy....are you cry-ing.....do your teeeears...beloooong....to meee?) That song just makes me want to cry - wasn't it in some movie about a woman dying? Wait, that was "Sunshine" by....John Denver?


And that was definitely in a movie about a kid's mother dying. And I'll always remember a movie from the 70's about a teenager with leukemia. He's playing basketball with friends and his mom says something about all his bruises. Seems like there were all kinds of movies about people dying from diseases back then. Whereas today, it's about people dying from being kidnapped, murdered, sold to foreigners, etc. 

I think I like the old movies better - you could at least learn some warning signs of different diseases. But wait, I learned to be careful about what I trash and recycle from that Liam Neeson movie where his daughter is kidnapped because his stupid wife let on that they ordered pizza every Wednesday - duh! Oh wait, Liam Neeson's movie daughter got kidnapped in a foreign country because she lied to her parents about having an adult supervisor. It was Harrison Ford whose wife was stupid with the trash and the whole family got kidnapped. I think. 

Yeah, let's stick with the disease of the week movie. I've never seen one about Mad Cow disease - I can play the lead.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Up for a Breath

Lawdy-mercy, I've been gone a while! I just can't seem to get myself together to sew anything or to write a post. I did hem that retro-ish orange shirt, but I need to remove some basting stitches that are visible and tack the front together to prevent gaping before I wear it. Plus we've been having a heat wave and that's a hot shirt. Beyond that, the only sewing I've done has been on Scout shirts for the boys.

Besides my low-mojo, part of the problem has been 4 lectures coming up in September - hey, the first one is Friday! Those are hanging over my head, along with my popcorn kickoff tomorrow night for Cub Scouts - remember I'm the Popcorn Kernel. Speaking of hanging over my head, wanna see my hat?



I think I'll feel better once this week is behind me, so expect great things in the coming month. I'm going to FINISH those pants I started if it kills me, and I WILL wear that shirt at some point. (I will KEEP talking to myself like this, and I'm SURE it'll get me fired up.)

Oh, and beyond sewing, I want to go see The Help but haven't had time yet - anybody see it? And I started Duma Key by Stephen King (you know, on a different level than The Help and The Art of Racing in the Rain, but I've been loving this guy since I was 11 years old), so I also have a hard time putting that down to go fight with zippers and knits. Like Robbie (who may have a new grandbaby by now) said, sewing is supposed to be fun so if you don't feel like it, don't feel guilty.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Lucas's Schoolwork

Lucas started school this week and had to fill out a form about himself, and the one that cracked me up was "I'm looking forward to 4th grade because." He wrote, "Because I'll be closer to being a parent." Nutty kid.

They also had to put 3 things in a paper bag that represented them. His first choice was the Just Dance 2 DVD case. Second choice was a glass figurine...to show he's a collector...of glass figurines. Thirdly was a magic trick that he actually performed in front of the class. And finally, they had to decorate their binder cover with pictures. There was one of Dean, 2 of himself, 2 of Drew (who would be really ticked if he knew), and zero of me.

We'll see how quickly he gets that fleece jacket he's been wanting me to make!



Monday, August 15, 2011

A Shirt

Hmm, that's about all I can say for it...it IS, in fact, a shirt. I think I've wandered outside my style. This is Vogue 8323, which was made up fabulously by KID MD, but which somehow turned out almost grandmotherly on moi. Watch out for those double-wide hips!


Maybe it's the fabric-pattern combo. This is a cotton knit I loved from Amanda at Kitschy Coo, but I'm afraid I've combined it with the wrong pattern. (You can't imagine the guilt I'm suffering that I squandered a FOREIGN fabric on the wrong style.) Can you even see the princess seams on front and back?


Back to the pattern - it was so easy and fast, but this plethora of fabric at the neck is universal among the 47 sewists who reviewed it. KID succeeded in fixing the problem as mentioned on her blog, but I left out that step, unfortunately.


One sewist wore it with a belt, which looked quite smart and professional, but that is just not my style. (Sorry for the flash.)


Of course, it looks baggy without the belt. Maybe I should tighten up the side seams.


Now should I try it with a solid to accent the style? Or I may try another view with a regular collar and not this criss-cross wrap style, which I've folded down in most of the pictures. I'm also not used to this length, but I think it's in right now, and I wouldn't go shorter unless I tuck it in.

Well, I'm still wearing scrubs every day to work since sewing my own wardrobe is not going well. I can't wait for cold weather to get here so I can break out the 4 pairs of corduroys I bought last year and wore with my boots every day!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Back From Vacation

So it was a very productive few days back at the beach. But first, I'd like to tell you about a new Japanese place we found in Gulf Shores - Aji Sai, which is Japanese for fabulous (not really). This is Combination B, which the menu did not indicate would involve a boat. (I expected 2 waiters to run it around the restaurant on their shoulders while somebody banged a gong, a la the old Farrell's in Birmingham!)


This is a close-up of the martini glass, which contained a fiberoptic ice cube and seaweed salad. Cool!


What a cool sushi bar! Feels like New York....or uh, just somewhere besides Alabama.


Look at all the fiberoptics in this place! There were 3 or 4 of these beautiful chandelier-things. Reminded me of my grandmother's shell lamp from the Philippines...which my mother was deLIGHTed to hang in the den when Mamaw lived with us. (Oh, it looked like I was emphasizing my unintended pun, but I meant it sarcastically.) Also, who remembers those oil lamps that had fishing wire running from top to bottom and the oil went up the center column then dripped down the lines so relaxingly. Also had a little greenery around the bottom for added tranquility.


Okay, so onto the productive part. I hemmed 9 pairs of school pants. Yes, I even went back and redid the screwed-up blind hems I did on previous pairs. Then I made this shirt - the green one with 3/4-length sleeves.


Of course, you'll have to come back tomorrow for pictures of it, as I have to IRON the aforementioned 9 pairs of pants, so I haven't had time to take pictures of the shirt, which hasn't been hemmed yet anyway.

Oh, and lest you think that one shirt wasn't very productive, I also created a lovely handout regarding the upcoming Cub Scout popcorn sale (I am the Popcorn Kernel - you've GOT to see my hat), and I edited a Powerpoint slide show to present at the first pack meeting in 2 weeks. So combining that with the above, as well as the fact that I GOT UP ON SKIS for the first time in about 5 or 6 years without breaking a hip, now you've got a productive few days!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

A New Sewing Space

So when we go over to the beach, I've been carrying my machine and using the kitchen table in between meals. But there's this nifty little room the previous owner used as an office where we've been keeping Jake's kennel, which he doesn't use anymore since he's decided he likes sleeping with Lucas.


So I moved the kennel into the little attached closet and vacuumed up 50 pounds of dog hair that's accumulated over the past 3 years.


Then it was off to Target, where Lucas fell in love with this faux leather wing chair for tiny people. He asked me if I could sew one for him. Then he declared he was coming back to buy it when he saved enough money. He also saw a wastebasket in the shape of a monkey that he fell in love with. Then he said, "I know I'm a boy, but I really like this stuff." God bless my child!


So I purchased a white desk, awesome plastic green chair for $9.99, coordinating wastebasket (for threads and scraps, of course, plus it was green), and rolling drawers (because they're green) to hold whatever semblance of stash I build up. And voila....


A new sewing room where I'll keep Lucas's Janome that he never uses anymore, plus I'll bring the serger over now that I know how to use it.


Get ready for some knit shirts to happen while on vacation from serious pants! (Yeah, just like I said after that sewing class last weekend, right? Given that I bent a needle hemming school pants tonight, we'll be lucky if any more sewing happens this week.) But seriously, how awesome is that desk? I built that myself - got the callouses from the screwdriver to prove it!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Do You Like Dolphins?

Ever dream of swimming with dolphins? What if you were tubing, and your parents spotted 3 dolphins and slowed down to let you get close to them? Wait a minute...how do you know they're not sharks??? Terror ensues...

You'll see them surface 3 times if you go full-screen. (Lucas is only near tears once.)

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Kids Love Cattle

Yeah, there were lots of cowboy boots and hats, but there were also plenty of flip flops, and a couple of kids were barefooted. Now that's country!

Rodeo!

So who's been to a rodeo? I haven't been to one since I was a kid, so when I found out one was happening this weekend I had to drag the whole family to it. These kids have been to New York twice, so it's time to balance that with some country exposure. I've got video, but that'll have to wait till I get home to download from YouTube.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Warning - PG-13!

So Lucas got some birthday money and wanted to buy some prank items from Amazon. Specifically, fake items that shock you. The product picture showed a couple of toy guns, pack of gum, laser pointer, etc. He pretty much got what he asked for. The flashlight and laser pointer actually work if you know the hidden button to push that won't shock you.


But there was one exception - no gum! Instead, they substituted a cigarette lighter...at least, that's what I think it is.


I had to include both pictures, because this thing starts flashing when you open it, and I thought it was funny that I caught each boob lit up! I can tell there's no lighter fluid in it, so I haven't tried it to see if it shocks you when you "light your cigarette."


This is just wrong on so many counts. Lucas came running to me when he opened the package and was especially titillated with this particular item. I didn't know what to feel - should I be incensed? Angry? Write the company a hateful letter?

Then I remembered the pranks my dad used to play with his friends in the 70's, and I remembered when a girl brought a prank pen to school in the 4th grade (yes, the famous Rhonda P. for my siblings). Her pen showed a buxom woman in a bikini, but when you wrote with it the ink drained down and left her naked - gasp!

So I decided to play it cool like my dad would have, and let Lucas keep it. (I WILL be checking his backpack daily when school starts up again, don't you worry!)