Lake Martin Wrap-Up and New Projects

Chiquita Tracey welcomes you to the last of the Lake Martin memories.



I did get a lot of sewing done that week. Every day after lunch while others were napping or reading, I'd work on something. Let's see, there was Scott's hole in his pocket, Jim's ripped shorts (twice!), Joe's ripped bathing suit, finishing touches on all the lake shirts, my niece's shirt, and Drew's shorts. Yay, I finished them and my mom helped me figure out a new waistband treatment - hooray. (Now I can't remember it.) Here he is wearing them, as well as his cousin.



So now I'm on to some shorts for myself, and I think I'll try these Kwik Sew 3614's - they got really good reviews and MNBarb at PR made like 27 pairs or something! I've got them cut out and ready to go this weekend.


As promised (threatened?), here's a sample of my mother's dance stylings. I think it speaks to what an excellent dancer Jim is that he's wearing shoes and she's barefooted, and yet there is no cursing or screaming.



And with that, my brother and sister bid you adieu! (Yes, he's holding a fireplace broom they were using as a microphone - I believe it was for Elvis's Moody Blue.)

The Sucko Shorts

Well I've been knee-deep in making Drew shorts to take to camp. The first pair in Adult Small was a'might big, if you remember, so I didn't get to put the cargo pockets on since I cut off 3 or 4 inches at the bottom. So this time, I tissue-fitted and decided to go with the Boy Large plus an extra inch all over.



Notice my painstaking work with wax paper. I even altered the pocket because he said stuff falls out of it.



I just wanted you to see your two pocket options - the boy's pocket is tiny and the man's pocket is huge. What to do? Well, just draw off your own pocket I guess.



So it took me FOREVER to alter the pieces, and then there's the hated waist-facing to deal with again. I got so fed up with this piece and working around the zipper that I just folded the thing in half and sewed it like a waistband (a bad waistband). This looks awful - good thing he doesn't tuck shirts in.



Oh, yeah, I had already put the carriers on - too bad. And they're the little bitty boy carriers.



And he didn't want a button, so I did the dreaded hook and eye - look at that horrible hand-stitching. Anybody got a professional tip for that?



Oh, and the pocket that got put on a little crooked (look at the hem)? Too bad, so sad. I was so fed up with these things I just didn't care. Drew hasn't noticed it yet...he may have been distracted by the fact that he can barely get his hands in his front pockets because they're too small. However, I did save them by making another secret pocket that is actually functional, so he likey.



So after all that wax paper and measuring and writing notes, I've decided to try the adult small and shorten the leg and crotch by 2 inches each. I also have to make the pockets smaller to fit. We may end up at Academy to buy some stinking shorts before this week is out, but I'm a glutton for punishment so I'm persevering. Also, God is my seamstress - remember Psalm 23 for Sewists - and he wants to try out a new waistband treatment with me, I feel sure of it!

Lucas's Shorts - Done

Well, I downsized since the other shorts were huge and I had to take them up a lot plus put darts in, so these fit a little snug. He's making a pitiful face here because I wouldn't let him point the Nerf gun at me for the picture.



They fit perfectly everywhere except they look snug in the rear, but he says they feel fine.



So here's what's special about this pair. See the nice cargo pocket? He picked out the webbing to go with the fabric - good job!



Oh, when you look down at them a certain way there seems to be something wrong...did I forget to stitch the flap down?



No, it's a "secret" pocket!



Dean's cargo shorts have this extra pocket, so I studied them and came up with a way to add it to Lucas's shorts. It just entailed an extra facing cut and stitched under the real pocket, but I figured it out on my own and I so proud of myself!!! (Hands clapping and big grin on my face - picture the Sonic commercial with the guy saying "I'm BIG boy! I'm BIG boy!")

Now Lucas and I are off to a party. Have you ever been invited to a party and asked if you could bring something? The answer is usually either, "No, just yourself," or maybe, "You could bring a dessert." Well, the answer I got was, "Yeah, you know, can you bring some pizza toppings? We're going to make pizzas and we have the dough, but if you could bring the cheese and some toppings that would be great!" Uh, okay. So I call from the grocery store and say I have cheese, pepperoni, and ham, but how much should I bring. I'm told, "Well, we're making 24 pizzas, so bring lots of mozzarella, parmesan, pepperoni and ham, and we need marinara sauce too. We've got the dough plus beer and wine." (We'll just pause here for a minute so you can let that sink in and think of what you would say in this situation. Keep in mind I'm not hosting this party.)

So I repeated back, "You're making 24 pizzas?"
"Well, yeah, but they're small pizzas, like 6 inches or something."

So I'm carrying $50 worth of toppings over to the party (guess I shouldn't be late!), but I'd really like to bring any extras back home with me. That's rude, though, isn't i; like taking wine over and then carrying it back home with you. Anybody been in a similar situation? Suggestions for how I should have handled it?

A Nice Feeling

A very nice feeling to have is when your son wants to wear his homemade shorts for the big performance on the last day of school. Another nice feeling is wearing your own homemade pants, even though they didn't turn out too well, but by golly you will wear those suckers if it kills you!

Lucas's Shorts - Fabulous!

Here are the final pics - they turned out pretty well. (Guess he inherited my penchant for making weird faces...pity.)


I feel sure he inherited his fashion sense from his dad - I would never mix tie-dye and psychedelic floral! And he did pick this fabric out himself, as you'll recall. I'd never inflict this on a boy otherwise.


The fly facing gave me fits and I winged it with a hook and eye closure. There's no room for a regular button the way the pattern has you put it together.


But I like the shorts so much I may try and draft a waistband for the next pair.


Now to a bathing suit for moi. (Gasp! Be afraid...be very afraid!) Yes, I have joined the swimsuit sew-along at PR and have fabric being delivered today - YIPPEE! I'll show you the pattern and fabric tomorrow maybe. I may have to start exercising again to tone things up before the photos start getting snapped (yeah, you WISH).

I Stayed Up Till 2:30 AM

Well here are the boys at the Hangout Music Festival - cool sand sculptures, huh? I think what Lucas is showcasing is the fact that Drew is wearing his me-made shorts, though. (Thank you Carol-Marol - who remembers the show?)


The pattern calls for webbing on the cargo pocket flap which I didn't buy, so I looked in Lucas's closet for ideas. Black webbing on a backpack, nah...white webbing on a duffel bag, maybe...then I found this:


It couldn't be more perfect! So here are the almost-finished shorts with a closeup of the pocket (I know you can't see too many details because of the fabric, so I skipped a lot of topstitching I had done on Drew's shorts.)



I'll review these soon - there are only 2 reviews for the shorts on PR, and one of those had the same trouble I did with the waist facing at the fly - so confusing!

So here's my favorite SNL clip from last night - stick with it because when Alec Baldwin comes in it's just hilarious (if you share my odd sense of humor).

What Do You Wear With These Shorts?

Here they are on the actual child. This is what he wore to dinner. (But you know, it was to eat oysters, so obnoxious shorts and non-matching T-shirt are totally in order, and where are the flip-flops?).





OH - I have to say that American Idol was much more interesting last night, mainly because Harry Connick, Jr. volunteered his services to clean up the suckiness. He literally came out and said that he wanted to do the arrangements for each contestant and play with them on stage, and by golly, that did the trick! The contestants still sucked but at least HC provided comic relief. My #1 is now Lee - they had some fun chemistry together, and #2 is Big Mike because he's good at Sinatra, which was the theme. Sister Girlfriend (why can't I remember that chick's name?) did well, though the judges no-likey. And I liked Aaron, but Casey was BO-RING! Let's see, what did he do on stage....he blinked, and he took a few steps, and he blinked some more, and at the end he waved his arm around a little bit to indicate the big band was wrapping it up. I don't believe he bent his knees or his waist during the whole song - maybe we need to get him to a chiropractor or orthopedist - he could be suffering from spinal fusion or something! (I need to send him some jeans with zippered pockets - that'll inspire some boogey.)

Camping and Boys' Shorts

Well the Cub Scout campout at Blakely State Park was a great success, if you call 80-degree weather with 100% humidity and overcast skies a success (I know I do!). It was so hot at night that we had to sleep with the tent door/window open and just the screens closed, and Lucas slept in his underwear, but that's not really an option for the mothers on the trip. You know I would've preferred to do it the BOW way, with a bottle of wine and my short PJ's, but I suffered it out in the jeans and T-shirt to avoid embarrassing anyone passing by and glancing in the tent. I DID take the bra off to maximize sleeping comfort (Hey Lucas, when did your brother get here? Oh, that's your mother).

I actually kind of have today off, so I finished Drew's shorts - yippee! Now I branched out again and did what I think is a flat-felled seam...could be a French seam...I have no idea. This is the seam allowance of the inner leg seam - look, Ma, no raw edges!


This is how it looked on the outside - a topstitching 2-for-1 - I'll definitely do this from now on.


I also did some extra topstitching like his RTW shorts, since the pattern doesn't call for any except the hem, fly, and pockets.



Based on a RTW pair I did 3 rows around the waist, which was faced, and can I tell you how much that facing sucks? I would've finished these last night but I got stuck and couldn't figure out the instructions at all. What I realized this morning is that I used a Betzina fly which is already topstitched, and they want you to wait till the end to do that, so I couldn't fold out the fly to attach to the facing. I just turned under the facing ends 1/4" then attached, understitched the seam allowance, and topstitched the facing down.



And notice there's no button on the front. For some reason they make you button it toward the inside, which always leaves an imprint on my belly - we'll see if Drew minds it. I don't understand this, except that the pattern calls for a webbed belt to be worn with it.



And notice how far away the button is from the fly edge. The buttonhole is actually like the 5th step, but I should've saved it for last in case of fitting issues. I debated adding a hook and eye closure but decided Drew won't care. I can add it later. Anybody with facing tips at the fly? I couldn't find anything in Power Sewing. You may also notice I have trouble with my zipper going all the way to the top on the right front. I'm sure there's a point where I'm supposed to cut it off and finish it nicely. Hmm....

Boys' Shorts - Almost Done!

(This is what you get with a 7-yr-old and an iPhone - blurry pictures!)


Got Drew's shorts underway - that's a pretty fast pattern! It's got about 12 pieces for the shorts, rivaling the Betzina jeans, but I'm done except for fitting, hemming, and carriers. Now it's awfully big, as evidenced by my fitting in them (Drew's competing at a tech fair today), and they're WAY too long, so I may have to forgo the cargo pockets because we'll be cutting these off just above the knee.

On Lucas's I think I'll downsize, although this would make a nice pair of pants!

And here's what Dean saw near sunset yesterday at the beach. I'm hoping that bodes for a lovely rain-free Cub Scout campout at Blakeley today. I also hope that bodes well for oil-recovery efforts in the Gulf. Nice that there are already several lawsuits filed from Mississippi to Pensacola, and oddly enough, the same lawyer was on the news Thursday representing the residents of Dauphin Island and then again Friday representing commercial fishermen in Pensacola. Funny that he didn't look terribly upset about the whole thing. Oh, I better not even go there - and I apologize if you resemble that remark! Gotta go pack the tent and sleeping bags.