Just Too Darn Busy!

Man, I haven't been able to blog or read any of y'all's stuff (for our non-southerners, that's the possessive of y'all - the plural is "all y'all") because it's just been too darn busy around here. There were a couple more lectures, a Cub Scout pack meeting with an actual police officer who talked about "crackheads" and showed the boys his Taser (then mentioned Tasering "private parts" if you're resisting arrest). That was our best meeting yet!

Oh, and there was a meeting in Phoenix, AZ. I would've asked Auntninn from Living the Spacious Life
for recommendations on a good fabric store, but this was all I saw of Arizona.



Yes, this is from inside the cab.



Beautiful landscaping at the airport! The city looks real nice from the interstate, but my meeting was 10 hours every day so I didn't see much of it. I DID go with 3 colleagues to Scottsdale for dinner at Cowboy Ciao, which I highly recommend.

And my coat WON over at powersewing.com!!! Well, every coat won, technically, but that's beside the point. I get to try out 2 of Sandra's online lessons for free - woohoo!

Anyway, I hope to finish 2 more fleeces and a pair of pants for my MIL from the Kwik Sew book, so we'll see if that gets done by Christmas. Because did I mention there are 2 more lectures, another pack meeting plus a den meeting, and a trip to New York City all crammed in there?

Waiting for the Glue to Dry...

Hooray - she's all finished and the Fray Check is drying! Because when you start out like this:



you are going to need some serious Fray Check. I may actually try the woodworking tool that Robbie suggested on the next one. This is what my elastic sleeve looked like because I was unsuccessful at easing it in the KS way.



So I just ripped it off and realized the non-elastic way was going to have to suffice this time. (Kind of looks like a fabric jellyfish.)



When the glue dries I'll take some action shots, because guess what? Sandra Betzina is having a fall coat contest! (And the winners are drawn randomly- even better!)

I'll leave you with this cotton on a truck...just because I like cotton and it's what we grow down here.


My dad pulled off the highway one time and let us pull a thing of cotton (would that be called a boll?) off a cotton plant in Sylacauga (would that be called trespassing and theft of property?), and I kept mine for a long time trying to think of something to make with it. I wanted to make a Barbie shirt, but you can't really make clothes out of a handful of cotton. Every time I see cotton fields around here I want to pull over and let the boys grab some...maybe I'll just pick some up off the side of the road so as to avoid incarceration.

Would You Like Elastic With That?

Hey Junior, do you want elastic sleeve cuffs or not? I'm taking a break from the Fray Check fumes (thank you Robbie, that's what I was trying to think of), so you have time to think about it. Here's a picture of each:



Here's a closeup of your non-elastic cuff...



and your elastic one.



I hate the way Kwik-Sew does these - that's why I sewed one cuff on without inserting elastic yet - it's just too hard to stretch an 8 inch circle of elastic while enclosing it in the casing then attaching it to the sleeve. There must be a reason they do it that way (and I bet I'll find out when I try inserting the elastic my way).

And you didn't think I made this jacket without my standard zipper problem, did you? It calls for a 26-inch zipper which is supposed to fit perfectly according to the drawings and instructions. Well, mine was 2 inches too long! Of course I have to lop off the top, and you know what comes next....I forget to sew new zipper stops and zip that sucker right off the track. But here's the beauty of separating zippers - you only have to thread one side back on - hooray! (Don't worry, the zipper stops now, Junior.)

Stream of Consciousness

This is my neighbor just before his big recital. No, it was just Halloween, but you see I'm not the oddest one in the neighborhood. (You see that, right?)



And a HUGE shout-out to my shoe idol, Sheila, who recommended the Nine West Nuncio to me for pointy-toed bliss. Check out her website, but don't jump out of your chair - she's much more sophisticated than I am and has music on her blog. I love that woman! Sheila, the shoes are divine - wore them to my anniversary dinner last night and they were soooo comfortable and soooo hot! They're SUEDE!



And the fleece jacket is almost finished, Junior, but look at this tragedy. Please note the shiny tip of a needle amid the seamline I'm holding. I broke a needle for the first time in my life - pulled too hard to get it over a thick seam while applying the zipper. At least the machine was fine.



Here's what it looks like zipped - my seams are even! My seams are even! Drew has requested one for himself in blue, and my neighbor (not the ballerina) thought it was a North Face jacket at first glance (probably not at second glance) - could there be a better compliment? I just have sleeve cuffs and collar to finish.



Lastly, in Books a Million tonight I saw the strangest display.



Am I the only one who finds it odd that Justin Bieber is under "Kids' Education" right above Anne Frank and Abraham Lincoln? And I know my sister will be incensed that the Today show is doing a special with Lindsay Lohan's mother tomorrow morning. What up, America?

Getting There!

Only a few minutes till the trick-or-treater's arrive, so here's what your jacket looks like so far Junior.



"I declare," says Mavis, "I know I have that lift ticket SOMEwhere!"



I think you'll likey. Mother's already put in a request and plans to hit the fleece sale at Hancock if it's still going on. All I've got left are elastic casings and zipper - yippee!

Halloween at the Office

Our Halloween was a lot smaller this year since there were no medical students or residents this month. Could it be that they actually avoid rotating with me because they know I'll coerce them to dress up? Here's one of my nurses, who's pregnant...does it send the wrong message that Hannah Montana's got a baby bump?



Here are Dora the Explorer, and Woody from Toy Story - she decided SpongeBob would be too hot.



Our room decor was really realistic this year - watch me mount this horse!



You can check out previous Halloweens at that tab on the sidebar. (I missed my black nail polish this year - I kinda prefer being Cap'n Jack Sparrow to being Cinderella - much easier to roll around on a chair without a giant skirt, and nobody tries to pull the fur off your dress.)

Jake Hates Halloween

More power to you people out there sewing up Halloween costumes! I prefer to buy mine, and if we can recycle something from a previous year, all the better! We currently own 3 pair of black pants (Ninjas and vampire), 2 black capes (vampire and Darth Vader), a couple of creepy robes (ghouls) and multiple black tops with multiple colored sashes (Ninjas). (Do you need any sort of Ninja weapon? We have it!)

This is what I bought for the dog last year, but he refused to wear it. Here is Lucas "encouraging" him to give it another shot. What is he supposed to be? A smart blonde! Get it?



Here is how he prefers to wear it - I'm guessing he wants to be a young Santa Claus?



And just for fun, here he is in some others. I think the Jimmy Ruff-et was his favorite (I just made that up - it's a gift from God, people).



But Cap'n Jack Labrador didn't go over too well.



Happy Halloween if I don't see you before then!