June Roundup

Yeah, maybe I'll just start doing seasonal posts, since I'm so bad at keeping up with everything. So I decided to go after that boyshort I tried a few years ago when I first attempted a swimsuit, and I forgot the puny little lining McCall's thinks will suffice. They literally tell you to lay it on either side of the inseam and sew it like this, and you're done!


This is looking down into it - they don't even have you secure the other end - I thought it would be caught in the leg hem, but nope!


So of course I opted to make a-whole-nother (that should be a word) bottom out of black lining then slide it inside and sew them together with the waistband and leg hems. Now I used my Jalie running short waistband to buy some tummy coverage, and that turned out great, but the legs...not so much. Here's my view of the left leg treated like a bikini bottom with elastic, and the right leg has the leg band from Jalie. The problem is that the boyshort is still too large at the bottom, so it looks like I'm wearing a diaper cover or something.


I don't think you can tell from here, but Lucas immediately started shaking his head and declared it looked like I was trying to wear boy's shorts....which is EXACTLY what I'm trying to do! He thought the whole look was ridiculous. Drew had already told me the elastic treatment was terrible, but he also agreed the banded leg was no better. So I guess I'll chop these back down to regular swimsuit legs and add elastic. So much for trying to hide the cellulite!


In other news, I tried my hand at gardening...


and don't you wonder what's buried under there? Lucas also said it looked like a gravesite. Amazingly, 4 of those 6 plants are still alive!


As are both of these lilies...


which actually sprouted even more blooms a week after I planted them.


And in homemade food, Lucas helped me make the "tableta" that we had in Belize, which is a bag of coconut flakes, a can of pet milk, and 2 cups of sugar, and was WAY too sweet, though tasty.


And my Mom got a homemade butter-maker that is a mason jar with a spinner that you turn for about 15 minutes till you've made butter from your cream. Don't forget to add a little salt.


And these would be the French sandwiches Lucas made for Dean on Father's Day.


Here's Robbie and me sporting our Alabama Chanin-wear into Ruby Tuesday's for lunch! Robbie's dress was beautiful - wish I caught a picture of the whole thing. And I stretched my shirt out enough to wear it with the blue AC skirt, but not one person said a thing about it at work, though I got plenty of weird looks. That always lets you know that they think it's odd and they don't know what to say. Oh well....


Let's pause for a couple of gorgeous sunsets from Fisher's in Orange Beach...





And in knitting news, here's a Little Kindness Monster I knitted for Mobile Yarn to donate to abused children.


What a cute little hat!


Lucas wanted me to leave the mouth off, because he said maybe the kid would have a bad secret to tell it, and now it's smirking when it should remain non-judgmental. Hmmm....


And FINALLY, Drew decided he needed new shirts, but clarified that he wanted to MAKE his new shirts. He figured if he's going in the military after college he needs to know how to sew, though I'm not sure who told him they'd have machines set up. Anyway, I got a Kwik Sew pattern and cut it out for him.


So this isn't too bad for his very first V-neck which we only basted, but why in the world did Kwik Sew make the band so wide? Obviously we'll go back and fix that, but he also discovered that he has to grade out at the waist since it's tight over the belly.


From the back, this looks like a folded-over collar, but it fits him well through the shoulders, so he's happy with it.


Oh, and it was my birthday yesterday, so here's a neat hair clip my sister sent me. Check out her website if you put your hair up!


We had a lovely dinner, then Dean surprised me with tickets to the Molly Ringwalds concert downtown (because this is my big 5-0 and that's an 80's band - I didn't stop dancing for 2 hours)! Can't you tell Lucas is excited to be there for the festivities?! Maybe he's sad because he didn't get to go to the concert.


Okay, what have you been up to, and what are you doing for the 4th? And yes, Robbie and I will be having another Alabama Chanin airbrush day when the weather cools off, so start collecting your fabric!

Lucas's Big Birthday Surprise

But first, I had to finish the baby blanket for a Japanese cousin. It turned out nice, and I went to mail it at UPS, unaware of the prices I was facing. Did you know that it costs $138 to mail a package to Japan with a tracking number? Luckily, the US Postal Service option tracks it till it leaves the US and only costs $38. I think DHL or some other shipping company would've been a little cheaper, but good to know for future shipments! And yes, the blanket made it without getting lost, and I got some precious pictures of Haru with it.


So this came through an email from Lion Brand, I think, and they actually offered the pattern for free! Now this is precious because Lucas has a YouTube channel called Broughnut Doughnut (shameless plug, but don't click on that unless you're a fan of violent zombie films!), and his original "channel art" was that very doughnut from The Simpsons (of course, now it's an RPG launcher, I think - can't make one of those).


The only problem with this is that it's crocheted, and I haven't crocheted since I was about 15 years old. Of course, I hadn't knitted in years either, and I picked that back up! Pulled out my grandmother's McCall's Needlework Treasury, and that was all I needed to get started.


Okay, by the time I got THIS far and had to join colors, I had jumped to YouTube. Pencil drawings can only get one so far in life.


Now I was working on this while Lucas was at summer camp at University of Houston for two weeks, but I had to take a little break for the Blue Angels show at Pensacola Beach (they're tiny in the center)!


Dean took a nice pic of Drew and me at The Gulf afterwards.


And this was after a huge rainstorm at sunrise.


Speaking of storms, THIS was during a really crazy thunderstorm the next day, and Jake nearly jumped in my lap.


Okay, here's the completed donut flat. I ran out of mustard yarn, so had to use tan yarn at the end, but that makes sense anyway, since it's the inside.


So you put the ends together and whipstitch, stuffing as you go...


Halfway stuffed with fiberfill...


And the final donut - yay! This actually felt like really frosting a donut, because I had one arm inside smoothing out stuffing while stretching the outside to get the lines even.


Here's the bottom view.


We now take another break for a new Mexican restaurant which serves a Coronarita, which I've never seen before. Anybody ever have one of these? The tiny beer bottle slowly drains into the margarita - sort of an odd taste, and honestly more trouble than it was worth.


And finally, with SPRINKLES!!!!


I knitted most of these on the plane going to pick up Lucas in Houston; even sat in the airport for 3 hours knitting before it was time to get him, and no, I didn't get any funny looks....why do you ask?


This is a mighty big donut, and honestly weighs about 10 pounds, I think.


So tasty!


So now I'm all fired up on crocheting, and have a bath mat in mind for Drew's new apartment - shhh! Oh wait, I've got to finish that second sock first...

Too Many Projects!

Happy Fourth of July weekend! Lots of stuff to cover...first was an experiment in eyebrow enhancement. I'm not sure why eyebrows have taken off, but apparently they're big business now, so my MA talked me into giving it a whirl (she has her's waxed and dyed). This is a little kit she recommended from the drugstore, and goodness at the tiny tools that stand up over a tiny mirror! I didn't have a Seventeen magazine handy to talk me through it, but the back of the package had step by step instructions.


Here's a one-side-done pic to compare...um....I don't really get it. It just looks bushier and darker, like I rubbed some powder in it...which is basically what I did. Not worth my time! Do any of you "do" your eyebrows?


Next up, Drew got an idea to cook dinner for us, and wanted to do gyro wraps. He looked up recipes, shopped by himself, and got the gyro meat from FoodPak, since he didn't have time to set up a rotisserie on the grill.


Made the yogurt sauce with red wine vinegar, yogurt, and chopped cucumbers...


and roasted the vegetables you see in the background to go with the wraps - yum!


Now, behold the SOCK!


Bask in its loveliness!


Gaze in awe at the wondrous Kitchener's stitch!


Wonder at the oddness of this pairing!


Cringe at the pale leg that rises forth!


Seriously, it is a HEAVENLY thing, that will be perfect in the winter - soft and snuggly...but just a touch large, so I'll try casting on a few less stitches next pair. And there WILL be a next pair, as I'm halfway through the second sock cuff, and will be looking for more sock yarn soon...WITH my Mobile Yarn gift certificates!

Did I mention I had a birthday? This was probably the second best birthday ever, (definitely not the best one ever) because not only did my Mom give me a knitting certificate, but my office gave me one too - yay for perceptive office staff! PLUS, Dean gave me a Fluevog gift certificate to buy even MORE Fluevogs! He also sent some delicious Shari's Berries cake pops to work since I started the call week on my birthday. (Love that man.)


Now the only drawback to being on call this week is that I have to stay in town while they get to go to the beach - boo! However, one must make do, so I hot-footed it upstairs to make a skirt that would go with my newest Fluevogs, and wouldn't you know I had the perfect AC fabric (purchased 2 years ago with a birthday gift certificate from my Mom - my family is the BEST) that matches the shoelaces exactly! Another AC Swing Skirt is born.


The Swing Skirt flares just a touch more than the Fitted Skirt, and I can't decide if I like it with seams at center front/back/sides...


or with panels centered, like I saw another blogger do.


Hey wait, this AC T-shirt may coordinate as well...with a different pair of Fluevogs!


Okay, okay, I have to stop playing matchmaker with my Fluevogs and AC fabric, because I still have FOUR knitting projects on needles. Waves of Lace has been all but forgotten, the black mesh sweater is waiting for the second sleeve to be re-knitted, the second sock is in progress, but I need to get this baby blanket for a Japanese cousin done. Just need to watch that Youtube video about joining yarn by tying a magic knot again, and hope it works for 2 strands.


Luckily, the family will be back to enjoy the 4th with me, so I've got to get my crafting on today. What are YOU all doing this weekend? Might I suggest renting Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot with Tina Fey? Please be aware there is pervasive language (she's a reporter in Afghanistan, after all), but I LOVED this movie for a bunch of reasons. Have to go buy it...now you have a great weekend!