Dalmatian Data

It must be time to talk about the Dalmatians.  The real ones, I mean, not the smocked ones!  They are a large part of our lives (but please don't make them a part of yours until you really and truly know all there is to know about them--they aren't for everyone despite how cute the movies make them look.).   We've had a Dalmatian(s) for a whole lotta years.  Our first one was a true classic and exhibited all the traits of the breed--major extrovert, clown, good with kids, dedicated to the whole family, and just generally a real gem.  She took her "job" seriously and let any and everyone know that she was there (a good thing when you're home alone!).  In case you missed what I mean, she barked and meant it!  Or everyone thought she meant something by it because she could look fierce but wasn't.  She loved everyone (except one person and I don't think he has turned out well.  She was a good judge of character!).

And in case you wondered why I named the blog as I did, you can probably figure it out now...plus they are ALWAYS under my feet when I sew!  Here's a spot!

What a Day

Due to various and assorted Real Life Stuff, sewing certainly hasn't been happening at the rate I'd like.  So, today I thought I'd finish priming the foyer w/ help from ds.  That certainly did not go as I'd like either.  Paint, paint everywhere but NOT on the walls!!!!!!!!!!  arrrggghh!  We're still recovering and recuperating from that fiasco and it's not even mid-morning yet.  sigh.

Ds was helping w/ some brush work and he chose working near the ceiling.  Doing a good job, too.  And he's plenty old enough to be doing a good job though I don't think he's done much brush work.  Anyway, first he steps in wet paint (just don't ask!) and has zero idea why he then needs to remove his shoes.  Okay, all cleaned up and back at it.  Then, oops, pain all down the air return register...this is primer and WHITE....the air register is brown and the wood floor around it is brown, too.  (And, yes, before you ask, we were using drop cloths, but due to a brain malfunction he did not cover the air return????)  Okay, clean up again.  I can live with that, but NOT why do we need to make sure the white paint is cleaned up out of the air vent and off the grate??????  Hello in there???!!!  Is this a boy thing???

Well, he feels really bad about all the paint mess.  I just feel frustrated!  (And am truly enjoying the extra kitchen cleaning he did to make me feel better while I took a shower.)  How can it not be obvious that you can't or shouldn't leave the white paint all over those little open rectangles on the air vent?  It's not like we can go to the hardware store and get another since it's an older home and the sizes have changed--I think.   They are certainly flimsier and with all the traffic in that area that wouldn't work well either.  And we're sure as heck not going to replace the duct work!!!!  But, we're all cleaned up now and I think we're done with painting for the day.  How about some sewing instead?

Various and Assorted Catching Up

I have several pictures this time.  First, let me apoligize for the poor picture quality.  I seem to take better pictures using ds's camera, but I know he is tired of having me ask to use it all the time.  Dh generously loaned me his, but the user obviously needs more practice:(  Sorry!  Here goes!

My son finally finished his scarf he began this winter!  He would've been finished much sooner if I could've found my crochet hooks.  Where did they go???  Here it is--didn't he do a great job?

Here is Vogue 1091 all completed!  Well, not quite.  I took this before hemming.  I'll see about posting some construction info later this week.

And here are some challenges.  sigh.  Really, what was I thinking when I decided an Ugly Fabric Challenge for our sewing guild would be fun???  Here is my challenging fabric:

And here is what my dd got:

Overall, I think I can deal with mine (and am secretly glad I didn't get something shiny and shifty!).  I got 3 yards of a very fluffy flannel that's 60" wide.  Our challenge results have to be completed by our August meeting.  The colors are definitely not me, but they would work up well for the guys in the family.  Matching shirts?  Pj bottoms?  Those are my first thoughts and this flannel is just so soft and fluffy after washing I think I'll have to do one of those for sure!  Plus, there's a lot of fabric so I want to use it up!   I still can't believe how soft and fluffy it is!  I wonder where you'd find more?

Final on the Cupcakes

I promise not to bore you (or me) with any more cupcakes. Here are all the ones I've made for the class I'm teaching. Three of them I embellished with beads.  Sorry for the poor picture quality.  Dd beaded a flower for the pink topped one and I added some individual beads to highlight the confetti on top.  The dark brown and teal cupcake has some gold beads to highlight the metallic flowers, but I only did a little as decoration since I also want to be able to use it and not worry about where I put the pins!  The lavender cupcake has a pink beaded swirl which is supposed to mimic the candy that's on the fabric. 

I almost forgot to add that they have 3 fillings:  sand (2 of them have this), crushed walnut shells, and emery.  The emery one is the heaviest and the walnut shells are the lightest!

Planning and Vogue 1091

I have actually finished Vogue 1091!  No pics yet though.  My camera and I don't seem to get along of late and borrowing one can be a challenge.  Perhaps this weekend I can do photos.  I knew this dress would be loose fitting, but not as loose fitting as it turned out!  Wow.  The love is just not happening.  It will be cool for summer--great for throwing on after a day at the beach or something like that.  Maybe I'll put even a little beach-type embroidery on one side of the bottom.  The elastic at the top on both the back and front pulls away from my body a little bit, too.  sigh.  Well, a cool beach dress is fine and not a lot invested in it since I'm still experimenting and learning about knits!

However!  The Little Hunting Creek blog had a post last week about menu planning and sewing planning.  What an aha! moment for me.  Coincidentally, I was preparing my own menus for the upcoming seven days when I read this post.  It is exactly how I do my planning for meals and it made perfect sense that I should be planning my sewing that way as well.  I guess since I have not sewn for myself in years I had not thought about planning my sewing to fulfill needs and wardrobe gaps. 

I have several little girl garments to work on for now, but I think you'll be reading more about my plans for my sewing for me!  I have some serious fabric gaps since I am mostly stocked with fabric more suitable for children's wear.    Pattern choices seem to be okay, but I'll definitely need to look them over and decide if they will help wardrobe planning.  It sounds like the closet needs to be tackled and cleaned out first!  Lists to be made, cleaning to be done!  This might be fun!

Yet Another Project

Yes, another project!  No, I can't seem to finish them....but they will get there eventually.  First,  I wanted to post about a big project that is exciting, but nerve wracking, too.  Oldest dd is taking the AP Calculus exam (BC for those who know there are 2 versions!) tomorrow.  We're so proud of her just for taking the exam and at such a young age (I'm sure there are younger, but most kids are seniors).  I know she will do her very best, is well prepared, and can't wait for it to be over and done! 

In other news, I heard from Burda Style about my subscription.  They do handle it a little oddly via their website and from the comments I've gotten about it (thank you!) I should've gone through Sew Baby or Amazon.  Oh well, that's okay, this works too!  I heard from their distributor(??) in the States via email to tell me I would get a sample of the magazine followed by a bill. 

Some small bits of sewing being done on Vogue 1091 which is all I've had time to do.  A seam or two each day and it will be done...eventually!  Now if only I had the correct size of elastic...

And here's a teaser picture of yet another project I've begun:

Well, durn!  The lighting on this picture is just awful.  I'll have to try again and post it later!  Sorry!

Edited to add picture:

A Real Cupcake

Real ones!  Much better than sewn ones!  Yum.  Caramel Cupcakes with Butterscotch Frosting.  Fine Cooking magazine (used to be my favorite-not so much any more).

Obviously, sewing time has been short but I've found time to make these!  I did get a sleeve seam sewn today so that's something!

Burda Style

Finally, after reading about how much everyone loves Burda, I decided to subscribe!  A nice treat...but how much is it???  I went to the web site and figured that that would come up somewhere along the way, but no.  I can't find it on their web site anywhere!  Can anyone help me out on that?  I know it depends on the exchange rate.  Thanks!