Yarn Crawl

Remainder of Weekend and Contest Winner!

Yesterday, after talking so much about the possibility of making the other shawl with my Tartelette from stash, I talked myself into it. Here it is:

I'm bringing both in for my co-worker to choose today, so I'll let you know which one she picks and try to get her to take a picture modeling it!

So what else? After sitting outside in the backyard and finishing the shawl, I decided to head over to my local Hancock Fabrics to see what they had on sale. I saw that they had some good sales (supposedly) in their online sale flyer and didn't feel like doing a longer drive out to Vogue. However, Hancock is always a ripoff for me - I never really get good deals there except if they have a pattern sale.

I did buy some gabardine for the high waisted skirt:

and some crinkly satin for a top (not sure which pattern yet.)

I then watched some TV with Jim and wove in all the ends on the Swing Top and made the straps on the Tea Rose Halter. I must say I really, really like both and I will have to get modeled pics this week!!

I also started working on the lessons for that online class and got frustrated with the instructions for copying the pants. I actually Googled "copy pants" and found some more helpful tips, so it was a little frustrating to have paid for a class that didn't lay out the easiest ways to do things in the handouts. The cynical side of me says that the teacher just wants to sell her book on the subject, but whatever. I can't attend the second chat for the class anyway as it is tomorrow night and I have school that night. Which I am almost DONE with.

That was the other thing I did last night - finished the financial part of our business plan (actual Excel financials were done last week) and then the presentation is tomorrow. Thankfully after everything else I did for this project, I'm not one of the presenters, as we only have 15 minutes and everyone doesn't have to present. That was a bit of a negotiation, although my group members totally agreed once I said I had put quite a bit of time into this already (I'd put it at 60% of the entire project, when there are five people) and so shouldn't have to present half of it too. So they are stepping up, and all I have to do for this class now is take the final NEXT WEEK. Thank God! I've never been so relieved to be done with a class.

So it was a super productive day, which I always love!

Now for the winner of the first blogiversary contest this month. Remember, the lucky winner will receive a 200 yard skein of Tess Cultivated Silk and Wool in red, a $30+ value!

And the winner is............Kaet of Nantucket Knitter!! Congratulations, Kaet - email me with your postal address and I will send out the yummy skein!

Stay tuned for more contests this month, including one later this week!

Sunday Morning Potpourri

It's been an eventful weekend; I'm a little exhausted and need "me" time, although it's been a lot of fun.

So Friday afternoon my Zen came from Elann for ribbon shawl gifts throughout the year:

My co-worker that I gave the beads to a few months ago (who gave me the Elann gift certificate) fixed some jewelry for me, and so we decided to barter instead of me paying her. I offered to make her one of the ribbon triangles shawls and she picked out the pink yarn at the bottom of the previous picture. I started this on Saturday morning, as I was feeling lazy and up for mindless knitting and I just finished it now.

This is my "go-to" three hour gift knitting project - this one is a little bigger than the ones I've made with two skeins of Tartelette and I don't like the Zen quite as much. They're both cotton/nylon blends, with a railroad type of matte/shiny ribbon, but the Zen has a little lower of a cotton content compared to the Tartelette, and the Tartelette includes 10% of a different type of nylon (Tactel nylon).

Overall, the Zen is fine, and it's not scratchy or anything like some other ribbon yarns I've tried, but not quite as silky smooth or shiny as the Tartelette. I'll use up these other colorways but I will stick to Tartelette from now on. I'm debating whether I should make another black/silver one out of some Tartelette I have in stash and letting her pick which one she wants. I can always use the pink/purple one as something to throw over more casual summer dresses.

This is what the Tartelette shawl/scarf looks like (it also has lower yardage so it comes out smaller than the Zen version; also this picture shows it folded in half):

So yesterday we had originally just planned to go to the birthday party from 3-6 and not go back to the birthday boy's house, but we did end up going back there, and didn't get home until around 10 pm. The day was kind of shot as far as getting anything done (other than the shawl progress) as I started getting ready to go around 1:30 and then was gone from then until 10 but we did have a fun time. It was nice to reconnect with them, as we hadn't seen them in a long time.

I also got my new Interweave issue and I love some of the designs. Here are my favorites:

The Wakame Lace Tunic is at the very top of the list - beautiful design, the new tunic length that I've been into lately, seamless construction. Wow. I might even splurge for the Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer, as I want it to turn out EXACTLY like this. Has anyone tried this yarn? Any insights would be appreciated.

Delft Tiles Tee - I've been wanting to try slip stitch colorwork, and this seems to be a great way to do it.

Although because it's slip stitch and not fair isle, as I originally thought it was when I saw the preview online, it won't be as hot as I thought it might be, but I really don't like the thickness of the Blue Sky Cotton. I made Tomato with it and found it to be really kind of hot to wear. On this one I might try to swatch Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece or some other yarn sub.

The other thing I don't like is that there is no size between 31.5" and 35", as 35" is a little roomy for me for a summer top, especially when they say they modeled it with 1/2" of negative ease, so any yarn substitution would probably also incorporate a sizing change to make this somewhere in the neighborhood of 33"-34".

Oh, and one other thing - I also don't like that it's knit flat. Is there any issue with converting slip stitch patterns to be knit in the round? I know there is with intarsia, but I would think slip stitch should be ok. Not sure though.

Next up, the Drawstring Raglan. I like the shape and construction on this one, so I would probably make it:

The Eyelet Surplice Dress really caught my eye too. I've never made a knit dress or skirt, so I am a little leery about it, but I think this is really cute. I am kind of between sizes on this one too, between the smallest and the second size - If I decided to go with the more fitted option, I think I'd make the smallest size, as I'm right on at the bust with that one even though the bottom for that size is a little bit small (like by an inch.) If I went with the second size, I would be modeling it with positive ease, like it's shown, but I don't know if it might look dumpy. Ease is usually NOT my friend in knitwear and I look better in fitted garments.

The Leaf Kimono top is cute, and I would probably knit it in hemp (Elann Canapone) instead of linen.

I do like the lace pattern on the Apres Surf Hoodie, and the delicate look of the yarn, but 1.) I don't really wear hoodies and 2.) I'm not such a fan of 4-ply weight yarn. So, I probably won't knit this, but I think it's really cute.

Today I have a free day to myself (big sigh of relief) and I'm not sure yet what to do with it. Part of me wants to finish up some unfinished sewing projects (putting hems on stuff, doing odds and ends), another part wants to pick out some fabric from stash and/or buy some new fabric to make that high waisted skirt (Vogue Fabrics is kind of calling my name) and another part feels like working on my new online class on "copying your favorite pants" over at Patternreview. It officially started on Thursday, and I have all the pdfs for it downloaded with pictures and instructions on how to do it, but haven't done anything yet. The class only lasts like two weeks, so I really need to work through it if I want to get help on it. Part of me says why bother with the fire drill, just save the pdfs for when I'm motivated to do it. We'll see what happens. So since I guess I didn't mention any knitting as a burning desire, I probably won't do that today (unless I decide to make that black/silver Tartelette scarf/shawl.)

However, on the knitting front, Swing Top and Tea Rose Halter are almost done drying as we speak.

(this next one of TR Halter was taken when it was still really wet, but it shows the design nicely even though it's way darker than it really is)

The utility tub is fully functional now and I used it for their "bath" on Friday.

The only thing we need to finish off the utility room is shelving for laundry detergent, etc. We decided not to do a pull down or over the door ironing board as they were super expensive and/or too small.

Kwik Sew 3580 Is a Go!

It's not often that I'll post twice in one day, but I am so excited. I just finished a quick muslin of Kwik Sew 3580

and I think it is going to be really cute. I think instead of emphasizing short waistedness, it's going to give me more length from the waist to the hip (which right now I don't have a lot of) and be slimming. Plus it's a cute style!

Here it is on J.Lo - but it looks a lot better on me (LOL)! Muslin is pretty transparent though, so I didn't want to take a picture of myself in it. I didn't press the seams flat and one of the darts is on the right side of the fabric (plus it only has the essential parts for fitting) but it is going to fit.

Side view

Back view (with goofy wrong-side dart and zipper area just pinned closed, because no way am I putting a zipper into a muslin if I can see how it fits without it)

front view - J.Lo is standing crooked in that one and/or I put the muslin on her sideways - it is straight on me. I've got her in a corner of my sewing room, behind the sewing table, and she's a little hard to get out for modeling as I'd have to lift her over the table.

Bad pictures, and I didn't retake them because I'd rather *do something* instead of taking and retaking pictures, but you get the idea. I think this will look really cute in actual fabric, with a wrap tie belt.

FRIDAY!!

First, let me say THANK YOU!!!! to everyone who left a comment on yesterday's post. I will be responding to each of your comments individually, but I wanted to thank everyone as the first thing today. If you haven't seen yesterday's post, check it out as there is a chance to win a yummy 200 yard skein of Tess Cultivated Silk and Wool!

I'm soooo glad Friday's here. This is the first of our "summer Fridays" at the office, which means that we close down at 12:30 today. Obviously if someone had stuff that had to get done, they'd have to stay and do it, but I (and most everyone else) carefully arrange my work affairs throughout the week to get them done Monday through Thursday when these hours are in effect (through the end of September.) Yay!

I thought I would take a picture of some WIPs today, as I haven't shared any in a while:

First there is Mentionable - I'm still liking this project very much.

Note the beautiful stitch markers Monica made for me for my birthday!!

After measuring one of my knit fabric camis that I LOVE from Nordstrom and finding that they measure 30" across the chest, I decided NOT to put any short rows into this project as I am also making the 30" size. The pattern incorporates the short rows into the instructions and says how to add them if you want to, but they are optional. I prefer just making a smaller size than normal so that it stretches more for my bust/upper back than my waist and skip the shaping. That tends to look better on me.

As my back is wider than my front (too many lat rows on the Bowflex now and waitressing way back when, combined with that being my natural tendency) the short rows to make a bust "dart" do nothing really for me. All of that explains why I'm making the 30" size when I really measure about 34.5" in the full bust. I don't really have another choice as that's the only size that calls for one 400 yard skein of the Yarn Botanika and the other sizes take at least two, and I only bought one skein last year.

Last night I did the neck and armhole edging on the Swing Top and just need to weave in the ends and give this a SERIOUS washing and blocking. I can't wait to see how the lace looks after it opens out. I'm sure the top will be a little roomier than I'm used to (but not quite to Juliet proportions) after this, but that's why I shortened the armhole openings to control the silhouette. They were supposed to be about another 1.5 inches larger. They did get smaller with the armhole pickups, but are not too tight, and I think they're just right now.

Yesterday at lunch I decided to squeeze in some time to work on my newest muslin, Kwik Sew 3580.

I have seen a lot of high waisted skirts and pants lately and I thought I would try a muslin of the skirt variety to see what this design looks like on me. Because of my short waistedness, it will either really work well (camouflaging the short waist) or really look bad (emphasizing it), I think. We'll see which it is. I'm making View B, with the wrap tie and no pockets. On View A with the pockets - hello? Why would I want to put pockets like that right on my hips? Not for this girl. Anyway, in 15 minutes that I had left over at lunchtime at home, I marked and sewed the darts for the front and back. Next, when I sew the side seams, I should have a pretty good idea of what this is going to look like and whether it's a go-no go with real fabric.

Speaking of hips and feeding/starving them, we have been really good with the dining in this week. We haven't gone out for any meals at all since Saturday night, except for last night, which was "date night" and it's part of the plan to go out for that. We also had gift certificates from our birthdays, as this restaurant has a birthday club where you get a free entree (up to $25) each year on your birthday. Not bad for an initial nonrecurring $10 signup fee. I love Braxton's. So back to what we ate this week - just simple stuff - one night we made sandwiches with turkey sausage filled with cheddar cheese (120 calories each!) with peppers and onions in Turano bread. Mainly simple stuff this week to get us started (sandwiches.) I am getting inspired though by watching Top Chef, looking at recipe books, and talking to you all about your recipes. I really appreciate it!!

For the rest of the weekend plans, I am going to finish the Swing Top, finish the Tea Rose Halter (make the strap, sew it, and wash/block), work on sewing, and probably work on Mentionable. I'll probably do some of that this afternoon after I get off work. Tonight I am taking my friend Lisa (who was my guest blogger when I went on vacation) out to Blu Coral for birthday sushi, and tomorrow Jim and I are going to a 40th birthday party for one of his friends. That's it though for weekend plans! I might even get to play with that skirt book I showed yesterday.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Book Review and Contest!!

I have been on a book-buying rampage lately, and my latest acquisition is Sew What! Skirts: 16 Simple Styles You Can Make with Fabulous Fabrics .

I really like this book and can't wait to play with it. This book can be fun for anyone who wants to get creative and make some skirts that are customized to your measurements, while getting some practice on drafting your own patterns with the help of step by step instructions. It also covers the very basics of sewing so I think any sewing skill level could work with this book.

I like that the book takes a "design your own" approach, while providing specific instructions on how to modify the three main templates (straight skirt, A-line skirt with fitted waist and A-line skirt with elasticized waist) to make each of the 16 designs featured. I also like that the author covers the basics, as I am always looking for easier and more efficient ways to do things. Zippers (only center application), darts, different types of waistline treatments/facings, and hems are all addressed. I like that the dreaded intersection of zipper/yoke waistline is described and shown in pictures as I need a more systematic way to approach this instead of just figuring it out by trial and error every time I run across it.

First they have you take your measurements and plug them into this worksheet:

Then they tell you how to work with these measurements to draft three basic types of skirt patterns. Each of these basics is then modified in the step by step instructions for the specific skirt you choose to work on.

Here's some pictures of the styles I especially like - to see more designs, click the pictures to go to Flickr and see the rest of the set.

In other news, Jim has made some progress on the laundry room - he's painted everything white and bought/assembled a utility tub. I guess we didn't have a lot of choices on tubs if we didn't want a really expensive one built into a cabinet.

Now we need to figure out how we're going to do the ironing board. I want to get a full size one that can hang on the wall or over the door, but it seems like most of that type are smaller than average.

In other (more exciting) news, my blogiversary is at the end of this month, as I started blogging on May 30, 2006, and I thought this year we would celebrate by doing weekly contest giveaways during the month of May!

First contest: Please tell me what you like about my blog! Also, if there are things you'd like to see more/less of, let me know that too.

I will draw one winner randomly from all comments on Monday morning, so please post your comment by then in order to win this lovely prize:

One of these 200 yard skeins of Tess Cultivated Silk and Wool, unopened.

This is what I used to make Wicked, and as I had 1.5 skeins left over, I thought I'd give away the untouched skein. I may need the other half skein for repairs so I'm keeping that.

If you win and you would rather have a sewing related prize, just tell me that you don't want the skein of Tess yarn, and we will agree on some other prize - fabric or an uncut sewing pattern - instead. If that happens, I'll give away the Tess later in the month in another giveaway.

Virtual Vacation: Maui

It's that time of the week again, and today we're going to visit Maui.

Jim and I visited Maui as part of the Hawaiian cruise we took in March 2006, and chose another helicopter tour here as the best way to get an overview of the island and its scenery.

Here we are starting our tour - you can just barely see me seated in the middle of the front row, next to the pilot again:

We saw golf courses

meandering waterways in the midst of lush greenery

greenery covered mountains

waterfalls carved into mountains

waterfalls on their own

and last but not least, beautiful beaches:

Isn't that last picture exactly where you'd like to be right now? I know I would.

So Far, So Good

Last night, we ate at home to start the week (woo-hoo - one day down) - we have this super easy thing we make once in a while where we just melt some muenster cheese on top of a few slices of roast beef from the deli and a slice of that Turano dry Italian bread. Usually we add giardinere (sp?) on top, but this time I had bought some yellow banana peppers to put on top. I had found some different roast beef in the deli this time that was called "London Broil" and was basically a rare roast beef. Tasty! This was our simple dinner - a slice each and then we split a third slice. I did have a glass of merlot with it, which was a good pairing. I have really been off white wine lately and am more into the reds now. I was trying to only drink wine once a week, but it really makes the meals at home a little more special with a little wine. I'm not an emotional eater, like some people say they are, but I guess I am an emotional (wine) drinker. Wine makes everything just a little nicer for me.

Anyway, after dinner, I decided to work on Tidal Wave again (the Rowan Plaid project I started on Sunday) and decided I didn't like how it was looking so I frogged it. I think that yarn is better for cables than lace patterns. I decided it was a sewing night instead of a knitting night, and I had been wanting to make a muslin of McCall's 5391:

I had tried one other muslin for shorts (a New Look pattern) and like many other New Look patterns for the bottom half of the body, it had WAY too much ease and a weird shape. I love the way their patterns are sized for the upper body. Sandra Betzina notes in her books that their sizing is different than the other pattern companies on top as there isn't a lot of extra fabric between the shoulders and chest and that one should pick the pattern size in their line based on full bust measurement. She is right on, as when I've done this with their top or dress patterns they have always fit. It's the skirts and shorts that have an insane amount of ease.

So I made up the muslin for View C last night, tried it on and determined that it's going to fit very well without any adjustments. This is NOT an easy pattern to figure out - they had you 1.) sew the pocket to the side front, then 2.) sew the result of #1 to each main front piece, then 3.) sew the inside leg seams, then 4.) the crotch curve, then 5.) the outer side seams. I did something wrong on #2 or #3 because I wasn't able to match right sides together on one of these steps, which it didn't say to do but I assumed. It can be hard working with the muslin as it's not as easy to tell right and wrong sides. I only mark on the wrong sides, but somehow I still think I got messed up somehow. If anyone has any suggestions I would very much appreciate it. I am also going to check out the reviews of this pattern over on Patternreview.com.

Anyway, despite the glitch, I can tell it's going to fit well, and based on this one experience (plus what I've heard from other people that seem to be shaped like me on the bottom half) I think McCall's fits my body better on the bottom than the Simplicity/New Look patterns do. It seems to be for a (ahem) rounder rear end, as opposed to the Simplicity/New Look, which seems to fit a wider, flatter derriere better.

So anyway, now that I've talked ad nauseum about my butt, I've been on a roll with the muslins lately! I want to make a list of to-dos once I've vetted them with the muslin version and then make a bunch of things at once. Sandra Betzina is right (can you tell she is my new BFF and I've bought two of her books in the last two weeks? I've even forgiven her for that negative ease woven skirt) that only about 50% of all commercial patterns are worth making and that if you're not enthused about the muslin, don't bother going any further. She says throw the pattern out, but I'm not sure I'll go that far. Probably just stick it in my pattern drawer or give it away to whoever wants it!

Sunday Happenings

So I went to the shower - it actually turned out to be a lot of fun.

I tried to take a picture of my new hairstyle in the mirror before I left, but you can't really see it too well.

So anyway, the shower was fun. I was nice seeing some of the cousins that I hadn't seen in awhile who are about my age. Usually I am always seated with Jim's aunt Vicki (who we are closest to and that we spend holidays with) and her daughter Tracy and her kids (the sweater models) but this time I was seated with Jim's second cousins and/or the second cousins' wives. It was kind of like Sex and the City in a way - no topic was off limits, as two of the unmarried cousins in their 30s lamented about their dating dramas and the two other married women (married to the cousins, who have kids) and I kind of all laughed together about the dramas. I usually never see the married ones without their young kids, and also they married into the family so I haven't known either of them as long, so it was nice to get to know them better as individuals. They were fun - they had funny kid stories to share, and were very into celebrity gossip.

I could kind of relate to both sides as I'm almost a hybrid - married, but no kids. So I feel single in some ways and married in others. The single ones have a strong career focus (one of the cousins is in pharmaceutical sales and the other is finishing her residency to become an OB/GYN) so I can relate to that, but then I can relate to the married ones in that we have houses and go grocery shopping and have stuff in the refrigerator besides wine and beer and know that we have a toaster and where it's located (funny story for one of the single cousins.)

I usually have low expectations for the food at any type of event (honestly!) but it was FABULOUS as Italian showers (or any other type of event, really, hosted by the Italian side of our family) always tend to have that attribute. It was at the new location of Volare out here in the suburbs and they did a great job. I just tasted a little of everything and didn't get too crazy. First they had a half hour of cocktails (mostly champagne), then appetizers of eggplant parmigiana and calamari, then a great salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, then there were the main courses of lemon chicken, grilled salmon, some sort of pasta with bolognese sauce, and rigatoni. All the while white and red wine was being freely poured. The dessert was plates of assorted cookies and cupcakes served from a sweet table. Then there was about 45 minutes of the future bride opening up her gifts. She liked the comforter I bought her from Bed Bath and Beyond from her registry, so that was good. I had it directly shipped to the registry address (her mom's house) and I just had brought the card saying that it had been sent to her, but her mom went ahead and wrapped it and brought it to the shower. So I felt a little bad about her having to do extra work, but that's the way BB&B handles many of their comforter purchases from registries as they don't carry every style in every store.

Anyway, the shower was over at about 3:00, so I went home and changed, then went out to Jo-Ann's to use my 40% off coupon for another bolt of muslin and to Barnes & Noble to look for a new book with my 25% off coupon. I bought another cookbook, then I went to the grocery store and bought some ingredients for quick meals this week. It feels good to know that we're prepared with stuff than can be made pretty quickly and have a plan. Jim resists planning, but I think he even liked me having a plan - as long as he didn't have to try to come up with it, he's on board with executing it.

Last night it was freezing out and we've turned the heat off for the season. So I sat in front of the fireplace and started a cold weather knitting project with some Rowan Plaid I had purchased a while back.

I'm making it in the colorway shown, and just modifying it to knit it in the round (bottom-up) to the armholes. I love nice warm, soft alpaca and wool blends on size 10.5 bamboo needles. Candy. I'm crazy, I know. I just couldn't get motivated to work on a tank top when it's so nasty out.

Picture Update

I got my Starbucks and thought I'd do an update in pictures as it seems like I haven't shown any in awhile.

Here's Sweetheart Vest, finished but not modeled. It's been cool enough to model it this weekend (after temps in the 80s the day before!) but it's the wrong season.

Swing Top - pre neck and armhole pickups and washing/blocking - the color is off - it's definitely more teal:

Tea Rose Halter - it's more violet than this. I have to make the straps and wash/block it, but here it is:

Lacy Little Top - had to put this on longer needles temporarily while I used its needles to start Mentionable. I haven't gotten really any more done on it, but now I can see it's going to fit well.

And Mentionable, which I started yesterday afternoon with the recommended yarn, the Yarn Botanika merino/tencel that had been waiting patiently for me in my stash for two years. I love working with this yarn! It's super soft because of the merino and sproingy because of the tencel. I tend to like any yarn mixed with tencel, but I really like merino mixed with it.

What else did I do project-wise yesterday? I made a muslin of the skirt from Sandra Betzina's Today's Fit Vogue 8204 pattern

and determined that "pattern does not work for me" in Patternreview lingo. I don't know why I didn't look at the finished measurements, but once I did I understood why the skirt didn't fit right at the hip and thigh. She sizes her patterns on a different measurement system than the other patterns with a lettering system -A through J. I was between a B and C based on my measurements, so I decided to go with the C as I could always cut it down. Size C was supposed to be for someone whose hip measurement was 38.5, which is a little bigger than me, but the Size B was for 36.5" hips, which is a little smaller than me. Well, the finished measurement on this skirt per the pattern (which was immediately apparent) was 37.5". AND the pattern is supposed to be designed for woven fabrics. How do you do 1" of negative ease on a woven fabric in a skirt?? It wasn't too bad at the actual hip but it was definitely not for anyone with any muscle tone in their legs. Also, it was too loose around the "tummy" area as I know she designs for someone with a bit of pooch in that area. My waist is not quite as small in proportion to my hip as some of the Big Four patterns would say it should be (1" off) but I don't have a "tummy" (as she puts it)- just a more athletic build/bigger rib cage/wider waist. So I'm glad I spent the hour to make the muslin instead of going full speed ahead with the garment.

Yesterday I went to the new salon and I was very impressed! I had taken whoever they gave me, as it's a new location and I hadn't been there before, so I had my first haircut with a guy. I wasn't against having my hair cut by a guy, I just never had run across that before. This one didn't fit the stereotype of a male hairstylist. He was no older than 22, I'd say, not flitting around the salon, kind of moody and serious, cutting my hair in "artiste" mode like creating a sculpture, stepping back to study it, no chit chat whatsoever. It was a bit hard not to laugh at all the seriousness, but I let him give me long layers which I hadn't had in a while (it was all one length) and it turned out really well. I guess all that attention to detail paid off. I really like the new colorist. She's young too, probably the same age, very light blonde hair, cute, with a few piercings and small tattoos. Everyone in that place was edgy yet gorgeous, so I felt like I was in good hands.

Anyway, the colorist lightened up the all over brown color to make it more neutral and gave me more noticeable blonde highlights. They also are one of the three salons in the area to carry my favorite Kerastase line now, so I will be going back. It's back in the price range of the place I was going for awhile that I ultimately ended up firing because of too many blah color services, but it's OK because I'm happy with the results and I feel like I'm getting a more up to date look. I'll have Jim take some pictures. I have the wedding shower for Jim's cousin Jane at 11:30 so maybe when I get ready for that, if I can blow dry the layers right.

Yesterday afternoon didn't go according to plan. It was supposed to be my cooking debut, but Jim got involved with a new house project that I ended up helping him with (a little) and time kind of got away from us being able to sit down with the recipe book and come up with a list of things to make. It was 5 pm before we knew it, and were both starving, so we just went to the local Pan-Asian place, Bok Choy. We agreed to start Monday and the tentative plan is that he's going to cook two days, I'm going to cook two days, and the rest can be out if we want. Friday night we had ended up going out for some Delaware oysters.

This non-cooking thing is a more firmly entrenched issue than I realized. Not to blame it all on him, but Jim either likes to eat a big breakfast (eggs, sausage, ham, etc.) or no breakfast at all, whereas I always eat breakfast every day, but just a yogurt and maybe some fruit or oatmeal or sometimes Special K or Wheaties. So then I'm hungry at lunchtime and I usually eat a salad with either shrimp or chicken on it, or a Lean Cuisine, or if he hasn't eaten breakfast that day, I'll go to a deli with him for lunch and eat a turkey sandwich or something like that. If he's only eaten (the crazy big) breakfast, then he won't eat lunch, but then he's starving at 5 pm when I usually leave work, and picks me up there (as we're sharing the car and live 5 minutes from my office) and then wants to eat anything that's not tacked down. It's hard to avoid this cycle. Not making excuses, but I need to realize that this is going to take time to change.

Anyway, the house project that started at about 2 pm yesterday was a redo of the laundry room and the creation of a new workshop for Jim in the basement. Right now, all of his tools and stuff have been sharing space with everything else in the garage, and he decided it would help clear out the garage if he could make a separate space for the tools. He probably does something with all of these tools at least once a day, and he probably has as big of a collection of them as I do sewing and knitting stuff. We had this huge countertop thing in our laundry room which made fitting the ironing board and just walking around a challenge, which he ripped out yesterday. We weren't using it and it was always covered with stuff (extra laundry soap, etc. etc. etc.) He took it out and we discovered we had an extra water hookup behind the back wall of the cabinet. This is going to be great, as we're going to put in a new utility sink where I can do my handwashing for my knits and other handwashables. I've been using our big tub in the bathroom, and that's been less than convenient, as I actually have to get into it with the knits, and the water is usually freezing so as to avoid felting, shrinking, etc.

I didn't take a picture of what the laundry room looked like before, but basically that gaping hole is where the counter top used to be. Excuse the unholy mess. There's no way to really crop out all that junk and still show the whole room.

A (nonstandard sized) ironing board was to the left of that counter, so it could be a challenge to squeeze in there if there was any laundry stacked up. We're going to get a new ironing board that can be hung on the wall and come down where the counter used to be, as it is exactly as long as a standard size ironing board.

Then I helped him move the counter in two huge pieces, down two flights of stairs to the basement. He had it strapped on this hand truck thing he has but I helped support it underneath as we went down each stair. He didn't ask me to help, as he never does, but I was afraid it was going to fall off of the cart and make a crater in the hardwood floor on the main floor.

This is the destination of the countertop thing - Jim made this little "room" in a section of the unfinished part of the basement with drywall on Friday (part of why I think he was so starving when he picked me up, as he had eaten breakfast, then hung drywall all day.)

That thing on the right is the side of our 2nd refrigerator/freezer (it is the one that was in the kitchen when we moved in that we replaced with a stainless one) which we will be using a lot more when we make things in bigger quantities to freeze, like soup. He makes more of stuff like chili now, but we just need to do that kind of thing more often.

Here's FatKat on top of another in-process project - replacement of half of the roof, with the skylights that were in that section, and the gutters. Sorry about the blurry picture - she looked like she was going to run away so I wanted to snap the picture quickly before she did.

Jim is kind of more the "general contractor" on this project, getting the materials and hiring the guys to do it, but still a lot of work. That should be done within the next month.

Now for something a little prettier after those construction pictures- my flowers are coming up on the walkway:

Apparently the rabbits didn't eat all my tulip bulbs, although they seemed to be making good work of it whenever I caught them:

If you made it through that marathon post, congratulations! I'm off to do my workout and get ready for the shower now. I hope it's not too torturous, but I'm ready for the worst.

New Kim Hargreaves Book

I had mentioned earlier this week that I bought what WAS the latest Kim Hargreaves book. However, this morning, I received an email notification that her newest spring book is out called Nectar.

Taking a look at some of the new designs, I see that they are very much in line with the trends for the season, including flouncy hems with or without ruffles, deep-V pullovers and one button cardigans that button lower on the body than previously, and roomy sleeves. There really seems to be something for everyone with the bolero length still holding on for a few designs, some tunic length tops and regular mid length sweaters. A few of the designs look very much like the ones seen in the Spring '08 issue of Interweave Knits, and a few others are reminiscent of recent Zephyr Style designs like Juliet.

I tend to really like the cropped sweaters layered with long tops underneath or the long lengths by themselves, as I think those are the biggest departure from the same old, same old look, and they personally work well on my short waisted figure. When I do mid-length sweaters they can tend to aggravate the short waistedness if they're even a little bit off. This is another reason I love being able to make my own sweaters because RTW sweaters never fit me exactly right.

I see that the the in-depth collection view for the Heartfelt collection that I bought last weekend has now been removed from the site, so I'll try to take some pictures of it to show.

Weekend plans - this is the last full day Friday at work that we'll have for awhile as our "summer hours" start next week. We basically work a little extra from Monday through Thursday and then close the office at 12:30 on Fridays. This year it is planned to run from May through the end of September, and I can't wait for those half days to start!

Tonight I'm just going to work on some sewing projects, most likely, and tomorrow morning I am trying another new hair salon that just opened up on our main street, then we are probably going over to Jim's aunt's house for a visit (and to borrow her power-washer as power washing the decks is one of Jim's upcoming planned projects.) Then we'll make a stop over at Whole Foods and shop for my debut cooking night that night. After that, probably more sewing, or maybe some knit project finishing that day. Sunday at 11:30 I have a wedding shower to go to for one of Jim's cousins, Jane, who is getting married in July. So that is pretty much my weekend - a bit more "scheduled" than usual, but reasonable.

What are your weekend plans?