For Baby Ellen

It has been a long time since I have made a post, but I assure you that I have missed blogging.  Life just gets hectic sometimes and the best you can do is just wake up an muddle through your day.  Those days turn into weeks and weeks into months.  ARGH!  I am ready to take back the reigns.



Crochet is a stress reliever for me and one of my coworkers recently had a baby and you know what that means...baby blanket!   So I grabbed hook and yarn, found an easy pattern and I got to work.

 

 

 

I love making baby blankets, very sastisfying to make and those who receive them always love and appreciate them.  So, I hope mom and baby Ellen enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.



Catching Up

 

CROCHET

 

 

 

My mom requested new dishcloths, so I whipped her up a pair.  It felt good to get my hooks going again.  I tend to crochet more in the Fall and Winter than I do in the Spring and Summer.  Fall is right around the corner so expect a lot more crochet projects.

 

 

SEW

 

 

 

 

 

The Sew Weekly Challenge Theme was to use the color yellow.  I had this knit fabric in my stash, it was my first and only Internet fabric purchase.  I was afraid to work with it because it is so bouncy and slinky, I did not think I had the skill to manipulate it.  It turned out pretty good.  I followed the directions from Sewing In A Straight Line by Brett Bara.

 

 

 

 

FORTH

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago I participated in another tour.  This time to benefit Alzheimer's with the Mind Over Matter cycling event.  That was some good bike riding... peaceful, beautiful scenery and people having a good time.  I saw a classic car show while I was there, that was a bonus and of course I got my tshirt.  I rode 11 miles that day.

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting.



Buy One Get One

I have made two projects since I last posted. 

The first was for a challenge theme of outdoors.  The tropical floral pattern made me think of a tropical garden or Hawaii Beaches.  I called it the hibiscus garden cover up.

The second project was for the reality themed challenge.  We had to make something that was missing from our wardrobe and I needed a casual white shirt because I had just thrown away the only one I had as it was not wearable anymore.

Thanks for looking and Sewyalater Alligator.

PS- To my blog friends who are more crochet fans than sewing, I have a crochet project coming soon.  I know it has been awhile.

Adventures in Cycling

I woke up this morning and strapped my bike to the back of my car,

and drove to Lansing, MI.

I set out on a 16 mile bike ride,

enjoying the open road.

The first eight miles took approx. 55 minutes...I had to check out the scenery.

The second eight miles, I was focused and finished in approx. 38 minutes.

 Official ride time/miles.

 I got my T-Shirt and I helped a good cause!

The Ability Tour is an inclusive bicycle ride dedicated to raising awareness for people of ALL abilities. Proceeds from the Ability Tour will go toward equipping other recreational events and activities with the resources and accommodations to make events more accessible to ALL individuals.

Copy Cat #2- Let's Go On A Vacation

How do you think my second Copy Cat turned out?  I think AWESOME! 

This was a double header challenge, one of my own making- the copy cat and a Sew Weekly -Vacation challenge.  I would so wear this outfit on Vacation.  Miami White sounds good to me.

The jean vest is an refashion - my first time doing that.  The model is wearing a ball gown with a jean vest.  My skirt is tiered and made out of gauze, it's thin so I have to wear a slip under it.  I hate slips and I don't think I even own one anymore.  When I was a little girl I had one in every length, mama made sure of that. LOL.  Anybody know where I can buy a cotton slip or an easy pattern to make one?

SEWYA LATER ALLIGATOR!

The Hot in July Halter

The challenge was to use the colors red, white or blue.  You could use them all or just one.  I found this cotton polyester blend at the Supercenter.  It's a good place to go for cheap fabric.  I've wanted to make something that was polka dot for a long time.  Polka dots are so fun!

I downloaded the pattern from BurdaStyle.com .  I had always been a little intimidated by their patterns because you have to download them on paper, put it together like a puzzle and add seam allowances.  For a beginner like me, it was a little scary.  But let me tell you, they have very fashionable patterns.

Another thing about Burda patterns, they are not made for curvy chicks, like me.  I don't know how to upsize a pattern yet.  The only alterations I can do are to shorten, lengthen and add side vents, as I did for this top.  Darn those hips of mine.

It was fun to make and fun to wear.  I wore it on a date with Mr. Cool (formerly known on this blog as The Hub).  It was perfect for the hot weather that we're having and I will absolutely be wearing it again.

Thanks Sew Weekly  for the inspiration.

Sew ya later, alligator.

They Can't All Be Winners

This past month has not been a good month for my hobbies.  I've had two setbacks that I have yet to overcome. 

You can probably tell because I have not posted anything.  My creativity has been stifled.  I'm not a perfectionist... I am a finish-ist.  "What's that?" you say.  Well it doesnt have to be perfect when I'm done, but whatever I start I have to finish.

That's not to say that I"ve never left things undone... I just have a very hard time moving on.
                                              

 Which brings me to:  Fail number #1.

 
 Okay, I"m just venturing in to wearing bold colors and florals.  Mixing prints was a little out of my fashion comfort zone but I gave it a try anyway.

 We were supposed to mix prints for the Sew Weekly Challenge.   Well, as you can see, it didn't turn out so well.

I got pretty far and decided it was sooooooo ugly that I would not even wear it to lounge in and I took it apart and put my sewing machine in limbo.

Fail #2.  I took this picture at the start of Tour de Cure for the American Diabetes Association.  I was amped.  I was excited.  I was ready.  I told all my family and friends.  THEN... I DIDN'T GET TO FINISH! 

My bike broke down about 1 mile into the ride. 
I wanted to cry.  I slapped it on the back of my car and drove home pissy mad.  I did get a T-Shirt though and my bike is still in the shop because they are backed up.

No Sewing.  No Bike Riding.  ARGH!

There was a Fail #3 but I can't bare to recount another one.

I am sooo looking forward to July.


How do you overcome setbacks?