Wallet for my Mom

I made my Mom a wallet about 3 years ago and she has been hinting that it was wearing out.  So, I began a new wallet for her for Mother’s Day.  I used some cotton fabric that I had in my stash for some time.  The two prints are Japanese prints that I got from The Material Girls in Dearborn, MI.

It isn’t as finished on the outside as I would have liked.  I have limited time these days so I rushed it a little bit.  Not to mention the fact that I do not use a pattern so I kind of wing it as I go.  One day I will have to sit down and figure out exactly how to finish the outside so it looks more professional. 

It has five long pockets for cash or reciepts, etc.

And 10ish pockets for cards.  It doesn’t have a change area, I am thinking about construction of a change purse for myself,  maybe I will make her a matching one.

Easter Dress Update

Well, I finished the easter dress and was weaving in the ends on the way up north. Changed Ceci in the bathroom of the restaurant before anybody saw her… SUCCESS!!

(please ignore the Busch… it has a handle thus it is attractive to a 16 month old).

I am currently taking an online “Learn to Knit” class from the crochetville.com web site.  I am not sure that I like knitting as much as crocheting.  I have to practice a bit more to see what the final verdict is.

Two in one day…

Pace yourself, go away and read another blog for a while and come back. It might be a while before I get back here again and you want to have something entertaining in a week or so :).

Anway, Three weeks ago, shortly after my epiphany, I joined Weight Watchers again. It is going very well. I am counting my points and eating my fruits and veggies (along with Ceci) and I have lost 7.2 lbs. I am very happy with this loss so far and am planning to continue it. I am not sure what my final goal is but I guess I will know it when I get there…

That is all, back to your regularly scheduled internet activities.

Easter Dress

I decided to make my daughter’s dress for Easter this year.  I decided to crochet it… I have crocheted hats and shoes for her and made her little stuff toys but this is my first foray into real garment chrocheting.   I think it is going pretty well so far…

This is about 2/3 of the way done.  I need to try it on her and see how much longer it should be and then go from there.  I also have to add the straps and crochet a pretty little flower for the bodice…

Here is a close up of the Shell stitch:

Think I can get it done in a WEEK!   AHHHHHH….   I know what I will be doing every evening until then. 

Thus far I am pretty happy with it. I wanted to choose a different yarn than the pattern called for so I had to modify the pattern based on the gauge of the new yarn so I am happy that it looks so good for my first attempt.

Coat

Ok,  very quickly, here are some pictures of the coat I have been working on .  I have limited time here so not too much detail, just pictures!

Here are the darts in the back

Here is the collar with contrasting fabric:

And the whole thing as is:

The pockets need to be inserted, the tie needs to be added and then everything needs to be hemed.  Looking good so far!  Now I am going to Crochet,  working on a dress for Ceci!

Epiphany

I had an epiphany.  Every evening I make Cecilia a very healthy lunch with 2 good snacks.  She gets fresh fruit and vegetables and a good protein.  I buy her organic milk and 100% juice.  She eats better than I do, and I mean healthier.  I have decided that in the evening when I make her lunch I will make mine as well, and I will include healthy fruits and vegetables for myself also.  I am worth it and I am not setting a good example to her if I don’t treat myself as such.  

Lunch tomorrow, turkey sandwich, carrots, grapes, banana.  Breakfast, frosted mini wheats.  I think I will make a smoothie also: frozen berries and yogurt. 

 Wishing every one a happy week!

N

Brown Wool Coat

I started a coat at the prodding (a good thing) of Lynn and Melody.  I decided to go with a pretty simple coat that didn’t require a linning because I am well aware of the time I have to work on projects like this.   I choose Vogue 1060.  It has dolman sleeves, no lining and is pretty simple.  It also has some nice detailing in the darts and pockets.  

I am using a brown wool I got from Frabic.com in a batch order.  The wool is on the thin side and I only had 3 yards.  The pattern calls for 3.5 yards so I decided to use a contrasting fabric for some of the pieces .  Below is a picture of the brown wool and the contrasting fabric.  The contrasting fabric is poly suede like fabric.  It has a very simliar stretch to the wool so I decided to give it a shot.  

The cream fabric also has this detail on the edge.  I haven’t figured out how to incorporate this detail or even if I want to at this point.  Perhaps on the pocket or maybe around the hem.    

—- I am posting this because I am having trouble getting back to finish it… Hope to post pics of the current state of teh coat soon.

Back

Well,  That was a crappy period of blogging.  I have been doing a significant amount of field work in the last 4 weeks or so.  That included a trip to a neighboring state for a weekend job (not a very common request) and several weeks of working in the crappy snow.    I don’t really mind the field work that much,  it is the weather that makes everything so much more difficult.  I have to go back out tomorrow to see if I can complete some sampling that became impossible last week when all the snow melted… Of course it snowed 11 inches earlier this week so I am sure that everything is frozen again making the job soo much fun!!

But anyway,  eating and exercising have been going really poorly.  Working out in the cold is very draining and comfort foods sound and taste good.  Exercising after these cold days out in the snow is very difficult, I can barely keep my eyes open most nights.   I hope I will be done for a little while but I am not holding my breath, meanwhile I am going to try and be better at the eating thing, maybe I will have more energy to exercise then.

New Job?

PLEASE,   ANYONE, I WILL DO ANYTHING… Or just about.  As long as its inside.  And I am sorry for those who don’t have jobs and want them, I know I sound ungrateful, but I have to get out of this field before they make me leave…

Time

I have the afternoon off today after working last weekend.  Today i am taking time for me and i am going to sew!

Photos to follow…