7 Stylish Dress M

My very first Japanese Pattern book I purchased and my absolute favorite. Seriously.

I've already made a shirt for me (pattern "B") sometime back, a dress for Sophie (pattern "N") and now I've made pattern "M" for moi.

I made two slight alterations. I added about 1 1/2" to the length of the top so that it would hit just above the waist and I shortened the length of the skirt. Also, the pattern is very loose and really, only skinny tall girls can get away with such a loose fitted dress and not have it looking like a moo-moo. So being height challenged and "blessed" with chid-bearing hips, I opted to add a belt to give me shape.

Eyelet... a lovely fabric, no? I always associate this fabric with dainty little girls' Easter dresses. In fact my mom made me dress when I was little. Mine was mint green. I still need to make an underskirt. It might be a bit too risque to wear it without one, ay? Which explains why there's no photo of me in this dress. Oh dear, I wouldn't want to scare you away!

*wink*

Pics to come... SOON!

2 stop... waiting... brewing

So here's something other than sewing! One of my many creative endeavors. It's good to break away from one craft and delve into something else. It helps me to refocus and rejuvenate.

It started with the rainbows (bottom right). I love that design and had even used it in my old blog as a background. Then I started to dot. Dot-dot-dot...dot-dot-dot... and then I stopped. I didn't know where to go so I wrapped it up and placed it in a safe place so my mind can brew.
It'll come to me.
And when it does, I'll paint again... and I did.
I painted curved branches with flower buds (not shown) and as I am typing I just realized I didn't take any pics of that side... what the heck?! Anyways, I did a wax release method with a pale orange background. Organic and soothing... trust me.
I came to a stop.
Waiting... brewing...
Look! There's a tree with a special carving of my beloved and me!
Stop.
Waiting... brewing...
I thought of leaves and a vine, and I've seen this design replicated in different ways on various textiles. Then I thought, "why not add make it a bit more personal" and hence our family name.
And so here is where I am now.

You can see a pinch of the wax release design. Dumb me. How could I have missed that?! Well... not all is lost.
Once this is done, I have a poem (I don't know if it's really a poem per say)that I wrote and I want to transfer it to the inside. It actually came from one of my old blogs posts. Here it goes:


When the money well runs dry and your stomach rumbles, 
when the sunshine is clouded, 
always know you are loved. 
When there is love, there is hope. 
There is joy to lighten your step. 
Respect those who care and the favor returns, 
ten fold. 
It is with love, 
will you endure the roughest seas and the darkest moments in life. 
LOVE is the greatest gift to have 
and even greater to give.


This came to me as I was drawing on our kitchen chalkboard. It was a rough time in my life (and that's a whole 'nother post). I want to have it somewhere where I can see it and be reminded how blessed I am.


So once the bowl is finished, I'll show you. Almost there...

1 one crafty chic

Have you met Kelley?

OH.MY.GOODNESS.

When I saw this post here and here, I was smitten. I had to have one and look:

It's our little cutie, Puka! I LOVE it! L.O.V.E. it I tell ya! 

I most definitely plan to order more from her... perhaps a family portrait? 

Hmmm... yes... I think that'll be the next order!

Yoo-hoo, Kelley... we'll talk 'kay?

3 about the MRS., I've been tagged!

Hey guys!

A very sweet friend of mine has recently "tagged" me to answer a few questions to get to know a little more about me. :)

"Who... me?! You wanna get to know lil' ol' me?!"

*blushing*

"Garsh."

Okay, so here's the rules:

1. Post the rules.

2. Answer the 11 questions given and create 11 new questions to pass on.

3. Tag 11 fellow bloggy friends.

4. Let  them know they have been 'tagged".

Hmmm... okay... I can do this! This'll be fun...

***squinty eyes-rubbing hands-sinister laugh***

Okay so here it goes:

Question #1:  What did you want to grow up to be when you were little?

-I wanted to own an advertising agency with my cousin and create commercials. (I kid you not, I was about 7 when I decided this) And once I started making millions, I was going to design homes of the future with swimming pools with buttons that you push and up pops a dining table with seats in the center so you never had to get out of the water... well unless you had the use of bathroom of course!

Question #2: What was your first job?

-I was a "carrier" for an auction company that auctioned used office furniture. I would take the receipts from the auctioneer after every sold piece and run it to the front office. Then, once the auction was over, I helped move the furniture onto moving trucks. This is where I busted my back... never been the same ever since.

Question #3:  What was the best book you've finished lately?

-Room by Emma Donoghue. OH my gosh... I could not put it down.

A MUST read.

Question #4:  What is your Favorite color?

-Yellow and orange! I know it's two, but I can't decide! Happy warm colors... tra-la-la-la-la!

Question #5:  What are you thoughts on the color purple?

-Wha...? Hmmm... I think of my sister in law and one of nieces, who are beautiful and very loving. It's their favorite color.

Question #6:  What do you dream of doing one day?

-Having a small store front and winning the lotto, so we can pimp out our VW Vanagon and tour the U.S.

Question #7:  What is your favorite season?

-Ah... AUTUMN without a doubt. Something magical that time of year and the anticipation of the holidays. OH it makes me giddy just thinking about it!

Question #8:  Tea or coffee?

-Coffee. Trader Joes' coffees is my poison of choice.

Question #9:  What is your favorite food?

-RAMEN!

Question #10:  What skill do you have that you are most proud of?

-Sewing. Although my older sister and mom tried to teach me when I was much younger, I really didn't learn 'til I was in my twenties. By then, mom and sis gave up on me and I had to learn it myself. Now my sister asks me questions... HA-HA!

Question #11:  What skill do you like to learn?

-A-HA! The power of persuasion! Man-oh-man... the things I can make people do if I had this skill, but I think that's more of a Jedi thing. So I would love to learn how to play the guitar.
 
Alrighty... so here's the lucky ladies I chose:
Kimberly- Bamibino Steps
Sophie- Cirque Du Bebe
Kelly- Waves and Winks
Linda Ruthie- Linda Ruthie's Aprons
Sue- Sweet Stitch
Paloma_ Three Kitchen Fairies
Jen- Our Happy Family
Jennifer- Parrish Platz
Bonnie- Bonnie Louisa
Ellen Joy- Lazy Lollipop
Casey- Plus 3 crochet

Here are the questions (hee-hee-hee):
1. When did you start crafting?
2. When you were a child, what was your favorite project you made in class?
3. What is your favorite project you've finished recently?
4. If you were a superhero, what powers would you possess and why?
5. If you were to be stranded on a deserted island and had a choice of two things to have, what would it be?
6. What skill would you like to pass down to your child?
7. Favorite holiday?
8. Star Trek or Star Wars?
9. What is your fondest childhood memory?
10. If you could change one part of your body, what would it be?
11. QUICK! You're being chased by zombies, what weapon would you have on you?


Okay ladies... you know what to do!

0 Techie Tuesday

This week- LED cubes

(via Blinking Voxels)

What are they? They are cube structures made from a LED framework arranged in rows and columns. Each LED is accessed using a micro controller running a program that ultimately creates light patterns that are fun to watch. These patterns are user defined allowing one to be as mild to wild as he/she desires. Here is an example from Youtube.




I want to build one like this. The building aspect doesn't bother me, it's the code that I'm not looking forward to. I was never one for writing code, kind of gives me a rash...

Anyway I'll keep you posted if I decide to give it a go.



-No$Mike

4 wrap dress #02

Pattern: Vogue #7748 (vintage)

Fabric: cotton/linen blend

*******************************

I love this dress. Simple, clean, utilitarian and modern. This is a totally "go-to" dress. Throw it on with a cute cardi and a pair of boots or strappy sandals and BOOM... you're ready to take on the day!  

I like the drape of this fabric. It's a linen/cotton blend and it has nice sheen to it. It hangs really well on the body and surprisingly it doesn't wrinkle that much. My only complaint is that it feels a bit scratchy. Not the softest fabric. Maybe time and several washings should do the trick.
I don't have any pics of me in it at the moment, but I do plan to take it with me to on our vacation, so hopefully I'll remember to take a few photos of me.
OH... I saw this today. This is awesome... we all need to sew a  little something for ourselves now and then. Check out what Sewing in No Man's Land and Kojo Designs are doin' this month!
C'mon ladies... get to sewin' and sew yourself something lovely!
***


If you haven't seen my first wrap dress, you can see it here. I'll be back for more dresses to share... yippee!!!

0 the flying club

Last Sunday morning was a little too windy for me to fly so Lily and I decided to stop by a place where every Sunday a group gathers to fly planes.  This "place" is where construction has graded the land and laid down a road but have yet to build anything.  Today we met Carl.  He's an older gentleman who was kind enough to change some setting on my remote and offer some advice.  I will definitely be picking his brain more.  He eve offered to fly my Super Cub and trim it out but I reluctantly declined for fear of further damage.  After watching him bust out some 3D flying a little later I probably should have taken him up in his offer.  I enjoyed watching him and the others fly and Lily took pics which she enjoyed doing as well.  It was great to make contact with more experienced pilots.  I think I will be going back their Sunday mornings and bug'in em.  Below are some pics that Lily took.

 My newly rebuilt Super Cub, of course ;')

 This Zero was awesome and the pilot (who I do not know the name of) was quite skilled.  He had a couple of other war birds with him.

 This is Carl's plane.  After this shot he proceeded to do some 3D flying with it.

This is an Easy Star that was modified with a screaming brushless.  This kid who was probably around 10 years old pointed it vertical and gave it the gas.  It shot like a rocket until I could hardly see it (getting old you know).  This thing was F-A-S-T!!!

No$Mike

0 Hobbyzone Super Cub LP

Friday: Long story short, I got an airplane for an early birthday present.  The idea is to strap a GoPro to it and fly it above the in-law's house in Guimaras.  Should make for some stunning video as they live on the beach.  Ended up purchasing a Hobbyzone Super Cub LP since it can handle the weight of the GoPro.  I always tinkered with RC cars and only recently got into airplanes and helis (currently having fun with a Blade MCX2).

Assembly was EASY but I will spare you the details since this is covered plenty on the interwebs.  I already have a Spektrum DX6i so we bought the BNF version.  This has everything the RTF comes with minus the radio.  I love this plane!  It looks cool and is of decent size.

Fresh out the box and ready to fly, errr CRASH!

Saturday: Headed to the park eager to fly.  I should have listened to my gut because it was telling me "it's way to windy to fly you newby".  Sure as I'm writing this the wind was too much for my skills or lack there of and I nosed into a hill.  Busted the cowl but that was it.  Stupid me gave it a go one more time and nosed it into the grass, HARD.  This time the firewall broke in half leaving the motor dangling by its own wires and the cowl was beyond repair.  

Assessing the damage, chatting with some kids and calling myself an idiot.

 Busted cowl, stilled pissed at myself.

 One half of the firewall and still pissed at myself.

After completely assessing what is still good, bad and or repairable I decided on replacing the fuselage and cowl.  This should bring it back to showroom condition.  The beauty of the Horizon Hobby philosophy is that everything is replaceable and inexpensive so back to Discount Hobby we went.  After moving everything to the new fuselage and adding the new cowl she looked like new again.  

Monday: Back to the park I went but this time the wind was almost dead.  Took off and landed 3 times from the baseball diamond with only a couple of minutes flight time each.  Not bad I thought to myself.  I wasn't feeling like pushing my luck so that was it for the day.  I have to admit I was gun-shy after crashing hard the previous day and the little flight time I had served as a shot that boosted my confidence.  

I'm Audi 5000-

9 wrap dress #01, A Rocky Balboa Moment

Pattern: Vogue 7748 (vintage)

Fabric: Lotta Jansdotter Echo Collection

******************************************

I have been trying to find the right wrap dress pattern and I finally found it. After doing some research and fiddling with various patterns, modifying here and tweaking there, I almost gave up. I think I sprouted new grey hairs, have a new bald spot from excessive pulling and grunted a few "unfavorable" words. 

It almost beat me...

Then I found Karen's pics from Flickr. The angels sang and a ray of light casted down... THERE! There it is! The perfect wrap dress! Karen from Make Something hosted a sewing class at her shop on how to make a wrap dress a few years back.

***BIG sigh of relief***

I quickly emailed her asking for any tips or details and the pattern they used was the Vogue pattern #7748.

They did a little tweaking of the pattern, but the gal who emailed me back couldn't exactly give details for it was some time back. So after careful examination of the pics on Flickr, I did it. 

It was a Rocky Balboa moment for me.

There really wasn't too much tweaking to do. I shortened the top so it hit right at my waist, I added long ties as oppose to using hooks and ditched the belt, I slightly opened the armholes (it was a bit too comfy for my buff arms) and I used bias tape along the edges. That was it! 

Not bad, ay? ***wink and an elbow*** Tee-hee... it's so funny I look so serious. In my head, I'm thinking, "suck it in girl! Oh yah... uh-huh... I'm cool..."

HA! Nothing can be further from the truth.

my Rocky Balboa moment