More sewing!

Excuse the crappiness of the cell phone pic, the wrinkles, and the dirty mirror but... more sewing is happening!

This is McCall's 5388 in a pale pink gauzey woven I picked up for $2 at Walmart back in high school.




Looks just like the picture on the pattern except I left out the bottom ruffle piece. It was just too much so I ended up cutting it off. Not the best answer but the other ruffles cover it.

This is super quick and easy. If I hadn't sewn the yoke on backwards twice this would have only taken me an hour. Oh, super big too... I cut an 8, pattern said I was a 12, could have finangled scaling down to a 4. I ended up taking 3 inches out of the center back. BIG. Though I love it. Keep in mind this pattern calls for a knit. This was a woven and it was huge.

I'll definitely be making this again. Maybe in a sheerish lawn...

So that bachelorette party...

I decided to plan a bachelorette day for my girlfriend, Angie. I was hoping that this would make the event more "accessible" to the invitees, thinking that they could just pop in and out wherever and whenever they liked. Turns out, only the bridal party showed. But, we had a blast anyway!

We started out with touring some local wineries in the afternoon...

This is Rose Bank Winery, Newtown, PA


And Crossings Vineyard and Winery, also in Newtown, PA



We then headed into Old City Philadelphia for dinner at Jose Garces', the newest Iron Chef, Garces Trading Company. If you are ever in town, check this out. Its a unique experience and the food is wonderful. And if there is potato leek vicheyssouse on the menu, order two. Its that good.

Then martinis at Bleu Martini where we finally made the bride-to-be put on the veil and blinking bling ring.



And then Red River Tavern. Or at least I think this was the name of it. Fun. For your average sloshed just turned 21-year-olds and those who wish they had. Not my thing since I hung up my bar tins, but it was fun.



All in all, great day, great weekend, great girls.

Power of Prayer

As I was driving up the Eastern Shore for my lovely and talented girlfriend, Angie's bachelorette weekend I had the strangest urge to stop and buy a Bible. It got very intense. Every fiber in my being told me I needed to get my hands on a Bible. Like something is coming, big changes, and I needed a road map.

Well, I was driving through farm country so there really wasn't anywhere to stop and buy one so I kept driving.

Let me just tell you here that I had gotten new windshield wipers put on my car two weeks ago. I hadn't used them yet because things have been a little dry for a few weeks but I noticed one seemed a little loose. I was going to go back and have them adjusted when I returned from my trip.

Okay, back to driving. For several hours it looked like I was driving straight into some intense electrical storms. When I finally hit rain I turned on my wipers and noticed the one in front of me was reaching over the side of the windshield. Three swipes later it flopped over the side of my car and stayed there. Here I am, driving up the Eastern Shore in driving rain with my wiper flipped over the side of the car and sticking out. What a sight. So I pulled over, flipped it back into place and waited for the shower to pass.

When I got back on the road I prayed I wouldn't hit more rain. But as I reached the speed limit I noticed the wiper was creeping up the windshield and not staying in the off possition. This wasn't going to work. It was 9:30 at night. No place is open to have someone look at it. I start praying for a well lit place to pull off to try to fix it myself. I passed a few shopping centers and a walmart but they just didn't feel like the place I was suppose to stop. So I kept praying and driving. I finally pulled off on an exit and into a gas station. After fighting with my wiper for a good 20 minutes trying to get it off I decided just to see if they sold duct tape so I could tape the thing down. I figured at least I might be able to get to Philly that way.

A trucker was filling the underground tanks at the gas station and asked if I'd like him to take a look. Saving grace. After working with the bolt for 15 minutes he was finally able to get the entire wiper and arm off the car. At least this way I could still use the other wiper if I needed to. This was the best option yet. I thank him profusely and thank God for answered prayer and get back on the road. The whole time, praying, please God no problems, I only have one wiper. Please God, I only have one wiper. I was still 2 hours from Angie's.

I didn't hit another rain shower until I was nearly half way through Philly on I-95 north. And then it came. I didn't know whether it was better to desperately try to stay in between the lines or to try to merge through 3 lanes of traffic to pull over. Praying for an answer, I just kept driving. And I managed to see. Not well, but I could see the lines. So I drove. Please God just get me there. And He did. In the dark, in driving rain, with one windshield wiper. He got me there.

I have terrible night vision. In the rain, when its dark, its nearly impossible for me to see. That night, I saw. I got there. I didn't even have to slow down below the speed limit. Talk about the amazing power of prayer. My God is an awesome God.

I still had the urge to get my hands on a Bible but it was less intense and I knew I could wait until I got home to my Bible.

I still feel like big changes are coming. Big, big changes. And I had better have my hands on the Road Map.

Butterick 5331

I have been sewing up a storm! This is the first item I've had a chance to wear. More to come. And better, non-crappy-blackberry pictures to come. This was all I had time for this morning.

And so... I made Butterick 5331, view B without the belt.


Here's the finished product.

(Please excuse the dirty mirror, I'll be cleaning that as soon as possible... eww)

I cut a size 12 out of medium weight Italian linen from denverfabrics.com. Although I really love this, if I make it again I'll probably cut and 8 or 10. Its just not as fitted as I would like for a light weight, unlined jacket. But, it is super cute and I was really impressed with how easily this went together. Thank goodness for ruffler and rolled hem feet! I used Amanda's, from Amanda's Adventures in Sewing, technique for finishing the insides with bias tape. I love how nice and professional this makes your handmade garments for those of us without sergers. More pics of that to come...

Growth

Here's the garden a few weeks ago...

Barely there zuchinis and yellow squash. Just planted tomatos. Lettuce and Spinach.

Here's the progress that happened last week...



I added peppers, brocoli, green beens, peas, cucs and marigolds. Oh, and some ornamental pumpkins/gourds just for fun. And the zuchinis and yellow squash are looking much better.

Here's a picture of my front porch with a few more flowers...


One of the pots the Easter Bunny brought...


I love these "antique" looking petunias.


My side porch with a little reminder to Molly McGee...


And dinner from my first crop of lettuce! Salmon cakes and salad with my mom's Virginia Dressing. Mmmmmm!

Strawberry season!

I've been excited to pick strawberries since I bought my house in February. Yes, I plan my life way ahead of time. This is actually a rather short leadway for me. Last year, the strawberries didn't come in til the first week in June so I was planning on calling around to the local patches later this month. I would have missed the strawberries! Thankfully one of the ladies I work with happened to mention that her father picked the most beautiful strawberries over the weekend. After a little internet research and a few phone calls I had strawberry picking on the calendar for bright and early Saturday morning.

I headed over to Lilley Farms in Chesapeake, VA. I highly recommend them if you live in the Portsmouth/Chesapeake area of Hampton Roads. They're a little smaller outfit than I'm use to but the patch is neat and well kept and the strawberries are grown on mounds which makes picking easier on those of us in the 5'10" category! And the berries are delicious! The look on the little girl's face when I told her, "No hunny, I need three buckets", as she tried to hand me a pint basket was priceless.

I know, I'm not a normal 25 yr-old. I've embraced this. But anyway, back to the strawberries...

Aren't these beautiful?


Here are a few pictures of Lilley Farm:






So what do you do with that many strawberries?


You make shortcake!

...well, my mother's take on shortcake. I love to drench this in half and half and cover it with sugared berries. MMmmmmm... Also great with peaches! But, that's another season.

Behind the cake you can see the strawberries I've sliced and sugared for freezer storage.

And here are the pints of freezer jam all in a line!


This is the easiest stuff in the world to make. And sooooo delicious. I used Sure Jell pectin and followed the recipe in the box. 2 cups strawberries... 4 cups sugar... stir and let sit for 10 minutes... boil 3/4 cup water and pectin for one minute... stir into strawberry mixture... pour into freezer containers... let set for 24 hours... move to freezer. Done and done!

And here's how Molly McGee felt about the whole process...


She was just happy I stayed in one room long enough for an afternoon nap!

OH, and aren't you proud that I have real pictures instead of crappy blackberry pictures?

Almost there....

Just one more final tonight. Totally unprepared. Good thing its not til 7. I just can't wait to be done.

Garden success!

So I finally ventured forth to my local feed and seed and not Walmart or Lowes for plants. Ummm... heaven. I have totally been missing out. This is your country mom and pop feed and seed store complete with cast iron and graniteware nailed to the wall. I fell in love. Their veggie selection was heavy on the tomatos, peppers, and squash and not much other variety. However, their plants looked very young so maybe more variety is coming? Oh, and heavy on the petunias. Which is good... if I hadn't already planted mine. I'm curious to see what they have in a few weeks... especially if they have hydrangea and daylillies. Anyway, as I wandered the rows of plants I happened to come across this little guy:

I love that I have a feed and seed store speckled with kitties! Makes me feel like I haven't gone too far from my country roots. :)

And speaking of gardening... my first lettuce crop! Success!

Francis Finished!

Again with the crappy blackberry pictures... but, at least I'm taking pictures! This is my very first sweater, Francis Revisited. Total success. Totally easy. Totally cute. :)

You can get this pattern for free on Beth Silverstein's blog I knit, therefore I am

I was inspired to start with this one by Parikha at sixoneseven and I'm sure many others but I can't seem to remember which blogs they were connected to. Sorry ladies!

Up next, possibly rusted root. Inspired by... again Parikha at sixoneseven. I love her swiss dot take on this one. And Robin at Yarn Crawl and Amanda at Amanda's Adventures in Sewing. Robin's blog is what started my blog addiction and Amanda's was the second blog I added to my favorites list. These ladies are very inspirational with their sewing and knitting and still some of my favorite blogs to read.

This is knit out of crappy alpaca/acrylic blend yarn from Michael's on Knit Picks Zephyr Acrylic needles. I won't do it again, knitting sweaters with crappy yarn that is, but for my first sweater I didn't want to go all out and spend a fortune on a disaster that may not have gotten finished anyway. I don't have an excellent track record with my projects although I have gotten much better about finishing things in the last year. I'm really excited to start Rusted Root. So far cotton is my favorite fiber to knit and knitting an entire sweater of it sounds wonderful.