Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
 Sneak peek of my latest sewing project. Nearly finished! Powered by Webstagram
Saturday, April 28, 2012
I just realised that I forgot to blog the April MetaQuilter quilt blocks! I finished these really early in the month and posted them off to Melissa, the designer for the month. They were a simple modified log cabin. Well, I say "simple," but it's just not patchwork if I don't cut something the wrong size and swear repeatedly. But I managed to get them right in the end. :)   Melissa said to feel free to put in any scraps we had that were LOUD. So the piece with the crazy fruit on it is actually mine!
Since our house is already chaos due to the kitchen renovation, the Snook and I decided we might as well upgrade some of the furniture as well. As a consequence, we're having a garage sale next weekend! Saturday, May 5th is the big Sydney "Garage Sale Trail" event and we're taking part. If you're near Chippendale on the day, swing by! In addition to the furniture, we'll also have knitting wool, VHS tapes, and some computer bits for sale. If you think you might want some of the furniture NOW, we've actually put them up on Gumtree as well: couch, TV stand, and "cat automation system". (That's a LitterMaid plus an automatic feeder. The Snook wrote the ad and it CRACKS ME UP.) For the knitters, I've also posted a few books and things over in the Ravelry Destash thread... Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
 I finished my dress! Very, very pleased with it. Powered by Webstagram Edited to add: Yes, I finally graduated from shirts to a whole dress! This is the Colette Parfait. I didn't want to spend too much money in case it came out badly, so I went with a cheap cotton poplin from Lincraft. I didn't expect to get something so wearable out of it! In terms of sizing, I went with a 16 to make sure it would fit. Yowza, it was quite big around the bust. I ended up taking about an inch from under each arm tapered down to the waist, so I definitely think I'll make the 14 next time. I didn't do too badly with the zipper, especially considering I don't actually have an invisible zipper foot. (I used this tutorial.) I also got to use my sewing machine's automatic buttonhole function for the first time ever! This project was a big win. I learned heaps, and I got a wearable and CUTE dress out of it. Hmmm... what should I make next?
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
 I put in a zipper!! 4 buttons and a hem and my dress is DONE. Powered by Webstagram Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
 Forecast is for three days of epic rain, but me and my new gumboots don't care! Powered by Webstagram
Monday, April 16, 2012
 Got new headphones as my old ones (bequeathed by @chrisgander ) were falling apart. These are "for DJs". I feel hip. Powered by Webstagram Sunday, April 15, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
 Got my hair done and made it to Guild! They gave me a sash for my 2nd place socks. :) Powered by Webstagram
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
 Kitchen at 2pm and 6pm. My ears are still ringing and my skin is crawling from the dust, but it has begun. Powered by Webstagram
How was your four-day holiday weekend? Relaxing? Mine wasn't. The Snook and I were pretty much flat-out the whole time. The Great Kitchen Renovation is/was scheduled to start Tuesday, so our main goals were to clear out the old cupboards and set up a temporary kitchen in the dining room. This also involved cleaning out two offices and three closets so we'd have space and boxes to actually put everything. I gave away a lot of old appliances (popcorn popper, jaffle maker, bread machine) that we don't use anymore. (Incidentally, if anybody is interested in a LitterMaid, let me know.) The end result is an empty kitchen, ready to be demolished TODAY! Official Kitchen "Before" Photos:    And here's our temporary kitchen setup in the dining room. We've got a dual-burner hotplate (courtesy of Ma Snook) and a combination microwave/convection oven.  The biggest problem is really the lack of water. We'll have to wash all dishes in the laundry room or the bathroom, which is a massive annoyance. Theoretically the new cabinets should be in by the end of next week, but we won't be able to move food prep and dishwashing back into the kitchen until a week after that (when the stainless steel benchtop and sinks go in). So we've got at least three weeks in this setup. Fortunately we spent the last two weeks building up our freezer stocks, so we've got a couple dozen meals in there that can just be reheated. There are also plenty of restaurants in our area, so we can always go out if we get bored. As if all that wasn't enough, we crammed a lot of other stuff into the weekend too. I spent half of Saturday manning the Knitters Guild display at the Easter Show, which was mostly boring (though I did get to visit my prize-winning socks). I managed to cut and do most of the sewing on a new dress for myself - my first ever sewn without any help! It's the Colette Parfait. I've run out of black thread, so I can't quite finish it just yet. It still needs buttons, pockets, and the zip. I'm really pleased with it though. Lastly, we managed to squeeze in a trip to the new IKEA over at Tempe. We'd heard that some chairs we were planning to buy might be on sale, but when we got there we discovered they were the wrong colour. Instead we wound up buying a mattress! They were 20% off, and we were planning to get one later this year. Good timing. The delivery guys were actually able to bring it over the same day, so we were able to sleep on it last night. It's awesome, but still slightly weird. I'm sure it'll take some getting used to. Everyone has told me that memory foam is going to be LIFE-CHANGING, so I'm pretty pleased at the bargain. And now it's Tuesday, and I'm working from home so I can be here when the builders arrive this afternoon. Smash! Let's do this. Sunday, April 8, 2012
 You guys - I totally made a dress! All by myself! Just needs buttons, zip, and pockets to finish. Powered by Webstagram
Saturday, April 7, 2012
 Me and my second place socks today! Powered by Webstagram
 Me and @Yarna_ , workin' the Guild stand at the Show! Powered by Webstagram Friday, April 6, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
 Feeling superhero-ish, like a grown-up Hit Girl. Powered by Webstagram
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
I'm working the Knitters Guild stall at the show this Saturday afternoon, so feel free to pop in and say hello!
Dear Mr. Snook: WE NEED THIS. NOW. (Link courtesy of kottke.)
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
 I sewed myself a new shirt today! #crafty Powered by Webstagram Edited to add: This is the Colette Sorbetto, a free PDF pattern. I modified it by leaving off the front pleat and adding some sleeves. The fabric is a Liberty Tana Lawn I bought last year. I'm still learning, so simple tops like this give me plenty of practice. I think this one will get some wear!
Quilting took a back seat for a few weeks as I frantically finished all my Easter Show projects. Finally today I got a chance to put together the March MetaQuilter blocks. Amelia was the designer this month, and her quilt is the Earn Your Stripes quilt from Block Party: The Modern Quilting Bee. These were fairly free form, and I had fun playing with the beautiful fabrics she sent. I'll be posting these off tomorrow...  
 Sunday breakfast: Skillet-Baked Eggs w/ Spinach, Yogurt, & Spiced Butter. YUM. Powered by Webstagram Edited to add: The recipe is here.
 Happy anniversary to my best friend! 12 years down. Bring on the bakery's dozen!  Primal dinner at Quarter 21! Impending meat coma... Powered by Webstagram |
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archives
You can search through the archives by post keyword using the form on the left, or you can browse by month using the links at the bottom.
"Moblog" refers to posts and images posted directly from my mobile phone.
"PW Blog" refers to posts recovered from my very first weblog, which dealt with news related to my college dorm. |
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