Results at Last...

As you may or may not be aware, I've started the 'From Couch to 5k in 10 weeks' running schedule earlier in September. I am now at the end of week 7 and today I've finally noticed a substantial shift in weight and BMI. (body mass index)

I was never even close to being overweight to begin with, but things were starting to get 'flabby' so to speak. Now things are not so flabby anymore and I can now run almost 2 miles (= 3.2 km) which I find just absolutely amazing!!!  {big smile}

I still have a ways to go though, but at least I'm through the rough part, i.e. actually lifting your feet and starting to run!

So, after feeling really good about myself and my body this morning, I decided to wear my new dress today (the one that I showed you yesterday) and you know what: the size Medium is too big! (Ha!) It still looks very cute though, especially with these amazing shoes that I bought at Value Village a little while back. I'm hoping to wear them (the shoes at least) to our school's Auction (big fundraiser) in November...

No. 123 The Bebe Dress...

Let me present to you my latest creation: The Bebe Dress!

I had originally already cut out a different pattern from a different fabric, but just couldn't get going on it. Then I came across this pattern at a local fabric shop (Ben Franklin) and just really liked the different lines and options in it so I actually bought it. ($12, very expensive for a pattern I think) I used fabrics that I've had for donkeys' years and there you have it, another tunic- like dress.

I have to admit that I haven't really worn it yet (I finished it just now) so I am not completed confident about it yet, but hopefully that will still come. <wink>

I guess now I'll have to start on that other one...

Spicing It Up Cathrineholm Style!

Inside frame size: 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches
(10 x 15 cm)

Over the summer I've been working on this little cutie!

No, I did not design this myself, but I did make the pattern. I just love Jan Skacelik's work so much and thought it would be fun to turn one of his mid century modern prints into a cross-stitch print. Here is the original one from his website:

It is very tricky to copy something into a cross-stitch pattern, but I still think it looks alright and I had fun making it. I'm even thinking of making another one!  {smile}

--  **  --  **  --

Well, it is Sunday morning over here and the sun is coming out. Once again the promise of a beautiful day. We've been experiencing the most amazing Indian Summer over here and the rest of the week the temperatures will be between 25 and 27 C. (around 80F) Not bad at all, especially for the Pacific Northwest!

Mother Nature does show us that Fall is just around the corner. This is what I noticed out of my kitchen window just now...

Gorgeous colors right!

We will be working on some college applications and such with our eldest this morning and then this afternoon we are invited to a grand house-warming party. Our friends that were building a new house on Lake Washington, moved in a couple of weeks ago and are ready to celebrate. A good thing the weather will be so nice and warm, because they are expecting around 150 people I think and the house is certainly not big enough to hold us all. We'll be hanging out on the dock and sipping our drinks in the sunset. Like I said earlier: not bad at all!  <wink>

"Sitting on the dock of the bay..."

Some Sewing At Last...

Yay, late last week I finally finished the first sewing project since last June: behold 'New Look #6106'.

Earlier in August the lovely Marcha ( 'Post van Mars' ) sent me one yard of an Amy Butler fabric and I thought that it would be perfect to re-start my sewing with. I chose a simple skirt, just to gain a little bit of confidence and I think it worked out quite nicely.

I already wore it last Friday when I went out  for some pottling with Tif and we made quite the pair! <wink> A few days later I found a matching cardigan at Target (it is also green with white polka dots) et voila, a new outfit was born...

I am currently working on a more complicated dress from 'Project Runway' (#1880 for those of you interested) in a very small black & white gingham print. I'm taking my time, no rushing necessary...

Agenda Craftiness...

About one year ago I crafted a whole new desk-top agenda for myself. It has been very useful, but of course boredom has crept in and I really wanted to look at something new. Now, with my recently acquired Photoshop skills, I have come up with a completely new design. Voila:

Love it!  {smile}

I first made four templates for the Monday through Wednesday parts and then four templates for the other days. Copied them into word, printed them out, cut them in half, punched in some holes and done.  I also made new monthly tabs for on top. Easy Peasy! <wink>

Odds & Ends...

I'll start off this post by sending a great big 'thank you' to my mother (who is now sailing in Greenland!) for sending me the most beautiful birthday present this week. Just look at this:

The silver square is only 1 inch by 1 inch (2,5 cm x 2,5cm) and if you look at it in the right light you can see the pictures appear. (these are the pictures I took while we were visiting Long Beach, WA)
Just to be clear, this is one pendant with a picture on either side. I think it was meant as a key chain hanger, but I want to make it into a necklace. I just love it so!  {smile}

--  **  --  **  --

'Tis the last Friday before school starts again and the tensions are building. 

Mr. G. (who is the head of our High School) is experiencing the busiest time of year and so is 'off on another planet' as I call it. The kids are reading like crazy to finish their summer reading and  trying to remember all their crazy Math skills for their Math packets that are also due on Monday and on which they will be tested! Master C. will be taking Calculus this year and Miss M. does Algebra 2 Honors. They are both way further in this field than I ever was...

Cross-Country Running practices started last Monday (every day from 3:30 until 5:30pm) for Master C. and Miss M. is almost done with all the driver's ed classes. (and is doing great by the way) This all meant  that I felt like a taxi driver this week: first 25 minutes to school to drop off Master C., then another 30 minutes (through very busy traffic) to drop-off Miss M. at her driver's ed and then another 30 minutes to get home from there. Thankfully Mr. G. then picked up Miss M. at 6:15pm so that I didn't have to jump into the car again... Pfiew!

Anyway, that is over now. Master C. will be taking my car today and Miss M. will be picked up for a fun Laser Tag event somewhere south of Seattle I think, so I will have a whole day to myself and might actually start a little bit of sewing, who knows... <wink>

I did do some sewing over the summer holidays and this was one of them: a new sewing machine cover.

I just love the combination of these two fabrics! I made a handbag out of them also last year and a little credit card/ business card holder this summer, but I haven't made any pictures of that last one yet.

In the upper picture you can see that I have some patterns spread out on the table for my perusal. Still haven't decided on which one to tackle first but hopefully that decision will be made this morning...  <wink>

And in news from the garden: we have onions!

And finally, just look at what I found at Target yesterday:

I just had to have it! 

I think I will use it to store all my zippers in since it is about a foot tall and measures approx. 6 inches across. (30 cm tall by 15 cm)   Giant I tell you!  {smile}

Some More Sewing...

A little while back I was able to buy this pink flowery fabric for $1.95 the yard at Fabric.com so I bought three yards. I just wanted to try out sewing with very light weight fabric for a change and now I know: quite a pain! 

It rips easily and the seams just don't look that crisp. Having said all that, it feels awfully soft and drapes really nice so I might try one more project with since I still have a ton left. Not now though, I feel like working with my regular cottons again...

Anyway, about this summer top.  You can see I had some trouble at the arm openings and I have shown you the before (with the orange bias tape) and the after (no bias tape, just folded back and sewn down,: ok on the outside, just plain ugly on the inside). <wink>

I'm really loving the ric-rac detail on the front and back yokes. That gives it a more vintage-y feel, don't you think?

--  **  --  **  --

On the birdies front: we now have FIVE confirmed eggs in the nest (and maybe two more buried a little lower down) and Penny has been sitting on the nest just about the whole time. Poor Howard, he is looking a bit lonely. He does do his part too though and sits on the eggs when it is time for Penny to take a break...

I was obviously not thinking straight when I bought a pair of Zebra Finches. What on earth are we going to do with all these birds??? We will either have to give some of the birds away (that shouldn't be a problem: all of Miss M.'s friends want one!) but also for the future we need to keep the sexes separated! Oh boy oh boy...

In the mean time our neighbor's cat is having the time of his life in our front yard and underneath the bird feeder. He loves to hide under the Japanese Maple (which grows very low to the ground) and prowl for some lunch. Thank goodness I have not yet seen him actually catching anything. The feeder and the Maple are right in front of my office window so I have a good view of all the action. This is also the spot from which I took the Gold Finch picture yesterday by the way...

Right, time to think about my next sewing project!  {smile}

Mother's Day Craftiness...

Since my mother lives so far away (in The Netherlands) and the mail takes close to a week to get there, I had to get crafting already last week in order to get this little present to her in time for Mother's Day.

I found this idea online (via How About Orange, the post is from about a week ago) and immediately thought: "I can do that!"

I first took pictures of my old baby-book pictures, aged them a little more in PicMonkey and added a vintage Polaroid frame to them, also from PicMonkey.

I then glued them to my cards (that I had made out of card stock) and cut a wide triangle out of the bottom so that they would look more like flags.

After inserting a ribbon I glued shut the cards and added the little wooden clothespins to them et voila! My mom emailed me yesterday and said she cried when she opened the package.... {smile}

Since my father has been remarried  for quite a while now, I also made one for his wife since she is a bit of a mother to me as well...

--  **  --  **  --

The weather report for the next four days says we will reach temperatures of 80F / 27C so I thought I'd better sew something light and easy, toute suite. This is what it became:

I found the pattern in a Dutch magazine called 'Knippie'. I didn't understand the Dutch instructions at all (go figure and it is my native tongue!) so I just used my own sewing experience to figure it out.
The green fabric is a normal weight cotton (thanks Tif!) but the plaid is a light weight, very breezy fabric, perfect for all the heat that is on its way. I found it at Value Village so it almost cost me nothing! I think I might wear it to the barn today where things heat up very quickly with all those horses around...
It is not the most elegant looking and the color combination is maybe a bit questionable, but it makes me smile every time I see it!  <wink>

And in other birdie news: there are now two eggs in the nest, but Howard & Penny barely sit on them...

OK, off I go. This weekend Miss M. has an Ultimate Frisbee tournament so we will be sitting on the field for two days straight. Not a punishment with this kind of weather!

Have a great one!   {smile}

The Oh So Comfortable Sack Dress...

Many many months ago I bought this pattern and last week I decided that it was finally time to actually attempt making this dress. It has no zippers and no buttonholes and it was really easy to put together. I see now that I forgot to make a picture of the whole back, but that one is the same flowery fabric as the front. 

It is comfortable too, but it does look a bit like a sack I must admit... <wink>  Oh well, I'm wearing it today and I'll give it a bit of time to see what I think of it.

--  **  --  **  --

In completely other news I had quite the indoors adventure yesterday while sewing this dress. The weather was very nice so I had the sliding screen door closed instead of the regular door. Olive (our chocolate lab) can use her nose to open it to get back inside and had apparently done so while I was so busy sewing that I didn't notice it and left it open. A while later I heard a very loud buzzing noise inside so I thought it was maybe a trapped bee or something like that. But no, it was a Hummingbird going absolutely bonkers trying to get out through the window!

I was trying to gently persuade it to leave the window and fly towards the door but it wouldn't budge. Instead it actually got its beak stuck in between the two windows! Panic from all sides ensued!  I couldn't catch it by hand either since it had maneuvered itself in a very awkward position. In the end I used my colander (= 'zeef' in Dutch) and lo and behold the bird decided to sit on the edge and that way I gently moved it towards the door and ZOEF!, off it went!

My word, I think my heart was racing as fast as his!

Another One?!

OK, I might be done for a bit now. Yes, I made another dress and all in one day even! The original pattern was a fairly short top, but I wanted something with a bit more drape so I added 11 inches to the length.

This one actually fits me better than the mannequin (I couldn't fit it over the top of it since there is no zipper in it) and flows lovely in the wind. It does look a bit like a negligee doesn't it?

It is made (very likely) of a vintage curtain as it is rather polyester-ish, but it will be very comfy for the summer months.

Oh yes, it has ties on the sides that tie to the back which gives it a nice empire-waist look. (think Jane Austen) And I added another lace detail at the bottom: love that stuff!  {smile}

The bottom part of the 'V' in front didn't come out quite right so I might add something to cover that area. Also that decolletage is a bit deep, if you know what I mean...  <wink>

Tonight Master C. will give another performance with 'his' Jazz Band at school so off we go!

New Look Dress...

Et voila, another dress finished! I'm on a roll.  {smile} What do you think? It looks a bit like a Bavarian Dirndl doesn't it? I'm quite pleased I must say. Every time I sew a new garment I learn something new and things are looking (and fitting!) better and better!

My closet is definitely filling up though (I've even had to buy some extra hangers) but it so much fun to do. Now what shall I sew next I wonder...

I think I'd better clean up first. Just look at all the mess left behind after such intense sewing...  <wink>

Finished Blouse... (yes, another one)

Last week I started sewing  another blouse and yesterday I finished it!  I quite like it but there are some things that I would change for the next time. In no particular order: longer length, smaller collar, smaller overall. I'm wearing it today with a red cardigan (it is still a bit cold outside) on top of skinny jeans. I love the colorful and somewhat vintage looking fabric!  {smile}

So now that I've finished that one I have already started with something new this morning! I'm really trying to get the sizing right this time so I'm taking my time before cutting into the actual fabric.

This is the pattern and I'm making view E, the yellow dress. I will be adding some elements of either piping, lace and ric-rac or all of the above...  <wink> You can see the inspiration dress from Modcloth "Breath of Fresh Prairie"   (click!) below it.

And this is the fabric I will be using. (it looks a little bit more faded and not so intense in real life) It is called 'Deer Valley' by Joel Dewberry.

Wish me luck! Oh and by the way, Happy Weekend everyone!  {smile}


PS: Listening to 'Mirror in the Bathroom' by The English Beat!