I'm aching to sew!

We just returned from a week long vacation in Delaware. My parents own a small home on the Indian River and my brother lives right on the beach just south of Dewey. It's a fun place to go and relax and spend some time on the beach. In addition to my parents, all three of my brothers (that's us to the left) and their families were there so it was nice to spend time with everyone.

I was able to read two books while lounging on the beach - The Zookeeper's Wife (by Diane Ackerman) and Beach House (by Jane Green). I recommend both although they are certainly two very different books!

On one rainy afternoon, we saw the movie Hancock with Will Smith and Charlize Theron, which I really enjoyed but my son thought was stupid.

Remember the outfit I made for my niece. well, I think she is quite possibly the cutest one year old EVAH!

So now, I'm catching up on laundry, cleaning, work, etc. and haven't had a chance to sew even a stitch. Before I left, I cut out this cute dress (McCalls 5660) in a lightweight yellow twill. I hope to get just a few minutes to sew tonight. Fingers crossed!!


Oh and in case you have been living in a cave and hadn't heard.....

Project Runway starts in two days!!!

How lucky am I?

Is there anything more fun than receiving a gift package in the mail? YES! Receiving a SURPRISE gift package in the mail. I am the lucky recipient of not one but two fabulous packages over the last few days. On Saturday, after returning from vacation, I found a box that contained FOUR! sewing books. Sweet Jennifer (amazing knitter and mom extraordinaire) recently emailed me to ask if I would be interested in a book on fitting since she doesn't sew too much any more. I was thrilled as I really need to improve my fitting techniques and accepted her generous offer to send it to me. Imagine my surprise when I received not only the book she mentioned but three other great books. Also tucked into the package was a yummy chocolate treat which... hmmmm.... can't seem to find when I took the photo. Where ever could it be???

Fast forward to today... I arrived home from the oral surgeon after my 17 yr old's wisdom teeth removal (poor thing is not doing well!) to find a fat envelope in the mail box with Allison's return address on it. Now, Allison, in addition to being an amazing knitter and photographer, has the wonderful gift of finding sweet little presents for people but it wasn't my birthday or anything so I was curious what could be in the envelope. Well, turns out not Allison but her MOM! found this adorable apron 'kit' in a quilt store and picked it up for me. How sweet is that???!! Can you see the little ant border. TOO adorable! Allison and Mom, I can't thank you both enough for the thoughtful gift!

What a great way to boost someone's mood!

Post-Vacation "Diet"

I didn't think I ate badly on vacation but when I got on the scale this morning, it said I had gained 3 lbs. Hmmmm...... I did snack a lot so I bet that's what happened. I haven't been eating all that healthy lately anyway so I'm going to try to get back on track. I browsed some websites this morning (some great menu ideas at the Good Housekeeping Good Sense Meal Plans website) and put together a menu for this week as well as a grocery list. I only scheduled the menu through Thursday so I can see what kind of food I have left at the end of the week. Here is the menu along with some links to recipes and some lower calorie snacks that I enjoy:

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Sunday	Banana Berry Smoothie	Tuna salad on Pita bread	Mediterranean Fish Brown Rice Mixed greens and grape tomatoes
Monday	“Egg McMuffin”* Fruit	Veggie Vegetarian Chili	Greek Chicken Kabobs with grilled pita (grill mushrooms for tomorrow’s lunch) Cucumber Onion salad (use non-fat yogurt instead of vanilla) Brown Rice
Tuesday	Yogurt with Raisin Bran	Tomato, Mushroom, Feta Pita with Greek Tzatziki - cucumber yogurt sauce	Egg & Goat Cheese Frittata * Fruit Salad Whole Wheat Baguette
Wednesday	“Egg McMuffin” Fruit	Veggie Vegetarian Chili	Basil Shrimp Summer Salad Whole Wheat Baguette slice
Thursday	Peanut Butter on English Muffin Fruit	Leftover Frittata Sliced Tomatoes	Grilled Portabella Sandwich Roasted new potatoes
Friday
Saturday

* Egg beaters, reduced fat cheese, slice deli ham, Thomas Light Multi Grain english muffin

** slimmed down by using Egg Beaters

Snacks:

Black Bean & Corn salsa with chips (Baked Tortilla)

Veggies with hummus

Apple with Peanut Butter

Bananas / Strawberries with chocolate syrup

Almonds & dried cherries

The Me Meme

The deal is to answer the following questions with one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? unidentified (but hopefully, he's out there somewhere!)
3. Your hair? straight
4. Your mother? complicated
5. Your father? recuperating
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? secret (hee hee)
8 Your favorite drink? martini
9. Your dream/goal? happiness
10. The room you’re in? sewing
11. Your hobby? neverending
12. Your fear? dying
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ocean/lakeside
14. What you’re not? bored
15. Muffins? pumpkin
16. One of your wish list items? cabin
17. Where you grew up? Newark
18. The last thing you did? laundry
19. What are you wearing? shorts
20. Favorite gadget? computer
21. Your pets? many
22. Your computer? sloooooowwwww
23. Your mood? happy
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? convertible
26. Something you’re not wearing? makeup
27. Favorite store? fabric
28. Like someone? absolutely
29. Your favorite color? purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? unsure

Remembering my manners!

I meant to say thanks to those of you who gave me feedback on the Jalie patterns via comments and emails. Except for Lori, who is a bad influence on me! Akimbo and Elaine - thanks for the pricing at PR and Jalie.

Also thanks for the comments on the red/white Butterick dress. I wore it around the house all day yesterday and I guess I like it after all. Although dang, I forgot how bad challis wrinkles!

Nancy (nanflan), thanks for the idea to change up the sash for one closer in color. Although I wanted the contrast originally, I think having all that extra white with the knot and sash ends was throwing me. I tried a red belt with it and liked it although it's not quite the right red. Hopefully, I'll find a white belt this week that will keep the contrast but tone it down.

Butterick 5177 - the jury is out

Happy Fourth of July! Ande and Toy made adorable versions of Butterick 5177. I'm not so sure about my almost finished version (just needs a hem). I cut this dress out last night and started sewing early this morning. Even though it looks like a quick and easy pattern, it is taking me forever. The casings for the drawstring neck were odd and time-consuming. And as the title reads, I'm not sure this is a keeper.

It's definitely too big so I'm going to take in the sides a bunch as you can clearly see in the unbelted version. I'm not sure I'm lovin the sash. I like the white contrast but it's just too much... too much somethin'. Can't figure out what. I'm going to pick up a wide wide belt today and see if that would look better.

Forgive the bra straps and flip flops - I'm in sewing mode, not modeling mode! I thought this would be a perfect dress for today but it's supposed to rain all day. Oh well, if it ends up being a keeper, it will make a nice vacation dress.

Ok, I took an inch off each side seam and repositioned the sash so the knot is in the front. I like this better.

Can you smell the cute?????

I stole that title from Ms. Ande's comment in the last post. As the mom of 21 and 17 year old daughters and a 14 year old son, I have soooooo missed sewing for little girls! Here is the hat to accompany the dress I made earlier. The bloomers are just about done, too. The pattern is actually McCalls 2213 . I posted the wrong pattern number in the last post. I'm just awaiting a phone call from a friend with a one year old so I know how long to make the elastic in the waist and leg casings. I will be seeing my niece in two days and unless this outfit is ginormous on her, I'll take a picture of her wearing it. She is tiny and I had no idea what size to make so I suspect it might end up too large.

Happy Canada Day! And a request for input

Today is Canada Day. Happy Birthday, Canada!

In honor of the holiday (and encouraged by an unnamed enabler), I think it is the perfect occasion to finally purchase some of those adorable patterns from the Canadian company Jalie! But since I am known for overbuying because I can't make up my mind, I am seeking other sewers' input. My three top choices are 2794 (that neckline is flattering on everyone!), 2788 (how cute is that cascading ruffle down the front?!) and 2804 (love the ruching on the sides). But there are many others that I like, too! So help me out, sewing buddies... Have I overlooked any other patterns that I MUST HAVE! If I was only going to buy two.... ok, let's be realistic... no more than four, which ones should I buy?!

OH, I assume the best place to purchase is from the Jalie company directly?

McCall's 5353

I fell like I haven't sewed in soooooo (seeeewwwww?) long! My niece turned one in May and good aunt that I am, I never got around to making her birthday present. Since I will be seeing her next weekend, I thought I better step it up!

Here is the the first piece of the three-piece ensemble. In addition to the dress, there will be a floppy hat and panties to go under the dress. I had planned on trimming all the way around in rick rack but decided it would be too much. Both fabrics are embossed cotton from Hancock. The pattern is McCalls 5353.

Hmmm, is it me or do those pockets look crooked? WAIT!!! Don't tell me if they are. I'm not moving 'em. And this way, I can just pretend it's the angle.

Summer of the UFO - Join me!

It's funny that I started this blog a couple years ago as a place to highlight knitting projects. But based on a myriad of events, my knitting is all but non-existent these days. Over the last few weeks I have been thinking that I need to re-organize my knitting and get some projects underway and finally last night, I sat now and assessed the existing projects, the contemplated projects and the stash to get a few ideas for next steps. Well, lo and behold, I woke up this morning to an invitation to the Summer of the UFO blog started by Ms. Allison herself!

Here is a synopsis of the "rules":

Sign ups for Summer of the UFO will be open throughout the summer. To sign-up just send an e-mail to UFOknitATgmailDOTcom and let us know your e-mail address. You will then receive an e-mail invitation to join. So here are the rules. This KAL is meant for us to support one another in finishing our UFO's so you are invited to do the following:

1. Post a list of your UFO's on your blog (requested but not required)

2. Post photos of your UFO's that you are now working on and let us know how you're doing.

3. Leave comments and encourage others to finish their UFO's.

It's that simple! We hope you will join us!

Wanna join in? I personally can use the encouragement!

Chocolate PB Smoothie

As I was cleaning out the fridge this morning, I came across the Chocolate Soy Milk that I wasn't fond of. I was going to dump it was hating to waste, I tried to think of something to do with it and remembered a smoothie Jennifer posted a while back . I couldn't find it again on her blog but I think it included peanut butter and chocolate milk. Here is my version:

1 frozen banana
4-6 ice cubes
1 cup chocolate milk (soy in this case!)
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 T peanut butter

Blend until smooth. Drink with a straw. Feel smug that you're drinking something relatively healthy that tastes so darn good!!

Skirt Detail

Thanks for the feedback on melatonin. I took it two nights in a row and it worked wonderfully. I skipped it last night and ended up sleeping through the night. Woo Hoo. Hopefully, that means my sleep is back on track!

In spite of an absence of sewing on my blog lately, this post is sort of related to sewing. I saw this Banana Republic ad in a magazine and think the skirt is adorable. Just a simple pencil skirt but with some additional detail on the waistband that I like a lot. It looks like a little band that is buttoned on. I am going to see if I can find a pattern that has something similar. Or else, it would be easy enough to recreate, I suppose. I will make my skirt a wee bit longer! That model has some seriously LONG LEGS!!

Melatonin and Soy Milk

Between the neck / arm pain I've been experiencing since January, a bit of personal stress and the excessive travel I've experienced lately, I have gone from sleeping soundly every single night to very bad sleep. I would estimate that since January, I have probably only slept through the night 5% of the time. That's not good.

After being awake almost 31 hours (not counting a two hour cat nap on the plane back), I figured I would easily sleep through the night last Friday. NOPE. Two hours asleep and then wide awake for another two. Dozed off and on for another two 0r three before giving up and getting up. Same thing happened Saturday night. Weird! I mentioned it to a friend yesterday and she recommended melatonin. she specifically likes Trader Joe's version. So I bought some and VOILA!! Fell asleep at 10:30 and slept all the way through until my alarm went off at 5:30. WOO HOO! SEVEN HOURS, PEOPLE!!!

Has anyone else ever tried this stuff? My mom isn't keen, "Bon, you know those things are unregulated. Never know what it's going to do to your body." I do know that but I'm more concerned with what I might do to the people around me if I DON'T get some sleep. Wound tight as a drum - that's me!

In another health related issue, I tried some chocolate soy milk. I hate cow milk and really, really need more calcium in my diet. I tried the Silk Light Chocolate. Ummm.... EWWWW!!! "Nuf said.

Cincinnati Cicadas... Revisited

Like a bad horror movie, back in 2004 in Cincinnati, all we heard about from January to the beginning of May was the I N V A S I O N O F T H E C I C A D A S!!!!! (If I could play ominous music in this post, I would.) From the Cincinnati Enquirer: In 2004, 5 to 7 billion members of Brood X swarmed mostly to the west of Interstate 71.

In spite of months and months of warning; disclaimers of liability on potentially cancelled outdoor weddings, graduation parties, etc. due to cicada invasions; landscapers making a mint off of wrapping trees, shrubs, etc. to protect them; warnings from vets about household pets; when the cicadas finally emerged right around May 5th, it was like 'what-eva'. Very anti-climactic, in my never-so-humble-opinion. Except for my friend's "Cicada de Mayo" party (hilarious and very fun!), the cicadas were a non-event.

Fast forward to mid-May 2008... I overhear someone in Kroger talking about cicadas. Next day, I overhear someone at my son's school talking about cicadas. I decide to Google it and finally read that Brood XIV (only 2-3 billion in this brood) is fixing to invade our lovely city again! Talk about caught by surprise! Me, the chick who is online most waking hours in addition to reading the newspaper everyday. How did this slip by me??

Anyhoo... in my part of town this cicada emergence is HUGE!!! The sound is literally deafening in mid-late afternoon. A radio station played the "song of the cicadas" over the radio and it was LOUD. For people spooked by bugs, it is a scary time to live in the northeast section of the city, but for me, I kinda like them. I love that sound. Surreal, almost. My dogs have definitely been eating them but so far, no ummm, regurgitation. Just some minor coughing. The biggest downside is sweeping them off your sidewalk / patio / driveway. You DON'T want to see that!

Where .... in the World.... is.... Bonnie Sandiego

I just returned from seven days on the island of Saipan, which is in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI). Remember that show from about ten years ago? Maybe fifteen... Where is the World is Carmen Sandiego? I think it started as a computer game and turned into a tv show. Or maybe vice versa. Anyhoo... that always pops into my head when I return from Saipan because everyone always says, "Where is that?" when I tell them where I've been. The red arrow on the map above (from Geocities) points to the location of CNMI.

It's not that easy to get to, let me tell ya! Approximately, 26 hours travel time. For those of you who live on the East coast who have taken a trip to Hawaii. Long flight, right? Well, it's the halfway point to Saipan. LOL.

Based on the questions I frequently get asked, here are a few interesting facts about Saipan (excerpted from Wikipedia):

Saipan is the largest island and capital of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of 115.39 km² (44.55 sq mi). The 2000 census population was 62,392.

Located at latitude of 15.25° north and longitude of 145.75° east, about 200 km (120 mi) north of Guam, Saipan is about 20 km (12.5 mi) long and 9 km (5.5 mi) wide. It is a popular tourist destination in the Pacific.

Besides English, the indigenous Chamorro language is spoken by approximately 19 percent of the inhabitants. The island also has many other large, strongly defined lingual and ethnic groups because of the large percentage of contract workers (60% of total population, as of 2001 from China, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. In addition, a large percentage of the island's population includes first-generation immigrants from Japan, China, and Korea, and immigrants from many of the other Micronesian islands.

It is interesting that CNMI is a US Commonwealth but almost no Americans (myself included until I went there) have ever heard of it, let alone know it's part of the US. The residents are US citizens (similar to Puerto Rico and Guam although they are Territories not Commonwealths - don't ask me what the distinction is!) The islands played a big role for the US in WWII. The Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, departed from the island of Tinian. More WWII history here if you like that kind of thing.

So enough babbling... I didn't take very many pictures but here are a few:

Excuse the wrinkled dress and stupid pose (my colleagues made me pose like that. Seriously!) This was taken at a lovely golf course on the east (I think) side of the island, atop a huge cliff.




And speaking of lunch.... Japanese food is very popular on Saipan and I just think the Bento boxes are so pretty. LOL! Almost looks like play food, doesn't it?



This very unflattering shot of me (could I look any more huge??? and whatup with that hair?) was taken at a little beach restaurant that my clients took me to one evening to enjoy a sunset Happy Hour. We shared some beers and I sampled one of their favorite dishes - Chicken Kelaguen (some Chamorro recipes found here). It's a very simple dish but so delish! On the morning I left, my client was so sweet - she stopped at the market and purchased some hot peppers and island-made hot sauce so I could make it authentically once I got back home!



Although I always enjoy visiting Saipan (I can't say enough about how friendly every single person I encounter has been on each trip), it is nice to be back home. I missed my kids, my dogs, and my sewing machines a lot.

A couple of quickies

Wanna win an apron perfect for those Fourth of July parties? Go check out the Apronista's latest contest!

I posted a recipe for Strawberry Cream Pie on my other blog. It's a recipe that takes advantage of the delicious strawberries floating around

To you smart bloggers

As evident to anyone who has stopped by my blog once or twice, I am a novice blogger. I don't have any interest in learning html or designing my own blog. I love that Blogger exists for a lazy blogger-wannabe like me. But I have a question, why is my blog so skinny? Is that just the format Blogger allows? Or did I somehow make it that skinny? And can I change it without doing anything drastic? (in other words, taking no more than 30 seconds to make the change.)

Bookshelf Widget - How fun is this?

Check out the cute little bookshelf sitting on the right side of my blog! Marji pointed it out to me and it looks like a fun way to keep track of books I've read or maybe want to read. I don't have time at the moment to populate it but it only took 2 minutes to set up (no exaggeration). If you're a reader, click on the "Get Your Own Shelf" button and add one to your own blog.

I've also updated my blog list on the sidebar. Ther are some FABULOUS blogs listed over there. Incredible knitters and sewers but more importantly, some overall wonderful women! Go check them out. It is only a partial list of those to which I subscribe via Bloglines. If I missed you, drop me an email and I'll add your blog.

S3711

I made the second of the four bathrobes just in time for yesterday's baby shower. The pattern is Simplicity 3711. I made the matching booties from the pattern but didn't like how they turned out so I threw them away.




Here is a better picture of the first one, which I made one size bigger.

Getting to know you... I mean me!

Makes me think of that show tune from The King and I! Anyhoo, the lovely Allison tagged me with the latest meme making the rounds so here goes:

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? My kids were 11, 7 and 3 and I was heavily involved in PTA, Coaching and Girl Scouts when I wasn't working. I had been with my current company for just two years at that time and was getting ready to go to Saipan for the first time. The thought of being away from my kids for more than a week, halfway around the world was heart wrenching to me! I will be headed back to Saipan for my fourth visit in a few weeks.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

• Go to my son's last choir concert
• Pay bills
• Schedule staff time for work
• Book trip to Fort Myers
• Confirm that I am chaperoning Eighth Grade Dance tomorrow night I just got the call.
  

3) Snacks I enjoy:

• homemade cookies (or really any home baked goods)
  
• pretzels
• Cheese-Its
• popcorn
• chips and salsa
  
• watermelon, raspberries, strawberries
  

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

• Take Allison and me on a knitting retreat
  
• Hire a driver to take me wherever I want to go (I hate driving!)
  
• Hire someone to finish all the partially completed home improvement projects my ex-husband left me with
  
• Buy my daughter a car
• Buy a home in in the mountains and one on the SC shore
• Take a six month leave of absence from my job to catch up on life in general
• Charitable efforts would focus on inner city kids in my community
  

5) Places I have lived:

• Delaware
• Ohio
• England
• Montreal, Quebec

6) Jobs I have had:

• babysitter
• newspaper carrier
• day care center helper
• insurance admin assistant (intern)
• waitress
• accountant
• financial analyst
• aviation consultant
• Mama
  

7) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:

First is Ande who is funny as h*ll. (Didn't realize there were people as sarcastic as Allison and me out there!) Knit in the City
Then Lindsay with whom I share a cheerleading bond (our daughters, not us! But I'm sure Lindsay and I would be awesome, too.) Lindsay T Sews (Again)
Mimi who might just be the most prolific sewer I've ever encountered! MYRAIDA

And then the following bloggers whose blogs I've come across recently:

Sew Spicee
Sewing is like Chocolate ... highly addictive
Sew Uptight