TGIF, sewing, Esty shop, and Dog #1 condition

TGIF and yes plans for the week went pretty much as they should.

 Dog #1 has STAPH! The surgeon called today with the test results and said she can continue with the current antibiotics for 3 weeks.  I hope that all goes well with this medication and so far so good.  She gets yogurt with the food and no upset tummy as of yet.  Also she seems to feel fine except for having to wear the plastic cone head.

Sewing news!  Oh! This might just turn out as something pretty and hopefully wearable.  No photos yet but the project was going so well I decide to line it, add red piping at the neckline and red bias tape to the sleeve facing area.  This is on a grey and white cotton and is lined is grey broadcloth.  I did not notice the zipper in the side until already committed to the project.  I guess that is one way to make me learn to install a zipper.

Esty Shop! So I need money to pay for these darn vet bills.  We are on the third surgery now and medications for the seeable future.  And Mama does not have a job (at the college where they should have hired her a long time ago. Just sayin :)

So I am putting my estate sale purchases on Esty in Mama Jewel's Vintage Shop---er. . . something like that.  The link is http://www.etsy.com/shop/Toocutedobs?view_type=gallery&page=1

So if you know anyone interested in vintage items like hats, scarfs, or patterns, send them my way.  Dog #1, the Honey and I thank you! I probably will not get everything posted today but check back next week for the patterns.

Fabric--I promised earlier in the week to post photos of my latest fabric purchases.  So let's get to it.

Polyester

Cotton Gauze

Right to left

Poly, Linen/blend, cotton gauze

UGLY Paisley Jacket

Ok, it was an easy pattern to make but I look really frumpy in it.  The pattern called for 3 buttons and I think it needs more but why bother.  What the heck was I thinking when I picked out this fabric?  Ugly, ugly, ugly, that is what I am thinking now.

Current Project-take a look at the measurements on these two pattern pieces.  They printed the measurements backward .  This means the waist measurements or stated waist measurements are actually the hip measurements and vis-a-versa. 

See what I mean.

One more thing. . . Thank you for viewing my blog.  I have to say it feels a lot different having a few followers than not.  I feel like I am visiting with you guys out here in cyberland and it makes a diiference.  Thanks again!

Monday

Monday plans were pretty much as I said. Dog #1 had her surgery and she has an infection. The vet removed the metal protheses in her leg (previous TPLO surgery) and said there was infection in this location and in the joint. They kept her overnight and I will pick her up today.

She will be on antibiotics for at least 6 weeks and I really hope this clears up the infection. If not we have a possibly deadly problem or---- I can not even say it or type it. . .

Sewing...I did choose a pattern and fabric and lay it all out. It in pinned and ready to cut. I'll do this while waiting for the vet to call and tell me when I can pick up Dog #1. If any one out there is tight with St. Francis please check in with him. He dealt with a wolf problem I hear and Dog #1 is a doberman so she is small fry for him. My neighbor emailed this morning and told me a prayer was said for her already. Nice neighbor :)

Plans for the Week

You know what "they" say about the best laid plans, but here I go.

Monday, Dog #1 goes back to the surgeon's and I have no idea how long this will take. The surgeon is not sure exactly what the problem is but we are having a re-do on Dog #1's surgury from few months ago. So I will be out of town for the day.

Tuesday-Thursday, I told the Honey that I would be sewing these days. I purchased lots of patterns that were on sale this weekend at Jo Ann's and at Hancock's. Vogue patterns were $3.99 at Jo Ann's and Butterick patterns were .99 (no cents mark on the keyboard?)

I also bought fabric!!! I know, what was I thinking. Well I thought maybe if I buy some pricer fabric I would be inspired to sew better. Maybe even wear a garment I have made. Photos coming on the pretty fabric.

Friday there is another estate sale in my area. Two of my neighbors and I are planning on going. Guess what? There are two vintage sewing machines at this sale. I will just be looking at these not buying. But one is a pretty turquoise and I am really interested in seeing the price on that one.

One more thing, check out 98 Red Balloons blog shown in my blog list. She is a young lady who sews better than I do (not hard, I know). She was successful with a dress that I had to turn into a skirt. I know the blog list thing says the post is 5 weeks old but the date on the post is current.

Keep your best wishes for Dog #1 and her surgery today. Thanks!

Getting Back in the Groove

I have been away from my blogging for a couple of weeks.  Week one: getting ready for company coming to visit.  This week included pressure washing the house, cleaning, shopping, etc.  Week two: the visit, which meant cooking, cooking and oh yes, gaining weight! 

We did get out a bit and go to the zoo and the guys went to see Iron Man II.  For some reason the girls ended up at the mall walking around.  We tried a trip to a very nice park but yours truly ended the trip with a coughing, sneezing, allergy attack.  Everything was in full bloom and beautiful but the pollen was a killer.  Basically we paid to park, walked out about 10 minutes and 10 minutes back to the car.  Just as well the rest of group did not seem that interested.

Our other site seeing trip was to a plantation house and the grounds. Take a look at this grand magnolia arch. It is over 100 years old.

Can you imagine having the idea that your family would stay in one place long enough to see your seedlings grow into a magnificant archway like this one?

Spring Garden

Eighty-eight degrees today for the high temperature here today.  I feel like I did a lot of work but really I think it was just the heat.  I went to a "Moving Sale" held by a local company that handles estate sales normally.  A couple of my neighbors went with me but I was the big buyer having spent a whopping $17 total.

Take a look at my new garden bunny I purchased at the sale.  He is a solar light or will be when I get new solar batteries for him.  He looks pretty nice under the maple tree.

My other purchases were not photo worthy as I bought two hose reels like the one you see in the above photo.  But these were purchased at the sale today at $5 each--as was the bunny.  The other purchase for $2 was a yellow wooden carry box with the word "Sunflowers" on it in black. 

Mama Bluebird in my garden

I knocked on the birdhouse prior to opening it and was surprised to find the mama bird in the box.  She is sitting on 5 very pretty blue eggs. 

Lady Banks Roses in a beautiful yellow

Roses, day lilies, creeping phlox, Lady Banks Roses, and azaleas on the hill

A close-up of one of the Floribundas just starting to bloom

Hostas, yarrow and coreopsis on the short side yard

More hostas in the large side yard under the pines

Lemon balm, one of my favorite herbs, and Swedish Girl daylily in pot

Honey has been arranging for a team of master gardeners to come out and advise us on our gardens.  We think they will be coming to visit us next week some time.  Looking forward to this visit but also dreading it in a way.  We'll learn just how many mistakes we have made already I suppose.

There are other gardens not yet photographed that are veggies, strawberries, and herbs.  Maybe I'll get those on later..

Promise kept and new projects completed.

I promised on  Sew A Beginner's blog that I would wear a garment I made before the weekend was through.  So for our Sunday morning brunch downtown I wore the blue knit dress I made with a cute fuzzy cardie I bought at Salvation Army.  The dress has small flowers on it the same color as the cardie.

This is really turquoise not teal as it appears here. 

What I leanred from wearing this garment is that the neckline is too wide for me.  As I moved around this would fall off my shoulder if I was not careful.  I like this pattern so I will re-draft the neckline to make it narrower.  By the way the cardie was a bargain at $2.99!  I recently was donating some things and took a look around.  I bought a bunch of tops, jackets, etc. for $1.99, $2.99 or $3.99.  Some of these items were top name brands and new.  Yeah for me!

Projects I have completed were the new red skirt from the previous "was going to be a dress".  This was the red slinky knit that was torturing me but I won HAHA!

Red Slinky Knit Skirt

I also made a four gore skirt from a purple micro suede I purchased at Hancock's Fabrics from their bargain fabric section.  It was so soft and the skirt was easy to make.  I hemed it by hand which was a breeze.

I am thinking maybe to wear this in the fall with a pair of boots.  But who knows maybe I'll come up with a way to wear it this summer too.

This is a vintage baby pattern I found in the sewing machine cabinet of the Bernina I picked up at my mother's.  I tried it out in a really inexpensive (yep, that means cheap) cotton from Wal-Mart.  The pattern was so easy and this was the first garment I have made from cotton.  Oh my gosh, how easy is cotton to sew with?  And I did Hong Kong seams!  I did not have the 1/4 inch elastic needed to finish the little panties so that is for another day.  I think the pattern is too small for the child I had in mind but it gave me more confidence to try sewing with cotton and on baby garments again.

Still need to perfect gathering as you can see

Hong Kong Seams in top

This is the new project I started.  I selected the jacket to sew and the fabric is a knit which costs $2.00 per yard.  So no fear on messing up a really expensive fabric.  Just the usual fear I have when I select a fabric with a design.  I never can foresee how it will look and sometimes that means I work on a really ugly garment before I can see where things are going. 

So what do you think?  Will this paisley design fabric look good with this jacket pattern?  Do you have any hints on selecting fabrics to patterns that would help?

Michelle Obama Slideshow and Net-A-Porter

Just a quick post of fashion for you to check out. 

The Michelle Obama Look Book 2010 --The Cut.  You might have seen it already but I just ran across it this morning.  The photos, all 222 of them, show the First Lady and her clothes which I think are really wearable for real people.  Thank you MO!  Michelle Obama Look Book

The sheath dress is shown in many versions and I am thinking "I've got that pattern, now if only I can get the fit."  The sweater with everything is done over and over, not a bad thing I like it.  But the belt over the sweaters I can do without.  Photos 141, 162, and 173 I really liked.  Ok, I really like almost all of them.  Photo 141 was casual but bright and I like the way the designer used a border print at the top drawing attention to the face.  I admit I always thought of border prints as going at the bottom until I saw a dress on Net-A-Porter.

This is the dress that clued me in: Black and White Border Print Dress.  Isn't this a great use of a border print?  I actually own some black and white fabric that would work for that dress.  If only I were so talented to be able to sew good enough to tackle a pattern like that.  But I know some of you out there can do it.

I heard about Net-A-Porter on the CBS Sunday Morning Show.  It is a great site for some cool looking fashions.  Some of which I think I could wear, but most are too hip, too young, and way too bare for me.  I know this because the measuring tape told me so yesterday when I measured my waist for the elastic in a skirt.  (Darn!  Wasn't my bust size just slightly over that a few years ago?)