Keeping Myself in Stitches!

NEW TOY!!! :)

So I'm pretty behind on my posting... have a few knitted things I'll need to post about sometime soon, but right now I'm getting ready for my 2 week trip to California *SQUEE* so those posts might have to wait until I have more time :)

Sunday I bought myself a new camera and accessories:

 

 

It's a Cannon PowerShot and it came with a 4GB card, a case, and a "flexipod" for pretty cheap :)  The flexipod thing is so cool!  I've never had a tripod before nevermind one that does this!

 

Yep... it wraps around stuff... it's cool :)

And now... we pass the torch...

 

Goodbye hp PhotoSmart... you have served me well over the years and have seen me through many many memories... Maybe you can still serve someone else well :)

Wow!

First, here's a picture of my completed dance top... there were some unexpected mishaps along the way, but I'm pleased with how it turned out :)

  

So tonight was the performance... omg... LOVED IT!  What an amazing group of women and talented dancers.  I am still in awe.  And totally exhausted too :)  Many days of preperation and excitement shall now culminate in me hitting the hay. Wonderful night though... so happy...

So far... so good...

The saga continues...

So I've made some positive progress on the dance top... first piece of business was lengthening the straps around the neck.  I made two longer right angle pieces and sewed them each onto a neck strap.  They overlapped PERFECTLY and I realized I only needed on of them so this is what I got:

 

Then I attached one of four snaps that I will be using to keep this baby on :)  The others will have to wait until after I attach some of my dark pink fabric... but in the meantime here are action shots so far...

 

The front (showing exactly where I obviously need to add some fabric! lol)

 

And the back showing that I'm definitely not perfect at this sewing thing ;)  But I know that I'm going to like the finished product... either that, or I'm going to the mall and buying a tank on Monday night! haha

The rest of the night is going to be some experimentation and probably little actual sewing.  Here goes nothing :)

Sewing lesson #1

#1 When a pattern is written for a really slinky, stretchy fabric and YOU are making it in a non-slinky, not-even-slightly-stretchy fabric... well then you really need to make it bigger.

That being said... I can work with this :) haha I'm not posting pictures yet (mostly because they'd be a little obscene with the girls hangin' out and all), but I know exactly what I'm going to do with it.  So while I'll chalk this up as a learning experience, I will not consider it a failure!

Tonight... we pin and experiment and pin and try on and pin and voila!  A dance top I will have!

Dance top... Part Deux

Ok... tonight I got the pattern pinned to the fabric:

 

The fabric cut...

 

And the first edge done (I'm folding it over again for a round 2)...

 

Tomorrow I should be able to pin and sew round 2 of the edging.  Then it's time to really try it on and see what to do.

My attempts at making a dance top

So I will be performing in my first belly dance show on June 17th.  I've decided that I want to make a top for it (costume is black bottoms and a colorful top and hip scarf).

I picked out some fabric that looks excellent with my hip scarf:

 

The top two pinks are going to be used in the top... the bottom one is my hip scarf.

I'm using a bikini top pattern I found on Martha Stewart.com (it's the "Web Exclusive Twist and Tie" link) But because I'm not making it out of lycra, I needed to "straighten out" the edges so I can sew the edges.

Here's what I've done so far:

 

This was the pattern...

 

Ralphie helping with the pattern.

 

Here are my "straight edges"

 

And my new pattern template.

Tonight I'm going to work with the fabric :)  More updates to come!

Adventures in paint stripping... Part One

Ok... I'm going to be painting two bedrooms over the course of the summer (yes, I've realized this isn't a quick project).

The bedrooms were sort of like this: CLICK HERE

The goal is to strip the paint off the walls/ceiling and strip the wood work.  Then I will be painting the walls/ceiling and staining the wood work.

Here's some "where I stand" photos (I'll save you from everything for now)

 

This is the hallway "before" (except for a little bit of paint that I'd scraped off the door frame on the left)

 

This was how far I got with a heat gun and scraper in HOURS :-/ I knew I needed help, but wanted something that wasn't a serious bad chemical... enter Ready Strip

 

And...

 

 

While it's not perfect... considering there were three layers of paint, I'm happy with the stuff.  I've learned that it works well, but not in the "30 minutes to an hour" stated on the package.  But if you leave it on for a few hours, it works great!  Which is STILL better than the heat gun and scraping. :)  I haven't had the time to try again, but I will soon and post my progress.  My goal is to have it all done by Labor Day!

I need you more than anyone, darling!

The Buttercup is finished, blocked, and debuted at KAN last week :)

 

This is happy me in it...

 

And "contemplative" me in it :)

(for diva and naughty looks... see the link above haha)

I really loved this pattern and the finished product is great.  I'll be wearing this one quite a bit this summer!

BABY!!! :)

No... not me :-P lol

I have a new little cousin... and I knit these for her :)

 

 I loved doing it... Knitting Pure and Simple Baby Tunic #211 and "Bubby" from knitty.com  both done in Dream in Color Classy "Dusky Aurora".  Couldn't be more happy with these :)

Getting sent to the new little girl tomorrow... I hope she likes them!

Why do you build me up?

"Why do you build me up? Buttercup baby... just to let me down and mess me around."

That was how I was feeling pretty literally for a while, but now it's coming along and I'm happy :)

I've been working on the Buttercup top (free download on Ravelry) in lilac Hempathy.  I got down to the armholes on size 5 needles in a flash... and tried it on :-/  Decided I should go down a needle size.  So I restarted on size 4s and figured "this will be easy"... then I increased the back too much.  RIIIIIIIP! Then I moebiused the join in the round... riiiiiiiiiiiip!  But now it's flying!

 

It's hard to see the beautiful lace panel... but I'll get better pictures when it's finished.  I'm about half-way through and have delusions of grandeur thinking I might finish it in time to wear at some point this weekend (or Monday). It totally won't happen... but it's nice to dream :)

I still think that I'd like a slightly less airy fabric better... maybe on size 3s?  But I'm going to keep it as is, since it should fit fine :)

Hope to have finished pics soon!