And you know what happens with Tokyo drifting? It leads to bickering. Which, of course, leads to karate.

Hello, friends! It’s just going to be a small mish-mash post today of a few different things I’ve had in the finished pile over the last little bit (like, in the last year, ha.)

I gave an attempt to the Maria Denmark Kimona Tee, which is a free pattern.

I tried this one out last summer, I think. Amazingly, I sewed the collar to the wrong side, so here I am, wearing the shirt inside out so the collar looks normal. I think it has potential, but this fabric just wasn’t doing it for me (a jersey leftover from Joann which I used for the second pair of True Bias Hudson pants I made last year- that’s a post for another day.) I’m not terribly comfortable with sewing knits, so this one was nice because it was fairly study. However, I think something with more drape would look a bit nicer.

Next up, some very unseasonable projects that I did last fall. If I don’t show them off now, they’ll never get done!

When I moved to my new town for work last September, the house that LSH and I had been looking at fell through. My hospital found me a townhouse to live in for a few months, but it was unfurnished and sad. Around Halloween, I got the itch to do some easy decorating, so I made these two wreaths. (I didn’t get many good photos of the Halloween wreath, sorry.)

I just used styrofoam wreath forms. The Halloween themed one I painted black, then I used an orange feather boa to wrap around it, affixed with pins. I made a few bows out of fun ribbon, fashioned a hanger, and I was done!

The Fall themed wreath used burlap ribbon with a bit of sparkle in it, some gold leaves that I bought because, duh, sparkly, and owl ribbon I was never NOT going to buy. I made a sparkly orange bow for this one, and I was done. My place was decorated and there was glitter everywhere by the time I was done- not a bad afternoon!

Here’s some Butters for good measure. This is a face that says, “derrrrrrrrrrrr.”

That’ll about do it for today. Have you ever had to decorate a temporary home to make it less drab? Have you tried the Kimono tee? What fabric worked best for you?

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Look, we can discuss sexism in survival situations when I get back.

Hellooooooo! Apparently it’s been a year and a half since I last posted. Well, I’m sure all two of you have been VERY WORRIED. Have I stopped making things? No. Did I slow down a bit? Sure. Life has been busy (which it is for everyone, so that’s the dumbest excuse ever.)

I graduated from residency! I’m a real, full-time, family medicine doctah now!

I’ve got my first big-girl job. I moved 4.5 hours from where I lived before; we bought a house before we sold the old one! LSH had been painstakingly renovating every last damn thing in it. It’s finally done and is on the market! In the meantime, however, we’ve been living apart from mid-September to last week. UGH. It’s so nice to have him back.

I’m starting to plant little roots here; I joined a running club, and hang out with the other two new doctors at our practice.

SO- that’s life in the shortest little nutshell ever.

Let’s start catching up on some stuff I’ve made, shall we? (We shall.)

Last year, my final of residency, I finally got in on the Secret Santa the clinic did. I did handmade gifts- microwave bowl holders, and some themed cloth coasters.

I also made a rice-filled heating roll, but somehow there is no photographic evidence that it exists. I promise that it does, though.

As long as we’re doing Christmas gifts, let’s continue on to what I’ve made The Nugget for the past couple of years. Each year, I give her a stack of books and one handmade item. (Her birthday and xmas are one week apart). Luckily, she likes books, because she’s going to get them regardless of whether she likes them or not. I’m not an auntie to any dumb babies! 😉 Like most other small girls within the past forever, she loves the movie “Frozen.” And, also like most other small girls, she likes Elsa best, even though Elsa was just a whiner who went to go mope in her ice castle, while Anna went about adventuring to bring her back. #AnnaForever

So, last year she got her very own Elsa Dress! I can’t remember which pattern I used, but it’s whatever Big Four pattern had her size and the licensing, I guess. She absolutely loved it, and may or may not have worn it to Target later that day.

 

Instead of using the fabrics recommended (you know, fancy stuff that shreds a lot), I used stretchy, performance-type knits from Joann. This way I got to avoid inserting an unnecessary zipper, and also didn’t have to do bothersome things like hemming or finishing necklines. WINNING.

This past year, in addition to her normal pile o’ books, I decided to make her a mermaid tale blanket based on this pattern. It took ages longer than I planned, and was actually about two months late for her birthday. WHOOPS. Well, since I’d moved, I got to mail it to her, and she got the fun of getting a package in the mail.

My sister told me she refused to take it off at all that day, and hopped around like she was in a sack race, in between flopping on beds and “flapping her tail.” Another win!

Well, that’s the most I’ve written in a million years! I’ve got several other projects to post from my backlog- hopefully it won’t be too long till I get around to making another entry here!

 

 

All my life, I’ve had one dream: to achieve my many goals.

Hey hey, err’ybody! Once again I fell off the face of the planet because work. I finally got my last finished object, a hat for Beks, to her in the mail. However, I mailed it to her LAST ADDRESS, boo. So it took roughly two months to get to her, which I think is long even for mail from US to Australia.  Sorry, Beks!

Anyhoodle, this is the Striped Light Stashbuster Hat– a free ravelry pattern. I was looking for something to make for Beks’ birthday. She’s a Vikings fan (something I do NOT understand because she lives in a country where football is called rugby), so I found a nice stripey hat that is amenable to sports-team colors. Strangely, her man-friend likes the Bears for some reason- they managed to pick the two teams around mine (Green Bay, not that I really understand most rules about football…GO SPORTS.) Luckily, as I’ve not met He Who Fishes, even online, there is no sense of obligation to make him one (unlike poor Michelle, who made Bears Zoobas for her siblings. What a gal!)

Here’s the finished product.

 

I used Cascade 220, which is my new favorite yarn ever.  I used it on the Meret hat I made for my sister as well, and it’s just so lovely. Using these colors did burn my fingers like fire, but I powered through.

I have no idea why this photo is so big, but I can’t change it. Sorry.

I really like the swirly effect on the crown. It adds a little visual interest to an otherwise blank area.

This was a fun and easy make. Unfortunately, it got to Beks as they were getting towards their summer season, so it’s pretty much going to be too hot to wear until next July.  Hemispheric differences in seasons are so inconvenient!

What have you made for friends lately? Or do you prefer crafting for yourself due to the time involved?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your collective dating record reads like a who’s who of human crap!

Hello friends! Well, so much for my mental goal of doing one post per month. That blew by me really quickly. Silly human. I’ve had these photos ready for probably about one month, but didn’t feel like blogging them. The photos themselves are awful- so awful that they’re kind of funny, so I’m not re-doing them.

Note- this is what happens when you try to take photos after a 24 hour shift. I mostly look like I’m still asleep.

This project is just a slight re-tooling of the dress I did for #SewDollyClackett last year. It’s the Butterick 5748 with sassy pin-up cowgirls. After wearing it several times, I realized the fit wasn’t quite comfortable enough to wear regularly- the front gaped, and the shoulders were too wide. I have kind of sloping shoulders, so this is a fairly regular occurrence for me with strappy dresses and bras and such. You can see some of the gaping here, and how near the edge of my shoulders the straps get.

I decided to take the top off and re-do it since I had some fabric left. I ended taking a whole bunch out of the front (I’m remembering, like, 7 inches, but it really almost has to be 7 cm because inches would be INSANE.) and graded to nothing at the waist. I took the top apart to do it properly. I even traced, you guys! #progress

There’s a lining to the top, but instead of redoing all of that, I just zipped up the center with my new measurements to save some time. I didn’t end up understitching because punch me in the FACE I had trimmed the seam allowance the previous time I made the top, so I ironed the bejeezus out of it to keep it down. The lining may still roll out a bit; I’m not sure. If it does, I’ll top-stitch it down at some point.

I’m really trying here, you guys.

As you can see, the straps aren’t sagging off my shoulders, and the front isn’t gaping! Hooray! Doing these adjustments to the front somewhat changed the shape of the neckline, but not enough for me to fuss about it.

From the side, it doesn’t look much different than the first version. The real difference is in how it feels when I wear it (SO much better.)

After I got the top done, I just reattached the skirt without any changes, and put in the zipper again (hand-picked, because why not?)

I did notice some fitting issues with the back that I didn’t appreciate on the first version, but were probably there.

There are some wonkus, wrinkly bits that came from somewhere. I’m not sure if it’s from not getting my fabric perfectly on grain, or a sewing issue, or if something like a swayback is part of the problem (I am not totally sure what a swayback and its adjustment means/entails.)

That’s really a bummer, because it put such a damper on a project I was really happy with until I saw it. Grumble.

Well, that’s pretty much the deal for now. Stay tuned for whenever I happen to finish another project, bwahahahaha.

I had to leave this one in because it was so bad- THANKS FOR TELLING ME YOU WERE TAKING THE PICTURE, LSH! So sleepy.

Anyone have any tips for that mess on the back of this otherwise super-fun dress? I’d really appreciate it!

Somebody on the subway licked my neck. LICKED MY NECK!!

Hellooooooo again erry’body! Check it out, two posts in less than 4 months! I’ve just got a couple things I’ve had waiting in the wings for a bit here and finally had the get-to-it-ness to cajole poor LSH into taking photos for me.

I’ve done approximately 8 million versions (or 3 so far) of the Meret beret by Woolly Wormhead. I found out about her on a knitting podcast, I can’t remember which one- when I heard her name, I *had* to check her out. She’s got an amazing collection of wonderful hats. I started out with the meret because it was free, and I’m cheap.

For my first version, I used this lovely colored Rowan Pure Wool Worsted; I made the large (because my head is large) with 4 of the pattern repeats (because I wanted it slouchy. It looked great- until I blocked it. Then it got yoooooooooooge.

It became more of a rasta type hat- unfortunately, I do not have the volume of hair required to tuck into it for it to look good. Just too slouchy!

Excuse the crappier-than-usual photos- I was attempting to do them myself (clearly) and am terrible at it. (I realize this makes it sound like LSH’s photos are terrible. His are great! Anything I try to do myself or with a timer are the crummy ones.) Well, since I was so unhappy with the first version, I frogged that shiz and tried again.

Meet version 2.0, same diameter (large) with three pattern repeats.

It is better, but the diameter is still so darn big that it slides back a lot when I’m wearing it. I did get a lot of compliments on it, however! (Way back in early spring- it’s far too warm for decorative wool hats now.)

It looks alright from the back, but because the yarn has so much give, and I was trying NOT to wear a parachute on my head (I didn’t stretch it taut during blocking), the pattern does not show up too well. You can still see it, and it’s visually interesting, but not as showy as it otherwise might be. I’ll have to do a third.

Bet you thought there’d be a third version right here, yeah? Well, THERE IS, but it’s a different color and yarn. I made this one for my sister in Cascade 220, which is my new yarn boyfriend for life. I don’t remember the name of the color, but it’s a lovely caramel-y brown, just like my sis requested.

She’s got very light blonde hair, so this color will look really good on her (better than on my nearly-matching hair). This is really more the size and shape I was going for- snug around the head, slouchy in the back. I hope she likes it- she was hoping for slouchier, like my v2.0, but this yarn doesn’t block the same as the Rowan (thankfully!) This is another large with only 3 pattern repeats. With this yarn, a 4th repeat wouldn’t be too much for slouch-factor.

Plus, the pattern shows up SO WELL in this yarn. Cascade 220 for the win! For all the things!

I really did have a good time knitting these babies up. The pattern is easy to memorize, but fun to do. I’d highly recommend it.

As an aside- my birthday was back in March (OMG SO OLD), and the lovely Beks mailed me some goodies to celebrate the occasion. Check it out!

There’s a skein of beautiful yarn that she DYED HERSELF (what?!), three fat quarters in really cute fabric that I’m obviously very conflicted about what to do with (excuse the atrocious grammar), a fob I can put on my purse, and a necklace. There was also a stamped metal bracelet that says JAZZ HANDS on it, but I’ve already worn it 8 million times so it’s somewhere else right now.

My other birthday present was the coolest freaking thing ever. My dear LSH made me THIS:

A thread-holder! He painted it to match my walls. It spins! It holds like 96 threads! It is a great place for my minion from Beks to sit! It really has it all. Obvi, I arranged everything in rainbows because everything is prettier in a rainbow. I’ve still got two empty sides, yikes.

One last bit- I did the Ragnar again this year. I couldn’t do the whole thing (again!) because of work the next day, but I did run 6.44 miles, then do a volunteer shift to help out. The next day, I worked a 24 hour shift wherein my intern and I got killed with 9 admissions, several ICU patients, and the dear stayed 4 hours late to help me, because she is the best.

Here I am, all pumped as I go. The lady in green and black smoked me- I tried to pace her for about one mile, and had to give up. She was wicked faster than I am.

The distance (6.5-ish) was the most I’ve ever run before, and I did it in a good time for me, too. But boy, was I sore the next day haha. Some people look amazing after a run. I mostly look like I just took a swim. My ultimate goal for the year is to be able to run 10 miles in one crack. I’ve now done 7.9 so I’m going alright!

Check my sweet flipbelt!

I’m currently gearing up for my first triathlon since 2009, which will take place in two weeks. I’m so excited! A girl from my residency is doing it with me, so that’ll be awesome fun.

Are you trying to reach any new goals this summer? (Crafty or otherwise)?

This post doesn’t deserve a clever title.

Hello all! I hope all you Americans had a lovely Independence Day, and all those of you from other places had a lovely Saturday.

Per usual, I’ve been intermittently working at “stuff,” but suuuuuuuper slowly. I’d been wacking along at my Sewing Dare from Gillian of Crafting A Rainbow, and I finally (past the deadline, eeps!) managed to get it mostly done. There’ll be a better post coming up, but here’s what it essentially looks like-

I am terrible at taking selfies, from a distance, whilst trying to keep the phone out of the major part of the photo. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to sucker LSH into taking some outdoor photos with me wearing actual makeup and perhaps a jaunty hat.

I did take like 20 whole minutes today to do some boring sewing- just some mending. Blehhhhhhhh. But it felt good to be done with part of my pile.

I had some cords that needed a hole near a belt-tab fixed, a small hole in my blue-white striped shirt that I LOVE (and need to do a rub-off pattern so I can make a million of them), fixed a giant rip at the neck of my high school swim team sweatshirt, and and a small hole at the shoulder of my pink/white dress (self-made, featured last year.) I had planned on trying to lower the crotchal region on my leopard print culottes, but once I looked at them, I realized it’d be a heck of a job to dissemble and reassemble them- I’ll just make them differently next time. It’s a bit annoying, but it’s not a deal-breaker for wearing them.

To finish up- here’s a photo of Butters from when LSH, a couple of friends and I went camping a few weeks ago. It was raining a lot and he was trying desperately to stay dry by hiding near the picnic table. Unfortunately, our intricate system of tarps picked several moments to dump on him, turning him into a very cute, but sad, 50 lb drowned rat. He ended up spending the night in our truck, and was a very happy fella when morning came.

Have a great week, erry’body!

Why don’t you try speaking in words, instead of your damn dirty lies!?

Hola erry-body. Long time no communicado, per usual. Well, things have been busy with work and such, so the crafting has taken a bit of a back seat to things like sleeping (also per usual.) I’ve been doing a bit of knitting ( posted on ravelry, but no photos on my work laptop to upload now) and re-working the cowgirl dress that I made during Sew Dolly Clackett last year. I finally decided to upload the old-ass projects I’ve had sitting around forever to ravelry, and since I’m finished-project-poor right now, I’ma show them here!

This big baby is from the book “Pursenalities”- it’s either the Blue Hawaii tote or the Sunset tote- I honestly cannot remember, because I literally made this more than ten years ago. Looking more closely, it appears to be the Blue Hawaii tote. I initially made it for my mom, but she doesn’t really use bags, so it’s still sitting around at my house. I still need to line it and get respectable handles.  Clearly it’s at the top of my priority list.

Here’s another one from approximately the Jurassic Period-

It’s from Knit.1, roughly 13 years ago. It ALSO needs lining and handles. I need to get my shit together and get these things done. Insert grumbli-ness here.

THIS BEAUTY is from my third year of medical school. During my surgery rotation, we had the option to do a humanities project instead of getting three H&Ps graded. Obviously, I chose to knit a gigantic christmas-type stocking and embroider a femoral-popliteal artery bypass, because DUH. Except the anatomy is wrong, so I think it’s actually more of a fem-tib, but I digress. I got graded on it and had fun. I keep thinking of putting it out at christmas, but have yet to actually do so. It’s roughly 3 feet long. There’s a photo somewhere of a girl from my med-school class wearing it like a mermaid tail.

This is the world’s largest crocheted cap. I was just winging the design as I went, and it ended up wayyyyy too big. I should probably donate it, but I feel bad because I don’t think the person’s been born whose head could actually wear it.

Here’s just a plain old stockinette stitch scarf with a garter border.

THIS is something I’m moderately proud of. It’s the Skully sweater from the first Stitch’n’Bitch book, modified to have the Punisher logo. I made it for LSH, but initally he didn’t wear it because the neck was too loose, so I tightened it. Then he wouldn’t wear it because the sleeves are too loose. They remain loose to this day. We argue over whether he’s worn the sweater zero times (me) vs one time (him.) I should probably also donate this one, but I just haven’t had the heart to do it, since it was my first sweater and I put so much effort into those logos.

I have signed up for something new though- Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow is once again giving out Sewing Dares, and I signed up! She took a gander through the blog, and my dare is to finally sew up that Vogue wrap dress inspired by the Diane Von Furstenberg exhibit I visited at LACMA last year. It’s on like Donkey Kong! (soon.) I’m pretty excited to give this a try.

What new, exciting crafty projects have you been  dreaming of lately?

Somebody threw a snow-cone at my windshield. I thought I’d crashed into a rainbow- it was terrifying.

Well, once again it’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted, but I can’t apologize for it. Work is busy, and sometimes when I get home, all I want to do is lie on the floor and watch “The Big Bang Theory” or “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (which I’ve JUST started watching, and it’s cramazing.

So, this is not a crafty post. HA SUCKERS. I had my ten year wedding anniversary in November, and LSH and I spent almost two weeks in Maui. It was seriously the best vacation ever (even counting in the injury I got the first day- ripping skin/meat off the bottom of my left great toe, bleeding a bunch, almost passing out, and then getting vertigo later in the day.) I absolutely recommend Maui as a vacation for anyone who’s privileged enough to have the time/money to go (which we finally did this year). It’s beautiful and the weather was lovely- especially when compared to the first snowstorm of the year that we returned to! We even briefly considered moving there, we loved it so much, until we saw house prices that just made us laugh in dismay.

So, because it’s my blog and I can do what I want, here are some vacation photos. WOOT.

First day in Maui- Lanai in the background

Napili Beach

View from our room at the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel

LSH took this picture- one of the state parks, I can’t remember which one!

Tasty bevvie at Laihana Pizza Company- you MUST eat their delicious pizza

Road to Hana- sneakie peek at LSH doing…something.

Road to Hana- the Three Bears waterfalls

Road to Hana- Black Sand Beach

Road to Hana- Read Sand Beach

Red Sand Beach, complete with nudists

You see the two people directly in the middle, under the tree? The dude on the right was a smug, naked hippie. I saw his junk, and no, it wasn’t as impressive as he thought it was. Keep smoking the bud, man.

Seven Sacred Pools- very stanky looking water (no recent heavy rainfall to wash it out, I’m guessing).

Nifty old church, built 1862, with ruins of the rectory nearby.

And, OF COURSE, our christmas ornaments for each other. The pineapple was more of a vacation souvenir, while I got LSH the scuba diving turtle (he’s PADI certified and did three dives while we were there). LSH got me the hula Santa with the ukelele. They looked so charming on our tree.

Thanks for cruising (briefly) through my vacay with me! We’ve got loads more photos (including of us learning to surf) but they’re on LSH’s laptop, and I haven’t asked for copies yet. Womp womp. If/when I do, I’ll add some more (mostly for me haha).

If you want any tips on Maui, I can totes give you some, because I am NOT tired of talking about my trip yet. Straight off the bat I can recommend the Old Lahaina Luau and an evening of comedy and magic at Warren and Annabelle’s. Lahaina Pizza Company- I STILL MISS YOU.

In other news- we got a dog! More to come on him soon.

What are some of your favorite vacation memories?

You go through life, you try to be nice to people, you struggle to resist the urge to punch ’em in the face, and for what?

Hola friends. Picture-heavy post today, but no crafty projects lie herein. These are mainly from my vacation back in April(!) when I visited Los Angeles for the first time. I thought some of the fashion-y among you may enjoy the majority of these photos, taken at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Let’s go!

We stayed at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, which had opened in January of this year. It has a pretty cool history- it was once the United Artists Building, built in 1927. There’s also a theatre. A religious group kept the building in great condition over the past several decades, hence the photo below.

View from the hotel elevator-y area.

The hotel had a restaurant on the ground floor with many pencil sketches all over the walls. This was once of my favorites, obv.

Nice nipple, Arnold.

On our first full day, we went to LACMA; we had to become members to get in to see the James Turrell Retrospective, which was closing in several days. I was impressed by pieces of the Berlin Wall on the grounds.

Berlin-y.

Here’s the part I think most of my readers will enjoy- while we were there, there was a ginormous exhibit devoted to the 40th Anniversary of the Wrap Dress, as designed/made famous by Diane von Furstenberg. It was pretty freaking amazing. I took pictures of several of my favorites, and some to try to get the scope of just HOW MANY dresses were there (on freaky faceless mannequins.) Walk with me, friends!

I really liked the cheongsam-style neckline on this one, as well as the keyhole, the fabric (DUH) and the piping at the edges.

This one was simple and classic. Love that skirt fabric!

I think these next few will sing their sweet siren call to Anne (amongst others). I definitely could’ve stolen a few of these dresses.

This border print was AWESOME. The top is all dots, and the bottom….

Savannah scene! *dies*

I just loved the colors of this one (would prefer one sans collar though.)

These three were all lovely. The mannequins, however… TERRIFYING.

The green one in the middle- I swoon.

The fabric and the edge details on this one. Le Sigh.

Something about this supremely scary army of white mannequins reminded me of the Terracotta Warriors. Perhaps when DvF shuffles off her mortal coil, these fashionable soldiers will be buried with her?

There are just….so….many!

 

This one was my absolute favorite. I could see either Jem or Miss Piggy wearing this piece of fabulocity (or me, duh.)

All the animal prints. Check out the jumpsuit, helloooooo cameltoe!

So that was the DvF. The James Turrell exhibit was pretty good, if you’re into that sort of art (I’m pretty un-abstract, so bits of it were wayyyy over my head.) My favorite part of the James Turrell exhibit was the Roden Crater part- holy cramoly, it looks amazing.Like, OMG. OMG, holy crap.

I did quite enjoy the Calder Exhibit, as well. By the end of this, we were getting a little museum’ed out, so we got ready for dinner. I ate SO WELL in Los Angeles, you guys. Sushi, Korean bbq, diner food, you name it. So tasty.

Also, when I was at my husband’s boss’s office, I found a horse head. So obviously…

I wore the shit out of that freaking thing. We climbed up some hill in Long Beach, where my dear friend (who’d JUST had a baby about a month before) is doing her residency. It was blustery and scenic.

Saw this behind the LA MOOD. Oh Los Angeles, you’re so whimsical! Un-fuck the world, indeed.

My first time to the Pacific. It was chillly. I had bangs.

This next bit was pretty cool- we went to the Bradbury Building, which is where parts of Bladerunner were filmed. (I didn’t care for the movie, myself- just read “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” if you want a good story that makes more sense.)

Also about a million other things were filmed there, but that’s the one I recognized best.

Even if movies/TV/etc hadn’t been filmed here, it was still a very architecturally interesting building. I bet the offices have been updated to be boring, though (it still functions as an office building.)

I did spend quite a bit of time in the Fashion District of LA- it was within walking distance of my hotel. Here are some of the things I brought back. I bought ALL KNITS, and mostly stripes. WTF was I thinking? All that stripe matching. The sassy blue and red number is almost a complete Nettie. The grey with mint stripes is a Maria Denmark Kimono shirt (almost finished.) The splotchy fabric on the right is destined to be a wrap dress, inspired by the DvF exhibit. No clear plan for the pretty rainbow stripes. Probably a t-shirt of some sort. Maybe I’ll finally do a renfew!

Well, that’s about all for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed strolling through part of my LA Vacay with me. Any big travel plans coming up for fall(/spring if you’re in the southern hemisphere)?

I believe that children are our future. Unless we stop them now.

Hellooooooo errybody! So yeah, I’ve been slacking my ass off on craftiness this summer- between lying on the floor while LSH is playing “The Last of Us,” and sleeping during the day when I’m on nights, I’m just not getting much done. OH WELL. I’ve also been working on my beloved Nettie, but matching stripes on a knit is soul-sucking. I’ve had the back piece lined up on my table for two weeks, just waiting to be cut. Ain’t done it yet. I’m terrible. (FYI, if you google the word “Nettie” so you can link to Heather’s page, google images has lots of photos of naked ladies from what appears to be the 60s or 70s, pubes and all. So beware, yo.)

So this is a dress I actually made last year- sorry the photos aren’t great- it was really sunny and we were about to go to dinner with some friends. I tried to edit them in Picasa, but the results are clearly so-so.

BIG HAT, YO.

This is Simplicity 1878, v 2.0; I made it about two days after I made the last one. I loved it so much I tried again right away, but made the size 14 I needed (but a size ten neckline) without sleeves. Holy crap, you guys, I hate facings for sleeveless tops SO MUCH. So futsy.

I have no idea what to do with my arms.

This one was also serged on my MIL’s serger- so nice inside. Didn’t take photos because I’m a lazy turd. I wore it for the first time this summer several weeks ago and just had to laugh at the hem- I must’ve rushed through it like crazy because the inside is pretty jacked up. Looks ok on the outside though!

Anywho, if you compare this one to the last one, it’s clearly a whole different look-I used a nice, drapey, pink rayon with flowery things from Joann. The first one was a cotton sateen (also from Joann). I really like the flowy nature of this dress, but I don’t feel like it shows off the shape of a shift dress as it should, like my first one did. If (when) I make this again, I’ll use something with more structure. I’m even thinking of making it in a stable ponte knit. I would change the neckline to be more boat-y, and I’d make the front of the dress in one piece instead of 4. I’d love to make Tilly’s Coco, but this dress is so similar that, as much as I’d love to, I can’t justify buying a new pattern just yet. If it ends up being a total fail, I’ll probably go that route (or use the free Brigitte pattern.)

All in all, I’d say it’s a pretty ok dress! It’s nice for casual dates, I can wear it to work if I want, and it’s easy-breezy to wear in hot weather. I’ll take it! Plus, it looks great with my floppy hat. I love my new floppy hat. (I’m told quite often at work that I look too young- I tell people my secret is acne and staying out of the sun.)

Are you way past due on posting any projects?

Oh PS, here’s a picture of me looking like a miserable son-of-a-bitch during Ragnar- a team-based race that goes from Madison to Chicago. Apparently, my knees hate running almost as much as my brain.

ETA: WordPress tells me this is my 50th post. So lame that it’s for an old project! Thanks for sticking around, guys!

ETA2: Yeah, I changed up my look a bit today too- I was tired of the old one. The background is my current favorite color, as attested to by my sunglasses, purse, and kitchenaid mixer. The photo is from when I went to Belize- it’s from Tobacco Cay. That’s supposed to be the dive shop, if you can believe it haha.