Alex's Ramblings

2010-06-27T20:40:00.004-04:00

Well the 2 week resolutions didn't last too long, but I have made some progress on other projects. After a wonderful PR weekend I was inspired to start sewing a bit more and picked up this Jalie pattern (2921). The demo that Jalie did at the weekend was great! I had some fabric in my stash that I picked up in New York last year, and thought it had marinated long enough in the cupboard and it was time to give sewing knits again.

I noticed that Deepika had used this same fabric sometime last year to make up a top and had mentioned the problem of bullseyes due to the circles. I kept this in mind when selecting the top and fabric choice and thought well I won't make that same mistake and carried on. I only had 1 yard of fabric so I just made sure that no circles were in the bust area and started cutting hoping for the best. It was only when I finished the shirt and went looking though old blog posts did I realized that I had also picked the same pattern. If I had realized that in advance I might have been saved the trouble.

Let me just say I would trade for circles on the boobs versus what I ended up with. I really should have cut everything single layer and perhaps I would have avoided this problem. The shortage of fabric prevented any pattern matching, but I thought random squigly lines would be fine... If only!

Here's a pic...

Why wearing the shirt with the bow model is not an option : Though I'm not happy with the owl's eyes above the bust, it might be possible to wear it with the buckle. Must go and pick one up. (Excuse the bad photo, it's a bit hot in the house at the moment) On the positive side, I'm really happy with the fit and shape of the pattern. It went together really well. I love Jalie! I just wish I would pay more attention to things like this. Next time I do this pattern it'll definitly be with a solid and not a print. I've learnt me lesson on shirts with a centre front seam! I've also developed a bit more confidence for sewing with knits and rayon jersey in particular. I just love this fabric. It is so soft and confortable. I need to finally make up the hotpatterns wrap dress I bought ages ago! I just hope that I'll have better luck with pattern choice! I'm learning slowly I swear!

I have quite a few other finished projects or ones that are nearly done that I really must write about, if nothing else it keeps a nice log for me.

Two-Week Resolutions 1 week 1 (2WR1-1) - progress

2010-01-24T19:16:00.005-05:00

Well so far things are going well...

To recap the goals for this fortnight are :

Toe-up socks
Fit my blouse
only take the stairs

I have made good progress on my first toe-up sock. This is actually my third attempt, but first working with a real pattern. I bought Socks from the Toe-Up by Wendy K and things finally fell into place.

The yarn is by Lorna Laces that I bought in Toronto almost 3 years ago. Now I'll be able to use up all the wool and not have any leftovers.

I tried working on fitting my blouse pattern (jalie 2322 - hmm, can't find a link on Jalie's site - is it out of print?) today and got as far as taking out all but 1cm of the broad back increase that I had done and basically stalled when it came to making a 1 inch sway back adjustment, on top of the 3/4 inch adjustment that I had already done on the pattern. I was a little concerened that this was changing the sides of my pattern and that it just wouldn't work.

Back to the drawing board. I have succeeded in gaining about 10 pounds since September and it is probaby time to simply go up a size. I took my measurements and I am now a Size S (according to Jalie). Also thanks to a post on patternreview.com to check the postion of the waist. It appears that my waist is 1/2 inch higher than the pattern. I'll probably still have to do a small swayback adjustment (as this was required on a skirt I did in my sewing class) this may make the pattern a little bit better, that and lower the bust dart 1/2 inch

Honestly, I'm a little discouraged to start all over again from scratch, but thankfully I stumbed across Sew-4-fun's blog and one of her posts where she mentioned that it is nearly impossible to get something perfect on the first go (especially for newish sewers), so I'm going to start with that, sew up the blouse and work on perfecting the blouse in the future incarnations. I will succeed in having a well-fitting blouse by the end of this year!

As I've already cut out the top, I think I'll just try cutting out a new and larger back and fit it to the front that seems to fit ok as it. That and I don't have enough fabric to recut everything.

New Years Resolutions Two Weeks at a Time

2010-01-18T17:41:00.004-05:00

I heard a neat idea on the radio this morning of making resolutions for two week periods only. Most of what I want to accomplish this year is project based and therefore working in two week sprints I might actually finish some of my projects.

Here is v1.0 of the things I hope to accomplish by picking one or two to work on during the fortnight. Obviously some are much longer than others, but as long as have accomplished a few tasks of the project I will consider it a success.

Sewing

Make a proper fitting blouse
PJs for me
PJ bottoms for a friend
Draft adult one-piece PJs for my brother
Draft and make dress shirt for hubby
Use one of my hotpatterns and fabric from New York
Jalie Suit Jacket
Finish pants
Use one of my BurdaStyle patterns
Use some stash fabric

Knitting

Knit toe-up socks
Finish Juno (and frog what is done)
Fix toe on plain socks
Finish waving lace socks
Use some stash wool
Fix hats

General wellbeing and personal improvement

EA active every two days
Only take the stairs
More walks for the dog
Read a French book
Do some French homework
No buy week (except for food)
Keep the house spotless
No jeans at work (except for Fridays)

House

Finish decorating the bathroom
Plan kitchen modifications/renovations
Start planning basement decorating
Plant a garden
Do some yard work

Misc. projects

Go to Thailand
Learn a few key phrases in Thai
Finish photo books

First up:

Toe up socks
Fit my blouse pattern
Only take the stairs

Hmm, is that too much, time will tell come Monday February 1, 2010! Oh yah, and I must update the blog a little more often for it to keep me motivated.

A New House

2009-08-28T16:51:00.006-04:00

Well it seems we can't stay longer than 3 years in any one place, so this spring it was time to move again. My hubby got a new job about 1 hour west of where we were currently living so we decided to move to a small house in the suburbs to cut down his commute a bit and finally buy a house after living in appartment style condos before.

It's a tiny bungalo built in 1954, and though one day we dream of having a bit more space, frankly it's perfect for us at the moment. I really appreciate the fact that it's less to clean as already I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the garden. We're leaving that for next year as we've been fortunate to be blessed with the wonderful flowers the previous owner planted for us. I'm just a little scared that it'll be a mess come next spring due to our neglect.

Our first mission was to bring the stlye up to date and remove the "elderly" feel. The pink carpet had to go! We spent a lovely weekend removing the pepto-bismo inspired flooring so that our contractor could put down some new hardwood and remove the wall the created a hallway leading to the bedrooms. Initally we had planned to simply refinish the original hardwood under the carpet, however as the dining room was previously a 3rd bedroom, there was a bit gap where the wall had been removed and all of the planks were in the opposite direction to the majority of the hardwood. In the end to ensure a better result we decided to go with new flooring. Just as well, as our contractor informed us that the wood had seen better days and was pretty thin.

Here's a shot before:

And after:

I'm in love with our new floors and we just have to get another 2 pannels of curtains for the big window and paint the window boxes the same colour as the wall. Initally I thought we'd leave them white, but they stand out a bit too much. After that just a few more accessories to finish the space off, though I'm so happy with the results already.

Here's the perspective from the other side:

For the moment, you'll just have to imagine a large mirror with some floating shelves along the back wall and a better scaled picture between the two windows.

Here's the wall we had removed to open up the space a bit. The hallway was usefull when the dining room was a bedroom, however it just seemed to cut the space too much. so thanks to our wonderful contractors bye bye wall.

Yep, so in a nutshell this is what has been keeping me from my sewing projects. Well in reality, the fact that Hubby has taken my table and I only just started unpacking my sewing boxes once we finished painting the second bedroom which will eventually become my sewing room.

When Stuck, Start a New Project

2009-03-08T22:17:00.004-04:00

So I got a bit stuck on my Jalie pants, but I finished a skirt today. Here as well I was getting horizontal wrinkles so I definitly think that I need to let out the hips on my pants.

This is my second skirt from this patter from Sew U by Wendy Mullen. It went together quite well, and was made even easier by the border print that requires no hemming. In total I think it took me about 4-5 hours, but I'm definitly not a fast sewer and I don't have a serger that is up and running yet, so this is good for me.

I'll write up a pattern review for this baby tomorrow, but for now it's bed time.

Wrinkle Woes and Some Finished Socks

2009-03-08T11:03:00.005-04:00

I've been working on my Jalie pants 2561. I really like them so far, and can't wait to finish them up, but I'm a little concerned about the horizontal wrinkles. You can see them here. I guess I should really just try letting out the hips a smidge and see if that helps. I think I've gained a little bit of weight since I first started making the pants. If I raise them up slightly the wrinkles disappear, but I'm not sure if the waist band will really help with that. Perhaps I just need to run a bit and the problem will sort itself out.

There is also a bit of wrinkling under my butt that I can't figure out. I reeally need to find a good fitting book to figure out what is causing the wrinkles. I couldn't find any info online. I thought this would have been a common problem, but I'm obviously not using the right words to search.

I think I'll be off to the bookstore to see if I can find a good book to find the solution to my woes.

In knitting news, I've finished a few socks and completed the pairs. First up, X-mas socks for my Mother-in-Law, by her request.

Then the window-pane socks (ravelry link) for my Grandma. I actually started these on our summer road trip in September, so I'm glad that they are finally finished.

And some socks just for me: These are the Embossed Leaves (ravelry link again) by Mona Schmidt. I love the pattern, but they are just a tiny bit big because I probably should have gone down a needle size, but once again, I didn't check guage. I even dyed the wool myself for these babies!

I'm a winner!

2008-11-20T19:23:00.003-05:00

Yah, I'm so excited, I won the Jalie pattern give-a-way... I'm so excited to pick out another one of their patterns to try. In the mean time, I finished DH's housecoat. It was a week late, but better late then never. I also didn't want to rush it too much and screw it up. That's one thing I love about Jalie's patterns, it's hard to screw up if you follow the instructions. Though I must be careful to get to cocky or karma will bite me in the butt.

DH mentioned that he wanted a house coat for his birthday and I wanted to make him something so I made him this house coat using Jalie's pattern . I'm so pleased with how it turned out. The only slight problem that I had was that the color buckles a bit, but I think that is because my feed dogs were having trouble with all the fabric laters to get through. DH says that he loves it, so I'm happy. The only slight panic I had was cutting it out, I didn't follow the placement for the pattern peices and didn't realize till almost too late that the way I had it laid out I was going to be missing a sleeve. Fortunatly I was able to change a few peices around before too much was cut out and one sleeve was only slightly shorter than the other, which got lost in the sleeve hem. I really enjoyed learning the new techniques that were included in this pattern and will definitly sew this pattern again, though not so sure about the terry cloth experience as it killed my sissors. Perhaps better quality ones would do better?!

Without further ado:

The Green Machine:

The motivation I needed to get some posting done

2008-11-19T19:24:00.003-05:00

Well I thought it was finally about time to post some of the things I've sewed in the last little bit, but kept putting it off till I saw this: Jalie pattern give-away. I thought, I've got almost 4 patterns that I've sewed but not review yet at patternreview.com so I finally got onto it tonight and posted the 3 patterns that have been completed. (Must finish DH's house coat tonight though).

I can't say enough good things about Jalie, they are absolutely my favorite pattern company, and I love dreaming about all the new things I can make from them. As a beginning sewer these are the only patterns that turned out for me (ok, with the exception of one, but that is only because I didn't follow the instructions and trie to alter it.). They have great styles that are classic and the patterns fit! They don't need to add 5 inches of ease to everything like they do in the big 4!

So without further ado:

I used the Jalie blouse pattern 2322 and altered it to copy a RTW shirt I saw at RW Connection. I moved the bust dart to under the bust and then cut the pattern into 3 peices, added seam allowances and then added volume to the sleeves to make them puffed. I'm really happy with how this turned out though next time I'll have to move the bust band down just a bit, I find it rides up when I'm wearing it.

Next up in a fleece jacket (Jalie 2319) that was one of my first ever projects, and first project that actually turned out after having frustrating experiences with the Big 4 being way too big. I need to make another one as I really like this jacket. I want to make one that is part of a yoga sweatsuit outfit or something like that.

This jacket has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to sew up another version. This one I just used some cheap cordouroy fabric that I had lying around, though I'm not very happy with my finishing job. This is my fault though. I decided not to do the lining and then the facing got a bit wrinkled and wrapped by how I tried to attach it. Live and learn. I really liked how my welt pockets turned out, and they would be perfect if I wasn't so impatient and decided to you the same fabric to do the body of the pocket which made them really bulky. I've already bought some nicer fabric and I am looking forward to trying this again, but next time I think I'll wait to get a little farther along in my sewing classes.

The one sock parade...

2008-10-25T09:53:00.004-04:00

I've actually been fairly busy with projects, but haven't got around to posting them, or even finishing them. I think I have officially been diagnosed with OSS (one sock syndrome), though I may be on the mend. I have just about finished one pair, but there are still two other pairs looking for mates.

First up, the (almost) finished pair that I think I'll be giving to my Grandma when I go back home. Window pane socks. They came together quite nicely, and it was fun to practice my fair isle knitting. I really like the colours, but wished that they had a bit more contrast. I hope my Grandma will really like them, as she loves bright colours.

Next up are two singletons from Favorite Socks. I made the embossed leave socks from some yarn from knitpicks that I dyed myself with food colouring and vineagar. It was my first attempt, but I was quite pleased with the turquoise colour. I love the pattern on this sock and can't wait to have a pair so I can actually wear them. The yarn is a bit rougher than I would like, it's Perevian Highland wool, but the colour makes up for it.

The other half-pair is made from some wool that I picked up from my LYS Ariadne I can't remember the name of the wool, as the ladies there were nice enough to wind up the yarn for me, but I forgot to grab the lable. It is a wonderful colour and so soft. I used the Waving lace pattern from the same book (Favorite socks). It was a easy pattern to memorize, and it was here that I finally figured out how to read lace patterns. So simple, yet I was making it so complicated!

And finally as a bonus is a picture of the hat I knit for friend's baby finally being modeled. For this I followed the the modifications listed on Anny purl's blog for the shedir pattern. I used knit picks Shine Sport for this. I had a little trouble understanding the decreasing, but eventually figured it out.

To the had I also knit a pair of little booties, but unfortunatly don't have a pic of those, as the baby grew out of them too quickly. The Saartje booties pattern I used is really easy and so adorable, I'll definitly be making more of these.

Well, that's a bit of what I've been up to knitting wise, I'll soon have to update my finished sewing projects. I've been taking some sewing classes, hoping that some of the things I make will eventually be wearable outside of the house. It's starting to come together, and I have a few things to finish up.

Time for an update

2008-06-25T21:45:00.003-04:00

So it has been a really long time since I posted anything. I have been busy. Ok, well continuing on with old projects and starting with some new ones. I finished the sewing classes that I was taking, and am kind of glad they are over. I loved all that I learned, but I'm not sure that I like being forced to sew in order to get the most out of the process. I need to feel the vibe, and with the structure I loose the craving to sew.

Well it is back with advengence, but now I want to be back in my classes so that I can get the help I need. I'll definity need to sign up again in the fall I think. I still have so much to learn.

I finished a skirt in my sewing class that I'm very happy with, and have worn a few times, but I'll have to wait till hubby gets back home with my camera to post some pictures. in the mean time, here's a pic of a shirt that I finished alongside my sewing classes. Guess I was trying to proove to my teacher that I could sew, so this one I didn't have any help with!

My biggest problem with sewing is fit, and I was starting to get so frustrated with sewing the Big Four is how big they are. This shirt is from jalie , and I am totally in love with these patterns. The actually fit right out of the package! I'm still learning how to alter patterns, but with Jalie, I can actually get something I can wear!
Here's a pic of the front - Jalie 2322:

and one of the back:

And now for a detail shot of my first attempt at barrel cuffs:

I'm really please with how it turned out, though, the button holes are a bit tight, and the bust dart is too high. Not sure if I didn't just trace the wrong dart line. Next time I make this pattern, I'll move the dart down.

Coming up soon, working on my first complicated Burda world of fashion pattern, a shirt dress from may 2007 issue, I'm quite please with how it's turning out, I just need to add the collar and it'll be done.

Comng up... Some pictures of the socks that are on the needles, but those deserve their own post, and I must run to take my little pup out before bed!

Update on the knitting Front

2008-03-08T09:11:00.006-05:00

My goal is to make a dent in my stash that got a bit large after x-mas. No more buying till I clear at least one of my drawers, ok, maybe not that much, but definitly to get a few projects down! That doesn't mean I can't accept gifts though! I have been fairly busy since x-mas, and have actually completed some projects rather than casting on new ones.

1st up, Rob my sweet brother gave me some yarn for my birthday I made up a pair of socks in the self-patterning yarn. It was my first pair of socks that turned out so well! I used the pattern in the knitter's handy book of patterns, that my parents gave me for x-mas! Such a great book!

After that I cast on the jay-walker pattern from Grumperina's website. I'm in love with this pattern and the wool that my parent's gave me for my birthday from Knitpicks. I've finished one, just need to graft the toe, and made it down to the heel on the other one, just have to finish turning it. Hopefully I can finish them in the next couple of days. The foot seemed to go fairly quickly.

Next up, still working on my socks using the jitterbug I picked up at my Local Yarn Shop (LYS). I bought this over a year ago. I have started at then frogged this sock about 3 times trying to get it just right. This photo was also frogged, but I have since reknit it using the same pattern for the self-patterning socks. It now fits perfectly. This one was just a tad too big in the toe and foot. The added bonus with making it smaller, is the pooling you see in the back had now disappeared.
The next two pictures are a gift I made for some friends who had a baby in december. I'm really pleased with how the booties turned out, I think they are super cute, and I will definitly be making more in the future!! They are Saartje's Booties, and the pattern is available on her website. This is the best pattern for using up left-overs, and especially helpful, as there does seem to be a major baby boom around me at this point! Found out that four people I know are pregnant this week alone. The only problem is that I don't have a decent photo of the projects, hopefully the parent's will send me one soon.

The hat is the Shedir pattern from Knitty. There are some much better pictures at annypurls site, Though I promise, mine does look just like hers!

And finally my Clessidra socks, because I don't believe I ever posted a completed photo. I'm quite please with how they turned out, but I definitly need to get some elastic to ensure that they stay up!
Wow, I'm actually caught up! I just started a sewing class last week, so I should have some more sewing projects to post soon, for the moment, trying to knit like a maniac!

In order to keep biking in November

2007-11-05T21:08:00.000-05:00

Well to keep biking to work, I needed some new warm fleece pants! I picked up the new Burda World of Fashion and there is so much that I want to make from it, the only problem is the lack of instructions, and my sewing knowledge, but these pants were really easy to put together, and were really warm for biking on a chilly November morning. ok I shouldn't complain too much, it is still above freezing!

Anyway, here is the post I made on patternreview.com

Pattern Description: These pants feel comfortable due to wide legs and a non-constricting broad waistband. Recommended fabric: Jersey/knitsPattern Sizing:Burda sizes 34-44

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes, but the bottoms seemed a bit wider than the photo.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

As a beginner sewer, and having made a few pj pants before, I thought this would be no problem, but I had a bit of trouble figuring out how the waist band attached to the pants. In the end, I sewed the ends together, then folded the waist band in half and attached right sides together to the pants waist, stretching a bit to make it fit, then I folded it again, and enclosed the seam within the waist band.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Very comfortable workout/yoga pants.

Fabric Used:2-way stretch FleecePattern

Alterations or any design changes you made:

The only change was to use fleece rather than a knit, as I wanted a really warm pair of pants to bike to work in. They are really warm, though the bottoms are too wide for biking, I'll have to take them in a bit. Also I should have used a jersey waist band of matching colour, as the band is a bit thick, and my machine had a lot of trouble coping with 4 layers of fleece. It is also a bit thicker than I would like, but for biking they to the trick.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Definitly recommend this pattern to others, and I can't wait to make the other items that went in this section.ConclusionDefinitly a well drafted, flattering pair of pants. I'm having trouble taking them off, they are so warm (in fleece). In total they took about 4 hours from tracing the pattern to cutting to sewing. Very quick.

And now for some pics:

PS, my socks are done, I just must get around to taking some pics.

Practice makes perfect!

2007-10-01T19:13:00.001-04:00

I started making a baby sweater for a friend of mine who was expecting her first child. I was making good progress, and thought for sure I would have it done in time for her baby shower. Well as I was folding it up after weaving in all the loose ends, and sewing up the sides, I realized that it was 2 inches shorter than it was supposed to be. Stupid guage! So I added some more ribbing onto the bottom to save it. Then just as I was feeling a sence of relief and satisfaction for having completed the sweater on time, I noticed that one sleeve was much wider than the other.

So my poor friend received only this picture of the sweater at her shower, as I proceeded to rip out most of it and recalculate the measurements of the sweater.

The sweater is from Debbie Bliss' book - Special knits, and is the ribbed sweater seen on the cover. My main beef with this pattern is that she only gives you the number of rows to knit, and not how long it should measure. These simple measurements would have saved me a lot of work, because my guage appeared to be alright, but I guess my row count was just a little too far off! The only modification I made was to add a button hole, as the picture just seems to have a broach pinned on it. I don't think my friend wants her baby stabbed by accident!

I also had almost 2 balls of wool left over from what she recommended, so I knit my friend's little girl a cabled hat from Cable's Untangles by Melissa Leapmen. I was quite pleased that I was able to figure out the modifications to make the hat for a baby from the adult pattern. It is just so cute. It appears to be about the right size for a one year old (been knitting for the future!), I figure it will fit her eventually.

I'll continue on with my Clessidra socks, the first one should be finished soon, the second one, well hopefuly I won't be aflicted with SSS. At the moment, though, I'm starting to develop a craving for sewing again. So many people are making great things out there!

Oh, I almost forgot, here is a picture of the socks I knit my mom for her birthday, though I'm not sure if she has even worn them yet. Grandma, you'll have to get after her for me! At least my puppy thinks they're delicious!

Finally success is mine!

2007-10-01T19:09:00.001-04:00

So my poor friend received only this picture of the sweater at her shower, as I proceeded to rip out most of it and recalculate the measurements of the sweater.

One Year Ago Today...

2007-06-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

One year ago today was the day before I got married. My dearest friends, and my aunts Debbie and Jennifer (under Jen's wonderful direction) were busy preparing the flowers for my wedding. Personnally I think I had the most gorgeous flowers ever, so I big thanks goes out to my Aunt Jen, for her amazing talent. This was the only part of the wedding that I got around to blogging about, and you can see that post here - flowers.

This day one year ago, my grandma threw us a great party to welcome all our out of town guests.

the food was amazing, and it was so enjoyable to have a relaxed party with those that mean the most to Martin and I.

Truely the best part of the wedding, was not all the details that I had worked so hard to plan over the previous year, but rather having (almost) everyone I love and cherish in the same room to celebrate our love.

Here are two of my favorite photos from the wedding, The first Greg took, it's a bit blurry, but I think it sums up how I was feeling that day.

The second, is one that I hope to enlarge one of these days to put on my wall, I love how I can look at all these people and a flood of memories come to me for each stage of my life, how without them, I would not be where I am today. Thank you to all of you!

Now the big question, how are we going to celebrate our first anniversary? Well, first thing, I should do, but haven't done yet, is sell my wedding dress, perhaps next week, it's taking up too much space in the closet, and I don't really have anywhere to wear it again. That I think it would be too depressing to realize that it no longer fits!

We are planning to have a nice fondu dinner at home (as prepared à la Martin). For my contribution, well some fresh sugar peas, that are currently residing on my balcony...

Some fresh salad is in order as well, a nice spring mix... Perhaps a goat cheese and arugla salad? I'll have to come up with a special reciepe! I can't tell you how excited I am about lettuce! Goodnes, I'm a bit of a dork, though the novelty will wear off soon I'm sure!

The peppers will have to wait till later on in the season, I think I started them a bit too late! I'll know better next time.

I have finally discovered the joy of gardening, as things are really starting to take off, and I'll be able to enjoy the fruits ("vegetables") of my labour this evening! I definitly felt like we needed a special occasion to enjoy the first harvest. I started all my veggies from seed in april, and this is where I have gotten to! I'm quite proud of my little container garden! I must send out a virtual thank you to Gayla for her wonderful gardening blog, for those of us who know very little about gardening!

2nd sewing project of the year

2007-05-15T17:47:00.000-04:00

So I fianlly got around to sewing up this top that I bought the pattern and fabric for two years! I figured it would be a good chance to get back into sewing again. I've got so many ideas floating around in my head, but they don't always come to reality the way that I had intended. This summer I hope to sew a lot, and improve my skills!

The halter turned out well, though I find it gapes a bit along the bust line, but not too badly, and not terribly noticeable. At least I can adjust the straps!

Project specs:

Simplicity 5057 View D,

Material: Turquoise stretch cotton

Bit of elastic.

I'm not sure what it is about Simplicity patterns, even though I take careful measurements, they always end up too big, and I end up having to take a lot out. This one was actually a bit better, but still had to sew 3 cm seam allowances rather than 1,5cm. For more info, you can check out my review at patternreview.com

As for knitting projects, I have a secret gift that headed to Edmonton, so I'll post photos when they have arrived.

I'm very excited though, I have a bunch of new patterns that have arrived from Jalie that I can't wait to sew up. I got the street jacket, the blouse, the stretch pants, and the suit jacket

I started tracing the suit jacket out yesterday; this is probably the most advanced project that I have ever attempted. I didn't even get around to cutting out the tisue paper, as there are over 17 pieces! This should definitly keep me busy for awhile!

A little Sweater

2007-04-18T21:13:00.000-04:00

Well I finally finished the ribbon-edged cardigan by Debbie Bliss. Now I just need to find a baby to model it. My neighbour said I could borrow her little boy. I better get my act together before he is too big! It went together quite easily, and I was actually suprised at how much wool was left over. I was a little nervous because I was using some very special wool that Kelsey brought me from Vancouver, and the woman that dyes the yarn is going on sabatical, so no more will be avaialable, (It's Sweet Georgia Yarn). I might even have enough left over for a little hat or booties. Maybe one of these days I'll get busy making the baby to go in them, but not for a couple of years!

The only problem that I had, was that I modified the gauge, and now, I'm not sure if any buttons will actually fit through the button holes! Oh well.

Without further adieu, the cardi!

Brazil - Rio and Iguassu

2007-04-01T10:12:00.000-04:00

Our Honeymoon

We planned a 2 week trip travelling around Brazil (Rio, Iguassu Falls and Buzios) and Argentina (Buenos Aires) to celebrate our wedded bliss (only 9 months late). The trip was wonderful. We arrived in Rio after an overnight flight from Atlanta and started looking for our shuttle bus to take us to the hotel. We met a guy who flashed us his tourist badge and told us that the buses were dangerous and to take a cab. If we followed him, he would show us to the cabs. We stupidly followed him down to the parking garage, but when he showed us his regular car, and we realized that he was going to take us, we said no thank you, and he left us and ran back up to try to find some more unsuspecting tourists. I'm happy to say that that is the worst of our stories form Rio, though we did hear some doosies from our fellow travellers we met along the way.

We found the bus that was quite safe and headed down to our hotel. The trip took about 2 hours due to rush hour, but let us see an overview of the city from the comfort of the bus. We got to our hotel, but our room wouldn't be ready for another 2 hours so we dropped off our bags and headed out for a walk around the neighbourhood. First thing was to head down to Impanema Beach...

Our first day was a bit low key, as we were suffering from our overnight flight, we just wondered around the Impanema neighbourhood and spent a bit of time on the beach.

Day 2 Rio
We decided that we had to go and discover sugar loaf. A mountain which provides an amazing lookout over Rio. We left our hotel and walked over to Sugarloaf passing Copacabana beach along the way

It took us about 3 hours to walk down to sugar loaf. When we got there a nice cab driver informed us that we really should go and see Coracorado (the Christ Statue) now (and he could take us) as it closes at 6 pm, and then come back to sugar loaf to see the sunset. Maybe so, but we had just walked 3 hours to see Sugarloaf, we weren’t taking a cab from Sugar loaf to go to the other end of the city (closer to our hotel actually). We thanked him kindly and proceeded to head up Sugar loaf mountain.

Heading up sugar loaf

And finally the view from Sugar Loaf :
You can just make out the Christ Statue in the background.

That evening after returning to our hotel we headed out for dinner at a Churrascara (sp?) a Brazilian BBQ, where they bring around more meat then you could possibly imagine eating in a month, and a samba show.

It was definitely Carnival!!! Trust me those girls aren't wearing much under those feathers!

Day 3 – RIO

Today we headed out to see the Christ Statue that overlooks the town. It is over 30 m high, and very impressive. We were looking for a taxi to take us to the train station, but ended up with a limo from our hotel that took us straight to the top. I was thinking as we got a little closer, perhaps we should have asked how much this is going to cost us, as I don’t think this is what we had requested. We were then taken up to the top of the statue and our driver said that he would wait while we went to the look out. Then I knew, yep… exploited once again because we can’t speak Portuguese. Oh well it was nice to have the first class treatment, and didn’t end up costing more than if we had gone in a regular taxi and took the train.

Our self portrait on top of the Corvarado Mountain, and below Martin posing with the statue. Unfortunatly, you can't really see how tall this thing really is! It's over 30 m high, that is like 10 stories!

The bump off in the distance is sugar loaf and the rest is obviously beautiful Rio and the gorgeous beaches!

The rest of the day we spent lounging around the beach and shopping in Impanema.

The next day we were off to Iguassu to go and see the magnificent waterfalls. Day one was spent wandering around the town, then on Day two we went and check out Itapu damn, the world’s largest hydroelectric damn, and got a bit of a propaganda presentation on how wonderful the damn is, how many job it created, how much energy produced, and how well the environment is protected. It was an impressive amount of concrete.

We then got back on the public bus (yes we took public transit in Brazil and lived to tell about it, it’s not that bad really, though I think we were the only tourists on the bus. We then caught another bus and headed to the national park and the falls.

This was just the beginning. There are over 273 individual waterfalls! It is truely one of the most spectacular places on earth!
Take note of that little boat heading towards the falls. That is what we did the following day! So much fun!

Got to have your cute couple shot in front of the falls right!?!

And finally a few more pics of beauty.

The last full day we had in Iguassu we headed to the bird sanctuary and had fun looking at all the exotic birds
I have now formaly met Tucan Sam, he is very nice, though a tad anti-social

We got to see a cocodile attack some poor helpless turtles that were just enjoying a bit of sun (note: no one was actually injured in the taking of this photo)

I swear this parrot was trying to attack me. He had an evil glint in his beedy little eyes.

And then we went and took a boat ride up to the falls, and proceeded to get completely soaked as our zodiac driver drove right up into the falls. That was probably the highlight of the trip roaring along in a little boat. No photos of that adventure yet, have to get the waterproof camera developed first!

Next stop was Buenos Aires, We headed to the airport bright and early but were delayed 2 hours due to fog, and then missed our connection. We ended up arriving about 6 hours later than planned. On the flight over we met a nice couple from town and they invited us out for dinner the following night to show us around town. We agreed and the date was set.

Buenos Aires is such a beautiful city. I fell instantly in love. I guess it didn’t hurt staying in a 5 star hotel. We were living the life of luxury in B.A. The city is quite cheap! Finally a place where the exchange rate is really in our favour. That doesn’t happen that often.

The first night we spent wondering a bit around the shops on Calle Florida, A big pedestrian shopping street

And caught a few tango street performers.

Day 2 was spent wandering the streets around our hotel, doing a bit of shopping and enjoying some of the beautiful buildings

We then headed out to meet our new friends for dinner. Hernande met us at the subway station and took us to their favourite local restaurant where Marianus joined us after he finished work. We had the specialty which was a breaded meat patty serving as the base with various pizza toppings on top. It was really good.

Then we went out for ice cream. Did you know that Buenos Aires is famous for its ice cream? It definitely should be. It has to be the best ice cream that I have ever had!!

The next day we headed down to the Boca, the tango epicentre of B.A. and famous for its brightly coloured buildings. We walked along the docks and came across a naval ship, and of course I had to board.

There was a bit of a situation on board, but I think Martin and I saved the day

We continued down to the end of the wharfs and realized that we would not be able to cross the highway easily to get to la Boca so we caught a cab. The neighbourhood is still quite poor, and full of lots of artists, but has become quite touristy, well the area we stayed in. In general I felt really safe in B.A. But once I saw what it was like around the couple of tourist streets in La Boca, I didn’t really want to venture too far off the beaten track.

We watched a bit of tango and did a bit of tango

That night we went out for dinner at the Plaza Marriot, which was supposed to have an amazing grill. Well it turned out to be a fancy hotel restaurant, much like the one we were staying in, just a bit more expensive. The service wasn’t great, and I was surprised to get French fries with my filet mignon in a 5 star restaurant! Still can’t complain too much, because the meal with wine for the both of us, was still under $50, though very expensive by B.A standards!

For our last day we walked over to the graveyard where Evita is buried. I was blown away by the cemetery. The tombs are like little churches with amazing statues everywhere! Evita’s was one of the plainer graves.

Ok, that is enough photos of that but it is crazy how all of the tombs are like that. You can enter into the tomb and pray for your loved one often at the alter your family has had built for them. Many famous statesmen and generals are buried here.

That evening, we went out for dinner and had the typical Argentinean grill platter. It was shall we say interesting. The ribs and chicken was not bad (a little dry) and I let Martin taste the “unknown” items, which as I suspected turned out to be Kidneys, and tripe (I did not get that one, nor eat any of it).

To finish off the evening, we headed out to a tango show, that was a lot of fun.

The next day was lost in transit, and we arrived back at the Rio airport at 11pm where we spent the night. I was really glad that we booked the hotel there rather than trying to get a taxi into town and back to the airport the next morning. Though it was a little disheartening that the most expensive room we had didn’t even have a window!

There was a bit of a miscommunication about what time our ride was coming to pick us up and take us to Buzios. Initially they had told me in 15 minutes, so we checked out of the hotel and headed to the lobby, however once there, we found out that it would actually be 2 hours more, which ended up being closer to 3. Time doesn’t really mean the same thing in South America as in North America.

We made it to Buzios in the late afternoon, and were immediately blown away by its beauty.

The first full day there we headed out on a schooner trip around the peninsula. I was a little disappointed that there were no sails, but what can you do. We had a lot of fun swimming in the clear water and jumping off the ship.

On the ship we met a lovely couple, Wendy and Pete, from England that were at the end of their 4 ½ month trip around the world.

After the schooner ride we headed back to the hotel for a nap and then met up with Wendy and Pete for another Brazilian BBQ. Definitely Martin’s favourite meal choice in Brazil.

Buzios was very relaxing and a lovely way to end our dream honeymoon!

Packing

2007-03-11T09:33:00.000-04:00

So we are off to Brazil tomorrow! So much to do today to get ready. Trying not to get stressed out about it. I'll try to post a few photos when I get back to share with all my wonderful readers (Rob, I can hear you laughing from here!)

Ok, must go and get my packing finished!

Knitting Disasters?

2007-02-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

Well, the socks I've been making from the yarn Kesley gave me (Sweet Georgia Yarn from BC) need new toes. I'm not happy with how they have been turning out! One it too short and the other much too long. Time to face reality and start ripping. I've also determined that I have enough wool to finish them up in the same colour so that is what I'm going to do!

Then I have still been struggling with what to do with the yarn I got just before x-mas. It is such a beautiful colour, but is a little scratchy. I had initially planned to make the "Left over vest" from Knitty, but I failed to follow the instructions not once but twice! So then I decided perhaps I should do little projects with the wool and make a pair of socks. so I thought I would try the Harlots "Tulip socks". Well I needed to modify the guage a bit, and well, I'm not sure if I would ever wear these. They are little bit bulky. That would mean like the 4th failure this wool has seen. I'm starting to get a bit discouraged. Not sure what to make with it!

Kelsey, my yarn dealer, brought me some more Sweet Georgia yarn, (That stuff is addictive) and the bad news that the woman who makes this gorgeous stuff is going on a trip, and the business is going on hiatis! So sad! I decided to use it to make a baby sweater. No, I'm not expecting, but perhaps in a couple of years, I just thought this colour would make the cutest sweater. I'm just not sure that I'm going to have enough. I did over a page of math calculations, and it looked promising and that I shoould have 50 yards left over, but I don't know how well I trust myself to figure that out. Do I just keep going till I run out and hope for the best? If it doesn't work, I'll rip it out and make the coolest socks ever! This is the left front side of Debbie Bliss' Ribbon edged cardigan, and the start of the back. Any bets on if I'll make it? I had 400 yards to start with. I'll have to find the lable again to give more details.

Only one more week till I'm off on my honeymoon! Brazil baby!

A Sock!

2007-02-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

Well I have officially completed one sock and managed to cast on a second one. I thought I should provide some photos as proof. I've even managed to cast on the second one, though I have many other projects on the brain, I thought if I at least cast this one on, then perhaps it would get done at some point, perhaps for next winter. I still need to make my curtains for my bedroom! I've started to notice a few mistakes in them, and I'm debating whether or not to take it a part and start over, perhaps just the toe, I think that is what bothers me the most.

And finally I leave you this (Rob) for your viewing pleasure. My (finally) arranged spice cabinet. It's like a rainbow of flavours ready to make delectable treasures!

First Knitting Project of 2007

2007-01-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, really the 2nd, I'm still in the process of ripping out the remainder of my dying project. I really need to read the pattern before I start. I forgot (or neglected to notice) that I was supposed to be increading, and hence the vest is a little on the small side. I've put it to rest will all the other unfinished projects that are awaiting first aid.

At the moment, I am beginning my first sock made with actual sock yarn (the acrylic crap I used before is not nearly in the same league!) This yarn was a beautiful gift from my friend Kelsey, and I've been having fun seeing how the pattern develops. The yarn is hand painted merino sock yarn from Vancouver. I'll have to find the little lable thing again to post the website. In other craft projects, I started sewing again, and finished up another tanktop from jalie (www.jalie.com) They have the best patterns ever. They actually fit! This was sent off to a friend of mine with a pair of fleece pants as a very late x-mas gift (I cut out the pants for x-mas 2005!)

Here's a picture of the tank top! Finally no bunching at the neck. Hope my friend enjoys it!

PS. Here is the last completed project of 2006, which was a wedding gift for my friend Jen. Sorry about the quality of the photo, I stole it from Kelsey's blog, and cropped it for a close up of my first pair of mittens and frum mittens. I want a pair for myself now!

A Tour of the new Condo

2006-08-30T09:33:00.000-04:00

A picture of our new condo for all to behold. Still trying to decide on colours, if you have any ideas, leave me a comment to let me know. Please draw your attention to our beautiful new dining room table! A wedding gift from our generous guests! We love it and can't wait to entertain on it.

Moving In

2006-08-22T14:33:00.000-04:00

We are almost all moved in. Well our stuff is here, but have yet to finish painting all our walls.

Picking the paint colours:

Well I'm not sure about the colour that we picked. I felt rushed to make a decision, and picked out our colours at Home Depot, under their lighting. You never know what it will do when you get home.

I think I'll start with one wall and if we hate it, buy another can of paint. It is so much trouble to paint sometimes, worth paying another $30 to get a better colour. I hope it will look good, I need curtains. I need to make curtains with the fabric that I already have.

The thing I've learnt/remembered about moving:

It really is a lot of work.
Perhaps I'm a bit lazy

ok, back to work, I'm working from my unfinished condo today. Mostly livable though now after 2 weeks

A Little Bit About the Wedding

2006-08-02T12:49:00.000-04:00

Let's talk flowers.

My Aunt Jennifer was absolutely amazing and helped me and my bridesmaids make the most beautiful flowers for my wedding. I can't thank her enough for her expertise that she shared with us. I was a little naive thinking about how I wanted them to be done, and they probably would have looked very handmade if she hadn't been there!

she taught us some floral basics and things were so beautiful afterwards. I don't think I've seen such beautiful flowers in my life! My bridesmaids and fabulous Aunts (my Aunt Debbie came to help as well) and me put in about 40 man hours, and I am still blown away with the results!

Just having a bit of time with all these beautiful woman was also a lot of fun. It helped me to relax, or perhaps just focus on something else rather than the wedding. We were definitly focused on the task at hand, not the big event!
And the final results on the big day! I can't thank these wonderful women enough!

The essential bouquet shot! That was probably the moment that I realized I was nervous before the wedding, when I was trying to tie the ribbon around my bouquet, and couldn't get it. Fortunatly, my bridesmaids came to my rescue.