kicking my own ass.....

I'm about halfway through a new dress (McCall 4768) and it seems from the time I took my measurements until now either a) the dress has shrunk, b) my ass has grown, or c) the pattern measurements on the envelope are just off by an inch or two.

I'm going with option C personally, but that doesn't make me feel any better. While the dress does technically 'fit' there is no way in hell I'm going to wear this out in public looking the way it does. I'm no Mariah Carey, and 'sausage casing' is not a good look for me.

So the dress has been put aside for the time being and I started day 1 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred to see if I can whittle myself back down into it. Stranger things have happened! Plus I'm just coming off my cycle so that always makes me swell a teensy bit anyways.

On the sewing room front - I got a new ironing board and (cheap) iron today so I can return the good/expensive one back downstairs for every day use. Figure I'll do most of the major ironing of fabrics as soon as I pull them from the dryer so I can use the Rowenta downstairs for that and just use the new one upstairs for seams while sewing. Also hung two of my photography prints (one of my own, one of my old photog prof.) on one wall and framed two of my old sorority cross stitch pieces to hang on another wall when Stephen is available to help me hang my shelf. I've also got an old painting he did in the first grade that his Nana had mounted and framed that I plan to hang as well, it's really cool!

what's new in my world...

I FINALLY got a sewing table, and was able to set up my space in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs!


you can also see the new serger I got Friday as well ;)

Also finished something new (and stop reading if you are my brother or sister-in-law, or are married to or was a groomsman in my wedding) just a few minutes ago -


Actually made two of them, but since they are identical I'm only showing one, kindly modeled by Betty and my cowboy

why I have the BESTEST husband evar!!!

I just ordered a serger!


Brother 1034D

Since my free trial of Amazon Prime is still good for another 9 days I was able to get one day shipping for $3.99, so she will be delivered on Friday and I get a whole weekend to play with her!

gremlins!

we seem to have gremlins in our house, or maybe a mischievous leprechaun?

whatever it is, something has swiped my potato peeler, and now my skirt/pant hooks are missing!

I've finished another skirt (McCall's 5429) but I can't find the hook closure, and I KNOW I have some since I bought a new pack when I made the last version of this skirt!

The last one was denim and was cute, but I wasn't very happy with the fit or the cheap denim I picked up at WalMart. This new version is a really nice stretch cotton-blend khaki, and (as well as I can tell without the closure) fits absolutely perfectly. The pattern makers seem to assume that all women are at least 6 feet tall so I've got to cut a few inches off so I don't look uber-religious, but again that requires the closure so I can accurately measure where to cut it...

guess I just have to console myself with this glass of wine and the homemade brownies that are currently baking...

FINISHED!

The fleece jacket is finished, just in time for this warmer weather ;)



McCall's/DIY Style 5714 in polar fleece

Hooray for progress!

So I'm almost finished with McCall's 5714, just have to hem it and sew on the two snaps. Surprisingly the sleeves were a piece of cake, it really is true that using a LOT of pins makes set in sleeves much easier!

I dug through my old craft/Chi Omega box today looking for the old GRE exam prep book I bought 11 years ago. Did not find it (think I tossed it when I realized I wasn't going to grad school anytime soon) but I DID find the missing pattern I've been searching for off and on for the last year.

Bought this when I first started belly dancing but it was delayed by the publisher, so it did not come in until after my first hafla, so I'd already made my own costume based off tips and tricks I'd found online. I've no idea how the pattern ended up in this box but I sure am glad to have found it. Also found a bunch of old photos in there, including one of me and my mom on my 16th birthday.

And as for why I was digging around in the box in the first place, I have decided (after 11 years) to apply for graduate school for a Masters in Project Management. I'm planning to enroll in Penn State's program this fall, so wish me luck! Just ordered two GMAT exam prep books so I can go ahead and start studying, I'm afraid my math skills might be a bit rusty...

where the heck does the time go?

actually I know where it goes....to my employers and clients, that's where!

I made quite a bit of progress on my latest sewing project last weekend, McCall's 5714 fleece jacket (http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5714.htm??tab=diystyle&page=1 - I'm making the orange one on the model but in a charcoal gray color) but I've had absolutely no time on the machine since I went back to work Monday.

Guess I could have made time today but darn it, I worked HARD this week and I just wanted to spend some time curled up in my chair with a good book or running errands with my hubby!

Maybe tomorrow I'll finish it up, now that it's getting warmer and I probably won't get a chance to wear it until next winter!

I'm also ashamed to report I've done NO exercising for the last couple of weeks. Got a few new videos to try out but due to the aforementioned lack of free time I can't get motivated enough to head upstairs to my workout area to give them a try. Maybe tomorrow will be the day.....at least I can report that eating healthier (and taking Alli) is actually making a difference as I've dropped below 140lbs for the first time in as long as I can remember. Stephen has already dropped about 15 lbs since Christmas, but I've only lost 5 or so.

Hopefully my next post will be much more exciting, with photos of completed projects or something actually interesting to report!

Baseball cards...

My husband says my patterns are like baseball cards - that I seem to collect them and try to get them all

He might have a point, I bought some new ones this weekend and decided to take stock of everything I had, and it was more than I thought!

http://picasaweb.google.com/artemis76/SewingPatterns is my current inventory, minus one FatChanceBellyDance/Folkware pattern that I have misplaced

I need to go back through the photo gallery and add captions so I can search more easily, but it looks like it will be very helpful to see at a glance what patterns I have when I'm looking at online fabric sales!

new year....new start?

Obviously I read other blogs far more often than I post to my own (any of them!) so I'm going to attempt to do better this year

I've been collecting patterns far more than I'm sewing them these days but mostly due to how busy I've been at work lately - by the time I get home I just want to veg in front of the television and on weekends I just want to relax!

Knitting has been pretty rare around here too, though I did knit mini stockings for all of the gift cards we gave out for Christmas, and I've knit some thumbless mittens for some upcoming arrivals in my Aunt's family (which reminds me to finish the second pair and get them in the mail!)

Starting to get back into photography thanks to my new Nikon D80 SLR I got for Christmas, so prepare to start seeing random photos. If you've added me on Facebook you've already gotten to see some of them, with so many blogs/social networking sites it becomes somewhat redundant to keep posting the same things over and over, especially when I don't even know if I have readers here!

So I guess that pretty much sums up my first post of OH-NINE, might as well kick it off with a new design while I'm at it!

and it just keeps going....

to be perfectly honest, I've been doing more sewing than knitting these days (though I am knitting!)

my latest projects, both from S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop -


Wear Anywhere Yoga Pants


Easy Breazy Wrap Skirt


I've just finished a second wrap skirt in pink for my grandmother, and I made a jersey knit pair of shorts for my husband (need to get a picture of him in them!)


On the (knitting) needles currently is a third pair of Fibertrends Felt Clogs (replacement pair for my husband, he's worn holes in his), the hooden baby blanket from MagKnits a few months back, and the Print O' The Wave shawl that's been on the needles about 18 months now....

my latest obsession....

SEWING! drug out the trusty old Kenmore last month and have been enjoying every minute of it, though she's in need of service now (straight stitching works fine, but the zigzag part is stuck)

My darling husband surprised me by ordering me a new machine last week, and she's due to arrive on Tuesday. He got me the Brother CS-6000i so I'll be quite busy learning all the new features and stitches

Here's a few things I've made so far...


Quilted Potholder from Amy Butler's In Stitches



Toyko bag from S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop



Unforgettable Elephant from S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop

Up next in the queue - ordered 3 colors of linen from Fabric.com last week (also due to arrive Tuesday) and am planning some linen pants and skirts form S.E.W. Sew Everything Workshop. Bought that book with my Barnes & Noble christmas giftcard and have really learned a lot.

On the knitting front, the Print O' The Wave stole is still on the needles...I've just lost the motivation to finish it, though I have knocked out a couple pattern repeats while watching tv in the last couple of weeks. I cast on for the Cloud Bolero with some Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk that's been lounging in the stash for the last year but made a mistake on the back and rather than try to fix it I ripped it all out to start over.

Otherwise I've just been enjoying the bread machine I got for Christmas, and in general loving owning our first home and having a nice big kitchen to play in!

Sabrina's Christmas Stocking

whipped this up this week while my Husband has been out of town

pattern was a freebie from Bernat, but I cast on more stitches to make it larger (to hold more treats!)



embroidered her name and duplicate stitched some paw-prints on after it was complete




now this pretty little girl is all ready for Santa!

an actual FO!

it's been a while since I had one of these....



the infamous shallowtail, in zephyr wool/silk

I have no idea when I started this, other than I was still living in Birmingham.....I know I bought the yarn at Knit Nouveau, sometime after they moved to their Homewood location

HOUSTON!!!

Posting has been pretty much non-existant around here recently, sorry about that! The biggest piece of news is that we relocated to Houston earlier this month so every spare minute has been spent unpacking or looking for houses.

I currently work in that unual shaped building on the far right (the Continental building, it's designed to look different from each side and offers SPECTACULAR views from that sharp angled side) but sometime in the next week or two I will be moving to that mirrored building that is right smack in the center (Texaco Heritage Plaza, where I will have an actual office w/ door as opposed to a cubicle)

I know there are tons of knitties in the area and I plan to join y'all for SnB night sometime soon!

Random Act of Kindness

Yesterday I received a little bit of sunshine in the form of a knittyboard RAK:

Inside was Cuisine at Home magazine, 3 of her favorite recipes, a bar of swiss dark chocolate w/ cinnamon, Trader Joe's decaf Earl Grey tea, two Hershey's special dark w/ almonds nuggets in their own knit cozy, a ball of SWTC Bamboo, and a lovely card with such a sweet note inside.

THANK YOU Aruni!

socks part deux

at the request of some lovely knitties, a couple modeled photos so you can better see the cuff length (I wear a US womens size 8 shoe)





it's rather difficult to get good shots of one's own feet without making it look as though I have cankles, and please pardon the Paul Frank monkey jammies

Happy New Year!

I completed the first of my first pair of socks on NY Day, and immediately cast on for the second. I finished just this morning, with a whopping 6 inches or so of yarn to spare after weaving in ends on the second. You can see what tiny amount of yarn was left in the photo.




The pattern is "Go With The Flow Socks" by Evelyn A. Clark and featured in the Summer 2005 Interweave Knits. I used a single skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Country Christmas, and size 1 needles. I only did 10 repeats of the lace pattern on the cuff rather than the full 20 the pattern called for, and I cast on holding 2 needles together to give me a nice loose cast on edge.

Who says you need two skeins to make a pair of socks? I have another single skein in Black Purl and think I will try a toe-up pattern this time.


I neglected to get photos of all my knit/sewn christmas gifts but I did find a photo of the stockings I made. The pattern was from Lion Brand, knit in Wool-Ease and I duplicate stitched our names on once they were completed but not yet seamed. This pattern is knit on 2 needles and seemed up the back and was my first attempt at 2-handed colorwork (for the top ribbing). The first stocking was awkward but I rather had the hang of it by the second.

all about me!

NAME: Elizabeth/eBeth/Beth/Bethie/artemis/artie/Fuzzy-butt depending on who you ask.....

Q:Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
A:Hot Chocolate, bonus points if you slip in a little Bailey's or Godiva chocolate liqour

Q:Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
A:When I was a kid Santa wrapped the stocking stuffers and the 'big' stuff was unwrapped. Now Santa sends all the gifts wrapped since we don't have kids so he doesn't make a special trip

Q:Colored lights on tree/house or white?
A:I prefer white, my husband prefers colored so we'll try those next year

Q:Do you hang mistletoe?
A:I would, if I could find some...

Q:When do you put your decorations up?
A:Normally start the day after Thanksgiving, but this year we did it the Sunday before

Q:What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
A:hrm that's a tough one for me....but my husband's favorite holiday dish is his aunt's breakfast casserole that we eat on Christmas morning!

Q:Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
A:All my childhood memories as a child are great ones, but one of the strongest is putting poinsettias at my grandfather's grave on Christmas Eve one year and Mom not letting me and my brother get out of the car since it was snowing

Q:When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
A:I was entirely too curious as a child and found all the gifts, then asked my parents why they weren't under the tree!

Q:Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
A:We exchange gifts with my (maternal) grandmother's entire family on Christmas Eve, as a kid we'd also get to exchange one gift each once we got home but we got the rest from Santa. Now we open them whenever we feel like it, in between all the other gift exchange activities on Christmas Eve and Day

Q:How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
A:I have one small tree on the screened in patio that is decorated in all owls and pinecones (CHI OMEGA through and through). The big 'family' tree is rapidly becoming filled with ornaments we've picked out together, picked up on vacation, etc that all hold great meaning to us as a couple

Q:Snow! Love it or Dread it?
A:Nice to look at while falling, but if it sticks for more than a day I lose my shit

Q:Can you ice skate?
A:Yes and no....I can stay up on skates (but not go backwards) but the ice makes me break out in a rash if it touches my skin so I haven't been in years

Q:Do you remember your favorite gift?
A:As a kid, my microscope and chemistry set (yes, I was a geek even then)

Q:What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
A:Spending time with family and friends, and catching the classic animated Christmas specials on cable ;)

Q:What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
A:Chocolate...but that's a year round thing

Q:What is your favorite holiday tradition?
A:Listening to Christmas music, driving around looking at the lights, wrapping all the tiny stocking stuffer presents so my husband has to open each single one

Q: What tops your tree?
A:A red/green/gold plaid bow (I made years ago) and a gold wire star (new this year)

Q:Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
A:Giving, though receiving is pretty darned cool too!

Q:What is your favorite Christmas Song?
A:O Holy Night or Carol Of The Bells

Q:Candy Canes...
A:Not a fan (don't like peppermint nor hard candy!)

puppity pup pup-pup

Here's our new little man!





Just over a year old, smooth coat black-and-tan miniature dachshund


ETA: Casey has a new home, the family who took the other doxie decided that they wanted this one as well, and as we were having to keep him crated 10 hours a day we decided he would be better taken care of with the new family. They have kids and a nice yard where he can play with all the other dogs. Yes, I cried :(

I'm not dead!

For those of you who don't read the various forums on the KnittyBoard, a brief update -

I've been busy turning 30, DH is having some health issues, MIL is still in the hospital

There is knitting going on, and there are still Montana photos to be uploaded. DH took my laptop to Atlanta for a week so when I had time to upload them, he had them all!

Thanks for all the hugs, prayers, good thoughts, PMs, and just general togetherness that the KnittyHeads have shown to us this week!