A Spot of Gardening

Despite several gloomy days (with or without drizzle), the plant life in Post Falls has come to life as only Lady Spring can make it do, and our little place is no exception. Just two or three weeks ago, we began to see baby leaves on The Guardians, the Dryad's Throne, The Cottonwood and the Other Poplar, and now, with a bit of welcome sunshine now and then...well, see for yourself!

The Guardians, seen from back yard

The Dryad's Throne

The Cottonwood

The Other Poplar (behind The Cottonwood)

Snow-capped Mt. Spokane, seen over the back hedge

 God has provided several loverly new flowers to pretty up our yard and fill in the gaps in the flowers beds we put in last year. The H family down the street gave us a bleeding heart, and as you can see from the pictures, it's happy just sitting in the pot! Eventually we plan to continue this little bed all the way around the front of the house and around the corner, to help soften it up, hide the blank wall on that side of the house, and to disguise the cats' fenced-in yard a bit.

 The snow-on-the-mountain (or is it snow-in-Summer?) Mrs. H gave us last year is growing nicely and will probably fill up the whole bed by Summertime. The bushy plant in the picture is a Johnson's Blue Cranesbill, which is looking decidedly less leggy this year. There's a pink cranesbill on the left end of the bed, and we bought a Jacob's Ladder to fill in the spot on the right end. No pix yet, but I'll try to get some when they bloom.

  

Mom and I were so thrilled a couple weeks ago to find these beauties at Lowes. Pansies are some of my favorite flowers (apart from roses and violets, of course)—so cheerful, so dainty, and they come in so many colors! Seriously, I don't recall ever seeing an ugly pansy. The only downside, of course, is that they're annuals, so you have to plant them year after year, although sometimes they do come back. We had one lone pansy of the dozen or so we bought last year come back from the root, so we said no more pansies and started looking for primroses instead. We had some in California and had great success with them. Well! Not only did we find some at Lowes for about 60 cents apiece (no one else in the CdA area had them anymore), but we found these perennial pansies also! It said so right on the tag: “Columbine Viola—Mounding perennial.” Awesome!

Columbine, with Veronica behind

We also picked up a columbine, which I've been wanting for quite a while now.

But we'll have to wait 'till next year to see what colors of primroses we got, as they were all done blooming when we bought them.

Last year we put in a big flower bed—with some help from the H family—along the side wall of our work building (picture below). As you can see, there's a lot of blank wall there. Boring. So we got some delphiniums to hide it...eventually. Right now they're only about 18” tall and just starting to bud, but if all goes well, by Summertime they'll turn into six-foot-tall spikes of blue and purple and lavender. :-D Again, pix coming when they bloom.

Summer 2011

We also bought an Oriental poppy, a red geum (which looks a bit like a cross between a peony and a rose with different leaves) and a couple (mystery color) Canterbury Bells. But our gardening endeavors didn't stop at planting new flowers—we also moved several things around. Like putting the smaller plants in front instead of in back, and moving the GIANT 'mum to the back of the bed where it wouldn't overshadow the smaller plants. :-P We also potted several flowers because they turned out to be Barbie-pink instead of the soft baby-pink or blue we had hoped for. We just don't go in for a lot of hot pink. One has already found a good home (one of Mom's adult cello students!), and I plan to make a sign and set these “Free Flowers” along the roadside for anyone to adopt who wants them.

(Yaknow, I don't tend to realize how lacking in photos I am until I start writing up my posts....)

And now, Gentle Readers, pictures of the blouse I hinted at last week—I call it “Sea Breeze” because of the color-scheme. This is what it looked like before:

Again with the crummy photos

 As I mentioned last week, my Mom made this dress for herself back in the '80s, re-using the fabric from a costume from her Ballet company. She used McCall's 4122, View B. When I was about fourteen or fifteen, she gave the dress to me, and I wore it for a while, but it never really hung well on me. Sometime after I graduated from high school (give or take a year), I noticed that the print of the dress blended beautifully with some jade-green poplin in my “stash,” which was slated to be made up into a vest and capris. The rest, as they say, is history.

...about five years of history. Mostly this poor thing sitting around in boxes, all cut up or half-finished, waiting for me to get my lazy bum in gear and sew. And by God's aid, I have finished it—hallelujah!

And this is what is looks like now, as of last week:

Close-up of print

Back view

I don't know if it shows in the picture, but there is a circular “yoke” in self-fabric at the neck. I used Butterick 5348 for that and the white muslin lining. The neck of the blouse is gathered and “sandwiched” between the yoke and the lining, with the yoke turned under and top-stitched down. The rest of the blouse was cut from a pattern I drafted several years ago, based on a Vogue pattern (the number of which I've forgotten now). The sleeves are the original dress sleeves (that was why I drafted the bodice pattern in the first place—I wanted a peasant blouse with set-in sleeves, and I didn't have one ready-made).

The “waist” (Empire height) is gathered with elastic, which Mom showed me how to stretch as I stitched it to the fabric (after she very kindly marked it for me). In order to give the waist a little definition, I cut a strip of the capris fabric (the vest idea is out) and sewed it into a thin, topstitched ribbon, hand-sewing it to the front of the blouse, leaving it loose in back to be tied. This was so the elastic would have plenty of room to stretch.

The next step is to alter the matching capris, as they're a bit too wide in the waist and in sore need of side-pockets. Sure, it'd be easier to make a casing and put elastic in there, but I prefer fitted trousers to gathered ones. Plus cutting them down will allow me to cut a tab in the sides for the pockets to attach to, whereas I couldn't do that with them as-is. Clear as mud, right? ;-)

Today Mom and I had a little fun. This past week we've been looking over our sewing projects and making lists of notions we need for all of them. Today we headed out to Jo-Ann's and Hancock to get them, so we'll have them when we're ready to start on those projects. We found pretty much everything we needed (Mom found a few things at the CdA Hospice Thrift), so we're pretty much set to sit down and sew, sew, sew!

Which brings me to a rather miraculous happenstance....

My camera turns things blue!!!

For several months I've been drooling over this purple/lavender Paisley at Jo-Ann's, but I wasn't sure it was really my color (too pinkish, perhaps). But I have this pair of reddish-purple capris that have nothing to go with them, and lo and behold, the Paisley blended pretty well! The fabric looked a bit faded next to the capris, but I didn't pay much mind to that, especially when Mom did a color-test on me and said there wasn't any change in my complexion from the fabric to my Chinese Blue blouse (one of my best colors). So I took it up to the counter to be cut, asking for a yard and a half. That ought to make a nice Summer blouse, wot? But when the lady started measuring the fabric, there wasn't enough. However, there was another piece of fabric under it—and much richer-looking, to boot. What do you know—there was exactly 1 ½ yards, plus an extra 6” left on the bolt! God be praised! It looks equally smashing with purple or lilac (and I do have a pair of lilac/deep-lavender capris in the works), and I'm so thrilled with the color-scheme. I don't recall ever seeing it that rich/deep before. Is that a God-thing, or what? :-D

With Purple Capris (and color closer to real life)

Don't know exactly how to make it up yet, but definitely something simple, without a lot of details, to let the fabric speak for itself.

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless, and enjoy the sunshine!

~“Tom”~

Ramdom Things and a Sneak Peak

Hmmm...methinks I need to update my blog more than once a week, as things tend to pile up, and then my posts end up ten pages long in order to cover everything. :-P Then I get bogged down and skip a week. :-( I'll see what I can do to remedy that; stay tuned....

Spring has definitely sprung! The birds are singing. Our lawns and old Mr. H's cow pasture adjoining our property are all green. Some of our flowers are blooming. Mom and I planted over half-dozen new flowers this past fortnight. I put up our windchimes (I'd show you a picture, but they're in sore need of revamping)...and one day I wore my purple thongs instead of my rubber “mud-boots” out-of-doors!!!

*Big happy sigh*

And now , Gentle Readers, it's time for me to reveal Seven Random Things about myself, as part of accepting the Versatile Blogger Award, which Miss Tasha bestowed upon my humble piece of the Web...erm...two weeks ago. *Sheepish*

So, here are the instructions for this here award...

1.  In a post on your blog, nominate 4 fellow bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award. Well, I figure the folks I would award have already been awarded by other people, since my circle of cyber-friends is a bit limited...yet.
2.  In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award. Kinda dropped the ball here; I posted it two weeks ago. Oops.
3.  In the same post, thank the blogger (or bloggers!) who nominated you with a link back to their blog(s). Once again, THANK YOU, Tasha, for this award!
4.  In the same post, include 7 random pieces of information about you. See below....
5.  In the same post, include this set of rules. Check.
6.  Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination with a comment on their blog. Right, well, how about this: Anyone who reads my blog who hasn't been nominated yet, you are hereby nominated. And informed. I look forward to reading your Random Things. :-D

Seven Random Things About Miss Rebekah G. (otherwise known as Tom/Wild Rose LeBlonde):

1. I love things like this. Love them. It's such fun to fill out questions...which could possibly mean I'm a little self-absorbed...? O.O
2. My favorite candies (apart from boxed chocolates) are: Jelly Bellies, Milky Way (regular and Midnight), Gummi Bears, Almond Joy, Hershey's Symphony, Hershey's Cookies and Cream, Butterfinger, peppermint patties, Hershey's Take-5. (I seem to have a thing for Hershey's....)
3. As a kid, I used to make some pretty wonky snacks—catsup-and-mayonnaise sandwiches, and slices of Cheddar cheese spread with peanut butter, being most common.
4. Looking at my closet, it occurred to me recently that most of my frocks are thrift store finds, handmade, or Green Cross rescuees. Hardly anything is “new.”
5. I cringe to spend more than $20 on one item. Shoot, I cringe at spending $20, period. :-P
6. When my socks get holes in them, I darn them. Firstly, because most of the sock is still good, so it'd be wasteful to throw out the whole sock just for a little hole. Secondly, because the only socks that keep me warm are those wool-blend ones from Costco at $14 for three or four pairs...and I need NINE!
7. I hate raw tomatoes. I've tried to eat them, but I just can't stand the taste. However, I love them stewed, spiced and puréed over pizza or pasta, or as a broth for minestrone. And what's a hot dog or hamburger without ketchup? This used to puzzle me as a kid, until my Dad remarked, “The key to cooking with food is knowing how to disguise it.” Then it made sense!

On the sewing front, by God's aid I've finally finished my Bodiced Petticoat! Yay! Here it is in its final form: 

Zipper installed, neckline lowered, hem rolled and embellished

 

And a close-up of the lace trim: 

You'll excuse me for not modeling it for y'all. I ain't the kind of gal who gits her picture took in her underwear. :-P Plus the neckline ended up rather lower than I expected (hello! :-O), so it's a bit shocking. But at least it won't peek out above my dresses, wot?

I decided not to whiten it after all because, frankly, I have more important projects screaming to be finished (or started), and besides (as I told myself throughout the construction process), it's just a slip—no one will see it! ;-)

Kind of an interesting project, really. The bodice is made from a sleeveless blouse, the skirt is part of a thrifted curtain panel, and the lace came off an old tablecloth that got a rust-stain on it and had to go bye-bye. Really, the only thing on this frock that's new is the invisible zipper!

God has given me the diligence I need to persevere with my sewing, a desire to succeed in reaching my goal of actually having something pretty to wear this Summer. And by His grace, I'm getting there. Despite some hiccups, I was also able to transform this dress into a Summer top...but I'll save that for another post.

Please excuse crummy photo--old camera

Until then, Gentle Readers,

God bless, and Happy May Day!

~“Tom”~

Exp-HAIR-iments, Springtime, and Tags!

This morning I had a bit more time than usual to get ready for church, so I decided I was tired of the usual Swedish Braids* and did a little experiment:

Mirror pix...gotta love 'em

This style was inspired by Éowyn's “Funeral” hairstyle in TTT, EE (for you Yahoos in the back**, that's short for The Two Towers, Extended Edition). Not bad for a first try, really, despite the little “twigs” sticking out here and there. Not to brag, but I was actually swarmed by several old ladies at church who were quite taken with my 'do. :-)

For those who want to know, I center-parted my hair and did two lace braids, then coiled one high-ish on my head and pinned the stuffin's out of it. Then I coiled the other just below it and pinned the stuffin's out of that.

Side view

“I have nineteen hairpins sticking into my head, but dear me! let us be elegant or die!” 

~Jo March (Katherine Hepburn), Little Women

(Actually, it was only fifteen, but still....)

Despite its fantasy roots, this hairstyle also has an almost Edwardian feel to it...which is kind of appropriate, considering today is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. *HatHeart* Such a tragedy. But enough on that head....

* Swedish Braids = Two braids pinned up and over (and in some cases, around) the head. This term is an alternative to the misnomer “Heidi Braids,” since Johanna Spyri described the heroine of her classic children's story as having short black curls.

** Yahoos in the Back = The uninformed, those not in the know.

Reference: Taken from a line in an episode of Murder, She Wrote,  in which a Southern judge explains the meaning of habeas corpus to those in the courtroom who don't know the term. This usage is meant as a friendly jab, with no malicious or derogatory intent whatever.

~Tom's Dictionary of Whacked-out Terms and Old Family Sayings

Spring is finally here!

I'm as happy as a king

When I catch a breath of Spring,

And the fields are turnin' green as Winter ends....

...and the violets Mrs. H down the street gave us last year have come back:

 Saturday, Peter found these beauties in the lawn while he was raking up twigs:

Fun, fun!

Tasha of Day by Day, knowing my weakness for this sort of thing, has been so kind as to tag me—thanks, Tasha!

~How it Works~

1. Post these rules

2. Post 11 random things about yourself (optional)

3. Answer the questions the tagger posted for you in their post.

4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

5. Go to their blog and tell them that they have been tagged

So then, 11 Random Things:

1. If my hair grew another six inches, I could sit on it.
2. I am fascinated with twins (especially identical), natural curls, red hair and pretty much anything embroidered or miniature.
3. I have never broken a bone in my life *knock on wood*
4. I am an incurable garbage-picker. Meaning if something isn't absolutely gross, I'll “rescue” it, clean it up and use it!
5. As a kid, I didn't really care about what I wore...now fashion is one of my hobbies! :-P
6. I hate coffee. And coffee hates me. The only exception would be mocha ice cream/frozen yogurt.
7. (Speaking of which....) I prefer frozen yogurt to ice cream.
8. I can still remember some of my childhood friends' birthdays, middle names...and wonky food allergies.
9. I have a habit of calling inanimate objects “Mister [something].” Mister Laptop, Mister Camera, etc.
10. I realized today that I have no desire to see Washington, D.C. Ever.
11. ...but I do have a strong desire to see Great Britain before I die.

And the 11 Questions:

1.Which song has inspired you most at this time in your life? Hmmm...not sure. Perhaps “Be Thou My Vision,” because I try to make God the center of my life (“naught be all else to me, save that Thou art...”), but I don't do very well. :-(
2. What are your sentiments on the subject of [Brussels] sprouts? Never had them, but being that I'm not terribly fond of the cabbage family in general, it's probably safe to say I wouldn't like them. I'm willing to try them, but I doubt they'd become my favorite vegetable.
3. Do you feel faint at the sight of blood? Depends on how much blood. Really, the most I've seen is in movies and on TV, and I know that's fake, so it's more uncomfortable than faint-inducing. Actually, I'm more likely to toss my cookies than faint if I actually did see a lot of blood in real life (now you know why I never went in for a medical career).
4. Do you enjoy chatting on the phone or would you just as soon write an email or send a text or even write a letter? I've been afraid of the phone ever since I was a kid (I call it “Telephobia”), so I'm more likely to write an e-mail. However, sometimes it's faster to talk over the phone—like if there are decisions to be made—and it is more pleasant to hear someone's voice now and then.
5. What if suddenly the sky was green and the grass was blue? What would you think? Either, “This has to be a dream,” or, “I shouldn't have smoked that pipe-weed.” Haha—inside joke. :-P
6. If you built a time machine, where would you go first? (let's just assume we're all capable of building a time machine, ok?;) I must confess I'd be tempted to go back to times in my life where I made some stupid mistakes, so's I could correct them.
7. If the powers that be suddenly decreed that everyone must wear a bright pink shirt with a chartreuse daisy adorning the front and bunny slippers on our feet, what would you do? (um...nope. No idea where that one came from!) I'd say they had finally hit rock-bottom in Fashion Central...and go on wearing my regular clothes.
8. If you could become a character from a book, who would it be? Hmmm...hard to say, as I'm not enough like any of my favorite characters to actually become them.
9. Do you paint your nails? No, actually. For one thing, I never saw the point, and for another, the fumes give me a headache. :-P
10. Are you a perfectionist? Unfortunately, yes. Sometimes to the point of stupidity. Although I *think* the Lord is helping me tone it down a bit...I think....
11. Do you unintentionally incorporate movie lines into your everyday conversations? No, I'm afraid I know exactly what I'm doing when a movie quote slips out of my mouth. *Halo*

And now to think up 11 questions for whoever feels like answering them:

1. How did you become a Christan?
2. Did you ever make snacks for yourself as a kid? Describe the wonkiest one(s):
3. How do you usually do your hair?
4. What was the first Scripture you memorized?
5. List seven things you would buy if money/practicality/whatever were no object:
6. Favorite candy(ies)?
7. What are your beliefs regarding Godly music?
8. What do you consider your personal badge (something that represents your character, personality, etc.)?
9. What are your sentiments on the subject of dragons?
10. Coke or Pepsi (or neither)?
11. Describe a favorite outfit—one for Summer, one for Winter:

Have fun, my hearties! ;-)

God bless,

~“Tom”~

“There is Springtime in my soul today....”

Who would have thought that just last week there was over two inches of snow on the ground? Today the sun was shining (despite a couple attempts by the lurking clouds to put it out), and the lawns are looking twice as green as they did the last time the sun was out—Sunday. It would seem that the plant-life up here, once it gets even a little bit of sunshine, grabs it and makes as much of it as possible. Seems like one can practically watch things grow up here—so different from the slow, gradual change from dead, ugly Winter to vibrant, living Spring back in Northern California. Amazing!

What with Mom and Bro off to orchestra rehearsals once again, I now have Tuesday evenings free to update my blog! Yay! So while you probably won't see me posting here much during the week, I will endeavor to post regularly on Tuesdays. I know, I know; I always say I'm going to do something, and then I never do it. I beg your forgiveness, and crave your indulgence this once more. God helping me, I intend to follow through this time! *Halo*

Today being Sewing Day, I devoted it, with God's aid, to working on my newest project—“Jubilee.” Last week I took it apart, so it looked like this:

Mom has graciously been helping fit the bodice...which, it turns out, didn't need as much extending as we'd thought. Just a couple gussets in the sides, plus the almost three inches we put in the shoulders to get the Empire seam down in the proper place. And by a miracle of God, it's only taken a small part of one of the pressed-out ties to do it! 

Former tie/sash, all opened out and pressed flat

 As I said before, the ties ended up about four inches wide once opened out and pressed flat, and being nearly 18” long didn't hurt, neither. :-D

We ended up taking 9” off the skirt back panels and 8” off the front panels (the front was shorter than the back at the top because of the way the bodice was originally cut). This ended up being too wide to fit the new bodice, so I got to take up over an inch at the tops of the skirt seams...which I wasn't too happy about because I don't want to waste any more fabric than can be helped, and I want it fairly long. However, since the thing was nearly floor-length to begin with, and I was able to repair the honking-great hole in the hem instead of cutting it off, the dress will still be well below knee-length. More like mid-calf (“tea-length”?), which is where I like it best anyway. :-) Long enough to look elegant and modest, but short enough that it won't get tripped or trodden on or dragged in the mud. :-P

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I forgot to take my camera out to the studio, and I was determined to get the dress finished today. That didn't happen, but at least we have progress, Houston! I'll try to get some pix of the alterations for next week's post, though.

In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to a couple of pet projects waiting in the wings, as it were:

See the snaps for attaching to a hood?

Meet Wesley, the FauxWeasel (although Peter informed me that he “looks more like coyote fur”). I know he's not much to look at now, but by the time I'm finished with him, I hope he'll look something like this (scroll down).

Wesley (named after Charles and Samuel Wesley, who wrote several old hymns) began his life as a piece of detachable “fur” trim on a coat hood. I found the hood in the Green Cross barrel at work sometime last month while emptying out the barrel. I expect the hood was in there because there was no coat to go with it. So I brought the trim home and gave it a bath...by hand. See, I've had bad experiences with artificial plush and washing/drying by machine (still kicking myself for what happened to Lucy Bear), so of course I didn't want to risk my little “weasel” having his long, soft fur get all shrunken and frizzled. So I washed him in the sink and let him air-dry, and as you can see from the pictures, his fur is as long and fluffy as ever (and now smells like Kiwi-Lime shampoo, LOL).

CU of Wesley's very soft fur

I must confess to a secret fondness for stone martens and the like, such as Jenny-Rose's adorable “Fred” (used very cleverly as a hat decoration!) and Alisa's zibellini or “flea-fur.” And Kellie's “Petrov” is simply too cute. :-) However, at the same time, I felt I couldn't ever justify buying/wearing something like that myself because, after all, some poor animal had to die in order for us humans to have its beautiful skin. Yes, I am a walking paradox, thank-you-very-much. No autographs, please. :-P So I put the idea out of my mind...and next thing I know, there's this fake-fur trim in the Green Cross barrel! I took it as God's solution to my inner conflict—the girlie part(s) of my psyche can have her (their?) fur collar/hat-trim/whatever, while my inner animal lover can rest easy that no animals were harmed in the making of this project. :-P

I removed the black binding and snaps, which, God be praised, weren't attached to the fur much at all, and opened the “fur” out flat. Wesley's original stuffing ended up in the trash, as it looked a wee bit grungy, but we do have more fiberfill if I decide to re-stuff him. Eventually I want to model a head and feet out of polymer clay (a gift from Uncle Dave last year), and trim down one end of the “fur” to look like a tail. I had thought of then chopping up the pile from the cut-off bits (plus what came off the edges when I opened it up) into fine fuzz and carefully gluing it over the clay parts to make him look more realistic. However, I'm thinking now that this might only end up looking like a mess, so we'll see about that one.

This silver filigree is what I plan to use on Wesley's head once it's made. It's been in my stash for several years (a hand-me-down from Cousin Laurie), and it's actually what this project was based on in the first place. After I saw Alisa's “zibellini” the first time, I came across this stamping and thought it'd be perfect for my own little “flea-fur” project. As for the rest of the embellishments...well, perhaps something will come to mind when I actually get this fake fur looking more like a weasel. :-P

*EDIT* Please don't think that I look down on people who wear real furs. That's not what I meant at all. It's just not something I'm personally comfortable with. That's why I'm so thankful to have Wesley. Thank you. /EDIT

  

Pet Project #2 is, at present, a dress that belonged to my Aunt Kathy, who died before I was even born. Grandma gave us her dress over a decade ago to use for the costumes in a play Mom directed for her homeschool choir, but I took a fancy to the dress and tried to alter it to fit me instead. I wore it for about a year before outgrowing it, and ever since then I've been pickling my brain trying to find a way to make a dress out of it that will fit me. But the Lord has finally gotten it through my thick skull that it's just not possible. 

CU of front. You can still see where the original (gaudy!) trim was

As-is, the dress is way too small (Aunt Kathy was TINY!), and it won't work to use it piecemeal with something else because, while I have enough velvets (collectively) in my stash for two or three dresses, they don't all go together that well. Plus this fabric—vintage rayon velvet—is too delicate to be washed every time I wear it. The solution? Make a hat out of it (and you thought that “dream hat” description was just made up for Kellie's Blog Party :-P)! I don't know exactly how big a hat this fabric will yield; I'll need to do some measuring....

It's actually dark royal purple with a bit more red in the mix

Here's a close-up of the embroidery on one sleeve. Imagine the purple chain-stitch as metallic gold picot-braid, and the little holes/circles as riveted-on sequins, and that's what it looked like originally. Yeek. This motif is the one I plan to use on all the triangular crown-sections, Lord willing there's enough fabric in the rest of the dress. The top loops will be in the center, where I plan to attach a tassel of some kind.

...but they'll both have to wait a while until I get my more practical (but still pretty!) projects finished. Considering I have NO SUMMER DRESSES and only one pair of capris, a zibellini and a velvet tam o'shanter are hardly Priority One projects, wot? ;-)

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless you all and grant you success with your own endeavors!

~“Tom”~

Happy May Day!

And what a beautiful day it was! Sun shining, temperature up in the low 60's, very little breeze—the perfect day to visit Falls Park after church and see the Spring wildflowers. 

These lilies are EVERYWHERE—on the hills, in the hollows, on the moss-covered rocks, under the pines—they sure do love it there. I've seen them along I-90 and Kathleen Road in Cd'A and wished we could stop driving for a moment to take a closer look. Now I've gotten my wish—and much closer to home! I >think< they're Fawn Lilies, but I'm not sure, so don't quote me. ;-P After the park, we went to Moons for Mongolian barbecue. Yum! :-D

And despite the remains of a roaring headache that decided to show up this afternoon, I'm feeling quietly ecstatic because of a couple e-mails I received—one from Etsy, and one from PayPal—both informing me that two sets of porcelain arms I put up for sale have been bought! >Confetti< PTL! :-D

Me is one happy little wench now, yes. :-D *Dances*

We finally got Rapunzel yesterday, so we watched it last night during supper (now you know how our family unwind!). I'm in the process of writing a review...which I will post later. Right now it's almost 10 p.m., and I need to hit the sack. ;-)

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

Gos bless,

~“Tom”~

“In Like a Lion....”

Well! I never did think we'd see the sun again—at least, not today! What a nasty, gloomy week it's been, weather-wise. Literally driving us all insane over here (seriously—you did NOT want to be here yesterday...). But PTL! the sun came out late this afternoon... following bouts of furious rain. It would appear the old saw will come true this time, LOL.

*Happy dance*

I'm as happy as a king

When I catch a breath of Spring....

Yesterday I caught my brother while he was in the house and asked him when would be a good time for him to help me figure out this pictures thing. He said he had nothing pressing to do at the moment, so he sat down with me and looked things over.

>Blush< It appears I can post pictures form my computer—there's a button right smack in the middle of the page—but the sidebar options confused me, as there wasn't one that said “Upload from Computer” or the like. Quoth Peter, “I thought it was a little unusual for a blog-hosting site not to allow uploading from your files.”

Just a case of extreme computer illiteracy coupled with a big fat blonde moment. :-P Oy.

So here's a sneak peek at “Wood Violet”...in the construction stage, that is, until we can get some pictures of the finished article. 

This picture shows all the pieces cut out and ready to be sewn up:

 This one is a close-up of the print I used for trim, and the piece that would become the pintucked yoke all marked up.

Lord willing, I hope to set up a page for this blouse on my website with more coherent info. Peter very kindly unlocked the mysteries of making thumbnails for my website. Thanks, Bro! <3

I'm also happy to report that by God's aid I also finished my Chinese Blue blouse today! PTL! Mom got it for me back in January, I think (although I'd first spotted it at St. Vinnie's shortly before Christmas), but it's taken this long to finish altering it. Part of that was procrastination—I make no attempt to deny it—but mostly it was because the sleeves were too long, so I took off the cuffs to make a ruffle for the very pointy collar...and there wasn't enough fabric left to bind the sleeves with. And I couldn't find anything to match. Not until recently, when Hancock had this satin in the EXACT SAME shade as my blouse—for under $5 a yard! PTL! :-D So this week I finally cut it into cuffs...twice. >Blush< The first set ended up too short to go around my wrists.

It is now hanging proudly in my closet, waiting to be worn Sunday. :-D I'll see if I can get a picture of it, too.

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless, and enjoy the sunshine!

~“Tom”~

Spring and Shop Expansion

Well, the calendar may say it's Spring, but you'd never know it from the weather! Cold and gloomy and looking for all the world like it's still Winter. Blah. :-P Well, enjoy your little joke, Old Man Winter; you can't keep Spring away forever!

And at least we didn't get nine inches of snow like we did in California several years back...twice. :-P

I was going to wear my artificial wreath (see icon) to celebrate the First Day of Spring...but as always, I chickened out for fear of people giving me the eyebrow and disgracing the family with my silly antics. >Sigh< How does one balance being oneself and being dorky? How does one tell whether wearing ribbons or flowers in one's hair is part of one's personality, or just a silly, juvenile whim?

Twenty-six years old, and I still don't have a clue.

OK, enough whining....

While yesterday mayn't have been the happiest First Day of Spring ever, Mom did try to make it special by taking us to Costco for lunch (best pizza on the planet, Costco has), and after picking up a few things we needed, we headed across the parking lot to JAMMS for frozen yogurt. Mmmm.... :-D

And I beg a thousand pardons if this entry isn't exactly cheerful. I'm doing my God-aided best not to vent or mope, but it's hard. Part of it is the disappointing weather, but I think another part is the fact that my friend Grace C's memorial service was Saturday. I wish I could have been there, but flying back to California isn't in the budget just now. (Yes, this is the friend I mentioned in the Literary Heroine Blog Party who committed suicide in February.) Please pray for her family—especially her mother Anne (who is now doubly grieved because her best friend killed himself about two weeks after Grace did) and her brother Caleb (who found her). Please pray that somehow God will bring glory to Himself through this tragic situation, that the C family will be drawn close to Him and to each other, and that Grace's unsaved friends would accept and believe the Gospel message they heard at Grace's service.

On a more positive note....

In light of all the compliments I've gotten on my Earflap Stocking-cap, I've decided to take Mom's advice and offer them for sale on my Etsy shop. Since Etsy won't let me set up more than one per e-mail address, and I don't really want to go through the hassle of setting up a new one, I've decided to expand my current shop to include things besides jewelry. After all, “Wild Rose Designs” could refer to anything, really.

God bless,

~“Tom”~

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

Well, I went to put the sleeves in my Wood Violet blouse, and it turns out the armholes are too high! We checked them against the ones in Mom's blouse and one of our new patterns (which is basically the same design), and both were 1” or so lower than mine. So tomorrow I get to rip the shoulder seams and re-cut and -zigzag the armholes. Hopefully they won't be so tight then.

Speaking of new patterns, Mom and I bought several at Hancock Fabrics the other day during a Spring sale. Five Butterick patterns for $5! So here are the ones we bought (and I'll put the pictures in later; for now I'll just link to Sewing Patterns.com):

4659: A princess-seamed blouse pattern for Mom. She'll probably put a different collar on it, and definitely some different cuffs—she's not hip on the ones in the pattern. We've tried making princess-line blouses before, but we used a size 16 dress pattern, and ugh! Both blouses were very nearly disasters. It made up fine as dresses, but for some reason it turned nasty when shortened to blouse-length. Eesh. So perhaps this one will work better. :-)

4732: A formal dress and princess-lined coat. I mainly got this for the coat, for use as a dress or over-dress. I like the standing collar that's cut in one piece with the coat/dress!

4827: Another princess-seamed pattern. OK, so it's a costume. :-P But hey, it's essentially your basic "under-the-arm" princess-seamed dress—I figured it'd be a good jumping-off point. Just switch out the lacing in back for a zipper, shorten the hem to a length that won't get dragged in the mud or trodden on, and voila! Change the sleeves and/or neckline, and you have all sorts of possibilities. (Oh, yeah, and make it up in more becoming colors, too. :-P) Plus it's normally over $15, so how could I resist getting it for only a dollar?? ;-)

4985: A cute blouse pattern very like some Inspiration pictures I'd cut out of an old Penney's catalog some years ago. I normally shy away from Empire-waisted blouses—they look like maternity tops!—but this pattern (and my clippings) looks like they're tailored enough that they'll just look pretty.

 5284: Another blouse pattern. It's similar to the vintage-ish one I'm using for “Wood Violet,” only this one has some cute ruffle options, too. We mainly got this one for Mom, so that, hopefully, the blouses she makes from it won't be too tight across the shoulders like her green one (made from the “Wood Violet” pattern) did! :-( And like I said earlier, I'll need to use it to re-cut the armholes on WV.

5348: Another dress pattern with potential. :-D The waistline, being neither an Empire nor a regular one, isn't my favorite feature, but I liked the round “yoke” and the cute sleeves. Leave off the skirt, lengthen the bodice, and you have a peasant-type blouse. Or the waistline could be raised or lowered easily enough for the dress option, depending on what you want.

5471: A really cute dress pattern with an upward-pointing waist. I have a vintage pattern with this feature, but the skirt has a seam up the front, and the bodice has these pleats in the shoulders and a high standing collar. Which are kinda cute, but with my wide shoulders, the pleats would probably look a bit like military epaulets, LOL, and as I plan to make a Summer dress from this pattern (or rather, part of one ;-)), the high neck is OUT. The new pattern will make it easier to get the design I have in mind without noodling with the old pattern and pickling my brain. :-P

Only a few weeks ago, everything was silent. No birds save the occasional quail flock or the random starling. Now all of a sudden there are bird-calls everywhere, robins all over the yard, and I heard a flock of red-winged blackbirds chattering across the tracks this afternoon! It's been trying to snow for nearly two days, and a couple times it even began to stick...then promptly melted in the 40-degree weather. Yesterday it was snowing, but not accumulating, prompting my brother to quip, “At this point it's just fluffy rain.” LOL!

I think of all this as Old Man Winter throwing a little tantrum again. :-P He knows his time is almost up, and soon he'll have to step down and let Lady Spring take the throne...but hanged if he'll go peaceably, it seems!
Twomoreweeks...twomoreweeks....

Until next time, Gentle Readers,
God bless,
~“Tom”~