Dominican Delights

We are here. I never thought I would blog on vacation, but here I am as DH washes ff the day's sunscreen and prepares to moisturize.

Our room is so cute! We are on the top floor of the main bldg and all the rooms there re tucked into the eaves like an afterthought. I think they were. You take the elevator to the 4th floor and walk up.  The ceiling is white boarding directly attached to the roof like a cottage. Our deck is an xtenion of the peaked roof and very private. When it rains the tin roof is so lovely.

We got in late Thursday and there was food waiting n the room for us. Yum!

The sun is hot and the water is perfect.

Shirts and rum arrived for us today. They love us here and we love them.

Pardon the spelling. Tiny ants are all over my iPad and I find it hard to move the cursor. I've asked them to move on, but they seem to be Spanish speaking.

Peep Show!

Peeps make a lovely Easter addition to hot chocolate. In our family an Easter basket may arrive on your doorstep on Saturday night. One arrived on mine, and it was complete with peeps! 

I have been sewing with a maniacal frenzy. We are going to the Dominican for 2 weeks and I was under the impression I had nothing to wear. As I have now checked, I can say I was wrong, but the frenzied need lingers. I tried to buy a beach coverup today, and couldn't. Home I went and 'whipped' one up that I like much better. I may need a 12 step program, or drugs. Or a vacation! That's it! I'll go on a vacation!

Of course we have a house sitter for the cat. This means I clean house tomorrow like never before. Damn. Really going to need this vacation. The MIL is coming! She's a very sweet person. I like her.

My new dress form has arrived. That will be my first sewing project when I get back. It has a cover that gets fitted to me like a sausage skin. I understand I need a lot of help with the stuffing. Should be interesting.

DH is out in the garage tonight. He spent the winter taking his 30 year old Porsche apart (and I do mean apart) and now it's going back together with great success. He is amazing, that man. Changing the oil would have impressed me, but he had to take it to a whole new level. It is a very pretty shiny red car. I can't wait for our first trip. 

I saw a 2 headed woman walking down the street. She had a little baby head behind her usual mommy head. Her baby was inside her coat and somehow attached to her back. The coat was the amazing part. It seemed to have a hinged part - with expansion pleats in the back to make a baby pouch. It looked as if it would fold up when baby wasn't there. Impressive!

Car update! The man is hoisting a brew to celebrate adding oil to the engine! If only he knew that's all it takes to impress me. I'm an easy woman.

P!nk

The sisters went to Montreal for the P!nk concert! It was amazing! We love that girl.  We checked into a hotel across the street from the Bell Center. That was an excellent idea. I did grumble about the sound. Way too much bass and rumble. A perfect voice obscured by some idiot in a sound booth somewhere. I did try to email those responsible during the show, but my network let me down. If you get a chance to Google her concert, do so. The sight of her singing while hanging from a tiny wire in the nosebleed section is quite amazing. There were lots of people on the plane home that had also gone to the concert. I had no idea!

I took a lot of pictures as I always do when the sisters get together. We do have a great time! My battery went dead and I didn't have the spare with me. I dropped in at Black's in the mall and they charged me up - no charge! They had an adjustable charger. Now that was a nice touch to the vacation. Also lovely was picking up any of my devices over the week. My dear niece kept busy changing my screen savers.

I went fabric shopping. I went up a day early so I could and not annoy anyone. I do love a good shop! My fav store was no longer there! I wept. However there were a few new stores with excellent potential. They had great fabrics at reasonable prices. However the owners seem to have very little idea of how to cut fabric. One didn't even have a cutting table! He just rolled the bolt out over the other bolts and chopped while I cringed and covered my ears. He did seem to know fibre content. Other stores may have no clue about that. It's a jungle out there people!

My ducks are back. Both pairs are taking turns at the feeder, and I bought a new 25 lb bag of duck feed. That will last for a bit. One female hurt her foot, but it seems to be healing. She's walking much better now. Does this early arrival mean imminent spring? It doesn't feel that way currently, but ducks know these things.

I went shopping for a bathing suit on Saturday. My image consultant came with me. He was not expected at the Bathing Suit Hut in New Minas, and they tried to usher him to a sofa, out of the way. However, he was his usual indispensable self. We had a wonderful assistant, Brianna. Ask for her. She really knows what she's doing. Between her and DH we found some suitable suits in no time. It was also decreed by those in attendance that I could totally rock a bikini. Indeed! Suits sized for my figure are difficult to find, and they sell bottoms and tops separately! What joy! I needed up with 2 1/2 suits. Two bottoms came from the $2 bargain bin. Can't beat that. I'm now ready for the Dominican! If you are in the hunt for bathing suits or bras, this place should be a stop for you.

February

February 

This is an attempt at a shirt for the Pink concert. It wasn't enough impact for the loss of skin that occurred via the glitter and sequins. Definitely meant as a dress border fabric.

This pillow was made at a Husqvarna training session. I used a circular attachment that is so simple and works perfectly. 

This set is so soft and snuggy! A Fav!

Jury still out on this shirt. I will probably have to cut off that tail in front. It looks like a rat tail instead of a design feature.

Now this shirt worked out much better.

I always want to crochet with beads, and now I have. I crocheted in a circle, reminding myself once again that it is very difficult not to twist your work. Fortunately it does work as a design feature. 

Can you patch a heart with $50 bills?

My cat had 4 teeth out on Tuesday. She also has 2 more that look questionable, but you can only go so far in one go. Poor baby! The drugs are pretty strong and she is not herself. She has the saddest meow and is just starting to lap water. Last night she kept standing her 2 front paws in the water dish and tap dancing. I have no idea what that was about, but it can't be good. I just want to hand her money until she feels better! There doesn't seem to be much else I can do.

Mind you we have the fireplace on, the softest chairs pulled up, the bathroom floor heat on, and she is carried up and down stairs. I eyed the Hagen Das yesterday at the store, but I have told firmly not to change her food. Not that she hasn't had it before. She has no interest in non fat ice cream. If you need to know about fat content, she is the one to ask.

This is the last cat of 5 we had up until last year. She's almost 18, so you can imagine what this whole thing has been like. The vet called me mid surgery to ask a few questions and I was stuck between appreciating his concern and wanting to scream at him "Don't you dare take your eyes or hands off my cat!" Thank heavens he knows me well, and more than likely hadn't.

I am off to Montreal today to see youngest sis. The other sisters arrive over the next two days. 4/5 plan to go to the Pink concert on Tuesday. #5 is a stick in the mud. She's been told.

I haven't posted my February makings yet. I will do that when I get back. It was a good month. I ordered a dress form that can be just what I need, but it needs to be fitted to me carefully. I'll need help with that. I discovered that sleeveless blouses don't balance me well, as I need more of a shoulder. I think I can adjust for that. I'll give it a try.

And...

I also made this Jalie bra in January. I love the way it went together. There's an amazing video on YouTube that gives you the whole bra from start to finish just like a silent movie from the 20's. However, for a woman of my shape and size, it just doesn't work. Anyone out there want it?

January

So in January these are the things I got finished. 

 Here is one bra set with 2 panties. Very extravagant of me, I know - but I couldn't decide which style I liked better. I'm still not sure. The bra fits very well - it's a pattern drafted for me by someone who knows this stuff well. I like the fabric and lace trim. Fabric comes from the Fabricville cheap shelf. Trim and extras from Montreal shops.

This is the first pair of panties made from the Rosy Lady Shorts pattern. It's excellent! I did make them a bit taller than indicated. I may also bring the elastic in a bit from the edge at the bottom.

Here is a second bra and panties set. Here I took the pattern from above and created a full extended band. I am thinking comfort with this move, and I may be on to something. I would drop less next time by a smudge, and I need to remove fabric from the band about midway, allowing the 2 way stretch to smooth out. I have patterns to work on in February.

Here is a neck warmer experiment. I wanted to try crochet with beads. Look carefully and you can see little clear beads all through it. The process was a bit tedious but actually goes along pretty smoothly. However, I failed to get the initial row straight and didn't notice until I was finished that the whole thing twists. Wow. I can be so dense. This looks good wrapped around a neck, or containing overly frizzled hair. First one to 'like' it can have it. 

This is a recently retired Marcy Tilton shirt pattern. I had to make a few pattern fit adjustments but I'm pleased with it overall. It had a neat way of finishing the edges that I may use again. I'm making another version now. Don't you just hate my hair? What's up with that?

I also made this Jalie bra in January. I love the way it went together. There's an amazing video on YouTube that gives you the whole bra from start to finish just like a silent movie from the 20's. However, for a woman of my shape and size, it just doesn't work. Anyone out there want it?