Another Good Day

Today was chilly. We came home for sweaters.

Children wear lovely school uniforms. The new season shows as newly purchased outfits. They look so perfect! Skirt hem length seems quite variable. And short. But with tights.

I could walk canal paths for days, and probably will.

Ducks quack louder here.

Women outings are called hendoes.

Cleo had a tiff with the neighborhood bully cat. At high noon.  In the upper hallway. Not sure who won. We are now her 'muscle' when she ventures out.  Ron goes with her for the first bit and growls at the surrounding bushes. Quite effective.

Went to a lovely museum today. Lovely needlework and a huge willow sculpture.  My cup of tea! Then walked the park surrounding it, as Jane Eyre did when she lived next door. Took a picture of her house (of course).

Bought some vintage sewing patterns today. Companies I had never heard of. Gorgeously!

The neighbors have a lovely daughter. She drew me a map of the 8 year old's version of a tourist map. It's very informative. I need to find this tea spot, it seems.

TV is a bit different. Watch this!

Tomorrow a short talk on why Jane Eyre was the pulp fiction queen of her time. And we'll try for the largest antique shop in the world. Even though I thought we had already been to the largest - several times!

THe Right Cat Steps Forward

Good news! The correct cat has identified herself. At approximately midnight a slight, furry, purring delight arrived on my sleeping head, treading and vigorously spooning me. She was hungry and had a huge midnight snack. She spent the rest of the evening sleeping on our feet.

The wrong cat still checks out the kitchen feeding station, using the cat doors as if they were her own.   This may call for the squirt gun by the kitchen window.

Of course, right cat/ wrong cat - whose word do we take on this?

The allegedly 'right' cat is happily purring in my husbands lap now. Both happy. He wants to apply for a passport for her. What does AC charge for a cat? He could just tuck her in his sweater.

Today we wandered the town. It was filled with others doing the same thing. A perfect day! We listened to the Saxaphonics in a park. Scouted out lots of things to do. Saw lots of places to shop. The English seem to love parks. They were everywhere!

I found a Pfaff/ Husqvarna dealership! Just like home, but the fabric is more expensive.

We also walked along the canal behind our house. Lots of long house boats tied up on the  sides of the canal We just missed one using the locks. I'd love to live in a houseboat for a bit. It looks so peaceful. The grocery store is just a few minutes along the canal. They have fresh vegetables and croissants!

Crossing the Big Pond

Good travel. AC left and arrived on time. Mind you, first class looked amazing! Little individual islands of lie back luxury. For just another $998 (one way) I could have had champagne.

Flight was fine. Customs smooth. Found the bus (coach) easily and it was also a good ride. Hopped a taxi right away and got in the house without a hitch.

We have learned:

• That we have fed several cats who arrived in the kitchen through the cat door. None of them were our cat. 
• Walk facing traffic while on the sidewalk. It's prudent. There is no buffer zone between car and you. 
• Switches and plugs and just about everything is different here. 
• You can walk everywhere. 
• Women wear hats to weddings. 
• Everyone has an accent. 
• I'm very tired. We'll sleep well tonight. Just wondering who that will be on the bottom of the bed. Antique market tomorrow!

Pro Totes

I know. I haven't written in ages! It's not because I haven't had anything to say. I always have lots to say.

I'm writing on my iPad today. I am traveling soon and want to test run things before I go. I just finished a new bag for the occasion! I had made a Professional Tote and love it. It has all the right pockets and doohickeys in just the right places. But I found it a bit big for everyday use, and I want a daily packer.

The Professional Tote has a mini version, but I didn't have time to order the pattern and it isn't digital. I improvised. Taking the measurements of the mini  from the pattern description I cut down my full version. I'm no math goddess, but it worked! I also tried to reduce weight by carefully choosing what to interface with what, and using quilt cotton for all but the bag bottom.

It's (more or less) perfect! Where the bigger bag handles a laptop, this one takes my pad for a custom fit. Water bottle and umbrella pockets still work beautifully. The structure is firm without any extra weight. Well, maybe a little.

So here it is with it's big sister. It took me more than a week to figure out that I can't load pics from my iPad, so I went back to my Mac. If you know how, please share with me. Google does not want to recognize the Cloud.

Why can't these 2 just get along?

I understand Bloggers go through droughts. Hopefully mine is now over.

Just got back from the annual sister week of debauchery. We were in Montreal again this year, and the weather was perfect! This year we had coordinated nighties - blue and white - either striped or polka dotted. Many complaints about fit. They fit fine, but some bosoms may have been looking for a bust adjustment I've just never done before. Not my problem. They fit just fine everywhere else.

I had a day of fabric shopping to myself. I find that being on your own means other (single) people treat you differently. People at the commuter train speak to you and look out for you when they realize you're new. The Subway guy helped me to my seat and checked on my napkins - I was eating a meatball sub after all! It was a very nice day! I was shopping at many of the stores visited by the Montreal sewing bloggers the week before. I mentioned this and was told everywhere that stores were seeing spin off customers from that tour. Stores were pleased!

I went to buy exercise wicking fabric and shirting fabric. I stuck to that pretty well - with more money spent of notions than I had planned. Little things add up! I will probably stick to the more upper end stores for a bit now. If I have to lug, pack and pay for it I want it to be something special. Besides, I got excellent fabric for $15/m.

My stash does overfloweth.

For the last 2 days I worked on a shirt, using the Collette Aster pattern. I did a FBA, shortened the sleeves (long version) and ended up taking in the side seams from the waist down. I used a nice linen and that shirt went together perfectly! The instructions for the sleeve placket were perfect and easy to follow.

Now, I did deviate when inserting the sleeve. They wanted me to run 3 rows of gathering stitches and ease it in. Just say no. No, no, no. I used a strip of bias self fabric and sewed it to the sleeve cap just inside the seam allowance with a slightly longer stick. I pull hard on the bias as I sew and this eases the sleeve cap to the bias. The resulting cap has a nicely built in curve and pops into the sleeve armsyce easily. It stretches to fit or can be further eased by pulling on the stitching - rarely required.

As an added benefit I make the bias strip about 2" wide. This means I have a nice soft strip of fabric supporting the sleeve head and giving it some smooth support.

Now, to make this sewing experience even more perfect, I managed my thread with incredible skill (luck). I had 2 shades to work with and 1 was a better match, of course. However I didn't think I had enough of the good match to make it all the way through. There was topstitching, after all. I flipped both threads from bobbin to spindle - back and forth - finishing the last stitch (the last buttonhole!) with the actual last inch of matched thread on top. I even had the 'Check Needle Thread' on the machine screen.

I'm expecting a huge disaster in my future to make up for that.

Ah!There it is! Worst picture ever!

Buy Some Drano!

As I showered this morning I thought to myself - do these legs need the annual spring dehairing? Then I looked out the window and realized I had lots of time. Lots and lots and lots. However, can't you just imagine the clogged drains when we again catch sight of earth? Can't wait!

Meanwhile the search for the perfect pants continues. I picked up the Wallis pants pattern from Style Arc. I liked the style lines and thought the stretch might be 'fit forgiving'. First let's just say those are leggings, not pants. The fit is leggings for sure. I love them, but they aren't pants.

The muslins were not promising. DH pointed out the problem areas and made the serious mistake of wondering if there was an issue in the belly area. I've allowed him to live for now - but it was touch and go there for a bit.

I percolated on this thought for a day or two. I studied the muslins, the telltale folds and also (alas!) my belly. It seemed I did need a FBA. The dreaded Front Belly Adjustment! I had vertical folds from the crotch are up to the waist. The belly was talking more fabric to cover it and dragging all the pants with it. Extra fabric gathered at the crotch. After I added a little roundness to the pattern pieces at the belly bulge the wrinkles were gone. Now, I do have other fitting problems to solve. The front and back crotch curves fit but aren't distributed correctly. I had DH trace my outline onto paper so I could study my bumps and lumps. Next I will go back to my Wild Ginger software and draft some pants. I can make very fine fitting adjustments with that program and then they apply to everything else I draft. Handy! After the diet takes hold I can make changes as required (please, please, please).

Here are one of the 2 pairs of Wallis pants made so far. The other pair is gray and don't show up well. The Great P is waited with bated breath for me to wear these out in public. She has no sense of whimsy! It seems I do.

I've also finished all the embroidered blocks for my pup quilt. See those paw prints? There are 96 of them - 24 sets of 4. LD showed me a great trick for stitching 6 sets in one hooping. She is so smart!

Also, giving serious thought to a permanent kitchen couch. It leaves about 6 square inches of vacant floor space - but you stretch out with your tea, oatmeal and the paper. True comfort!

The Kitchen Couch

It snowed. Lots and lots. I won't show you pics of how impressive it looks. Just check FB or whatever. It's quite the event! I am truly blessed. I have a great truck with excellent tires and 4WD. I have a warm house with lots of fabric and thread. I have DH who has a snowblower and knows how to use it. He looks so handsome when his eyebrows ice over. Truly!

I'm more concerned with how to locate and excavate the garbage and green bins. Bins are filling up in here, and I'm becoming concerned. The future may be smelly.

OK. One pic. This is a sight we saw last week while shopping for the furniture. The sun and warm had been making some headway. I'm wondering what it looks like now!

We have a couch in the kitchen now. We ordered furniture for the adjoining family room, and that led to new paint, and that led to drywall repairs, insulation, drywall replacement and much sanding. Then there was painting (and that ceiling need a freshening too). The floor hasn't been refinished and wouldn't that be nice. We are really looking forward to that furniture!

Meanwhile I can see why people would put a couch in the kitchen. If you read any novel with a Newfoundland setting (try Michael Crummy, he's excellent!) they always have a couch. It's comfy, great for chats and perfect when you can't be bothered to move. It's also really close to the fridge. Very handy. I think in Newfoundland it's meant for those who have had a bit too much rum and can't make it home. Ooooo! I'd like to try that! And now I can!

Now I'm going back to my sewing. Next post will be on pants and the FBA for pants. I didn't know I needed one down there! It was a rude awakening. The diet begins.