A learned a new craft...

A few weeks ago at my church, St. Andrew's Episcopal, we had a creativity weekend. As a part of that I attended a craft workshop centered around paper crafting. Not scrapbooking, but collage, image transfer, etc. Here's what I made.

That is the front cover of this:

My friend Jennifer taught us two wonderful techniques for image transfer. One involves gel medium which I used for most of the images. The other technique involves packing tape, which I used for the other images.

Here are some close-up pictures of the inside:

Since the dogs wanted to give David a Father's Day present, they signed the back.
Hope y'all enjoy.

The search is over...

I have been looking for years for a monogram font, and I have finally found one. I had some requirements, deco-esque, free, bordered, and this one was the one.

You can download it for free here by clicking the download link at the bottom of the page. He has some other cool fonts available as well. There is a whole set of monograms for under $30.

I do love free fonts. If you do too, check out dafont and font garden for some great ones.

Now, I just have to figure out what to do with my monogram. Too bad I don't have an embroidery machine.

This shirt was a little sew and sew...

I made this knit shirt the other night and thought I'd let y'all see it. I got the fabric at the Eastwood Hancock for about $1.60 and had some left over. you can read the review below, but the short story is that printed stripes never line up correctly, and my stitch length was too short on the hems. I still like it and will wear it on weekends. I'm enjoying getting to know my new serger.

Pattern: Simplicity 4076

Pattern Description: Three knit tops with different sleve lenghts, often reviewed here on pattern review. Twist top, faux wrap top, scoop neck with gathers.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, but I shortened the sleeves of view c.

Were the instructions easy to follow? For the most part. I think that I will set the sleeves flat next time. Also, the directions for gathering the neck wasted the pattern piece, so I zig-zagged elastic to the front piece to created the gathers.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the versitility of the mix and match sleeve length. I might raise tthe neckline next time to make it a little more work friendly.

Fabric Used: Knit, 100% cotton,

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Shortened the sleeves and added one inch at the add mark one inch at the bottom. The neck gaps a bit, so next time I will rotate the back pattern piece to remove a bit at the top and shorten the neckband to accomodate that and the raising of the front neck line.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I will sew this again, perhaps even the same view.

Conclusion I made this to test out my new serger, and as a muslin for some other tops I want to make. It looks fine, but I will most likely just wear it arond the house and on weekends. I think the stitch length I used for the hems was a little too short. I hate that the stripes are a bit off on the back, but oh well.

WWII at 3368

Don't be fooled by the post title. There's no major conflict here.

David and I are keeping our friends', Colin and Annalisa's, year(ish) old Old English Sheepdog, Sadie Belle. Here's a video of her and her new friends reenactment of a classic WWII battle, the Brits (portrayed by Old English Sheepdog, Sadie, against the Germans, portrayed by German Shepherd, Chica). Black dog, Calvin plays all other parts. (No cameramen, i.e. David, were harmed in the production of this reenactment.)



Winni chose not to participate.

She was enjoying the new granite countertops...

And eating sticks.

sand sand stain sand stain GRANITE beer beer beer

If you should choose to re-do your kitchen, that is the process we followed, and it seemed to work well. A more detailed process is below the before and after pictures.

View from living room. (Click for a larger picture.)
From the front door. (Click for a larger picture.)
In this before, don't miss the arm chair/boom box holder, concrete board floor, 1990's era appliances, alarm clock on the counter, phone on chop saw table, batchelor-esque quality to the house. Not that I'm prissy, but there have been some upgrades.

Happy Granite David!

Here is a brief renovation recap, as seen above:
Summer 2005-Renovate entire living area of house including the kitchen, including flooring instaltion
Spring 2006-Build peninsula island
Winter 2007-Get tax refund to pay for (most of) granite
Spring 2007-Strip and restain cabinet faces:
4/1-3/2007: Empty kitchen cabinets
4/4/2007: Sand with 60 grit sandpaper
4/5-6/2007: Sand with 180-220 grit sandpaper, test for stain color
4/7/2007: Remove part of block wall and prep for over-the-range microwave installation
4/8/2007: Happy Easter!
4/9/2007: Stain with Minwax Polyshades (mix of Bombay Mahogony and Anique Walnut, 1:1)
4/10/2007: Sand with ooo steel wool and apply a second coat of Minwax Polyshades (mix of Bombay Mahogony and Anique Walnut, 1:1)
4/11/2007: Have emerald pearl granite enstalled by Steel City Stone (no website, but a wonderful company)
4/11/2007 (later): Have beer (beer, beer) with friends at the Villa Fiesta and miss the new countertops.
4/11/2007 (even later): Return home to gaze upon granite again.
Spring and Summer 2007-Build new cabinet doors

I'll post more projects as they arise.