Sewing Saturday

Several Things I Did Today:
Got up and ran 5 miles early, beautiful day, glad I did it!

Fixed scrambled eggs for breakfast, enjoyed the coffee and newspaper.

Made the bed.

Cleaned the kitchen - emptied and refilled dishwasher, decluttered and wiped counters, scrubbed skillet.

Did a crossword puzzle.

Hard boiled some eggs for potato salad.

Laundry - 3 loads washed and dried, much of that folded and put away.

Sewed more sashings on the Mod Sampler. How do you like this green sashing?


Quilted almost 3/4 of the pink/purple/parasol quilt (it is not for me but for the granddaughter of my boss).


Now I must make the potato salad, rhubarb pudding, and spinach salad w/ strawberries, green onions and pecans for company coming in just 2.5 hrs.! Yikes!

TGIF

I am so glad this work week is almost over, not because the week has been bad, but because I can think of SO many more things that I'd rather do than be in the office.

Ideas and lists for the weekend - Not sure I'll get it all done or in this particular order, but I can dream...

House: pick up clutter, dust and vacuum, laundry, ironing, put books in car to donate to library, straighten closets, swap drh's summer/winter shirts, put away clean clothes, pay bills.
Outside: clean out car, sweep garage, prepare new planters for deck, buy and plant flowers in planters, wipe off table on deck.
Hobbies: run, sew quilt top for mod sampler, put pink/purple parasol quilt on frame, clean up sewing room, finish up more crosswords, sew dust covers for bobbin winder and long-arm, make new pin cushion(s), make tote bag.
Food: grocery shop (don't forget orange juice), plan and prepare company dinner Saturday night, attend brunch after church Sunday, make nice dinner Sunday night.
Misc.: plan outfits for next week, plan what to pack for long weekend at my sister's next weekend.

Let's see - what can I make for company dinner? Maybe pork chops on the grill, potato salad, baked beans, sweet corn on the grill?, strawberry/spinach salad... must think about it more before grocery shopping. I could look at cooking blogs for ideas, huh?

Now I better start on the list or nothing will be done, and that won't be a good thing.

When Dad Does Your Hair

Got a couple of new pictures from A of Baby G.

Here is she is with real smiles at 4 weeks old! Mommy likes a more traditional hairdo for her, as you can see.

PJ Top Tutorial

I finally finished sewing a pair of pj shorts I started last summer. They turned out comfy and fit well, so the pattern is a keeper. They even match the newest race t-shirt I got last weekend, but most race t-shirts are not very comfortable on me, because they are sized for men.


My neck gets hot since the necklines are too close, and the hems are too long and too tight around the bottom. So I decided to modify the t-shirt and, while I was at it, make it even more coordinated with the pants.


Neckline:

Cut the neckline trim off. You can cut .5-1 inch below the seam as I did, or you can cut just below the seam if you want a bit closer fit.

Make 1.25-inch bias strips from your pants fabric. I had just a couple scraps, so I had to cut several strips and sew them together.

Leaving about 6 inches of the bias tape unsewn, and starting about 3 inches from the center back, sew the bias tape to the neckline with a .25-in. seam. Place the right side of the bias tape to the wrong side of the t-shirt neckline.

When you get past the second shoulder seam, lift the needle and cut the thread. Overlap and cut the bias tape with the unsewn part from the beginning so there is a 1.25 in. overlap. (Similar to how you put on continuous binding to the quilt edge.) With right sides together, make a diagonal seam to join the ends of the bias tape.

Continue sewing bias to the neckline until complete.

Press the bias tape so it lies on the outside of the neckline.

Turn the bias tape raw edge to the seam line, fold against the t-shirt fabric so the tape lies completely to the outside of the t-shirt neckline.

Sew the bias tape close to the edge to complete the neckline trim.

Hem:

Cut 2 inches off the bottom.


Measure 3 .5 inches up from the bottom on either side and cut a slit.


Pin a length of bias tape along the slit, with the right side of the bias tape to the wrong side of the t-shirt.

Sew a .25-in. seam along the bias tape, but taper the seam to the end of the slit on the t-shirt fabric. See photo.


Press the seam toward the tape.


Press the raw edge of the tape over .25 inch. Fold the pressed edge to the seam line and stitch close to the folded edge so it just barely covers the seam line. This is NOT the same as the neckline was sewn.
(More photos will be added)
With the right side of t-shirt fabric together, pinch a fold in the bias tape and sewn diagonally across the fold.

Trim bias tape to match bottom edge, if necessary.

Fold and press bottom edges of front and back up 1 inch.

Sew 5/8 inch from the bottom on front and back. Sew again .25 inch above the first hem line.

Press hems from outside of t-shirt.


Finished!


Hint for making pants: add a small loop of ribbon under the waistline casing in back so you can tell which is the back of the pants.


How do you like the new pjs?

Yummy Creations

I baked today! We've been out of any type of cookies or desserts for a few days, and I forgot to get any cookies at the store last night. Today we got invited to j&j's for dinner, and I volunteered to make deviled eggs. So while the eggs were boiling, I made oatmeal cookies!

I've been working on my Mod Sampler quilt, finally. You can see Oh, Fransson!'s Quilt Along here, and check out the Flickr pool here. I am not really quilting along, as most of the quilts were done a few weeks ago, so I guess I'm quilting along behind. But it has been fun watching the quilt along, the progress of all the quilters, and also starting my own project.

Today I got my 5-mile run (with some walking) in at 8 a.m. and glad of it, as it has warmed up considerably since and it was pretty summery already that early. Also got almost all the laundry done, dusted the bedroom, decluttered the kitchen counter, and cut drh's hair. Maybe I have time for a nap before we go away.

I'd like to cut out some shortie pajama pants for myself and a sun dress for Baby G this afternoon - but there goes naptime if I do.

Tomorrow we're going to see Baby G - she is growing and getting cuter (though how she could get cuter is really a mystery) every day.

Monday Done List

I'm SO glad I didn't back out of the trail race (considered due to generous rainfall last week). That's me on the right with friends R & D. Notice our dirty legs and soaking wet shoes and socks. D won 2nd in her age group and received a cool bison head trophy. I came in 5/5 in my AG, but didn't come in last in the race. HA. It was wet, muddy, lots of standing and running water, one real stream, two or three temporary streams, swamps, rivulets, puddles, and bogginess. It did make for nice squishy running surface - easy on the feet. But the shoes got dirty. I had looked for old shoes and discovered that my current shoes are more worn out than shoes I'd retired! So I just wore the current shoes. They washed up fairly well in the washing machine.
I finished quilting my friend's wall hanging panel she generously let me use to practice with a pantograph pattern. I had some trouble until I figured out which stitch mode and speed to use. Also the tension had to be tweaked because I changed the needle before starting this project. The stitching came out okay - it took longer and I didn't enjoy it as much as free motion, mostly because I wasn't able to enjoy the fabrics while quilting. All I could look at was the pattern and the laser stylus. A different experience. I do like the colors in the fabric - a rich, glowing navy which is my favorite kind of navy. I used a denim chambray variegated thread - not sure I like it a lot, but it looks fine.
On Sunday I cut and sewed the rest of the blocks for the big quilt I'm making with my sister for a gift. The blocks do look good once you mix them up together. It will turn out great. I told her I think the dark green/brown one in the lower left looks way too dark, and the rust and burgundy one near the center top has measurement issues and might have to be remade. She said, we only need 49 and we have 52, so no need to make more! YAY!

Weekend, Here I Come

Really looking forward to the weekend - I need rest and recovery from a stressful work week. So here is how I plan to do it:

Saturday morning is a 5-mile trail race which, due to all the rain lately, will likely be more of a swamp race than a trail race. "must dig out old shoes"

Saturday afternoon is a reunion at the home of an old boss of drh. We will go reunite with people he worked with 20 years ago, and their spouses. "must dig out company manners"

Saturday night is dinner with friends, or maybe just drinks if we are too full from reunion snacks. "must dig out eye-lid props" No, I am really looking forward to seeing them, so I won't have trouble staying awake. HA.

Sunday is church, reading the paper, quilting, paying bills, laundry, calling m-i-l and s-i-l and daughters. Catch up day on tidying the house, preparing for the next week, reviewing and revising task lists. Think I have time to take a nap?

I must say I was quite happy to have this stressful week broken up by Wednesday and this sweet girl:

Belated Great Weekend and More Finish Reports

Well, the weekend was great. Saturday morning was cool, clear and only a light breeze. I got out to the race about 1.5 hours early, and sat in the car to read the paper and work on the crossword puzzle. By doing that, I parked pretty close to the park and starting line. After awhile, I walked around, shed some layers and did a 1-mile warm-up run. My hip felt fine - I'm glad I ran the whole mile. And the race went great! I got my best time ever - about 40 sec. faster than last year. My place was 12/28 in my AG, and 158/360 of all women, so I was very pleased.

Saturday afternoon I did some laundry, finished quilting on the wonky quilt and took it off the frame, made a quick trip to the grocery store late, fixed salad and baked beans while drh cooked pork chops on the grill. The weather stayed beautiful all day.

I'm not sure I'm crazy about the variegated thread, but it was worth a try. I do like the back and binding, both tree print. I still have about a fat 1/4 left of it, but as much as I like it, I'm kind of glad it's about gone.

Sunday after church and lunch and newspaper reading, we went for a short motorcycle ride, then invited j&j over for hamburgers on the grill. So another nice day... too bad I never got around to cleaning the bathroom and bedroom like I'd planned. I had some time to sew binding, as you can see in the pictures above - it's all done now.

Tuesday night I had some errands to do, so fixed supper rather late, but drh was kind enough to clean up the kitchen while I did get the bedroom and bathroom cleaning done. Tonight is running at the lake - Yay! and hamburgers at the tavern, and then home to bed early unless I get distracted by quilt blocks...

Fine Friday

Spent the day at my d#1's again helping her adjust and care for Baby G, who is growing and eating and sleeping like crazy. She's almost cuter than my own two babies were - yes, she is.

Last night after running 4+ miles in warm, humid weather, I finished the borders for the wonky star/log cabin quilt top, cut and pieced together a back - all the same fabric but it had to be wider than the 42" fabric, and cut batting. I got the backing loaded onto the frame and want to put the top and batting on tonight, and might start quilting it - it's only 8 p.m.

Tomorrow is the club Big Race - I am looking forward to running and seeing friends, and am not too interested in my time. I am hoping to do at least as well as last year, and it shouldn't be too hard because the forecast is for around 50 deg., cloudy with a light wind. So not too hot and not too cold. I feel tired this week and that will probably be the biggest obstacle. Since I ran with my gear bag from the running program back to my car, trying to beat the parking meter expiration, my right hip joint seems a little sore. Hopefully a good night's sleep will make me feel better.

The rest of the weekend plans include some cleaning, sewing, laundry, making a decent meal or two, planning Sunday school lesson, and preparing for the following week.