crazy boy

Porter is a booger,
Climbing into the bookshelf.
Shoulda left him there.

Still snowing today.
Glad I don't have to shovel.
Will it ever stop?

I forgot to add. Doesn't he look so much like his daddy in this picture?

snowy Valentine's day

You know, I really look forward to the day - decades from now - when we get to sit back and reminisce about the blizzard of '07. Maybe I'll even call it Ought-Seven, just to sound more folksy. And then we'll all agree that we were tough, not like them young'uns today with their terrible music and their iPods and their robot maids. Because I really hope that we have robot maids by then.

Matt's had two days off from work, much of which he's spent shoveling. Yesterday it snowed and drifted and snowed and drifted; today the snow has stopped and the sun is out, and so are our neighbors with shovels and snowblowers. The big task now seems to be digging out the mailboxes, just in case we get any mail today (which we probably won't, we didn't yesterday and who knows if we will tomorrow? But I hope it's soon because I'm waiting for a paycheck and Hobby Lobby is having a sale and I haven't even left my house in three days.) Matt took the kids out sledding and despite Indiana being 99.999975% flat, he was able to build a sledding hill out of drifted snow - got plenty of that around - and pull the kids around in their sled.

It's also Valentine's Day. You know, that little holiday? So, by tomorrow morning the roads need to be passable enough to get to Target for half price candy.

dress success!

So... (drumroll please)... here it is! It's actually not quite finished; I've only done half the hem, but you can't see the pins poking me in the knees. And I truly don't know what's going on with my hair in this picture.

I made a bunch of changes to the pattern, actually. Mainly, I attached the facings to all the neck and midriff band pieces - on the theory it would be easier to match up my sloppy notches when they weren't attached to the dress - which caused the front not to match up perfectly, so I lapped it a tiny bit and hand sewed it. (Maybe I'll put in some hook-and-eyes later, or frogs.) And I cut the front skirt piece about 2 inches wider and gathered it extra (would have been good if I'd remembered to increase the skirt band as well). And, instead of hemming both long edges of the waist ties, I just folded the whole mess in half and sewed a single seam. (This allowed me to do less pressing, which is my second least favorite thing about sewing, after cutting out the pieces.) While you could conceivably cut out the side skirt pieces on the fold, thereby eliminating another seam, I left it as it was and added pockets (I think Dress a Day Girl would approve).

See, Mom? That Sewing with Nancy book is really coming in handy now.

The bodice and skirt is a silky polyester, which was rather ravelly. If I use that type of fabric again, I'll zigzag the edges first (it turns out I can do that) or pink the edges with pinking shears or try French seams (Nancy makes them seem really easy). Or, I'll save myself the trouble and use a nice, non-ravelly cotton, (geishas, anyone?) The midriff bands are a heavier polyester suiting material, which I think works well with the style of the dress - the skirt band, especially, needs a little weight to it I think.

I'm already plotting what I can sew next, since I still don't have any photos to scrap (and whatever I do have I need to save for the Event). Unfortunately I've discovered Amy Butler fabrics, which are so gorgeous and pretty (do they remind anyone else of the new American Crafts papers?) but are 9 dollars a yard (yowch!) Still, it may be worth it. I scored a pair of these shoes in brown (they were marked down to $5! they had one pair! they were my size!) and I don't really have anything to wear with them. Hey, if I managed to make a dress in 3 days, maybe I can do it again?!

Super Bowl

Umm... so the Colts won.

There was actually a massive parade and pep rally downtown yesterday for our returning heroes. And I so would have gone, if it were maybe a teensy bit warmer than 2 degrees outside. As it was, the RCA Dome was filled to capacity and the streets were lined with yet more fans. THE COLTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!

Today it's warmed up a bit - just enough for the snow to start, actually. Yep, we're in the throes of a full fledged blizzard. And Matt - who had yesterday off, due to his generous bosses - is on his way home right now. I'm mainly typing this blog entry to take my mind off of my nervousness, actually.

I finished assembling my dress that I started on Sunday. Now I just have to pick out a lot of basting stitches and do the hem while I am watching NCIS. I'll post a picture in the next day or two - it's wicked cute.

Scrapping, sewing, stuff

Okay, first of all how cool is this. I'm going to the 2007 Scrap Etc. Event! Mo generously gave away 5 free spaces and I was lucky enough to be #4. Which not only means a weekend of fun, scrapping, and NO kids... it also means going to Alabama... in March! I've never been a fan of March weather (though it's better here than in NY) so that will be a nice break.

And... I mailed my HOF entry yesterday! I feel pretty good about it. I did my best, it's just up to the judges now (well, okay, and the U.S. Post Office, also).

Since my HOF entry is done and I'm out of photos to scrap anyway, I decided to dedicate a little time to sewing. I'm doing Simplicity 4072 and so far it has lived up to the name 'simplicity' - no buttons, no zippers, no set-in sleeves even (I'm doing the view with the kimono-style bodice). I hope to have it done in time to wear to church next Sunday. I have to say, the sewing is fun, but I REALLY hate cutting out all the pieces... especially those &^$@#%^ notches.

Betsy hasn't been feeling too well this weekend. She seems to have caught a gastrointestinal bug - though it seems to be running the 'intestinal' end of the spectrum. Boy howdy, there was one disappointed little girl in my house this morning when she realized that she wasn't going to Primary. However, I got her to eat some oatmeal by giving her leftover Christmas sprinkles to sprinkle over the top, and that cheered her up a bit. She's taking a nap now, which is a shame because KICKOFF IS IN TEN MINUTES!!!

Yeah, we're just a little excited about the Colts.