dress inspiration

i am so close to being done with the dress! this is a little picture of the bodice top. it still needs a zipper but that is about it. i wore the 'test dress' at a wedding this weekend and it held up well. it was slightly tight in the top so im glad i havent finished the bodice completely for the final version so that i can adjust it a bit. i doubt it really needed the boning with the lining and interfacing but i suppose it cant hurt to be safe. the real test was the suck in and push up equipment. it passed although i was glad to take it off at the end of the afternoon.

i also wound up with a nasty sunburn. i havent had a burn in years, i am so cautious about sunscreen especially with eliot and i completely forgot to put it on myself. good thing my wedding is several weeks off..and i wasnt wearing something with straps!

these were the pictures i had in mind when i made the dress. took them while they were in the window not thinking about the image from the back showing through. i left them that way because i think it looks kind of arty but you get the idea.

a little skimpy but i like the bubble at the bottom and the flower detail. i still havent decided what details to put on mine. i really want to leave it out to think about it but i also dont want kevin to see it all put together.
i saw this one in person at my local bridal shop and it is SO heavy! i didnt bother trying it on because it looked quite a bit different in person but th is is the closest to mine of the three.

it is so hard to title sometimes...

we have had a nice week around here with a mix of sun rain and the usual business. the wedding planning is winding down with some parts and up with others. 95% of the invitations have gone out and are trickling in with responses. the next steps will be such details as planning the ceremony and the decorations. we found a ton of small glass flower holders at good will this weekend to dress up the tables a bit. the flowers are going to be a low key combo of wild flowers, from my mothers garden and a split bouquet or two.

dress making is nearing completion! and i have taken precious little pictures im afraid. the hour here and there i get i spend madly sewing and forgetting about documentation. i did find a zipper today for the bodice back to finish that up and the skirt part is done, at least pre-details if i add any at all.

eliot has decided on his future profession already. this has been his favorite toy. good thing it hasnt seen any real use. unfortunately he hasnt show any interest in actually using the potty, only the flushing part.

we visited the clam festival last week. the yearly treck to get fried dough was a yummy success. i was too busy with sugary hands and dodging carnies to take a really good pictures. eliot was a little overwhelmed and a tad frightened of the whole operation. i think next year he will be a little more interested and less likely to stay in the stroller. maybe i can get him to sing under the big karaoke tent.



i have also started another craft project to keep my mind at ease while we wedding plan. a friend of mine is having a baby in a few months so i thought i would start a quilt. if my track record holds true she should have it in the neighborhood of august of 09. i decided on an alphabet theme from this inspiration. this woman just has a way with fabric that i really love.

Kevin stars in...

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charming

marching along as usual. i have been taking a lot of pictures of little people lately. a lot of pictures in general including a class reunion and some workplace portraits. eliot's friends are very easy to photograph. charming little gals.

i cut out the skirt portion of the dress today.. i will do a good update on that soon. the image in my head is great, i hope i can recreate it with fabric!

eliot has been sleeping marginally better the past few nights...maybe it was the heat?

over and over

letters into envelopes is the most current repetitive motion around here. i finally was able to get the response cards to print properly using my printer. eliot was very helpful gathering them as they came through to the printer tray. he was also very helpful handing me many, many envelopes. next is stamping and addressing. i hope to get these in the mail by wednesday! then it's official, no turning back.

ive gotten some new inspiration for cakes and decorations. i do love cake. although i have a good idea of what i want i think i need to go around and taste test just for the fun of it. the dress needs to be the next big thing for me though. this coming weekend should be a big one for dress construction.

he has just discovered the nostril and all the mysteries within. i really have way too many pictures like this of him. poor kid.

flowers and busy bee's

start off with a roar. he hasn't quite gotten 'say cheese' yet. but, he can roar, and he can say bye at the top of his lungs. he prefers to say hi and bye to strangers, and pretty much everyone he sees on the street. so far it has been OK. i think it helps that he is cute. when he starts passing out his stuffed animals to the homeless i try to take deep breaths and imagine that they probably need a pick -me- up more than anyone.

he is such a monkey right now. he has figured out a few new climbing skills. he can hold his hands on the side of the table, pick up his legs, and swing. he figured out he can climb his changing table without any kid of box or stool and, the other day i went from one room to the other, and by the time i got back to the dining room area he was sitting all snugly in his booster seat. i figure he must have scaled the back of one of the chairs, gotten onto the top of the dining room table and managed to wiggle himself down into his seat. unreal. needless to say he has started learning the two word phrase 'time out' and repeating 'not safe' around the house before he does something he is not supposed to.

lots of mini wild life around my mom's house right now. kevin goes one way chasing butterflies and i go the other chasing dragonflies and damsel flies.

her garden is in full bloom. it is amazing how fast things come and go.



and the test dress is basically done. i need to hem the bottom. the fit ended up being opposite of what i expected. usually, for me, the top is too small and the bottom is too big. in this case the waist fit perfectly but the top was about 2 sizes too big. i need to take it in about 3/4 of an inch on both sides. im very glad i did a test first because i have come up with several changes i would like to make.

i think i am going to make the pieces separates. ill dig up the links to my inspirations at some further post. i want to take the top in and lengthen the bodice. i think i will make the skirt a tad longer and add a few pleats to the skirt at the top. this really turned out to be an easy pattern. it took me a while as i have about 1 hour chunks of time but it could probably be done by someone with moderate sewing skills in an afternoon. once i fix this one up and maybe add a ribbon around the waist i hope to get some wear out of it.

200

this is my 200th post to this blog. a lot has happened in those 200 words and images. here's to the next 100...

a beautiful double rainbow yesterday.

peony's in grandma's garden. they smell so heady and sweet.

helping grandma cook dinner.


a hazy day at the park.
and playing with his best gal olive. they are the easiest kids to babysit. they are so good together, no tears for over 3 hours! they share and play together it is so sweet. eliot went to bed faster than usual tonight after playing with her. here's hoping he sleeps all night!

he has been pulling all nighters again the past 2 weeks. we have been trying to adjust the way handle it and it is hard! i just can't bring myself to let him truly 'cry it out'. he was up one night for 4 hours and another for at least 3. it could be molars, but then again it's hard to tell. i keep telling myself its a phase. i really cant see myself having another kid until he can sleep reasonably well. i don't know how people do it. if any one has any getting kids to sleep suggestions or books please share!

light

a few years ago when i lived in a first floor apartment i had a bedroom on the sidewalk side of the place. it was a great big bedroom with enough room for me to put my computer desk. while i would work on my computer i could hear snippets of conversations as people walked by. i started writing typing them up while i worked. i just ran across the list i had started while going through some old folders. here is the lot:

No .. ahhh not exactly .. we met each other while working together.

Why didn’t she close the f-ing door?!

But my feet still hurt.

You hear me? Do you hear me? You stay with mom and dad the whole time.

Ya I took them off right away.

One of those umbrellas..ya know.. parasols.

Like, oh my god. I cant believe he’s here…I cant believe he's here.

She has never been fat like that before.

The only cigarettes ive ever smoked was a switzer

Matt and I would be half way up by now, ya the cutting was awesome.

I like the cat woman.

This is just to give the neighbors something to complain about.

He has kind of a square shaped head.

I am not really into the psychological part.

beach visits

this week has been full of family and beaches. after the wedding several of kevin's immediate family rented a beach house for the week. it was a perfect location with huge picture windows all around.

the beach roses are starting to drop leaves.

i love the bright green dune grass that pops up between large stones.

kevin took this picture of a flying seagull. i think it looks like a painting.

the goal for this evening is to come up with some sort of invitation design.

weekend wrap up

my little thief. he can reach just about every surface in our house now. his newest fascination is the bottom drawer of my jewelry box. i have removed my valuables and let him have at it. he thinks he is being quite naughty but really enjoys the necklaces.

kevin's brother got married! it was in a beautiful little ocean side church. the light was so warm and radiant it really made for nice pictures.

eliot in his suit jacket. he was very patient but thankfully my..cousin in law?.. was there to help me take care of him. thank you thank you for being so attentive! he even taught eliot how to say chipmunk.
and, yours truly. i dont usually post pictures of myself but i was looking better than usual this weekend.

mish-mash

the dress work continues despite the heat. it seems we jumped right into summer over night. i cant say that i am all that disappointed, though it is hot. we had our first real beach day over the weekend. it hit the upper 80's in town so we, along with the masses, went to the beach. eliot had a good time playing in the sand, running like crazy and eating seaweed. he also learned a lot about how to give toys back after taking them.

this is the newest piece of the dress. it will be a lovely poofy addition. i am about 50% done with the test dress, the dress form has gotten its first use and so far has been a useful tool.

I finished the little jacket for eliot's appearance at uncle tim's wedding this weekend. it is linen with a bit of poly mixed in for ease of washing and it doesnt wrinkle as readily as pure linen. i am trying to decide what to do about pants, i dont have quite enough to make him any out of this.


the rosa ragosa are just blooming in the city. it smells so nice. i prefer the smell of the roses to the lilacs but really who can beat a city that smells like roses.


to beat the heat eliot and i have been taking walks to the city pier. it is fun to watch the ferries come and go and yesterday we saw one of the tourist trap schooners sailing around. it did a couple of tacks in front of the dock ticking off a couple of lobster boats and giving the guys that fish off the pier something to laugh at. it is a really beautiful boat, i cant say i would mind going on one of the sunset cruises.

i think i also wouldnt mind moving to one of the islands. if i could move to an island and have sheep and gardens i think i would be happy.

details

we are in detail mode now with the wedding. the big stuff is taken care of so now it is the small stuff. i am not as worried about the little things. once we get the invitations out i think it will be smooth sailing.

the dress is slowly making its way into 3d reality. i cut out and ironed the pattern pieces so the next step will be to cut out the test fabric and see how it goes.

at home i have planted a little herb garden in pots in our windows. kevin was nice enough to spend some time and make a few shelves in the windows for me. the sprouts are quite a bit higher than these at this point and it has only been a few days difference! i really hope the rosemary takes, those are the only ones left to sprout.

here are some of the wedding details kevin has been working on. i think i am going to leave most things a surprise but i will keep a good photo log to share good images of later.


and this picture i just couldnt resist posting. it cracks me up to no end. it is sort of monty python-ish to me.

wedding dress part 1

so...i think i have made the decision to make my wedding dress. i am glad jo ann's has patters at reasonable prices because so far im up to four. the one not pictured would be way too complicated so that is out of the running at least for this. i am going to make a 'muslin' of at least one variation of these and see if i can get to a good place with the construction and fit.


meet the new member of the family.. my body double. kevin helped me make a dress form out of duct tape (lot's of tutorials out there if you google it) to make the fitting of the wedding dress easier. it now needs to be stuffed and properly named i think. eliot started pointing to it and saying 'mama, mama'. maybe if kevin can make a proper head for it it wont be so hard on eliot when i leave for work in the morning.

i also discovered a great new to me website sew mama sew. great tutorials and ideas.

blue

while digging around in my mother's attic i came across some old pictures i had made while in college. these made by brushing emulsion onto paper and sandwiching a negative between the treated paper and a piece of glass. when the paper and negative are exposed to the sun you get these lovely blue images. they are very dreamy looking. the images are all 2.25 inches square.

we spent our memorial day at the beach. it was a little cool but gorgeous. this spring has been amazingly dry for us. although, right now i am trying to type quickly as i see massive dark clouds heading over the water towards us.

in more wedding news i am trying to decide if i am going to make my dress or not. i went dress shopping this weekend and didn't have much luck. granted, i am not looking for a really traditional wedding dress but there wasn't much to work with. everything was either way too fancy or heavily beaded. i am looking for a simple, tea length, a-line dress. i keep seeing what a i like in the flower girl section. maybe i need to stop looking at kids clothes for a while! any dress hunting/making/buying advice?

make

in the midst of wedding planning i have managed to get a few things accomplished. i finished the comforter cover i had talked about a while back. i had another sheet that i liked and coordinated well enough with the top. i am happy with the results although i will probably have to replace the ribbon ties with buttons before i wash it. it definitely brightens up the room.

i have been meaning to make a sewing machine cover for a while. we get a lot of dust coming off of the beams and through the window so it became a necessity. i was trying to decide what to make it out of when i spied an unused pillowcase i found at good will. perfect fit and no sewing required!

notice the teeth marks on the white one.

eliot and his favorite gal olive. good thing she doesn't mind his zealous hugs.