Colorado 2008: Wild and Crazy Guys

This week I will be posting pictures from our summer vacation in Colorado. Sewing-related posts will begin again next week.

You may be thinking, "Wild and crazy guys? In Colorado? What wild and crazy guys is Colorado known for having?"

Well, those wild and crazy guys were us! My husband and I lugged our gear all the way out to Colorado and went rock climbing!

Here is my husband approaching, and then "summiting" the Bullet Hole Boulder, just outside of Colorado National Monument:

And here are two pictures of me at the Rink Wall in Ouray, Colorado.

Finally, some shots from our favorite climbing day at Hartman Rocks, near Gunnison, Colorado. Scott approaching the formation we climbed:

I hate to admit it, because it doesn't sound all that impressive, but the name of that formation is Beginner's Slab.

Here is Scott rigging the rope...

...and at the top of a challengingly smooth friction climb that we both did that day:

Thanks to everyone for indulging me while I posted these vacation pictures! As you can tell, we had a wonderful, wonderful time! This is the last such post, and now I'll turn my attention back to sewing. I have an update on Ana and Juana and their shirts that I'll post this weekend and some sewing of my own to report on, if I can ever find the time! ;)

Colorado 2008: Wild Life

This week I will be posting pictures from our summer vacation in Colorado. Sewing-related posts will begin again next week.

While we never saw anything "dramatic" like a bear or moose, we did enjoy watching these birds and animals:

Colorado 2008: Wild Ride

This week I will be posting pictures from our summer vacation in Colorado. Sewing-related posts will begin again next week.

By mid-week, we had traveled south as far as Ouray, Colorado, where we rented Jeep Wranglers and spent a day driving "off-road" in the mountains.

A view within Yankee Boy Basin

Wildflowers and Twin Falls, in Yankee Boy Basin, along the way to Mt. Sneffles (one of Colorado's 14,000+ peaks)

Finally, a scene from Animas Forks, Colorado, a former mining town (in the late 1800s) and current ghost town. It is located close to Silverton, Colorado, at a little over 11,000 feet above sea level.

Colorado 2008: Wild Flowers

This week I will be posting pictures from our summer vacation in Colorado. Sewing-related posts will begin again next week.

I was happily surprised to find a number of wildflowers still blooming (in August) at higher altitudes. Here are just some of the flowers we saw. I have tried to identify them as best as possible with the help of the internet, however I would appreciate any corrections! :)

Colorado's state flower: Columbine

Paintbrush (?)

Mountain Bluebells

Coneflower? or Golden Aster? or Golden Ragwort?

Colorado 2008: Wild Canyons

This week I will be posting pictures from our summer vacation in Colorado. Sewing-related posts will begin again next week.

We spent the first few days of our vacation exploring the landscapes around Grand Junction and Gunnison, Colorado.

Our first hike was the six-mile "Monument Trail" across the canyon floor in Colorado National Monument. Here is an overview shot and a shot from the trail of "Independence Monument":

John Otto, the "father" of the Colorado National Monument, installed a series of lead pipes into this particular monument to serve as a ladder. Each year on the Fourth of July, he would climb to the top of the monument and fly an American flag.

We also hiked into the neighboring Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness along the 5.5 mile Rattlesnake Arches Trail to see seven naturally formed arches. Here are two of them:

Finally, we drove the South Rim road in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. My husband is in both pictures - can you find him in the first one?

According to the park literature, geologist Wallace Hansen said, "Some are longer, some are deeper, some are narrower, and a few have walls as steep. But no other canyon in North America combines the depth, narrowness, sheerness and somber countenance of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison."

I was interested to learn that the color variation in the rocks is explained by molten rock being pushed up into cracks from the earth's core - not simply layers of different types of sediment accumulating over thousands of years, as often appears to be the case.

Summer Break

I won't be posting for the next week or so, as we are off on our annual summer vacation. Here are some pictures from last summer - a special trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary! - to tide you over until we get back. Enjoy!

Diamond Head Lighthouse

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor

An unknown surfer catches a wave off Maui

Hiking in a volcano crater on the Big Island

Native Petroglyphs in the volcanic rock

Orchids

One of many roadside waterfalls

Friday Confession

Sewing Books

I don't always read the sewing books that I buy.

Don't get me wrong - I use the "complete guides" (all 3 of them!) and the "More Fabric Savvy" book as reference material when I have a question or am stuck on something. And I've made projects out of the "Sew What! Skirts" and "Stupid Sock Creatures" books. I've even picked up some tips from the Palmer & Pletsch book, the "Serger Secrets" book and the fit books.

But the truth is, I haven't gotten as much out of my mini-library as I should. How about you - do you buy sewing and fit books? Do you read them through from cover to cover?

Talk Back Thursday

Thank you so much to Susan, Becky, Claire and Summerset for "talking back" to my Friday Confession last week! I talked about factors that make me procrastinate working on a sewing project - not really liking a particular piece of fabric is a big one for me.

This confession elicited a lot of insightful comments. Apparently either end of the difficulty continuum can lead to procrastination - both those projects that are too easy or boring AND those projects that involve a new, confusing technique are sometimes pushed to the back burner. A couple of people also called out the extra step of making a muslin as something that they tended to procrastinate.

On the motivating side, some mentioned that having a deadline was often the "final straw" that spurred them to work on and finish a project.

Finally, in line with my original confession, there is that "can't really define it but know it when we experience it" factor: inspiration. Some projects - whether it be the pattern, fabric, technique or combination - simply catch hold of us, get under our skins and won't let go until we make them happen. Other projects - for whatever reason - just don't have it...

In the Queue Wednesday

Another TENS Pouch

I have two friends who suffer from chronic back pain and sometimes wear a small TENS unit to help control the pain during the day. I have made several fabric pouches in assorted colors and prints for one friend, who often wears dresses and skirts without pockets.

My other friend usually stuffs her TENS unit in her pants pocket, and never really felt a strong need for a fabric carrying pouch ... until she saw this fabric!

She LOVES penguins (among other things, they are her sorority's mascot) and loves this cute design - but we both agreed that it's a bit much for an article of (adult) clothing. So, I'm going to use it to make her a fabric pouch for her TENS unit.

Here's a picture of one of the pouches I've already made for my other friend, so that you can see what they look like and how they "work".

Unfortunately, the 2 TENS units are not the exact same dimensions, so I'll have to modify my pattern a bit. But don't worry, I'll get to it. It's in my queue...

Weekend Project: The First Cut is the Deepest

The joy that isn't shared dies young.

Anne Sexton

Teaching sewing... Keeping this blog... Oh! Now it all makes sense. Thanks, Ms. Sexton! ;)

As you probably know, our current sewing project is this Burda shirt pattern, which Ana and Juana are making for their boyfriends:

Ana really liked the greens shown on the model and selected this pair of cotton fabrics for her boyfriend's shirt:

The solid green (on the right) will be the main fabric and the other green will be the accent fabric. (I did confirm that Ana knows what the text says before she bought it.) I imagine that the text will make it kind of young, fun and contemporary - you think?

Juana wanted something a bit more traditional, and selected only one fabric, this cotton pinstripe:

We spent this afternoon cutting out the pieces. There are A LOT of pieces - 10 altogether - many of which are to be cut out of both fabrics. One example is the sleeve pattern - you cut two complete sets of sleeves, one in each fabric. I don't think it's fully reversible, and so I think it's going to be overkill for Juana, as she is only using one fabric. Oh well...

It took 2.5 hours, but we got everything cut out, including the interfacing, and we also got the interfacing applied. So we'll be ready to sew the next time we get together!

As for my slowly growing Spanish skills, I'm afraid I was a little bit out of it today during our lesson - I had just returned home from a business trip on Saturday evening, and I was (and am still) feeling tired. Ana kept asking me the same question over and over again, and I couldn't figure out why. I thought she was asking if I sing (cante) and I kept answering that I like it, but can't (me gusto, pero no puedo). Turns out, she was asking if I was tired (cansado)... I guess, if you ask someone if she is tired and she answers "I like it, but I can't", then that means the answer is "yes"! ;)

Friday Confessions

Procrastination

Do you know WHY this project has been in my queue for over a year now? It would only take me about 2 hours to finish it; it would make my husband happy; I love doing things that make my husband happy. So why is it languishing unsewn?

Honestly? It's because I'm just not crazy about the fabric...

How about you? What leads you to work on one project and procrastinate on another?

Talk Back Thursday

Thanks to Lisa Laree, Emily, Shannon, Summerset, Donna, Becky, Susan and Claire for "talking back" to my recent Friday confession. I talked about hand stitching and how I used to hate it, but have come to enjoy it, over time and with practice.

The general concensus was that nothing beats hand stitching for the control it gives you over your work, and most people actually reported enjoying it - at least, if they are in the right mood and under the right circumstances (like a good movie on tv).

There were a couple of exceptions noted:

Becky, unfortunately, has recurring carpal tunnel symptoms that make hand stitching for long periods of time difficult. I'm so sorry - that really sucks! :(

Claire has an "allergy" to hand-stitching in the guise of mending. I have to agree with that one - sewing is fun, mending is NOT! ;)

Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to comment on any of my posts - I love hearing from you!

In the Queue Wednesday

Home Dec

I have a friend who loves dragonflies. She has recently moved. So, as a housewarming gift, I am going to make her a pillowcase for a throw pillow out of this fabric. I think I'll "go commando" on this one - you know, no pattern! (What did you think I meant?)

Don't worry, I'll get to it. It's in the queue! ;)

Weekend Project: His and Hers Sewing

People would have more leisure time if it weren't for all the leisure-time activities that use it up.

Peg Bracken

First, I'm sorry I didn't manage my usual posts last week - I was very busy at work and the time just slipped through my fingers. I'll try to do better this week, but my posting may be a bit irregular during the next month. :(

Second, this weekend I finally managed to squeeze in some sewing of my own. (Yay!) I made this outfit for my youngest (7-year-old) niece:

Next, Ana and Juana DID finish their dresses by themselves during the week! (Thank you for sending them good sewing vibes!) When I went to their restaurant on Friday night, they had actually brought their dresses into work to show me! In general, they did very well. Ana only folded her hem up once, so the raw edge shows on the inside. I told her that doubling is better and a good seamstress wants her clothes to look good on the outside AND on the inside. She'll do that in the future and is currently debating whether or not to re-do this hem.

I was interested to see that they both chose to attach the facing to the dress by stitching along the bottom of the facing (all the way around the dress). That was definitely not in the instructions, but it seems to me that, if that is what they wanted, then it is fine. (Right?) It just suprised me a bit.

Juana thinks her dress is a bit too roomy in the hips, and we will take the side seams in a bit the next time I see her. (She wasn't able to make it to our lesson today - I didn't quite understand the reason why, but it had something to do with her family.)

I was able to take a picture of Ana in her dress this afternoon. Despite the temperature being over 90 degrees F, she wanted to dress the same way as the model on the pattern envelope, with jeans and a shirt on underneath the dress. Here she is:

She thinks that her stomach looks fat in this picture. (I guess some things transcend culture...) Unfortunately, I didn't know the words for "I'll trade you!" in Spanish off the top of my head, but I plan to be ready for just this situation next time! ;)

We went to Joann's today, originally to get a t-shirt pattern for the boyfriends. But Ana was attracted to this pattern, and given that I want to introduce them to collars and buttonholes anyway, I let her get it. (It is Burda #7411.)

It's going to be a bit of a challenge, but it will be a good learning experience and I think we can end up with shirts that the young men will wear. :)

In the Queue Wednesday

Upcoming project - write an entry for my weekly "In the Queue Wednesday" post. I don't know when I'm going to have time, but don't worry, I'll get to it. It's in the queue! :)

Weekend Project: The Loosening of Apron Strings

Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.

Maria Montessori

Now we're really cooking! (And not just from the lack of air conditioning...) Their sewing machines, (Kenmore, non-computerized), arrived on Wednesday, and today was our first day sewing with them. There are so many reasons to be happy about this that I don't even know where to start!

Of course, I don't mind not having to lug my machine to Ana's house every week. ;)

Even more than that, the fact that they don't have to share - no more waiting around for one to finish a seam before the other can sew, no more changing the thread 50 times in 2 hours - it was wonderful!

The best thing of all - they are no longer dependent on me, nor restricted to sewing for 2 hours once a week... :)

In fact, we did the facings together today - and I was happy to be there for that, as I don't think that facings are completely intuitive the first time you do them - but I encouraged them to try to finish the dresses on their own this week! The remaining steps are mainly to add the skirt to the top part of the dress, along with 4 belt loops, and then hem it.

We read through the instructions together, looked at the illustrations, "talked" about the remaining steps - they expressed hesitation and doubt, but I think they will be able to do it. And this is so important - I think it is time for them to ease away from relying on me and begin to sew independently.

I still plan to do 2 or 3 more projects with them - t-shirts for their boyfriends (and experience with knits), blouses for themselves (collars, buttons & buttonholes) and maybe an unfitted pair of pants (like pajamas). (As you may know, fitting pants is not something I know how to do. Yet.)

But I'm planning to let them do more and more on their own for each project, so that by the time we are done with these plans, they will be ready to "cut the apron strings" completely. :)

Hopefully, next week I'll have pictures of their dresses to show you! Please take a moment to send some good sewing vibes their way this week... Thanks!

Friday Confession

Hand Stitching

I used to hate hand stitching and avoid it like the plague, but after all the hand stitching that I did on the wedding dress, I have discovered that I actually kind of enjoy it... Now I am much more likely to hand stitch something. Hems, of course, often call for hand stitching - but I've even started hand stitching (instead of pining or machine basting) tricky bits - like when I was trying to get that zipper into the make-believe "wedding dress" I recently made for my 7-year-old niece.

How about you? When do you hand stitch? Do you enjoy or hate it?

Talk Back Thursday

Thanks to Shannon, Claudine, Claire and Kathy for "talking back" to last week's Friday Confession! I confessed to an accidental oversized purchase of fiberfill.

It turns out that I am not the only person who periodically buys in mass quantities - Shannon has a funny shoe story, Claudine has had similar experiences when ordering groceries online and Claire made a similar miscalculation with an entertainment center!

Their stories are definitely worth reading, so I encourage you to check them out here.

In other news, Ana and I picked up their new sewing machines last night! (Juana had to work.) It was really exciting! One funny thing happened after we got back to her house. While I was attaching the cords and plugging it in, Ana was threading the machine. She easily threaded the needle by hand, as we do (multiple times!) each Sunday on my machine.

However, these machines have an "automatic needle threader" feature - a feature that I have never used before. I pointed this out in the instruction manual and we unthreaded the needle and tried to use the automatic needle threader according to the directions.

And tried...

And tried...

Finally, after several frustrating minutes, Ana looked up and said, "No es automatica."

What could I say? She had a point... ;)

We did finally get it worked out, although I suspect that she'll continue to thread the needle by hand. I probably would...

And boy, did that machine purr! It drove home the fact that I really need to take my machine in for a tune-up. I'm not saying that I need to wear ear protection when I use it, but let's just say that I'm lucky OSHA doesn't monitor my sewing room... ;)

Our lessons are going to be so much easier with two machines, plus they can begin to work independently (of me). In fact, the rest of the dress project can be summarized in two main bits - inserting the facings and attaching the skirts. We'll do the facings together on Sunday, and then I think they should be able to attach the skirts and hem them by themselves during the week. :)

Edited to add: They bought Kenmore machines. Thanks, Claire!