Hiking Bull Creek

Corey, Roni and I went hiking at Bull Creek today. We went to the West side of the park this time. Lots of waterfalls. Roni had a little trouble with the rocks in a couple places, but overall a very enjoyable place. We'll be back.

Bedroom Planning

Do you think we are a little indecisive? 12 blue samples. Guess which one we chose?

Also, I want to add a false thatched roof to the ceiling so it looks like we are in a British Colonial home in the tropics, like in the book Tropical Asian Style.




Here is a site that shows how to do it. www.calibamboo.com Check out their gallery of gorgeous ceilings.



And here is a source for a lovely mosquito net for the bed to give it that tropical feel. (Besides those damn pesky buggers eat me alive while I'm sleeping. This is beautiful AND functional).




The plan is to make a new, white duvet cover. I think eyelet is a little too girly for Corey. But I want it to have some kind of embroidery or other interest. I'll post the possible swatches as I find them.


As a side note, I really like this buffet/serving table for the dining room 32x18x31. I'll have to go home and measure.



It would go on the side of the table below the mirror. Yes? No?

Loft Lamp

I need a lamp for the loft to go on the far side of the orange couch. Maybe on the near side too. I'm thinking an arc lamp, but, oh, which one? Which one?

Another Post Post

Or a column post anyway.

Here is the front porch post/column with all the dead wood removed and sealed with wood hardener.



Here was the plan. It didn't quite work out (no room to get the 1x2s behind the plastic sheet.




Instead I added a patch to the plastic so the putty would have something to stick to.


A word for all you would-be wood puttyers: Don't try to use this stuff in cold weather. The 15-60 minutes it was supposed to take to set up turned into 4-5+ hours. The putty slid and sagged down like a fat old man's jowels. Next weekend I'll sand and add another layer.

Ze Bedroom (Before)

Finally, I remembered to take before pictures. Here is the boring white bedroom ready to be made over.



The ceiling.

Ze Loft

Before



After



Here is the somewhat finished loft.



My Rodger Roundy collection.





I made the curtains with this fabric from Ikea.



I bought the coffee and side table on the same Ikea visit, but as soon as I got home I saw the following in the CB2 catalog.


I wish I had waited. I normally don't go for CB2. Too cold/hard. But both the tables here have a ton more character than the Ikea ones. I even like th green pouf. Oh well, I'll pin them to the inspiration board for possible future use.

Home Improvement

Projects for the weekend: paint the loft, hang the art that has been unhung since we moved in two years ago, fix the rotten patch on the column on the front porch.

Status: Done, done, and uh oh.

I never think to take before photos until mid project, so I don't have any before shots of the loft. I can tell you it was the same, boring builder's special, off white/light beige color the entire house was painted with, probably when it was built in 1993. The previous owners must not have liked color very much.

Here it is in progress. The perfect shade of dove grey. Ahhhh.



Here's Roni sitting on the second step on the other side of the barricade, wearing her red and yellow "cozy" as Corey calls it. She tends to swipe her tail in wet paint and "help" paint other things, like furniture and pant legs. So the loft was off-limits for a day.



I'll post the final photos soon. I am still missing a coffee table and curtains. There is the perfect fabric at Ikea to tie everything together (third one down). Maybe they'lll have the right coffee table too.


Here's how the column looked when I started. I started to scrape away the dead wood. The putty knife sunk in like it was butter. Stay tuned for what it looked like when all the dead wood was gone.

2010

Happy New Year! Here are some photos of Corey, Roni and I "hiking" at Bull Creek on New Year's Day.

The Perfect Pencil

Here's the review from Pattern Review:

Pattern Description:
Burda Easy fitted pencil skirt with high or standard waist band option, back slit. I made view B with the standard waistband.

Pattern Sizing:
34-46. I sewed a 44.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
This was my first Burda pattern. Now I see what people mean. Half the instructions are missing, however there are helpful photos. If you have made a skirt before, this should be no problem.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I have been looking for the perfect pencil skirt. After hearing Gertie rave about this one, I checked out the reviews. All the reviews were glowing. They were right. It's the perfect length, the perfect fit, the perfect pencil skirt. It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but using the hem line provided on the pattern, the skirt ends right at the bottom of my knee without covering any part of my calf. I'm 5'6" (and a half).

Fabric Used:
Cotton twill with a little stretch from Fashion Fabrics Club in a dark blue grey. Not too stiff, not too light. I think I will make everything in twill from now on. It sewed like a dream. I barely needed pins. This is easily the best constructed garment I've made. The seams are perfectly straight. The zipper is perfect. I think it's due to the fabric. Twill evening dresses? Twill underwear? No? Okay, maybe not. But I highly recommend anyone needing an ego boost make something out of twill.

zipper:



Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
This is the first time I've sewed a pattern and had it need no alterations at all. It fit perfectly. I have a small waist and big hips and booty. I always need to adjust things to fit my curves. Not this time. Heaven!

Because my fabric had some stretch to it, I mad the seams 7/8" instead of 5/8". I plan to make this out of a tweed woven next and I imagine I'll reduce the seams back down for a little more ease.

Also, the waistband was about an inch smaller around than the top of the skirt. I didn't want to ease the skirt to fit a waistband that instructions did not have me cut on the bias, especially because the skirt fit when I tried it on before sewing on the waistband. So I re-cut the waistband to be two inches longer - an inch to avoid easing the top of the skirt plus one inch for the extra tab where the button goes. It worked perfectly.
waistband tab:


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, yes, yes! I plan to make a tweed version right away.

Conclusion:
Truly the perfect pencil skirt.