More rambles

What a busy day!  I went shopping this morning, just for a "few things" but ran into my big brother in the store and spent twice as much as I meant to "walking around" with him!  I picked up a few stocking stuffers for my little prince and picked up the stuff I went after as well.  I picked up groceries after I left and it took me 6 trips to bring it all inside...actually not all of it, I left the sodas out in the car! I put a load of laundry in, paid some bills, overheard the office manager of our apartment complex saying that they will be renovating the buildings (hooray!), answered some emails, and now I need to straighten up and clean a bit before starting on my Christmas crochet. I have to line a few purses/totes, finish some others, wrap a few gifts, probably ought to eat something today (!), send out some packages, put the laundry in the dryer, oh my goodness, I'm getting overwhelmed by the thought of all I still have to do and I'm not even done thinking about what I need to do yet!

I guess I'd better get off the computer and get some of this todo list done!

sweater alteration

the sweater

I got a few more items from Aunt J  that  love but need to alter.  This sweater with the beautiful dark red color is one of them.  The problem is the little upside down v shape in the front of the hemline.  when I raise my hand to brush my hair out of my eyes (which I do a lot!) my belly shows. If I was 20 years younger (and 20 pounds lighter) it may not bother me so much.  But as it is...

the lace

I've been wanting to work with lace for a while now.  I'm turning 40 in a couple weeks and I've noticed my tastes have changed.  I'm trying to dress like an adult (my husband's words, not mine).  So I thought this might be a good opportunity to do so.  I couldn't find a wide band of lace at our local WalMart so I had to make some.  Knitting is tedious and time consuming so I decided to crochet it instead. I wish I had thread that matched the color of the sweater but I didn't so I used white.  White goes with everything, right? I found the pattern for this lace on Pinterest, which linked to this page.  I wasn't sure how much to make, but I wanted to possibly go around the sleeves to tie it together so I made more than I thought I needed.  It's a good thing I did!

carefull!

I used the crochet thread that I made the lace with to sew it by hand to the inside hem of the sweater.  I used a small yarn needle.  It doesn't have a sharp point to snag on the threads and it has an eye big enough for the thread to go through easily.  First I turn the sweater inside out, then I slightly stretched the fabric before inserting the needle through 2 little threads at a time then back through the lace. I probably shouldn't have done that because being the hem of a sweater, it won't be stretching at all so the lace didn't need to have room to move.  If I had left it alone I may have had enough left over to go around the sleeves like I had planned.  It turns out that I had exactly enough to go around the bottom!

finished! you can see that "V" now

I wasn't planning on a ruffle, but I do like it as it turns out.  I think a tiny bit of skin still shows, but I'm much less self-conscious about it now.  Yesterday I wore another of Aunt J's sweaters and it was cut a bit high also.  I'm working on another strip of lace (my own design this time) to put around the bottom of it.  Do you alter your clothing?  I'm rather new to this but I'm having loads of fun!

closeup

 

conferences and lace

Last night was parent/teacher conferences for my little prince.  Husband dearest stayed home with him while I went.  I had the best conference ever since he started school!  I was told that he occasionally has trouble focusing (I know) and that there are certain kids he has trouble playing with or relating to (I know) but that every time he was called on to answer a question he answered it correctly and without hesitation (yay!). I was also told he is not shy about speaking out in front of the class (yay!).  We went over his IEP and some of his goals are nearing completion (hooray!). My only real concern is that he doesn't show his teachers that he's learning.  They do a standardized test (don't get me started on that subject!) at the beginning of the year and compare results at the end.  My dear, clever, little prince charming knows that if he answers a question incorrectly on the computer, it gives him an easier question to answer.  He doesn't like math, he doesn't like figuring out answers.  He doesn't try on the computer, even though he can do it.  He'd rather guess or answer wrong on purpose to get an easier question.  He tested at about a Kindergarten level in reading, which is the most ridiculous thing it could say!  His reading isn't fluid or smooth, it's a bit choppy, but he reads very well and understands what he reads, though he has trouble retelling.  The issue here is that even though he understands, he can't retell.  That makes it look like he doesn't understand. His teachers were shocked when I told them he could pull this on them.   It never occurred to anyone that a kid would do this. He freely admits it, so I know it's true, not just my maternal instincts screaming that my child is better than they tell me (though they are!). He's had a very good week in school, according to his behavior report. Unfortunately, this year they are marking his behavior as 0 if he doesn't bring his report to class.  This upsets me, because it says he isn't meeting his goal of 80% when in reality he is.  Enough of my mother bear impression!

I have started working on some lace for the sweater I inherited from Aunt J.  I didn't have any matching thread so went with white. It's a dark red sweater with fake buttons down the front that I'm thinking of snipping off.  I think this lace on the bottom of these towels is pretty, and wide enough of a band to cover my belly when I raise my arms.  I'm short waisted so it's usually not an issue, but these are a bit shorter than I'm comfortable with! I'm a bit old to be wearing a belly shirt! It isn't cute anymore ;-)

I do have some graphs to generate for a few customers that want to make afghans so I should get off this blog and do some real work.  I'm hoping to finish that lace later today so I can sew it on the sweater and make it wearable for this weekend.

seahorse update and future endeavors

My poor seahorse, Malcolm, is deteriorating.  The skin on his tail is eroding, even while he's being medicated.  Our other seahorse that had this happen was on a different medication for it and it didn't work so we tried something else.  This isn't working either.  I just have to sit back and watch the poor fish die.  It's very frustrating.  We won't be getting anymore seahorses for a couple months.  Christmas is near and we won't have any extra money after taking care of the family's presents. 

As I sit here waiting for the city to come inspect my apartment, I pine for the projects I could be doing.  Remember this circle sweater? I'm making another one in brown.  I have only one sleeve and the edging to crochet before adding the buttons.  It's sitting here on the couch with me and I work on it during my cleaning breaks.  I'm still picking up random items left around the perimeter of the living room: a pen by the couch, a bottle cap carelessly left by the tv, I'm sure you know what I mean.  I have several sewing projects I'm looking forward to doing, too.  I inherited a few more items of clothing from Aunt J that I need to make over a bit.  I'm short waisted, but there is one sweater she gave me that shows even my belly when I lift my arms.  I'm hoping to add some lace at the bottom and maybe around the sleeves. I looked for a thick band of lace to buy today but couldn't find one.  I may have to make it myself.  I just can't drag that stuff out before the inspection is over.  I'm always nervous at inspection time.  I feel like I'm being judged by my housekeeping skills, or I should say lack thereof.   Whenever they come I end up apologizing for the state of my apartment and always get told the same thing: that the people who are embarrassed by the state of disarray (or rather, their perception of it) aren't the ones that should be.

Parent/teacher conferences for my little prince are tonight.  I expect a good report.  I do know that he doesn't like to do math and gets kept inside for recess to work on his assignment quite often, because he doesn't work on it in class.  He is one of those individuals who lets his mind wander way too easily when not strictly supervised, so when told to do pages x-x in his workbook then left to his own devices he imagines scenarios from his video games and favorite cartoons, or even both together.  He has quite an imagination. The point is, he doesn't concentrate on his work.  I've told him countless number of times that he has to show his teachers that he knows how to do the work or they think that he can't and he'll end up getting held back.  The thought upsets him, but he can't seem to make himself focus.

So I have several things to look forward to. The apartment inspection, the conferences, and my favorite: dinner out with one of my favorite cousins!  Maybe I can actually give her the Christmas present I picked up for her last year!  Maybe even the scarf I made for her birthday back in October. 

At this time I think I wil wash up the few dishes left in the sink and get back to my circle sweater.  I have some pictures to take of my finished projects, but don't want to drag those out until after inspection! 

new coat, seahorse, crochet

It's growing colder here in Michigan so we got out and bought our little prince a new winter coat.  he tried on several from the same rack and decided he liked one better than the others so we bought it for him.  It hasn't been cold enough yet to wear it, just sweatshirt weather, but this morning when he was getting ready for school he looked at it in the closet and asked me "where's my blue coat?" I asked him what blue coat, he doesn't have a blue coat.  He tells me he's looking for the blue coat we bought him this weekend.  It's very frustrating trying to understand this special little boy. He was asked several times if he was sure it was that one he wanted. He was sure at the time, but apparently his mind turned it sideways or something!

I finished a couple crochet projects this weekend but I still have to put a strap on the last tote bag I have done.  I have to take some pictures of a bunch of finished products I have made, mostly hats, to post on Facebook just to give away to anyone who wants them. I need to downsize my basement area so it's not so cluttered.

Our last seahorse, Malcolm, is isolated and being medicated.  He's not doing well.  I had high hopes for him, but the air bubbles in his tail started bursting open.  This happened to Fry also and he never recovered from it.  Malcolm is not swimming around at all anymore, and he hasn't eaten in 2 weeks. His sides are starting to sink in. I am afraid he's not going to make it through this.  I need to update my seahorse notebook.  I have a notebook that has all our saltwater fish listed, ages, names, dates they were born or put in the tank, etc.  I have to put a few deaths and illnesses in it.  I've slacked off quite a bit on it.

I still have some cleaning to do around the house and I'm getting hungry (even though I ate 3 biscuits with sausage gravy for breakfast!) so i think I'll get things done before I start working on that tote bag strap.  I hope to finish it today.

Seahorse death

hanging upside down

My favorite seahorse died.  The tank was infected with a bacteria that they couldn't fight off.  I lost 3 of my 4 to it.  First was "Fry" (named for Phillip J. Fry on Futurama), his mouth was horribly affected.  He had these little white bumps forming around it until he couldn't close his "lips" anymore. he couldn't eat. Then Simon died.  Simon went through what we call a hunger strike a few weeks ago.  he just stopped eating for no apparent reason.  All of our seahorses have done this.  He became quite emaciated; his sides were sunk in.  Then he started eating again, but hadn't gotten up to full strength before he got sick. I only had a little hope for him.  I had high hopes for Bailey, though.  She was my special project, born small, slow growing, never got up to full adult size. I had to take prodigiously attentive care of her.  I was very excited when we put her in the big tank from the nursery tank a few months ago.  She even grew larger in there. A couple days ago, I

showing off her ability to change colors

 couldn't find her.  My husband finally did, hiding behind our rocks.  When she was still there the next day I made him poke at her to see if she'd even move but she didn't.  She'd been dead for a while. This saddens me.  I named her after my friend's daughter, Bailey.  She is very interested in sea life and loved seeing my pictures of the tank. Now I'm down to Malcolm.  He's doing much better, physically.  His blisters are shrinking, and he can swim upright without much effort.  Unfortunately, he had bonded to Bailey and is now depressed.  They hadn't mated yet since they were both sick, but I had hopes that they would. He was eating a little, but not much.  Now he's not eating at all again.  He hasn't moved either.  He's hooked up to one of our rocks and just stays

hanging out with her big brother

there, head down. His food falls right in front of his face and he doesn't even look at it.  Hopefully he snaps out of it soon or we start from scratch.

got herself stuck head first in the rock

a rainy day refashion

hello grandma!

With all the craze being about "refashioning" and "upcycling" I thought I'd try my hand at it.

zipper stitching

 Let me introduce you to the grandmother style housecoat.  My mother's friend called her the other day and told her she was cleaning out her closet and we got first pick before she donated them.  One thing my mom grabbed, and I have no idea why, is this flannel housecoat.  It zips up the front, but not from the bottom.  The zipper started about a foot up from the hem.  It wasn't very well attached either.  It had been hand stitched back in for a few inches so it was obvious it had come loose at some point. There was also a gap at the bottom of the zipper that made the end up it poke out.

sleeve piping

embroidery detailing

 The top had some flowery embroidery and piping that just made it scream "old lady housecoat" and no doubt about it.   There was also piping sewn into the sleeves for some reason.  The piping was frayed and coming apart all up and down both sleeves.

I can't seem to figure out how to rotate this picture when the original is upright!

he's such a good sport!

There is an awful lot of material in one of these!  I ripped off the sleeves, harvested the zipper, and cut off the edges to make it a rectangle.  Then I found the center and cut a hole for my head.  Hem up the raw edges and voila!  A new poncho perfect for cool fall weather.  I wore it out to run errands and it was perfect for the weather...until it started raining.  I mentioned to my little prince that I wished I had a hood like he did on his sweatshirt and he simply said "make one." 

Out of the mouths of babes, eh?  So I took those harvested sleeves, removed the piping and the cuffs, opened the seams, sewed the 2 sleeves together and sewed them to the neck hole.  It kinda reminds me of a Jane Austen style costume the way it lays.  I love it, how about you?