Last night after work Mr. Cleaver and I took a walk at Wolfe’s Neck State Park – it was warm and we were two of about a half dozen people at the park. Afterward, we oogled camping equipment at LL Bean and chowed down on slow cooked meat at Buck’s Naked Barbecue. That’s what I call a perfect evening.
We’d been at Wolfe’s neck in the early fall and the late fall, so it was fun to see how the park is different in the spring/summer:
I love the color contrast of new growth -
These are the first wild orchids I have ever seen – they were everywhere!
This was the highest the tide has been on our visits here, it made the coastal parts of the walk look very different.
I couldn’t believe how big some of the dandelions were! I saw another non-blooming one that was a least 4 inches taller.
The osprey nest. The chicks should be out an about in another few weeks.
It’s a very rare experience for me to make a pattern twice – I made the same shirt from the Built By Wendy Sew U book twice, but that’s about it. I’m changing my perspective on this though as I get more into pattern drafting and perfecting fit on commercial patterns. If I’m going through all that effort, it seems silly not to use the pattern again.
And so, I give you two takes on McCall’s 5591, both done, strangely enough, in fabric that reminds me of old wallpaper patterns.
In many ways, the turquoise skirt on the left is my highly-wearable muslin. Having matched the pattern envelope measurements exactly, I cut out the pieces exactly to the pattern size suggested, with the exception that I added about 2 inches to the main body length.
After putting it together I found the waist to have way way way too much ease in the waist, so I took it apart, then took the waist band in a few inches. (Of course, the time between taking it apart and putting it back together was about a month – I was a bit bummed). After which the waist band fit great. I love the skirt – especially the secretly rabbitty fabric (sew below) – though I did think it hung a bit squarely from the hips down.
I love the skirt – especially the secretly rabbitty fabric and the look of the pocket facings- though I did think it hung a bit squarely from the hips down (see the top photo).
So on version 2.0 I did some skimming on the waistband pieces and did some slash & spreading on the skirt – adding a total of about 6 inches to the lower hem circumference- for a more flared look. Also, being short on contrasting fabric, I did a single layer on bottom hem, as opposed to the folded hem on the original (though I think the folded hem looks/hangs better)
In the end, I prefer the fit of the yellow skirt, but love them both.
What about you? Do you have favorite version? Are you a once-only pattern sewer or do you find patterns you love and make them over and over?
Last night Mr. Cleaver and I took the first of what will be many trips to the Pride’s Corner Drive-In Theatre in Westbrook, where it’s always a double feature. It was a fantastically fun atmosphere, with tons of families and folks who were clearly old pros at the Drive-In Experience. And for $7 for two first-run movies with inexpensive concessions, it’s a good bang for your movie-going buck.
Some of my favorite things were all the younger kids in their pajamas and the 60′s-era intermission cartoons. And for those wondering, the picture quality is good after the first 15 minutes or so (when it gets dark enough) and the sound plays via your car radio. As for film reviews, we both really enjoyed How to Train Your Dragon, but found Iron MA 2 to be underwhelming. Other than that, the photos are pretty self-explanatory, so I’ll leave it to them.
PS – in other news, I met with a physical therapist on Thursday and have been diligently doing my stretches and I can happily say I can fully bend my wrist with no pain! I’m not out of thw woods yet, but this is definitely a positive move forward
I feel like I haven’t blogged in forever, but it looks like it’s only been a week. I think it’s because I generally feel behind the ball because of this:
For about three to four weeks now, I’ve been suffering from limited mobility and mild pain in my right wrist. I’ve had it checked out by a doctor and it seems to be work-related, but thank goodness it is mild muscle strain and not carpal tunnel. That said, it’s basically kept me from too much typing as well as severely limiting my knitting, embroidery, and sewing abilities. I can do all them, but not for long without making my wrist tired. Not being able to knit has been especially hard.
So in lieu of actual crafting, I organized my fabric stash by size (and yes, that is all of it, aside from some gallon bags of scraps).
I also put together this little box bag this weekend, to hold my toiletries for my relatively new foray into twice-weekly lap swimming (the tutorial was from drago[knit]fly - though I’m going to admit, I wish it was a bit clearer). This was maybe pushing it a bit to do all the sewing in one day.
For someone who rarely doesn’t have some project in her hands, its been difficult to have to slow down like this. Still, I’m lucky that I had my wrist checked out early and we’re modifying my work station (an ergonomic keyboard is on the way), but in the meantime I’m struggling to be patient and let myself heal and not make things worse.
In any case, if things are a little quieter around here than usual, the wrist is why.
This is one of those instances where I am so excited by something I just have to share:
Mr. Cleaver and I have seen Brown Bird in concert twice in the past 8 days – last week we saw them as the opener for the equally talented Low Anthem and liked them so much that we went to a small show at the newish Mayo Street Arts Center Saturday night. Between the two show we’ve listened to their album The Devil Dancing at least a dozen times.
I’ve been on a big bluegrass/Americana kick for the past year or so and these folks are right in that wheelhouse. I’ve pasted a youtube link of “Bottom of the Bottle” and ” Danger and Dread” below, but I’d also check out “Mabel Grey,” “Wrong Black Mare,” and “By the Reins,” but every song on this album is really really good!
