Reaching The Summit

Sunday morning Duane, our friend Tony and I drove up the 2 through the Angeles National Forest to hike the dreaded/feared bear path. Remember this? Here is the link for the hike. I do admit that I had some gruesome bear encounters in my mind as I huffed and puffed my way up the very steep incline (er, I mean, easy hike). The view is so stunning and out of this world, it was worth it. We didn't have any dreaded bear encounters but I did spot a dear and we shared a brief stare down. I thought of the moment in Stand By Me when Gordy has a little moment with a passing dear. It was lovely. The three of us kept (breathlessly) observing how surprised we were that this is considered a "family hike". I kept trying to imagine a toddler making its way up the path, and over the boulders. These must be very sporty families! The climb is much harder on the way up of course as this is an OUT & BACK hike. Once we reached the summit I felt darn proud of myself. Despite my fears, I kept putting one foot in front of the other. That's all we can do, right?

This Is Not A Cupcake

This IS a cupcake. Same pattern as first two photos. I don't know what happened. I must have been distracted while crocheting because I ended up making something more like a beret. Oops. I'll unravel and start over. Let's hope I pay better attention next time around!

I don't know about you, but I'm in mental and physical recovery mode after the last five days. My Mother-In-Law Cheri was in town and Duane took time off of work so we could all be together each day of her visit. I'm happy to report that she survived Los Angeles. We even snuck in a visit to the garment district so she could peruse, touch, admire and purchase fabric. She is really quite good at sewing and always has projects going or on the back burner. There was lots of nice crafty chat, I love that. Cheri found fabric to make gifts for her daughters and daughters-in-law for Christmas presents. We will all be receiving silk pajama sets. Since I was there, I even got to pick out fabric for my set. Yeah! Looking forward to that gift. All that visiting and running around the city is great, but man, does it wear you out! Therefore we had a very mellow 4th of July, just dinner at home with another couple watching all the illegal fireworks from the balcony. Ah yes, good times in the city. Sunday morning I woke up early and went on a hike (yes, a hike!) with a friend through Griffith Park. The morning was hot and sweaty, the hike was....hard. But awesome too!! I actually walked past this house. Wow. Even made it up to the Griffith Park Observatory. I didn't go inside though, that will wait for another time. 4 miles later I was back at my car and heading home. Now that I've got that hike out the way, I might be ready to finally try that hike in La Canada (you know, the one with BEARS). Well. We'll see.

I go to school on Thursday and the madness starts all over again. I'm hoping to get one more sewing project in before then. I'm also hoping to just RELAX. I'll let you know how that works out...

moving along...

I worked on this all day yesterday. I'm very happy with the results. It took me longer than the muslin version because I did a lot of little extra things to ensure longer lasting wear. I finished the raw edges on the inside, added interfacing to the straps to give them stability, and took extra care with the zipper. I did the lapped zipper (which is a covered zipper) instead of the railroad and I'm so glad I did. I think it looks much neater. I also did a hook and eye at the top of the zipper. This dress works for any season. In summer you can wear as I have in the photo but in the fall or winter it could be worn with tights, turtleneck and boots for a more mod/preppy look. It will also look cute with a little cardigan. I was hoping to complete more than one dress during the break but now I'm not so sure if I will have the time.
This afternoon I'm heading back to campus to meet with someone about me doing a blog for FIDM's website. I'm pretty excited about the opportunity, I'll let you know what comes of it. Then tomorrow, Cheri (my mother-in-law) arrives from Minnesota for a few days. Those days will be busy and then the following week I'm back to school. *Sigh* It goes so fast!

getting reacquainted

playing catch up

Going back a few weeks...
On Memorial Day, Duane and I had the day off together so we had a little adventure. We started with lunch at one of my all-time favorite places in Los Angeles, Canter's Deli. I never thought I liked corned beef but this place makes a Reuben sooooooo good that I have turned a corner, BIG TIME. Also their pickles are to die for, made in house of course. The Reuben is pretty close to perfect. Okay, I have to stop thinking about it or I'll have to get another soon! The place is like an old diner you could step into anywhere in small town USA. The servers are generally older ladies and they are hands-down the best with customer service. The coffee is good too. They have a whole bakery counter that somehow I've managed to avoid thus far. It looks delicious though. Anyways, after lunch as we were walking back to the car we came upon a thrift store that was actually opened that day (how lucky for me, not for the poor shop girl). It was a vintage delight. I had to stop myself from getting too giddy. The store carried so many beautiful designer vintage sweater knits. I did have to get one. They also had the most awesome jean jacket. I saw it on the hanger and thought that the design was really cool. So I tried it on and it fit like a glove. Oh my. I googled the label (OMO Norma Kamali) and it looks like the jacket is from her collection in 1978. I'm waiting for a chance to wear it; so far the weather has been too warm.


This is not the sweater I bought, but I thought it was cute.

My new favorite jacket! See the poor shop girl in the background? I have been her.

These next pictures are of some sketches I did this quarter at school. Sorry the pictures are not very good. My Mom wanted to see my drawing, so hopefully she'll see these.



We did our drawings from photos mostly.

This is the rough sketch.

The final version.


This was one of the sewing projects. I made the dress out of muslin first and I'm very glad I did. It's good to first do a muslin version of whatever you are sewing. You can make the mistakes on that version, see where adjustments need to be made, etc. I tried it on and it was so cute, now I'm excited to make this out of the "real" fabric. It is simple and lightweight and would look good in plain or patterned fabric.


The directions said to hand sew the hem but I didn't have the patience for that. Instead I pressed the hem back 1 inch and machine sewed it.

The pattern called for a railroad zipper which is not my favorite zipper setting. Next version will have the lapped zipper (the zipper is covered by a flap of fabric and not exposed like the railroad). To do the lapped zipper I will have to adjust the seem allowance along the center back to 3/4" versus the 5/8".

Here is the pattern I used.

Before starting I read through all the directions and went back and highlighted the ones appropriate for the version and size I was making. This made following the pattern much easier and saved me time.

Oh Glorious Break

I just finished my second quarter at FIDM and am officially on break for two weeks. It feels WONDERFUL. This weekend has been WONDERFUL. Yeah, for much needed time off!

I have plans...oh so many plans for my break. I have three dress patterns that I bought fabric/notions for this weekend and hope to tackle next week. I also bought a bunch of elastic in different widths to try my hand at recreating my own version of my (seemingly) simple American Apparel skirts. They are basically bias cut fine jersey fabric with two side seams and an elastic waistband. How hard can this be? I'll let you know. The fabric is in the washer as I type getting all cleaned up and ready to go for sewing. Man, I love time off.

And the cleaning...oh the cleaning. During the quarter my little apartment gets filled with piles and messes and I'm so looking forward to digging in and doing the deep clean. Mother-In-Law is in town first week in July, another great incentive...

Finally there was a chance to sit on the balcony and enjoy our potted plant garden in all of its splendor. The plants are blooming and it felt so good to sit out there and take it slow and easy.

The fuschia color is so perfect and the petals are soft.


I love these three and I'm crazy about the pots. So cute


Looking down. Tiny flower.


The basil just exploded. Needless to say, there will be lots of basil on salads.


We had an onion the started sprouting before we could eat it and Duane threw it in a pot. This crazy long stalk kept growing out of it then this guy showed up. And opened. All these tiny flowers. Cool, huh?


wow


The lady of the house, BOB.


She was on hand to observe my observing.

I'm planning on posting more over the break so keep your eye out for those sewing projects. I'm really hoping to post some pics! Have a wonderful Sunday.