Well the weather did not agree with our weekend plans but we blustered on (pun intended). Saturday we ran errands to start and planned to put the copper over the diningroom windows but the rain started early. So instead we stuck with just doing windows this weekend.
We took out 3 of the 6 livingroom windows, covering the spaces with plastic (which didn’t hold up so well) and sheets to keep the heat in. We got the sashes sanded and primed (inside and outside).
Sunday, after a night worrying about losing power (and heat) with 3 windows taken out (didn’t get much sleep), we ended up having power all day. We got both coats of exterior paint on the 3 windows and by 7pm we were putting them back in (thank goodness).
Besides snow cleanup and the painting Sunday we really just relaxed, I got a ton of stitching done on my autumn maiden (she still doesn’t look like much yet though). And I got packed for CA (including some stitching).
Now it’s bedtime with a very early wake up call to make my flight!
3 of the cupola windows, back in for winterRyan replaced the drain with an oil-rubbed bronze one he found online so it matches our faucet finally!
The cousins came over today to pick up their costumes! We had the obligatory picture session…
Costumes 2011!Georgia the witch - still needs some accessories but the costume part is adorable if I do say so myself 🙂Maia - Rapunzel from Tangled, fits over her whole outfit today 🙂And Chloe the Vampiress - also in need of accessories like fangs!The back of Chloe's costume since it's more elaborate than the front even.
Now a little trip down memory lane … when did this halloween costume extravaganza all start? Well one year for Chloe’s 3rd birthday I made her the sleeping beauty dress as a birthday gift and the idea of costumes blossomed.
Sleeping Beauty Dress in Sept 2006
The next year both Georgia and Chloe decided what they wanted to be…
Oct 2007 - Georgia was a pirateOct 2007 - Chloe was a 1920's singer
And that brings us to the year I started making all three of them costumes…
2008 - Georgia was a zombie, Chloe was the princess from Enchanted and Maia was Jasmine.2009- Georgia was a devil, Chloe and Maia were genies in purple and pink2010 - Georgia was a gypsie, Chloe was a black cat and Maia was Ariel in the pink dress
After going out to dinner Ryan joined me in the sewing room to watch movies while I sewed. He even stayed up ‘late’ with me so I could get the costumes completely finished last night!
First I worked on Maia’s Tangled (princess) costume, it’s a bit more elaborate than recent princesses with a few extra steps but I just had to add the zipper, add the lining, construct the sleeves (which had ribbon sewn onto the fabric to make ‘stripes’), then attach the lace and hem the skirt. It was about half the costume left but it went along pretty smoothly and came out cute. I can’t wait for her to try it on!
Tangled (Rapunzel) costume finished!
Next up I worked on the bustle for Chloe’s Vampiress (victorian) costume. As I do a lot I cheated and skipped the lining piece, it actually would have made it easier to have a lining piece but since I hadn’t previously cut it and I didn’t want to have to find the patter piece I just ‘winged’ it instead and it doesn’t need it, especially since it’s a costume. I started with the side pleats then ruffled the top and bottom. The top when into a waistband and the bottom I just ‘hemmed’ the ruffled part. This is where the lining would have been handy but due to the drapey effect of the bustle it worked out fine. Finally I pinned up and then tacked those sections to get the full effect. I ended by doing button holes and then attaching buttons to the skirt so it can be attached after the skirt is tied on. First time using my buttonhole on my machine and it went quite well, even without interfacing the fabric like I was supposed to 🙂
Vampiress costume back with bustle attached!
That was it for the cousin’s costumes! Next up I just had to finish the black cat costume for a coworker’s daughter. It was just hand stitching the black fur to the neck and sleeves so it went quick and finished up in about 15 minutes. This matches the American Girl Black Cat costume for her doll.
Black cat costume
That’s it! I’m done with costumes … next up … baking! But first I think I’ll take a night off and relax tonight 🙂
This weekend the weather was gorgeous and Ryan really took advantage. It was a little on the cool side at night but Saturday he got the first coat of paint on the diningroom window panels. While he painted I mowed the lawn, did the first round of leaf cleanup and then visited with Mom and Faye who came up for the Indigo Girls concert.
The concert was great, and tiring (I’m not used to staying up so late and it was only a 10 minute drive home – i’m such a baby) 🙂 Sunday we relaxed for most of the day, finally getting going in the afternoon and while Ryan started the second coat of paint on the panels I planted the bulbs mom gave me!
2 coats of paint on diningroom panels! Ready for winter!
When I finished with the bulbs I helped finish the painting and we also got a second coat on the one cupola window panel section that’s more exposed before it got too cold out to paint. For reference next year I’ll show the bulb placements….
I planted the dafodils in this corner that should get some good sun in the spring, it's also out of the way of mowing so they can stay as long as they need.This little front corner of the house is going to be a mixture of hyacinths. Eventually we'll have gardens all along the front so this is a nice little start and should get some evening sun in the spring.Along the front walk I planted the black (dark maroon?) tulips and white tulips, I think they'll be striking in the front and get a bit of evening sun in spring.In the 'rose' garden I planted the rest of the tulips, some leftover hyacinths, the black and whites leftover and the colored ones. This will definitely get sun in spring and be a wonderful splash of color to enjoy when i am in the driveway every day or walking the dog.
There were a ton of crocus bulbs too which I planted throughout the lawn, the blue ones and the colorful mix I planted in the back yard. I planted the green and maroon ones I in the front lawn and on our hill a bit. I can’t wait to see those. We get a few in our yard now in the spring and I love them! I can’t wait for spring and winter hasn’t even started yet 🙂
That was it for weekend work on the house. Now i’m just waiting for the rest of the leaves to fall and we have a little more painting we can do on the cupola if the weather is warmer again next weekend. We also plan to install the copper on the diningroom windows next weekend to button those up!
Got a late start last night so not a lot done but I did manage to hem the skirt and add the trim to Chloe’s vampiress costume. It still needs a bustle to be made but I’m doing that very last since it’s not essential for the costume, just adds some nice flair. With 4 costumes this year I have to prioritize a bit.
Vampiress Dress from frontVampiress dress from back
Once the skirt was finished and the costume was all together (I have some snaps to add by hand but that’s no biggie), I moved on to the black cat costume for a coworker. I hemmed the dress and got it ready to attach the fur by hand (hopefully tonight?). Then I used scraps to make a tail and ears which I attached to the headband. The ears have wire in them and really it’s a glue job not a sewing job although I do plan to do some whip stitching to hold a few lumpy spots down and make it look nicer now that it’s all being held by glue. The tail also has wire so it can be formed a little but it doesn’t hold the form too well because it’s heavier than the wire.
Black cat costume pieces, just some hand sewing to complete it!
Officially, one of 4 costumes is now finished and a second is on it’s way! Last night was quite productive. First I attached the sleeves to the jacket so the Witch costume (dress and jacket) are officially done!
Jacket all finished!The back of the jacket showing the collarAnother view so you can see the grometts and lace up.
Then I moved on to Chloe’s Vampiress skirt. This is actually a two-parter. First there’s a pleated skirt, then there’s a bustle that you attach after the skirt is on, so it’s a separate piece entirely. I worked on just the skirt last night, cutting all the pieces, sewing and pleating (LOTS of pleats), finally adding the wasteband. It still needs trim, a hem (it’s about 5″ too long), and some method of securing it in the back because I think it’s too large to do the small lace up that it calls for on Chloe (I’m sewing a woman’s size 6 essentially). Maybe buttons (to make it adjustable) or extra gromets at different widths so it can be laced tighter or looser.
Here’s the half finished skirt…
The front panel is gathered and the side and back panels are pleated. I loved working with the solid fabric, it's very stiff but that makes pleating easier!A view of the back, I have it just pinned shut so it's not secured nicely.
I’m also leaving off the train entirely, no need for it, it would just get in the way. I really love this costume, mostly because of the fabrics themselves, the redish/black solid fabric cuts like a dream (also frays but what can you do). I’ll get a picture of the costume all together when it’s completed. I see an end in sight – so exciting!
No house progress because we were on the road this weekend. Saturday was my niece’s 5th birthday party! We drove out to Springfield and had a blast at the children’s museum. We barely saw my niece as she was off with her friends but my younger niece needed supervision so Ryan and I tagged along with her, exploring things from her level and she was a hoot.
After the party and presents back at the house we headed down to my sister’s house to see my nephew. He has grown so much! He’s now holding his head up strong and almost sitting (needs a little support). He’s also very playful and can get very talkative, especially left to his own devices. I got lots of snuggles and baby coos between Saturday night and Sunday morning before we did the drive home and relaxed (football was on) in the evening.
Here’s a few pictures we took of Jason just before we left…
Hello Little Jason!And here's a funny face!
And today is my cousin Georgia’s 12th Birthday – that’s just crazy (the 12 part, not the birthday part)!
Last night I spent a few hours working on the Witch costume for Georgia. Specifically the jacket since the dress is already done. It went together pretty quickly and all I have left to do is to attache the sleeves to the jacket and put in the grommets! All the rest is done! It’s a black jacket with a green lining and will have green ribbon to tie it together through the grommets. It doesn’t quite fit my manikin but you get a decent idea and I pinned the dress to the front of the manikin (also doesn’t fit on it) so you can see the two pieces together. About 30 more minutes and I’ll have one costume done!
The back of the jacket, the sleeves are just pinned in place, not actually attached but the rest is all done.A view of the front/side with a sleeve rolled up so you can see the green lining is in the sleeve flounce as well as inside the jacket which is supposed to flare out around the dress.
Actual costume is viewed here: http://www.simplicity.com/p-1755-costumes.aspx, top left is the witch version we made. One almost done, 3 more to finish up! Let’s hope tonight I’m motivated to do some more sewing 🙂
Due to the continuation of great weather I took a half day today off of work to continue the window panels. Around lunch time I did the final sanding of the diningroom panels and then primed them.
Diningroom panels primed!Another view
Once those were done, it was time to paint the cupola panels yellow (first coat)! Just as it was getting dark we got the last part of the cupola painted!
Cupola has first coat!
And just to see what it will look like, once the second coat is on we’ll be installing this red trim inside the panels. We’re trying out all yellow with red trim but haven’t ruled out having the recessed part of the panels be green yet. I think at this point there is a concern that the red won’t ‘pop’ on the green as much though.
A look with the red trim to get an idea
I finished up the night (after getting a few hours of work in) by getting the second coat of paint on the window sashes so tomorrow they’ll be all dry and can be put back in the diningroom since it’s getting cold out. It would be nice to get a few more windows done, maybe the next 2 on the cupola which are more exposed to the sunlight. Since they’re under the porch I can keep the sashes out even if it’s raining but not if it gets too cold.
Wow, October and it was in the 80’s! Perfect for finishing up window panels! So Ryan and I worked hard this weekend!
Friday night Ryan got home and started right away working on the built-ins! He got the box for one of the bookcases put together so we could see what they’d look like installed – it will be so great to have the storage when those are done. I know he wanted to work cabinets all weekend but due to weather he was compelled to get the outdoor work done before it got cold out.
Saturday we started by getting the rest of the panels installed, it was just a few vertical panels and we were done just after lunch!
Diningroom panels finished!
Back side of diningroom panels
Once they were installed Ryan got to work on finishing up the sanding of the cupola panels. He was able to sand the last 2 of the cupola windows, the large diningroom window panel and we got the cupola windows all caulked. We ‘ended’ the light hours of saturday by priming the first 3 windows of panels (it was pretty dark when we finally stopped).
Cupola windows - all sanded and caulked!Main diningroom window all sandedFirst 3 window's panels all primed!
We didn’t stop there though, we stayed up until midnight priming (inside and outside) of the 3 diningroom windows themselves! They are exposed unlike the cupola so it was important we get these ones painted. It would be great to get all the windows painted but the cupola ones are at least under the porch during the winter and have been primed.
Sunday it was back to windows! I finished hand sanding the last 2 cupola windows while Ryan finished sanding the diningroom windows and got the panels all caulked and ready to go.
Diningroom window panels, ready for primer
Before lunch I got the last 2 cupola window panels primed, including the post against the house which came out great after a good sand.
Cupola - primed!
After lunch we had some surprise company! Ryan’s sister and her husband came up with the nieces for a few hours! The girls were a lot of fun, after a tour of the house progress we went to the park down the road while the guys watched football 🙂
After they left we finished up the outside work, Ryan finished caulking the diningroom window panels and I put the second coat of trim paint on the front of the house (so that is FINALLY done). I continued painting until dark, after dark moving inside to get a coat of paint on the diningroom windows.
Front of the house finally done! (window panes still need to be painted)And started painting the cupola. We've decided we might do the cupola all in yellow with the red trim (still to be added) as an accent instead of green on the recessed parts. The all yellow idea is growing on me and it's definitely easier to paint that way 🙂Window panes everywhere - drying!The large diningroom window panes
Painting just one side of the windows goes MUCH faster than priming the night before so I actually finished up by 9 and went to bed early. With the nice weather sticking around I’ll probably get the final coat on the windows tonight and let them dry through Tuesday before we put them back in. I’m taking a 1/2 day today off of work to maybe get the diningroom window panels primed?? We’ll see how it goes, it’s hard moving the ladder by myself and they should be hand sanded still which is a lot of work.
Great progress for a great weekend though! Almost ready for winter! I still want to get the copper caps on but we can do that on a cooler weekend since it doesn’t involve paint 🙂
