Getting close to Christmas! Shopping is almost done (just need a trip to Joann’s now!) and I got my sewing projects done last night! This was just a quick project that my sister-in-law gave me the idea for because she said my nieces both want hooded towels so I jumped at the idea. I purchases regular sized towels with matching hand towels at target and some fleece at Joann’s earlier this month.
I cut the hand towels in half and made them into hoods, then attached them and cut out the girls’ names from the fleece, appliqueing that on with a blanket stitch on the machine (that was a first and it came out okay. I hope the girls like them. I wanted to add flowers applique’d on too, however I realized while doing the names how hard it was to go ‘around’ instead of in straight lines so it didn’t happen last night.
One for Emily 🙂 - The towel is actually light pink, not white as the picture shows.And one for Finley!
Can’t wait for the girls to get them on Saturday! I had high hopes of making embroidered burp cloths for my nephew HOWEVER the universe conspired against me. I couldn’t find the burp cloths (gerber cloth diapers) ANYWHERE – babysrus only had their brand which were gauze and gerber ones that were already decorated. Target only had the gauze ones! Failure!
What a wonderful weekend we had! On Saturday my sister-in-law brought my nieces up for a visit and we relaxed and caught up and played with the girls. The girls helped me make chocolate with white chip cookies and we ended the evening going out to a nice dinner. It was very relaxing and just what I needed to recuperate from travel last week!
Today I continued with Christmas cookies, making up gingersnaps, gingerbread (with icing decoration) and butterscotchies! It took all day but I was able to make up plates for the neighbors and have plenty of left over for work on Tuesday (lunch pot luck).
Plates for the neighbors!And the extra gingerbread cookies ready for work. (The rest were drop cookies so I put them in baggies to save till Tuesday).
This was a first with the piped icing for me but I got to break out all my fun decorating supplies and whip up some frosting. It took all afternoon (from about 1pm-5pm) but that’s not too bad and I had Christmas movies and then music going in the kitchen while I baked!
I ended the evening doing Christmas cards after delivering the cookies to neighbors (well half, 2 of them weren’t home tonight so I’ll try tomorrow night). We’re almost done shopping for Christmas, just a couple quick trips maybe tomorrow evening and then a little bit of sewing and we’ll be all set to go!
Christmas came early to this Williams’ family. The main reason was that I wanted Ryan to get to use his main christmas present before christmas AND I wanted to give him all his gifts (since they all went with the main gift) at once. So ryan set my big gift up for the same day and on Saturday we had our mini-christmas.
We started out the morning with presents on Saturday, first Fitzy got http://groudasfamily.com/wordpress/wp-admin/post.php?post=2270&action=edit&message=6some gifts:
New toys for Fitzy-boy
While he played (he also got a new bed a couple of days ago) with his new toys and bone Ryan opened his main gift piece by piece:
New router table with accessories
I don’t have a picture of my main gift because you can’t really see it – my car got a remote starter! And I can start it from either a fob, or from my cell phone with an app (from anywhere), I can also track my car with GPS from the same app. (In case it gets stolen?). Very cool! I also got a Kindle Touch which I was up late Saturday night playing with (it has games unlike my second generation kindle which will go to Ryan now). I love how small it is and perfect for traveling next week with.
After presents (which included taking my car over to get the starter installed, and a trip to 5-guys!), we started working on the drawers for the built-ins. This was pretty intimidating, we bought the drawer slides and hardware a while ago (10 drawers total) but weren’t quite sure how to do the drawers to fit perfectly. We started by putting in some blocks for the slides, so the drawers could open even if the doors aren’t open ALL the way (on one side the door can’t open all the way).
Then we slowly planned it all out, starting with the left cabinet because it was very square and all 3 drawers would be the same sizes. We built one drawer and got it installed and working!
The first drawer installed! With slow close!
On Sunday we were able to get the other 2 drawers done pretty quickly now that we knew what we were doing (it took a while to figure out the drilling template the first time). So we have one cabinet filled with drawers! 3 down, 7 to go!
Slides all installedDrawers have locking mechanisms on the bottom, and cutouts for the slidesDrawers installedUndermounted slides so you don't see it on the sides at all.
All the drawers need are face frames, we haven’t decided how we want those to look (Ryan will probably route them to make them look a little fancy.). The drawers will fit our dvds hidden in the cabinets, at least the right and left most ones will be dvds.
Now it’s time to relax with Fitzy boy before driving him down to stay with Buddy boy for the week.
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 🙂
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!
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 🙂
I never did write about last weekend, we went to my sister-in-laws so Ryan could help his Dad and brother-in-law work on the roof and add a new dormer.
This weekend we had planned to work on the window panels however the rain kept us inside all weekend instead. While I puttered and did various things Ryan worked on the built-ins! First he put the backs on, then he attached them permanently. Then he made a counter top and installed it, it came out great!
Built-ins installed with backsPoplar counter top Ryan made
During this time I did some various electrical (a few outlets in the built-ins had to be installed and I started installing the ceiling fan which did not go that well unfortunately so it’s still not finished) 🙂
At dinner time I met up with the cousins and they came over for the night to work on Halloween costumes! While we worked on costumes Ryan continued on built-ins by starting the bookcases that will go on top.
Start of the bookcases
In preparation for the girls coming over I spent Friday night getting the patterns ready for Georgia and Chloe. Then I put together the skirt of Maia’s costume so it was done enough that she could try it on (it still needs a lining and a zipper but it’s close).
So Saturday night while Maia worked on cutting yarn for her Rapunzel braid and Chloe cut out her pattern pieces, Georgia and I made the dress for her costume. She’s going to be a witch and it’s a 2 piece costume, a dress and then a lined jacket. Georgia did most of the cutting and sewing of the whole dress and just before bed I did the final hem on it so it’s completely done!
Witch dress for GeorgiaAnother view
After the girls went to bed I helped Ryan move the tv lower finally.
TV lowered
Sunday morning was Chloe’s turn, we started making just the top of her costume, it’s a victorian dress but it’s a 2 parter, skirt and top. She helped cut out all the pieces and sewed most of the straight seams. There were a lot of curved seams so I did have to take over for those trickier parts. At one point we took a break and braided the yarn/hair for Maia with some ribbons so she could take it home and attach it to a crown or something. (I forgot to take a picture unfortunately). I did however take a picture of Maia’s costume so far:
Tangled costume, skirt is finished but top needs to be lined and zipper added still.
When we got about a 2 hour extension of time together I decided to continue Chloe’s top and we managed to get it completed! Grommets and all! I think it came out great and Chloe learned how to do Grommets!
Front of Chloe's top with the fancy sleeves and the lacy detail added over the seams.Grommets and lacing up the back with a few pleats at the bottom.
All in all a VERY productive weekend! And I ended the weekend by baking up some blueberry muffins that Fitz will NOT get to eat this time!
