Monday, August 26, 2013

torquoise cardi for the fall

Pin It I picked up some great knit fabric at a garage sale.  There was enough for me to make something for Eli and me.  I already posted my project for Eli HERE.  And here is what I made for me.
sewing a cardi
I forgot to take my name tag off.

I actually have a bit more left over that I am sure I can do some color blocking on yet another project.

I used my grandmother's pattern Stretch and Sew # 300 again.  I had used it previously for an orange pullover and a striped cardi.
sewing a cardi

This time I made it a bit larger for a more relaxed fit.

And I used some gold vintage buttons my mom (M) had picked up for me a while back.  I think it provides a great contrast.

sewing a cardi

I used some of the knit to make a binding/facing.  And I added a band at the bottom.

sewing a cardi

I wore it with my maxi dress to the wedding and several times since.  I wore it school clothes shopping for my daughter and the clerk admired it.  I said thank you and thought to myself that it is funny that she works with 'fashion' all day and she likes my home-made cardi.  It was definitely worth the $5 I payed for the fabric.

loving my home sewn cardi!

And guess what?  This week I have started a new adventure with Sally from Daisy Chain Creations!  We are setting up a blog that is dedicated to sharing ideas and pattern reviews on pre-teen patterns.  It is called Sew Cool for the Tween Scene.  I would love it if you would come check us out!

If you are interested in hearing more from us, there are a couple ways for you to keep in touch!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Introducing a spin-off blog!

Pin It Hello all!

As you know, I (Major Moma) participate in sew-alongs quite often.  And during these events, I have made some online friends.  And one of those friends Sally from Daisy Chain Creations, and I have started a new blog.  Without Directions is not changing ... this is just another blog where I will be sharing projects with a different focus.

Our new blog is Sew Cool for the Tween Scene.  As the name suggests, it is completely focused on creating for pre-teens!  We both have noticed that there are not enough sewing patterns focused on this age group and we are planning on gathering collections of pre-teen patterns and review those patterns.  We also will be posting tutorials that are relevant to creating for pre-teens.

For the next two weeks, we will be having a big kick-off celebration with guest posts by several bloggers who sew for pre-teens.  We would love it if you come and check us out!


If you are interested in hearing more from us, there are a couple ways for you to keep in touch!

Monday, August 19, 2013

I crocheted a petit four!

Pin It The a couple weeks ago we (Major Moma and family) were wondering around at garage sales looking for winter gear for the kiddos. We just don't own what it will take to get through sub-0 temperatures.  During our search, we came across a house where a lady was getting rid of her stash of fabric and yarn.

 I felt like I hit the jackpot!

My husband groaned.

This was not what we were in the market for.  But how do you turn down a good deal on fabric?  So, I was allowed to pick up a few things... 3 plastic grocery sacks of fabric and one of yarn.  Plus, I got a gallon zipplock bag full of little balls of yarn all in different colors.  It was clearly all the left overs from various projects that she could not bring herself to throw away.

Those leftovers gave me an idea.  While looking around on Ravelry.com, I have been collecting patterns for all sorts of silly amigurumi.  I never really knew if I would crochet them up ... but they were so fun looking.  And I did not think I could get myself to buy yarn for something so silly.  But, I could use yarn leftovers that I paid $1 for.
source

The first one I decided to make was the Cherry petit four.  The original pattern calls for sport weight yarn but since I was using scraps and they all were worsted, that is what I used.  And, I was using random colors, so I just picked out some as close as I could.

crochet amigurumi

 I did not have enough of the raspberry, so it is not as tall as it should be and the shape is thus not quite right.  And the red cherry does seem to clash a bit.  But that is not my fault.  See, M was here visiting and I asked her opinion if I should use the raspberry with the red cherry and she said it would look fine.  And considering I have a horrible track record with picking colors and hers is very good, I trusted her.

crochet amigurumi

I had the most fun with the whipped cream.  All those fluffy curls just made me giggle.  And the cherry and the leaf just turned out perfect.  

crochet amigurumi

Even though I have never made anything like this, it worked up really fast.  I was done in an afternoon of chatting and having tea with M.


crochet amigurumi

Now what am I supposed to do with it?  The kids love it.  So I figure they can use it as play food.  I am sure I will make more.  Why?  Because it was fun.  Terribly useless.  But fun.

Have you ever crocheted food???  What do you craft that is silly?




If you are interested in hearing more from us, there are a couple ways for you to keep in touch!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Burda printed maxi-dress out of scarves

Pin It  Once upon a time, I was deployed to Kuwait.  And while I was there, I saw a vendor selling many pretty scarves.  I bought several large Kashmir scarves for both my self and all the women in my family.  I also bought two poly-something scarves that were not really useful in any way but were really pretty.  When I came home I folded them up and put them in my closet.  And there they sat.  for years...

And then this summer I came across this dress on Burdastyle.



I was immediately drawn to it and knew I had to sew it.  And those scarves came to mind right away.  Unfortunately, the scarves are not made of the best of fabric and I stubbornly pursued the endevor despite many setbacks.  (It was supper slippery and actually did not hold up well when being handled.  I serged the edges to reduce the fraying but I will be suprised if it survives more than three washes; even if I hand wash it.)

maxi dress made of large scarves
hanging off a historic train

I measured my bust and the top ended up too small.  So, I ended up cutting up the back and inserting elastic.  This worked only because there was a group of gathers in the center of the back.

maxi-dress out of scarves
back with elastic insert
 I luckily had some pretty yellow elastic.
modesty panel insert

And then the v-neck was a bit deeper than I normally wear so I added a bit of a modesty panel with some extra fabric.

I simply cut it to size and then hand sewed it to the inside.  The pattern has the bodice fully lined and if I had it fit right in the beginning, it would have been just as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside.
modest panel insert
And it was super long!  I cut off about four inches in the pattern and it is still was too long.  I think they only expected women who are 6 feet tall to wear it.  I did not have time to hem it again before the wedding so I clipped it up in a sort of a side bussel.

I wore it to a co-worker's wedding at an old train station.  My husband and I took a picture of us next to the bride and groom's get-away car.  And then some old guys walked by and told us to go check out the car show that was occurring just across the street.  So we did.
crashing a car show
crashing a car show
car of the guy who told us to check out the show
crashing a car show

There were some great muscle cars and other fun classics.  And there was this great custom car all decked out in POW symbolism.


crashing the car show
We had a great time at the wedding and wish all the best to the new couple.  And though we were quite over dressed, we really enjoyed the car show too.

Have you ever stubbornly fought a fabric to make it into something it was never meant to be?


If you are interested in hearing more from us, there are a couple ways for you to keep in touch!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Quilts for Grandchildren

Pin It Hi this is M.  In my real life I work to pay the bills and I relax by quilting. Well I have been on a mission to finish a bunch of projects. I had a couple of quilt tops for two grandchildren done and since I was planning a visit to Alaska I thought I would finally finish them.



But since my daughter added to her family I had to make one quilt more. Three quilts quilted in less than two weeks. I also squeezed the work during the evening, since I ended up going out of town the weekend before our trip. 

Fun quilts fun kids.  

So the two year old got a pink quilt with sheep and lots of dots. The 9 year old finally got her African animal quilt (fabric she picked out several years ago). The 5 year old boy got a quilt with cowboy fabric and quilted with horse heads.


So  Major Mom tells me I need to blog for each quilt  but since I finished them all together I am talking about them together.  

But I have 6 grandchildren. The youngest of McH came with us. He had a very sad face grandma didn't have one done for him.



So Major Moma I have lots more to blog about!!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Having a blast watching the Bore

Pin It The weather in Anchorage, AK has been much warmer than usual.  In fact, they are setting new records for highest temperature and most days over 70 deg F.  Normal summers are in the low 60s F and we have been enjoying day after day in the high 70s.  And, there has been a lot less rain than usual.  This has made our sight seeing adventures especially pleasant.  We know that winter will come very soon so we are trying to make the most of the wonderful weather.

A week ago we went to see the bore tide out at Turnagain Arm.  Turnagain is a stretch of land along Cook Inlet where the mountains practically touch the water.  There is just enough room for the road we drove.
Blank Slate Zippy Jacket
viewing deck at Beluga Point

It is a great place for whale watching (when they are actually out there... I have yet to see one) and general wildlife viewing.  But our mission was not to see animals.  It was to see the tide come in.  See, when there is a full moon, the tide comes in especially fast and due to the conditions of the inlet (scientific explanation HERE), there can be a wall of water up to 6 feet tall coming up the inlet.

It was not that dramatic when we were there, but it was neat to see the tide come in with a single wave stretching across the entire expanse of the inlet.
Beluga Point, AK
Bore tidal wave

The warm weather decided to take a little break that day and since we were on the water, it was cooler and jackets were a definite must.  This was the perfect opportunity from my son to try out is new Zippy Jacket by Blank Slate patterns

Blank Slate Zippy Jacket
hanging out

I recently was blessed with the opportunity to test this pattern for Melissa and it is a winner.  In fact, when my daughter saw the completed jacket hanging, she exclaimed "That is soooo cool!  Can I have one?"  But alas, the sizes are only 18 mo through 8 years and she is in a definite 10.  (I will have to see what I can do to alter it.)

It has a rectangle collar and wonderful circle pockets. 
Blank Slate Zippy Jacket

The jacket requires a separating zipper but these are easy to find in just about every color in the rainbow.

Blank Slate Zippy Jacket

The bottom band and the cuffs are made with ribbing.  I used an ultra soft performance knit ribbing which is always a pain to so but wonderful to wear.  For the main body I used a heavier weight knit that only stretched horizontally.  It worked like a dream.
Blank Slate Zippy Jacket

I definitely recommend this pattern.  And if you ever get the chance, I also recommend seeing the bore tide.  And, if you see it when it is multiple feet tall, let me know what it was like.

Have you ever seen a bore tide?  Do you have strange tidal events where you live?




If you are interested in hearing more from us, there are a couple ways for you to keep in touch!


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