I can make the Can-Can

Next knitting challenge: to turn this:

into this:making progress

Conservation Carousel

On a recent trip to San Diego we had much fun at the Wild Animal Park. We got a little lost on the "9 minute" trip from the Motel Mediteran, a lovely, independent hotel near the park. After the 3rd miscue from my Blackberry (which was likely directing us to the keeper's house :), Mary ratted us out and called Jack for directions, so now we had me shouting directions from the backseat, Diane calling out directions based on her good sense of direction and Jack trying to direct us from afar over the phone, can you say cacophony?

In spite of our initial difficulties, the rest of the day went beautifully. We stayed from 9am until just after 7pm.

Not to be missed was the Conservation Carousel, we liked it so much we did it twice!

Diane finally gets her Cheetah ride

The park is very family friendly, and we got the pleasure of observing this friendly family in action. Check out the video

Bathroom Redo Done

the "much longer than it should've taken" bathroom redo is done!
just in time for the family visit and BBQ.

What did I learn?

• telling myself "just 30 minutes" can, most of the time, get me started
• I don't like wood stain, especially the kind with polyurethane already added, it's just a sticky mess
• grand schemes quickly bite the dust when matched to this worker's skill set and strength
• sometimes good enough just has to be (even when it isn't really)
• your friends and family really don't care what the bathroom looks like and your enemies shouldn't be in your home anyway

Lunchbag upgrade

Pretty Denim Lunchbag (or how to turn a very simple project into a multi-day extravaganza)

step 1: refuse to repair DH's jeans in the same exact place for the 3rd time

step 2: stare intently at said jeans while wondering what good use to put the durable denim

step 3: smack head in realization that the leg of said jeans would make a perfect lunch sack

step 4: cut off about 20" of upper leg

step 5: again, stand back and stare at what is now a denim cylinder and realize it's just not gonna be pretty enough without some girly decoration

step 6: haul out all the embroidery apparatus and spend at least an hour poring over design options

step 7: finally select original idea of peacock design and sew onto a separate piece of denim cut from jeans

step 8: sew lovely peacock on front of leg as a pocket ("why a pocket" you might wonder, to which I would reply, "why not")

step 9: sew on a circular bottom (after racking brain to remember simple formula for calculating the diameter from the leg circumference.... C=Pi * ((D/2)^2)

step 10: sew in casing and add draw string

step 11: prance around house waving the pretty new bag in the air until husband gushes over the "mad skills" of wife

now, before you feel compelled to point out this was a pretty basic sewing job, I know this is no demonstration of mad skills, but what can I say, I'm an approval junkie

Sewing machine review - Queen Bernina

This review is part of a group project for the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog to develop a user's review of all different types of sewing machines, both new and old. The questions are theirs, the answers are mine.

What brand and model do you have?

Bernina Artista

How long have you had it?

about 2 years

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

way more than I should have spent and I'm embarrassed to say

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?

quilting (love the BSR electronic eye gadget), home deco, misc. projects

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

About once a month. She is very gently used.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I love this machine, I am a bit of a gadget freak and she has gadgets and features galore. I call her "Queen Bernina" since she has the crown jewels affixed to her front and of course, the heraldic theme to announce her presence whenever she is switched on.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

I used to have a commercial embroidery machine which I sold when the business was a failure and we moved. The Queen fills the gap quite nicely for my current "whenever the whim strikes" one at a time embroidery projects. I also love the auto thread cutters and the BSR foot mentioned above.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

I find the front load bobbin case a little fiddly, especially as the door is hard to open (I keep a little plastic stick on hand to hook into it) and when I have the Queen's sewing arm lowered to the sewing table height the bobbin case is sort of under the table and I have to extract and replace the bobbin case by feel mostly. I liked the drop-in bobbin on the last machine better.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!

no great stories yet

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

The Queen is not cheap, oh no she isn't, so unless you have some serious cash on hand from say, selling a big commercial embroidery machine, I would recommend this only to the serious sewer. Also, she may not be the best machine for technophobes as she is fully computerized with a bazillion features. If you do invest in this royal machine, please do take full advantage of any classes that are offered to help you get to know her better.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

1. experience (if new to sewing, start with a simpler machine, it may force you to learn to do a few things manually that you will then appreciate so much more when you can spring for an upgrade)


2. the store you intend to purchase from, I got mine at Meissners in Sacramento, even though it was a bit of a drive, the staff is very knowledgable and friendly, they offer free classes on most new machines, they have repair staff on hand and also a pretty good selection of used machines if you have champagne taste on a beer budget.


3. weight (if you intend to cart it around to classes, your friends house, etc), more metal in the body will probably last longer, but makes it quite heavy.


4. get one that does an automatic buttonhole if at all possible


5. your comfort level with computer systems, there are plenty of perfectly good machines that are not computerized (my last one was an entry level Elna and she was great).

Do you have a dream machine?

Yea and she lives in my sewing room :)

Goat Herder chores

hanging with Mary doing chores at Turkey Oak

bad goat! standing on the water dish

my favorite rooster, ole one-eyed Piorn

Backyard Bliss

Yah, the yard is "done", basically as done as it's gonna get for the time being. The weather has heated up to >95 everyday. Some of the plants we got from the local nursury have shriveled up and died, but all trees are are doing great. all the plants we got from High Country Gardens are thriving and have gotten about twice as big.

all the drip irrigation, dry stream bed and landscape gravel is in place.

Before:

After: