Holiday Weekend

We had a very full weekend!

I got the sewing bug pretty seriously a couple of weeks ago. I have been kind of anti computer lately (crazy right?!?) and all I want to do is sew. So last week I cleaned my craft room and bought some new fabric. Friday Corinnea and I made a quick run to Hilco, the fabric manufacturer in Echterdingen. I say quick... we were there about two hours. But I think we could have spent quite a bit more time there. Those fabrics will become clothes eventually, but I have to get my German patterns transferred. They are interesting. I'll have to post pics when I get those out.

Friday night I started a shirt for Ethan, but I couldn't finish because my machine won't do button holes. So I did this instead:

I brought home the dressmaker's form from the shop until I get my own, or until someone needs it. It was SO COOL to design on the form! Really really fun! I can't wait to show you guys this shirt in person!

Then Saturday Rob and I went to Switzerland. The kids stayed with friends. We drove down to Zurich for a Jamie Cullum concert. It was a GORGEOUS day!!!

Zurich is not really a touristy town. Or at least I don't think of it as such. The last time we were there we went and saw all the famous churches, so this time we wandered around the area where the concert hall and our hotel were. It was a very interesting part of town. The first thing we stumbled on was a bike sale. Some organization had brought out a TON of bikes and set them all up on a little market platz. They were new and used and there were lots of people shopping and buying.

Then we found a big flea market. I bought a tiny old iron that opens to put the hot coal in it. Didn't photograph... but I thought these pics were interesting.
We thoroughly enjoyed spending the day outside with each other. We had the Swiss staples - roesti for lunch and cheese fondue for dinner. Coffee in the afternoon at the cafe by the concert hall, then JAMIE!!!! It was hard to see, but he is such a good artist. It was a nice evening.

Sunday we took the kids to a little circus that was set up in Magstadt. This was a small family circus. The girl was a gymnast and the show was mostly her. The "dad" (I'm assuming) trained the animals, the "son" (again assuming) was the clown and did the plate spinning, and the mom was the ring master. It was cute. Haven now thinks she wants to join a circus.....
Today the kids were out of school so a bunch of us went to Sensapolis. I love that place.

And to end, here's a quick clip of the concert. Jamie said we were allowed to photograph and/or video tape and post to youtube or whatever we want! Hey, free publicity for Jamie!

Recent Stuff

I really love the Schoolhouse Tunic pattern. It's easy to make and I like how it fits on me. So I made another one. The fabric is Kona Cotton, Espresso I think, and "Night and Day" by Robert Kaufman. I really like this one a lot! Then I used the pattern and modified the bodice to be a little jacket for the summer top I made last week. I cut the front pieces at a slight angle towards the back to give it a little swing. This will be perfect for the trip to the States. The last time I was there I FROZE every time we went inside somewhere with air conditioning.

We went to see Man of La Mancha at the Kelley theater on Saturday. My boss, Ron, was Don Quixote. He looked perfect! He's the one in the bright green shirt. That was after the play. He didn't wear that during the play! :) I should have gotten a pic of him in the mustache and goatee. It was so funny! Anyway, a bunch of us who work for him or with him all went on Saturday night as a big surprise. It was fun!

That dress is the one I wore to the Arts and Crafts contest, but I redid it. The first version had a fully shirred bodice. That was not flattering. So I used the Anna Maria Horner "Empire Evening Dress" and tried again. That was a dud. This is just not a flattering style on me. Actually I really liked the way the bodice went together, but this poofy skirt part just doesn't look good on me. I'm going to have to try a third modification. I really like the fabric, so I want to make something that works!

And Saturday morning we took the training wheels off of Ethan's bike. That was fun. I got the bike outside and left Ethan to go back upstairs to get tools. When I came back outside half the men of the neighborhood had gathered around him. It was one of those, "oooh bike!" moments. They promptly confiscated the tools and took over taking the training wheels off. Then they used the neighbor's air compressor to air up the tires. I just stood back and watched it all happen! Here he is taking it for a first ride around the driveway.

Climbing the Walls

I'm having trouble finding a moment to post. I'm trying to get more sleep because I've been having so much trouble getting up in the mornings. So, I got the pictures off of my camera tonight, and hopefully will have them uploaded tomorrow. Here's another fun video for you.

Apparently the sun has done something to my kitty AND my child. They are literally chasing their tails and climbing the walls.... Makes for some good blog material though, eh!

Chasing your tail

I have some pictures to share from this weekend, but they are all still on my camera. So here's a little filler until I get a chance to blog the rest.

Fun things

Had a nice birthday celebration. Nothing elaborate. Yesterday Mary brought strawberry cupcakes. Mary, these were the best they've been so far! She is the queen of cupcakes! (She's the blonde in the picture with me, for those of you who haven't met her) Rob and the kids gave me some fun electronics. We're such geeks. Yes, I was excited! One was a new memory card hub (by my request) and the other is a new router. That one will help us all! I also got some really pretty flowers, a bottle of bubbly (red sparkling), and several cards. My two moms (mine and Rob's) bought me fabric. They didn't know at the time they were mailing their cards of course. Wink! And daddy is sending us to the US for the summer. I'm excited! Tomorrow we're going to see a play at the Kelley Theater, and next week we're seeing Jamie Cullum in Zurich!!!!!!!!!!

We had birthday dinner tonight. I have been experimenting with this no-pasta lasagna. I'm using zucchini instead of the pasta. This time I grilled the zucchini in a pan before putting the dish together. That helped it cook faster and made it yummier. While I was cutting the zucchini I thought, I bet there's an easier way.... Sure enough, deep in the recesses of the kitchen gadget storage container (the hutch) there was a never been used before veggie slicer! Kitchen gadget geekiness wins! And we had lemon cake and strawberry cupcakes. Yummy!

We got these fun little monsters in the store called Smooshies. It was kind of an accident, but a cool one. Jennifer ordered some little ones to see what they were and they were really cute. There were these little cans of parts that I THOUGHT were complete mini monsters, so I ordered a whole set. It turned out that they were just parts! RANDOM parts! So Corinnea and Jennifer went through the website and ordered some bodies. So I bought two today and some parts. These plus the mini equaled a cute little set of monsters. But Haven wanted more parts. Knowing she would have to save money for them, she went through my craft stuff, found felt and velcro, and set to making her own monster parts!

So far she has made the two ears/horns here. Her plan is to buy some more felt tomorrow.

It may seem silly, but I have been wanting her to be crafty for so long. She really is so artistic, but her desire to rebel means she sometimes refuses to have anything to do with anything crafty that I might like to do. So if buying a silly fluffy monster body is what it takes to get her to do something crafty, so be it! I'm so proud of her and her creativity!

Schoolhouse Tunic

I know I'm the last one on the tunic bandwagon... but I finally made one! I am still so annoyed at the weather. This top lets me feel summery and still be warm. I was inspired by Kara's tunic that she did in two colors. Kara, did you post a picture? I checked on your blog, but didn't see one... I added the cuffs to the sleeves to add more color to the top. Anywho... it was fun. Thanks Corinnea for taking the pic. We were both freezing and trying to leave the shop. My choice of pictures was way-too-big-smile and almost-smile. Way-too-big-smile was scary, so almost-smile it was! Ha!

Oh, and today is my birthday. :)

oh yeah, and.....

We saw Iron Man 2 this weekend. So fun! We really enjoyed it. I think the Avengers is next.

I just love super hero movies!

Keep reading below for more of the week's activities.

week in review

My friend Jo celebrated the big 5-OH!

This is her doing Sally O'Malley, "I'm 50!"

Jo is from Tennessee and we frequently discuss the differences between Tennessee and Texas South. Of course I'm forever accused of NOT being Southern because Texas doesn't count. Whatever. This Texas girl made some goooooooood strawberry shortcake!

The recipe is from here. I read the comments and followed the suggestions to reduce the baking powder and leave out the cream of tartar. I don't know how much of a difference that makes, especially since this was my first ever time to make strawberry shortcake! But it was scrumptious. I made it in a big dish instead of individual cakes so it was easier to put together and serve. (The dish was a gift from Martha because she couldn't believe I didn't have a Polish pottery lasagna pan! Thanks Martha!)

I made this one pretty little sample the night before the party to make sure it tasted good. They're lucky the rest made it to the party after we tried this one! Oh, I made fresh whipped cream too.

Wednesday was the Mother's Day Brunch at Ethan's school. It was cute. They made little heart shaped cakes and sang songs. I only got to stay about an hour because.......

Wednesday was also our annual Arts and Crafts contest awards ceremony. You can read all about the festivities on the shop blog here. I made the dress I was wearing but I didn't get a good picture. I tried today, but it needs to be ironed. I'll have to get back to you with that one.

But I DID get a picture of THIS!

The Fleur d'Paris fabric came in this week and this one was just dying to be a shirt! After a lot of debating I finally settled on the Ruffle Top. Jennifer gave me one that she made last summer and I really like it. I pleated the front band to give it a little detail and I really like it. I had to sew each pleat down so it would stay in place. Then I added the cap sleeve instead of the ruffle. I based it on another shirt Jennifer gave me (the black one w/white polka dots) and it was pretty easy once I figured out what shape to cut out. So, anyway, I really like it! Ethan took the picture for me standing up on a bench! He did a pretty good job! And that was with the big camera!! It was so cute because he just kept clicking! Future model photographer???

And last but not least, here is Ethan and his classmates singing a Mother's Day Song in German.

Last Weekend

Last Saturday we had another girl's craft day with the junior high girls in the youth group. This time we made ice candles and friendship bracelets. They didn't get very far with the bracelets, but that was ok because they were just filler while the wax melted for each candle.

Supplies:

Milk carton (1/2 gallon)

tapered candle (about 4")

wax for melting (one box of gulf wax is enough or one big pillar candle)

candle scent

candle coloring or crayons for coloring

ice (smaller crushed ice is more interesting)

tape

Cut the milk carton top off so you can get your hand down to the bottom.

Cut a small hole in the bottom of the milk carton and push the wick through.

Tape the wick down on the bottom of the carton to keep it in place and keep the wax from spilling through.

Fill the carton with ice holding the candle upright in the center. Stop about 3/4 inch from the "top" of the candle (the end sticking up)

Melt the wax in a double boiler. Add scent and coloring.

Poor over ice. Make sure the wax covers the candle. You can use different colors of wax if you let each color cool before you pour the next color.

Leave the candle to cool on a plate or cookie sheet. Some water may leak.

When the candle is completely cool peel the carton away carefully over the sink. The water from the melted ice will pour out!

Light your candle on a heat resistant surface. Some wax may run through the holes.

We had fun making these! Thanks Mary for all your help!

Sunday we hung out at the PX so Ethan could play on the indoor playground. That is such a lifesaver sometimes. Check out what we found in the toy section!

Star Wars Day

Apparently today was Star Wars Day, but I didn't get the memo! I heard about it on my way to work, too late to bring light sabers to work! Oh well... may the fourth, uh, schwarz... no .... FORCE be with you!

Haven was not happy to be Luke, but I ran out of girl characters and I didn't want a mustache! :)

Duh!

Did you know you could change the color of that really annoying bar at the top of the page??? Well, Jennifer did because hers is not dark blue, but the rest of you didn't.... or you really like it dark blue..... Click here to see how to change it. SOOO easy! Edit: Adrienne got hers

to hide! She'll have to tell us how she did it...

I do have some photos coming soon, some of crafts even! But today was National

Scrapbooking Day and I was busy with getting the digital scrapbooking store ready

all week.

I have no idea why word wrap isn't working properly....