mobius strips??

i accidentally ended up with a mobius strip when trying to sew my next project.  THREE mobius strips!  You know, those loops that have only 1 side and twist on and on for forever?  before i show you the nonsense that i created, let me back up and explain what was my intended goal... view a of the shirt below:

here is the line drawing so you can see just how cute the pleating in the front would be:

i used this light tannish grey stretchy cotton-blend shirting fabric for the yoke and underlayer, and for the over lay i used this vintage lace that i found at the "scrap exchange" in durham, nc when i visited my friend erin 4 years ago.

the bodice part, while difficult, went without a hitch.  i ended up sewing the underlayer together at the sides separately from the lace overlay so that the lace would flow independently... perhaps.  however, the shirting fabric is stiffer than jersey and thus the lace isn't flowy... oh well.  they still looked nice together.

and now for the yoke on top... that's where the mobius strip comes into the story.  the instructions told me to create the yoke separately as an outer layer and as a lining.  no sweat, i thought to myself.  i've got this.  easy peasy.  then they tell you to invert the lining so that it sits inside the outer layer like a facing, and then you are to HANDSTITCH the lining inside the outer layer.  uhhh, i hate hand-stitching.  so, i decided to outsmart my instructions and i machine-sewed them together...  it became a mobius strip!! 

oh silly me, i think to myself.  i just twisted one of the sides of the sleeve before sewing it to itself.  let me unstitch the regular stitching (AND THE UNDERSTITCHING to keep the lining in place) and try it again.  in my haste, i passed off version 2 as being perfect, and did the other sleeve.  wait, i created another mobius strip!  how is that possible, oh silly me, i think to myself.  the other one is perfect... no wait... also a mobius strip.  GAH!!  FOILED BY MYSELF!  i wasn't content going to bed last night until i had at least undone the stitching in the sleeves.  i will save that part for tonight.  here are the pieces so far, pinned onto my mannequin.

not sure if i'm crazy about this.  i'm really hoping the final result turns out better than what this looks like right now...  i feel like it looks stuffy and bleh.

meanwhile, bunks was bored out of his mind and was cleaning his paws, despite my raucous laughter when i discovered the 3 mobius strips that i had sewn.  that's my clean bunny!

compliments galore!

i've never gotten as many compliments for something i made than i did today when i wore my oregon beach dress to school for the first time!  yippee!

oh hello!

guess who!

oh you again

happy bunny day!

for bunny day this year, the fam and i met up in dc.  bunks came too!  look at the wee boy!

no trip to dc ever happens without a requisite trip to gstreet fabrics, the greatest fabric store in the world!  i scored some awesome fabrics of course... no shocker there.  here we have some yellow stretchy rayon jersey with purple and navy squares and a quirky blue zigzag border (maxi dress?  short summer dress?  we shall see!), black polyester chiffon with colorful dot clusters (drapey summer blouse?  if i had more, i would totally want to make a flowy short summer dress.  not sure that 1 yd is enough fabric to cover enough skin to be called a dress, though!!), 

navy, cream, and magenta striped satiny something-or-other.  it is thin.  not sure what the material really is though.  i'm thinking a shirt-dress variation?  the orange is a cotton blend tweed (it's less than a yard, but i think i can squeeze out a pencil skirt!).  and finally, the navy is this cotton jersey knit that i plan to use as a lining for this embroidered wool that carin from work gave me!  see, i'm a good shopper... i only purchase what i know i will use... if i had all the time in the world hehehhehe!

a fabric shopping success!  the fam and i biked throughout rock creek park on saturday.  it was pretty out, although my allergies started getting the best of me.  the drive back was also particularly long... holiday traffic.  no worries, as i got to travel with the cutest easter bunny in my lap!

oregon beach dress!

nope, i didn't actually wear this to the beach in oregon.  too cold.  however, i did sew a beachy dress while in southern coastal oregon during spring break, while visiting shirley!!  i got the 70's vintage beach print fabric during my visit to knit'n kitten in portland this january.

i used mccall's 5753 pattern to draft the bodice (like in the black dress below- low scoop neck but without sleeves).  unfortunately this pattern needed major tweaking-  the arm holes had to be lowered and the back had to be made narrower.

for the skirt, i decided to try my hand at a circle skirt!

circle skirts are particularly difficult to hem, because the bottom of the hem is wider than higher up, thus when you fold over some of the fabric, there is always a bit extra!  GAH!  no worries... neat ironing will do the trick!  note: this is probably the only in-progress pic you'll ever get of me working, as i certainly can't take pics of myself while my hands are occupied!  thanks shirley!

since shirley lost her zipper foot, i had to handpick the zipper.  first time i've ever handpicked a zipper!  you can't even see my stitches, i made them so teeny!

not bad, right?  my stitching is pretty neat!

the best detail of circle skirts is that they are super twirly!

to celebrate my visit, shirley baked an amazing blueberry pie... check out her presentation... much better than my pies ever look!  she also made so many amazing meals: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, fish, risotto, and more!  i was spoiled!

i made shirley a jar of origami stars as a thank you for being such a great friend!

STARS!  despite how many stars i've made in my life, i still love them!

while i sewed, shirley made muslins for this awesome top that had a vanishing lapel... using surgical gowns for muslin fabric!  how genius, right?  thinking about this still cracks me up, hehe!

we didn't just sew during my visit... although there was much sewing to be done.  we also hiked and explored southern oregon's beautiful coastline:

and northern california's redwood forests:

i had such a great trip and was bummed that the time flew by!  here's a final pic of me twirling in my new dress!!

thanks for having me over, shirley!  and thanks for the awesome pics!

angel slices

joy of cooking calls this recipe pecan or angel slices.  since i followed their walnut variation, i guess what i made are angel slices?  to be honest, i wasn't crazy about how gooey it was.  it was also a bit too sweet.  michelle helped chop nuts and butter the foil... my 2 least favorite tasks.  hurray for teamwork!

pi pies

thursday was pi day, 3/14.  at school, i organized a big pi day bake sale, where a slice of pie and a scoop of ice cream cost a buck.  it was a huge success.  for the event, i made 2 blueberry pi pies!

this one is upside down... i'm too lazy to rotate the pic... you've seen me bake one of these pies before, so nothing new!

i stacked them in this cake carrier mom got me a while ago, separated by a small thin cutting board so that they wouldn't wreck.

happy pi day, fellow math enthusiasts!

wearing the ptc dress!

fits like a glove.  im soooo happy with the result.  all of those hours spent working on those darn pleats paid off!

since everyone keeps asking for a zoomed in pic of the button, here is one:

ptc dress is done!

parent teacher conferences ended last week.  and yet, i finished the dress yesterday!  sigh.

i really had hoped to finish the dress in time, but the pattern i chose had many issues:

1)  the waist was way too skinny.  i had to let out the waist by 1/2 inch on both sides, and i let out both back darts.  i think i added a total of 5 inches of circumference to the waist.  that's like the difference between a 24" waist and a 29" waist.  whoa, i'm totally built like a rectangle.  sheesh.

2)  the pleats where i altered the waist didn't measure up, so i had to invent new pleats to hide the gaps in the pleating.  i. hate. making. pleats.

3)  the bodice was way too long.  there was a line where i could adjust the bodice to fit a petite build.  of course, i reduced the bodice length there (this raised the waistline... which ended up still being a bit too low).  then, after sewing up the dress, i found that the bust darts were still hanging about an inch to 2 inches too low:  essentially the darts were around my ribs.  yeah, that just looks weird.  so, even though i had neatly attached the collar and wanted to quit, i detached them and reattached them, taking out an inch off the top of the dress' bodice.  another good consequence of this action was that the armholes were also shortened and thus the sides of my bra no longer peeked out.  hurrah!

all in all, i am pleased with the dress.  i don't have any collared dresses.  i like the pleating detail (even though making them is such a pain!).  ooh, i also love the vintage button i used at the collar... gifted from carin, my colleague who also gave me this fabric!

i'm going to wear it on tuesday, when my spring intensive course presents the flags we've been sewing all this week...  yes, i've been teaching sewing lessons at school all this week instead of math!  it's been SO much fun!  stay tuned for a pic of me in the dress!!

cupcakes as incentive

last night, michelle and i made dinner together... ie. she made dinner and i made dessert.  black bottom cupcakes!  so easy to make and they always come out good!

my friend jackie is visiting on saturday, so i'll be sending her home with plenty for her kiddos!!!  got that, jackie?  i've got cupcakes!!!  come and get'em!

on the bunks homefront, i just remembered this hilarious message that i sent bunks via his bedding shipment:  "happy birthday, bad boy bunny!  from: mommypants"  hahahahhahaha.  i crack myself up!

and i end with a picture of said bad boy bunny climbing into the last 10 lbs of his 50 lb hay bale.  bunny buffet!

brownies and a snafu

everyone could use some butterscotch brownies.  they're probably my favorite dessert of all time.  when i 1st took this batch out of the oven, they were gooey.  probably too gooey:

so, i put them back in the oven and rebaked!  i find that this tends to result in overly dry baked goods (i had taken them out for several hours and then realized how raw they were when i went to cut them).  however, these stayed chewy!

bunks gets tired of all these chocolate goods.  he loves when i make banana bread or pies because then he benefits from any fruit bits that i drop on the floor.

i'm currently taking a break between parent teacher conferences.  bad news... just realized last night that my blue zipper is not navy, so i have to wait until after conferences to rush to the store before it closes to get the right zipper!  noooooo, my dress likely will not be done on time for tomorrow, my last day of conferences!  fingers crossed!

parent teacher conferences dress?

this is the newest project on the docket:  simplicity 1755.  leanne marshall, the designer of this pattern, was the season 5 winner of project runway.  she's brilliant.  her designs are intricate!  i'm planning on making the style of the gold dress, but at the length of the plaid one.  so, essentially i'm making the plaid part of the middle dress, but with a collar and without the sleeves.

i'm using this vintage fabric that my colleague carin gave me from her mother's stash!

this project is taking forever!  why?  well remember how i described leanne's patterns as being intricate?  well, look at this panel of pleats...

there are 8 total panels of pleats (6 along the skirt, 2 along the neckline).  ahhhhh!!!!!  let's hope i finish by next thursday!

lucky dog

yes, i made a stocking for a dog.  jimmy's got one lucky dog.  we all know how long it takes me to sew anything, and few friends have benefited from my laborious hobby.  even bunks hasn't gotten anything from me yet!  instead of cross-stitching just her initial, i decided to stitch her whole name, since 3 letters wasn't going to kill me.  here is the cross-stitching fabric, all centered and ready.

once her name was stitched, i pulled out the white threads one at a time so that just the letters remained!

the final result was pretty cute.  i'm not that big on quilting, but these stockings are manageable.

i've now realized that you don't really see the backs of stockings, so i took it easy this time and just used doggie flannel leftover from jimmy's flannel pants.  "woof ruff woof ruff"

i made a little tab so that jimmy could hang the stocking for mia from his fireplace mantel:

and inside, more woof ruff flannel with some extra owl flannel way inside!  like with liz's stocking, i also stitched down the inside lining so that it wouldn't wiggle around.  that step is easily my least favorite in this whole project.  it's so tedious and i often stab myself from the blind hand-sewing.

merry christmas, mimi!  i'm not a fan of dogs, but you're ok!  bunks agrees!

valentine's bunnies

now that i am the faculty advisor to student council, i get roped into all baking endeavors.  the kids decided to make valentine's day a day of good deeds.  of course, this included handing out free candy and baked goods.  since i still have 20 lbs of flour from a costco run, many bunny cookies were made!  here were the cream of the crop:

medium well:

do you like your bunnies well-done?  hehehe.  i saved these for me...  sorry kids!

another snowpacalypse?

supposedly we're getting another blizzard in nyc...  well, bunks is ready!