my bday labelmaker!

i finalllllllly opened the labelmaker jimmy got for my bday last year.  it's pretty fancy!  fancier than the labelmaker that my colleague had!

check out my new "buttons" label on my shelf of sewing stuff.  the label-less tin to its right is the gift tags tin, which got a label shortly afterward.  i'd take a pic of it, but i already packed it in a box for my move next monday!  YIPPEE!

grad gifts

i got invited to a graduation party for these twin brothers one of whom i taught last year and the other i taught for 2 years.  for alex:  "alex, in case you ever need to know the 1st 100 digits of e in a jiffy... -helen"  ah, yes, admire my fine wrapping job!

e, euler's number, is quite useful in physics, math (obviously), and business (alex's intended major in college).  i had 2 pics of bunks leftover from christmas cards that i sent years ago.  i wrote out the 1st 100 digits of e around the border of the mat that i made.

 "jarred, should you ever wonder what the 1st 100 digits of pi are... -helen"

pi, a transcendental and irrational number, is also super useful...  jarred hasn't quite figured out what he wants to major in (he's changed his mind 3 times this year already)... but i'm sure he'll use pi at some point!  these are really the 1st 100 digits of pi:

congrats, class of 2012!

mille grazie!

some star jars for my 2 italian teachers, franca and chiara.  i'm going to miss them!

graduation dress

my june garment was one heck of a project.  right after i finished my may garment, i dove right in, hoping to complete a new dress for my students' graduation, friday june 8!  i used this fabric (that is stain resistant!), that i purchased from g street fabrics near dc years ago,

and vogue1174

this project was no small feat.  i had my serger and sewing machine on at the same time and my apartment looked like this:

 poor bunks was bored out of his wits:

the bodice required my usual adjustment:  skinnier up top, wider at the waist

putting the bodice together was a huge pain in the butt.  there were 7 pieces for just the front half and i wanted to make sure that the pattern continued smoothly.  also, each piece was split by piping.  ahhhhh!!

the pattern made the skirt super long.  we all know i'm not that modest... so off came 2.5 inches.

around back, i lined up the fabric so that the zipper split a reed right down the center!  suffice it to say, cutting fabric for this project probably took 5 hours...  sigh.  

the inside of the bodice had a foundation (as vogue calls it), otherwise known as a modern day corset.  sewing boning is WORSE than sewing in zippers.  too bad there were 6 pieces of boning to sew in.  ack. 

the final result was quite stunning, if i do say so myself.  the kids were thrilled that i finished (many heard about this project), as were the few teachers who i told.  here's a pic of em and i outside independence hall, after graduation.  i had cute gold wedges on, but got tired from walking in them, so here unfortunately this pic is of me in gold sandals.   

we finished, bunks!  we finished!

now off to finish dad's shirt that was for xmas, his birthday, chinese new year, and now father's day.  oops.  i'm a terrible daughter

tiered cake for sonija and b

sonija and bernardo came to visit for the holiday weekend!!  i made them a tiered devil's food cake with caramel frosting.

"make a tiered cake" was on my 30th bday bucket list.

not sure if this cake counts towards that, seeing as it's quite ugly...

 however, it was DELICIOUS!

o is for ostentatious

i kinda lost track of time and didn't realize that may was nearly over when i started this shirt.  oops.  anyway, i used the "dark secrets" blouse pattern from "twinkle sews."

  

the shirt was meant to loose and billowy, with poofy balloon sleeves.  however, the pattern didn't account for a shortie like me, and thus the sleeves were like bat-wings.  ie, when i raised my arm, the whole shirt lifted up.  also like a flying squirrel.  not ideal for a teacher like me.

thus, i took in the sides a bit, and actually cut out sleeves.  instead of black swiss dot silk chiffon, as recommended by the pattern, i opted for a black swiss dot cotton.  no thanks to sewing with silk.  the neckline had pretty latticework with gold studs at the intersections.

the balloon sleeves were borderline ridiculous, but i'm secretly a huge fan.  i wore the top today, on my last day of school, with april's chevron-striped skirt!

'round back, there's a keyhole at the neck, with a cute gold button. 

i only got 2 compliments from kids, hehe.  oh well.  i dig it.  i'll wear it out this weekend!

stay tuned for june's garment, which hopefully will be a new dress, in time for graduation...

happy mother's day!

dear gmommy,
i baked these for you.  hopefully helen doesn't eat them before you arrive. (oops, she got to 2 already!)

love,

(the new phone takes such awesome photos!)

muffins for the fam

i've recently been SWAMPED at work.  end of the year, finals impending, whew.  and then this week i was hit with a massive cold.  bleh.  but this weekend the fam got together in my wee apartment to celebrate mother's day early (we always beat the crowds with our holidays hehe).  dad, jimmy, and i went on a 50 mile bike ride... i almost didn't make it back.  apparently we forgot to bring snacks and i totally ran out of blood sugar at about 35 miles.

then saturday night, i baked squash muffins so that we'd have a nice breakfast the next morning.

dad loved them apparently, even asking for seconds.

next up on the sewing docket:  black swiss dot blouses for mom and i (soooo excited to start this!), and still working on dad's xmas/bday/(and now) father's day shirt.  oops.  i don't really enjoy repeat projects...  this will be shirt #4 for him  =)

3 years!

today marks the 3-year anniversary of this blog! may there be many more years of sewing, baking, crafting, and bunnying to come!

bunks, IN his hay bag. hehehe

more stash-busting pj shorts

the fabric scrap stash-busting continued this weekend.  this shooting stars fabric is from one of sarah's old dresses that she accidentally shrank in the wash.  the fabric was super soft.  

the faux drawstring bow, so i can tell which side is the front:

leftover fabric from mom's mother's day shirt in 2011!

the cutie bow:

then, today i made some spring cookies!  bunnies, shamrocks, an easter egg (in the far back right), and maple leaves!  (i have the most random cookie cutters)

i know, i'm not the greatest icer.  at least they're better than last year's bunny new year cookies!  i made 2 colors of cookies, pink and green!

scrap-busting pair of pj shorts #1

i had leftover flannel from making jimmy's christmas pj shorts, and since em can fit my pj shorts pattern (i'm just realizing that folks similarly-sized to me are the ones who end up as recipients of all my random sewing projects... i should branch out), i made her a pair!  she loves dogs.  i don't.  i only tolerate them.  now if only i can find myself some bunny flannel...

my usual faux drawstring tie to differentiate between the front and back of the shorts hehe

chevron skirt and a new pie!

i wore my chevron skirt to work today! i also am in dire need of a haircut. how should i cut it? hmmm...

squash pie!

completed: an april skirt

i finished my april garment! the coral red chevron stripes skirt! check out how beautifully those stripes lined up! holla!

i used more super shiny turquoise cheong-sam fabric for the lining. to help keep the skirt zipped, i made a small button and loop closure for the top of the zipper. (sometimes my skirts unzip, i'm just scandalous like that) to celebrate the end of this quicky project, i actually made a decent dinner: chicken broth with pho noodles, chinese broccoli, fish balls, and mom's pork dumplings! (ok, maybe i make this every night hehehehhe)

i'll be debuting the skirt tomorrow at school, in the 89 degree weather that is forecast for philly tomorrow! oh, and did i mention i'm moving to nyc????

april skirt

with flowers and trees in bloom (ugh, allergies abound), it was time to make a bright and cheery april skirt. i used the same pattern as for my tan and navy paisley skirt, "little black skirt" from "twinkle sews," but omitted the bottom pleats and lengthened each skirt's panel. i used this red and white striped canvas fabric from clearance on an online fabric store, folded the pattern in half, and made chevron stripes! (chevron stripes are a pain to make because you have to make sure that the tilt of your lines is the same on the left and the right.) for the waistband, i was torn between vertical stripes or horizontal...

but after comparing both with the fabrics adjacent, it was clear that vertical waistband stripes would be a eyesore! here's the back panel sewn with the darts for my booty! i had to hang the fabric overnight to force the bias to drape symmetrically. to be continued tonight...