Tombstones and Lemonade

So far this has been a busy, but fun, summer around here. Recently my sister and I hopped in the car and started driving. Our goal was to check out some of the farms west of I-94 and take some pictures. However, we became distracted. We are both into the gothic and macabre (a product of growing up on a steady diet of scary movies and books thanks to older cousins), so of course when we passed an old cemetery we stopped there. It is always fun to see old tombstones and wonder about the lives the people led.












After we got home I decided that some strawberry lemonade was in order.

Strawberry Lemonade
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
Juice from 4-6 lemons
6 Strawberries
4-6 cups cold water

Mix 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in small saucepan. Smash up the strawberries with a fork and add to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves completely. Let cool completely.

Mix the strawberry simple syrup with the juice from 4-6 lemons and stir well. Strain mixture into a pitcher. Add 4 cups cold. At this point I like to taste it to see how sweet it is, and ass more water to taste. I don't like it too sweet so I usually end up adding about two more cups of water.

Thinking about school

I am 25 years old. I graduated in 2009 from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee with a BS in Clinical Laboratory Sciences - Medical Technology. Technically, it was what I went to school for. That, though, is only because all my interests didn't seem like they had well paying jobs waiting for me at the end. While I am glad that I took the path I did (I like quite comfortably and can fully support myself), it never really was what I liked or ever dreamed about doing.

Now, however, I am thinking about going back to school. This time I am looking at MIAD, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. It is very intimidating, though. Not only because they are pretty selective, but also because while I have a huge interest and passion about art, I feel that I am not very good at it. Of course my own doubts are not going to stop me. The only things that are going to stop me from trying are possibly the money issue (I have lots of loans from my first go-round with school) or time, since I am not in a position to be able to scale back my hours at work (see previously mentioned school loan!)

So I am going to spend this spring working on my portfolio and taking to some school advisers about my options. Hopefully that will mean lots of reasons to be artsy and I will have more stuff to share here!

In terms of sewing news, I have decided to go with Very Easy Vogue V8495; one of the patterns I mentioned in my last post. It looked pretty easy! I only have one more pattern piece to cut out, and then I get to start cutting fabric. Hopefully I will be awake enough tonight when I get home from work to work on it a little.

I also have a confession to make. I am obsessed with underwear. Bras, panties, lingerie, I love it all. Perhaps it is because it makes me feel feminine and sexy. Who knows. All I know is that as soon as I am done with that shirt, any extra fabic is going to McCall's 6128 (view E, the black and white one):



I bought some stretch lace the is frilly for a more girly look, and I also bought a stencil and some paint by Simply Screen to try out as well. If that goes well there will be no end to my underwear making!

My head is so full of ideas. Too bad there always seems to be too little time and money to get them all out into the world!

Sewing Failure 001

I had to use the number 001 because I am sure that my number of sewing mistakes will easily number into the hundreds. I am probably even being generous with that estimate.

I have never sewn clothes before. Well, I have sewn an apron that I am very proud of and I have sewn a Halloween costume for my sister, but that had a lot of flaws in it. So of course, when I begin to sew "real" clothes, aka clothes I actually plan to wear, I of course start with shiny, slippery material and a pattern that doesn't say 'easy' on it. Granted I am sure the pattern doesn't matter as much as much as my fabric choice, but considering I have basically no sewing experience I figure an easy pattern would have been a better place to start.

I choose Simplicity 2283 for my pattern because I really like the slouchy/cowly front it has going on. Plus I liked the yoke detail. I was going to sew option A.



The fabric I picked was in the dance and swimwear section at JoAnn's. It was stretchy and shiny and I figured it would make a good going out shirt. Probably not the best option.




So I have decided to put away that project for now and work on an "easy" pattern with some plain old non-slippery jersey knit. I have been thinking about the following two patterns:


Very Easy Vogue V8581


Very Easy Vogue V8495


I already have the fabric bought. So now I just need to gather the willpower to try try again. I had a four day weekend, so I was hoping to head back to work with something that at least resembled a shirt, but I guess I will have to hope for better luck next time. Perhaps I will begin tomorrow!

Fashion I Can Afford

Recently I have found a couple of discount fashion sites through Facebook. I contained myself and did not begin screaming because I always try to be considerate of my neighbors. My co-workers are always telling me I have champagne taste on a beer budget. They are not completely wrong, but I think it would at least be the expensive imported beer I can afford. I am not rich by any means (I play the lotto with my dad to help make that dream come true), but I am fortunate enough to have a job that allows me to live comfortably with some room to play with now and again.

There are four sites in particular that I have been looking at. My favorite site, so far, is Ideeli.com. Granted this is based solely on items and price, as I have not Ordered anything yet. I will admit it, I only found this site the day before, but obsession hits hard and fast when it comes to me and clothes.

There are two items that I have been lusting over this morning:



YOUNG FABULOUS & BROKE : Black Zora Top

LAILA : Shimmer Dress

I just went shopping this past weekend, though. So despite the good prices on pieces I absolutely love, I am going to have to say no. Especially since I am buying a new pair of glasses; something which I have needed/wanted for longer than I care to admit.

Tomorrow is my day off. In between hanging out with my sister, getting sushi with my cousin and his girlfriend, and going out to a black tie party with a friend from work I hope to find some time to make some place-mats. I have some great fabric that I think would look really good. Plus I haven't sewn anything for a while and I am getting the itch.