painting, flowers, and dresses

Hello again,
Yesterday was a sort of down day for the kids. Mostly because I had decided that it was finally time to paint our bathroom. We have been discussing different paint colors and whether or not to change the tile, for the last six months. When we started contemplating doing a complete remodel we knew we had gone too far. So, we nixed everything but the paint, and chose one that matched the existing tile.

I know these are not the best pictures, and the floor needs a good scrubbing. But I wanted to show how well it matched the tile. Although, I feel the need to point out that I hate this tile. I have always hated this tile, and nothing else we do to the bathroom will make me like the tile even a little. I know that it is considered retro and many people love the look of it. I don't. Because, years ago I lived in an old, run down building in the Washington Heights area of Manhattans. This was the tile of the entry way in that building. This tile will always remind me of "abandoned" cars slowly being striped to their frame before being hauled away by the NYPD, Men yelling sexual suggestive things as women walk down the street, and the one time our street was blocked off because of a double homicide. But, it is just tile and it is in a bathroom and renovations are expensive and time consuming so, it stays and I paint.

Something else, I broke down and made the satin rose:

Isn't it pretty?
If I use it, this is what I think I would do:

Sash, rose, simple yet elegant.

but, the other way yells "fancy, princess, frothy, castle"

Decisions decisions.

Feel free to give me your input. I am showing them to the bride tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in,

XO Lue Lue Ellabee

running around with kids

Good morning my lovely people,

Yesterday was a day full of errands. We ran to Jo-Ann's, the bank and CVS all in one go. The kids usually love going with me to Jo-Ann's because the get to choose one craft (I do have veto rights so they never get anything too big or expensive). Every once and a while I also let them choose fabric for pajamas, a skirt, or quilt. This time my son chose fabric for a Halloween quilt and my daughter chose a book of patterns for 18" dolls-- I gave her my American Girl doll, Molly, last year. 

I have an alternative idea for the dress. I cut out some more roses and pinned them around the waist, I really kind of love it. Now I can't decide which I like better.

This:

 or this:

The bride is visiting tomorrow, so I think I will put it to her (although she may just tell me to do what ever I like better).  I asked my love, but he was no help. He didn't like the roses, he thinks the frayed edges make it look unfinished (no, I did not point out that it wasn't finished). *Sigh*  I suppose I could take the extra satin, cut it into strips, sew those into tubes, twist them into rose shapes, and stitch those on to the dress....hmmm. I could do that, I still have a week before we fly out. The precious dead line of tomorrow, was because bride was going to be hanging out with us, and I wanted to show/give her these things. Fortunately, they don't REALLY need to be done until the 18th (17th for the shawl because it needs time to block).

Now to get ready for the rest of the day.

Ta ta for now

XO Lue Lue Ellabee

progress...

Hello my loves,

Yesterday was a day full of progress. First, I finished the last of the camping laundry and dishes. And there are only 3 things left to put away (my love's hiking backpack is his responsibility). Second, the kiddos and I enjoyed a walk/scooter to the library. I walked they rode their scooters. I live in an urban area and prefer scooters because they are slower than bikes but faster than walking for kids (also they compact nicely). My daughter has her own library card and insists on using it. Unfortunately, since I am trying to wean my son from the stroller, this translates into me having to carry up to 30 books (the max you can borrow is 15). So this time she had to bring her own book bag, she got mostly paperbacks so her bag was not too heavy.

After the library, I worked on the dress. I hand stitched the bodice lining to the skirt with a simple whip stitch:

Since it is on the inside I didn't care too much about the appearance, but I do care that it stays together. 

I also cut out and (mostly) sewed the over skirt and sash. The sash is not sewen to the inside of the over skirt because I realized I have a couple problems that need fixing. One is, the part of the sash that goes around the waist is not stiff enough. I am going to have to get some inner-facing so it does not bunch. The second issue is, the over skirt is kind of heavy and the dress is slick, so it tends to slide down. I am thinking of tacking the skirt to the dress on either side for the ceremony, then if she wants it off for the reception I can just snip the threads. Other than that, I think it is starting to look amazing! It is almost exactly how I pictured it in my head:

 

I am also now planing on adding this little detail for fun:


It is one of the roses from the fabric I used for the over skirt. If I have time I may also make a clip from it to go in my daughter's hair. The possibilities for the extra stuff are endless.

Finally, I managed 3 more rows in the shawl. I have 26 to go ( that is front and back and only 10 deal with the nups, either making them or purling them together). I may have to up my game if I want it blocked and ready to go. Also I am getting anxious to see the final product, because even on the needles I think it looks pretty.

 

Thanks for checking in,

XO Lue Lue Ellabee

adventues in camping

Hello all my lovely people,
Did you miss me? I hope your weekend was a good one. And for all my fellow Americans: I hope you had a super awesome 4th of July! I am afraid we missed the fireworks this year (last year we saw some really good ones at my mother-in-law's). We were having an extra fun four days swimming, sailing, and camping here:

We were lucky enough to have extra family members join us for a couple days. My husband's father, step-mom, and sister all drove out to play. The water was cold but the sun was hot, so jumping in felt really good. The sail boat was my love's birthday present last year (although he was the one who found it on Craig's list, went to check it out, and bought it. I did agree to it). It is a really fun little Hobie cat that is perfect for this trip. It is great on small to medium size lakes but any bigger or more crowded and it stops being fun.

I actually got more knitting done than I thought I would. With the extra people I as able to sit down, relax, have a chat, and knit. I finished the fingerless mitts for my girl. They are extra-long, reaching almost all the way to her arm pits. This will come in handy on chilly mornings. Also, I now have the hang of the nupps on the lily of the vally border for the swallowtail shawl. I worried that these little details were going to be the bane of my existence (and wrists) for the next two weeks. Now I feel hopeful that it will be done by next Wednesday!

Wish me luck

XO Lue Lue Ellabee                                                                                                        

camping, eggs, and knitting

Check this out, we have almost everything packed and ready for our annual camping trip.  That pink thing with the fin is my daughter's life jacket (look close and you can see my son's Nimo one=D. ) I am getting more excited by the minute.

I am going to the store for last minute food stuffs; apples, cucumbers, cheese etc. This brought up a question about taking eggs camping. I am pretty comfortable bringing hard boiled eggs. We can stick them in the cooler and then put them in a bag in the cold lake. Because I am American, I hesitate with raw eggs. My neighbors raise chickens and I am perfectly fine leaving any eggs they give us on the counter for a few days, but store bought eggs....well that gets a little more complicated. So the question is do I go over to my neighbor and beg for a few eggs; take some of these

 organic unpasteurized eggs, treat them the same as hard boiled, and hope for the best; or just hard boil some and leave it at that?
We are also going to try bringing milk for the first time. With it frozen it should stay good longer in just a cooler and it can double as an ice pack.

The last thing I need to pack is my knitting. This is what I am thinking about bringing:

You should recognize the blue in the middle as the shawl I have been working on, the pattern is Evelyn Clark's swallowtail shawl. The purple will be fingerless gloves for my daughter, one is almost done --it just needs the sewing up. I am thinking of turning the green into Softsweater's sunlight shawl for sad people, The mitts are quick and easy and the sunlight shawl is simple stockinette that can be done in the car and semi-dark. But, the swallowtail has a dead-line. I know I can't bring all three camping but I can bring them and then leave one in the car, the question is which one?

Well, I must get back to packing up, we leave tonight.
I will let you know how everything went on Monday.
Ta ta for now
XO Lue Lue

mini pumcho muffins, a garden and a dress

Hello my loves,

The last couple of days have been full of friends, family, and creating I will share with you a few of the things that I have been up to. 

First, I spent part of yesterday afternoon mixing up four batches of pumpkin bread. The first two I turning into loafs for neighbors, The second two I have been making in to these:

                                                                         Mini pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. You may ask why I felt the need to make so much. Well the pumpkin I used was a quart jar of mash I made this past winter with some of the pumpkins we grew in our garden. I still have the equivalent of 12 cups in my freezer. One batch of pumpkin bread (or soup, cookies, even pie) only takes 1 cup.

This is our garden now:             

I am starting to worry that I might not use it all before the next batch of pumpkins, zucchini, or apples are ready.

The second thing I did was put in the zipper and stitch up the back of my daughter's dress:

                           

 I know, the first picture looks like she is in time-out, but I just wanted to show you how well it came together in the back. I love invisible zipper. I even have a special foot for my sewing machine. I really feel it is coming together nicely. I only need to stitch the lining to the skirt (I think I will at least baste it by hand) Then cut out and sew the over-skirt and sash.

The shawl is also coming along nicely. I have just started the first line of the lace border.

Finally, we have been getting things ready for our annual 4th of July family camping trip. For the last two years my love and I have taken the kiddos up to a smallish lake in the mountain to go camping as a family. I am not normally a camping/hiking sort of girl. But, for this particular lake I make an exception. It is one of my favorite places in all the world, well all the world where I have been. I haven't actually traveled that much. Anyway, I love this trip and always have fun getting ready for it.

Ta ta for now,
XO
Lue Lue Ellabee

pot pie :-D

Well it is Saturday morning and daddy has taken kiddos on the most exciting adventure of getting the car's oil changed. So I am using these few minuets of quiet to show you what we did for dinner last night.

I had made a promise of chicken pot pie and as I was getting everything ready I realized we were out of Bisquick. My usual is the biscuit topped pie rather than making a pie crust. Well, 5pm was to late to pack up the kids and drive to the store. I quickly realized making pie crust would be faster. That is when inspiration struck, well....that is when my daughter asked if her pie could be in this:

Yes, I have heart shaped corning ware. Two to be precise. I got them years ago when my love and I were first married. The children discovered them a few weeks ago and have been using them as cereal bowls.
But it gets better because I have this:

Why yes, that is a pocket pastry maker thingy (I love stuff like this, I am absolutely one of those moms that uses cookie cutters on her kids pbjs).

And this is the final product:

I don't think a picture of food has ever made me so happy =D.
Of course, daddy and I didn't have anything quiet so exciting:

This may become a regular thing.

till next time
XO Lue Lue Elabee