Spring in my Step

Hey! So, first of all, welcome to my new followers! After participating in Julia Bobbin's Mad Men Dress Challenge 2, I got new peeps following me! (Yes, I just said peeps.) You have no idea how giddy I got when I saw that. Like, I did a dance. Hurrah!

So onto the new goods. TONS of stuff has been happening in the garden that I am dying to tell you about but it will have to wait because I find that my plant photos need more tweaking to look like real life than others on my camera, and Photoshop takes time. I am also supposed to be working on a quilt but, honestly, with the complete lack of free time I have currently with this my new job, it is just not happening. So maybe in the near future. It depends on what my future at this school looks like.

But this, this I can talk about and have it be quick. It hardly took any time to make!

After the dress challenge, I decided that I should start using some of my fabric stash to make some cake. Since moving into this new teaching position, I have realized that I have lots of dresses, skirts, and dress pants to wear to work, lots of cardigans and two nice blazers, but no T shirts for underneath (I don't really like wearing blouses or fancy button ups).

So after seeing a T that requires no sleeve set-ins on The Quirky Peach, I went out and bought me a pattern.

Although it was an easy make, I took my sweet time and finished it in a week. (!!!!!!!!!) Relax, relax, it probably took about 5-6 hours from cutting out the pattern and pressing the fabric to finish. Having said that, it is only because I wanted to be very thorough with this make. I wanted the topstitching to be neat and I didn't want any sort of puckering or anything.

I made a straight up size 12. I think it is a bit too big overall, and I still have that damn neck gape thing happening, especially when this is paired with a cardigan, but that's okay. I'll still wear it.

Like my earrings? A friend of mine made them. They are STUNNERS.

Because I used a woven cotton instead of a knit like Sally, it kind of looks like a potato sack unless styled the right way. I know I look like a bumble bee when I wear it with the black ribbon and pants, but it at least accentuates my waist a lot more, which, you know, is nice.

I've already worn this bad boy three or four times since finishing it in the last week of April. That's a good thing.

I think I'll probably make it again, but since the school year is winding down, I probably won't make another one right away. I want to maybe make this my first foray into knits. That or I'd like to alter the pattern extensively before a reboot. PLUS, I still have my navy blue and polka dot fabric, AND I went fabric shopping this past weekend. Best part? I used a gift card from my birthday (like eight months ago) so I got 4 metres for like $9! JUST WAIT TIL YOU SEE IT.

In other news, I joined twitter. I'm not really sure why to be honest, because I joined a week ago and still haven't tweeted. I don't really feel like the world should know my every thought (a.k.a. what I had for breakfast, when I exercise, and links to pictures of cats, you know, just the important stuff), but I can't help but notice that some very friendly ladies in the sewing blogosphere have twitter accounts and geeze, I'd like to be friends with the cool kids. So if you want, tweet at me @carleemct? Is that even how you say it? I am not even that old but man, I just don't know what's going on haha. All this new fan-dangled technology!

OH! And just so you know, I took these on my front porch. Every time someone walked or drove by I tried to nonchalantly look like I was talking to the dog or something so I didn't look crazy. Eventually, I gave up since my neighbours probably already thought I was crazy and just decided to give 'er. So here is me making an arse of myself for your entertainment, in front of complete strangers:

I have no idea what I'm doing.

Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this mini make. This are about to get crazy up in here for May. Musical, stag and doe, paperwork galore, kickfit instructing, renovations, painting, blah, blah, blah. Things *should* go back to normal come June, and I'll be able to catch up on all the posts that are waiting to be made.

In the meantime, enjoy the nice weather (if where you live has nice weather currently)! Toodles :)

{Enjoy}

Grow Write Guild Prompt #3: Ch-Ch-Changes

I can't believe I'm two weeks behind in my Grow Write Guild prompts! Aye Carumba! Well, yeah I can actually. Things have been nutty around here. But that is okay. I'll survive.

So in case you haven't heard, for Grow Write Guild Prompt #3, we are to write about are garden RIGHT NOW. So, I'm going to unplug myself from the wall and take you outside so that we can discuss.

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Alright. Here I am sitting on my side porch steps on this beautiful sunny day. I'm going to try my best to do this one without photos since last time my post was all photos. I should also say that two weeks ago, my garden definitely did not look like this. We have been having a proper spring for the first time in ages, and so things have been growing. Also, I bought plants and I started planting my goods this past weekend. So oh well, deal with it. :P

To my left is what I affectionately call my "flower" garden. It is a small space, about 7 feet by 2 feet. In it, I have two yarrow plants that I originally planted at my parents, but have since transferred over to here. They are lush and green and starting to spread more than last year. I also have the green Chicks and Hens that Lourdes let me swipe from her mom's garden last year. It has produced a number of offspring, of which, a few have been plucked and planted elsewhere in this garden. I have three reddish-brown Chicks and Hens, which I bought a few weeks ago, as well as A new super clustered bright green one, and a clustered red tipped one, which I picked up this past weekend with Trevor from our favourite greenhouse. I also have a newly acquired Stonecrop that seems to be making itself right at home.

Now comes the interesting bits. While at Canadian Tire last year, I saw that they had some "Ontario Natives" plants hanging around. I picked out the best two plants, but that's not saying much. They were pretty sad looking. I bought a Mayapple because I had read that it is an edible wild plant (I have been really interested in foraging recently and have been able to identify a number of plants out on hikes!). I was pretty sure it died last year, but low and behold this weird thing had popped up in the soil about a week ago. It is now standing tall with six lovely leaves. I can't wait until it flowers! I hope it bears fruit! Also sitting rather handsomely in this garden are some fuzzy purple flowers. This too was one of those Canadian Tire destined to die plants. I really did think I killed this one too. Don't ask me what it is. I have no idea. Until today, all that was there was five dainty flowers, perched upon their stems. Today, one leaf has decided to make an appearance. Whatever this thing is, it is welcome back next year.

Above this garden is my kitchen porch planter box. Nothing is standing out of here except for sticks to denote what will soon (hopefully) be asparagus and green onions. I hope both the asparagus and the green onions take over this planter box in the most unruly ways.

To my right is another garden, about a foot and a half by about 11 feet. In order of closeness to me: a peony plant is sprouting up (I swear it was 6 inches shorter this morning!); three garlics, a foot high; two sticks denoting future onions; an unruly rose bush that has yet to produce a rose for me (not that I care for the flower much); four more garlics; something I did not plant, maybe Hostas?; a fresh little golden raspberry stalk; a garden gnome; a single pretty yellow tulip; loads of red raspberry leaves springing up from the ground and loads more on the plant stalk I left in over the winter.

To my "two o'clock" is the garden that we dug up last year. The place where the tomatoes took over. It is barren. I haven't gotten around to planting here yet! But I will!

In front of this, three black mismatched containers are barren also, but they hold more onions-to-be.

Shall I walk to the front garden window box? I shall!


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What do we have here? Oh hello, peppermint! How are you chocolate mint? Howdy banana mint! What's shakin' spearmint? Sup chives?

And under that, not even in a garden, just loitering from the previous owner in my "lawn" (mud patch), four beautiful red tulips and a spattering of daffodils.

Sigh.............tis spring.........   :)


And now....I must go clean some stuff up, get crackin' on my school stuff, and try to squeeze in my current house project.

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

{And enjoy this lovely tune.}

Hungry Like the Wolf.

So, things are going to be updated rather slowly here for a while. I've got a full-time job, a part-time job, and I'm putting on a musical at a different school (plus possibly organizing a tote bag sewing workshop at my current school, while trying to sew a quilt in a short time frame). I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong, but I've got priorities, and right now, posting is pretty low on that list (feeding myself is pretty high). Having said that, I do have a few projects completed that I can post when I do have a spare moment here and there, so you can't get rid of me that easy!
MUAHAHAHAHAHA! :)

Here is a little refashioning project from about a month ago. I pulled this beauty out of my "Drama teacher suitcase of costumes". I bought this beaut for a bad-clothing themed bowling night. Needless to say, I succeeded in having bad clothing:

KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!

So, now you are probably like, "WTF, Carlee? What are you possibly going to do with that.....besides set it on fire?" You'll see!

First, I ripped where the side seams met the peplum, including the side seam on the peplum. Then I turned it inside out, tried it on, and pinned where it needed to be taken in (especially at the waist), grading out to the hips.

Once I pinned it, I sewed the peplum back together, sewed it into the side seam as I sewed the side seams back together, and I removed the excess.

I took the hem up a lot, and well. THAT'S IT.


...................Hold the phone. WHAT?

Yup. That's all I did to this beast.

So, you wore that hideous thing outside?

Yup.

Oh good gawd!

Oh wait, I forgot to tell you. It was for an 80's themed stag and doe:

Heck YES.

Oh, and don't forget your boombox purse!!!!

 I know. Ridiculous. So there you have it. A little piece of the eighties, just for you.

See you (hopefully) soon!

{Love this one}