Sew & Tell - Estella's Robe

Estella took a robe class at The Sewing Workshop a while ago, and I finally got a chance to see it. So this is the famous robe from "the famous robe class." I say "famous" because quite a number of people came to shop for their materials at Peapod for this class. Everyone looked like they were on a mission for four yards of fabric and I was wondering how they had turned out. Estella was kind enough to come back to show me her robe. This print was one of my favorites (sorry, no longer available) and she looks pretty relaxed in it. I know it would have looked more natural if the photo was taken in her living room :-) Thanks, Estella!

Class Picnic Blouse

OMG, this combo of the blouse and shorts are the cutest thing I've ever sewn. No, I'm not exaggerating. I finished the blouse last night. Love it, love it, love it! I'm almost done with the shorts too. I won't be humble about it. They will wow you.

Class Picnic Blouse & Shorts

I started to transfer the pattern pieces for Oliver + S' new pattern, Class Picnic Blouse & Shorts. I just love their naming. It represents the style perfectly . The first thing I do before sewing is to trace the original pattern pieces on a tracing paper. I never cut my original patterns. Keeping the original pattern as is gives you the second chance. If the size you've made doesn't work, you can make it again in a different size. I usually get a roll of paper from an art supply store, but now those sewing tracing papers are available at Peapod for $14 per roll (a pretty fat roll). Place the transfer paper on the pattern pieces and trace the lines as I did in this photo. Then cut them to be placed on the fabric. I've completed cutting the fabric pieces today and hopefully I can show you the finished products in a day or two.

Sew & Tell - Yufu's Dresses

There is someone who shares my love for the inky floral print with which I made my Portfolio Top. Yufu made these two matching dresses with the same print for her two girls. Bright colors are fun in children's clothing, but I also love the subtle colors on little kids. Yufu has been making everything in a pair for two sisters, but now she has more fun dressing them as little Shino is walking hand in hand with her big sister. As the younger one walks without getting wobbly, the older one goes to kindergarten next year. Time flies, huh? Now Yufu is looking forward to sewing another dress for Saho's preschool graduation. The pattern is from this book. Good job, Yufu! And thank you girls!

yeah, mom had to bribe the girls to sit still for the photo shoot...

Sherbet Pips

Timeless Summer Dress Class

Debi Cournale Sewing Studio is located just around the corner from Peapod. The July classes are available on Tuesdays. In four three-hour sessions, you will be wearing this pretty dress (in your choice of fabric) to enjoy the summer (or all year around). As she always emphasises that garment sewing is all about the fit, you will learn how to make this dress to perfectly fit your own body. Sign up on her website. She will send you back to Peapod to shop the materials needed. Happy sewing!

Blues

Spring Roadtrip

Well, the Quilt Market was fun to attend, but what I really wanted was an excuse to go on a road trip. I researched for the cost to fly for one and found that it would be about the same if I drove. Hmm, then why not to bring the boy and the dog. Let's all go on a road trip. So then we hit the road! We visited southern Utah two summers ago, but the north was very different. The urban freeways were surrounded by the snowy mountain ranges, and they were so close. It was probably one of the most beautiful urban freeway views I've ever seen. Despite the occasional unpleasant treatments (due to my race), I always meet nice people on the road. This time was no exception. Somewhere in the Nevada desert, I started to worry if we had enough gas to make it to the next town. I knew the tank was three quaters empty when we passed the last service station, but I just thought it would be another one coming soon. With no sign of any life in sight, I was really worried. Then I saw a sign in the distance and was hoping it would be a town coming up. It turned out to be a rest area instead, but I decided to get off the road to ask someone where the next town would be. It would make us feel safer to see other cars too. There were no cars around us. A man told me that the next town would be about 20 miles away. I wasn't sure if we could make it there, but we had no choice so we thanked him for the tip and took off. We went slow to conserve gas. I was so nervous as the gas meter light started to go on and off. Inside the car, the boy and I talked about what to do if we ran out of gas. Help probably wouldn't have come until next day even if I called for road side service. We were miles away from civilization. Then we noticed a pick up truck move to our lane in front of us, but was going very slow. We were joking that they were running out of gas too. That brought us laughter and we stayed positive. We cheered when we saw the sign to lead to the next town. Yes, we were goint to make it. As we pulled over at the gas pump, some guy smiled at me and said, "So you made it." It took me a few seconds to realize it was the guy from the rest area. I had no idea, but he was the guy going slow in front of us. He was making sure we would make it. How sweet is he? We were so thankful. Since earlier that day, a little incident had been bothering me. An incident that I was feeling discriminated against by a stupid man, but the guy on the pick up truck made my day. I was feeling better about this roadtrip. And yup, it was a fun trip.

yeah, salt lake city, here we come...

dash's first road trip...
at this point he had no idea how long he would be in the car...

dash's first snow experience on the way out...in the sierra, nice and sunny...

the first stop to let him stretch himself (nevada)...

a little pet area and the sign reads watch for snakes and scorpions...

on the way home on the former salt lake...

the weather was pretty wild on the way home...first it was super gusty winds...

a little memory left...so long utah...

super gusty winds, rain, and snow in nevada!
it took us a while to realize the rain was actually transforming into snow...

back in california...

it was winter wonderland in the sierra...

we were toally not prepared for this...i got so nervous driving on the snowy road...

we had to get off the road to clear the snow on our sucky wipers...
and dash's first real fresh snow experience...cold and wet...
he wasn't sure what to do first, so he just sat there...

then...yay!

dash: finally! (a view from where we stayed)
you didn't tell me how long it would take to get here.
i had to get up early. no park to play in. no doggie friends to play with.
all i had was skimpy 5 minute walks every couple hours.
is this what you guys call a roadtrip?
and wait, did you just say houston?