In Stitches: Big Winners

In Stitchers,

Take a moment away from your five thousand holiday projects to revel in the joy that is Announcing the Big Winners from this year's In Stitches-along. Go get tea, coffee, a beer - whatever, I'll wait...

...

If you recall, Amy Butler, the woman who created the incredible book from which we've been crafting all year, agreed to judge from all entrants in our Flickr pool and choose two Big Winners to prize with hand-selected fabulousness from her collections.

*hand-sweat*

From the very busting-at-the-seams pool she chose two incredible entries. One to be announced here in Finnyland, one to be announced in AfricanKelliland. And because I can't think of anything else to say to draw this out and make it more dramatic ...

One of the two Big Winners of an Amy Butler hand-picked prize package is...

Rohanknitter and her sassy sushi placemats and napkins!

Ta da!

Phew...I couldn't take any more suspense. Really. Without another beer anyway. I totally just felt like Bob Barker right there. I mean, not with the beer. YOU KNOW.

So, Ms. Rohanknitter, much congrats and, of course, extra nice job on these placemats. They are very perfect and excellent. So much so that you should be receiving a nice prize in the mail very shortly from Amy Butler herself. And, no no, you don't even have to send your address or anything to either of us ATgmailDOTcom because we went ahead and gave it to her already.

IT IS WAY TO YOU RIGHT NOW!

Couldn't you barf from the excitement? Maybe that's just me and my beers, whatever.

Anyhoo, congrats to you and to all of you for sewing along with Kelli and I this year. We've really had fun and *gasp* learned a few things (quilting with masking tape - best thing ever) and are now hatching our evil plans for the 2008 Sew Along with Book To Be Announced which you can vote on right here. Don't you want to just keep sewing along? We do. Obviously.

And lest you think we forgot about the November/December project (sorry, did you think you were off the hook?), we'll be announcing the winner in January along with the new 2008 Sew Along book and ALSO a very special other thing that you do not want to miss because it is so rad. Promise. I'm hand sweating right now just thinking about it.

So, go over to AfricanKelliland (I'll stop calling it that now) and see who the other fancy fabulous winner is. And then vote for your 2008 Sew Along Book of choice here. And then go have a nap because you are probably as exhausted as I am from these big announcements and beers.

Happy Holidays and Sewing Along!
Finny

Institches: Nov/Dec Project - FIYAH!

When Kelli and I decided to call the Nov/Dec project, "Dealer's Choice", I knew exactly what I was going to make.

See, Bubba has been taking his shirts to the dry cleany lately because he, like me, detests ironing in a very enthusiastic manner. To the point where, rather than hanging up shirts out of the dryer (or in my case any clothing at all), the shirts just get left in the dryer to be "warmed up" when one needs to wear them. And while this is an effective method for keeping the major wrinkles out of clothes, it does mean that you're always getting dressed in the kitchen, your collars are doomed to be all crinkled up in an annoying way and your wife (me) gets all bitchy she goes again to throw wet clothes in the dryer and she is met with the same pile of semi-warm, semi-wrinkled man shirts.

I will spare you the details, but there have been some dramatic "discussions" in our house about the logistics of two people separately laundering clothes and how this can be accomplished when the:

A. Dryer is acting as a warming closet.
B. The weekend is only two days long.

Anyhoo, Bubba took it upon himself to devise a much more effective means of achieving wrinkle-free shirts - he packs them up and takes them to the dry cleany to be cleaned and pressed and returned on hangers which can be hung in our closet so getting dressed doesn't have to include "ducking behind the dryer when the neighbor opens their window".

Frankly, I applaud this effort. On a few levels, actually, because I can never get my crap together long enough to gather dry cleanables on any regular schedule even though I have a dry cleaning service at work and even though I have plenty of crap that could use a good press.

Ah well, this is why so many of my clothes come from Target. Land of the machine wash/dry.

So, when I saw him wadding up his shirts and throwing them in the back of the truck, my mind immediately went to the Oversized Laundry Bag pattern in InStitches. What better way to say, "Hey man, thanks for being smarter than me and doing what I should have been doing all along!" than to give him a proper sack in which to carry his dry cleany shirts?

And bless him for giving me a big enthusiastic thumbs up when I suggested it.

I was reassured of the "fun" status of this project when I asked Bubba what kind of fabric he had in mind and he said, "Dunno - how about astronauts or Peppy Le Pew or KC Chiefs or or or...something like that."

I believe it was at this point that I started to drool.

I knew that I was going to get to go to the fabric store and pick out the most fucked up looking patterns that I normally look at and go, "Who would ever buy this and WHAT would they even do with it and how come I have to buy something with pleasing colors and shapes when I could have skeleton pirates and flames??"

Well, I didn't know about the pirates or flames at that point, but I knew I wasn't going to have to be all why don't they have a blue that matches this blue and where do they keep the baby fabric and for gawd's sake where do they keep the damn 10 oz. canvas in this shithole and what not.

Sadly, I did have to do some hunting for 10 oz canvas (btw: no canvas I saw came with a weight in ounces so I just used some I had at home, whatever), but there was very little color matching going on and the only baby fabric I got had pink giraffes on it and is very rad, so everything worked out.

Then I went home and sewed and sewed with the scary ass fabric while watching the 49ers lose (LOSERS) and the Raiders win (LOSERS) and in the end I had a very sweet and awesome Oversized Laundry Bag to present to The Mister who couldn't have looked more pleased. I even customized the bag for his specific use by excluding the bottom portion of the bag to keep the size in check for the Just Shirts type of laundry he'd be handling.

The real beauty came when he stuffed it full of shirts and threw it in the truck. Just like my vision! Except now with pirates! And he also said "yarrrr", I'm sure of it. And I said "Avast ye maitees!" for no particular reason except I'd been staring at pirates all afternoon and could.not.help.myself.

Tell me, are eye-patches still in style? Just you know, because...

InStitches Update: 2008?

Dear Donk,

Dude, right? Every time I go to the Flickr pool I get all verklempt just looking at the number of members. Every time I go there's more! There are so many fancy crafters out there. I KNEW IT. Which makes me feel like less of a weirdo when my Saturday To-Do list consists of "go to the fabric store...go to that beading place...go to Michael's...etc" and I'm excited about it. Anyway, we all know I'm a little bizarre, no need to go on about it I guess.

But that's not even considering my totally shameful star struckedness (this is a word now)! Truth be told, I totally started to hand sweat when Amy said she'd choose AND prize our final winners. Dork, I know. Anyway - you're in good company with all that.

So, there's been that thing in the back of my head, you know, since this year has been so fun and we've made so many groovy things. That thing being - what are we going to do next year?

We must go on. We must make more groovy things.

But which book will supply the patterns and ideas from which we make the groovy things?

I was thinking that one of these might be good choices:

Bend the Rules Sewing
Simple Sewing
Sew U
Simple Gifts to Stitch

But I can't decide. Plus, I was wondering what all you crafters would want to do.

Do you have a new sewing book that is burning a hole in your machine? Have you been, like, totally fantasizing about starting a project from *gasp* another book aside from InStitches and haven't said anything?

Don't worry - totally OK. But tell us! Then maybe we choose it for the 2008 sew along and you don't have to closet-sew like a fiend, all behind closed doors and what not, making your neighbors nervous that you might be one of those "loners who always keeps to themselves" and then ends up killing all the neighborhood squirrels or whatever.

Anyway - take that as you may, but if you have suggestions for a great fabulous sewing book that can stand up to monthly projects, my ineptitude and Kelli's crave for all things embellishy (also a word now), comment and let us know.

We'll announce in January along with the Nov/Dec project winner.

GO.

xo
Finny

InStitches: Nov/Dec

Dear In Stitches Participants,

Hi there! Wiping your brow? Exhausted? Sipping margaritas sewing machine-side after a brutal two-month assignment? We hear ya. We know the patchwork bag wasn’t easy, but hey! We learned a thing or two. For example? Make sure your lining is going the right direction before you sit down to sew that sucker in by hand. This is a mistake that will make you angry at yourself for days. And patchwork looks much, much better once you sew all those suckers together. OR, once you throw it in the trash and start over with a single piece cut to size because you are a patchwork loser. In pieces on your kitchen table? It pretty much always looks like a disaster in the making. Hell, some even skipped the patchwork (see, “some”, not just Finny) and plodded forward with beautiful pieces of fabric as is. (Hence the new mantra for the September/October project: Cheaters never win? Nah, Cheaters Finish Bags.)

But you did it! Many of you completed the bag and learned right along with us. Bravo to you! In celebration of your fabulous tenacity, we are rewarding every patchwork bag submission with a prize because that is how we roll around here - pressies for everyone, even people who hate patchwork. Please email us with your mailing details by November 10th to claim your fabulous prize: africankelli at gmail dot com, finnyknits at gmail dot com

If that wasn’t enough good news, we are sending a handful of submissions during the last year to Ms. Amy Butler herself to pick a few grand prize winners. Ms. Butler will be sending along fabulous goodies from her line to reward a lucky few for their sewing prowess. We are thrilled! (And we will be super jealous if she sends you some of her new fabulous patterns. Hello, Spring wardrobe.)

November/December will once again be a two-month project with the holiday time crunch in mind. It’s dealer’s choice: pick any project from the book and share your mad sewing skills in our Flickr pool. Make it a holiday gift or not. Make a dozen, or just one. It is totally up to you!

Thank you again for playing along. We are excited to announce our new 2008 sewing monthly project January 1.

xoxo,
Finn and Donk

InStitches September/October: Done+

Donk,

It is a good thing that all forces conspired for me to sit down and work on this bag because OMG there was a lot of tedious BS that went into it and had I had even one other thing I could have been doing, I probably would have abandoned this project in the bin and just let you all call me a big loser.

For one thing there was all the quilting. I have never used so much thread to make such a small project. I must have used miles of it. And some of it in the form of useful stitches! So much just gets ripped out and wadded up on the floor or left clinging to an inappropriate place on my clothes (thread pasties, anyone?). It is a sad but amusing waste that keeps Bubba entertained while I yell swears at the sewing machine/pattern/rotary cutter.

And oh, COME ON, how many pages of instructions were there? Um, so many. I almost passed away when I turned the page a second time only to find out there were a full two pages of instructions left in the pattern. What tha? Are we sewing housing complex onto this bag or something? So, so many words.

And, oh, last but not least, all the hand-sewing in all the land just waiting all quietly at the end of the pattern like some feral cat ready to spring out and attack your face and infect you with gnarly kitty cat germs. Real nice, people. Go to the trouble of writing ten pages of friggen pattern instructions only to leave attaching the liner to you and your trusty hand-sewing needle. I will put this out there one more time:

This is work a machine should be doing.

IS THERE NO WAY WE CAN WORK OUT PATTERNS TO AVOID HAND-SEWING BECAUSE I HATE IT MORE THAN WET JEANS CLINGING TO MY LEGS OR NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND THAT THING THAT IS STINKING UP THE WHOLE HOUSE, OK?

Thank you. That is all I ask.

Ironically, I think this is the nicest thing I've ever sewn. Have I said that before? I can't remember. Either way, I'm resetting the clock now because, despite the full-blown hassling of this pattern, the bag turned out pretty nice. Like, to the point where I'm not ashamed to show you pictures of it from all angles, not just the angle that doesn't reveal all my measuring and cutting and sewing mistakes.

Oh, what? Like you just randomly pick an angle from which to shoot your projects because OH they're all so perfect? I don't believe you. No, I choose to believe that everyone, like myself, finds the one angle from which it appears you made zero mistakes instead of showcasing the part of the whatever where the seams don't line up and, damn it, why is the quilt batting sticking out right there?

So, for the first time ever, shots from every angle of this, my most satisfyingly not heinous project to date: (Meanwhile, please don't make mean jokes about the fabric matching. That is not my strength and I readily admit to sucking at it.)

Side 1: Notice the normal rectangular shape.

Side 2: Notice again, the normal rectangular shape.

Side 3: Notice that the zipper seams to be 100% attached with no uneven stitching or errant thread dangling this way or that.
Side 4: Notice again how it all looks according to pattern without any alarming bulges.This is the same as Side 1 and is just a glory shot. Nothing looks fucked up! Woo!

Now, I know that there is a rather obvious lack of patchwork on my Patchwork Bag, but I assure you that I did as much patchworking as is physically possible for me without turning out a big pile of patchworked crap. Ok. I'm just not good at matching fabrics, measuring or cutting to size. I didn't even get to sewing together the original (fugly) patchwork pieces due to the horrible derailment of the project by that point, but I know it would have been awful and just gone on to prove how ill-equipped I am at the patchworking business.

Anyway, since I'm so enlightened about my own lack of talent with patchworking, I decided to simplify the whole thing and take to heart the part in the pattern where she says something to the effect of, "Create your patchwork pattern in whatever way that suits you as long as the final piece measures whatever X whatever."

So I did. I sewed five strips of fabric together and called it patchworking. Call me a loser, but I'm more pleased with this than I was with the patchwork business I tried to create before.


And I did, for the record, sit down and hand-sew (loathe) the lining into the bag. But I set that part aside to do later in the evening while I was desperately searching for a way to distract myself from the pending race. It did the trick for sure - I focused intently on making straight even stitches instead of agonizing over the looming 13 mile run.

Now that this thing is finished and I'm more than mildly pleased with it, I've decided that I can make it, and its awkwardly long and boxy shape, into a perfect something for a birthday coming up in December. The idea came to me as I was stitching in the lining (by hand, remember the pain and sorrow) and trying to figure out for what this bag's bizarre proportions could possibly be used. Bubba suggested I use it with my other fabric shopping bags and just present it at the grocery store as "The Bread Bag and please don't squeeze the bread when you put it in its proper case right here, thank you."

I have decided to go in another direction. When I've created it, I will revisit the topic here and I promise it will be a shorter post.

Anyway, Donk, thank you for talking me through this project (Finny - you will love it, I'm sure of it!), my race (Finny - Stop freaking out - you are going to rock it!) and just life in general.

Wuv you!

xo
Finn

P.S. I have an idea for the November/December project.

The Great-ish Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Dear Donk,

DUDE, I KNOW!

I saw that article in Sunset and thought of you and all the misbehaving fun we had on our New Mexico trip, too. What WERE we thinking running across that bridge in the pouring rain? In our flip flops and skirts, you know. Then it snowed and we got out right in it because, oh, I *had* to have a photo of our flip flopped feet in the snow.

Don't you think everyone thought we were locals?

And, hello, are all these magazine publishers, like, reading our minds/blogs or what? Trips to New Mexico, pumpkin EVERYTHING, bias tape sewing patterns and - what is this? - "In Stitches"? Coincidence? Hmmm? Dunno. But, I am clearly very modest and humble.

Meanwhile, I know what you mean about Monster Stewart Living - I'm letting my subscription run out. In my opinion, it's jumped the shark. I mean, do we need a whole section dedicated to copper pots? Neow.

I also do not need to see photos or read long boring ass articles about Martha moving house. As though *she*, herself, is actually doing any of the moving. Um, right. I don't need lectures on properly bubble wrapping creamware (do real people own this shit even?) from someone I doubt has unpacked a box in recent memory. It's all gotten very "No, really, I'm still a real person who loads the dishwasher! Seeeeeeeeee?" over there and, frankly, I'm not buying it. Plus the layout and photos seem dreary and ugly lately which just makes it harder to gloss over the boringness of it all.

I won't lie. I like pretty pictures.

And, while we're on the subject, I will also be letting my Shape, InStyle and Domino magazines run out because they are redundant, ridiculously full of stinky ads and dangerous vacation suggestions and clearly designed for people with decorating taste different than my own, respectively.

I'm sorry, but any magazine that presents renting a scooter in Rome as a viable transportation option for leisurely tourist shopping is just plain out of touch with reality. And I'm frankly doubtful that whomever penned the article has ever been to Rome, because if they had, they'd realize what an inane idea it would be for a tourist, or sane human being really, to rent a scooter with the intention of riding it through the narrow, crowded and lawless cobblestone streets of Rome, especially if they've just touched down at Leonardo da Vinci from some far off land that probably has driving laws. Having ridden in cars through those same streets and seeing the recklessness with which all drivers; automobile, motorino (scooter) and bicycle alike, conduct themselves - I wouldn't get involved with a scooter unless I was a single woman, the scooter was manned by a fabulously sexy Italian man, we both had helmets and it was the last day I expected to live. Which it would be, because I'd be getting on a scooter for a ride around Rome.

Anyway, there are a million other reasons that InStyle has been on the bubble with me, but this article tears it. Diss.

Shape is just the same information paired with different pictures of the same models doing the same exercises with different equipment in every issue. I'm also sure I don't need to be reminded, again, to drink lots of water, there's no real cure for cellulite and if you eat more calories than you burn then you will gain weight. This is truly one of those, if you've seen it once, you've seen it all, kind of things. Diss.

Domino is, well, not my gig. While I thought it was, during one brief flipping session during a boring and poorly attended "all-hands" meeting, it has turned out to be little more than a showcase of a lot of ugly crap I don't want in my house/on my body. Every now and then they hit on something vaguely groovy and the concept of the magazine seems cool, something about living with style with an undercurrent of "don't buy all your housewares from Potterybarn", but the execution always leaves me thinking, "If I ever see a room that looks like this, I will definitely throw up." Diss.

In the mean time, I will be keeping my subscriptions to Sunset and Craftzine and will be considering a subscription to Real Simple, even though I have proof that their subscription department is manned by retarded monkeys. Something to do with a gift subscription for my grandma that went terribly and inexplicably awry. I'll tell you later.

When did this turn into my Fall Magazine Review? I'm sorry - that is your department. But I'm glad you feel the same way. I was just starting to think that I was the only one jumping off the Martha bandwagon. But, nuh-uh.

So, about that sweater pattern, I could say I love it or even LURVE it, but I'm not sure that would properly convey my truest emotion. I have a crush on it - already after only a few minutes of looking at it. Where do I find this pattern? I have to copy you because I like it that much. I want it on my bod-ay! Anyway, totally pass on the Lion yarn, but the pattern is fab. Let us both knit one and then we can wear them together like idiots. It'll be grand.

And, sadly, I haven't started my project yet either. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I haven't had a single weekend moment free since godonlyknowswhen to contemplate something that involves both patchwork and hand-stitching. Did you know this pattern had both? I did not. Anyway, I'll let you know when I start down this scary winding road with patchwork. Yipes.

Hey, before I end this really long post email to you, check out my wicked big-ish pumpkin:

She was supposed to be a hundred-pounder, according to the super optimistic folks at Burpee, but Bubba thinks she's probably only around 25 lbs or so. Having lifted her from the wheelbarrow onto these 2x4s (under the roof cover so as not to get wet and moldy before Halloween, you know) I can say she's definitely a heavy one and I personally think she's much heavier than 25 lbs. I had to grunt to pick her up is how I know.

So, I'm not holding a grudge, even though she's only a quarter of the estimated weight of normal Big Max pumpkins, because she was the only pumpkin to emerge from the patch this year after having sucked the ever loving life out of the rest of the little pumpkins on the plant. Hogitha!

In sum, I agree that our trip was fab, magazines are semi-sucking, the sweater pattern is IWANTITSOBAD and the project is on the to-do list.

Hey, are you dressing up for Halloween? Anyone? I need inspiration. We take Halloween dressing up seriously at work and I don't want to be shamed by my coworkers. I am trying to wear another bridesmaid's dress this year (the only way I can think of to re-wear these expensive POSs), so any ideas along these lines would be fab. In the past I have been a Stepford Wife (pink bridesmaid's dress) and The Drunk Bridesmaid (red bridesmaid's dress). I also have a celery green full length thing and an orange strapless knee length thing. Oh and a gold one that is so heinous I don't want to wear it ever and I think I gave it away, nevermind.

Ideas, people!

xo
Finny

InStitches September/October: Patchwork handbag

Dear Donk,

I'm just not sure what you're referring to when you say "handbag problem". There is no such thing. Handbags, like shoes, are innocent items to covet, collect and then shove your husband's clothes out of the way to store in the closet.

Which is why I think the September/October project is a lovely choice. And not one that will lead to marital discord or anything.

I have actually been meaning to try one of these bags since we got the book because my favorite makeup bag is roughly the same shape (sexy rectangular shape I love you), but without the handy handles and with a super HELLO I WAS FREE Lancome zipper pull.

CUH-lassy.

Because, dudes, they are always foisting these gifts with purchase on me when I buy my mascara (Difinicils? Anyone?) and when I see the lip gloss in there I can't resist. Then the Lady in the Black Coat gets all pissed when I take the whole mess apart and leave everything except the lip gloss on the counter. You know, for the next person to pick through.

Is the GWP display not a self-service buffet?

News to me.

Anyhoo, I like the project and I like the fun new choice. I am a fan of the Choose Your Own Adventure concept (even though the act of *choosing* your adventure was always much more adventurous than your actual *adventure* which was really just filler so that they could have a platform for their *choosing of adventure* idea. You know.) and in this case, I will choose the Taking My Sweet Ass Time adventure because the next two months are scary full.

Come on people, how many baby showers can one woman attend? Not this many. Not this many.

I'd love to be all proactive and creative and endeavour to make a bunch and then give them as gifts for you-know-what-but-I'm-not-ready-to-say-the-words-because-in-my-world-it's-still-summer, but I am a realist. And this realist knows that there are only so many weekends in September and they are all 100% booked. And then I have a race in October and a lot of lingering plans threatening to become permanent weekend suckers, so if I'm lucky I'll have time to make this bag once. And with any luck the patchwork won't come out looking all jacked like it does every time I do any piecing forcing me to come back to the blog with shreds of my one unfinished project to shamefully share with the rest of the class as My Most Amazing Failure.

The drama today? Sheesh. I must need a vacation!

Oh wait, that's right. I leave for Hawaii tomorrow.

HOLY MIKE!

I need to pack.

Good call on the project, theme and bag lusting.

Back in a week.

xo
Finn

InStitches: August

Dear Donk,

I want to talk seriously about something here: Masking tape.

Masking tape and its unending usefulness in this month's project. When the pattern called for masking tape to mark out the quilting lines I shrugged my shoulders, gave the whale eye to the book and marched off to the garage thinking to myself, "Well, when it looks fucked up, I'll just say the book told me to do it."

I like to place blame elsewhere whenever possible.

When I sat down at the machine with the makings for two potholders (why can't I just make one? why make it hard?) and my roll of masking tape I did not have high hopes. But I also didn't have to spend one hundred years measuring and marking dumb lines on the fabric with my semi-broken marking pen, so I was willing to take a shortcut, if only because the book toldmeso.

Well, HELLO, it totally friggen works so much better! At first I was leery. Maybe the tape would fail me. Maybe it would somehow stop working and making straight guiding lines as I moved across the fabric. Maybe it would clog up my machine somehow (remember, vinyl? I'm still afraid). Maybe the adhesive would rub off on the fabric and then it would catch all manner of funk and become hideously ugly before I was even ready to put on the bias tape. Maybe the sky would fall.

And you know what? None of these horrible scenarios befell me or the potholders. The tape was a genius plan. GENIUS!

I made straight, evenly spaced quilting lines. Oh que milagro.


Do you know what is not genius? The marking and measuring and using of the half-broken fabric pen backintheday when we were making the Quilted Sleeping Mask. Do you know how much time this would have saved me?

So much time.

It was at this moment, when I realized how inefficient my first quilting project had been, that I got that icky creepy sneaky feeling that one gets as a child when one feels that they have been hoodwinked into doing something *fun* that turns out to be something *educational*.

You know.

Like playing a video game only to find out that, HEY! Why does the goose have to go from one room to the next making sure to get only the exact amount of eggs in her basket (My first computer was a Commodore 64, people, there weren't a lot of games)? This isn't right. They're making me do math here! Abort!

I was told there would be no math.

Anyway, that is the exact feeling that I got when I thought, "Hmmm...I wonder why we didn't use this method for the quilting mask. That would have made it wicked easy. I would not have hated that project oh so much. It would have been rad."

And then, "Damnit. I bet she was trying to make me learn. Damn."

So, whatever. I suppose I had to learn how to make dumb quilting lines the *proper* way, by using a big awkward quilting ruler on my too-small table with my broken (have I mentioned it's broken, because it is.) fabric pen leaving blobs of ink everywhere.

But now I know. And in the future I will be using only the Masking Tape Method for quilting. Because it's easy, I'm lazy and it involves ZERO math.

Ta da.

Also, let's talk big fancy winner of the month: Elemental Stitches


Because, come on, that is a fabulous fabric combination and an excellent execution. Plus, PLUS she had the balls to use contrasting thread to sew on the bias tape. Whoa - that is life on the edge, folks.

So, Ms Elemental Stitches, would you please send me your name and home address to finnyknits AT gmail DOT com so that I may send you your prize? Yes, thank you.

And, Donk, now that you're home from your travels, you can choose our September project. I plan to work on it while watching football because I will be watching football night and day thanks to the fact that we now have the Sports Package in HD and I can see every single NFL game (including stupid pre-season) AND every single MLB game.

Oh yes. It is ON.

Miss you,
Finn

Institches: August (already)

Dear Donk,

You're pretty bold for someone half-maimed from self-abuse.

Good thing you posted on some drunken giraffes, it distracted me from being snotty. And you KNOW I've done that before. Namely, gotten halfway through a project only to realize that the fabric isn't lining up right and whoops I guess I should have figured out what "enough fabric to account for pattern centering" meant.

I'm especially familiar with the decision to leave the seams where they are and come up with a fun reason why the pattern is jacked and not doing what it's "supposed" to be doing.

Why, of COURSE, the little zigzags on this skirt should be going in a million merry directions - it's ART, people. Scary art.

I'll be excited when the day comes and I'm able to summon the energy/brainpower/patience to cut pattern pieces, cut fabric, follow detailed pattern directions, adjust for sizing, do two tons of pressing with a naughty hot iron AND account for pattern centering. It'll be the same day that I have a rock hard six pack and a basement filled with hundred dollar bills.

See? Good day!

Until then, I muddle through and hone my "reasoning" skills, along with an annoyingly smooshy mid-section and stinky empty basement.

But that's not why we're here, is it? No, we're here to talk August Projects. Specifically the one *I* want to do. And because *I* am in the midst of Pieing Season and because *I* have managed to scorch the ever-loving crap out of my hands when removing said pies from my oven because my favorite pot holders keep getting crudded up and thrown in the wash and are never there when I need them oh my god where are my GOOD potholders damn it I think we know where this is going.

Let's call the August Institches Project: Square Potholders

and The Theme: Happy Hands

Don't worry, this is not porno. Just make up your fancy ass potholders in whichever creative way you like and then use them to keep your hands happy - and take a picture.

Perhaps your hands are happiest when they're not clutching a searing hot steering wheel during a Phoenix summer (for instance, Donk) OR when they're easily sliding a fresh blackberry pie from the oven WITHOUT shrieking with fresh hot pain (for instance, Me) OR when re-potting a cactus without getting repeatedly stabbed with a million spines. All ideas, here.

So, there, GO!

And, I like your toiletries bag. Before the slaying of a thousand duckies, I was thinking along similar lines. If you need more stuffin's for your successfully executed baby bags, let me know. I was unreasonably optimistic when planning the Vinyl Disaster of 2007 and pre-purchased some of Johnson & Johnson's baby business.

Ha on you.

xo
Finny

Brownie Accepted

Dear Donk,

SLACKER!

I'm kidding.

Lord knows I'm kidding. I mean, look at all the hairballs on my floors! I can't even put two minutes together to Swiff this joint, much less get on anyone's case for not finishing sewing projects.

Meanwhile, I believe you just crashed into another pointy object while riding around on your bike (you might want to switch to a broom, I find it more manageable - just a thought) and have, thus, injured your sewing fingers. How does one sew with injured fingers? One does not, that's how.

So, forgiven. And I'll take that brownie now. Mine should be almost entirely peanut butter cream with just a thin shell of chocolate cupcake to keep it contained. Yes, that is how I roll.

I agree, the photos in the pool look fabulous - and I'm very impressed that someone had the wherewithal to make more than one. I was not that someone. Obviously. I could barely manage my one bag without hand-sewing my shirt to the bottom.

Seriously though - no more hand-sewing. A machine should be doing this work and I am not a machine.

Anyway, consider me suitably distracted by your peanut butter porn to the point where I am totally unphased by the moving of the August Project Announcement to 8/3/07.

NO HAND-SEWING!

Ok, that's all.

Wuv you,
Finny

Institches: July

So, like I was saying, I am here to present you with the unmeltingest Toiletries Bag in all the land.


In a moment of great wisdom (or perhaps I was fresh out of Stupid from a morning of vinyl wrestling) I chose to create my second iteration of this month's bag from my unending swath of canvas and hot orange fabric that Lera sent me back when we were engaged in wristlet swapping.

Obviously this bag turned out better. And not only because I was being normal and using materials meant to come face to face with a sewing machine.

I feel this bag is superior to my previous efforts because it is actually fulfilling a purpose that had been going unmet in the garage. That purpose being, getting all my crap off the potting bench so that I could actually, say, pot something there.

Sure, I didn't fill it with the most essential and fabulous cosmetics so that they could be beautifully displayed in my boudoir. But since I already have my make-up so meticulously stowed in a very fancy Lancome gift with purchase bag ala 2003 and I don't really have a boudoir, it seemed to make more sense to organize an area that I spend actual time in and could use some serious cleaning up.

I mean, really, we can't have my three pairs of proprietary use work gloves (dainty poking gloves, mainstream smashing gloves and full-strength clubbing gloves) strewn about haphazardly. And there sure were a lot of half-used seed envelopes getting lost beneath the rubble of daily garden minutia.

So, crafted thus was the Garden Things Bag. Not a particularly catchy name, but much like my clubbing gloves, it does the trick.


Interestingly enough, and perhaps I will photograph this someday, it appears my garden accessories hail from the same place on the color wheel: The Orange and Canvas Place. So, without trying I've managed to color coordinate my otherwise rough-edged gardening hub with orange garden clogs (they're orange beneath the layer of filth muck, really), canvas gardening apron with orange bias tape trim and, now, canvas and orange Things bag.

I have no idea what this means, but there you go.

Also while I was experiencing a not horrible moment at the machine, I decided it would be a good time to craft up a designer dog bed for Ms. Jada (a girl can't be lazing about at the office on a store-bought dog bed, come ON) and make fancy an Anthropologie bag for a co-worker's birthday pressie.

See...

and See?

I splurged on some Amy Butler fabric during a recent Moment of Much Happiness when I discovered a new great fabric shop. This is probably the only kind of time I could justify spending that kind of money on fabric that will soon be covered with dog hair. But, it does look hot on the floor of my cube, so I'm thinking of it now more as a double-duty Dog Bed/Cube Rug which, in turn, makes me feel less like The Crazy Dog Lady who special sews expensive fabric into beds upon which furry beasts will lie.

Before I retired the sewing machine back to it's hairy home at the bottom of the bookshelf (between Rocket, Jada and myself - our house is a hair tornado which I have to constantly Swiff lest it pile up at the base of things like the bookshelf), I tossed the last bit of my energy and creativity into reusing a store bag from Anthropologie.

I'm pretty proud of myself here since this was my second try at matchmaking my machine with a material other than fabric. Thankfully this time there was less failure and killing of ducks and more straight seams and pretty results. Plus, I managed to discover a new stitch that had since gone unnoticed by simply being retarded and never swiveling the wheel that far to the left.


Huh. A fancy dotted zigzag stitch. Neato. Glad that came out nice since I was clearly not paying attention when choosing my stitch and could have just as easily chosen a random elastic stitch and fucked up the whole thing.

Seriously people, I'm a loose cannon with this machine sometimes.

Anyway, I managed to use up some scrap red leftover from May's project and reuse a shopping bag that I didn't ask for to make for a fairly cute presentation of an otherwise mundane gift of scented something or other. Sweet mother - that is some HOT reusing.

And while we're on the topic, am I the only one that finds it stupid when a gift is wrapped really nice and it's insides are not as fancy as the wrapping says it is?

I feel I may have tread unknowingly into this situation here. Honestly, I thought the bag reuse project would come out not as cute, but it didn't. So now I'm in that awkward phase of trying to decide if I should either jam something else in the bag to bring the gift up to the standards set by the pretty bag or perhaps spill a beer on the bag and lower it to the contents held within.

When Vinyl Attacks

I was trying to be creative and out-of-the-boxish, which was my first mistake.

I should know that anytime I take on a project, specifically a sewing-type one with a pattern, that I should always ALWAYS make it from the pattern specs the first time around. And not stray even in the teeniest way.

Just do what the instructions say, and you won't go wrong. And always keep Make It Snappy's mantra in mind: You might think you've *got it* but you do not. Follow the pattern to the letter.

Well, I had a brief lapse in judgement when I chose to ignore every fiber of my being which screamed, "Put down the rubber ducky shower curtain!", when choosing materials for this month's InStitches project: Toiletries Bag.

I was thinking,

"Hey, I've got this sewing thing down (I indeed, did not). I can stand to be a little creative. I can make this Toiletries Bag into something new and interesting which can hold items other than that fit for a toilet."

MISTAKE.

Here's another layer to my problem onion: I was trying to kill two birds with one stone. I was trying to:

1. Be creative
2. Make baby shower gifts

Normally, these two concepts go nicely together and result in things like hooded baby blankets, custom onesies (thank you, Lera) with matching headbands and Nappy Bags in unconventional fabric combinations.

In this case, these ideas resulted in a sticky, squeaky, frightening mess of massacred rubber ducky shower curtain shards being wadded up into an unpleasant ball of shame and shoved into the trash during a rare period of quiet known as The Death Silence.

This is when, despite my boiling hatred and anger at the unsuccessful project before me, I don't make a sound. In fact, I turn my aggravation inward and become something of a human hate vacuum, sucking in the evil around me until I become a dead star of nasty.

Or something like that. Basically, Bubba knows it's bad when he sees me frantically wadding things up and shoving them in the trash and he knows better than to try to engage me in any type of conversation or even have the gall to ask me if everything is ok because obviously it is not. This is when he turns quietly toward the TV/computer/wall and pretends to be invisible.

Fortunately, he wasn't there to witness the Murder of a Thousand Rubber Duckies, because it was a failure of the highest order. A failure that derailed so spectacularly that there were moments when I might have uttered (to myself like a crazy person):

"I'm sure if I continue forcing this vinyl through the machine, eventually it will stop chewing it to pieces.",

"Perhaps I could create vinyl bias tape from the unused portion of this white shower curtain.",

and my favorite,

"I wonder if I could adhere these two sheets of vinyl together by pressing them with my scorching hot iron".

All terrible, futile and eventually blunderous ideas.

I had set out to make a Toiletries Bag turned "Baby Bath Bag". I intended, with full confidence mind you, to craft said bag from reclaimed shower curtain rubber ducky vinyl and stuff with all manner of baby bath needs like that tearless shampoo, body wash, sleepy time bubble bath stuff (that is purple when everything else is yellow), a rubber ducky washcloth and, duh, a rubber ducky.

What I ended up with was a ducky genocide spread across my dining room table and floor with parts stuck to my iron and ground up in my sewing machine. I managed to keep the killing field contained to the shower curtains alone, so the baby bath supplies that I so naively purchased beforehand are still intact and taking up valuable space in the linen closet where they will remain until I make a suitable bag for them from a material other than vinyl.

The unexpected result of The Death Silence is that it is often followed by The Second Wind of Great Determination. This is when, despite my very fresh failure, I am able to summon the energy/desire/courage to start all over because I know my failure was initially due to ignoring the instructions, so any further activity will be successful because I will follow the instructions. To the letter. Just like I know I should.

And so I will post soon the photos of my finished Toiletries Bag. It is not made from vinyl (oh blessed canvas, how I love thee and thy rugged unmeltingness). It is not for babies. It is also not for toiletries. However, no patterns were ignored in the making of this project, and I'm sure that's why it's not crumpled up in a big ball in the trash like some other certain items of disgrace.

InStitches: July

Dear Donk,

I know! The pool is huge and there are so many hot projects in there. Sometimes I scroll through the photos just to get inspiration (lord knows I'm not getting any at the fabric store).

I am so with you on July's project: Bathroom Caddy. Although, I am thinking of giving it a new flavor and making it up as a baby shower gift since these showers are becoming my life. Anyway, you'll see what I come up with at the end of the month. Think Johnson's Baby Shampoo (baby favorite) instead of Chanel nail polish (Finny favorite). As it turns out, babies need shampoo and powder more than polish and mascara. Good to know...

Before we get all ahead of ourselves and I go off half-cocked to buy baby themed vinyl - SHHH! - let's announce June's winner: Rohanknitter!


The saucy Sushi (go ahead, try and say it) placemats were just too good. Perhaps I'm suffering from supreme wasabi deprivation, but I can't resist them.

Anyway - Ms. Rohan - congrats! and please shoot me your mailing address to finnyknits AT gmail DOT com. Then I'll send you a fabulous prize that I hope you will love and find worthy of your efforts.

Ok, off to reshuffle my life. Lots of posts in the hopper. Teaser: Drunk hillbillies, Purse by Finny, Garden Off the Rails.

xo,
Fin

InStitches: June

Allow me to share with you one of my fancier quirks: The inability to do anything anything without a vision.

Not like a psychic vision, but a mental vision. As in, I need to be able to see whatever it is (running a race, shaving the cat, climbing a rock, peeling my lazy butt off the couch) in my mind before I can get started on step 1.

Good because: I don't go off half-cocked and waste a bunch of time doing stupid things (most of the time) that come out crappy and have to be thrown out/returned/apologized for.

Bad because: Sometimes there's no time for a vision and one must proceed forward unguided by pictures in one's head.

And this is where I get into trouble. Any shopping trip of mine that starts out without a clear vision inevitably turns into a day sucker where I wander from store to store, not looking for anything in particular, but spending endless moments asking myself if I need another purse or perhaps a hat - yes a hat! - for those sunny days in the garden, and oh couldn't I use a new pair of gardening gloves or what about some more tank tops to replace the ones I've destroyed with my lady sweating, oh and what about these jeans I could use some new jeans because my favorite ones are developing a hole in the hip so what about a...

You see what happens? My mind unravels.

So - I have to have The Vision to keep it all raveled up and working in a straight line.

Last Sunday was an example of me shopping without a vision.

And this is photo of what happens when my mind unravels, I lose focus, forget what I like and don't like, can't listen to one more minute of the Fabric Frau bitching at the register, make compromises and eventually give up just so I don't have to listen to another Doo-Wop song on the scratchy overhead sound system:


Allow me to identify the pieces of this photo that resulted directly from the personal crime known as Shopping Without a Vision.

Floral Fabric: I am really not a floral fabric person. At least not florals that come in pastelly colors with tiny hand painted looking flower buds and leaves in that paley green that reminds me of my mom's spare comforter in the hall closet. This napkin fabric is an exact replica of my mind's example of unFinny floral fabric. Yet, here it is on my table, folded up as part of this project.

Why?

Because I shopped without a vision, that's why. And by the time I'd finally chosen a fabric (the butterflies) that I liked, this was the only other fabric that would also match the striped fabric that I chose during a separate moment of bad judgement.

My justification for the floral print, and the overall scheme here, was my imagination hearkening back images of vintage whimsy from a recent shopping trip to Anthropologie, where, thanks to the supervision provided by my dear mum, I managed to buy a dress which was at once unFinny and totallyFinny - thus creating this erroneous idea in my mind that I had the ability to stray from my typical style into areas of blended patterns that include florals.

Wrong.

I'm not to be trusted when the job calls for matching up more than two fabrics. I get all attached to one fabric and then spend a ridiculous amount of time listlessly staring at novelty patterns after I realize that there isn't a single other fabric in the store that will achieve the Project Nirvana that I'm seeking so why not just give up, throw down everything and lose ourselves in Strawberry Shortcake nostalgia.

Striped Fabric: This is me giving up and going for the easy match. I don't like pink, so this is an obvious manifestation of me throwing in the towel and deciding that I'd rather have the fun hand-stamped looking butterflies and the boring pink stripes than no butterflies at all.

At the time I was also caught thinking, "Maybe there's a way I can maximize the amount of green that shows and minimize the pink".

Again, wrong. As you can see here - the pink is out there for all to behold.

Finally, The Butterflies: I won't lie here and tell you that they caught my eye the second I walked into the store. No, they were second choice after a long bout of hemming and hawing over some legitimately appealing Far East-type fabric which proved to be of a rust color that was impossible to match. You'll remember this "Color not found in nature" issue from the Surprise Cowboys incident. It seems to be a common theme with me and the fabric store. I manage to find the one pattern that speaks to me on a spiritual level and then am unable to find a single other fabric on the face of the earth (in the store) that can get within a mile of the Fabric of My Dreams without activating my gag reflex.

This may be a problem that even The Vision cannot solve.

Anyway, I'll sum the whole situation up and say this: the pattern itself was just fine - easy and straightforward with excellent results. And, really, the combination of stripes, florals and butterfly patterns isn't atrocious - in fact, it's kinda pretty - but it's not me.

However, it is perfect for the Mahjong Mistress of Sonoma County who happens to be celebrating an 84th birthday next month and who might enjoy some new linens for her weekly rounds with the tiles. That Mistress is my grandmother, who I affectionately call Fluffy, and I think these might go nicely on her table as she kicks the other ladies' butts at Mahjong.

Meanwhile, I'm still fantasizing about the FarEast fabric I originally picked up and am now determined to make myself a set of linens with it and some other mythical fabric that I'm certain exists somewhere.

And, in a moment of irony and actualization, I folded up the (large) remnant of the floral fabric only to find that the fabric's name was printed along the raw edge: Granny Floral.

GAH!

InStitches: June

Dear Donk,

I know you're off saving the world, but running the InStitches~along without you sucks the bag. Thankfully there are enough G&Ts in my fridge to get me through until your return and I get to read your Posts from the Dark Continent so that I know that you are safe, improving the world around you and also bringing the wheel to Moz. That's a good lass.

Plus, there are plenty of projects on the cutting table to keep me busy. Not the least of which is our June InStitches project which I get to pick - muhuahahahahahaha!

My inspiration for this month's project comes from me mum. She was over for Mother's Day dindin after our tea and shopping bonanza when I let her loose to set the table.

FRIGHT.

Here's the thing - we have only one set of matching napkins and placemats. Otherwise we have one kazillion white napkins, half a kazillion solid autumn color napkins, half a dozen thisnthats from random gifts and some hot Hawaiian style napkins made by my mum herself. And to match? Why not a GDF thing.

So, the options when setting our table are: use the one set of matchy matchy napkins/placemats OR eat at the coffee table where you'll only need a napkin and a shovel.

Unless you're my mom. In which case you pair the Hawaiian style napkins with the purple placemats (I'm still not sure where these gems came from) and create the aforementioned FRIGHT.

Thus inspiring me to coin this month's project: Placemats and Napkins.


I'm not sure how you all feel about seeing your table awash in mismatched linens, but for me it is just short of stroke-inducing. This is because I am a low-grade control freak and slightly insane about stupid little things.

So we will fix all that this month by creating the most luscious aesthetically pleasing placemats and napkins to enhance our collective dining experiences. Then we will set our tables in the most drool-worthy, make Martha so jealous she pees her perfect pants kind of way and post our photos to prove it.

In case you didn't catch it, there went the theme: Dining Room Dress-Up.

It's a little like "Project in Action", except there needn't be anything going on in your photo but a sexy table set to stun. If all goes as planned, the Purple vs Hawaiian Floral grudge match emblazoned on my retina will be erased before June comes to a close and we'll all dine a little easier. For this I thank all of you.

And to close May on a high note, I'd also like to declare May's fancy winner: Thistledew! I mean, come on, she made a fabulous summery apron and then JUGGLED WATERMELONS. "In Action" is an understatement . Ms. Thistle - please shoot me an email to finnyknits AT gmail DOT com with your address and I'll send you a prize worthy of your skillfulness.

Ok, Donk - I hope I'm covering all my bases here while you're away. Sometimes I can't be left unsupervised. That's how we end up watching surveillance videos in the basement and charging admission to the neighborhood kids.

Continue traveling safely and sharing your smile and big heart with everyone you meet.

Love and misses,
Finny

Oh, that Amy - she know what I like...

Dear Donk,

Yes, of course. Of course I finished my May InStitches project. Skidded right in at the eleventh hour to get it done in time for Mother's Day. And don't cha know that Momma Finny loved it long time - almost as much as I did.

See, I made it from this fab blue fabric covered with cutesy cherries that managed to charm me from across the fabric store. And then it continued to woo me throughout the sewing process, even during moments when I was seemingly un-wooable. Like when my index finger had an unfortunate run-in with the escaping steam from the overactive iron. Short and sweet: there were bad words and idle threats. But looking over at the cheerful cherries, I couldn't hold my grudge.


As far as the "Project in Action" part goes, it's a little staged - but thankfully we were of similar minds on the "how to show our project in action while also giving it as a gift". So, here I am pretending like I'm preparing to take to task all six bags of lemons which are beginning (rapidly) to go bad in the fruit basket, when in fact I was actually preparing to carefully wrap up the apron with a book and card for my momma and then return to the kitchen to throw out approx one full bag's worth of lemons.

Did you know they turn to green dust? That is Nasty. And Stinky. And a lot of other Words that have to be Capitalized in order to show their Extremity. EW.

Anyway, the other action shot that was taken immediately before wrapping:


Aside from the fabulous Mother's Day extravaganza that was planned for this weekend, Bubba and I also managed to observe a little publicized festival of ours: The Mac and Cheese Taste-Off.

I guess you could file this with Yoga Taco Night, Cinco Del Taco and Pizza Night (Everybody loves Pizza Night) under "Bizarre Events Involving Junky Food", but in our house, it's a rare and hallowed event.

It's also not at all regulated and there aren't any rules. And, in fact, there is very little "tasting off" going on, since we both think our variety of neon cheese covered macaroni is The Best. So, at most, it involves a little good-humored chiding and poking fun at *how disgusting* the other variety of mac & cheese really is. I mean, come on, POWDERED CHEESE? How gross.

For me, it's Velveeta Shells & Cheese all the way. Gooey neon orange cheese squooze fresh from a silver pouch? Perfection. The fact that a "cheese" product can sit, unrefrigerated, on a grocery store shelf for indefinite periods of time without any degradation of it's edibility is none of my concern. The end product is simply divine. And if a dozen shells happened to get glued together with the aforementioned heavenly cheese goo and speared by my fork all at once - all the better.


So, beyond the charming apron making (and YES I LOVE THIS PATTERN SO MUCH) and mac & cheese eating (Velveeta rules. Kraft drools.), my weekend was fabu. Slap on top the fabulous formal tea that we went to on Mom's day and the shopping that followed and I was an all around happy beast. I think you might be too, when you see what hopped into my bag when I went by a certain store since it's on its way to you raht now.

xo
Finny

InStitches: May

Dear Donk,

I'll have to ask that you to refer to my pants by their technical name, "WIDEST Leg Lounge Pants THAT ARE HUGE". It's not very catchy, I know, but it serves its purpose. Which is to say that they are enormous and if were were to have the InStitches slumber party as you imagined, at least a few of us (the more adventurous ones) could get into these size "mediums" together for the suggested photo shoot.

Yikes.

All that aside, I love the idea of the apron. I will go ahead and assume that there is no reason this pattern should be any different from the last, and will pay special attention to the fabric requirements to make sure that we're not, in fact, making a tent of some kind rather than a normal sized apron for a normal sized human being.

I mean, it may *say* it's a "SHORT" pleated apron, but who knows. I'm a little gun shy I guess.


Theme-wise, I take my cue from the book photo itself (so derivative, I know) and declare this "Project in Action" month. Specifically, you make the apron and then have someone take a photo of you doing something in it. Perhaps cooking. Perhaps playing tennis. It doesn't have to be used for the specific purpose of cooking, but go easy on the nudity, this is not a boudoir apron, folks.

Winner-wise (all things *wise* today), I'm excited to announce April's InStitches winner as Alison of domesticali. Her saucy hot lounge pants set the pool on fire, and well, that deserves a prize. Spicy Lady Alison - please send me your mailing address (and phone #, too please for the UPS man) to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom. I will then ship you a prize befitting your sassiness.

June-wise (see?), I don't know yet. I'll think on it. There is one particular pattern that I've been coveting, so I'll have to see how I'm feeling come June.

Meanwhile, I can't wait to hear about the trip to Moz (so excited for my tribal fabric! sqweeeeee!), Britney is a mess and I will go pay homage to Paper-Source when it opens and let them know you'll be here soon to visit. And when I say "pay homage" you know that means shopping, which also means pressies for my favorite people. (You're my favorite people.)

Have a fabulously safe trip to the dark continent and I hope your many injection sites are soothed adequately by your one-man ice cream social.

xo
Finn

Fabric Victory

I refuse to be intimidated by little silhouetted cowboys, even if they *are* riding off into a woven sunset on big scary horses (I hate horses).

So, with that in mind, I set out my pattern on Friday in order to prepare myself for utter domination on Saturday.

I decided, after all the commenting, that I owed it to myself and my impulse buying practices, to put the cowboys to use on some fancy Lounge Pants. And once that was said and done, I'd tackle the promised pillowcases and perhaps another one-off project from the list of fab ideas (recipe card holder for BBQ recipes - hello, fabulous!). Granted, I'd set out to eliminate the Cowboy-riffic fabric all in one fell swoop, but after wrestling with the pattern (Do I cut two on the fold or just cut one on the fold and slice it in half?) I was fresh out of the patience it would have required to deal with a single additional shred of Cowboy.

So, at the end of the day I wouldn't say it was necessarily "utter domination" that prevailed, but I did manage to put together a pair of Wide Leg Lounge Pants without shedding any blood.

What? You don't measure success with bloodshed? Huh.

Thankfully I don't measure success by the proper or expected fit of clothing, because if I did, I'd be a mite disappointed right now.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that a "Medium" as designated by the pattern is, in no way, a "Medium". No, it is more like a "Friggen Huge" because I had to cinch that bad boy around my waist as though I was two weeks of dirty laundry and the pants were my laundry bag. Plus, the interfacing sewn in to reinforce the drawstring holes makes the cinching down look a little bizarre when the placket for the buttonholes doesn't flinch despite my enthusiastic yanking. Good thing I have a close relationship with my fabric turner, because I made one sweet drawstring that will need to hold up it's end of the bargain (ie. The Pants).

I have to admit though, I like the fabric.

I know! Imagine my surprise when, after all that shit-talking, I stood before my finished work and said, out loud mind you, "Wow. Those cowboys are a way better trim than that stupid Thai silk with the impossible-to-match color. Huh. Who'd have guessed?"

Meanwhile Bubba was raising his hand behind me and pointing to his own face. Funny guy.

So, with that bit of mannish insight, I will grant The Wise Bubba with his wish of Cowboy Pillowcases. And then, while he sleeps I'll give away his BBQ recipe in a fabulous Cowboy recipe card holder to one lucky person.

Take that Mr. Smarty The-Cowboys-Rock Pants.

And thank you all for your support through this way-too-trying experience. I'll post photos to the Flickr pool and look for y'alls projects in there, too.

Yes, I said y'all.

InStitches April

Dear Donk,

Did you say "sew your own clothes"?

Um, yes please.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of garment patterns in this book, BUT, I have had my eye on those Wide Leg Lounge Pants. Sans Mr. Crazy Legs sitting on the toi, of course. (Maybe he would like a pair of pants, too? Just a thought.)

Anyway, let's call them the April project and you can decide on a twisty theme to keep it spicy, k?


Meanwhile, the Flickr pool is positively blowin' up! I ogled every single clutch and must say that I'm feeling a special brand of kinship with the other Magnetic Snappers and Removable Strappers. I won't lie either, there were moments of definite fabric remorse. I mean, I really like the fabric I used, but MAN, some of those bags are HOT.

Phew. *Sweaty*

BTW: That Blue Sky Hat is so made for my sunny days in the garden. Right now my greasy cowboy hat is not quite cutting it. And when blackberry picking season comes? What will I do? I will wear my Blue Sky Hat, that's what. I'm all the way excited to get started on these nuggets. Which reminds me - I have a little extra credit idea in mind for our InStitches~alongers...let's discuss.

Alright, I'm going to start lusting over this month's project. *Drool*

xo,
Finn

P.S. Thank you, Ms. Fabulously Supportive Runner Woman Who Talked Me Through My Whole Training For The 10K. Simply could not have done it without you.

P.P.S. Velcro sucks.

P.P.P.S. Still wuv you.