Kite Season '07

This is Rodan. He's from Taiwan. We broke his tail, but he seems to fly better without it. (he doesn't like to fly as a general rule.)


Yarrr.


MouTa


See? He flies! Sort of. He needs tons and tons of wind.


The pirate kite flies better.

Rocking the Muumuu

I have this multi-purpose pattern at my house.


It doesn't look like much. In fact, with the jacket and pants, this pattern looks pretty dated and horrible. But I've used it a few times because it's a basic dress in 7 pieces so that the darts in the front are actually seams going right down the dress. It's a classic look, and it's super easy to make it fit properly.

A couple months ago, I got a red muumuu from the second hand store. A huge bag with straps. Now, I have a friend who swears that the way to solve the world's problems is to wrap the whole world in a muumuu, but as much as the theory makes for a good folk/blues song with banjo accompaniment, I don't agree.
Muumuus are, however, awesome for cutting up and putting back together.

Before I present the images of the finished product, let me introduce you to the cast and crew. First up, my mother's dream machine.


This sucker sews through the plastic part of a quilting pin with ease. Its needle has precision that allows you to sew at breakneck speeds without anything catching on the bobbin. The little thingy underneath the fabric that's supposed to feed the fabric through actually grabs the fabric and scoots it through without any pulling. It has a nice even smooth sound when it's in use. On the other end of a phone it sounds like singing. Plus, it does several different stitches and has a card that you can use on the computer to download patterns that it will automatically embroider into the fabric of your choice. (I haven't used that function yet. But I WILL!)

This machine is possessed by the devil. It whines at you when you push down the pedal, refuses to move, and then all of a sudden starts sewing really fast, at which point, if you're not careful, the bobbin gets caught up and the whole thing jams. This is the machine I learned to use first, and I know how to take all the parts in the bobbin area apart. The tension doesn't work. It only really likes cotton. It doesn't feed. It goes "ca-chunk ca-chunk" when you sew. Every time I sit down to use it, it scares me to death. However, it's the only way I have of doing invisible zippers. The new machine just won't sew them. I've been putting off so many projects because of this fact.

But I SURVIVED! And so did the dress!




$4 for the muumuu, $5 for a meter of black cotton and some notions.
PLUS, Mum thought it was cute.

Port Renfrew - scenery

Port Renfrew - Waves

Port Renfrew - beach

Whiffin' Spit