Colorado Vacation

I took some leave to visit Val in Colorado.  When I landed, it was cold and rainy and we stopped to eat the Chili's which has an updated menu.  We had a small monitor at our table to play games, order dessert and pay for our meal.

I had the 3 taco combo plate - chicken, fish, and shrimp.

Met the new dog Tony who is a barker and has no teeth.  He tried really hard to stare me down for food, but I'm immune.

I spent most of the time working on my quilt and got all the piecing done so all I need to do now is join the pieces.  Here is one corner laid out on the floor.

I also met Stacie's new red labrador - Ruby Mae.

Val and I prepped material for the bionic gear bag which I brought home to finish.  Great long weekend and back on the plane for home with this view of the mountains.

Since it was raining the entire time I was there, the humidity was up and it wasn't so dry which was good for my cough.  Lots of projects to work on but it is back to work now.

Wolf is Calling Me

My mighty wolf loom started calling me to tell me it was time to dress him up again.

With my decision to move out the mac loom, stuff was rearranging itself.  So the wolf loom came out to play.  I pulled out a scarf pattern with a red warp and a grey weft and got everything ready to go.

First the warp was wound using the beka warping board.  I had to break down and watch a video to refresh my memory on how to create the cross.  Once the warp was wound, then math had to be figured.

The equipment was pulled out of the closet and I decided to warp from back to front using lease sticks and a raddle.  I couldn't figure out how the raddle fit on since the couplings didn't fit the back beam.

I also got these clamps in the same bag and had to think about what to do with those.

I sent an e-mail to Schacht to see if they could shed some light on what the problem was.  I also got this piece which I have no clue what it is for so I added a picture of that in the e-mail as well.

I ended up using another technique from the Louet looms and attached the raddle to the top with those clamps and wound on the warp.

Now to thread the heddles and sley the reed.  It has been quite a while since I've had my hands on this loom and it took some time to prepare it with the right number of heddles and add on the tie ups for the treadles.

Another day or two before this baby is ready to weave.  I also pulled out my end feed shuttles and wound some pirns.  I'm getting excited about weaving again.

Weaving Sample Finished

When I bought the Macomber loom, I put a blue warp on it and then used some fuzzy stuff as weft.  I did a pattern, but it didn't really show up very well as the fuzzy yarn was a variegated color.

After fits and starts, I finally wove that sucker off.

I made some threading errors so I need to take a sewing needle and thread up two warp threads up the back since somehow they didn't catch at all.

After trimming and binding the edges, I will wash it and see what happens to the fabric.

I did find that the mechanics of this loom didn't really work well with my body.  I had to switch around heights and positions of chairs and I think this loom will be moving to someone else's house.  

I already have my next project in the queue and need to decide if I want to open up the big loom or take out the small loom from the closet.

Where's George?

I received a $20 dollar bill in excellent condition that had a stamp on the back stating "Track this bill at www.wheresgeorge.com."

I went to the website and entered the serial number of the bill and was instructed to state whether I had possession of the bill and to write a comment. When I clicked Finish, I got these results.

Twenty Dollar Bill, Serial# JE152---59G Series: 2009
This bill has traveled at least 419 Miles in 25 Days, 7 Hrs, 39 Mins at an average of 17 Miles per day.
The bill is now 419 Miles from its starting location. This travel history below is in reverse-chronological order

Entry Time   (Local Time of Zip)  Location, State/Province Travel Time                       Average Distance         Speed
16-May-2015 10:03 PM            San Diego, CA                   25 Days, 7 Hrs, 39 Mins         419                         17
21-Apr-2015 02:24 PM             Sunnyvale, CA                   Initial Entry

It seems this bill came from Sunnyvale and took a bit of time to traverse the state.  It is pretty cool and you can register and this bill will be placed in your inventory and you can get messages of when it is registered again.  Hm...how many other $20 bills do I have?

Del Mar Quilt Show

So Jeri and I hit the Del Mar Quilt, Craft & Sewing Festival on a rainy day.  There was a $10 fee for parking but the event was free.

We arrived about a half hour before opening and were given raffle tickets.  15 minutes before opening, they called the raffle and Jeri won $10 in cash.  When they called out for tickets with blue stars, I ended up with $20 in cash that paid for the parking and lunch.  Lots of prizes, but the highest prize was a $50 bill.

We headed straight for Sewing Machines Plus where I entered a drawing to win a sewing machine and Jeri who was flushed with cash went on a buying spree.

It was exciting to see someone order up a whole sewing and quilting studio.

We stopped for lunch where I bought from the one vendor for a super dog and some chips.  You can see who had the healthier lunch.

Lots of gadgets and fabrics which all pretty much were charged on my credit card.  It was a good day and lots of new projects and toys.

There were vintage sewing machines.

And awesome projects some of which you could make and take.  We didn't participate as we were more concerned with seeing and buying.

Ristorante Kaz

Yaling and I went to Ristorante Kaz for dinner which specializes in Italian Japanese fusion.

The place is very small but cute and when we sat down and were given menus, Yaling's was all in Japanese.

We started with a salad with prosciutto, cheese and tomatoes with a great dressing.

We then shared a pizza and pasta.

Unagi pizza was more like a flatbread but was super tasty.

And the crab and scallop angel hair pasta.  They allow you to choose what type of noodle.

Prices are about $16 per dish with some of the dishes up to $25.  They did have squid ink pasta which the waitress stated was not a good choice if you were on a date.

Bailey

Bailey has been adapting to life after Pepper.  He has been like a burr and has not been alone for any length of time.  He has been pretty chill.

I can't tell if he misses her or not.

He has not been moping around.

New Garden Start

I found a raised planter from Patio Craft on Groupon that I put together without too much trouble in anticipation of my new herb garden.

No tools required and in the perfect spot of full sun.

I'm going to put down some mesh at the bottom to keep the soil in, but let the water out.

I also downloaded a container vegetable garden class from Craftsy to help me along.  Now to harvest the old worm bin soil and add some potting soil from Home Depot.  I even have fertilizer from the garden tour from Fruitmommy.

Now all I have to decide is what types of herbs I want to start with.

Tank Dress = Pajamas

I was overly ambitious after having a sewing day and decided to try to make a tank dress.

I started with a light blue remnant piece and cut two pieces and serged them together.  I then decided I would use the cover stitch on the sleeves, neckline, and hem.

Well after doing each sleeve, I thought, okay that looks great!  

I then did the neckline and it bagged more than a poopy diaper.

I changed the differential feed to less than and serged the hem - not outstanding.

So my tank dress will not become pjs.

Next time, I will be applying a binding.

Evie Top

Last year, I brought a pattern from Style Arc which is the company that provided the yoga pants pattern that Susan helped me make.  It is the Evie Knit Top and I spent some time tracing the pattern onto Swedish tracing paper and then pulled out a small piece of knit fabric that I got from the swap meet.

It was just enough for the pattern as well as a bit extra for sampling.

It is a simple pattern with a front and back with bias for the neckline and the arm holes.  I had to place this project in the wait bin until I figured out how to attach the trim.

After a failed attempt where I attached on the wrong side, I had to cut a new band and start again.  After attaching the arms and the neck, I used a coverstitch for the hem.

Ready to wear!

Cloth Napkins

I decided to cut down on the usage of paper napkins so I tackled making some cloth napkins.

I had ordered fitted sheets for a duvet cover for my down comforter, but it was too small so I decided to use them for napkins.  I cut out 15" squares and used my serger to apply a rolled hem as a edge.

I had taken out the elastic and trimmed the excess rectangles off the edges and ended up with 20 napkins.

After applying fray check on the corners, I'm waiting for it to dry and then I will trim them off and throw them in the wash.

Not bad for an $16 sheet which I still have most of.

Sacramento and Oakland Field Trip

Exigent circumstances required a quick trip up to Northern California, but I was able to get some other work done as well.

I started out in Northern Sacramento after hanging out at the office and went to lunch at the Beach Hut Deli where I ordered a vegetable sandwich with turkey.

After work I was able to stop by and see my parents and their garden is in full bloom.

Had a meal of Indian food at Bombay Bar and Grill where we ordered a vegetarian appetizer sampler, lamb curry and chicken tandoori with a naan basket.

Outside the restaurant, there was yarnbombing on a tree.

I then headed out to Oakland where I was able to meet up with Judy for dinner at Bowl'd where we ordered appetizers and the sizzling bowl with pork belly.

The trip was not as successful as I would have liked, but I did get some stuff handled.  It rained surprisingly which I think I brought home with me.

I was lucky enough to hang out with our Oakland staff and had lunch in celebration of public service recognition week.  We went to the Tribune Tavern.

And had house root beer and a ham sandwich with fries which I brought home for dinner.