Monday, September 27, 2010

A sewing project for a boat... finally finished!


A while back I posted about a crib I was making for a couple who live on a boat. Unfortunately everything got put on hold while I waited for an online company to deliver the grommets that had been ordered.

They finally arrived and it took an entire day to install them!




Here is the side with the mesh screen. It has a roll up flap that's held in place with 5 straps that button at the top.










This is where a long edge meets the foot of the crib.
The two long edges will each have parachute line running through the length of them at the top (they have 1" casings) and then be secured to the wall of the bunk at each end.
The foot of the crib has grommets in the top that will also be secured to the boat (there is a overhang that comes down and allows this to be done). The boat itself will serve as a headboard so I didn't have to make one.
The bottom edges have grommets all the way around and they will be secured to the bunk with the mattress placed on top.
I hope this makes sense.




The grommets on the bottom edges.










This is the result of a day at Doggy Day Care! Not only is he like this in the evening, it carries through to the next day.
And that allowed me to spend the whole day cutting holes and pounding grommets without any pitty help!

Friday, September 17, 2010

While I wait... I sew.

I posted a while back that I was sewing a crib for a boat. Unfortunately I encountered a huge snag when the brass grommets that had been ordered to finish the job didn't quite arrive.


What did arrive was a total of 6 grommets, when what I needed was 6 packages of 12!



And that just won't work.



Anyway, the company has been very nice and finally realized that a new employee made a bit of a mistake and the remaining grommets are now on their way.



But in the mean time I feel bad about the wait (even though it's not my fault) and thought maybe I'd send a little condolence gift along with the crib (that is if it ever gets finished!!).






When I saw this 'pirate' fabric I just couldn't resist. I can't think of a more appropriate print for a little one living aboard a boat.


And since her parents' sailed around the world without a bit of experience and succeeded? Why not!



The pattern is McCall's 5416.



Very simple and I made a size 1.

I used heart shaped buttons at the shoulders and red ric rac along the bottom.
















The back view.



































A close up of the fabric.























I'm a sucker for ric rac!






















I also finally bought a 24" X 24" pillow form and covered it with some Steeler fleece for our Wilbur.

He loves it!!!

Look at that face!!! Is it any wonder he found a girlfriend during his first day at Doggy Day Care?

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

My Sewing Machine is on Strike!

I have a strong feeling there's an electronic conspiracy afoot in my life because yesterday a bunch of lights on the dashboard of our SUV decided to light up like a Christmas tree, my sewing machine quit working--just like that--, and Hans (who left for Lisbon on Sunday) spent a good deal of time emailing me to please call our cell phone provider and politely ask them to activate his international account.


Wouldn't you know it would be the day I just didn't bother to get on line until afternoon and upon reading his desperate pleas for help, tried to solve his issue as quickly as possible.


Please deliver me from voice menus!


Usually if you hang on long enough you'll get the option to talk to a real live person. Well, not with our company. Oh no! First you have to punch in your passcode (followed by the pound key).


Well I don't know our passcode and I'd like to know how the hell many people do! After hanging up and redialing way too many times I jumped online to see if I could get more information.


'Don't remember your passcode?' their site asked.


No! I don't! And I nearly wept with joy because I actually thought they were going to help me.

Then simply enter your email address along with your SUPER SECRET PASSCODE and then we'll send you your regular passcode.


Since I have a very short fuse when it comes to things like this, I swore. A lot. I realize this is my blog but I just won't repeat what I said. I'll let you fill in the blanks.


I got back on my phone once again and managed to get to a point where the computer couldn't (or wouldn't) recognize my nasty comments. "I'm sorry," said the sappy upbeat electronic voice, "I don't understand what you said."

Like I was really surprised! I doubt they are programmed to understand 'Sonofab****en A**holes, or else we'd all get through in a heart beat.


But somehow I did get a live body on the line and finally had Hans set up for international calls.


So tonight when Hans called me via skype I wasn't really surprised to find that it's not working very well and at one point his voice was completely scrambled and came across the ocean like an insane pinball game.


Apparently these electronic thingies belong to a very strong union but I swear as God is my witness, I'll break it (and never go hungry again! Sorry but Gone With the Wind just came on and I got carried away)!




I'm ever so thankful that the ladies I work for have a sewing machine and they let me borrow it.

It's a Brother and I spent a bit of time going over it and making some practice stitches and for a beginner's machine it's pretty nice!

Actually, the directions are quite detailed, right down to how to use a twin needle etc...

But I'm really thrilled that it has a buttonhole stitch and foot!!







This is Wilbur tonight after surviving his first full day at Doggy Day Care.


It looks like his back nails have been clipped but they are just worn down from running all day.


When I went to pick him up, the owner said he'd made a friend and thought I like to meet her. Out bounced another red pitty the same color (except for a white star on her forehead) and she and Wilbur both gyrated around like crazy until I paid the bill and left.





He's been out like a light ever since!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Doggy Day Care and a Sewing Project on Hold.

When we deliver our boat to Florida next month we plan on leaving Wilbur behind.


For anyone who reads this blog and knows how much we love our dog, I'm sure this is a bit of a shock. However, we're going to fly right back home and I refuse to stick my baby into the belly of a plane. Hans thinks I'm nuts and stated that Wilbur would be just fine, and then actually dared to roll his eyes when I said Wilbur was far too sensitive to survive such a trip.


However he changed his mind when I told him that the crate we'd need to buy, along with the cost of Wilbur's flight, would be right around the same amount as boarding him at Doggy Day Care.


So off we went to Doggy Day Care to see if our boy 'plays well with others', and would therefore be accepted as a boarder.


Wilbur passed, and believe me that experience will have its own post.


As for my stalled project.

The crib I was sewing for The Bumfuzzles has hit the skids. In the middle of the sewing of this crib I called our local West Marine to ask them if they had six packages of 12 sets of brass grommets I would need to complete this job.


They didn't.


And they said it might take them as long as two weeks to get them. So the Bumfuzzles found a site that said not only did they have them, they'd send them to me right away.
The package arrived on Friday and contained a grand total of six grommets!!! Not six packages of twelve, but six grommets!!!


I kid you not.


So until the grommets arrive there's not much I can do but I feel so bad because I know the Bumfuzzles would have liked to have their crib 'yesterday'!! Not next week.














Look at this face! Of course he plays well with others!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Sewing a Crib. For a Boat?

I spend a lot of time these days cruising (such an apt expression!) live aboard boat blogs.

During the short two months Hans and I lived on our boat this summer, I found that we were very inadequately prepared for such a life. Luckily we have a bit more time and a lot more experience under our belts before we head out again this January for the Bahamas.

I found the Bumfuzzles on Cheryl's blog. Cheryl and her husband have been working like mad on their 1987 Catalina 30 in hopes of someday moving aboard. I'm impressed and amazed at the amount of work they've done on their own, especially during this summer's heat (they live in Louisiana!).

Anyway, they mentioned the Bumfuzzles on their blog and Shazzam!!!! before you know it, I'm sewing a crib for a Bumfuzzle Baby!

So a little background on these Bumfuzzle people. In their late 20's, Pat and Ali made a decision to forsake moving to and living out their lives in suburbia. Instead, they sold everything they owned, bought a sailboat (with absolutely no boating experience of any kind), proceeded to sail around the world, and managed to become the absolute bane of even the most hard core sailors.

Why?

Because they dared to dream, acted upon that dream, and seven years later are still living the dream. You really should check out their blog.

When I grow up, I hope to be just like the Bumfuzzles!

In addition to adding baby Quest to their family in January, they purchased a monohull sail boat; their previous boat having been a catamaran (and I can just hear the cruising forums rubbing their hands in glee over this).


But with this new home, the Bumbuzzles needed a secure place for their daughter Quest to reside. So they turned to their friends on the Internet and sent a shout out for help. The 'canvas' guy they hired neglected to inform the Bumfuzzles that he was more interested in retiring than sewing, and left them high and dry.

Enter me, Laura, the Somewhat Sewist.

I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the box, I'll never discover the cure for cancer, and I'll never write a Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel, but I'd like to think I can do a bit of good for someone who needs it!


So I volunteered.

I only hope to be able to hold up my end of the bargain!!!!


This is a rough 'frame' of one of the long sections of the crib lying on our carpet.


Remember; a crib has two long sides and two shorter ends.


This long section will have a mesh insert and a roll up/down panel for warmth (and/or privacy).

















Here it is with the mesh insert.



I have it hanging off my ironing board (so please forgive that odd X formation in the background).

I'll post more pictures of it when I'm done.














Wilbur has been fascinated with this whole process.



Here he is when I told him it was for a baby.



"I thought I was the baby!!!!!" was his reaction.