A quick update on our Germany/London trip. And my dress

It's been a very busy and hectic week and hasn't been made any easier with the constant fear of whether the volcanic cloud will decide to wreak her power over us.

We were lucky to be able to fly into Heathrow from Hamburg, Germany yesterday as the airports had been shut down the day before! It was a bit unsettling to see a normally busy place so very quiet.

Anyway we are currently in Leeds (Hans has business here) and will leave for London (by train) tomorrow so we can be totally irritating tourists for three days!



Once again I didn't account for the cooler weather that happens over here and I didn't pack enough warm clothes. Saturday's wedding started with a boat ride to the church and I had nothing dressy to put over my 'afternoon' dress. Luckily when we went to pick up Hans' tux we stumbled upon a used clothing store and just as I was ready to give up I found something that would work. Unfortunately it cost 50 euro!! Ouch. I don't even want to see my credit card bill.

It's a shame you can't see the dress (I didn't make it but I did get it on sale and it was a lot cheaper than the 'used' jacket).

My used jacket! Thank God we found it because it really was a chilly and windy day.

The red carpet treatment at the reception that evening.

This is the dress I made.

Hans in his tux. The store in Hamburg only had one shirt in his size.

The Castaway

My head is pounding! I crammed a weeks worth of living into two days, and we have to be up at 5:30 AM tomorrow in order to get to the airport.
And while it's my own fault I still want sympathy!

Today I lined and hemmed my silk dress. And no one, NO ONE!!! will ever be permitted to see the interior. It's that bad!

The sleeves on my little black jacket needed to be hemmed but they were already short, so I added a black bias tape edge to them and it actually made them look kind of smart. Let's hope people will see the smartness of the sleeve edges and not notice the hideous job I did in easing the sleeves into place. I'm still not entirely sure, but I may have put them in backwards!

I made Wilbur a batch of food but I ran short and hope desperately that Vet Tech Girl will carry on in our absence.

I checked out 6 books at the library but only have room for 4 in my luggage.

I made a quick (and expensive) trip to Petco and when what you need is in a locked display case, look out!!! it's not gonna be cheap!

Then onto the shoe store. When I finished my silk dress I threw on my favorite patent leather sandals and the damn back strap on one of them wouldn't stay up!! Thank God I found a cute pair of black satin heels on the clearance rack! I get the clearance rack while Wilbur gets the locked vault stuff!!! It would appear that he is the high maintenance member of this family.

Then came time to pack and I didn't get started till after dinner. Passports, electrical plug adaptors, cords for all of our electronic devices, does my new flat iron work in Europe? Are we checking baggage or not? What the hell is the weather going to be like over there? OMG, I only have one set of contact lenses left and I just ran out of saline solution! I forgot to renew my vehicle registration, it's due at the end of the month, and I had to jump online and renew it!! Baby Girl is using my car and now we need to get it inspected ad nauseum, and she's in the middle of finals!!
In the middle of all this Hans told me he needed my phone to update it for use in Europe. I didn't snarl. I didn't!!!!!!!!!

While I was running back and forth in my attempt to pack, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw this:



Wilbur had jumped into my suitcase.














He dug around and made a nice little nest.

If I thought for one second I could get away with it...

A finished evening gown!!!!!!!

Today was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and blue, the air cool, the sun warm.

At least that's what I've been told.

Unfortunately I never set foot outside the apartment (except for Wilbur's early morning pee) until this evening when I finally unchained myself from the sewing machine.

This is because I'm the queen of procrastinators and even though I hate being that way, I think I'm going to have to resign myself to it.

Hemming this bias cut dress was very time consuming. I hand basted around the entire bottom edge (to hold it in place) and then pressed it.

I measured an inch up on the turned under hem, and added another row of basting. This was on the turned under part only! Not on the actual dress.

The second line of basting was added so the hem could be eased before hemming.

After easing the hem I applied some iron on hem tape at the very edge of the turned up hem. My mother wasn't sure if she approved of 'iron on' hem tape but I assured her it would be on the hem allowance only!

I then sewed the hem in place by hand.

You can see the border print showing in the bottom corner here. Since this dress was cut on the bias, one lower corner ended up with this darker print.

That's why I added the border print to the opposite side of the dress on the bodice in the photo above this one.

I have no idea if this makes sense but I like the asymmetrical look to it.

When I finished hemming the dress, I dug out a jacket pattern (I can't remember which one it is and I'm too tired right now to look) and made this.

Just in case it's chilly next weekend I'll at least have my arms covered.

We leave for Europe Wednesday morning.

I still have to pack.

I don't even know if I have shoes for some of my outfits!

Vet Tech Girl is going to watch Wilbur for us and I have to grind up a two week batch of chicken meat, bones, livers, and egg shells.

I just realized I have nothing to read on this trip so I have to hit the library.

My silk cocktail dress is missing a lining and needs to be hemmed.

I have no one to blame but myself!

All evening long we've noticed that something smells funky!

Hans thought it was Wilbur's bedding, but I just washed it, so I think the stink is Wilbur.

He smells like an anchovy!

I kid you not! What's that all about?

Smelly or not, at least he looks debonair.

It's official, I'm a ROAR Squad member!

Normally I'm not a 'joiner' (although there was that time down in Mt. Airy, North Carolina when I was at Mayberry Days and became part of a fan club. Baby Girl got confused and told her teachers that I joined a cult! I kid you not!), but I so wanted to jump on the ROAR Squad band wagon, and I did!

Shauna over at Fido and Wino has taken on a huge task.

She's the creator of the Roar Squad, and her dream is to put puppy mills out of business and make adopting pets from shelters a cool thing to do!!!

If you want to feel all kinds of warm fuzzies, you really should go check her out. And if you know anyone who's looking for a pet of any kind, send them to her blog so they can see for themselves how adopting a 'cast away' could possibly be one of the most rewarding decisions they ever make!

And even if you aren't in the market for a pet, you should read her blog anyway as she's very witty and fun.

We went to my mom's today for Mother's Day and gave her the (used to be full) hanging flower basket that Wilbur the Future Florist ever so kindly pruned. We had a very nice afternoon and even managed to stay for dinner.



Now here's something I never expected to see. Chlorox and Wilbur, not only in the same room together, but on the futon together!! It's kind of like seeing the lion lie down with the lamb.

Or even more unlikely, how about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (or Mr. Imadinnerjacket, to us) and Isaac Mizrahi sitting down to discuss fashion together!

Now wouldn't that be something!!!!!!!

Wilbur Jekyll and Wilbur Hyde

Last night I decided to dig out my Puff Purse Pattern.
As you can see it didn't turn out nearly as nice as it should have but it'll do.

I underlined the very thin and shifty (sounds kind of criminal doesn't it?) silk with some duck cloth. I also added interfacing to the body, but not the sides.

I didn't glue the frame to the bag. For one thing, my glue went bad, and I also knew I'd get it all over the place. Luckily this frame has holes in it for sewing so that's what I did.

In my infinite wisdom (insert sarcasm here), I decided to add a strap to convert it into a wristlet.

I didn't have any swivel hardware on hand so I just sewed the 1/2 inch strap into a seam. It's too clunky and does NOT look right, but too late now. At least I won't have to clutch it all evening long.







Here you can see how very petite it is!

Just the right size for a pretty kitty.

Chlorox is concerned that the intensity of the green in the purse might take away from the green in her eyes.

And the Countess will not be upstaged!








Today started out wonderfully.

Hans nor I had to work so I suggested a sojourn that included finding my mother a nice hanging basket for Mother's Day, and taking Wilbur to a boat launching sight on the river to see if he likes water.

The trip to the market was very successful and I bought the biggest, fullest (and most expensive), hanging moss basket full of petunias and verbena that I've ever seen. I could barely carry it out of the stalls and I actually called out "wide load" (to some people's amusement) while attempting to do so.


Hans and Wilbur waited outside very patiently for me as there was no room for a rambunctious pit bull (or a Big German Man for that matter) in the narrow isles of the mini greenhouse.

The aromas from nearby eateries convinced us to stop for lunch so we found a restaurant with outside seating and got a pizza. And for the record, let me say that until Wilbur came into our lives we have never received so much attention.


People came out of the woodwork to see him, pet him, exclaim over him, and just adore him. We heard stories of people who've adopted pitties and pitty mixes, and will never own another breed of dog in their life. The street musicians (whom I'd tipped earlier) stopped playing their instruments and begged to pet him. And of course one of them has a pitty/red bone mix (abandoned female breeder rescue) that he loves to death.

An older Indian gentleman was very enamored of Wilbur, whom he declared to be an almost twin to his nine year old pitty that he too, got from a shelter. He looked him over from head to tail and noted that while Wilbur is missing the white tip to his tail that would mark him as a pure pit bull, he still has the classic underbite that's a pit bull trait. He remarked a couple of times that he'd take Wilbur in an instant if he could.


We then headed off to the boat launch and Wilbur took to the water in a very good way. People feed ducks at this location so there was a lot of popcorn floating on the water. I only wish I'd had my camera with me to film him clumsily attempting to 'paw' the popcorn closer to him in order to eat it.

And then we got home, I went to the grocery store, and all hell broke loose.


Hans met me at the door with a myriad of complaints of how naughty Wilbur had been while I was gone, and then said I wouldn't be at all happy with what had occurred on the deck.

That's when I screamed, "Oh my God, my plant!" and ran for the back door.

I was greeted with complete carnage and I was furious (and not with the dog)!

Thank God Hans stopped Wilbur before he did too much damage because Wilbur was enthusiastically pruning the petunia to nothing when he was caught.


It looks a bit thinner but it'll be ok.

I took Wilbur out onto the deck later with his new peanut butter bone and he was a sweetie! He's always good for me.

I'm feeling a very deja vu moment about this situation.

Why is it that you can't leave men alone with the kids while you're gone?

Hemming and Hawing

I believe I mentioned in my last post that I'm running out of sewing time for our trip to Europe next week. So instead of hemming the evening gown I made that's been lying around for about a month, I went and started another dress.


This silk fabric, that I bought in Paris a couple of years ago, has been really bothering me. It's because I wasn't confident enough to cut into it, and I finally said the hell with it!


Actually it's almost a crime that someone like me should be allowed to have such lovely fabric.


I know the do's and don't's of silk but it was still a bitch to work with. I tried so hard to keep everything on the straight and narrow but this stuff shifted all over the place!!!


Anyway I thought it would be best to use it on something that's worked for me in the past. So I remade my Burda 07-2007-120.



It still needs to be hemmed (and lined) but here it is.


And let me tell you it's being held together by a wing and a prayer! I ripped the bodice apart three times (and it's a simple bodice). It just goes back to the silk thing!


I made Hans help me with the shoulder strap adjustment and he asked, "Don't you still have to hem your other dress?"


"Yeah? So...?" from me.


"Well why would you start another dress if you're not done with the first one?"


"Because I have a bug up my butt, that's why!" (And it has nothing to do with perimenopause or PMS!).


"Well, we're leaving on Wednesday, do you suppose that bug will be gone by then?"


"Probably not, so don't worry about it!"



And so it goes.






Yesterday I was worried about Wilbur. He was so quiet, and spent more time than I felt necessary, sleeping.


Well he more than made up for it today! He turned somersaults when let out of his crate this morning, and even after two walks he was full of beans (and toots!!! GAG!!!) into the evening.


This picture doesn't do him justice, but his whole hind end is up against the back of the futon while his head is on the seat.





But get this; tonight at bed time, I asked Hans if he'd please give the little bugger one last potty break before we go to bed.



I heard a commotion and then Hans came back into the room in a very meek manner and said, "He doesn't want to go out," and then Wilbur crawled up on the futon beside me and started snoring.



"Who the hell wears the pants in this house anyway?" I shouted. "You or the dog?"


I then pushed Wilbur off the futon, dragged him down the steps, and marched his ass up the street. He then took a huge healthy pee, while I stood beside him, in my pajamas, and watched.


I made sure to steer him away from the used syringe (I should take a picture!) that's lying right outside our door, and I wasn't in the mood to worry about drive by shootings. Earlier this evening I'd watched a big scary man with a big scary (yet majestic) pit bull walk past, and tried not to worry about them either.


Wilbur is now dreaming (and kicking) beside me and Hans has acknowledged that I wear the pants in this family!



Somehow this doesn't seem right!

The clock is ticking!!!

I can't believe the family wedding is almost here! We leave for Germany next Wednesday and I still have to hem my dress!

But at least it appears to be acceptable and all I have to do is hem it.

I went out to my parents' house last weekend so my mother could pin it up for me. That poor woman had to lie on the floor for I bet a half hour getting it to just the right length.

Luckily Wilbur was a good boy and spent hours chewing on Kissy Pooh's collection of marrow bones. Kissy Pooh, on the other hand, was a very ungracious hostess and shunned any attempts on his part to become friends.

She sulked upstairs, downstairs, and on the porch. And finally the time came when Wilbur, with tail wagging madly, tried to play with Kissie Pooh and she lunged at him in a very nasty way and sent him running with his tail between his legs.

I swear I saw my dad smirk but I'll let it go.





This is Wilbur after spending hours chewing on the big juicy bone we bought for him on Sunday.

He was beyond exhausted.


Actually he's just about the most relaxed dog I've ever met. He's sleeping beside me right now, and all I have to do is pick up his head, give him tons of big smoochy kisses, and he never wakes up!!!

But he's very needy and doesn't want us out of his sight. Luckily while we're gone, Vet Tech Girl will be taking care of him and he adores her.

I'll try not to worry too much while we're gone.


Chlorox is coming along much better than I expected. She's made several forays from the bedroom to the kitchen and thank God Wilbur, while curious, gives her her space. I spent hours this morning elbow deep, grinding raw chicken thighs (with bones), livers, and hearts and gizzards. Wilbur is on a raw diet and while it's actually very cheap it's a bit time consuming. Anyway Chlorox made several appearances all the while sneering at Wilbur, who would really like nothing more than a good cuddle with her!!!






Here is Chlorox on our bed, and it's the only place Wilbur is not allowed.









I call this shot: Camouflage.

Give a Dog a Bone (as long as the lady gets some fabric)

Wilbur arrived home early this morning from his 'Take your step-brother to work day'. Vet Tech Girl took him and Duncan to work with her last night for her 12 hour overnight shift at the vet clinic.

And what a time he had! He and Duncan shared a very large cage that allowed them to wrestle for hours, and then both of them (whether they wanted it or not!!) got a bath.


He was obviously tired so I didn't feel too horribly guilty for putting him in his crate so we could head out to the market district in search of a beef bone for him.


A couple of hundred bucks later we arrived home with a bone for Wilbur.


So how does a bone cost so much?


Actually the bone itself (and it's a nice meaty beef marrow bone covered in fat, and sinew, and blood) cost $4.26.


The rest of our money was spent on all kinds of wonderfully necessary things, such as, a beautiful amethyst pendant purchased from a Russian jeweler for me (to make up for the knee pads that I got for my 50th birthday!), a Penguins T-shirt for Hans, anchovy stuffed olives for me, a deep fried fish sandwich and beer for lunch, and a piece of fabric from an OMG!!!!!!! fabric store that's not a JoAnn's!.

I tried so hard not to go in, I really did. I told Hans that I didn't need or want anymore fabric! We're moving onto the boat in June and how much sense would that make?

So we went in.

"Boy, they're not stupid", Hans noted, upon spying the Sports Illustrated magazines and a comfy chair situated ever so invitingly just inside the door. I told him to 'sit' and thank God he's as smart as Wilbur, because he did, and after assuring him I wouldn't buy a thing I set off to explore.

What a store!!!!!! I've never seen such a selection of fabrics and everyone there is so stinking friendly (they will never get a job at JoAnn's!). They have books, notions, and tons of fun covered buttons. And if there's something you want that they don't have (I don't know how that's possible) just tell them and they will do their best to get it for you. The layout of the store is almost hypnotizing, it's that nice. I was on the second floor when one of the ladies pointed out some Sunbrella fabric to me.




Isn't this cool? I never knew Sunbrella had prints.

I bought a one yard piece of 60 inch wide fabric for $15.00.

I'm going to make a big tote/beach bag from it.


Actually I should be making cushions etc... but I don't have enough time!










Here it is at its full size along with an exhausted pit bull.

Wilbur spent an hour and a half chewing and gnawing on his juicy beef bone. He would sometimes stop mid-chew to pant like an idiot before starting to chew anew. Since then he's been pretty much comatose, so much so that Chlorox walked into the room, sniffed him, and then left.

He never budged.






And I'm so thankful that we've found a new use for the Potty Patch.


It makes a lovely $79.00 place mat.


"Didn't Duncan pee on that yesterday?" Hans observed.


"Don't ask." I replied.

Date Night

So it's been twelve days since Wilbur arrived in our lives.

Tonight Vet Tech Girl asked if she could please take him to the clinic with her for her 12 hour shift.

Being the trashy mother that I am, I agreed to it in a heartbeat!!!

This is probably because the little devil woke up around ONE AM last night and screamed for hours.

He was not hungry.

He was not cold.

He was just needy.

But we can't risk letting him out of his crate during the night just because he's decided he's lonely.

What I really don't understand is the fact that I heard all of it, and Hans slept through the whole thing!

Pssst...the word on the street is; cat poop is a rare delicacy and if you should find some, you should scarf it up before someone beats you to it!

And even if you get your butt smacked, and someone calls you a 'bad doggy' you should go for it anyway! It's that tasty.

But beware, this is what your teeth look like with kitty litter stuck in them, and for some reason no one wants to kiss you!

Here's a completely innocent puppy.

Do you really think he screams during the night thus making his mistress feel like she's spending the night in an insane asylum?

And why would anyone want to blog when they could gaze upon a beauty such as this?

I mentioned in a previous post that Hans and I are moving aboard our sail boat this June but at that time I didn't realize we were going to be bringing a dog along on the trip.

I did a bit of research and found that most dogs can be trained to go potty on board if they are trained to do so.

Enter The Potty Patch.

I bought it at PetCo to the tune of $79.00. 'Pets Love It!', is blasted across the front of the box, and it shows a happy little ankle biter (sporting a smile, I swear!) doing a wee-wee on the Potty Patch.

Pets love it? Sure they do!

About as much as I like having bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails! At least that's the impression Wilbur has given us about this product. He's terrified of it. He side steps it, jumps over it, shivers in front of it, and all around won't poop on it!!!

Duncan on the other hand, thinks it's peachy keen! He came by for a play date today (where Wilbur, who's far too young, spent a tedious hour humping him) and took a big pee on the Potty Patch!

Tomorrow our little guy will come back home and then Hans and I are heading to the meat district where we hope to find a juicy cow femur bone (for hours of endless chewing, and not screaming, fun!!!) and maybe some advice on how to properly grind up raw chicken bones.

BTW, Chlorox is finally venturing out from the bedroom in small yet very important steps!

I thought once my kids were grown I would be able to relax.

Yes Virginia, Laura still owns a sewing machine!!

I've had this pattern lying around for a bit and I finally decided it was time to put it to use. I made view B (the striped one on the envelope) and used some of the remaining fabric I bought when we were in Ireland last year.

I realize that a more distinct contrast between the main fabric, and the top and bottom fabric would have made a nicer bag, but it's too late now!

Unfortunately I cut the handles out before reading the instructions.

Honest to God, talk about a convoluted ring-around-the rosy, no walk in the park, unbelievably stupid way to make simple purse straps!!!!!!!!!

It's no wonder people who've never sewn before, quit after working with crap like that!

But anyway, here's the front (or the back).

And the back (or the front).





























A close up of the bottom detail.



















The pattern didn't call for any type of closure but I went ahead and added a magnetic snap.



This is the inside with a simple pocket.















And did you really think I'd let you get away without a picture of Wilbur?



I think Hans and I are finally past the "Oh my God he's so cute, get the camera and take a picture!" stage.

He is adorable.

He is smart.

He is polite.

Chlorox hates him.

Tomorrow he goes to the vet to get an ouchy (inoculation) but I have a feeling he'll love the attention.

You can bet my next post will be all about him.