Boogie The Bridge

Yesterday was Boogie the Bridge in the city of Kamloops. We got up early and was out of the house by 6:45 a.m. I ate breakfast on the way in. Hard boiled egg, bagel with peanut butter and jam, and a banana on a china plate.

There were 2100 people registered for this 1, 5, 10 and 21K run. Some were out to beat their last year’s time, others were out for the first time, many out to walk the route, and then there were the children who were boogieing 1K. They were the cutest. There were many spouses, friends and others who mingled amongst the runners talking, encouraging, and laughing at silly comments to keep everyone relaxed.

We got our packets and in them were our bibs and shirts.

On the back of the bottom piece is a tag that has our information on it in case of an emergency and a timer that gave the computer our race time.

The shirts we could have worn during the race but I didn’t. I am saving it to show our grandson.

We had a team picture but not all 46 people showed up for it.

The 5K group were let through the starting gate at 9:20 a.m. and it was amazing to see how many people started off walking. A friend and I were doing 3 min walk, 4 min jog. I paced myself and didn’t break stride for the full 5k. When we were running the first 2.5k, all you could see was a sea of red. This picture was on Facebook showing the long line of people boogieing the bridge.

We were jogging when we finished and were told we looked good. The Spousal Unit thought we did it in around 50 minutes (secondary goal was 55 minutes).

Everyone got a medal and I am proud of mine. It signifies I could do it.

We hung around to greet the 21K runners and then left the area before the big exit.

The next time will be easier. This little booklet tells it all and we needed it two weeks ago. Would have cut down on some of the first time anxiety.

My food reward was an iced cinnamon bun. It was yummy good. I did my glucose reading before dinner and it was 5.4. My cells used up all the glucose that treat put into my body.

In the afternoon, we transplanted tomatoes, sat around in the sunshine, and talked. The sewing room door wasn’t even opened. Today I have to prepare for a meeting, do laundry, and, if time, sew on the mystery quilt.

Until tomorrow……………………….

Skirt for Dress Done

It was an incredible day yesterday. Though the wind blew some, the sun shone and it was perfect for Family Gardening.

Twelve children and their parents showed up for the event and it was fast paced. Children planted zucchini seeds, transplanted pansies into one tub, herbs into another and a tomato plant into a third. Each child went home with their four containers, a potato to plant at home, fertilizer and a ceramic ladybug.

After lunch, I went out and mingled with the bees to shoot pictures of the blossoms. Here are a few I really liked after I cropped them.

Last year, one of our peach trees broke a branch due to the weight of the peaches on it. We propped it up and duct tapped the broken part so the peaches would finish ripening.

We figured the branch would be dead this year. But low and behold, 85% of the branches lived and have blooms on it.

It continues to be propped  up and might need one more prop nearer the duct taped part. We will have peaches off this tree again.

After that I worked on the skirt of the dress. To refresh my memory, I looked at my worksheet once again.

 The quarter circle was made at 5 7/8” and I came down the side 3 7/8”. I then cut the front skirt to 24” long by 48” wide. The quarter circle was drawn at the top with the fold at the left.

From the top point, the length of 23.5” was measured down the side and across the bottom to make the circular skirt.

The bodice was pinned to the skirt and sewn with a 3/8” seam. I sewed slowly and moved the skirt so there were no puckers. Well, only one which was quickly fixed.

The back skirt is similar but the width is 1” wider so that 1” turned to the wrong side and pressed (zipper in center back). I cut it into two pieces each 25” wide by 24” long. This time I laid the back with the wrong side out and the center back (which had the turned under part showing) pinned together. The template was traced at the top and the skirt length measured 23.5” from the center back to the side seam.

I pinned the back bodice to the skirt with the fold lines matched up. They didn’t match at the outside edge but I didn’t worry about that.

The back is done and the dress is ready for the zipper and to be sewn together.

I am gone today with Boogie the Bridge, which was our goal for the end of this session of run club. My goal is to walk three minutes, run four minutes to cover 5K. Today’s goal is to finish the race with a secondary goal of 55 minutes. After we cheer in some of our 21K friends, we plan on getting a ambrosia apple tree, a few missing groceries and then home.

Until tomorrow………………….

Drawing A Bodice (Again)

Yesterday was nice but cool until the afternoon. It then warmed up. Today is cloudy and we could see showers.  

I did my PlayWork yesterday morning and my knee ached until after I got home. Then it quit hurting. I hate that. Next run is the Boogie tomorrow morning. Looking forward to all the energy that will be flowing.

I spent the morning working on the bodice of the little girl’s dress. I had all the measurements in hand and started working.

Child’s Measurements

 

Back  11.5”	Shoulder to Chest  6.25”
Chest  24”	Shoulder to Waist  12.5”
Waist  22”	Shoulder to hem  33”

I cut the first bodice and it was too short so I cut one longer and trimmed it back to the correct length of 13.5”. The width of the fabric was 36”. I turned under the center back an inch and pressed in place. The center backs were folded in to the center front and the whole thing was pressed well and was 8.5” wide. That is wider than what Chinelo asks you to do but I am still learning and like extra fabric.

I was ready to go on to the second side of my worksheet. You can see I made a few corrections in blue.

Following Chinelo’s directions, I started to measure from the center fold. I am drawing on the wrong side of the fabric.

Here is how it went:

Measure from the center front/back 1/2 of the back measurement at the top of the fabric (5.75”)

At that dot, measure down the distance from shoulder to chest plus 1/2” (6.75”)

At that mark, measure from the folded edge 1/4 of the chest measurement plus 1” (7”)

At the bottom of the fabric measure 1/4 of the waist measurement plus 1.5” (7”)

At the neck, measure across 3” and down 3.5”. I used my Sure-Fit ruler to draw the neckline. It was perfect.

To draw the armhole, I used this ruler and fiddled around until I got what I wanted.

I trace what I need on to my pattern tracing pellon. At the under arm edge, I drew a bit of a straight line (3/4”) and then started to draw what I wanted as I wasn’t pleased with the scoop that the ruler drew on the fabric so I worked at fixing it. I do put down numbers on the ruler for future reference. The drawing becomes invaluable.

At the top of the armhole, measure down 1/2” and join that dot to the neckline for the shoulder seam. Ready to cut out.

And cut out ready to draw the darts.

The darts are fairly easy to do following Chinelo's directions. From the center front, measure 3.5” and draw a line 4” long vertically. Fold on this line and draw a dot 1/2” from the fold at the bottom of the bodice. Draw a line from that dot to the top of the fold line. Stitch. Do one on each side of the center front of the front bodice and one one each back half using the center back to measure. The backs darts are just over 4.5” long.

I measured the waist and the chest at the under arms and the measurements are looking good. I will be using 3/8” seam allowances. If this works perfectly, I will add 1/4” to each of the chest and waist measurements so I can make 5/8” seam allowances.

I am ready to start the skirt. I did the template after I measured the waist on the bodice.

The distance down from the point is 3 7/8” and I used the handy tool I showed to draw my line. The curved edge is 6” for a 24” waist line. Perfect!! I will show the skirt as I do the drawing for it.

This morning we have Kid’s Gardening. I have to get a few more pots and a couple of plants as we have 12 children and their parents coming. In the afternoon, I have to get ready for Boogie tomorrow and I may get some sewing done. If I do sew, it will be the skirt on this dress.

Until tomorrow…………………….

Little Girl’s Dress Muslin

Yesterday started out sunny and then the storm clouds came in making it cool. All storms split and missed us. By the end of the day, it was lovely once again. This morning is cloudy and it looks like it could be a damp day.

My turn to get the blood pressure machine for 24 hours was once again cancelled yesterday. The technician still can’t get into the program. I go now on May 5. Maybe that is a good thing as I really need to sleep well for the next few nights.

My morning in the sewing room was less than stellar though I started out strong. I realized that I could make the quarter circle to cut out the waist of the skirt using this neat tool.

 

After a bit of fiddling, I got what I wanted and started to draw and write down numbers.

 

I had a couple of oops when making the skirt. Lack of brain power and the ability to understand what Chinelo Bally had written. The back of the skirt turned out like this when I read and did what I thought she had written. Lesson learned; think while reading. And visualize what she wrote.

I then did the front skirt.

When I attached it to the front bodice, the skirt was too big in the waist.

Back to the drawing table and I made the waist template smaller; the size of the bodice at the waist. Back to the cutting table and I started all over again. This time, I made sure the back pieces were separate with the 1” turned under at the center back seam before I started drawing. The pins at the one side indicate this is the center back of the dress.

 I sewed them on to the back bodice pieces wiggling and fitting them together. I think I will make the darts a bit narrower the next time; 3/8” rather than 1/2”. I can always make the darts deeper if the bodice is too big.

The back is ready for a zipper. Then I moved onto the front skirt. One mistake of not making the skirt width wide enough and then I got it right. Think while you read is the name of the game. Again, I will make narrower darts on the front bodice.

Thank goodness this is a muslin. And my exploring time. So far it has been a lot of fun and I have learned lots. Enough that I will make this dress up in nice garment fabric. I will document the process with numbers to get the size that fits this little girl.

The final steps for the mystery quilt are out and it is a simple layout. I will fiddle with how I want it to look on our bed when I have a couple of hours. Once that step is done, it won’t take long to sew up.

Today I am off to the city to shop and for an appointment. I have a lot of stops today so must be organized to the n^th degree.

Until tomorrow………………………..

Pen to Fabric and More Borders

Yesterday started out cool with the temperature at 4C. It did get to 19C before the clouds rolled in and cooled it off. By bedtime it had started to rain and we must have had several showers during the night. All is wet outside.

I started out the day with PlayWork. As I didn’t have the information, I walked 3 minutes and ran 4 minutes for 7 intervals plus walked another 15 minutes after that. That wasn’t what I was to do but it was okay as I won’t be out again until Friday. That day I will do a total of 30 minutes.

After the workout, I worked put the zipper into the top as promised. I had to add a piece to the bottom to lengthen it before I could start. All went well and it was out of the house before noon. Once that was done, I finished the second border (as everyone calls them). Two rows of 29 pieces in a checker board design.

They do look nice on the black lining. I am enjoying this simpler mystery quilt though I am rushed for time with so much going on this week. But, it has me craving to do another quilt later on.

Before I ended the day, I sewed the darts in the bodice of the girl’s dress and pressed them.

I am ready to draw and cut out the skirt. I have read the instructions on Chinelo's blog quite a few times and think I have it in my mind enough that when I put the pen to the fabric, I will be able to transfer numbers to marks and lines.

We have a lot of fun with Elliott, our cat. His new place to sleep is our bed as he loves our plush blanket. He also loves to snuggle under the light weight blanket at the foot of the bed.

Today, my plan is to start the two longer “borders” on the mystery quilt. I would like to work on the skirt of the dress if I have time. I have to be at the hospital this morning to have a blood pressure machine put on and then a photo session just before lunch.

Until tomorrow……………………

Drawing a Bodice on Fabric

We started out warm and saw the sunshine and then………….it got cloudy and it cooled off. It did get to the forecasted temperature though. Easter is like this even when it is late. This morning is cool at 2.9C.

A big part of yesterday morning was spent cleaning the house. The head fell off the steam mop again causing me to get upset. The Spousal Unit put it back on with a larger screw but I will have to get a new one. This one’s days are limited. While waiting for floors to dry, I did sew on the strips for the mystery quilt and got the first one done.

 After lunch, I started on the dress that Chinelo Bally blogged about. With all the measurements and the instructions on the iPad, I got started. The bodice length was cut (13” in this case). From the folded edge, I measured 15” and cut it off (30” was needed according to the instructions; chest measurement plus 6”)

 One inch was turned under on each end (center back edges) and pressed.

Those center back edges were then folded to the center front fold and pressed until the piece measured 7” x 13”.

With the folded edge facing to the right, I followed the instructions of measuring:

• measuring 1/2 the back measurement from the center fold
  
• measuring down from the above dot the shoulder to chest measurement plus 1/2” (6.75”)
  
• measure the 1/4 of the chest measurement plus 1” (7”)
  
• from center front measure 3.5” over and 3” down.

This is what it looked like after I drew in the neckline.

And then I acquired a mess trying to figure out the armhole. Out came the kids package from Sure-Fit Designs to help me along.

I did a mock up on a piece of tracing paper to get the idea and some numbers on a ruler you can’t see for the mess. I put the numbers on the mock up for future reference. The arm hole was drawn in and a thin line drawn down from under the arm to the waist. All the black lines were cut out and we had a bodice.

Following the directions, the bodice was folded 3.5” from the center front. The front darts are 3.5” long. The same was done for the back but the darts are 4.5” long.

Ready to sew the darts. It was exciting to see how you can make a bodice using the information Chinelo gave. Next is the skirt.

I cleaned up the cutting table and laid out part of the next squares so they can be sewn together today.

At this point I had to stop and start supper. It was a fun day in the sewing room. I am learning and exploring and enjoying myself.

Today I have to install a zipper and then sew the squares for the mystery quilt. I need to have it done for Thursday for the last clue. I also hope to go out and run this morning. I have to do two this week and then it is the big day next Sunday.

Until tomorrow…………………….