Shorts are finished!

I'm in need of quick sewing projects. I'm drawn to projects that are detailed and, therefore, take a long time for me to make. Which is usually fine, because I love the projects once I'm finished. Usually. These shorts, however, have not been fun. So, it's time for a break.

I was happy to learn how to do back pockets and underlaps, but it just took a long time to figure out what needed to be done. And I'm not sure I did them completely right.

In the end, I'm sort of proud how they came out, especially the back pockets.


I wished BurdaStyle had larger, more detailed pics on the page. I found it hard to figure out what I was supposed to do and that may have helped. (I do like the idea of printing at home though.)

If you've never sewn a stitch before, I wouldn't recommend any detailed projects from BurdaStyle quite yet. (Sorry, guys!)

I know they say to start out simple and work your way up, but I believe that if there's something you want to make, start with that. You'll enjoy it more than if you sewed something you won't use.

I haven't had any trouble using McCall's or Simplicity patterns, no matter if it was for jeans or jackets, but they tend to use a lot of pics . . . like a pic for every, single step. And that works better for me. The pattern instructions with pictures show me visually what to do. Sometimes I need that as well as words.

So, BurdaStyle patterns may just take me longer to figure them out. (Though if I went with simpler patterns I probably won't have as much trouble and should be able to whiz through them.)

Besides trying to figure out instructions for new techniques, I hit quite a few snags on techniques I've done before and, usually, feel quite confident about.

For instance, the hem. Oh, Lord, why can I not hem? If anyone can tell by the pics below what I'm doing wrong, please help!

I do sew an angle at the bottom the hem, which is supposed to take up the extra material and prevent puckering, but for the life of me, I couldn't get it to work with this project. I don't know if it's the material, but I suspect it's operator error and I need help learning a new way to keep hems from puckering.

I also had trouble with the belt loops. I couldn't get the fabric to turn inside out. I think it was because the material is so stiff. So the loops show serger thread and look pretty tacky. But, hopefully, Chris' shirt will cover those and it'll be all right.

I also did pretty awful with the zipper. I've never sewn a zipper with an underlap and I don't think it is supposed to make that much of a difference, but it did. I usually can't keep the stitching straight and that was to be expected here, but all these stray stitches look pretty bad.

Instead of looking for a nice contrasting thread, from now on I'm going to use thread that'll blend in. Yeah, I like contrasting, top stitching, but jeez, I do not sew well enough to want to show the stitching off!

Anyway, I hope the hubby will like these shorts. I think they turned out okay, though they're far from perfect or even okay. At least he's got something to cover his bum. :)

Photos of scarf, sweater and tomato update

One down, one to go
I finished the first of two scarves last night:

This alpaca yarn feels so good and it's so pretty. It's going to be hard to turn this loose for Christmas.

Chris said I should buy some more alpaca yarn and make one for myself.

The pattern uses a traditional ripple pattern that is commonly found in afghans. I think it translates beautifully into scarves.

I can't wait to see how the other scarf turns out. It's colors are just as pretty.

Photo update
Here's the sweater all washed and blocked. It's no where near as stretched out and frumpy as it was last weekend when I completed it.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Green is definitely my color.

I'm also glad I didn't sew the collar shut. I think I like it open. Do you?

Tomatoes galore!
I canned six more quarts of tomatoes this morning! I can't believe how many tomatoes we've gotten this year.

We didn't tie the plants up, so many have been lost to rot because they sat on the ground too long or we overlooked them as they hid underneath leaves and stems.

We also had a lot of ants, roly polys (pill bugs) and slugs we had to fight tomatoes for.

I've canned 2 quarts of tomatoes with chilies, 17 quarts of diced tomatoes, 1 pint of diced tomatoes and 3 pints of salsa. That is a blessing!

That doesn't include the quart of basil-garlic tomato sauce we made earlier in the summer to can with the peach chutney disaster (had to throw out all 7 pints because it burned and tasted awful; apple cider vinegar does not substitute for white wine vinegar!) and canned peaches (1 quart).

Canning tomatoes and sweater update

This weekend I canned 7 quarts of diced tomatoes and 3 pints of salsa, loaded with peppers -- jalapenos, a few cayenne, banana peppers (sweet and hot) and some green pepper.

 (All photos by E.A. Seagraves. Do not use without permission.)

One quart didn't get quite full of tomatoes, so I topped it off with water.

I also finished my sweater! I still need to wash it and block it before I wear it.

The collar is supposed to be stitched together in the front, but I didn't like it. So I clipped it and decided to let it hang.

The sweater is "Tanglewood Pullover" by Beryl Hiatt and Linden Phelps from the book "Handknit Style II."

Chris and I also picked out some fabric for some other Christmas present projects and I started crocheting other gifts last night. Here's the fabric we picked out (not sure why the photo is uploading sideways):

We picked the fabric up from Mountain Plain Fabrics in Hillsville, Va.. It mostly carries quilting material so the selection isn't that varied as far as fashion fabrics go, but the fabric they do have is beautiful and the staff is incredibly helpful.

I can't wait to stitch this fabric up and present them at Christmas!
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Here are the knitting book and preserving book for the projects above. I highly recommend both. The sweaters are superb and the Ball canning book is full of useful tips and recipes.