On a Lark » dogs

Stuff I Like: New Fabric Etc.

Emily — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:20:33 +0000

This weekend felt like June. And not even the type of of June we sometimes get where it rains the whole time. The nice type of June. Anyhow, there’s nothing like beautiful weather to make me remember all the news things that I like (and that you might like too!)

1. Ambiance Bemberg lining: This is a really luxurious feeling lining that I’m using for my graduation dress. I’m using this fabric from Fabric.com. It is a bit of a trick to deal with. Case in point, Pattern Review has a three page discussion in their forums about how to handle it (check it out here). But still, I sort of love it.

2. New spring projects: Inspired by this pillow, I bought myself some felt. It’ll probably be a while before I get to actually put it into use, but for now it’s something colorful to think about:

3. Headway on winter projects: And this is also an example of why I need a serger. Or more aptly, need some kind of crafty patron that would like to donate a serger to my cause.

Graduation Dress Bodice Interior

Topstitching Fun

Operation Graduation Dress is chugging along. This is a good project for me because, usually, once I get going on a project, I like to finish it in one shot, even if it takes all night. It’s taken some serious self control to work on it for a few hours here and a few hours there.

4. Chubby puppies: That’s right, the puppy from a few posts ago is now giant. He’s more than doubled in size in his week and a half of life. We’re going to name him Otto (aka the Ottoman Empire or Ottopotamus). He’s adorable.

5. The new Vitamin Water flavor Spark. It is delicious.

What do you like right now?

Puppy!!!!

Emily — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:18:12 +0000

I’m not sure that I put enough exclamation points in the title. Early Thursday morning, my boyfriend’s seven year old chocolate lab gave birth to a single chocolate brown boy puppy. He looks just like his mama. Our lab is such a smart girl and we are so excited to have a new addition to the family. And, he’s REALLY part of the family because the puppy’s dad is the my boyfriend’s parent’s yellow lab. That was a mouthful. On Friday we drove home to help take over some puppy duty for the weekend.
There’s puppy on the scale. He is going to be a bruiser. Apparently when there is a very small litter, you have to be careful that the puppy doesn’t become a swimmer. A swimmer is the funniest possible term for a puppy that becomes so fat before they can walk, that their little legs aren’t strong enough for them to learn. Ok, here are few more pictures.

I don’t have any kids, but I’m assuming that the first night you spend with a new infant is a tiny bit like the first night with a little puppy. Even if the puppy was sleeping soundly, we woke up every few hours to make sure he was still breathing. I almost broke out the mirror a few times to check for breath. The door is now open for name suggestions!

Operation Graduation Dress: Part 2

Emily — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:28:07 +0000

So now that my muslin is complete and (miraculously) fits, I’ve been doing some fabric shopping online. Luckily it’s been rainy up here because if it had been nice I would have wasted an entire afternoon indoors shopping for fabric online. Thanks to Powerpoint and Grab I made up a few “mock ups.” I’m pretty sure this is how they do it in the fashion world Anyhow, inspired by my buddy Shannon’s suggestion, I followed a trend I’ve been seeing around with two or three block colors. What do you think?

I’m leaning towards the first pick because it’s all lightweight cotton lawn or hemp, so it’ll be a little less formal. The other two are silk/cotton pique or a combination of the two.
In related news, my sewing machine is all packed up and ready to go home for spring break! I’ll be in Boston for a few days and in Philadelphia for a few days, but the rest of the week will be quality one-on-one time with my sewing machine. My iron will probably be involved. And I bet my golden retriever will get in there somewhere.