New Sunporch

 We are quite excited in being able to replace our old sunporch. The sunporch that was on the house when we bought it, we learned was 35 years old. It was leaking and we weren't able to use it for much any more. Here is the cement truck arriving for the new foundation.

 Totally gone and only the old tiled floor and new foundation.

Today the framing is being done. We were able to make the room a little longer and wider, so it will be 382 square feet.

Back from Washinton DC

 Was able to visit my brother who lives in Washington DC this last weekend. This cherry tree even had a bloom on the bark of the tree.

 Everything was in bloom there. There were bulbs coming up out of the ground everywhere and trees were beginning to be in bloom. Hotels had pots of yellow and purple pansies ready for the cherry blossom festival this coming weekend. Some of us went early.

 Visited the bonsai display and this tree was from the 1600's. Very unbelievable.

 Then there was the orchid display at the National Botanical Gardens.

Truly enjoyed visiting the Smithsonian Institute. The prize picture that my brother got was a picture of me in front of the White House. It was the same spot that my father took of me when I was 6 years old when he took me to Washington DC. I found that picture in his billfold when he died. He had carried it for 65 years.

Undershirts

I dyed a couple of silk shirts from Dharma. I like to wear these shirts under my clothes when it gets cold. Having them in different colors makes it fun when they show above my outer clothes. I have several dyed to the colors that I usually wear.

Natural Dyeing

This is my first natural dyeing after attending a workshop in natural dyeing. I am using silk pieces from linings of kimonos. The one to the left is black beans with baking soda added and then put in iron for a mordant. The one on the right is Mexican beans and pods and using iron as a mordant. I like the dark grey, but the taupe I will probably dye again in something.

Vogue 8793

 This is a great pattern. I really like how the neck trim goes together. Katherine is so clever to think this up. I bought the fabric from Marcy and I love the quality. It was fun thinking up the coordinations of the different fabrics. Even though the fabrics are different weights it still works well.

I brought the shoulders in 1/2 inch. I took out 1and 1/2 inches at the waist. I took out two inches in the sleeves. I brought up the neck 1 inch. I was able to get a really good fit from the tips the Tilton's gave on their craftsy workshop. This is a fun one. Give it a try.

Travel Purse

I made this travel purse for  a friend of mine. The small pocket is for credit cards and there is a zipper section for the money and on the back is a pocket for the passport. I beaded around the poppy and some on the center. My friend likes lime green, so it fit here well.

Marcy's Vest

 Marcy's new vest. I really like it. She said to make it one size smaller then you would usually do. I would of made a large, but made a medium. I am glad that I did.

 This is some polar fleece 100 I ordered from Marcy. It is so soft. I just love it.

It took a little to figure out how it goes together. It is very clever. I made a mistake and the cross seams were suppose to be french seams to the outside. With this heavier fabric it looks good with topped stitch seams. There wasn't a problem with raveling, so I didn't need to serge. I would like to make it in a linen. I am thinking I would even make it smaller and be sure to put the french seams to the outside. When I went to put the hooks on, it took a while to realize that the cross seams were not suppose to match in the front. The bottom edge is suppose to hang down farther on one side then the other.