Our landlady showed up yesterday so I could begin sewing later than I had planned. The result was that I only finished the back centre gore and sewed it in. No work on sleeves. Here's the revised schedule.

Tuesday

Sew the sleeves, cut out the neckline, sew the shoulder seams and attach the sleeves.

Wednesday

Sew the the side gores (4 altogether) and side seams.

Thursday

Hem.

Oh, and by the way, this dress is supposed to have a full lining. I hope wearing it once without seam finishes does not overly damage the fabric edges.

Read More

We moved, we painted some more, we furnished, we unpacked. Everyone is happy with the house and the rooms. There are a few quirks (for example the radiator in the upstairs bathroom heats only half way up), but what house doesn't have any?

I still want to get some stuff for our room, but I'm pretty pleased how it is shaping up. Last Friday we found some cool reading lamps. They are made from square opaque glass tube that is closed at the bottom. The glass tube is made from two layers, the inner layer is opaque white and the outer layer is clear, but has a ...

Why do I try to describe them when I have a digital camera? I've grown used to not being able to upload pics, I suppose. Well, this is going to end. The picture-taking and publishing will commence on this blog, as soon as I get a moment to actually process the images. I've been a bit too busy and also without the 'net.

The busyness comes from not only painting and furnishing, but also from sewing feverishly for an upcoming event. A Stitch in Time is held in Belfast this weekend and I haven't got anything to wear. Literally. When I moved, I didn't bring any medieval clothes with me; so I've had to make some. So far I've completed one smock and a pair of hose. Considering what else has been going on in my life it's not too bad.

Anyway, after finishing the smock on Saturday, I cut out a 1250's style tunic yesterday. I used blue twill wool and a period inspired T-tunic pattern. I had a surprising amount of the fabric left over, especially considering that I mis-measured the gores. They were meant to be 110 cm tall, but I cut them 150 cm tall. Although I hate to waste 40 cm of perfectly good fabric, it could have been worse. I could have cut them shorter and then I'd be in really deep trouble. You see, I brought with me just this one piece of wool fabric that is suitable for a tunic. Fortunately I made a mistake that does not have dire consequences.

Due to a birthday, I'm a little behind schedule, but I have full confidence I can finish the tunic by Friday night. I have 3 hours on the bus from Dublin to Belfast if I can't finish it on Thursday night. Here's the schedule:

Monday

Put in back centre gore, sew the sleeves, cut out the neckline and sew the shoulder seams.

Tuesday

Finish the neckline, attach the side gores (4 altogether) and the sleeves.

Wednesday

Sew the side seams and start hemming.

Thursday

Hem.

Only time will tell if I actually can stick to the plan. You'll be the first to know, of course.

Read More

All four bedrooms are painted, the furniture is arranged and we will move in on Friday. I will be without Internet access for a week until the cable TV and modem are installed on the 28^th. The downstairs remains to be painted, we'll tackle it on the weekend as we planned.

There was a change of plans regarding the bedroom arrangements — we made a discovery that the nice double bed in our room is too small for us. At only 140cm wide we both would not sleep comfortably. So we held a war counsel with all the future occupants and we decided that R and I get two single beds and our single guy will get the 1½ bed. The other couple gets the largest bed, which at 150cm wouldn't fit us either. (Yes, we are both keen on losing weight and are doing so.)

I didn't find cool bed stuff on Saturday, we got some bathroom racks and shelves instead. Hopefully I get lucky on Friday.

Read More

We took a house that we had viewed previously because the house we were supposed to view on Thursday became unavailable. We've signed the contract, paid the deposit and gotten the keys. (Insert sigh of relief here.)

The house needs some work to be done. Who in their right minds decorates in pink and green?! This person must really, really like green and pink. Living room, dining room, and two bedrooms have pink walls. Living room has green furniture and the whole house is carpeted in green, including two bathrooms. (Insert a scream of horror here.) Other than that, wherever you look, there is something green. For example the bath, sink and toilet in upstairs bathroom are army green.

If you are able to look past the solor combinations, then the house is superb. It's big, has brand new kitchen, lots of storage, big back yard and a garage; it is in a very good location and has soundproofed walls. It just needs somebody with a better color sense to love it.

The plan is to paint our bedroom this weekend and the common area next weekend. Then, the weekend after that we would move in. We're going out to buy a new lampshade, some paint and beddings today. It is a sunny day, so I'm planning to take my camera with me and show you how Tyrrelstown looks.

Read More

We have been house hunting these past two weeks. So far we haven't decided on any paticular house. There will be another one to view tomorrow, hopefully after that we can stop this chase, move in and concentrate on building a life here.

I've been so tired after work and house viewings that I haven't really accomplished anything. Therefore there is no knitting or sewing to report. I'm planning to go to an event on February 3-5 and really should start sewing again.

Read More

Many Merry New Years to all my readers, family and friends!

_{Fireworks from artvex.com}

Read More