- Khaki twill skirt for me. This is the same fabric as the short skirt I made last fall. I wore it a lot over the summer but I really wanted something longer for cooler weather. I didn’t have very much fabric to work with due to the first skirt being bias cut, so I decided a yoked skirt would be my best bet for getting as much length as possible. I used the skirt from Ottobre 5/2007 (#3-4-9-18 all use the same basic pattern) and added 8″ to the length (I sliced my pattern in 2 different places). I would have added a little more but I had to work with my yardage.
- Bible cover, blogged about here. I forgot to link to the basic directions I followed; in case you were wondering you can find those here. We’ve covered a number of composition books this way (the kids use them for assignment books) and I tweaked it a couple years ago to cover the three ring binder I use for my school stuff.
- Olive twill skirt. This was not your run of the mill cotton twill, it was a rayon-cotton blend with hint of lycra: it drapes beautifully! I drafted my own pattern by hand for this one, six gores, plain jane waistband, side zipper. I have all sorts of ideas for dressing this one up for church and down for everyday wear.
That’s my current word count–I made it through that death notification scene (phew!!), but more importantly I’ve passed the 25% mark on my word count. That’s the goal I set for myself and the kids for this weekend. . .I’m pretty sure they still have a lot of words to write tomorrow, even though NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program allows them to set total word count goals that are well below the 50K mark.
It’s going much better than it did last year. I’m getting the hang of resisting the urge to go back and edit, which is a big challenge for me. But the only time I go back is to double check whether or not a particular character has a name yet. Ironically, last year before November 1 I had taken the time to give all my characters full names, birthdays, physical descriptions, and who knows what else. However, I had no plot in mind, and describing characters who have inane conversations only uses so many words. This year, I had a germ of a plot in mind–and I do mean “germ”–but my main character didn’t even have a name until I started writing last Sunday afternoon. I’ve been doing a lot of shower thinking, each morning deciding what general events will happen next while I lather and rinse.
I have no idea if I’ll make it to 50,000 words by November 30. I hope I do, of course, but if I don’t there’s always next November. . .and I already have another germ of a plot waiting in the back of my mind.
Ding ding ding! Pam gets the cookie for correctly identifying Drama Boy’s confirmation gift as The Lutheran Study Bible. I had already planned to sew a cover for mine, since only the hardback version was in the budget; once I had it in my hands that project took on more urgency. The pages are thin but the whole book is heavy. I didn’t need handles or zippers or pockets, but I wanted a way to make sure it stayed shut when I wasn’t reading. Think of it both as toddler-proofing and of preventing damage to the pages if it slipped out of my hands while carrying it somewhere. . .
I followed the directions for covering a composition book from Craft Apple, adjusting the measurements of course. I used two layers of the same home decor weight fabric, fusing them together with Heat & Bond Light. I added ribbons for bookmarks and a magnetic snap closure to the basic design, and that was that. I considered a spot to hold a pen, but decided that would be inviting toddler destruction. No thanks! 
It isn’t perfect–as usual I have already thought of improvements! But the next time I make a Bible cover it will be for Drama Boy; Gina promised to share some camoflauge fabric. I’ll probably use velcro instead of the magnetic snap, which turned out to be a rather bulky fastener for this project.
Oh dear. . .I know what I meant to happen next in my novel, but I’m having a hard time letting my main character’s high school sweetheart die. I intend for her to find true love several thousand words down the line, but for right now it’s 1940-something and there are two soldiers standing on his parents’ front porch. And I wish they would go away!
Oh look–I’m writing a blog post! It was Larry’s day off, so I was able to meet my NaNoWriMo goal earlier today although I’m struggling to keep my “inner editor” from editing as I go. But I am up to 4000 words and that gives me time for a quick photo post while I wait for the last load of laundry to finish drying.
I will be honest: I’ve never been a Halloween person. I don’t have any major philosophical or theological exceptions, it just doesn’t appeal to me beyond an excuse to wear a costume. Last year Larry took the kids trick or treating for the first time ever; they brought home enough candy that I finally threw away the rest of it when it was time to hunt for Easter eggs. So all through October I had been hearing Halloween this and trick or treat that. . .I had had enough and told them so. They were welcome to wear something from the costume trunk all day long on the 31st but no, we were not trick or treating. I would buy candy in case anyone came to our door (no one did) and we would have a party at home that evening. We ended up with two lions, a grumpy pre-teenager, a Star Wars something or other, a frog, and a dog.
Being Lutheran, October 31st is also Reformation Day on our calendar. So while perhaps I should have worn a zookeeper outfit, instead I pulled out my Katie Luther dress I made several years ago (it isn’t terribly authentic, but it was the only early Renaissance pattern I found that was somewhere between princess and barmaid). Larry wore his cassock because, of course, Katie needs her Martin.
I made a sort of German dinner: pork roast with sauerkraut, rye bread, green salad, and apple kuchen.
After dinner, Larry gave the kids a short history lesson about Luther and the beginning of the Reformation, and then we played drop the indulgence in the coffer and nail the theses to the church door. There was much giggling–and since we hadn’t had any trick or treaters we used that bag of candy for prizes.
And after the younger children were in bed, we decided that Drama Boy was finally old enough to stay up and watch Luther with us.
. . .be back in December! Yes, it’s NaNoWriMo time again, and since Twirly Girl wanted to participate again I figured I should write along with her. She really didn’t have to twist very hard; although I’m not terribly confident I’ll manage to crank out 50,000 words this month, I enjoy writing enough that I am game to try. And in order to make an honest effort, something has to give, which means that this blog will probably be neglected. . .except for short posts (like this one) on nights (like tonight) when I’m staring at the screen trying to think of my next sentence.
- Fall apron, blogged here.
- Fall tablecloth–We now use 2 leaves in the table even without company, so I only had one fall cloth that kind of fit. So I bought some extra wide fabric (meant for backing quilts) in a dark brown tone on tone and finished it off with a rolled hem on the serger.
- Wool gabardine vest & pants for Drama Boy. The pants are Ottobre 4/2004 #25, size 158 with no alterations. They turned out really well except I got the waistband flipped somehow so that the nicely finished end is under the not-so-nice end. I might have fixed it but was running out of time by the time I realized my mistake. I like the cuffs; as he grows they can be untacked for added length. I originally planned to make a jacket as well, but discovered the Ottobre boys blazer stopped several sizes too small. So I pulled out my trusty old Simplicity 7030 to make him a vest but he is right between the boys’ large and mens’ small. I ended up taking in the mens’ pattern to fit him, again allowing length for growing.
- Totebag for a gift.
- Cotton interlock nightgown for me, using the girls gown #18 from Ottobre 4/2005 sized up to a 170.
- Half a dozen flannel panty liners.
Next up: a couple new skirts for me and a wool jersey cardigan. It seems like these were also on my October to sew list, but I am pleased with what I did get sewn.
Boy Genius turned eleven yesterday, and tonight we celebrated. I guess it shows he’s growing up that most of his gifts came from the hardware store.
His face really lit up at the box of “stuff” from Papaw and Mimi. . .good thing Larry and I got him a couple tools to use on his contraptions.
He asked for stromboli for dinner; he and Twirly Girl were studying the signatures on his tablecloth while they waited for everyone else to sit down.
He doesn’t like frosting very much so he chose apple pie for dessert. My favorite, but did you ever try to balance candles in a pie?
Mmmmm. . .
Happy birthday, Boy Genius! You are getting bigger and smarter every day, but to me you will always be the toddler who sorted the Playmobil people and lined them up on my end table, and the little boy who took apart all his toys to see how they worked. . .
