Thursday, July 21, 2011

Cruising Puget Sound

This last weekend I took an extra day off work and we hauled the boat up to Tacoma for a weekend of sailing in the Puget Sound. David was away, so it was just me and my ladies, and some "big water."


View Tacoma Trip in a larger map

Gig Harbor was our first "port of call." We docked overnight at a great marina named Arabella's. Downtown Gig Harbor was a quick hike up the street, and our trip happened to coincide with the local outdoor art show. Yes, it rained a bit here and there, but we still had a great time.

A quick snack and cuddle before bed:


Warming up the V-Berth:


The next morning I wanted to check out the Tacoma Narrows Bridge so we motored our way south to have a look.

For a day predicted to be sunny, it sure was soggy:






It's hard to understand the perspective on the size of this bridge through the photos, but believe me, it's impressive! That's about 190 feet from the deck to the water.





After circling the bridge piers we headed north again, to Quartermaster Harbor. We used the dock facilities and a playground and then headed a little ways off to drop anchor for the night.

We were in the company of some beautiful boats, particularly eye catching was this wooden boat from the 50's - Now that's the way to retire...





Cook some dinner, roast some marshmallows...







... and it was time for bed.

When the sun came up we found ourselves immersed in fog. Tranquil. Peaceful. Beautiful.













The fog gave us an excuse to enjoy a lazy morning.



Finally, the sun that had been predicted all weekend makes it's arrival, only a few days late.









After motoring back to Tacoma we spent the afternoon at the Tacoma Zoo and Aquarium before heading back to Salem. We were able to see some baby spotted leopard cubs, some incredible Tigers, and the usual assortment of zoo animals. Here Abby stands in front of the Shark Aquarium.



It was an excellent vacation trip!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Butterfly Skirt on Esty

 This is my newest Esty listing.  No, not the cute little girl, her outfit!




The outfit comes with the skirt, two hair clips and a matching doll dress.  The pleats were fun to make on the doll dress, I may have to try them on something for one of the girls.  Pleats seem like they belong on dark material coupled with a cuddly sweater.  I will have to come up with something suitable for warm weather, or start making their school clothes way in advance!

~ Christina

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Monday, July 11, 2011

Esty Shop

I am jumping on the Esty bandwagon (I know, a little late) with my first listing.  I made a skirt like this for Miriam and she loved it.  One fateful day Adriel and I were watching her spin around the yard and he said "I bet you could sell those."   The idea has been wandering around the back of my mind since then and I finally decided to go for it. 


I really do love the skirt.  The fabric is just too cute.


My new favorite thing is this pinwheel hair clip though.  It's just the right touch for Summer and Mim likes it so much she actually keeps it in her hair (a must when growing out bangs).

I have a few more skirts in mind.  Those will be in my store, My Sailor Girls, as soon as I get them made.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Detroit Lake - Again

OK, so you're probably getting the hang of this - we found a great little cove at Detroit Lake to boat-camp in and we keep going back to the same spot. This time both girls came and we overnighted. The weather was beautiful this weekend, quite warm but the wind kept us cool enough.



Hanging out on deck...



...being goofy



They were driving each other nuts at times, but you would never know it when the camera was turned on.



The V-Berth is perfect for sleeping two little rascals!





The next morning we were back to monkey business...



Abby and Mim love "casting" and then reeling the line back in real fast. I'm not sure if you would call it fishing, more like target practice. But they love it.



Top of Detroit dam. I don't know why, but it always freaks me out to be on top of the dam. Maybe it's the 600 foot drop just over the other side of that railing they are leaning on.



The wind was strong, and gusty, throughout our sail back from "our" cove. I only dared put up the mainsail, and even then was making hull speed (6 knots). Not too shabby.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

The Butterfly Dress

When the Jo-Ann Fabrics in our area moved to a new location all fabrics were 50% off and though that is still more than I generally like to pay for fabric, some were too cute to pass up.  Miriam picked out this butterfly fabric and has been asking on a regular basis for the past 6 weeks when her dress would be done, so here it is


 The Butterfly Dress!



The pattern even included a little purse so how could I pass that up?  I couldn't.


I think the success of this dress comes down to one basic fact; there was nothing new on it.  Lined bodice, puff sleeves, gathered skirt, zipper.  I have done them all before so there was no learning curve to get caught in.  

I did use a pattern, but the thing is, patterns and I don't get a long as a general rule.  Yes, my mother sent me to sewing lessons when I was 11/12 (thanks mom!) and I learned to read a pattern (thanks Collie), but I was 12 and like most 12-year-olds I just didn't fully grasp what I was being taught. I sewed the seams I was told to sew and eventually cute stuff came out of it, but I didn't really know how that happened because I was never made to really interpret a pattern on my own.

It turns out that I am a re-sewer at heart, an alterer of clothing, a tweaker of patterns and tutorials, someone who sees potential yardage in all the cloth around me.  Ultimately I just don't follow directions well.  Funny, I was always that kid in school that followed directions perfectly.  The teachers loved me (or didn't realize I was there, I'm not sure which) so now I am getting out my rebelliousness by scorning the directions on a Simplicity pattern.  It's a little pathetic but it's all I've got.  Add to that the way pattern writers take simple things and make them more complicated than translating the Aeneid, and you can understand why I used the pattern for the shapes, but not so much the directions.  Do we really need an entire paragraph of jargon to communicate "gather the sleeve between the dots."?  I think not.  If all of that explanation was for the novice who has never gathered a sleeve, then maybe it aught to be written in  English.

This post sure took a turn towards rant territory, but hey, the dress is cute and my little one is thrilled.  Butterfly hair bows coming soon!

~Christina

Friday, July 01, 2011

4th of July Finery


Here are my girls showing off their patriotic dresses, just in time for Independence day.  Glitter stars and all.  Abigail is rocking the retro look in a peasant dress, ric-rack and all!


Hard working Princess




Being a princess isn't all parties and pretty dresses.  Real princesses do real work.  Here is my princess doing her "hard work".

David is Fourteen!


Arduino kit with extra shields from the grandparents.  He loves this thing and is building and programing every chance he gets!


A movie with the guys


SIAP for dessert.

On his actual birthday David headed to Seaside with the High School group (yes, the High School group) to play games, eat junk and hang out with his buddies.  It was a pretty good birthday all the way around.

~ Christina