Hello there!

Back from vacation now!  I can't actually say that I'm any more rested, but it was nice to visit with Hubby's family.  I'll be putting up pictures of some of the places we went later in the week, but first things first:

Self-Stitched-September.

Guys, I'm not 100% sure I'm going to make it.  And not because of the whole washing-machine debacle.  (Did I mention that?  Two weeks before we left, my washing machine broke, and I didn't have time to replace it before we went.  So I was stuck going to the laundromat, and I wasn't really sure if I would get a new one soon enough to have a good supply of clothing in September.  But the first thing I did yesterday morning - our first morning back - was to head to the store and order a new one, which should be delivered on Thursday.  Hurray!!)

No, the reason for my failing, if I do fail, is my own perversity.  I'm the kind of person who, as soon as I'm told I need to do something - even if it's by me - finds that thing the least desirable thing in the world to do! So we'll see how long I make it.  It could be the jet lag, but I'm finding that picking an outfit and photographing it is the last thing I want to do at the moment.

But I got a good start.  I took three Sorbettos and a big sweater with me and got photos on the first four days of September.  And here they are:

September 1:  White embroidered cotton Sorbetto with a denim skirt I bought from Boden several years ago.  This is the best of the three photos taken by my niece, so I apologize for the lack of detail.  I'm standing next to my father-in-law's pear tree; the pears were just a touch under ripe, but delicious nonetheless.  Looking a little chubby here, which is due to inactivity and my mother-in-law's fabulous cooking!

September 2:  Blue umbrella-and-luggage print Sorbetto, with (years old) pink J.Crew capri chinos and (also years old) lavender Birkenstocks.  I'm standing in the bazaar of a little town we visited, of which more later.

September 3:  Ditsy floral Sorbetto with Old Navy pants and Keen Madrid ballet flats, which sadly have been discontinued.  These have been my go-to shoes for the last 3 summers, which has resulted in a goofy tan line on the tops of my feet.  I really loved this outfit, not least because I love these pants and finally fit into them again after not being able to wear them for about a year!  I'm standing in the weekly bazaar of the town where my parents-in-law live, laughing because my two little nieces (ages 3.5 and 5.5) each had some pocket money, and were trying to decide what to buy - precious!

And a back view:

September 4:  On the way home.  Wearing my traveling outfit, which consists of a comfy, roomy, longish brown knit skirt, a coral/pink sleeveless tee printed with an Om and my trusty Keens, topped off by a sweater I knit several years ago.  The sweater is called Swank (much better picture on my Ravelry page), designed by Kim Hargreaves and knit in Rowan All Seasons Cotton.  Big and floppy, like a comforting blankie with sleeves and a hood.  I'm still cheerful at this point in the trip, having completed the first leg (an hour's drive to the airport at 5:30 a.m. followed by an hour's flight) and made my way to the Starbuck's at the Istanbul airport.  Things went south a little later, after we had to go through 5 security screenings, at the fourth of which the mean lady confiscated my #5 bamboo circular needle.  Which had knitting on it.  And which was really stupid, considering it was inside my carry-on, and yet right in my purse, I had a much sharper, metal 2.75mm circular.  But I digress.  Here's my outfit:

September 5:  Fail #1.  I did wear a handmade item - another sweater I knit several years ago - but I was running around all day and by the time I was done with everything I needed to do, I was just too tired to take a photo.  So I'm going to try to do a make-up photo some time this week.  But for the record, my outfit consisted of the Fifi sweater in lavender, a very old denim A-line skirt from Boden and black Keen Sienna ballet flats, as well as my super-fancy Wade Mei Fa Hairstyx.  Of course, no make-up or jewelry.

And there you have it.  How is your September going?  For those doing the Self-Stitched-Sept '11 Challenge, have you managed to keep to it so far?

Vacation

I needz wun.

On top of being constantly on the go with my niece, I've been struggling with sinusitis for the last several days, and am pretty much pooped.  So I'm taking a time out :-)

My nails are getting a vacation too.  I've been having a lot of trouble for about a month with my nails peeling and breaking, and because I've been wearing polish constantly for the last year, my nails have yellowed too.  So yesterday I took it all off, cut those babies back and filed them down.  I'm going to see if I can make it to September without putting on anything new.

Naked!!

But here's what they looked like a few days ago:

China Glaze He's Going in Circles

Gorgeous, sea-green holographic polish that chipped badly after one day of hardly doing anything with my hands.  Sigh.  This was three coats.

I did finally manage to finish Maris, but because I'm not feeling very well, this snapshot will have to do for now.   I just don't have the energy to do a 'photo shoot'!!

I'm very happy with it, I must say!  Maybe soon I can take a picture that will do it justice!

Nearing Completion

Due to inclement weather and misinformation, our weekend plans went awry.  So I was able to finally finish the second sleeve of Maris.  This morning I began the long and tedious process of sewing it together:

So far I've done the shoulder seams and the neck edging, and sewn on the buttons down the front.

I used a technique So KnitPicky posted about last week, and it worked great!  As I have done for the last several times I've used mother of pearl buttons, I used silver thread:

OK - only side seams, under sleeve seams, and setting in sleeves left to go!  Maybe I will finish it by the end of the week!

Lookit!

Remember this post?

Well, the other day I got my "Pay it Forward" presie from the awesome Andrea of Stitch Parade.  Look!

Isn't it just too perfect?  A sweet little coin purse in yellow, with birds!  Lovingly hand made by Andrea!  She even put a little pocket inside, and one of her super-cool labels:

I love it so much!

I didn't get any takers on my original post about the Pay it Forward project, but since I won't have any time to make anything until September (post-niece), I'm considering it still open.  So if you want to play, leave me a comment here!

Sunday

I had really intended to do more posts about the things we've been doing with our niece and nephew, but time has just been slipping away from me.  But yesterday we went out to the Morton Arboretum for a really cool event:  a Theatre-Hike!  The idea is that each scene of the play is performed in a different place, and the audience hikes from scene to scene.  So fun!  We saw The Wizard of Oz, which was a low-impact hike - perfect for our niece as she's not too fond of walking.  Or deep nature, as it turns out!  This play was done in two adjacent grassy meadows.

The Scarecrow, Dorothy and Toto

The Wizard, The Cowardly Lion, The Tin Man,
Dorothy and Toto, and the Scarecrow

I'm hoping to go back in October for Night of the Living Dead!

On Saturday we ended up doing some errands after my niece's swimming lesson.  We ended up on Diversey Ave. and Hubby insisted we go into Urban Outfitters!  So weird!  I didn't know he even knew what Urban Outfitters is, but apparently he did! He wanted to look at the kitschy gifts.  But of course, my niece and I ended up at the nail polish display, and came home with these:

So last night we decided to try out the pinkish one, Afterhours.  We started with an 'underwear' coat of Essie Lion Around, and then one coat of Afterhours for her on her toes, and two coats for me on my fingers.

Urban Outfitters Afterhours over Essie Lion Around

So pretty and sparkly, but I know I'm going to rue the day I ever saw this when it comes time to take it off.  I put on 2 coats of topcoat, and it is still bumpy.  The formula was really thick and even after just one coat, you couldn't really see the Essie underneath, so I wouldn't call this a layering polish.  Two coats just made the color a little darker and gave some more depth to the glitter.

After our nails were dry, my niece said, "I'm really glad we bought this!"

Me Too!

I'm going to join Zoe's

Yay!  

I got back into sewing and started reading a lot of sewing blogs in June, in the middle of her Me Made June challenge.  I really loved seeing everyone's posts of their self-made outfits, and was hoping there would be another challenge soon.  For me, I think it will be a great way of making me wear some of the sweaters my closets (and dressers) are stuffed full of.  I have a tendency to make things and then never wear them, or wear them only rarely.  A little less so with the things I've sewn, but I still have a couple Sorbettos and a Ginger I haven't worn yet . . .  So here's my pledge:

'I, Gail of  Today's Agenda, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-Sept '11. I endeavour to wear at least one item made by me each day for the duration of September 2011'

I'm not sure yet how I will be documenting this (whether daily or every few days), and I think laziness about 'getting dressed' will be my biggest stumbling block.  Since I spend many of my days at home doing cleaning or laundry or other equally exciting household tasks, I don't often make it out of my yoga togs, let alone put on any makeup or do anything with my hair.  So some of my photos may be rather frightening . . .

My items will include my handknits, clothing I've sewn and also jewelry I've made. For the handknits especially, I'm planning on focusing on things I've never worn, or hardly worn.  Zoe is also starting a flickr group for the challenge, and I'll probably be posting more pictures on flickr than I do on the blog, so I'll try to remember to post the link as well.

Will you join too?  Here's Zoe's original post, where she fully explains the challenge. Hope to see you there!

Jules

Here's another draft I had sitting around and thought I would post.

If you've got Zoya Jules in your stash, then you know that in the bottle, it has lovely silver shimmer.  While wet on the nail it retains that shimmer, but as soon as it dries, the finish becomes a little flat.  I love the color of it, but I wanted more sparkle.  I decided to layer on a holographic top coat, China Glaze Fairy Dust:

Zoya Jules
China Glaze Fairy Dust

Above is two coats each, followed by China Glaze Fast Forward top coat.  Even under cloud-covered skies, this is sparkly enough for me!

Look!  Almost like bokeh nails!