Tailgating, the Timbers way

Here I present to you unedited, but super fun, pictures of my day tailgaiting, the Timbers way
All pictures were taken on March 12.2012, and only my laziness has prevented thier posting.
PORTLAND TIMBERS 2012 FIRST HOME GAME/SEASON OPENER

My new knitting friend Janet - she's just as cool as she looks <3

Kicking off the morning with mimosas!

My Game Day Outfit! Sadly, you can't see my petticoat in this picture, but I'm revamping it to be a bit more ostentatious =D

We did a lot of knitting

and laughing

and knitting and laughing!

knitting en masse - we were even interviewed by the local news, but only a tiny bit of the interview made it on camera, and it wasn't my bit. It was still good, but of the stuff she talked to us about, they only used the most boring parts, of course!

SO glad I got there before the big crowds arrived!!

Super big sandwich! It took 4 of us to eat it, literally

Teamwork!

Crochet awesomeness spotted in the wilds of the Timbers Army!

My new, awesome friends <3

Sadly, this is the closest I got for player pictures

Scoooooooooooooore!!

My favorite capo =D

My Father In Law, screening out the smoke

Cheering our team as they go into the locker room

Super fun glittery confetti my friend Janet made for Opening Day

Final score...Timbers 3, Philly Union...stomped.

Hey, what's that?

Ever since I was a teenager or so, I've wanted a tattoo. I've always been fascinated with them, the artistry behind them, and why people choose the ones they do. But, I have always come up against the Wall of Indecision. For a long while, I originally wanted trailing ivy starting at my toes, winding up my foot, around my ankle and up my leg. But, I wasn't 100% on it, and I didn't feel a drive to go pay someone to stick needles in my foot for a few hours.

A few years after that thought had passed, I saw a 40 something woman with a very, very similar tattoo on tanned, not so stellar legs, and...well...I won't be getting one of those. It doesn't appear to age well at all.

Fast forward to 2009 - now, everything in my life felt like it was crumbling around me. Long story short, I leaned on God and my support network of family and friends more than I ever have. My faith grew deeper, and along the way, I realized that I want and need a physical reminder that He is always watching over me. Basically, I'm not in this alone.

I Googled for Bible verses that had to do with God always being with us, etc. I ended up finding a verse that said something to the effect of "Fear not, I am with you."

I emailed Matt, the designer man who happens to rock my socks when I say something like "hey I have this super vague idea, can you make it awesome?" and he makes it 99 different ways of awesome. I sent him the verse, said I want a tattoo having to do with that, but not just the text.

He came up with an amazing concept of it, and I set a consultation with Tanya over at Above The Pearl. Wednesday of this week was my appointment with her to go over what we'd be doing. She's so awesome, laid back and professional at the same time. We ended up having to rearrange the elements, and tweak just a tad to make it work where I want it.

Tanya is in seriously high demand, and May 28th is when I'll actually get the ink done. I'm very excited, but I figure I waited till I was nearly 30 to finally decide on one, I can wait a couple more months to have it done.

In the meantime, I'm going around with a Sharpie "mock up" if you will, a general outline of about what it'll look like, so I'm positive of placement, etc.

I just love it, and I can't WAIT to actually get it done and permanent.

Daydreaming

There truly need to be more hours in the day. Not hours for office work, housework, commuting or any of those other things that have to be done that few of us look forward to. No, I would like to have "free" hours added to our days, please. Hours that don't cut into our precious sleeping time, so we can spend two or three hours a day "playing", whatever that looks like for each of us.

Photo credit: edupics

If I had several extra hours each day? Ideally I'd like to think I'd be farther along on all my projects, and finally get caught up to the many things I want to accomplish. In reality, I know that I'd use that valuable time to start more projects instead of finishing them. So, it's probably good (for me) that these mythical hours don't exist.

As a form of spring cleaning, I'm trying to finish up projects that are languishing. I'm about halfway through quilting Donna's adorable M.E. quilt, and I haven't done much knitting because of this. I have been doing a ton of reading on sewing blogs, sites, finding tips and techniques, and otherwise gorging myself on information on projects that aren't even in the works yet. It's very inspiring, and I do find that reading about people doing things that I want to do spurs me to clear out mental and physical space for me to start them myself.

One thing that I've seen, and something I've tossed around for a few years now, is the idea of making my wardrobe. Not just one or two peices, but planning out things I like that I know I'll wear, and making them. I've been gradually doing something like this for a while, as I have 4 skirts in heavy rotation that I made, a couple of sweaters that I knitted (though one is rarely worn and I'll probably pull it apart and make something else instead), and various accessories that I've made. Matt has made me several necklaces and bracelets, and those stay in rotation as well.

The idea of dressing well, and paring down my closet is very appealing to me. The thought of having layers for the erratic weather patterns we have here in Portland, paired with a fun vintage aesthetic makes my heart go a-flutter. As I browse the web, I find ideas for layering where I will still look the way I want, and not like I put on a dress over something modern to "go retro". Please don't misunderstand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, or any other style one chooses to wear!

My personal taste tends toward being as accurate as I can be, because I really love the look and feel. Compared to my usual jeans and t-shirt each day, even casual dresses are dressy and make me feel fabulous.

image credit: Simply Sharpe

My hope is to park myself at Jo-Ann's on Saturday and look through all the pattern books I can get my hands on, and get some ideas of what I want in my closet. I already have some pretty clear ideas.

Such as, I really love the Starlet Suit, but I would really like just the pattern, not the full course. However, the tailoring tips and whatnot I think would be invaluable, so I may one day invest in this course. However, I still plan to see if I can find a full skirted suit pattern on my own.

I also plan to invest in the big pink Vogue book. Everyone on Amazon just raves about this book and what a great reference it is! It's only $19.77 so this book will be purchased sooner rather than later :)
Just writing about the things I want to get done makes me itch to go sew. So, I'm off ...ta for now!

Oh dear, I caught the bug

The Sewing Bug! I swear, every Spring this little bug burrows into my bonnet and spends the next few months whispering ideas to me, buzzing around unsatisfied if I don't sew at least a little each day, and otherwise consuming my every waking thought.

This spring is no different. As Google tells me today is the first day of Spring, I thought I'd commemorate it a bit by showing you what sewing I'm doing, and what I have up my proverbial sleeve.

First of all, I have finally given in, and my cute kitschy black sweater is going to lose the hot pink whipstitching around the armholes. It's just not flattering, and highlights the small bunches that form under my arms.

So, right now it has this on each armhole:



A bit of this (where I found...interesting forms of anchoring the many, many short lengths the sweater modifier used):



and now my left arm is delightfully not highlighted (this was halfway through, it took longer than I expected):



Later today my right side will match, and it won't feel like a frankenstein sweater!

On my sewing table at home, is a big work in progress that is (finally) nearly done! Well, technically, it's on my floor:



Donna was so excited when she came home yesterday and saw I had this out! My mom and I created the quilt top 2 years ago for Donna for Christmas, and were planning to finish it in January after giving it to her.

*ahem*

Yeah. This is how nearly all of my large scale projects go, and yet I never learn. However, I am finishing it now! I was able to get it 3/4 of the way pinned (instead of basting) last night, but I ran out of safety pins for the last quadrant or so. I plan to have this finished by this Friday. At the latest.

My reasons are two-fold:
1) I want to finish some of my works in progress, because they are weighing on me and cluttering up my house.
2) I have a project I want to make for Easter, and the pattern I need goes on sale on Friday, so timing would be perfect.

Yes, I know that would add to my works in progress, but I plan to bang out this Easter project and call it good. I'll be buying this pattern (which has a number of mixed reviews online, and many, many suggestions for modifications, which makes my Sewing Senses tingle):



I have some really lovely blue and white floral fabric my grandma passed on to me, and it will be perfect for this dress with the center portion made of white or a darker blue (I haven't decided yet). My goal is to have it done in time to wear on Easter, which is April 8!
I need some sewing fairies in my life, I do believe.

A-pinning I go...

Not much new here....endless pinning, sewing an inch at a time and stopping to remove the multitudes of pins, and repeat. It's worth it, the edge of the petticoat will look like this:




See? it's totally worth it. I think when I make my next one, I'll edge it in lace, and make it a girly pastel color. But, for the game day outfit, bold colors are where it's at!!
In other news, I rented a lovely 24-70mm f/2.8 lens this weekend, so expect a few picture posts after the crazy that is this weekend is over! Little M already had a mini photo shoot out in the sun last night, and it was great! LOVE that early spring sunshine!

Inspiration

Following on the heels (ba dum ch!) of yesterday's post about my fashion, I decided two things:

1. Dressing vintage is far easier than finding clean jeans, a shirt without stains or holes, and a jacket that doesn't make me look like I'm painting the house, THEN leaving the house. When I put on a dress, the rest of the outfit just comes together, because it's simple. Tights, low heels, slight curl to the bangs and a cardigan. BAM I'm out the door.
2. You guys might like to see what inspires me!

As far as realization #1, this leads me to conclude that I need to follow my heart with my wardrobe, and dress as often as possible in pretty dresses, warm cardigans and cute shoes. There's no reason not to! If I'm painting the house, you can bet I'll find leggings, a cute button down top and a scarf for my head - because even when painting, I want to feel pretty darn it. Wearing an outfit that makes me feel pretty makes everything around me feel sunnier.

That sounds cheesy, I know. But for me, it's true. My complete outlook on everything in my day takes on my mood, like most of us. If I feel confident, attractive and put together, I feel like I can take on whatever my day throws at me, and usually I can do it with a smile. Usually. Obviously if it's a BAD day, no amount of awesome clothing is going to make that better, but I'm talking about your average, boring, irritating day.

So, today I dressed up again. I hope soon it won't feel like dressing up, but just my day to day "normal" (no such thing! unless you decide it's so) type of clothing. Today's outfit is a little more casual, but it allows me to wear a really awesome cardigan I bought when I bought the super awesome cherry red one:



I love the random spangles!



This cardigan came with shoulder pads sewn in! I know some people feel they need them, but with the pads, I looked like a linebacker. Not really what I'm going for, so out they came. The hot pink whipstitching around the arms is iffy. Matt thinks it should stay, I'm considering removing it. I like the rest of it, but not so much the stitches.



My favorite detail of this necklace. I know this isn't a very period accurate piece, but I don't care. I love these long, junky necklaces, and this big rhinestone heart is just my favorite.



Once again, thrift store score! Cute, vintage-y Sam and Libby shoes. They need to be resoled, and one day I'll get around to that, and putting some pads in the heels. You can't see it here, but they're slightly too big, and flop when I walk. Not very safe with my clumsy self!



My whole look today. This outfit apparently makes me look really, really young. I didn't have time to do much other than curl my bangs today, but that's the magic of these bangs, I think. I still look polished, with minimal effort.

As far as my inspiration goes, there are two vintage blogger girls out there to whom I can bestow credit:

The Little Red Squirrel - amazing, just amazing
Twila Jean - Not only is she adorable, she just had a baby, looks fabulous all the time, and is incredibly talented!

There are often blogs I find that I read a few posts, and decide if I'll follow to see more. When I came across these two gals? I immediately followed them, then began reading back. I'm working on reading back to the beginning of both blogs - I can't get enough! The Little Red Squirrel is singularly responsible for my cardigan shopping. She finally solved my inability to figure out how to stay warm and stylish at once. I seem to remember my mom trying to get me to wear cardigans, but of course I wouldn't!

Now, I love them!

I'm still sewing on that bright yellow petticoat - I will post progress pictures and finished pictures soon. I have to finish it by Sunday evening, so you know there'll be pictures when I'm done with all the flouncy, poufy goodness!

The Fashion Post

Having nothing to do with anything except the fun that is fashion, I give you...

Today's Outfit!
I went vintage, and I love all the color and how pretty I feel. I've been doing this about once a week, but I really need to do it more often, it's not much effort (except curling my hair, which rarely happens anymore) and it looks polished. At least, in my opinion :)

My super awesome, like new thrifted shoes:

 

My poufy, curled hair:

 
My like new thrifted cardigan along with the rest of the outfit:

 

You guys, this cherry red cardigan? Is cotton and silk! I scored this for $2.25 on Sunday. SERIOUSLY. I love my Salvation Army. They had a treasure trove of cardigans, but I was thoughtful, tried them all on and just went with my two favorites for now. I'll amass more as time goes on, but I'm so happy with the ones I got!

I haven't been exercising lately, aside from little bouts of strength moves in the bathroom at work, and here's why:

 

I've been sewing!! The top picture of a mass of yellow is destined to be a full, poufy 50's petticoat to go under the big green skirt for the opening Timbers game next Monday (and all game days after that, but it will debut on Monday). The Star Trek shirt used to be a onsie for my little nephew, but he outgrew the length of it, so my sister in law asked me to convert it. Easiest clothing conversion ever! Took about an hour, with interruptions.

Silly Saturday photos

A mostly lazy Saturday, spent selling out her Girl Scout cookies!! Thanks to our local Fred Meyer for letting our girls sell INSIDE. It's shocking to me how many stores make these girls sell outside in the wind and rain. What a satisfying thing, to a) sell out and b) come home with only empty boxes!!