Elizabeth an African Grey

Here is one of my pets,  she is the messiest pet of all.  Her name is Elizabeth and she is a African Grey parrot.  She was born in Indiana and is around 10 years old.  She  talks some and says things like water, hello, what cha doing, cracker, want it, Checkers, our names and she can ask and respond to phrases like what does a pig say, what does a cat say  etc.  She laughs  coughs and has several versions of hello.  What makes her really fun is that she seems to know when to insert an ok or a no or a what as if she is really part of the conversation.  She can eat most things that people do but is especially fond of pizza, french fries and ice cream (aren't we all!).


If you consider one of these birds as a pet you might note that you must have a large cage but they will also need to be out of that cage for a while every day.  They are very loud AND VERY MESSY.   Having a good cage helps the mess problem as does having a garter around the bottom of the cage.  I made matching garters for both Elizabeth and Esther's  cages (more about Esther later). 

Some birds are not friendly  and unlike dogs they don't usually take up with strangers easily.  I also would be careful about mixing toddlers and young children with large birds because without close supervision one or the other could get hurt. 

McCalls 8574 cute baby dress

I made this dress and hat  for a co-workers grand baby.  Of course the baby was born a couple of months ago but I will use the excuse that I didn't know about the baby until she was born.  I had this cute cat knit in my stash for quite a long time and even though I had used some of  this fabric earlier this year for the same pattern I still had some left.  I think it is perfect for a baby girl.

The pattern is basically easy to put together but I think the sizing is off, it seems rather large and I am sure the dress is too long.  I told the parents that if they didn't want a maxi dress I would be happy to shorten the dress for them.  I am not totally happy with the shoulders, the instructions say to either turn the hem under or use a decorative elastic.  I didn't have the elastic so I turned the hem under.  Next time I will try the elastic or make a knit bias binding.  The hat works up very quickly and I really like it.  All in all the dress is cute and the parents are happy.

ASG meeting

Tonight was sewing guild night and Robin gave the presentation, explaining each of the classes she took at the annual ASG conference this past summer.   She gave us a hand out with the information and tips from each of the teachers.  It  is surprising when you realize how much information you forget.  Exactly why you should continue reading magazines, books, blogs and taking classes otherwise you could end up losing some of those hard won skills.

Our group is very talented and generous.  It seems that every month one of the sewers has either fabric or even finished products to share.  Anita brought some home dec fabric that we will be using for a challenge and Margie had enough bible covers 90% done to share with all 12 of us.

Spending a couple of hours with friends that also like to sew is a great way to spend the evening.

Sizzix, a fun new toy!

Yesterday I received a new toy, a Sizzix  die cutter.  One of the reasons I chose the Sizzix  was because it does not require electricity or batteries.  I purchased the Big Shot model from Joann.com.  I chose this model  because it is advertised as having the ability to cut fabrics easily.   I also purchased a flower die and some textures/embossing dies.  I cut both paper and  wool with the flower die and it worked easily.  I couldn't use the texture dies because I didn't have a silicone mat.

I have ordered some dies from  Sizzix.com the dies  I ordered were are all on sale so I was able to get them for a very reasonable cost.  Hopefully they will be here tomorrow.

I also stopped at Joann fabrics today and purchased a Texture starter kit.  The starter kit includes the die so now I can  use the embossing dies.  It is really fun to load the machine turn the handle and see the results.  

I look forward to using my toy quite a bit in the future.

I recently won fabric!  Sew Exhausted  had a give away and I won  about 1-1/2 yards of this   pretty floral georgette.    I can't wait to sew something feminine and cheerful for spring.  I wonder, should this be a skirt or a blouse?  Sometimes just thinking and planning a project is as much fun as actually creating the project.

New Year

Happy New Year!

Since today is the beginning of  a new year I thought it would be the perfect time to try something totally new to me.  I have been visiting some blogs, mostly about sewing and decided that this would be a good vehicle to help me build my skills and keep a record of my creations. My blog will also serve to document my thoughts and ideas about my intrests and who I am as well as who I want to be as I grow older and hopefully wiser.

I don't like Resolutions because they seem doomed to fail but I do like goals so here are a few goals to start the new year. 

1.  Start a blog and post at least weekly

2.  Sew a winter coat

3.   Sew slacks

4.  Knit a sweater

5.  Make most of my own clothing in 2013

6.  Clean and organize my sewing room

7.  Learn German

8. Be less wastefull