Autumn Holidays

Next week is the Autumn holiday week at schools here. But for some weird reason Isabel's school only give them three days off while other schools in town have the whole week off.

Anyway. She'll be in school Mon-Tues and have the rest of the week off.

Sofia has asked to be let to stay at her grandparents by herself so on Tuesday after I have dropped Isabel off I'll drive her out there. Tuesday afternoon I'm going with Isabel to see her teacher for a run up to see how she's doing in school. Since I'm not expecting any bad reports I have already told her we're going to the movies after since it's just her and me that night. Rickard's away until Thursday.

I'm taking her out for burgers or the like and then to see Tintin in 3D. I hope it's not too scary for her, but then she's watched Pirates of the Caribbean so I think she'll be ok. It's her first time watching a 3D movie and I hope she'll like it.

Wednesday before work I'm driving her out to her grandparents to stay until Thursday together with Sofia.

Thursday I have the day off and I haven't arranged when to pick the girls up but I imagine sometime in the morning. Unless they want to stay longer and their grandparents let them.

Friday both Rickard and I have the day off and I'm not sure what shenanigans will happen then.

On a sadder note - I dropped off my sewing machine for a fix up/tune up last night and they told me it would be 7-10 days before I would get it back.
*weep* I never get the urge to sew more than I do when I don't have a machine.
She also demonstrated a new machine I've been having my eye on and I think I've almost decided to get it in 3 months' time (I'll have saved up enough money by then). I'm not 100 % decided .. she showed me two different models and I'm not really sure which one I'll end up choosing.

The bigger model would take me another 6 months to save up for unless I ask for money for Christmas and my birthday.

Another Amy Butler bag in the works

I wrote yesterday that I plan to make a Weekender Travel Bag designed by Amy Butler. To add to the crazy I also bought fabric for a Sophia Carry-All to match. I am planning to start on this one since it seemed a bit easier than the Weekender.

The outer fabric is the swirly, blue one. It's from the same fabric collection I bought for the Weekender but it has a very different vibe. I hope the colours will be close enough to make them go together.

I had planned to line it with a blue solid but I had a hard time finding one that matched. It's extra hard to do online and I had excellent help from a very nice lady at Fat Quarter Shop.

In the end I decided to go a different route and line it with a gold fabric. I really hope they go together.

While I wait for the fabric to arrive I think I will take my machine in for a tune up. It's been sounding weird and clunky and I think it is time. I finished Isabel's pants last night and I'm driving to town tonight to drop the machine off.

I've been in the market for a new machine for a while but I need to save up some more money since the one I have my eye on is quite expensive. We are keeping the one I have now because both girls are showing interest in sewing and I think it will be a perfect machine for them.

I'll probably take the time to do some cutting while I'm sans-machine. I'll prep for the Sophia and Weekender, but also for a Messenger bag for Isabel.

Amy Butler bag in the making

I've had my eye on this bag for ages. I love the look of it and well made it looks very professional and sturdy. I have however doubted my ability to finish such a project.

Then the other day I was browsing my favourite US quilting cotton store and saw that Heather Bailey had come out with a collection of home decorating weight fabrics that looked amazing. And suddenly I just knew I was going to make the Weekender Travel Bag.

I've had the pattern at home for a few years and I've read the instructions. They seem straight forward enough, I just mostly worry about all the layers of interfacing and Timtex and zippers.
I guess the trick is to take it all one step at a time.

I'll use the grid dot for the outside and the bird print for the lining. The pattern calls for using the lining for handles and piping but I bought a striped fabric for that since the bird pattern will just look busy and scattered as piping.

I also found a store in the UK who sell interfacing where they compare their product to a Pellon interfacing product. Pellon is hard to come by in Europe/Sweden - at least I've always had trouble with that.
But at CottonPatch it was easy to find an equivalent to Pellon SF-101 and all the other interfacing types the pattern directions called for.

Another time it will be easy to shop for substitutes in town since I know what quality to look for.

I'll be reading through the pattern directions again to see what type of inside pockets are there to begin with. I'll also take the opportunity while waiting for fabric to be delivered to clear up in my sewing room to make better room to work.
I do love this part of sewing - the planning and preparing.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

We've entered that time of year when it's dark in the mornings as I drop the girls off and drive to work.

It's 8 am as I write this and the Sun still isn't up.

We'll get a short respite next week after the time change but it will only last a few days. Afternoons will be considerably shortened from now on until just after my birthday in 4 months.

To top it all off it's also raining today which adds to the darkness. In the parking lot at Sofia's daycare it was pitch black. Since it's a brand new place they haven't had time to lay down tarmac/asphalt and set up lights. I hope it's a priority because the pot holes on that lot are crazy deep.

Last night I almost finished a pair of pants for Isabel.



They need hemming, but I had to have her try them on to see how deep to make the hem. I also need to unpick the waistband seam because I forgot to reset my stitch length after basting a seam line in the waistband.

After that I have elastic to put in and they are done! Isabel tried them on this morning and they fit beautifully.

The shirt will get snaps in the yoke because buttons will tangle her long hair and the yoke needs to be opened to put the shirt on.

I have more of the tan cord and I hope to stretch it into a pair of pants for Sofia as well. I'm pretty sure there's enough material.

Bigga and Bear

When Isabel was little (littler) we bought her a Build-a-Bear. We asked not to have it stuffed too firmly because it had to be cuddly, but now five or something years on it's gotten a bit flappy and it could use a re-stuffing.
So I'm taking both girls to the Build-a-Bear store this afternoon.

Isabel asked nicely if she could use her allowance to buy some new clothes for her bear and I said of course.

Sofia insisted on bringing her bear along too and asked if she could use some of her piggy-bank money to buy something for her bear.

We also have to buy a present for one of Sofia's little friends who invited her to a party two weeks from now. After that I had fika planned - probably just a roll with cheese and something to drink.

Rickard is meeting us in town after work so we have to make sure to pass the time until he gets off so I'm taking the girls to the library. I think we'll be looking up a book or two on constellations and the mythologies around them.

We saw Jupiter again last night. It's as bright as any star and it was right next to the full moon.

I lit the candle in the lantern last night before Isabel and Rickard came back from the stables. It was still lit this morning because we had forgotten to blow it out. Ooops. Also - I put Isabel's riding clothes in the wash after dinner last night and forgot all about them. I took them out this morning. Air head.

Autumn

It's still light enough before dinner to have the lights off, but once we're done and the table is cleared I light the candles in the chandelier over our dining table. With the light off in the kitchen our home take on a cosy, yellow glow.

Autumn is kind of nice - at least if you don't have to be outside in the rain and storm.

Stellar

The no-longer-full Moon hung like a big shiny coin in the pale blue morning sky today.

I hold a deep seated fascination with all things astronomical and the girls seem to have picked this up too. They ask lots of questions about the Sun and the Moon and the stars and I'm so happy when I can answer them.

Last night there was a kids' science show on the telly in the evening. An astronomer illustrated the size differences between the Sun and the Earth, and both girls were completely fascinated.

The nights are getting darker and soon it's dark early enough for the girls to look at the constellations before bed. Isabel's born in July and is a Cancer and she wanted to see her constellation.
I told her we'd have to look up what it looks like and when we might be able to see it. I'm not sure we can see it in the Northern Hemisphere.
Sofia's a Gemini and that constellation is actually visible this time of year, but it rises late in the evening so we night not see it.
I'm a Pisces and I'm pretty sure I can see that here as well.

On Saturday the Earth passed through the Draconids. Rickard and I went outside at 11 pm to see if we could see any shooting stars. There weren't many, but the sky was clear and I could see most of the constellations I know by heart.
Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Polaris, The Pleiades, Cassiopeia were all visible but Orion hadn't risen yet. Jupiter was a bright dot, almost like a star.

I think we need to find a book with the Greek mythology stories regarding the constellations.

Rickard has an app on his phone that helps you find the constellations in the night sky. You just hold it up and it uses GPS signals to help you locate the stars, galaxies, planets etc. It even lets you "see through" the Earth at constellations on the other side of the planet that we will never see here.

Welcome!

Our entry way needed some lovin' so yesterday we drove to the florist after school to get some cyclamen plants for the window box and I cleaned out the lantern and lit the candle in the evening. I like how cosy it looks when you come home in the dark afternoons.

I want to fix up the wreath a bit more but I'm not sure what it needs. I bought two mini pumpkins to start with and was gifted a dried corn cob to put there, but I think it will need a new moss coating before Christmas.

The window box could do with some green plants in between the flowers but that will have to wait.

A good clean up between the flagstones would not go amiss either.

It's a good start.