lolajl: September 2004 Archives

Finally got back to knitting, working on my green pullover. I already have one sleeve completed. I was knitting merrily along on the second sleeve while Hubby and I were over at my parents' earlier when I realized that the pattern on the sleeve edge was not completed. So, I pull out the needles and start ripping back. Hubby is begging me not to do it right there. Since we have to leave very soon anyway, I decide to just save the ripping for later today.

Meanwhile, Hubby and I are taking Russian at church. There is a long-time parishoner, who was there when our parish was still worshipping in a room that a Russian gentleman had generously provided in his home. In her younger days, she taught Russian; she had come to this country and she had to do what she could do to get by.

I already know most of the alphabet, so this is not a problem for me. Most of the words we've learned so far are basically the same in English. But that's good since it is helping us to get used to writing in Russian. And, I learned some really useful tips on learning a language from her, which I could have used back in my high school and college days. I'm actually having a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about grammar. Here's a mnemonic tip for the cases that are used for declension: NAGDIP. In order, nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental, prepositional.

I just realized that I've gone almost a month without knitting or spinning. Something must be seriously wrong with me. I need an extra pair of arms to do everything I want to do.

No, I'm not talking about taping duct tape over somebody's mouth (although I can think of certain individuals whom I'd be tempted to duct-tape except that this would give me a lot of time in confession).

Rather, I'm talking about dress forms. I already have a duct-tape form that was created when I was having my dress made and the dressmaker (the lovely Sheri Smith) was still in Puerto Rico at the time. Threads Magazine has an online article on how to clone yourself a fitting assistant. Doing a Google search on duct tape dummies should turn up a nice list of sites for you to explore.

Today I stopped by Borders in search of “SpinOff” so I could check out Carolyn's article and was disappointed not to find it. I really should get on with renewing my subscription. In any case, I picked up the latest issue of Threads. There's a really nice article on skirt fitting. Basically, you slip on all-cotton rib-knit tubing (where can I get this?), and have your buddy wrap duct tape around your midsection, from your waistline to your hipline. And then you cut it according to directions so it lies flat and you have a hip mold with which to alter skirt patterns. This sounds really neat, especially as I, ahem, no longer have a washboard stomach. The author also tells you to go to her dress form designing website.

Wow . . . this method of displaying list of URLs is really cool! I'm going to be playing around with it to see how this comes off. It should definitely make the sidebars less cluttered. It does require that you have javascript enabled, though.

Couple weeks ago, as I said, I went to G Street Fabrics and picked up several patterns. One of the patterns that I picked up is Simplicity 5344. It's a very basic one piece dress, a bit fitted at the waist, with a vest. The beauty is that you can make it in several lengths, from knee high to almost touching the floor.

I've already got the fabric for the vest. Yardage is 5 1/2 yards, so that should be plenty.

I believe the fabric is 100% cotton. There's no notes in the white edge, and It was in the remnants section. It sure feels like it, though. Now, I'm not sure what will I use for the dress itself. It would be nice to use wool flannel, but it's rather pricey. I'm thinking about cotton flannel, but it would need to be solid color. I'm going to browse around Fashion Fabrics and see what I can find.

Summer is finally starting to wind down. I really haven't done much spinning, knitting, or dyeing because I just wasn't much in the mood. The heat, having to take care of a friend's home while he was off to Europe, and of course, work.

But now it's starting to cool down, or will as September wears on. I'm going to add sewing to the lineup. Yesterday I went over to G Street Fabrics. I was hoping to find nice fabric for fall clothes, but it seems they mostly still have light fabrics suitable for summer and that's why they're having a sale, to get rid of these fabrics. I did pick up several patterns for dresses and skirts. I'll list these later.

I've been following world events. I'm just disgusted by the brutality that occurred at the school in southern Russia, not far from Chechnya. From what I've been reading so far, it looks like there was a negotiated agreement which was actually a cover for a trap. Apparently the ambulance workers going in to remove dead bodies triggered a tripwire which set off explosions. And many of the children were shot in the back by the terrorists (why is the media calling them guerillas and freedom fighters???). I just don't understand what kind of people would shoot children in cold blood. A note about the people in this area - while there are Russians, there are also other ethnic groups who share a common ancestry with the Chechens. The difference is that much of the indigenous populations are Orthodox Christians, having been evangelized in the past.

The scary thing is that this could happen here because there are so many schools that have the minimum level of security. I look at these people and think about how it could be my friends' children.

The Russian Embassy has set up a link to a fund to which you can contribute -
International Foundation for Victims of Terrorist Acts. This seems to be a legitimate organization - I browsed around and found that they list all the people of the board of trustees, with pictures, phone numbers, what they do in this organization. And also they list how much money have been received and who donated. So I am sure that most of the money do reach the victims. Check the FAQ, the usual. I'll be putting up a link on the sidebar later on.