It's a Boy or Girl

We found out this morning April the giraffe is pregnant again and Tajari will be a big brother next year.  So just like the eagle eggs we watch every Spring, we are on baby giraffe watch again only it will be a long watch.

On a sad note I had to give away most of my plants.  My youngest likes to eat them and get sick, so when I looked up plants that will make a cat sick, well all but my violets, christmas cactus and orchid had to go.  I was just gonna pitch them and keep my yuge aloe vera on the deck til winter, but my sweet niece posted on the HOA facebook page and the girls next door took them all.  So they are close by and they will have a good home. For now the house has empty spots that I need to fill.  But my babies hopefully will not be sick so much. 

Fabric is the new Coffee

Have you bought fabric lately, well we are getting short changed.  Remember when they made coffee and sugar smaller but still charged the  same price?  Also ice cream?  Fabric is now on the bandwagon.  I went in search of some simple cotton shirts and cotton dresses to wear to church.  They pretty don't exist unless you want to pay $60 at Kohl's.  Don't think so.  I decided to get my patterns out and make myself some clothes.  I started looking at cotton fabric, really $10/yard and it is no longer 44/45" wide.  When I got out my tape measure it was 40".  So if the pattern says I need 2 yards for 44/45" how do I figure what I need for 40"?  The patterns have not caught up to the shortage of fabric width.  I always but a little more than I need because of shrinkage, but now how do you know how much to get?  At $10/yard now you are paying quite a bit for a shirt if you need buttons or zippers and other things then the price becomes as much in the store.  I also want a short sleeve not those cap sleeves they put on shirts now, one that comes to within a couple of the crease in my elbow. 
What happened to clothes, why can't I find a reasonably priced decent shirt or dress. I don't want clingy, see through with my shoulders showing or most of my upper arm.  I feel like my dad who wishes we had some of the things back when I was much younger.
So for now I bought fabric on sale with coupons and am making a muslim pattern to see how much I really need and how it fits.  Oh yea when did darts come back?  I hate darts.

Off to go something that does not require me to do anything but sew straight seams and hem things.

 

Step Outside The Box

I am painting my dining room sage green with the chair rail in a rich vanilla bean ice cream color.  I have been searching for fabric for the curtains for several months now. I found some I like but it was $40 yard and needing 5 yards I was not going to pay that much for it, so back to searching again.  My niece and I were in Kohl's the other day and while she was trying on clothes I went looking.  Something led me to the tablecloths.  Well there it was in  the clearance area no less.  I took a picture and texted her and we both agreed it was the perfect fabric.  (I am going back to see if there are 2 more as I am painting my living a teal color and they will go perfect in there as well.)  All I had to do was put a deep hem in the top to go over the curtain rod.  Yes they are a bit long, but who cares, so altogether it cost me about $20 for my curtains, much better than $200 plus sewing them.  And they are very wash and wear.  The top of the wall will be sage green also, just painting the layers one at a time.