More Mehndi Pictures

Some of these pictures are the same people, at different times.

They are so well trained that as soon as middle finishes, they say - take a picture.

Clothing alterations - This is the one with pictures of taking in knit tops (links from past alteration posts included in this post too)

I have talked about taking in knit tops many times over the years.

My shoulders and bust remain solid. I buy tops to fit (those, the largest part of me).

I have mentioned I am very careful not to wear things that hang straight down from my breasts. That very much feels like maternity clothes to me.

So I have taken in the lower half of many of my knit tops since 2009.

Here is a series of pictures showing exactly how I take in these tops.

Again, as always, experiment on things you do not care about first, or even tops from Good Will that will not cause sadness if they end up in the rag bag. When in doubt, BASTE, either by hand, with pins, on huge stitch length on machine. Working with tops inside out, basting, trying on, helps.

Stretchy knit tops require something other than a regular straight stitch. Can straight stitch and then put a zigzag right next to it, in seam allowance side of the straight stitch line. Can use a serger (ask around if you do not have one, a friend might). A serger is set up to CUT the shirt as you sew, so experiment on rags if this is new to you. Or there are special stitches on some machines that mimic a serger or do a forward, backward straight stitch. Experiment on rags to be sure tension is right for your fabric.

I measure over 1" from the side seam at the bottom edge of the top and then draw a line straight up to the under arm seam (red line).

I sew a straight seam ON the line. I serge next to the straight seam. The serger cuts the excess fabric as it sews.

Ditto red line.

Ditto seam line.

Yes, it is a subtle bit of alteration, but it makes all the difference in the world on how I feel in these tops. There is more information in the Knit Top Alteration link below.

BONUS -

Long darts in two jackets and two blouses (6/30/2013) 

Book shelves at our house - oldest

Yes, his window seat is very long, access storage by lifting lid under cushion. Those are plantation blinds, synthetic so they can be washed. We only have cloth curtains in one room of the house - youngest's. The rest of the windows are either uncovered (living room, studio, kitchen, husband's office) or have these plantation blinds (bedrooms, bathroom, computer room). We have many, of that same light fixture, all over the house. Above night stands, above window seats. There are two in oldest's room alone. I have extras of the globes, but have not broken one yet. That beadboard is all over the house too. It is in all three bathrooms. What you see here, and in the studio and in both sides of middle's room is the ends of what was cut off the bathroom boards. Our Amish carpenters used every last scrap.

Our extra refrigerator is to the lower left of this picture. That gymnastics mat still has been put to good use over the years. The pot and crock pot are now with oldest on east coast (I took this picture in May). That telephone does work. There is a bit of a surprise on the book shelf. Can you see it?

One of my very favorite things that came on the truck from my husband's mother's house clean out. She used him the same way that we do - on a shelf of books. He is papier-mâché and very light weight. That is a deep shelf, a couple stacks of books deep. Oldest has many more on the east coast with him. 

My books - Life of Pi (2001) by Yann Martel

Wiki notes:

Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

The novel, which has sold more than ten million copies worldwide, was rejected by at least five London publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada, which published it in September 2001. The UK edition won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction the following year. It was also chosen for CBC Radio's Canada Reads 2003, where it was championed by author Nancy Lee. The French translation, L'Histoire de Pi, was chosen in the French CBC version of the contest Le combat des livres, where it was championed by Louise Forestier.  The novel won the 2003 Boeke Prize, a South African novel award. In 2004, it won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in Best Adult Fiction for years 2001–2003. In 2012 it was adapted into a theatrical feature film directed by Ang Lee with a screenplay by David Magee.

No, I did not see the movie. Not planning to see it. Yes, I know it is excellent.  I just have found that movies are never as good as the book (for me).

To be very honest, I had no interest in reading this book (before I started).

I mentioned last week I was switching to a contemporary book in hopes that would help me get back into the swing of my audio books.

This was the next contemporary book on my list.

I thought - I will just start it. If it does not hold my attention (at all), I will just switch to the next book on my list.

My mind wandered a bit for the first couple chapters. But then I got into the flow of it and discovered it was a good book choice for me (at this time) for several reasons:
- the chapters are very short
- the topics are all inner related, but switch regularly to hold interest
- it is unusual, never know what is coming next
- it is straight foward, simple to understand (for the most part)

So, I did very well with this book and enjoyed it very much.

The entire book is not the boy in the boat with the tiger. From seeing the clips from the movie, I actually thought it might be (the entire book). I think that was the reason I was not really looking foward to it.

I enjoyed the religious bits, as much of the time ME lived here, the huge parallels between Christianity and Muslim were a common topic of interest. It was not a stretch for me to add Hindu to the mix.

ME is a girl from the middle east who lived with us for just over a year (2010-2011, I think). Some people pick up stray kittens, I picked up a stray ME.

Do not be alarmed, it is not a religious book (per say), it is simply part of what happened.


I liked this book very much. It definitely was the right book, at the right time. It spoke to me on many levels.

Oldest's Desk and Chairs (east coast)

You might remember this chair -

Hard to believe I posted that poor of a picture once, let alone twice. . .


I bought that chair at a garage sale earlier this spring.

It fit in the backseat of my car and youngest and I took it to the oldest in June.

He is in a furnished apartment. He just signed the lease for his second year. While youngest and I were there, we sorted out what (of the furnished things) he did and did not use. His landlord came and picked up the rejects (bar stools for counter, small table and two very uncomfortable chairs, a room divider, baskets, pillows).

When all of that was cleared away, he still had couch and two end tables, chair and ottoman, coffee table, dresser, bed. And two small side tables that belong to oldest.

Last year he made do with the pedestal table that belonged with the two chairs as a desk. Not ideal.

With the extra room and the desk chair, we hunted for the most economical, but good, desk scenario for him.

Our first thought was Ikea. But there is not one near him. Shipping was $100. And everything he looked at would involve a truck for future moves (everything he owns still fits in his car, but he is up to two trips now, everything went in one trip when he moved east.)

After looking at all the online options, he ended up with two folding tables from Office Depot. They have free shipping on all orders over $50 (yes, even something as heavy as a table). And he ordered each separately, to be able to use two coupons.

One table is 29"H x 30"W x 60"D ($164.99).
The other is 29"H x 24"W x 48"D ($114.99)
Both of those prices are without discount and before tax.
I think I paid $40 for the good quality desk chair.

When we were considering options, I had him put his beach towels on the floor, measured out to the various sizes, to see how the tables fit.

These tables will last forever and can be used in a multitude of ways and are nice surfaces for writing.

My husband uses a set up similar to this in his home office.

My sewing machines (closet under the stairs) are set up on a little table just like this (want very small tables for sewing machines so the tables do not bounce as the machine runs).

Oldest said he noticed his productivity was easier as soon as he got these tables for, in essence, a clean work station in place.

We did not go to one farmer's market this summer, on purpose

Summer 2012, the kids and I went to a farmer's market nearly every week.

And in my mind, it was the summer of the bread stuff.

Yes, we bought fruit and veggies at each market.

But the kids also bought rolls, bread, muffins at every market.

Most of these carb products were from the same lady. And this started because her selling point was home ground grain.

I did not eat any of these bread stuffs, but the kids did.

I was enabling the kids eating the bread stuff by going to the farmers markets, all summer.

Early spring 2013, I started ordering organic fruit and veggies thru our farmers box.

I can order very specific quantities from a very large list of produce.

No baked goods.

No impulse buying.

No influence from anyone else, I do the ordering each week.

No enabling anyone else to poor food habits, because my farmers box is all whole foods produce, while the farmers markets are full of all kinds of poor food choices.

My books - Kidnapped (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson

Wiki notes: 

 Kidnapped is a historical fiction adventure novel by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. Written as a "boys' novel" and first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886, the novel has attracted the praise and admiration of writers as diverse as Henry James, Jorge Luis Borges, and Seamus Heaney. A sequel, Catriona, was published in 1893.

As historical fiction, it is set around 18th-century Scottish events, notably the "Appin Murder", which occurred near Ballachulish in 1752 in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rising. Many of the characters, and one of the principals, Alan Breck Stewart, were real people. The political situation of the time is portrayed from different viewpoints, and the Scottish Highlanders are treated sympathetically.

Yes, I did listen to this book. It was slow going, over the last week, but I did manage to do it.

If you remember, I was not able to listen to audio books the end of the summer (right about the time middle was going back to school). At that time I needed pop music.

How did I do? Well, I certainly could not pass a test on the content of Kidnapped. But I did manage to hang on to the main points well enough to follow the plot.

I do tend to like the classic "boy books", so that helped. Yes, I did like this book, even though I was in somewhat of a muddled state as I listened.

I am switching it up to a modern book next, to see if I do better.

My books - The Portrait of a Lady (1881) by Henry James (this is the one where I talk about not being able to listen to audio books and needing pop music)

Wiki notes:

The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881. It is one of James's most popular long novels, and is regarded by critics as one of his finest. The Portrait of a Lady is the story of a spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who "affronts her destiny" and finds it overwhelming.  . . .  Like many of James's novels, it is set in Europe, mostly England and Italy. Generally regarded as the masterpiece of James's early period, this novel reflects James's continuing interest in the differences between the New World and the Old, often to the detriment of the former. It also treats in a profound way the themes of personal freedom, responsibility, and betrayal.

This is my first Henry James novel.

If you remember, he is an author much discussed (The Ambassadors, Daisy Miller and Washington Square by Henry James) by Azar Nafisi in Reading Lolita in Tehran (2003).

If you can't recall any/all Henry James books -
Watch and Ward (1871)
Roderick Hudson (1875)
The American (1877)
The Europeans (1878)
Confidence (1879)
Washington Square (1880)
The Portrait of a Lady (1881)
The Bostonians (1886)
The Princess Casamassima (1886)
The Reverberator (1888)
The Tragic Muse (1890)
The Other House (1896)
The Spoils of Poynton (1897)
What Maisie Knew (1897)
The Awkward Age (1899)
The Sacred Fount (1901)
The Wings of the Dove (1902)
The Ambassadors (1903)
The Golden Bowl (1904)
The Whole Family (collaborative novel with eleven other authors, 1908)
The Outcry (1911)
The Ivory Tower (unfinished, published posthumously 1917)
The Sense of the Past (unfinished, published posthumously 1917)

I listened to the first third of this audible book and did fine with it.

When I started the second third, it did not hold my attention AT ALL. I abandoned it.

Part of this (abandonment) was the book.

Part of it was me.  I have a lot going on and my attention span is about two seconds.

I have not been able to listen to any audible books this week or the two before it.

Since the girls have been with me much of the time, we have been listening to pop music stations instead.

Even when I am in the car, by myself, I have actually needed the music.

I am not sure if this will settle down, or stay with me for a while. It is a telling marker in my life, but I am not sure whether it is positive or negative.

All things paint - Painted plate pictures, bonus painted clothes pins pictures, and paint bin pictures

We (youngest, middle and I) attended a local art demonstration and exhibit.

There was wine and cheese and crackers. We passed on the wine, and had water.

Middle is part mouse. She is a cheese girl. As she was eating, she was looking at the plastic plates they used at the bar. She came home with three.

If I had been thinking, I would have taken pictures at each step.

When she started, she asked for ideas. I referred her back to specific painted letters colors (we love). And I suggested varying over all design and geometric.

She did her own thing with those tiny suggestions to get her started. And I guess that is part if the reason I didn't take step by step pictures. I think they were mostly done the next time I saw them.

Notice she put a flower (of sorts) in the center of each (unifying).

And her colors coordinate well without being too matchy-matchy.

And each piece has a distinct personality.




All painting was done on the back of the plate.

She painted the design first (on the back) with puffy paint (nose tipped bottle).

And then she painted the background (on the back also) with a brush, acrylic paint.

Notice the one plate has two background colors. If you look at the front, you will see how she layered the backgrounds. She left a window for the last background color (the green).

When she was done, she sprayed sealer (on the back).

Part of the 'pattern' you see on the back of the plates is (partly) the pattern 'weave' in the plastic on the back of the plates (you can best see it on the turquoise rim on the back of the plate with the green center).  The other part of the pattern you see on the back, is the design paint.

These plates are in NO way washable.

She is using them, at college, as a place to deposit keys, earrings, rings, change, etc.










Painted clothes pins -

These are youngest's. I think middle painted a few of the designs. It is very hard to get pictures of things attached to magnets. They tend to 'move'. As I type that, realize I should have put them on the refrigerator to take the picture. (My guess is middle did that in first picture.)

And these are the same pins as in the above picture, with a friend's pins and middle's original pins (they have magnets in this picture, magnets were added to youngest's and friend's later) added.

Paint bin -

At the time we cleaned out the closet under the stairs, June 2013, the "new" paint bin looked like this:

June 2013 paint bin

Then middle found ANOTHER small bucket of paint bottles in her desk cupboard.

So the very large empty bin (on the top shelf, in the picture, just below) of the Art Shelves behind the door, became the new home for all things paint. You can see the old paint bin on the right side of the third shelf from the top in this same (June 2013) picture below.

Picture from June 2013

New Paint bin, yes, it is lovely.