Eowyn's Green Dress part Two

So it is three days past my deadline for sewing the green Eowyn dress.While I haven't gotten the dress made in the finer fabric  that I wanted to make it in I did complete the "test dress". I used fabric that I had in my fabric bin and it isn't the prettiest thing out there but this was a test run, right? I am very pleased with the out come. It is the first "fantasy" dress that I've made for myself that I really like. I fully lined the dress even though the pattern did not call for it. The fashion fabric is a deep purple, the lining is a pale yellow. Think butter yellow. The yoke is also made with the yellow fabric. The front of the underskirt is a flowered print on a pink background and the back of it is a mish-mash of  different fabric ends that I had on hand. It looks like a patchwork quilt. But you don't se the back so it doesn't really matter. :) I will post my notes and pictures of it in a later post so you can see what it looks like. Now that I know how to make it I can't wait to sew it in the fashion fabric.

Dress Forms

Mom and Dad are getting me a dress form for my birthday. Yeah! Woohoo! I'm so excited! I can't wait! A new sewing toy to play with. :) I've really wanted one and now I'm getting it. I was wondering if any one who reads my blog has any suggestions on which one I should get or what to look for. Any suggestions would be appreciated. :)

Eowyn's Green Dress part One

One of the many dresses that I want to make for myself is Eowyn's green dress from "The Two Towers". I decided that I would make it for my birthday. That would give me enough time to work on it at a leisurely pace and also make allowance for any mistakes that I might make. So I started doing research on it and looking for fabric. I soon realized that this wasn't going to be the easiest thing to make. There aren't any patterns that are exactly like the dress so I'd have to do some tweaking to the patterns that I already have. Simplicity has a pattern that is clearly made to look like the dress, but it is still not exactly like the dress in the movie. So I will use it as a starting point. But first things first. I will do the same  dress with cheaper fabric and make any changes that need to be made. This way I won't be as likely to mess up the nicer fabric that I'm hoping to get later on. So while the rest of the family is at market today I will be tweaking, cutting, and writing notes. What a fun way to spend the day. :)

Sewing

 As I said in my previous post the shed is more or less finished. So for the last month I've been sewing. I made curtains for the shed windows, a dress and shirt for myself and a skirt and shirt for Liberty. Now I'm gathering all the stuff that I need to make Timmy's birthday present. I can hardly wait 'till I have every thing that  I need and can start sewing it! I tried making the same outfit for him last year but I didn't like the results.The outfit doesn't match up with the picture in  my head or the picture in the movie. So I put it in my box of "in a pinch it will do" costumes. I'd tell y'all what it'll look like but I know that some of my siblings read my blog. :) Here are pics of the dress and shirt that I made for myself.

Simplicity pattern #3673

This picture shows the bodice darts a little better then the photo does. I made view C.

Front of the dress.

The back of the dress.

 I made this dress exactly as the pattern said to. I don't usually make the clothes to look exactly like the picture on the pattern envelope. I almost always use the pattern as a starting point for a completely different look. That is what I did with this shirt.

Simplicity pattern #2249

What the shirt is supposed to look  like.

The sleeves that I wanted the shirt to have.

 The pattern is for a short sleeved, tunic style shirt that zips up the back. The neckline is supposed to have a notch in it and there's also supposed to be a ruffle that goes from the neckline down the front of the bodice to the bodice/skirt seam. I had read reviews that said this pattern tends to run a size larger than what you measure. So I decided to make this a pull over shirt with no zipper, no "neckline notch", ties, and 3/4 length sleeves. These are the results of my alterations.

The front of the finished shirt.

The back of the shirt.

It looks exactly like I wanted it to. :-) Thanks Sara for modeling them for me!

My Sewing Room

One of my jobs for this year was cleaning the shed behind the house. I can now say that
it is almost done. It is close enough to being done that I've been able to do some sewing. Woohoo! The only thing left is to finish putting down the peel-and-stick tile. I don't have any "before" pictures. Even if I did I wouldn't post them. That's how messy the shed was. :) But I do have "after" pictures. So this is what the shed looks like now that it's been cleaned and organized.

My sewing space.

I plan to turn the table into a ironing board.

                                  The loft. This is where I keep the bins full of material
                                       and the sewing machines that I don't often use.  

Carlson family storage space. I'm thinking about putting some sort of doors on these shelves and then painting them with blackboard paint. Keep it looking neat and tidy while having a good use for it.

 

 

 

 

It's raining kids!

There are four rubbermaid bins lined up along one side of our dinning room. In those bins there are nine baby goats of various sizes and ages. Last night there were seven bins with fourteen babies.
Fourteen!! Do you know how much milk 14 baby goats drink in one sitting? A LOT! This morning five of them went to their new homes. So now we are feeding the nine who are left plus the six that are outside.
From beginning to end it takes a hour. Some of them eat really fast. Some of them eat really s....l....o....w.

Fourteen!!

Llano's doeling & one of Yoyo's babies.

The little bitties! The black one's Bonnie's little doe and the belted one's Sophie's doe.

                                                            

This little doe loves to sleep on the bottom book shelf. This is the other one of Yoyo's babies.

Meet the giants! The white one is Mesquite's doeling and the belted one is Sophie's buckling. They are both BIG!

The one not looking at us is Nyasa's doeling. She has some pretty markings. The chocolate one is Serano's doe.

                                                                          

Meet The New Kids

So what has happened since I last blogged? Terra Cotta kidded. Triplets! We named them Thorin, Fili, and Kili. :) Thorin's the biggest followed by Kili. Fili was the smallest. Fili was never really healthy. We believe that her big brothers got most of the nourishment while in their mother. We did every thing that we  could for her. When we couldn't do any thing else for her, we made her as comfortable as possible. Thorin and Kili went to their new homes on Tuesday. Later that night Sydney kidded. Twins. A buck and a doe. They are both BIG! Emma and I named the girl Aravis and the boy Tiny Tim. He couldn't stand properly for the first couple days because his leg had been cramped in a bent position while in his mom. But now he's fine. His nickname is Tiny. :) Even though he is a big boy. Calvin and Luther are growing fast. Rebel Yell is trying to keep up with them. :) They are now in a outside pen during the day. Usually they come in for the night but that is about to change. Later today I'll be moving their pen to a more open,sunny patch in the side yard. Then on nights when it is cold I'll wrap sleeping bags around the sides to help keep them warm. Because I'm tired of moving them in and out every morning and evening. :)

Kili. He is around 2 1/2 lbs. He's SO cute!

Thorin trying to get Tumbleweed to play. No go. ;-)

Thorin. He was about 3 1/2 lbs.

Kili getting ready to jump.

This is my favorite! Libby with her goaties.

Did I mention that Thorin and his siblings were Mini goats? That's why they're so small. :)