Friday, September 28, 2007

heidi had a girl!

so my sister heidi had a girl yesterday. a tiny little baby, 6 pounds 1 oz. though i confess, i don't really know if that's tiny or not. but i think the otehrs were bigger than that. her name is kristen marie- after thirty two years of grating my teeth at people who call me kristen, (no no, my name is Kristine) this will take some getting used to.

blessedly it's all done- if either of my sisters have any more kids, i don't know if i'll be able to stand it.
hee hee hee.

yay!

Monday, September 24, 2007

hoo hoo hoo! If i could do a cartwheel!

so i was playing on sunday- an early morning match- not my favorite. but i am a sport-o at my core- a windpants wearing, sandals with socks, ponytail hairstyled, smelly old cleats kind of girl. and 9.00 kickoffs are part of the drill. Soccer is my true love. there is something about playing soccer for me that is just absolute euphoria. at bell hill park, for 90 minutes every sunday, there is no mortgage, no crummy job, no patriots game or sox lead just 1 and a half. there is no trip to ireland, no knitting project, no truck that needs an oil change, none of that.

there is just me and 21 other people kicking around. i simply love it. as it happens, i'm on a great team that calls you out when you suck; but props you up if you need it. we tell each other when we play well, we tell each other when to shut up. then we leave it there and actually are friends. it's so great. i haven't played such satisfying soccer since college- actually i think it was even highschool. and it's no big deal- it's a rec league, it's not world cup, but it's not skirts and sallys either.

it's tricky for me to explain it- i'm a bit old-ish these days- not nearly as fit or motivated as i was in college and shortly after graduating, i should probably retire soon but i find that I just can't give it up. I find that playing ball on sundays is a tiny little bit of complete me-time, shared with those 21 other people. it's a bit selfish really, but i simply love it.

I also love scoring goals! hoo hoo hoo! i never knew scoring goals could be so fabulous! it came on a corner kick, dan tried to redirect it on a header, but it didn't go in. then i dunno, it bounced somewhere, and came right to me, voila! i knocked it right in to back of the net! what a strange feeling, scoring goals. i'm a modified midfielder these days, i used to be a sweeper- not a whole lot of goalscoring chances for me. but now i'm more offensively minded, so i get in the mix a bit more, and take more shots- especially this season. it's mostly the men who get the chances, but every so often jess and sarah and myself get in on the action too. it's nice when they go in.

so here is my advice that i like to give when i post so infrequently to this blog. Do what you love- you will only love it more!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

fancy a cuppa?

i've got one right here in my wallet. My Tea Wallet!


so i was at my favorite beach town, and there's a new tea shop there. in amongst the gifts and knick knaks i found a basket of tea wallets. not very expensive, they were only $4.95. normally right up my alley. but i'm a seamster, so i decided to make my own instead. folded they're about 3 x 4, flat it's roughly 6 x 4 it's got four pockets you can put teabags, or sugar packets or even little coffee sachets in there.

I'm going to make a whole bunch for my coworkers at the pharmacy for holiday gifts. and you really can make them with scraps.

I've been able to work up some directions to the tea wallet.

1. start with two rectangles of fabric of two different prints; 6.75 x 4.75 each, plus one rectangle of muslin for the interface.


2. take one of each print and iron it in half, print side out, the long way. They should end up 6.75 x 2.375. this is also when you make what ever closure you want, for this one i'm using a strip of bias tape.


3. top stitch the crease to make it look nice and professional


4. take the fold that is the same as your outside fabric and lay it on the lining fabric so the raw edge running parallel to the lining edge (with the muslin beneath) and sew together. this is the contrast pocket. the yellow highlight shows where you want to sew.


5. take the fold that is the same as the lining and place it over the contrast pocket (hiding the stitching from the contrast pocket) and pin everything together.

(Now is also the time to sandwich your closure in. put it between the ouside fabric and the pockets, don't sandwich it between the pockets themselves.)

6. place your outside fabric over all (RSF!), and pin the whole sandwich together.


7. sew a U starting at one corner of the top, down the side, along the bottom, and then up the other side.


8. Trim your bulk and clip the corners. turn right side out. press and match the top edges together, and then topstitch around the entire thing.


9. fold in half and press to give a bit of crease. then sew along the spine crease. this will help define the fold and it also creates the pockets inside.


10. add a button, and viola!


They are really easy, and methinks the possibilities are endless!