This week, I...

-Listened to my current favorite record repeatedly.
Almost to the point where I should be sick of it, but I'm not. It's Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, and they sound amazing together. I love all but maybe three songs, which is a pretty rare thing for a record. :) {Sometimes it seems like one record can include a couple of my favorite songs and some really bad ones.} The album is also sort of travel-themed and includes a lot of songs with a Latin/Spanish/I can't think of another way to describe it feel, which I usually don't like. But I'm addicted to this record.

{The album cover is cute except for their driver's license faces. Skin that looks sunburned, surprised and/or blank expressions...I don't know about you, but that's what my license pictures always turn out like.}

-Made an unsuccessful skirt muslin.
I saw this cute skirt and realized that I not only had that pattern, but also a couple of yards of dark denim. I decided that I'd make one like it. I wasn't too sure about the pleats in the skirt, so I decided to make a muslin first...

Thank goodness I did. It looked awful. Pleats and me don't get along. I think it's because I had to lengthen the skirt by about five inches to get it to a length I'm comfortable with (just below the knee). Pleats are pretty, but where the pleats end things get weird. Anytime I leaned forward or moved around in the skirt, the fabric just pooled up below the pleats. Not very flattering.

So I guess you could say the muslin was successful but the pattern wasn't. :) I'm just glad I didn't waste my good fabric. And this was my first time sewing pockets in anything...I loved how they turned out, and I ended up adding pockets to the skirt that I did make this week.

-Made a skirt.
Successfully! After the pleat incident, I just pulled out my reliable favorite skirt pattern to make the denim skirt. It's been so long since I've sewn anything to wear, so now I'm really motivated and excited about sewing clothes again. :) I'll try to have pictures up soon, though it probably won't be until Sunday after church.

-Enjoyed some snow.
And some really warm weather. All in the same week. You can see more photos here.

-Cracked up over a line from the Dick Van Dyke Show.
You know how sometimes something completely random and not incredibly funny will just strike you as hilarious? I was watching season five, the episode called The Ugliest Dog in the World. It's not one of my favorite episodes by any means, but this one line towards the end put me in a laughing fit:

"I'm a freak." (At least you think that's what the man says, until...) "Part French, part Greek. Freek."

It doesn't sound all that funny, I know. Maybe you just had to be there (you can watch the episode here, by the way). Maybe it was just the way he said it...trilling his r's and all. :)

-Watched a French film called Mr. Hulot's Holiday.
I saw it on TCM at my grandparents' house. It was really quirky and I found almost everything about it endearing (I missed the first few minutes).

It's almost silent- one lady speaks in English and the rest of the very scarce dialogue is French with subtitles. It was funny (though at times a bit too over-the-top slapstick) and had a lovely beach setting. And there was this great jazzy background music, including one theme repeated throughout.

It's next on my Netflix queue...if I'm as impressed the second time around, you might see a review here sometime in the next week. :)

-Signed up for Wild Olive's Stitch Swap.

I'm so excited! You stitch something in a 4 inch hoop and send it to someone, and you get one in return (from someone different). I love getting mail, and I love sending it, too. I also love embroidery, so this is an all around awesome thing. :) This is my first swap, though I've admired the goodies in the Craftster swaps for years. If you embroider, too, and want to participate, go here for more details.

Until next time,