April 26, 2009

Atlanta Trip part 2

Day 3.1:  
Wednesday morning we went to Atlantic Station for some sightseeing.  We had lunch at the Tin Drum asiacafe, which was really good.  The Thai Fried Rice I had was great, and everyone else liked what they got.  After lunch we went to "Dialog in the Dark".  I would certainly recommend it.  
For an hour you are a blind person.  At the beginning your are given a cane fit for your height.  Then you are given the rules and ushered into a dark room with big square plastic seats that reminded me of ice cubes.  As you listen to a recorded thingy about how your senses are about to be "enlivened" and such, the lights that illuminate your seats slowly dim.  When the recording stops, the room is pitch black.  Nope, you can't see a thing, not even outlines of things.  Even so, through the whole tour I never closed my eyes. :)  There were seven small red LEDs over the exits, but that was the only thing you could see.  Your guide is either blind, or visually impaired.  
The first room you enter is a park.  There are things like real grass under your feet, rocks, trees, benches, and even a bridge.  Room number two is a grocery store, Room number three is a wharf, Room number four is a city street, and the last one is a bar.  They only served coke products though. :)  Can you imagine going through all of these things completely blind?

The restaurant 
Mr. and Mrs. D
Emily
Thai Fried Rice
Pod Thai
Hudson and Jamie
Dialog In The Dark
Anslee
My Siblings
Living on the edge...
Most of the Duff Family

Hope you enjoyed this post!

April 23, 2009

Latest sewing project:

An Easter dress!

For this dress I used a Simplicity Pattern, #2926, letter "c" I believe. (The blue one in the middle)

Mistake #1: I used a cotton knit! I have actually done this before, and I like the way it hangs, but it is a real pain to sew with. I also used a super satiny fabric for the lining, which, of course, frays A LOT! Thankfully we had fraycheck.

Mistake #2: I sewed the sleeves wrong! My wonderful grandma was nice enough to un-sew them for me though. :) Thanks Gram!

All in all, it turned out very nice. It wasn't that hard, and only took two days. My good friend Shannen stayed the night on Wednesday, then on Thursday we sewed all day. What fun!

A little tip: Make sure your iron is at the right temperature, I burned my fabric slightly!

Pleats on the sleeves
Backview
Darts on the neckline
Close up of the eyelet fabric
Two Young Girls at the Piano, 1892
Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919)
Oil on canvas; 44 x 34 in. 
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 

April 22, 2009

Atlanta Trip part 1


     Well, as some of you know, we went to Atlanta, Georgia this past week.  We went for the FIRST Robotics World Championship.  We had an amazing time, and even met some new friends!

Day 1: Monday morning we leave just after 10:00 AM.  Its a pretty boring ride to St. Louis, but bearable. :)  We took out the 2 back seats in our 15 passenger van to fit all of the tools and banners and other junk...I mean...very useful articles our team needed for the competition, plus luggage for 7 people.  All the tools bounced and made a lot of noise, but you become immune to it after a while.  We arrived at my cousin's house just in time for dinner.  We had a good time, especially since we haven't seen them in 3 years!

Day 2:  Tuesday morning we leave around 7:00 and start the trek to Atlanta.  I got to see quite a few new states on this trip, including: Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana.  I still haven't seen the ocean or the Appalachian Mountains in real life, but I will!  Going through Tennessee was gorgeous!  On US24 heading south, just before Chattanooga, there is solid rock on the one side with random waterfalls in places.  Just beautiful!  I didn't get any pictures that weren't blurry, sorry!  That night we sleep over with some new friends in Atlanta.

More to come!  Especially photos!

April 2, 2009

Latest sewing project...


A new skirt!  I know, what is up with the skirts?  For this one I used Simplicity's pattern 5914.  I used a really neat green fabric with butterflies on it.  It has a side zipper, and six panels.  Overall, it was a very easy skirt.  What made it even more fun was the fact that I got it done in one day, and I did it with my best friends.  We got together and each made a skirt, it was very fun.  Well, that's all for now!

Me, with my head cut off.  Sorry, it was a self portrait.
The cool zipper
And a close up of the waist.
Currently: Dead tired!