A weekend away

We are still living in a house that is part construction site.  We had to get out for the weekend on short notice as they had to smoke-seal the ceilings. (Unhealthy fumes and all that.)  Found a lovely cabin up in the mountains (Stevens Pass) to go stay at.  It was beautiful up there with all the autumn / fall colours. 

There was even a river nearby we could walk to.

We spent the rainy hours playing board games, a great way to relax (especially for me since I won most of them! I usually play as teammate for my youngest. )  Our puppy loved the outdoors and slept the rest of the time.  He seems to prefer the cold tiles. 

The misty mornings were so beautiful, everything would glow from the dew.  It felt like we were walking around in a fairytale, with cabins peaking out between the trees and moss growing everywhere.

 

I even had a chance to take some photos for a photo shoot I had planned for a while.  We took these right outside the cabin.  Some blue skies peeked through the clouds and I roped in the family to help. I had a puppy who loved photo bombing!

I’ll post more on the fall photo shoot soon…

The Elsa Project – Stage 2

Got going again on the Halloween costumes.  Excuse the background, but I am cutting on the bedroom floor.  With two and a half rooms still out of action, we are a little short on space!

 

The skirt is going to be a bit swishier than the one in the movie, we settled on a circle skirt.  I am free-handing the cutting a little, but it seems to be working.  (I am using bits from about 5 different patterns to build this dress!) I am adding a longer layer in white satin for extra warmth. 

My daughter is using the left-over bits to make clothes for her dolls and ponies.  The sewing lessons we did over the summer are paying off.  I showed her how to cut patterns from paper and she took it from there (pony got a circle skirt too).

 

The cloak is nearly finished.  I just need to finish off the hood inside and add a seam to the bottom.  She loves it so far!

Oh, and she helped me make the snowflakes for her hair.  I posted a pic over on Instagram

Dragonflies

We try to take walks more often now.  We keep discovering new treasures.  One of the run-off ponds was filled with beautiful dragonflies.

They let us come really close.  With the cold, they are disappearing, but looking forward to seeing more of them when it warms up again.

The Elsa Project

This year the kids were going to have a theme, the boys dressing up as Link from Zelda and my daughter would be the Fi from the same game.  Then Frozen came out (the kids start planning their costumes right after Halloween!).    So this year we are having a blue Link, a green Link and an Elsa.  I have been buying fabrics over the year as I came across them.  The kids had a LOT of input into the fabrics I chose.  (Really, the boys went with to choose the tunic fabrics.  The right texture was as important as the colour!)  Elsa’s top is more of an “inspired by” than a perfect copy.  Did not quite have the endurance (patience) to spend days cutting rectangles out of sequins or fabric. 

I am starting with the dress and cloak first.  Since it is a bit cooler around the end of October, we are adding a thick brocade cloak to the wispy one that is worn in the movie.  My daughter got really excited when I suggested we add a bit of fur around the hood.  Haven’t done that before, so will be an interesting experiment.  I am lining the hood with some white satin (hiding the seams).

The bodice is going to be the trickiest I suspect.  She picked this hard netting with silver glitter for the top, so I got some sparkly stiff satin for ‘lining’.  I am hoping to make the back of the bodice a lace-up, will have to see how that goes.  I think the ribbon I got might be too wide, but if it is, I will just sew it double so the bow can be big.  The rest of the netting will make the thin cloak.

We chatted a lot about the skirt.  She is only 7, so she wanted a skirt she could move in a bit more (and the high slit would not be comfortable for her).  I am going to try a bit of a circle skirt, not sure though, trying to avoid putting in zippers!  I really like the fabric I got, though for the life of me I can’t remember the name.  It is very soft and is a bit crinkly, almost a kind of silk.  (Found it between the dupioni and charmeuse if that helps.)

Oh, and Fi will be next year’s project!  My younger son is going to be the wizard from the game Magicka 2, the oldest hasn’t decided yet.

I better get back to cutting…  I will post some progress photos on Instagram as I progress as well.

Woodland Park Zoo

We had a week off before hubby had to start work after we arrived in Seattle.  We loved the zoos in Melbourne, so figured getting a membership was a good idea.  The first time we went it was still quite cold (entry fees are also lower in winter) and a few of the animals from warmer climates didn’t come out.

We finally got to see wolves.  They were a huge draw-card for the kids. Seeing meercats inside was strange, so used to them being outdoors, but it is way too cold here for them.  The kids had fun seeing Australian birds.  It brought back fond memories of feeding them in Sherbrooke Forest.

 

   

 

 

Fetching our puppy

We are quickly on our way to winter (we haven’t had one yet!  Left Melbourne at the beginning of autumn and arrived in Seattle at the beginning of spring.)  Shortly after we arrived, we found a lovely family selling Golden Retriever puppies.  The catch was that they were in Quincy, on the other side of the mountain.  It was a great opportunity to see more of Washington state.

There is lots of farmland, with beautiful houses and barns.  The trees were all budding new leaves, bright-green all along the roads.

Snow was melting up in the mountain passes.  Small waterfalls were pouring down the mountain sides next to the road.

We drove past some of the ski resorts, the closest we have ever been to snow.

Our puppy was just too sweet in the car.  He cuddled with the kids, they were fighting about who got to sit next to him.

He kept looking out the back window when we drove away from the farm where he was born.

The other side of the mountain is not nearly as hilly as where we stay.  Lots of beautiful lakes and low rolling hills and large plains filled with farmland and wind farms.

We made a few pitstops for Binks to take a walk and stretch his legs.  (We made it home with no accidents!)

 

It was a beautiful trip!  Loved seeing more of the country.