New projects

Now that my shoulder is mostly back to normal -- I have about 95% range of motion back, all except being able to get my arm behind my back. Truly, if I'm never able to do the cow pose in yoga, that's fine by me -- I'm back to doing all the stuff that's been waiting for me.

So far, I've canned 6 quarts of plum tomatoes, 9 pints of salsa, 11 quarts of dill pickles and 5 quarts of bread 'n' butter pickles. Out of all that, only the jalapenos came from my own garden. My tomato plant is producing, but only enough for eating here and there and my cucumbers died off completely. I've planted some seeds and will see how they go, along with more green bean seeds. I'm not counting on being able to harvest much from them, but we'll see. The extreme heat is really taking it's toll except on the peppers which love it.

I've also (FINALLY) start sewing my Steampunk costume. I'm using this Simplicity pattern as the base. It's my first time REALLY sewing something since I was 13-14, and my mother was there to help me. I'm moving very slowly, with 5 books and various web pages to guide me. OF COURSE, I not only choose a pattern that requires princess seams and darts and such to allow for the curves of  the body, but also a fabric that is slippery (in this case, I'm using a shantung.) Not quite the thing to do for a first sewing project but since when do I do things the easy way?? So far, I've gotten the back panel and two front panels finished.

I think I'm actually getting the hang of it. I've figured out how to clip the edge to allow for curving, overstitch the edge to keep from unraveling and press the seams correctly. Since I've started losing weight, it'll probably be too big for me, but I'll make adjustments as I go. I'd rather it be too big and have to take it in that make it too small.

I've also finished a few knitting projects I was working on. One tank top was finished a while ago, but I forgot to take a picture. The other tank (the purple one) I finished a couple of weeks ago and have mostly finished a Give it Forward project -- that one just needs some finishing and it'll be off in the mail.

For the purple one, I had to make adjustments in the pattern because it was obviously written for people without boobs. One inch for the bust is NOT going to cover me up! LOL So I added a few inches of the bust band as well as to the straps. The green one is slightly short on me, but hopefully as I lose weight, it'll settle better on my body.

So I've gotten quite a bit accomplished lately. I'm feeling rather proud of myself.