Going Second

 Several weeks ago my husband and I went to a concert put on by the band Going Second.  As luck would have it my cousin, Scott Brimhall, is the bass player.  Going Second is a high energy alternative rock band popular among the tween and early teen age groups.  They put on a fun show, and they're music was awesome.

Getting ready to go to the show, I wished that I had some accessories to wear that would fit the vibe, but not make me look like a 30 year old that was trying to hard.  So since we plan to go to more of their shows in the future, I thought it would be fun to make myself some cuffs to wear.

I really like how they turned out!!  I ended up making three of them since I happened to run across the striped fabric and a red lace ribbon when I was looking for my black fabric.  All I need now is a band t-shirt, and I'm set.

Here's how I did it:

Measure your wrist, and add on about 1 1/2 to 2 inches for the overlap of the snap and the seam allowance.  For my width measurement I based it on the width of the Eveline lacy cuff I have in my Etsy store.  So I ended up with 9" X 2.5".

For my basic black fabric I used some old black microfiber pants I had, that way it's really soft on my wrist. Cut out two pieces, in the case of the stripey fabric I chose to cut my second piece out of the pant fabric.

Pin the pieces together and stitch around the whole thing leaving an opening at one end to turn it right side out later.

Clip the corners so that they are less bulky when you turn it.

Then turn the piece right side out and using your shears or a pencil push out your corners.

Press the seams open and then flatten the piece.

Blind stitch your opening closed with coordinating thread.

Then finally add your snaps, following the directions on the package.  I chose some large muted metal ones so I only used one for the closure.

You're done!  Don't they look cool?

Now I can't wait until the next concert.

~Fraise

Weekly weigh-in and update

Ever have cleaning cause more severe harm than a couple stiff muscles and aches?  Well, a week from this last Monday, I somehow managed to do just that.  Thanks to a severely pulled back muscle I have not exercised once this week, or gotten to any of my cleaning.  My husband made the edict at the end of last week when he realized exactly how much pain I was living with.  However, I am pleased to say that last week after my fifth consecutive week of exercise I weighed 184.9 lbs!  I have gone back up some over the last few days, but have tried to regulate my eating in the mean time so that I can some how manage not to undo my hard work over the last 5 weeks.

You'll be pleased to know that while I have been taking it easy, I have also been trying to catch up on some of my hand projects and come up with some things to put into the Myrtilles Etsy store.    You'll have to go over and check them out.

Thanks for your support and for coming to visit.  Hope that you enjoy your end of February 2011.

~Fraise

Shower Season

You know you're in Utah when the season for baby and bridal showers starts in February or March.  I've been to a few over the last few weeks.  Just this Saturday I had a double header, a baby shower at noon and a bridal shower in the evening.  Kinda crazy day. Thankfully I had at least a week's notice and was able to get a hat, some headbands and flowers done.

 I even had someone at the shower ask if I had an Etsy shop.  I kick myself that I didn't tell her the name of it even though I currently have nothing in the shop.  I need to start taking myself a little more seriously, and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.  I hurt my back last Monday, so my husband forbade me from doing any cleaning this weekend, and thus I'll be able to do some catching up on some of my projects today!!

~ Fraise

Weekly Wednesday Weigh-in

Hello again.  Sorry for the Two month long vacation, but I thought it high time to get back to a regular blogging schedule.  I'm pleased to announce that I am in my fifth week of exercising consecutively! True it varies from week to week but my average is five days per week.  I am so happy!

It all started when I went to my yearly, and lo and behold my weight was tipping an all time high of 189 lbs (technically it was 191 but that was with clothes and shoes on).  Now for some this is an okay weight, but for my body, personally, it is quite heavy.  So I decided I needed to start really make good on my goal to slim down, and to make a concrete goal to achieve.  I decided that I wanted to get down to 135 lbs. by the end of the year.  I have worked hard to manage my portions and food intake and have continued riding our stationary bike as well as doing some aerobic and weight training exercises on the side.

As of last week my average weight for the week was 185.8!  I know it's slow, but progress is progress!


Anyway, hope you're Valentine's was delightful, I get to finish celebrating mine on Friday, CAN'T WAIT!

~Fraise

PS Sorry for the quality of the photos, they were taken with my phone.