The Princess Story

Haveyou ever noticedhow some folks seem to have ALL the luck? They get the parking places close tothe entrnc, thy find the best sales, and the sun always shines on their picnic? Well, that would be me. I always have the right thing needed at themo,ent, the salt shaker is always full and never caked up with humidity, and the diesel pump I need is always avsilable when I get to the gas station. Jusy yesterday, when I needed help loading my push lawn mower in the truck, my personal small engine mechanic, Ernest returned to the shop with our friend Alan toload it for me. It always happens like that. So, imagine my surprise last fall, when Stuart and I were at the festival Latino and we met a couple who had just returned fromPeru. Peru, andMachu Pichu, havebeenon my List for years. The aiirfare pricehaskept me from going. Spiritair to the zrescue. Before thesun had set that night, we had one way tickets from Myrtle Beach to Lima, Peru inlate O'tober. I knew the price would be right for the return ticket, whhen they began taking booking sfor early December teips. Right on!

The next Princess story began last week, when my friend, Janice told me her daughter and SIL are returning to Wilmington and were looking for temporary housing. Bingo! Lisa and Harper will arrive just days before we leave. Perfect!

I 'm typing this on my new Nook, which I.chose for the size, internet access, book storage, and price. I'm accustomed to a full keyboard, so thizs is going to take some adjustment. Life as a Princes does have it's inconveniences!

Portsmouth Island, more!

    Sam and Tim's BurVan.  Tim built this from several vehicles. Features include solar panel, a microwave, and a pole for dancing/holding a bunkbed. Oh, and an outside shower.  Awesome!












The beautiful beginning of the day.













Yes, it did rain a little!

 









 The ideal fishing spot!  Miles of beach, no crowds.
















The Riverwomen on the Island...

Such a great weekend!

Portsmouth Island: heaven

    September 13, 2012

4th of July, sitting in the river, we all agreed a trip to Portsmouth was in order.  Here we are!  Stuart and I were on the 11am ferry from Atlantic, NC to Portsmouth Island, the north island of the Cape Lookout National Seashore.  He and I were sharing one of the 10 cabins available for rent, at the Long Point Cabin Camp, with our friends Stephanie, Rick, Jennifer and Allan.  Water, electricity and a stove, and bunk beds for six people.  Sam and Tim were living in their BurVan, Randy and Maryann were in their truck camper, Karen and Worth in their Big Green truck camper.  Worth and Karen had loaned us their four-wheel drive jeep, giving us treasured transportation on the 25 mile-long sliver of an island.   Worth and Karen were the Welcoming Crew at the ferry, and after quickly unloading our gear at the cabin, we met on the beach for a sandwich lunch.

By late afternoon, most of the crew had arrived, and we proceeded to corral the chairs in the shade of a truck, and enjoy the beach.  There are no roads on the island, and water is only available at the ferry landing. 






Yep, that's my SIL, hiding behind Worth and Rick...I took this pic just after the jeep self-destructed, at the far end of the island.
















           Friday, we loaded up and headed 18 miles north to the abandoned PortsmouthVillage.  The Park service maintains the village now, after the last resident left in the early 1970's.  Unfortunately, the Lifesaving Station/museum was closed.  It's a very nicely presented exhibit of life on the Outer Banks in the late 1800's/early 1900's.  The Visitor Center was closed, too.  But, the skeeters and 'green head' flies were in service!  Boy, they were terrible!  The jeep ran hot on the way across the flats, at the north end of the island, and ran hot again on the way back to the beach.  On closer inspection we learned why:  the radiator had self-destructed.  168,000 miles, no wonder.    As the 12 of us stood there staring, someone asked what should we do.  The answer:  Corral the trucks, break out the chairs and drink some beer!  We cooked some shrimp and burgers, and had a large time.  After several beers and lots of shrimp, someone pointed out that we were 18 miles from the ferry, in the sand, with a broken down vehicle, and it was getting close to sundown.  So, we tied the jeep to Worth's truck, and slowely headed the caravan south, thanks to Allan for riding the brake behind Big Green!  Almost 3 hours later, we all arrived back at the ferry landing/cabin camp, without any other mechanical troubles.

We parked the jeep, and enjoyed 2 more days on the island.  Our friends  made room in their vehicles for Stuart and me to travel the island and enjoy the sights.  The biggest consideration on the island is ice:  there is no electricity, therefore no refrigeration, and coolers take a LOT of space.  The fishing was not so great, as you can see here, but we didn't care.






We enjoyed a Last Supper at the cabin, with this nice sunset and lots of good food and beer.  Duh.










Worth and Karen, on the ferry heading home.  It was a really great weekend.  We spent time with friends, at one of the most beautiful places on the east coast:  Portsmouth Island.

New clothes

              I've been on a dress-making binge lately.  Here are a few garments I've made.  Yep, there are others, but no photos of them yet.

This Vogue Vintage dress pattern has been on the table for 2 years!  Barb helped me pick out the cotton voile for the humongous circle skirt.  I swear there wouldn't be enough room for me AND the dress in my car if I had chosen a slightly heavier weight fabric.  I love the dress, the way it fits, and the fabric.  The buttons at the center front are Sculpey.










































Gini gave me this pretty border print, which turned into a dress inspired by a Project Runway tv show I saw last spring.  I'm pleased with the way this dress turned out, an alteration of an old, basic Vogue faux-wrap dress pattern. Yeah, I know, not much resembles the pattern, but it had the neckline/armhole I wanted.  I will make a dress more like the PR dress, now that I've worked out the pattern.  The ruffle at the hem is top-stitched on, with a little 'header'. 

















Same cute dress, with a little lace jacket Martha found at a yard sale.  It was really ugly beige, so it went into the dye pot.  After I removed the very predicatable shoulder pads, of course. The surprise is that the color works with this dress!  Maybe it needs a black button?




















This is my interpretation of a Project Runway dress I saw last spring. Barbara again helped with picking fabrics to go with a couple of pieces from my stash.  She has a great eye for combinations!  After hanging around draped on my Evil Twin for a month, and rearranging the fabrics, I'm pleased with the result.  The chiffon 'ruffle' at the bottom was a bit of a battle, and it could have been fuller, but I'm still pleased.
Rayon faille, sand-washed rayon, rayon challis, cotton border print, polyester chiffon.  With pockets, of course!  I wore this dress last night, when we went out for dinner, and I felt very good in it.









Whoohoo!  I love this jacket!  The pin-tucked cotton is from my stash.  A Vogue Marci Tilton pattern I picked up last week on sale.  I love the way the pin-tucks look, cut on various angles.  The collar is a cool, folded-over design, with a bias binding on one side and hemmed on the other.  I chose a rayon crepe for the front facings.  Yes, non-traditional, but I wanted that color just along the inside.  The buttons are from a trip to Italy more than 20 years ago!  I've just stitched the corded buttonholes, and will finish this tomorrow. It looks great with a silk skirt I picked up while in Michigan a few summers back, and will look good with other clothes in the closet.



Now, I can move onto the Alabama Chanin-inspired garments!  The book arrived this week, Alabama Studio Sewing + Design, Natalie Chanin, and I've read it already.  Before the book arrived, I cut up and stitched a couple of previously loved t-shirts, bought at Goodwill, and have stitched a top cut from cotton double-knit from my stash.  The book gave me the answer to a couple of  problems, so I'm eager to get to work.  Even though all the garments I've just finished are from new cloth, I love working with previously loved clothes!