Sunday, February 20, 2011

Project 365, Week 7 & 8

I'm catching up with two weeks worth of Project 365. I'll try to keep the words to a minimum since there are so many photos, but don't be surprised if I forget and get all wordy on you :)

We are sad because one of our rose bushes died. No idea what happened to it. It's one of two on either side of the front gate and the other one is just fine.

Ivan loves fresh figs. I'd never had fresh ones before moving to Argentina. And let me tell you, fresh figs taste NOTHING like Fig Newtons :)

We've been having issues with a foul smell any time water is used in any fashion in our house (washing machine, toilet, shower...). Yuck! Ivan knew it was our stink pipe which used to run just beside the house, up against the wall on the edge of the property. But now with a big two story house next door, there's nowhere for the stink to go except back in our windows :(  So last weekend Ivan extended the stink pipe up and over our roof in the hopes that would help.
It didn't :(  Apparently just putting it above our roof line is not sufficient to combat the height of the big two story house next door. So Ivan has another project very high on his "to do" list when he gets home.

He left last Sunday night with three of our teens for summer camp in the province of Buenos Aires, and they're coming back tonight. A couple times this week Ivan made the two-hour trek from the camp into the city in an attempt to expedite his permanent residency. He's finally found someone helpful in the immigration office (what a blessing!) but has now hit a snag with the Policia Federal (similar to our FBI). They did eventually do the paperwork he needs but then they wouldn't give it to him as promised on Saturday. They said he could come back Tuesday for a certified copy. Of course he'll be here by then but one of our co-workers who lives in Bs. As. is going in... whether or not they'll let him have it is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Anyway, while he's been gone, I've had a sewing holiday! But before I show photos of my different projects, I have a few more shots around town to share.

Remember that big wave of water that came rushing down the street by our new lot after a storm several weeks ago? We're pretty sure that washed out part of the work they'd done on the new costanera, which is why they went ahead and paved a portion of our street. It extends just beyond our lot. But as you can see only half the street; hopefully they'll get the other half done soon!

Pretty sure this is a custom job where somebody combined two (or more?) vehicles to create this stylin' ride :)  Gotta love the color combination!

This isn't a very good shot since it was a "drive-by shooting" (photo snapped from my car). But I wanted to show one of the street vendors who line the costanera, selling pastries that have been deep fried and coated with sugar. They station themselves every couple hundred feet along the lake, doing a brisk business with the many tourists who are in town.

Okay, now for all the projects I worked on this week. Here's a shot of them all together:
And the individual shots...
A small backpack, which I'll be giving to a young lady for her birthday in a couple months (free pattern found here).
A ginormous shopping bag that helped me use up some leftover 5"x5" squares. It's 19"Hx14"Wx4.5"D -- you can fit quite a bit in this! It's going to be the prize for a game at our ladies tea during missionary conference in a couple weeks.
This is my first attempt at a ruffled bag. It gave me fits! After some seam ripping and modifications to shorten the bag and re-do the bottom ruffle, all was well. I'll definitely do things differently next time!
Two years ago I made a bunch of colored pencil rolls, using a pattern that was labor intensive and time consuming. So when I came across a much easier pattern, I wanted to give it a whirl. LOVE! 
Not only is it easier to put together, this pattern does a better job keeping the pencils tucked neatly into their "pockets". I'll be making a slew of these to have on hand for gifts 'cause kids love 'em.
This is actually part of a bigger project: my personal hanging toiletry bag! I'll probably use this smaller bag for face care and make-up items, and it will tuck into the bigger bag when traveling but can be separated once we arrive. The reason I made it separate is because I realized I couldn't make a bag big enough for EVERYTHING that would still fit on the back of a door. I made a list of all the personal care items we take when we travel -- and then I measured everything :)  I wanted to make sure things fit. Unlike the U.S. where you can get travel sizes, here you can only buy products in their regular size.
This was the first bag I've made with a zipper! I modified the bag pattern I really like -- it's basically the same as the ginormous shopping bag above but with a zipper and, of course, much smaller.

I started on the actual hanging bag but it's not finished. I'll "unveil" it in next week's Project 365. Meanwhile here's a peek...

One last photo before we go. Our neighbors moved into their new house next door!
They live in the left portion of this duplex and will rent out the other side. As per U.S. custom, I took them a baked treat to welcome them to the neighborhood. I made Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls for the first time. Oh My Goodness! Sooooo good and sooooo easy! I prefer maple flavoring to be real syrup I pour over my pancakes or waffles, so after doing half the batch with her maple icing, I did the other half with a cream cheese frosting. Either way: DELICIOUS!

20 comments:

Mimi said...

I love peeking into you life in Argentina. All of your sewing projects are amazing and I'm definitely going to have to check out that cinnamon roll recipe!

Have a blessed week,
Mimi

McCrakensx4 said...

LOVE that ginormous shopping bag...it is AWESOME (i only use reusable bags when i shop so I LOVE it!) Hope your stink goes away...that is NOT a fun smell. I always bake new neighbors treats too but sadly when we moved into our house a few months we got nothing! Oh well! Hope you have a great week!

semperfi said...

I LOVE your bags & pencil roll. How creative & neat looking. The vendor reminded me of the taco vendors in Mexico when I went with my college youth group one day to help with some work projects at a village. Brought back some great memories.

RaD said...

So you never said, do you like real figs?

I see you in the shadow of the road picture :)

The car is interesting and creative and kinda fun.

Your mad sewing skills are so much fun to look at each week (or almost every week). I can see why the colored pencil holder would be a hit with kids.

Skoots1moM said...

what great goodies you made...love all the color.
i'm making a replacement liner for a 'yarn caddy' i found at goodwill...the original canvas was nasty, so i cut it off and started making a pattern for it.
i've cut 3 of the pieces and have one more left to cut, then i'll start reconstructing.
Have a great week, Jubisista!

riTa Koch said...

So glad you're back. You took a sewing and P365 break ;) You certainly accomplished a LOT and sooooo beautiful!
I LOVE 'real' figs too!
I'm curious about how your gift was received by the neighbors.
Will pray for the residency permit.

That One Girl said...

I would love to try a fresh fig!!

sara said...

wow, you have been a busy bee!!!

love, love the backpack! Well, all the projects are awesome!!!

so what does a fresh fig taste like?

Mari said...

I've never had real figs but would be game to try them - maybe someday!
I love that car. And your projects are all wonderful!

The Cyber Hermit said...

Wow, you did more beautiful bags. I really love them. They make me want to learn to sew (and I flunked that class in junior high!). They are very, very nice.

I've sent you the chili recipe.

Amy said...

stink pipe? i have no words.
fresh figs ARE delicious! i had some when i was in israel this summer.

you're so crafty!! i love the bags--especially the ruffle one.

Lori said...

great pictures. I had a fig tree in my yard at the first house I moved into here in Florida and never tried them. you are very creative and I really like the colored pencil holder I bet kids would enjoy having something like that

Lhoyt said...

I believe the reason many of the sewage vents on our houses here in the States have the caps that work like a pinwheel (horizontal, not vertical), is because as the hot air rises, it causes the cap to turn and it works as an extractor. You might want to try one of those.
Fresh figs! MMM.. I love 'em.
If I'm nota mistaken, the car is a Kaiser Carabella (Made in Argentina with the old stamping dies for the Kaiser Manhattan from the States. The roof has been taken off, and the front part replaced with the top of an old pickup truck. Very interesting and creative!
I guess you are competing for the position of Carlos Paz Baglady!... Every one of them very useful for shopping... and beautiful.
That is some house next door. And it went up in a comparaby short time.
Great pix!!!

Robin Lambright said...

Love the big shopping bag!!!!

I hate it when a plant dies, and ya don't know why!

Fried pastry...OMGoodness....

Great week and I hope you get your smelly issues fixed ASAP!

Making the 365 rounds today, was absorbed in church stuff yesterday!

Blessings
R

Blessings
R

The Bug said...

Well I have something to say about every picture! I'll try to keep it brief. I would definitely have to stop at the vendor's table & get a treat - but only if there weren't any cinnamon rolls at home. I keep seeing those but I'm afraid to try to make them (afraid I'd eat them all).

LOVE all the bags! But my favorite is the colored pencil bag - what a cute idea!

STILLMAGNOLIA said...

I adore your bags. I did not realize you guys were in Argentina. That is what I am teaching my Spanish I classes right now. I had a former student in last week who studied in BA for 5 months. She brought back some awesome photos.

Debbie said...

Your posts are so chock full of goodness, I never know where to start! But let me just say, I love that car:)

Amy said...

I love those bags!! Sorry about that smell and I really hope Ivan can get that taken care of...from what I gather he will surely give it his best shot.

The Davidson Den said...

Ewww! Sorry about the smell! And that you have to wait for your man to get back home before there's any hope of fixing it. :(

Love all your sewing projects!! I actually had time this week for one myself!! (Amazing, I know!) Funny thing is it was similar to one you made. I made a crayon roll for a birthday present. I never even THOUGHT of a colored pencil roll!! I may just have to make one of those for myself!! I do Precept Bible Studies and have to carry around a container of colored pencils all the time for that! A roll would be perfect!

Oldfangled said...

I admit, I've never heard of a "stink pipe." And you've been busy with sewing! You're so talented!