Great Sand Dunes National Park

At the Great Sand Dunes

We had a very spontaneous trip to Santa Fe. We decided to go on Monday, hubby got his leave approved on Tuesday and on Wednesday I got a hotel booked and a suitcase packed. We didn't really have a list of places to go to and just decided as we went. I am quite obsessed about planning so this was a truly awesome experience for me!

To get from Denver to Santa Fe you pretty much need to stay on I-25 all the way. It's like the easiest trip ever if you don't count the exhaustion of driving for 6 hours. While driving we decided to go to the Great Sand Dunes National Park so at Walsenburg we turned onto US-160 W towards Alamosa. It makes the drive to Santa Fa longer but the dunes are worth the visit and the drive is much more scenic. 

The entrance to the park is $3 per adult. We stayed there for about an hour and I think it was money well spent. The park's main attraction is the sand dunes but there is more to do if you have the time.  

On the way to the Great Dunes National Park

Have you seen the panoramic photo of the dunes from the previous post? If not click here. 

The dunes are spectacular and climbing them is an interesting experience as you loose the sense of perspective. We started climbing the dunes and once we reached a top of a hill (see photo of me on top) we realised that there is a huge drop. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to climb to the top but I'm sure the view from the top is amazing.

For those going to the dunes and plan on climbing to the top or a fair bit up, bring lots of water and closed shoes as the sand is very hot. The walk to the dunes starts with some flat area which looks like a beach except the obvious lack of water or even a fresh, sea-smelling breeze. 

For those interested in the photography, all photos are taken with my one and only camera Nikon D40x and a kit lens 18-135mm. I used exposures of 1/60-1/80 (less than isn't recommended unless you use a tripod) and the closest aperture possible (to get as much of the photo in focus), ISO 100. I love landscape photography and can't wait to get a wide angel lens. 

Next post will be about our wonders around Santa Fe. 

Cheers!

Teaser - A trip to New Mexico

I came back from Santa Fe yesterday and have so many photos to process! I promise to upload the best ones of the bunch once I'm done but for now here is a little teaser for you - a panorama from Great Sand Dunes National Park. They are in Colorado but are on the way to New Mexico and were worth the visit even though we spent there only an hour or so.

Click to Enlarge

Photo taken with Nikon D40X, kit lens 18-135. Exposure 1/60 sec at f/20, ISO 100. 

Mini skirt - Sewing Project

Outfit:
Hell Bunny Demise Top - available on eBay
Los Muertos mini skirt - sewn by me
ZU gladiator sandals

You probably noticed that I like skirts and the great thing about sewing my own skirts is that I can make them whatever length I want. Most of the skirts in store are too short for my liking (I'm obviously not talking about maxi skirts which I don't wear at all) and if you take the smallest size available they are usually even shorter. So I tend to make my skirts just above the knee. This skirt is a mini because I sewed it from leftover material I had left from the circle skirt. I love the Los Muertos print and it's just the right thickness for me. 

Since I'm still learning how to sew, I prefer to try something new in every project I do. This time I was experimenting with pleats. I saw a few YouTube videos about how to sew different pleats and even found this tutorial for a box pleat skirt and really wanted to give it a go. The thing is that I don't really like pleats in my clothes as they can be a pain to iron and I just didn't seem to have the patience to do them this time. Then I remembered another tutorial I saw for a full skirt. As far as I'm concerned these are cheat pleats. They are so much easier to do and I prefer this look to real pleats.

This mini skirt has hidden pockets (see hidden pockets tutorial) and an invisible zipper. This time I used the proper Husqvarna Viking clear invisible zipper foot and it was so easy to sew on! I definitely recommend investing in an invisible foot to fit your sewing machine. I also put a waist band instead of an elastic and this time strengthened the waistband material with fusible interfacing. You simply iron the interfacing onto the material and it gives it more structure. I made the waistband of the Skull Skirt without interfacing and I can definitely tell the difference. 

I also experimented with anorak snaps. I didn't want the zipper to go through the thick material of the waistband and decided to use a couple of anorak snaps only on the waistband. I have a skirt that has that combination of zipper and anorak snaps and I really like it for both comfort and looks. I bought Dritz mini anorak snaps together with a set of special tools and it was an absolute nightmare to use! Stay away if you can. It took me forever to work out how to use the tools and then they just didn't work properly! I went through 8 out of 10 of the snaps in order to put 2 on, not to mention that it made a huge hole in the fabric and I ended up using some of my hubbies tools in order to place the second snap in place. Don't waist your money on this stuff. Next time I might try a different brand and if it doesn't work I'll just use buttons. 

Happy sewing!

Skulls Gathered Skirt with Pockets - Sewing Project

Outfit:
Top - sewed by me from a rayon and spandex knit fabric using an old tank as a pattern
Skulls skirt - sewn by me from a heavy cotton fabric
Shoes - Dr Martens Rochelle
Belt - CUE 

After sewing the simple elastic skirt and the circle skirt and gaining a little bit of sewing experience I really wanted to sew a dress. I saw this black-white-pink skull print cotton fabric at JoAnn's and couldn't get it put of my head so I went back and got it for this project.

While looking for dress tutorials online I found a few on how to sew a dress that consists of a bought tank or t-shirt and a skirt you sew yourself. It seemed like an easy enough project for a beginner like me but unfortunately none of the tutorials were clear enough so I decided to improvise! Do you see where this is going?

The first try failed miserably. I used too much material and the gathered part of the skirt was very thick and unfaltering. The conclusion is that it is very important to match the fabric to the pattern. If you plan on gathering a thick material around the waist, use less material so it's gathered less frequently and doesn't create the bulky look. If you want it really gathered, use a lighter material. The cotton I used was very thick, you might even tell by looking at the photo above.

The second go was much better as I knew how to fix my mistakes and took greater care at planning my next step. So for the final result skirt I used a few techniques including: sewing hidden pockets, gathering material and attaching a material waistband and installing an invisible zipper plus hook and eye. Here are a few links and tips on those techniques.

Gathering Material - gathering material is very common in many projects and the good news is that it's easy to do. I found this tutorial and this one from MADE to be especially good. They both present a few different techniques for you to chose from. I used the "gathering with a straight stitch". When gathering a thick material use a thicker thread for gathering, like the heavy duty thread, as your normal one is more likely to break when pulling.

Hidden Pockets - I think pockets are a useful addition to many garments. The skirt I made has 2 hidden pockets which I made based on a great tutorial by Angela Osborn.

Invisible Zipper - there are many tutorials online on how to install an invisible zipper and the zippers themselves usually come with instructions. Try this tutorial one for example.

Husqvarna Viking clear invisible zipper foot VS. Coats plastic invisible zipper foot

To install an invisible zipper you pretty much have to buy an invisible zipper presser foot to match your sewing machine. My local dealer didn't have any in stock at the time and somehow I managed to sew in an invisible zipper with a buttonhole foot but it's not recommended. I still went back to buy the real thing. They are pricy but much better than Coats $2 plasticy stuff which takes forever to understand how to assemble (I gave up on mine) and then takes half the time to install.

So as you can tell I learnt a lot while making this skirt. I also sewed the top but decided not to attach it to the skirt. So yeah, no dress this time but I'm very pleased with the skirt.

Cheers!

Golden - Views & Brewery

Last Sunday hubby and I went to Golden, which is about an hour drive from Aurora, where we live. Golden is a small town near Metro Denver. They actually call it a city but with a population of about 20,000 people I just can't see how they qualify as a city.

We started our trip by going to Lookout Mountain which has a good view on the town. This is also where the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave are located. The museum is pretty small but I found it very informative and enjoyable. If you hear the name of Buffalo Bill Cody for the first time, like I did, make sure to visit the museum as he was a really interesting man.

View from Lookout Mountain

The road to the top of the mountain is very popular among cyclists and as the road shoulders are tiny they just go on the road itself meaning that you are likely to have a long and slow drive.
Take it easy and enjoy the views. 

Buffalo Bill Cody & his wife's grave

After visiting the museum and the grave we headed towards the town to visit Golden City Brewery. There are two breweries in Golden: one is Golden Brewery, which is one of the largest single-site breweries in the world; and the second one is Golden City Brewery, which is a small privately owned brewery. They advertise themselves as "second largest brewery in Golden" which is perfectly true as there are only two breweries in town.

Golden City Brewery, also known as GCB, is located at a private house and has a relatively large yard with tables for people to enjoy their beer and weather. To be perfectly honest the whole place is pretty shabby (but clean!) but the setting is so peaceful I've really enjoyed it! This brewery is also located a few blocks away from Washington St, the main street it Golden as far as I could tell.

Washington St if full with cafe's, grill restaurants and small stores and everything has a historical feel to it. I really enjoy this kind of settings and enjoyed the stroll along the street. Hope to come back next time and enjoy some hot chocolate and a muffin in one of those small cafes or maybe a steak in one of the restaurants.

After the visit to GCB, where we enjoyed some cold beer and a pizza, we went on a tour to Golden Brewery, a very large brewery that belongs to MillerCoors. It seems like the free tours to the brewery are one of the main attractions of Golden so they are very popular. There are mini buses that take you to and from the brewery. At the entrance they give you a phone guide and you pretty much can walk the tour on your own listening to it. Mine didn't work which I wasn't impressed about so you might want to check your while still at reception.

The pleasant surprise for me about this brewery was that it makes my favorite beer - Blue Moon. I wanted to go to the Blue Moon brewery but had no idea where it was until we arrived at the Golden Brewery and saw the Blue Moon logo around the place. Awesome! While at the brewery I tried Coors Banquet, which is also a light beer like Blue Moon but tastes differently. It is very refreshing and I really liked it. I wish I could try a few of the other beers but I really didn't feel like it, mainly because I already had had beer at the GCB and was quite full.

Wall of old posters at the Coors Brewery Lounge

Can only imagine how old this ad is...

At the end of the tour you come to what they call a lounge (I'd call it a bar) and can enjoy 3 free beer. I was quite happy with one (see my previous note) but there were people lining up for the next round while still holding full glasses in their hands. Pathetic if you ask me. Anyway, I think this kind of tour is great for a group of friends who enjoy beer, care to find out about the process of brewing and then enjoy some beer together. 


If you go to Golden and plan on the brewery tour I'd recommend doing this: 
Start early and go to the Lookout Mountain or go on a short hike. Then go to one of the cafe's on Washington St and have some morning tea, you don't want to be trying beers on an empty stomach. Afterwards go on a tour and make sure to try 3 different beer. Next walk to one of the grill restaurants for lunch or go to the GCB for more beer and lunch. 



After the brewery tour we headed back home but I plan on coming back, this time for hiking. 

Circle Skirt - Sewing Project

Outfit:
Top - Emily the Strange
Los Muertos skirt - sewn by me
Shoes - Dr Martens Rochelle
Belt - CUE 

Today I want to share with you another sewing project I did. This is the second skirt I sewed and although it wasn't as easy as the cherry skirt, I managed it alright and will definitely recommend this project for beginners to try. I learn a lot from it.

I wanted a circle skirt for a while but couldn't find anything I really liked in store or online (well, I did, just not for a price I was willing to pay) so it was time to sew one for myself! I chose a 100% cotton Los Muertos print. As you probably noticed I prefer cotton. I like how this print takes this circle skirt, which is very pin up and fun, to a darker place and balances it.

This circle skirt tutorial is from Dana's MADE blog. There are some other tutorial online but I found this one the most clear and useful and the photos really help understand what you need to do next. I made the mistake of trying to combine this tutorial with another one I found online and it resulted in the "hole" being way too big and I needed hubby's help to sew on the elastic. So learn from my mistake and just follow this tutorial.

I couldn't find a 60 inch wide material so I couldn't just make a hole in the middle and sew an elastic on. I used a 44 inch wide material and made 2 half circles which I sewed together to make a circle. Dana has a note on that in the tutorial so don't stress if you can't find a wide enough fabric for the whole pattern.

Happy sewing!

Cherry Skirt - Sawing for Beginners

So, I got into sewing and this skirt was my first sewing project, unless you include some alterations I did beforehand. It is very easy to sew and is perfect for a beginner. The fabric and print you choose is definitely what makes this skirt into a unique piece. You can make it trendy or alternative looking and anything in between. I chose a 100% cotton fabric with dot and cherry print. I like how the cherries give this skirt a fun pin up touch but the pattern is simple and balances the print.

The tutorial for this skirt is by Brett Bara and is very clear and easy to follow. The video and the written tutorials are for the same skirt and you can use either or both. I used both. It is also very easy to change the length of the skirt. I made mine one inch longer than the tutorial suggested length.
Sew a Skirt in One Hour tutorial
Video tutorial

If it's not your first sewing project, try adding pockets. There are many tutorials online but I found the one from Angela Osborn to be the most clear and easy to follow. She also has a pocket pattern which you can print on an A4 or letter size paper.


Happy sewing!