Quick & Easy Capris

I almost lived in 2 pairs of denim capris I made last summer, and I've already pulled them out and worn them again in the last week. (Ah, one of the perks of living in Florida in February!)


The warm and sunny weather has definitely given me the summer sewing bug and so I'm nearly done making khaki-colored capris from my TNT pattern, Simplicity 4605 (now OOP). These are just your basic pull-ons, but I need pockets. So pockets I will have. (Sans chalk lines.)


These two are waiting to be plastered on my butt. I never actually use back pockets but I find they visually break up the wide expanse back there and so I really do prefer pants with back patch pockets. The third pocket has already been sewn to the side of the left leg. This one I will use to hold things like an ATM card and a shopping list or the catering receipts I bring back to the football coach during football season (gotta plan ahead).


I said this was a TNT pattern and for the most part, it is. But … before cutting out these capris, I gave my pattern an "X Twistie" modification. I'm anxious to see how it worked out since I didn't muslin or pin fit or any of that icky stuff. Yeah, I'll probably be eating my words. We really shouldn't toy with the muslin gods.

I've got about another 30 minutes to go before finishing these and then I'll be able to see how my alteration worked.

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And since I can't seem to stop talking about my dogs these days, here are some pics from yesterday's afternoon outing to the dog park. We took Pepper too, but you can't prove it by the pics I came home with. (Bad doggie mommy!) She mostly putters around with a few bursts of running now and then, and she's never in the middle of the action which is where I'm pointing the camera. Now that her forehead hair (or is that fur?) has grown back, she's photogenic again. I'll make a note to get her in some future shots.

Meet and Greet in the small dog area:


Chase and Run with some new friends:


Meet and Greet in the big dog area:


Chili is so eager and energetic that he often intimidates the dogs in the small breed area. Well, not so much the dogs but the owners of those dogs. And since I hate feeling I need to apologize to uppity humans for my dog acting like a dog (gasp!) in a dog park, we've been taking both of the pooches into the big dog area where Chili intimidates no one, and has 4 more acres he can cover at top speed. They both do great with the big dogs. Pepper and Chili really have no idea they're small and neither do the big guys. They're all equal opportunity sniffers (and sniff-ees).


I love this thing! It's a water fountain for humans and for dogs. How cool is that?? (OK, I need to get out more … to human establishments.) The button on the right of the tall column turns on the higher spout for humans. The button on the left of the tall column turns on the lower spout on the left, filling a very slow-draining bowl for dogs. Pepper has quickly learned what "Let's go get a drink" means and happily follows me over there about 5 times an hour.