Monthly Archives: January 2016

Weekly Challenge: Vibrant …

This week prompt is, share a photo of something vibrant. Vivid colors, a lively portrait, or perhaps a delightfully colorful landscape, if you’re in a warmer climate. Let’s wash the web with a rainbow of colors to keep the winter gloom at bay.

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My choice for vibrant is a photo of Times Square in New York City.  The colors, the crowds, the noises… it all adds to the vibrancy of what they call the ‘crossroads’ of the world..

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/vibrant/

Weekly Challenge: Vibrant …

This week prompt is, share a photo of something vibrant. Vivid colors, a lively portrait, or perhaps a delightfully colorful landscape, if you’re in a warmer climate. Let’s wash the web with a rainbow of colors to keep the winter gloom at bay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My choice for vibrant is a photo of Times Square in New York City.  The colors, the crowds, the noises… it all adds to the vibrancy of what they call the ‘crossroads’ of the world..

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pizap.com14531626897951

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/vibrant/


Goals for a (laid back Type A) Newbie Sewer (Sewist?)

Another wow.  How to give life to those lofty, idealistic, and terribly earnest reasons for learning to sew???

Gorgeous Mendocino sunset pic to get me to relax and not freak out about what I'm committing myself to!

Gorgeous Mendocino sunset pic to get me to relax and not freak out about what I’m committing myself to!

To recap: Goals need to be quite specific to actually be workable. For a successful goal you need to:

  • Be specific.
  • Identify measurable, attainable steps.
  • Set a timeline.
  • Periodically reassess & update

Frankly, before I set specific sewing goals, I need to educate myself on what I need to learn; I need to figure out what I don’t know, basically, and what I should learn.

Goal 1: Review a variety of sewing classes, blogs, and references to establish the breadth of knowledge I need to obtain.  Okay, admittedly, this one is pretty vague, really, when you think about it.  But I’d argue this sort of goal is an ongoing process — you can never learn too much.

I want my projects to look great. Who doesn’t, right? But I want to focus on learning how to do things correctly, rather than taking short cuts.  I know that there may not be one best way all of the time to do a certain task, depending on fabric, fit, etc, but I do want to amass the knowledge and skill to choose the best method for a particular instance.

Subgoal: Identify what Craftsy classes seem to cover a variety of topics, ranging from beginner to aspirational. Sign up for them. Watch them through at least once before actually starting a project.  Complete this by the middle of February.

Note: I love the whole concept of Craftsy classes.  I love being able to watch them on my own schedule, and at my own pace.  I wouldn’t be an affiliate if I didn’t love the classes.  I don’t have the time right now to seek out in person classes and to be able to wrap my veterinary and design work around one more thing with a set schedule.

I’ll admit this one is cheating a bit, because I’m already in progress on it.

So far I’ve chosen the following:

Free Classes
Sewing Machine Feet from A to Z
Craftsy Mastering Zipper Techniques Class. Zippers!

Paid Classes
Sew Ready: Garment Basics with Brett Bara. A good overview to start with to learn how to actually use my machine correctly.

Design & Sew an A-Line Skirt Class. This is the one with a project that I’m planning on actually tackling first. The class includes creating a pattern for the skirt based on your own measurements, as opposed to adapting a pattern to fit you. Although I absolutely need to learn how to do that, I do want more practice on just sewing, and I think this class will do that. It also includes some nice finishing details as well as putting in a zipper. Regarding the final object and how it applies to my wardrobe: I wear skirts all the time, so this is very applicable. I also have fabric that I can use for this.

Sewing Studio. I’ve actually completed one project from the first part of this class, a pillow with French seams. A skirt is the second part of this class. I’m going to watch this one to compare the techniques and construction of the two different skirts.

40 Techniques Every Sewer Should Know – Gail Yellen . I’ve been watching this one and learning a lot. So much of sewing seems to involve a) having the right tools and b) ironing.

Aspirational Paid Classes
Bombshell Dress Class. Ooh, this is cute. I don’t wear dresses often, but do if we’re going out someplace fancy or if I dress up for working a booth at TNNA. So many techniques to learn in this one.

Online Couture Dress Class. This one is an extremely aspirational class. Add to the list: make a duct-tape dress form of myself at some point. This class focuses a lot, as you would expect, in really customizing fit.

Subgoal: Dip my toes into the on-line world of sewing.  Check out some blogs, especially those geared towards plus-sized.

So far I’ve found Cashmerette; Jenny is both a sewing pattern designer and a blogger.  I’ve added her blog to Feedly, which is how I follow blog posts.

I’ve also subscribed to Seamwork. I may try one of their camisole patterns.  The sizing is good (i.e. they have my size), and I do often wear camisoles.  Their most recent issue, the Body Issue, includes some patterns for workout wear, which I’d not even really considered making (rather than buying).

Goal 2: Build an initial list of garment techniques and project goals by the end of February, and write a blog post about them. Keeping myself accountable.

Do you know of any good online resources? Please let me know in the comments!

Note: I am a Craftsy Affiliate; I get a small amount if you use one of my links to purchase a class (thank you!).  I purchased some of these classes and received others free.

Phantom Of The Opera …

Broadway’s longest running musical opened in 1988 and is still going strong.

I’ve seen it 3 times and would see it again and again.

This poster is on the front of the theatre and if you look closely can see it’s made up of all tiny photos.

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Closer look …

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Have you seen Phantom ?


Why Bother to Learn Sewing?

Why do I want to learn to sew my own clothing?

As a knitter who’s purchased $30 merino-cashmere-nylon sock yarn to make hand knit socks, I’m certainly under no illusions that it will be cheaper to sew my own clothes versus buying them (at least, not in the short run — more on that later). Most of us sock knitters have been asked why we bother to knit socks, when you can buy them so cheaply, and my answer to that will likely cross over to many of my reasons for wanting to learn how to sew: above all, fit; choice of materials; and pride of making something lovely with good techniques.

bayerischeAs a former Army officer, and as a veterinarian, I love the simplicity of uniforms.  I don’t have to think about what I’m going to put on when I dress for work at a vet clinic. I toss on a pair of scrubs and occasionally a lab coat.  I have a comfortable pair of clogs, and I wear my Bayerische socks.  I love that.  I get to wear comfortable clothes, suitable for my job. If I want to get on the floor with a big dog (or even medium or little dog!), I can easily do so in scrubs.

I have two main sets of scrubs, both in black. I have two scrub tops from 1st Care for working their vaccine clinics (the company uniform is black pants, with their blue scrub tops). I have one additional, older pair of scrub pants bottoms in turquoise-y green that can be paired with a black scrub top, but I rarely wear those.

It’s a good thing I don’t need an extensive work wardrobe. We have a small house, about 900 square feet. It’s also an older home, built in the 1920s, and as such, it has tiny closets, and small bedrooms.  There’s just not a lot of storage space. I share our bedroom closet with Dave; including winter jackets that only get worn if we go somewhere snowy, I get a little over half of the closet.  I also have a bookcase that I used for everything that doesn’t get hung up in the closet.  Work out clothes, jeans, sweaters, and underwear (along with a few miscellaneous items) are folded and placed on the shelves.

The idea of a capsule wardrobe, where you have a limited number of items that fit and that you love, from which you draw your daily outfits, really, really appeals to me.  I’ve not gone through and counted my items that I wear for non-work, non-working-out activities, but I’d be pretty surprised if it’s more than 37. Given I live in coastal Southern California, my wardrobe doesn’t change too much over the seasons, so I have that in my favor!  I tend to wear the same things over and over: jeans, a striped cotton sweater, a red patterned tank, a denim skirt, a corduroy skirt, a black tank top (I have two of those), and a chambray shirt. All go with my black Tieks ballet flats that I’ve worn so much they’re getting close to needing to be replaced.  (I do have a pair of cowboy boots I adore but rarely wear.)

I also feel that the idea of slow fashion is critically important for so many big reasons, including conservation of our world’s resources and humane working conditions for employees in garment factories. Here’s a more recent article from NPR. Have you read Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion?  It’s well worth reading.

This all means I want to have a simple non-work wardrobe of clothing that:

  • Fits well and comfortably
  • Is well made with fine finishing details and construction
  • Will both last a long time and be stylish until it wears out beyond repair
  • I love to wear, that makes me happy

Fit is one of the hardest things. I hate shopping, I hate trying on clothes, I hate ending up with something that just seems good enough because I can’t find anything else.

Good construction goes hand in hand with fit — things that are poorly constructed don’t maintain their fit.  Good construction is, if you can find it, expensive (as it should be, to fairly compensate people for their work) — and this is the point at where it might make economic sense to sew your own items.

I believe, if I learn to sew, that I can construct a wardrobe, over time, that meets those bullet points.

Non-Designing Goal Setting

Wow. I just did a search of my own posts about goals (some posts addressed yearly goals, others were monthly).

It was rather interesting (to me, at least!) to see how they’ve changed over the years — not just the designing goals, but the the non-designing goals.

For example, I used to want to learn how to spin.  I still think it would be a nifty thing to do — the times I did sit and spin, it was very relaxing.  However, I found I never did really make the time to do it. I finally gave in and sold my spinning wheel last year. It doesn’t mean I won’t someday do it — I still have my Trindle! — but it’s so low of a priority I don’t want even the paraphernalia of spinning (the large wheel, the bins of fiber) to clutter our small house.

I also would still like to learn to weave someday, but the Wolf Pup, a small loom that I bought in Idyllwild, also found a new home a couple years ago.

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(Do you blog? or journal? and do you make goals or resolutions that you write down or can otherwise review? Take a peek at the last 5 years or so and see what’s changed.)

I think this post is especially good in addressing what makes a goal workable.

Here’s the meat of it:

Goals need to be quite specific to actually be workable. For a successful goal you need to:

  • Be specific.
  • Identify measurable, attainable steps.
  • Set a timeline.
  • Periodically reassess (more than just yearly) & update

2016 General Goal: Sewing

I know that I’ve stated before I want to learn how to sew and actually applied most of the above steps to thinking about and planning that goal.  However, I’ve not really followed through.  The only sewing project I’ve done is some pillows for my friend Mel, via the Sewing Studio Craftsy class. The pillows came out great; she loved the gift and they’ve been in use nonstop since I gave them to her.  Success!

However, before I start identifying specific sewing goals for 2016, I think there is one more question that is critical to determining my future success:

Why do I specifically want to learn to sew?

I’ll talk about that in the next post!

Note: I am a Craftsy Affiliate; I get a small amount if you use one of my links to purchase a class (thank you!).  I purchased some of these classes and received others free.

New Pattern: Hops Hat

The Hops Hat was the first of the Brewery Hats I designed.  I love the how the stockinette segues into the textured portion of the hat.

Sizes
S/M Beanie (M/L Beanie)

Finished Measurements
Circumferece: 20¼ (25½) in / 51.5 (64.5) cm
Height: 7¾ (8¾) in / 19.5 (22) cm

Yarn
Anzula For Better or Worsted, 80% merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon (polyamide) (200 yds / 183 m per 4.06 oz /115 g), 1 (2) skein(s) (165 (220) yds / 151 (201) m), shown in Olivia.

Needles
US6 / 4.0mm needles or size needed to obtain gauge
US5 / 3.75mm needles or one size smaller than needles above

Gauge
22 sts and 32 rounds in 4 in / 10 cm average over St st and Moss Stitch, blocked

Notions
(1) stitch marker; cable needle; yarn needle

Skills
cabling
Stitch pattern is both charted and written

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe


Don't know what to cook tonight?  How about Butternut Squash Soup!
This is the latest illustration I completed for They Draw & Cook .  If you're looking for inspiration on what to cook or need an illustrator, there are tons of food illustrators there including me!

If you do want to make the soup, it's really simple...

New Pattern: Merced Cowl

Merced Cowl

The Merced cowl features Aran Lace cables and seed stitch texture for a fun to knit, cozy, one-skein project in The Fibre Co Cumbria, a lovely masham, merino, and mohair blend.

The Merced River runs through Yosemite Valley; the waterfalls and creeks of and around the Valley flow into it, including Bridalveil, Yosemite, and Ilouette.

Sizes
One Size

Finished Measurements
Circumferece: 26½ in / 66.5 cm
Height: 8 in / 20.5 cm

Yarn
The Fibre Company Cumbria, 60% Merino Wool / 30% Masham/Massam Wool / 10% Mohair (238 yds / 218 m per 3.53 oz / 100 g), 1 skein approx 209 yds / 191 m, shown in #44 Appleby Castle.

Needles
US6 / 4.0mm needles or size needed to obtain gauge

Gauge
21.75 sts and 27 rounds in 4 in / 10 cm average over cabled pattern, blocked.

Notions
(1) stitch marker; cable needle; yarn needle

Skills
cabling
stitch patterns are both charted and written

Snowed In

After two full days of high winds and heavy snow, the sun woke us this morning, bright and blinding over the deep blanket of snow.  I’d say we got at least two feet; in most places it is knee deep, and the drifts between the cars are at waist-deep (and I had to chase a loose hen through there).  We are all impressed that we never lost power, though who knows when all the schools, etc, will re-open.

Sadly it wasn’t only the sun that woke me this morning, but a terrible cold that’s left me achey and miserable.  Good thing I managed so much work yesterday and could reasonably relax today (though I will admit to having done all of today’s chores and feeding in my pajamas, in a sickly, Cold & Flu Alka-Seltzer – induced haze).

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Yesterday there were points where I did begin to worry about the sheep. Not because they had no shelter to escape the snow, but because they had no interest in availing themselves of it. They simply took turns gorging on hay and laying in the snow to chew their cud, allowing it to build up on their backs.

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Sabine and Orzo weren’t exactly thrilled about being out in it, but they spent enough time running about in it that they kept the area around the hay bale and feeders rather packed down and easy to access.

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Oona braved it for longer than anyone. It was pretty hard to see with the wind blowing the snow directly into our eyes, but she loved it.

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I just couldn’t believe how heavy and for how long it snowed; I haven’t seen winter weather like this since I lived in New York. Not this intensity, anyway. I love this kind of weather, and I know how crazy a lot of people think I am for it. But I will tell you this: if we reliably had snow like this that stuck around, I’d be investing in cross-country skis.  I miss that!

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I’m loving this view from the living room window.

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With the weather outside so…..frightful (ha!)…..I did what any sane person (who loves to eat) would do: I made cinnamon rolls. As always, I used Susan’s recipe, because it’s fool-proof.

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I’m so glad I did, too.  Waking up feeling like the back of a bus this morning was made somewhat better when I simply had to pop a roll in the microwave for 10 seconds and I could console myself with a delicious treat.

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The cats spent the day watching all of the birds out at the feeders.

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And THIS, my friends, is a happy man who worked very hard and fixed his tractor.  He’s currently out plowing. We did discuss wishing we knew for sure who the neighbor is that threatened our dogs (we’re pretty sure, but not 100%), so he could plow everyone else OUT, and him IN.

Oh well.

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He’s out there anyway. Most of the neighbors will be very happy and thank him. Some won’t. That’s life, and people, I guess.

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Either way, I’m grateful it’s him, and not me. I need to sleep off this cold virus.

Right after I enjoy how still, and clean, and fresh everything looks and smells. Breathe it all in, everyone. It’s fleeting.

 


Tagged: food, Pets