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coffee break

This could become a habit:

Today, the mail brought these two new RYC books as well as the Spring 2007 Rowan. Sitting down with a cup of espresso and a half an hour of knitting dreams is pure heaven.

There are several very pretty sweaters in this spring’s Rowan book and I am sorely tempted. I love sitting and dreaming of the sweaters I could knit, perhaps even more than I enjoy knitting the sweaters I do knit. After all, I can knit far more sweaters in my dreams. As to correlating my dream sweaters to my actual finished projects, well, let’s just say that I have never been particularly good at that.

March 15, 2007
Dreaming vs Doing

I need a serious motivational kick in the pants.

I traced a pattern weeks ago and it still sits there on my cutting table taunting me. Have I made my routine pattern modifications? Have a cut out a first version? Have I done anything? No, no, and no. Somebody shove me.

Instead I have been dreaming of things that I might be sewing. I have been reading new sewing magazines and newsletters. I have been looking at patterns. I have been cutting and pasting.

These two things came in the mail this week, on the same day no less:

The March Patrones is devoted to sewing for children, not a big thing in my book, although there is one really cute outfit for baby boys that I am seriously considering for little Owen now that he is moving around more and beginning to assert his personhood.

Nancy Erickson’s Fashion Sewing Group newsletter was interesting and I really enjoyed reading it this week. It really motivated me toward spring sewing, but obviously not quite enough, because I still haven’t cranked up that sewing machine. It did make me think about what I want to sew though.

And that leads to my other sewing-related activity. I have been updating my inspiration notebook collage pages with ideas for Spring sewing. For a season that in some ways seems somewhat uninspiring, I have collected a lot of pictures of things that inspire me, either directly as things I would like to knock-off, or things that are pure inspiration, things that I would never make as photographed, but which give me ideas for garments I would like to wear. I have made bunches of pages so far, and I have lots of pictures left. This may be more indicative of my burgeoning interest in making things again than in the fact that the season is particularly interesting.

Here is a sample of some of the things that have caught my eye:(as usual, clicking on all photos will enlarge them)

When I was younger I would pick a look and seek out a pattern and fabric to reproduce it. But I don’t do that as much anymore. I learned that I react more to the fabric than the design. At the same time, making these collages, and looking at them is more than just entertaining, it does color my judgment, and helps me to see new things in fabrics that I might otherwise have missed.

Which of these photos will be the inspiration for actual garments? Only time will tell. But I do have a few ideas.

March 14, 2007
Mail

Lovely things have come in the mail:

This lovely belated holiday (which holiday? perhaps it is actually an early Easter gift?) gift came from my 2 "two step granddaughters" (two step is the term I affectionately use for my step-daughter’s step-daughter’s even though I have no idea if they know how to do a two step or not). These soaps came from a small shop near one of them (they are young adults) and the aroma is heavenly. It was enough for me to seriously consider heading right off for a bath the instant I opened the package.

Today’s other package contained the remainder of my brown cashmere yarn for the rice-stitch cardigan and an Anny Blatt pattern book I had requested.

I love the cover sweater and it was the sole reason I ordered the book. As soon as it arrived however I made my self a double-espresso (why? considering I have not been sleeping well of late this may be foolish) and curled up to ogle the patterns. These two stood out:

I love this second sweater and initially thought I had the perfect yarn for it. On further reflection I am not so sure. I believe that Fine Kid, the yarn called for is a sport weight yarn, and the yarn I originally had in mind is definitely either 4 ply or lace weight. This is not a tragedy because I already had a sweater planned for the 4 ply yarn I was just temporarily seduced by the prospect of a new pattern. There are other sport weight yarns in my collection however so this might materialize on the needles some day.

Of course you know I have no other patterns and projects waiting in the wings, right?

March 14, 2007
Lunch

Long ago, in what seems to be another world, I married G and shortly after we were wed he asked me why we had to eat so many vegetables. All he wanted was a good, simple, piece of meat.

Times have changed. I eat more meat, not that I ever objected to meat on any kind of moral grounds and G eats considerably more vegetables. Although neither one of us would have ever expected this, bok choy has become one of his favorites.

A couple of prizes from this week’s shopping expeditions yielded bok choy from the oriental market and fresh fava beans from the Mexican market.

Although the combination may be unorthodox, they were successfully combined in today’s lunch of a simple stir-fry consisting of a large onion (12 ounces) a large plastic bag filled with bok choy, the kind of bag routinely found in produce departments, and a generous cup of cooked fava beans. I tossed all this with my impromptu chili lime stir-fry sauce, which is probably also unorthodox: it was a wonderful combination and we were very happy.

Chili Lime Stir-Fry Sauce

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon chili sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

I

March 11, 2007
What I Got (photo heavy post)

The package arrived from Metro Textiles late yesterday afternoon. The box was rather large and DH rolled his eyeballs; I could see he was about to open his mouth as well when I sent him a rather withering glance. He wanted to see what was in the box, but the price was that he had to check his tongue at the door.

Once I had gotten home Wednesday night, and throughout Thursday, the thrill of the hunt had worn off a little bit and I feared that I had been over-exuberant. Well, I was, but I love all the fabrics I purchased. I really indulged in cottons, especially cotton eyelets, but I have no regrets. Although I really wanted brown eyelet, and didn’t buy it, I am pretty happy with the eyelets I did get.

But first, the non-summer fabric. This is a really beautiful Teal/Gray tweed with the embroidery along one edge of the fabric. It is perfect for a simple straight skirt, one which is sure to get lots of wear. Although it is not a summer fabric, there is still plenty of time to wear it this spring before it has to be put away for next fall.

But then, on to the cottons:

This is a beautiful lightweight cotton print that I just love. I am not sure what it will be yet. It may be a bit "much" for a dress for me but it would certainly make a lovely blouse or skirt.

For me, this was my most daring purchase. This is not so much because it is bright, which it surely is, I love color, but at first I was uncertain about the combinations of the yellows and yellow-olives, but it seems to look really good. I also love prints, but this is not the kind of print I usually wear, it is almost too bright — unlike the other prints I purchased, which you can see below. When I opened the box this print still brought a big smile to my face, and I couldn’t wait to pull it out, a sure sign that it is not a mistake. I think I just have to look at it a bit, have it floating around the edges of the sewing room, until I decide what it wants to become.

These two prints are eyelet fabrics and I love both of them. The top one was love at first sight and the second one had to grow on me a little bit. Both are destined to become summer dresses.

I might have purchased too much yardage, especially of the lower one, but as I am not sure what kind of dress I am making, and the price was very good, I am not worried. When I first think "summer dress" I tend to think of sundresses with long full skirts, the kind of thing that tends to eat yardage. I love the coolness, and the romantic way I feel in a long soft skirt. And I don’t fret as much about my pale legs in long skirts with sandals. But in recent years I have made more close fitting summer dresses as well, often shorter, only about knee length. For that kind of dress there is too much yardage. We shall see, what materializes but for me these exuberant prints still call for exuberant dresses, not calm, cool, tailored dresses.

Then I got this wonderful lightweight polka-dot cotton with the embroidered border! It looked black to me, but Kashi said it was navy. At home it still looks black, and if it is navy it is such a dark dark navy that it is virtually indistinguishable from black; but then there are so many blacks out there it hardly matters.

For me this screams feminine floaty dress and so it shall be. I have the perfect shoes already.

Of course there were more eyelets. The black and blue one is going to become a skirt, probably from that same pleated skirt pattern I used several times last summer. The white one will be a blouse of some sort.

Both of these fabrics are destined to be summer skirts as well. The darker blue fabric with the cut out embroidery will be a pleated, knee length skirt, probably again using the Simplicity 4186 pattern that I used last summer, but perhaps I will try something else.

The fabric on the right is actually a bit more muted than it appears in this photo. It consists of strips of different fabrics and textures in the same color, including some embroidery and some lace. This will be cut on the bias and made into a longer skirt. I am planning along the lines of this skirt from the new March 2007 Burda WOF:

I think I have enough yardage, although I guessed when I was at the store as I hadn’t really "planned" on looking for something for this skirt. If this doesn’t quite work, I have no fears about finding something that will work, and will yield a skirt with a similar feel.

All in all, although I have a lot of fabric here, I am not feeling particularly guilty about these two fabric buying excursions , to Leandro and Metro Textile. I had been feeling the need to sew new pretty clothes and there is little that fits right now (except evening clothes in black) aside from my basic day-to-day chinos and a few tees. Even including the Leandro fabrics, I have spent less than I usually spend on spring clothing shopping and I haven’t shopped for any clothes this spring. I might yet, but I am not very inclined to do so, even though I have never wanted to be a person who sewed ALL my clothes. And although it is true that I could have probably shopped my stash for a good bit of my spring sewing, I am still excited about these new spring treats, and I know, having looked already, that there were no eyelets hiding in the stash.

When I get these things made up I will have a lovely spring/summer wardrobe. And if I don’t get them made up I will have nothing to wear. I don’t intend to put these away in the fabric closet. They are sitting right out on the end of my cutting table, inspiring me to make them up. They won’t all sit there for very long.

March 10, 2007
Random musings on eating and shopping

I have been reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma off and on. It is an interesting and fascinating book. It is also frightening in many ways and although it is not difficult to read, and is rather gripping, I cannot read it for long periods of time because I must put it down and digest what I have read and deal with the basic mental unrest the book causes me. There are times when I think I should just stop eating all together.

Those moments don’t last for long, luckily.

Today was grocery shopping day and as usual I purchased a great deal of fresh vegetables and very few foods from the remainder of the grocery store. After reading Pollan’s book, just walking through the aisles of the grocery store, looking for raisins and canned beans, was an almost horrifying trek through a world of non-foods.

I was reminded of an article in the Tucson paper while we were there last month about how to spend less on groceries. There were several important points such as always shopping with a list and sticking to the list or allowing only a fixed number of items that weren’t on the list. Well I have done that for years. I don’t see how people shop without lists and I rarely buy extra stuff. Of course there are exceptions. I will go to the farmer’s market (in season) or the butcher’s or fish monger’s with only a vague idea of what I want, waiting to see what is fresh, but those foods are always eaten and meals are planned around them. The thing that surprised me in the article was that the first rule was to avoid the produce section. The author’s point was that most produce was purchased and never consumed but allowed to spoil. If I avoided the produce section we would not eat as I stop very rarely in the wide middle expanse of a grocery store, spending all my time in the produce section and the dairy section at the opposite end, traversing the great wasteland in between as a means to an end only.

Obviously this particular reporter from the Tucson paper hadn’t read Michael Pollan.

I am increasingly grateful that I started purchasing grazed, grass fed (with the exception of winter feeding) and local meat from the farmer’s market this past summer. Although there will be no farmer’s market for another two months, there is a butcher who sells only locally raised, grazed meats. I have not always been good about going there and have often picked up a piece of meat at our local supermarket, I am not so sure I can bring myself to do that anymore. I am not about to become a vegetarian, and I don’t think that is necessary, but eating more difficult to procure and more expensive meat will automatically reduce the amount of meat in the diet. Besides I am not convinced that eating this kind of meat is all that bad. Just as I don’t watch our fat intake per se, but it is tracked on my computer as I plan menus on the computer, I know that we eat so many vegetables that fat is not a particular worry.

But as I shopped today, I was much more aware of labels on those few packaged products I purchased, and the provenance of the food I ate. I am not so worried about whether the produce came from Mexico or Chile (as one shopper was) and I do recall that the recent e-coli scares have been centered on US grown produce, as I am concerned about what is in the food I eat. A vegetable is a vegetable. But what about those canned and packaged things. Should pasta contain high fructose corn syrup? I would think not.

I did not purchase meat today. I have some in the freezer, not all of the kind I think we should be starting to eat, which I want to use up. I am very grateful that we were able to purchase some fresh wild salmon and Bluefin Tuna last summer and have it packaged and flash frozen for us by my local fishmonger. I realize that I am very lucky to be able to do such a thing, and these options aren’t available to everyone. If faced with farm-raised fish (and corn eating farmed Salmon) I think I would have to stop consuming fish. Luckily there are a great many fishermen in this area who love to go out catching Bluefish, and they sell their catch to my local fish market. I can always get fresh bluefish; more than likely caught that same morning and served on my plate that evening.

March 9, 2007
Knitting Done and Undone

Knitting and socializing, it seems do not always go hand in hand, even at Knitting Circle. Of course it had been weeks since I had been to Thursday knitting and I was desperate and determined that nothing would stand in my way this week.

I arrived, cardigan in hand, with the six inches I had knitted on my Wednesday train commute ready to go:

I was actually pretty happy with how the knitting was progressing. Apart from minor upsets, and a short two-row rip at the beginning of the evening, I thought I was making great progress knitting and chattering away. I did not get quite as far in 3 hours of knitting as I had the previous day on the boring train ride, but an additional 4 inches of rice-stitch were nothing to be sneezed at, until I actually looked at my knitting that is. That is when I learned that my illusions of knitting success, were actually just that — illusions.

So eager was I to be back at Knitting Circle that I was like the puppy who is so happy to see her masters return home that she jumps up and down, wagging her tail and barking, rolling around on the floor, never realizing that she is rolling around in her own pee.

I had started the evening ready to begin the decreases before the waist. And I proceeded to do them at the required intervals, never messing up my pattern while doing so. So what went wrong? I decreased on both ends of the row, that’s what. This is a cardigan. I am only knitting half a front so the decreases want only to be at the side seam, not at the center front. No matter how much weight I ever loose in my wildest, thinnest dreams, and I am pretty stable weight wise right now, I will never be able to wear a sweater that is only 10 inches from side to side.

And so, I am back where I started. But I am still far ahead because I got to spend time with fellow knitters and my knitting spirit is revived and ready to move forward.

Can I finish the left front before next week?

March 9, 2007
Wednesday

I know that it is Thursday already, and in fact it is well into Thursday. But Thursday is just Thursday and I am already tired with the pure dreariness of it, whereas Wednesday was wonderful.

Wednesday was SO WONDERFUL that even walking around on the streets of NYC in the cold sleety/rainy/snowy mix, sloshing through combined water and slushy snow was a pleasure.

I started out early at the Poughkeepsie train station (not all that early in fact, I took the 8:00 train), With all the other intrepid citizens of Poughkeepsie who wanted to take the morning train I stood on the cold platform while the wind blew across the river, transforming our faces into sheets of ice, listening to the announcement that the 8:05 train was boarding on track #3, then listening to the announcement again and again as they announced that the 8:05 train for Grand Central was about to depart from track # 3, and we just stood there. We stood there because the train lumbered up from the yards, slowed at the platform and the proceeded to continue past it another 150 yards. Then the train stopped and sat there. The train came back toward the platform again and passed us, heading back into the yards. We continued to stand and freeze. On its third pass the train finally stopped at the platform and the doors opened. We boarded. The train left. All was well.

I got into the city and trudged up to 108th Street to Crown Machine Service, where I dropped off my Elna. They said it looked like a slow day (it was pretty unpleasant outside at that point) and they would call me in an hour to tell me when it would be ready. and I went back downtown.

Then the fun began!

I met Carolyn of diaryofasewingfanatic and Ann of Gorgeous Things for lunch. The lunch went way to fast for me. It seemed like we were just beginning to talk and chat about fabric and blogs and all manner of sewing things when, poof, like Cinderella’s pumpkin, the clock had struck 12 and Carolyn had to leave.

Then Ann and I walked down to Metro Textiles to check out Kashi’s new store. I had never been to Metro Textiles before, and I was pretty confident I would not go crazy and buy much fabric. WRONG!

I thought I wanted the brown eyelet, just from the description, but when I saw it I knew it was not a brown for me. It was much too warm of a brown and I need a deep dark cool brown, like the brown of really dark dark chocolate, or a rich brown with a bit of red or purple in it. Oh well. But before I could even think there was Kashi, pulling out fabric after fabric that would be just right for me. And more often than not he was right. He has an eye for looking at you and choosing the right colors, and he picks up on what you like and what you don’t tremendously quickly. He has found another loyal fan.

I think I got some of the same fabrics that Carolyn described: a beautiful magenta and brown floral eyelet, the dotted fabric with the embroidery along one edge, and more. I already had to lug my sewing machne home so I wasn’t about to carry fabric. Besides "charge it" and "ship it" are two of my favorite phrases. It may be a bit elitist of me, but the older I get the less interested I am in lugging things around. I want to sail through life unencumbered, at least as much as I can get away with it, and just have things arrive at home.

And I got my "Metro Textile Pass"!.

It was only later, on the train home, when I was thinking about what a lovely day it had been and how much fun I had spending some time with Ann and Carolyn, that I realized that I had dragged my camera all around town but had forgotten to take any pictures.

March 8, 2007
Blue

I know I told you that I went shopping at Leandro fabrics when I was in Tucson a couple of weeks ago. I also promised to show off my purchases when they arrived. Well, they arrived last week, but I was mired in the vicissitudes of life and did not get a chance to open the box and fondle the fabrics until today.

They were worth the wait.

You will notice that I was obviously in a blue frame of mind. I don’t usually plan to buy fabric in a particular color, but it seems that as I wander through a fabric store on any given day, I tend to be drawn to one color or one color palette. That Monday at Leandro Fabrics, the theme was obviously blue.

Both of these fabrics are by Armani. The top fabric is a very soft drapey chenile made from a combination of fibers. This fabric is on their website but the true color, at least on my monitor, is closer to this photo than the one shown over at Leandro’s place.

I had originally gotten a swatch of this fabric two years ago, and I loved it then but couldn’t think of what to do with it. I wavered back and forth and ultimately did not buy it. Then I regretted the decision. When I looked at Leandro’s website before traveling to Tucson I was surprised to see that the still had this fabric, and although I wanted to look at the actual fabric on the bolt again before making a decision, I knew that I would probably walk away with a piece.

While I was wandering around the store I saw the beige and blue jacquard stripe linen that is pictured under the chenille. The color is very subtle and it was difficult to photograph. I am going to make a soft jacket with the chenille and the linen will be used for a pair of pants and although I haven’t picked patterns yet, I have an idea in my head of where I am heading with these pieces.

When I first saw this cotton I walked by it. I liked it but I couldn’t picture it yet in my mind. It didn’t take long before I was back fondling the sample. This is going to be a simple summer skirt.

Continuing the blue theme, I also got this lovely double faced cotton stripe. I don’t know exactly what it will be yet, a top of some sort, but beyond that impression no decisions have been made.

I am surprised that I have chosen so much blue this time, although none of these are true blues, which are not my best even though I am basically cool complected. Usually I lean either toward the greens or the purples.

But don’t worry, I didn’t get out of the store without at leas one piece of purple fabric:

This purple fabric is actually darker than it appears here. I seem to have the most trouble getting purples to come out true on my camera. The original is definitely deeper and duskier than what you see here.

This is a very lightweight purple crepe with a nice texture. I think it will be perfect for a fitted dress. Since it is wool, and a darker color, I will wait until next fall before sewing this.

March 7, 2007
Progress, Finally!

After 10 days without knitting (how DID that happen?) I have been knitting like a mad woman. I got abut 4 inches knitted on the back of the sweater on Sunday, between a fabulous contemporary music concert and some quality reading time as well. Then Monday night and a good bit of today I was determined that I would finish the back of the sweater. Although I am only a fraction of the way through the sweater it feels like a great accomplishment. Since this is a cardigan, the biggest single piece is done, and the bigger pieces are always the hardest for me to get through.

I can’t get the whole thing in my camera view so you only get a partial shot:

It hasn’t been blocked yet so there are still a few lumps and bumps to work out, but I think it is looking pretty good.

I am gong in to NYC tomorrow and this allows me to start one of the front pieces on the train. The thought of lugging that big bulky back piece all over Manhattan did not thrill me, and I am going to start out with enough of a burden because I have to take my sewing machine in for repair as well. With the demise of Amazing Threads (or at least its sale and the loss of the sewing machine department) there is no longer anyone nearby who is willing to take on my Elna and whom I would trust to do so.

March 6, 2007