Sunday sevens 2020#2

The more things change, the more they stay the same…

Don’t know about you, Lovely Readers, but long distance socialising has started taking rather larger chucks of my day than it used to.

NOT that I’m complaining! Noooo, not by a long chalk!

But so long as there’s wholemeal (whole wheat) flour and yeast in the bins, the bread-making will continue!

Didn’t think much had happened last week until I started looking at all the photos… There was a quiet walk early on, to check how the plants were holding up under the seesaw temps.

Rather a peeky show from the ornamental fruit trees blossoming, the tulips round the office were looking mangy (well, it was almost 90 the end of March), but trees and bushes were beginning to bud out.

Finally wrangled a parcel delivery from Vogue Fabrics out of  officialdom and am mightily pleased with both items!

In the sink, about to be “baptized” in hot, soapy water

A metal, 24″ French ruler is going to be a of great use as I’m learning how to use it for curves, watching Peggy Sagers’ excellent Fit2Stitch programs on our public broadcasting system.

(There are also a lot of them, as well as other short videos, on her YouTube channel.)

And has anyone tried any of Sagers’ patterns, at Silhouette Patterns?

Of course it would have been irresponsible to have ordered a metal ruler without including some padding, for protection whilst shipping, of course.

Not to infer that their packing and shipping isn’t extremely  superlative! No, they’re great!  But getting things half way cross the country from Evanston,  just north of Chicago, to me, several stones throw from the Atlantic…

This is such a gorgeous colour & hand… cool & comforting & constantly draped around my shoulders… what to sew it up into?

Well, that clearly required something additional. I decided to go with my love of viscose/rayon, and the anxiety of not having a really good animal print in yeeears.

This more than adequately fills the bill, although it won’t get made up into the faux jumpsuit I’d originally envisioned.

Am now thinking blouse of the p-bowed variety. But am also thinking about a midi-dress length along the lines of one of the current favourite dresses with tiered skirts. But can’t quite decide yet.

(And — please understand & forgive me! – I’m being rather selfish now  because I’m not gonna link to the fabric until I’ve decided whether to get how much more to order.)

So much of last week was spent right here, in front of the you-know-what. But guess I wasn’t alone with that, as so many people around the globe were doing the same thing.

Gonna be changes coming, folks, and I am delighted with so many of them. Hope you are, too.  Let’s see what this week brings. Meanwhile,

Stay Healthy, Stay Strong,

Stay Home & Sew!

 

OK, so this is in front of a computer instead of a sewing machine. Would you believe I was researching patterns? 😘 😆 😘

 

 

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Sunday Sevens #2020-1

This week’s loaf

Dear friend Ali suggested I  start Sunday Sevens again, and as I’m owing a post anyway, will chime in with one of me own, as started by the lovely Natalie.

S.O.S to anyone who’s used the Hudson Pant pattern:

Is this a proper fabric?  “Viscose, Nylon, Spandex blend; 40% crosswise stretch, 65% lengthwise stretch.”

I won’t be putting ribbing at the ankles. Anybody had experience either pro or con with that?  Haven’t made this pattern before and can’t touchy-feely as it’s from an online US shop (and the last on the bolt so am not linking to it.) 😉

Thoughts & Suggestions gratefully appreciated ❣️ ❣️ ❣️

I’ve not had any probs staying inside this past week because I’d just discovered two fascinating-to-moi YouTube channels, Trinny and Fit2Stitch.

Between the two, all my previous, albeit nebulous, wardrobe plans have shifted rather dramatically. Guess it’s not such a bad thing I didn’t push myself into sewing new things.  🤪

Thanks to The Fold Line for their Sunday reviews of new podcasts, vlogs, etc., because it was a Joey Sewy episode that put me onto Trinny. As Jo said, “She’s crazy as a fish,” but I love her fashion sense.
Her style and make-up tips are even for us ladies “with leisure,” no matter what body shape.

As for pattern fitting, must say Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns makes a lot of sense. I’ve yet to try her ideas out, but the time is coming. Must take another look at her patterns, too…

Betwixt all this I somehow got looking at BBC’s Women’s Hour podcast list and heard a good’un: “Sacrificing for Fashion.” It starts at  24 min. and runs to 33.5 min.

After listening to it, I was delighted to see Trinny in white trainers. I’ve seen and envied Karen Ball’s wearing them in all colours, but didn’t know how to get that look for myself.

Thanks to Trinny, now I can. Anyone have recommendations for reasonably priced ones on this side the pond? Zara’s look like  platforms, so I’m not eager to fork over money.

Lastly, so’s you don’t think the sewing machine’s been gathering too much dust, here are my three rice bags.

The largest is holding up the phone, but generally sits on the floor as a door stop.

The two half-size red ones live in different places, depending on needs. They have more space inside so a camera or a phone can sit comfortably. Come to think of it, there’s a cup needs a bit glued on . . . 🙄

Hope everyone is adapting to their new routine & staying well.

Many thanks for all the goodness and joy you’re sharing online!

❤️ 🧵 ✂️ ❤️ 🧵 ✂️ ❤️

sunday sevens #43

“What,” you might ask, “is so special about freezer paper & crackers?”

Nothing.

Except I had no source for either until Friday. Yippee!

We who sew know freezer paper is great for tracing dressmaking patterns. It’s sturdy enough to write on, you can iron it, and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than anything else.

My lack thereof was crimping both use and storage of my PDF patterns.

You know what I’ll finally be able to do this week!

I should also explain that an early Christmas box arrived from my sewing bestie, Samantha. Needless to say, I picked up the phone and we had a long natter whilst I was unwrapping things. (Yes, I tried to wait, but it’s been such a difficult time I needed an early holiday.) Have included some of her lovelies below.

Here’s some of the other things that happened last week ~ as my contribution to Natalie’s Sunday Sevens. If you’d like to find out more, just check out her site.

this lovely abalone & nickel silver pin came all the way from the Midlands, along with the cute dangle

also in my Midlands box was this lovely fan from Málaga, Spain

trying to get into the season… and from my own library cause there wasn’t time for the local library!

before: 2 ugly plastic sacks full of… plastic sacks.

after I’d finally done my thing with 2 quilting squares picked up last year

experimential crochet with a varigated cotton yarn

 

 

sunday sevens #42

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie at Threads and Bobbins. Click to see the guidelines.

my comfort read for the week, to catch up with my agatha reading… now i should re-read the sequel because i’ll understand all the references to “last year’s case”

The big news for America’s Agatha fans is the Agatha Raisin series, currently only available on Acorn TV, will be on PBS sometime in 2017.

the rest of last week’s library pile. didn’t cook a thing from the nigella books, but enjoyed looking through them again

 

it was one of those weeks when only a pot was enough…, thank goodness it’s been cool enough to enjoy a full pot.

am i the only sewer who collects these for small things, like snaps & pins?

 

friday was leftovers night-beans & egg & a bit o’cut up apple… i think that’s what this conglomeration was

click one of these 2 photos to see all the captions

why was it labeled made here but included a UK address??

but they were pretty – excellent example of thanksgiving/autumnal decor.

 

My final photo isn’t mine – it’s from friend Scott’s blog, Furrowed Middlebrow. Let me explain…

my last picture isn’t mine, but courtesy of Scott and Dean Street Press. you can click to go to all of dean street’s furrowed middlebrow books

In honour of Remembrance Day and our equivalent, Veteran’s Day, I downloaded a new reprint of a wonderful British woman’s first-hand account of London during World War II: A Chelsea Concerto, by Frances Faviell.  It’s written with an artist’s eye to detail. It’s harrowing. And I can hardly stop reading it.

I should explain that my San Francisco acquaintance and publisher (oooh, that’s so nice to type!) Scott is the instigator. His blog, Furrowed Middlebrow, has been a continuing source of new authors for me to read.

Now, Scott’s dream of reprinting many of the wonderful out of print (OOP) books he’s found so difficult to locate has come true, and there are NINE in his first group. If this one is any indication of the quality of the rest, and I’m confident it is, I’ll be devouring them all. At which point, I hope another batch will be ready.

If you enjoy reading, and want to discover forgotten British women authors, click on over to Scott’s post of the initial nine here. He’s included both UK and US Amazon locations for all of them. He wrote, “… You can easily find all nine of the Furrowed Middlebrow books by simply searching “Furrowed Middlebrow” on Amazon.”

This is his 2013 review of the book I’m now reading, during which he wishes he could get it reprinted. And now he has.

🎉🎈HUGE Congratulations, Scott! 🎈🎉

 

 

sunday sevens #41 (whoops! forgot one)

autumnal decorations from chicago days

mutter, mutter, toil, and grumble,

why can’t monday

be like sunday?

Must be the time change.

But it’s finally cooled off a bit, and I’ve actually worn long pants and either my Morris or another jacket several times. Yippee!

The grocer had sticky tape/scotch tape on a 2-for-one sale so guess who stocked up? And I’ve gotten one batch of patterns out to start taping pieces more sturdily so they can be folded.

Here’s the rest of the week, the bits I managed to get photos from. Sorry about running a bit short but as Natalie’s “rules” are really easy guidelines, am not too worried.

Hope you enjoy, and are having a lovely week yourselves!

remember last week’s visit to the consignment store with all the hallowe’en decorations? you don’t seriously think i came out empty-handed?

all this was needed just to get that wooden button sewn onto my creamy cotton-linen jacket…

realised i needed to catch up on several of the last agatha raisin books… another great story!

here’s another acquisition from said consignment shop just getting put in the closet!

not many leaves turning colours over here…

Edited to add:  How could I have forgotten those magazines I picked up for a once-a-year look, just to see what’s going on inside… good thing I decided to clean off that  table!

 

sunday sevens #40

It’s been a busy, warm week here. Nevertheless, some cooler weather gear has been brought out right quick, to take advantage of days when the mercury dips below 70℉/20-ish℃.

In between I’ve been laundering said cooler weather garments, trying on, starting a small mend pile… the usual seasonal wardrobe shuffle.

Don’t know if it’s the warmer Autumn or what, but there’s another camellia bush or two in bloom, which wasn’t blooming in Spring.

Somewhere around the middle of the week I decided to make meat loaf. I read through several suggestions and recipes from Joy of Cooking and then decided to improvise. The result was tasty, and I froze half for another time.

A lovely surprise also arrived mid-week. A large envelope and note from Yorkshire, enclosing two pieces of beautiful silk dupioni (or dupion) from Margaret over at The Crafty Creek. Dupioni is…

“… is a plain weave crisp type of silk fabric, produced by using fine thread in the warp and uneven thread reeled from two or more entangled cocoons in the weft. This creates tightly-woven yardage with a highly-lustrous surface. It is similar to shantung, but slightly thicker, heavier” Wikipedia

notice the sheen and tight weave of these silks?

some of the projects from my 1995 booklet

that Avoca wool is so tempting! but at £30/m (roughly $45) I’m taking my time to decide… 😉

these were very interesting

We’d been chatting about the gorgeous embroidery she does, and some of the exhibits she’s written and photographed for her blog. I mentioned I’d gotten out my holiday ribbon embroidery booklets and was wondering what and where to get some fabric. Next thing I knew she was asking if I’d like something from her silk stash!

Goodness! Here I was thinking about some sort of linen or even cotton, and suddenly this lovely lady was offering silk. Eeeee!!  Aren’t sewing friends the bestest?! Above is both an ivory and a warmer dupioni, one of which has been in Margaret’s stash since 1990. You’d never know it from looking at the fabrics!

As a lovely courtesy, Margaret included a scrap of the magnificent Avoca wool she’s gotten from Fabworks Mill Shop, “… just in case you’re tempted!” . . . Oh. Dear. Meee . . . . . . (where’s the emoji of flushed face with tongue hanging out??)

some interesting twists in this one

The latest Agatha Raisin arrived at the library as requested, and I immediately picked it up and read it that night.

Enjoyed it so much I’m reading it again, but more slowly. I also managed to locate 2 new-to-me books by Debbie Shore, Half-Yard Home and Gifts. There are several projects I’d like to try, when time permits.

If you’d like to join in with your own Sunday Sevens, just click over to Natalie’s page and have a peek at the very forgiving guidelines.

Hope everyone has an enjoyably spooky Monday, and a lovely rest of the week!     🎃       🎃       🎃

sunday sevens #39

curried pork & wild rice

Golly, another week is gone! Hols are starting to creep closer… And my Sunday Sevens are mounting up. Would never have thought I’d still be doing them. If you’d like to join, wander over to Natalie’s explanation, and have a go!

This past week has been a bit hectic over on this side the pond, but nicely so. If you’re hungry, have a snack before viewing as there are several food photos. Just a suggestion . . . 😉

Monday I was off to get hair done, but forgot the camera. Everyone in the salon crochets, so I took a recent magazine along for them to look at.

My lovely stylist and I discussed knitting. She was intrigued by arm knitting, which I’d never heard of, so she located a video on her phone for us to watch & discuss. We decided it looked too much like having both arms tied by heavy, hot, thick yarn.

Next thing I spy is Ali, aka Thimberlina, arm knitted a prezzie Saturday in 30 minutes, and it looked great! Click the link to see her Sunday Sevens, which have all the deets – thank you, Lovely! 😘 Hope she includes some deets, as I can’t figure out what sort of yarn she was using!

Tuesday I made a lovely curried pork recipe mum used to make. I used uncooked wild rice, lots of candied ginger, cubed apple and raisins, and chicken stock. After browning the chop on both sides I dumped everything into a glass dish and popped it into the oven at about 350℉ with a sheet of foil laid over top so rice wouldn’t dry out.

happy hallowe’en!

The rest of the week sort of whizzed by whilst I tried to ignore the heavy politics. Early voting began Thursday and lines were around the block all over the state. Is that unusual? Sorry, haven’t a clue.

Here’s another favourite Hallowe’en card, framed and on bath counter (hence the mirror).

Did sit down over several days and do some decorative stitch discovering. I took several doubled pieces of a cotton/linen blend and started numerically and have gone through almost all of the stitches.

It’s proving several things – that I do have a proper chart (thanks to Rainbow Junkie), and this exercise is helpful because sometimes the chart only shows 1 of the pattern. That 1 can be a bit enigmatic if there’s just the one. If I can begin concentrating on purchasing solid colour fabrics for basics, these samples will come in quite handy.

stitches 23 to 41

stitches 39 to 49

stitches 50 to 59

Taking it easier on Saturday, had take away delivered from the local pizza place – manicotti and salad. Yum!

And Sunday have popped another batch of double chocolate bran muffins in the oven. When I made the last batch I measured out for 2, and left the leavening out of the second batch. Then I put the second batch (dry ingredients only) into a bag and popped it into the freezer until needed. A quick mix of the wet ingredients, plus baking powder, and into the oven. Now I’m supplied for another few weeks. 😀

double chocolate bran muffins

hmm . . . which button to use on my Folkwear middy jacket?? https://curlsnskirls.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/indy-pattern-challenge-metro-middy-blouse/

yummy manicotti!

It’s finally turned a bit cooler here, with temps in the 60-70℉ range instead of 70-90℉. However, leaves aren’t changing yet, so I’ve switched my computer desktop photo and this blog background to photos from last November. Guess it’ll be closer to Thanksgiving before we see colour around here. Please keep taking those luscious piccies of the glorious colours elsewhere, Lovelies!

The buttons? Oh, Am spending time staring at them, deciding which one to add to the very top of my Folkwear Middy jacket, in cotton & linen, which is now in season. Pattern is here, and super easy to construct.

May your week bring delightful surprises and happy sewing!

sunday sevens #38

It’s time for Sunday Sevens again, as created by Natalie. Anyone can participate, and the rules are very flexible! Why not check it out ~

Special thanks to Nee (Sew Fusion) and Ali (Thimberlina) for their guidance prepping that mustard wool on Friday & Saturday.

It’s washed, dried, and awaiting ironing to steam out the wrinkles before cutting out.

As what? Oh, didn’t I say? Am thinking a coat from Butterick.

But before that can happen, I’ve a batch of linen (and more warm days) to get through.

Hope your week is wonderful!

planning this for the mustard wool – but need a good lining… and cooler weather!

wool drying over the shower rail saturday. oops! forgot to neaten those raw edges.

last sunday night’s pile of mending & dart placement, which kept my mind busy

outside the grocer’s it’s pumpkin & mum season

thank goodness the past week has been sunny and not too hot & humid, as rivers crest away downstream from my location

time to get out some of my decorations. please ignore the unpolished candlestick! and my little photo bomber!

why this pattern arrived thursday should make an interesting story in a month or so 😘

sunday sevens #37

bright & sunny & co-o-ol after the storm

It’s been an unusual week, to say the least. Although the most unusual bits have been the last 3 days, and this huge storm.

More to come even though the rains have stopped, as rivers won’t crest for up to several days from now, windy conditions continue to fell trees across power lines, and roads are badly damaged in many locations.

Nothing various other countries haven’t experienced from time to time. Unfortunately. Perhaps the difference over here is the length and breadth of the storm’s track.

By my extremely unofficial measuring, the storm battered about 1,000 miles of coastline before changing direction and going off to sea.

That appears to be about the equivalent of the distance from the southern tip of Norway down to Crete.

Width-wise it would have covered Ireland and Wales completely, and much if not most of England and Scotland.

The European coastline then becomes too full of ins and outs for me to figure further down. Hopefully this gives some scale for comparison for both sides of the pond.

Thus endeth the geography lesson. 😀

May we all have a wonderfully productive week ahead!

Sunday Sevens is the brainchild of Natalie, at Threads and Bobbins. Why not check out her post & join us!

(Edited to add link to article in The New York Times on the storm.)

still trying to decide if this linen will be wearable, or too scratchy…

found this yonks ago in threads magazine & couldn’t relocate so wrote it out & thought i’d share

saturday’s tea, prepared earlier and bagged up – it made everything so quick & such easy clean-up!

a new to me lamp – hurray & thanks!

finally have remembered to take a quick pic to show we’re now starting to see Shetland even down here!

brief drizzlies on friday dusted these off – little did we know what was coming on saturday!

sunday sevens #36

Sunday Sevens was thought up by Natalie over at Threads & Buttons. For more details on what’s involved, just click that link.

Also, it’s time to sign up for #StitchingSanta, as organized by Sheila of Sewchet. Click the link for details.

 

you’ll start seeing this a lot as it’s time again for #stitchingsanta

navel oranges from south africa now in our markets on the east coast!

super article in current threads magazine on linen

my shoe calendar has this model for this month – love it!

some library goodies

just in from fabworks mill shop, uk – speedy delivery!

sunday sevens #35

all done but the hemming, which won’t take long

Technically it’s more than a hair past midnight, so it’s really Monday, but let’s say it’s still Sunday, shall we?

Natalie, over at Threads and Bobbins, came up with the idea of Sunday Sevens.  Anyone can join in, and you don’t have to do a post every Sunday. Or Monday. 😀

Ali/Thimberlina sent a lovely pattern last winter (NewLook 6871, here), and I knew I wanted a very light weight cotton for it.

Enter Anne/Compulsive Seamstress and her suggestion that we trade some fabrics. Then add a few weeks for it to finally percolate through my brain that this could be the perfect cotton for that pattern.

It is!

I cut it several sizes larger than if I were doing the blouse, and used all the length of the fabric so it’s just above knee length. Perfect for really hot summertime lounging or sleep wear.

Left out the interfacing & lined yokes, did the gathers all the way across front & back instead of a section in the middle, and it is perfect! I’ll zip up arms & neck & hem Monday. Super huge Thank You’s to both Ali and Anne for thinking of me!

Now here’s the rest of the week, which has been packed, but not very photogenic.

Hope everyone is getting back into the groove of work after vacations! 😉

PS/ Monday – Josée’s original recipe is here & my printable version is here.

must be getting cooler as just pulled a batch of my fav chocky muffins outta t’oven

here’s what half my cutting table looks like

and here’s the other half

taken sunday at dusk – the last rose of summer?

fabulous new book with loads of fascinating info about colours – THANK YOU to Margaret for the details! http://thecraftycreek.com

these are popping up all over – but who’s been nibbling? not me!

sunday sevens #34

It’s Sunday and time for Sunday Sevens, thought up by Natalie, of Threads and Bobbins. Anyone can participate whenever, so feel free to join in.

Where has the week gone? It’s already past the middle of September!

Last weekend was Last Night at the Proms and I was so preoccupied with breakdowns I forgot to listen. AGH!!!

But the entire 3 ½ hours are available for listening, and a little for viewing, depending on what country you’re watching from.

And no, you don’t have to listen to it all in one go. Above the line in the Iplayer are little squares, indicating where each piece starts. Hover your cursor and titles appear.

Nothing like the zaniness of the second half to put me back on track. (Yes, I sing along.) Only available for 3 more weeks, so listen soon. ⌛️

I attacked the UFO/alteration pile last week, and managed to overcome a reluctance to use a twin needle as well as reduce the pile, and am feeling quite chuffed. Below, the pale green is a men’s silk shirt re-do, liberated from a charity shop. The rest are updates to existing makes.

this completes the set, made from 1m fabric from white tree fabrics

a twin needle project – re-cut the neck & arms to cooler/looser size

adding a pocket, maybe even 2

another double needle project, this just finishing the arms & neckline

added elastic to shoulders to pull them it

Am also debating my next project, and what thread to use. I’d thought white originally, but looking amongst my blue  spools saw variegated. It looks tempting, and as this is another lounge around home project, only my eyes would be offended. What do you think? The fabric came from a trade with Anne/Compulsive Seamstress, and the pattern from Ali/Thimberlina.

looked everywhere for a frozen breakfast like this & we’ve n-o-t-h-i-n-g over here to compare. it’s all waffles or pancakes or dinky muffins with egg & bacon. i want beans, too!

what do you think about this thread?

Lastly, my UK DVD of Agatha Raisin finally arrived. Am a fan of both author  M.C. Beaton’s series(es?), Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth, so was delighted to see Agatha being made for telly. The U.S. compatible version isn’t available yet, so am very grateful my hardware/software plays PAL.

meet the adorable Hodge (and Ms. Jensen)

However, the movie raises two questions:

• Why can’t I find frozen breakfasts like Agatha’s over here?
• Is everyone flipping back & forth doing video calls like Agatha, her therapist, and Roy?

Hope everyone has a lovely week planned, and we all survive the regional weather shifts!

  🌈  ☀️🌈