Imbolc Randomness

Some random thoughts on this Groundhog Day/Candlemas/Imbolc/Brighid’s Day or the day after.

• First of all, congratulations to Amity and Nhi on the launch of their new pattern line Lolita Patterns! Their first pattern, a darling skirt with scalloped hem in sizes 0 to 26 (Yay!) called Fuschia will be available February 6 and it's FREE! So rush on over there and take advantage of these two crazy couturieuses before they come to their senses and start charging for their work!
  
  
• A couple of weeks ago at Goodwill I saw a mother trying to rein in her over-excited 4(?)-year-old. She kept calling his name and he kept bellowing "Attitude! Attitude!" Indeed.
  
  
• Rather than change the thread in my machines I made myself another Vogue 8618 using what was left of the fabric for DD's Christmas dress.
  
  
  
  This comfy item is now in such heavy rotation in my wardrobe that I had to pull it out of the laundry for this picture (hence the wrinkles).
  
  
• Here are two patches I embroidered after figuring out how to spell the recipients' names in Arabic. Allah bless the internet! I did some of the design with a Frixion pen, which vanishes when ironed. However, apparently the marks reappear when the item gets cold and you can see some scribbles on the patch on the left. Just another reason to pay the big bucks to live in Southern California, I guess.
  
  
• Traveling further back in time, I was inspired by an early December post by Shams to make myself a coccoon sweater, so I ran one up that very same day and spent much of the holidays wrapped in it.
  
  
• I have been reading and enjoying--admiring, really--everyone's wrap-up of 2012 and thoughts or resewlutions for 2013. I love being included a little bit in so many different interesting, challenging, amusing and productive lives. As to my own life, well, I think I'm coming to a point where I can't go on tolerating some chronic low-level unhappiness of my own and will have to address it by causing some acute major unhappiness around me. I have never been one to rock the boat, much less mutiny or sink it all together. We shall see. I suppose I'll need new clothes.
  
  

Fabulous Book Giveaway at Fashion Incubator!

Kathleen Fasanella at Fashion Incubator is hosting a giveaway, sponsored by Laurence King Publishing, in which ONE lucky winner will win FIVE great books: Tomoko Nakamichi's Pattern Magic, Pattern Magic 2 and Pattern Magic: Stretch Fabrics, and Hisako Sato's Drape Drape and Drape Drape 2. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment at Fashion Incubator, formatted in Haiku. So,

Post your entry now
At Fashion Incubator.
Maybe win these books!

Of course, I'm planning to win the books, so you needn't bother to enter, but do check out this exceptionally informative and interesting blog about apparel manufacturing. Among the many Fashion Incubator delights are the frequent garment construction puzzle posts, including one being worked out now on the blog. Kathleen Fasanella is the author of The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing, available through her website.

Meanwhile, on the home front, I finished my Vogue 8618 and wore it to work today. Not too shabby!

Stewed Weekend

This past weekend I made beef stew. More precisely, I made 2.5 beef stews. I bought one ton of stew meat at Costco (I was hungry) so decided I'd try three recipes. Stew 1 from a Paula Deen traditional recipe was ruined because all the liquid simmered away (due to crappy pot, not my fault at all), but I sliced the scorched parts off the meat and saved it.

Stew 2, also on Saturday (fortunately) was beef daube from Joy of Cooking, which I made because I remember Anthony Bourdain going on and on about daube in Kitchen Confidential. I made it in a good dutch oven and it turned out fine.

I set the rest of the meat to marinate overnight Saturday in preparation for making Stew 3 from an Ina Garten recipe Sunday. I also decalcified an old espresso maker, did laundry, dropped and shattered a plate full of leftover Stew 2 on the kitchen floor, cleaned the kitchen, got a couple of hours of yard work out of DS and a minute or two out of DH, read, and did the Saturday NYT crossword.

Sunday I had some nice espresso and made Stew 3, which was fine. A little sweet (as was also the case with Stew 2). More salt?

On the sewing front, I didn't do any. In fact, I guess I defied Karen's Apronalong by stewing all weekend without an apron. Sorry about that. But I almost sewed. I traced Vogue 8618 and cut it out of a nice, soft, double-sided knit (grey/cream) but can't count that as sewing because I didn't take a single stitch.


So, all stewing no sewing.