Over the weekend, my three sisters and I threw the annual parent's bash for our kid's swim club. We have been planning since April. It was hilarious: barbeque, faux moonshine, a skit, apple pie and a mechanical bull.... AND lots of dancing. I haven't danced my heart out for a few years (air guitar, anyone? Maybe I should have stuck to bull-riding).
So, for next year, how do you beat a mechanical bull? It gave the non-dancers something to do and watch. Guests stayed late. Ideas?
I am working on a properly drafted shirt. It's coming, I promise.... I just have to post this one first. A few years ago, a girlfriend brought me this beautiful muumuu?? dress thing from Sri Lanka. She did not think I would be wearing it, but was sure I would have fun using the fabric for something. Ah... yup.
I have been scared to cut into it, but after my class, with my confidence all high, I started to think: shirt, shirt. Except, I did not want to waste the flower art down the centre. So, I quickly changed my mind and made a skirt. It is basically an a-line skirt with a wrapable waistband. My mom doesn't like it.
Sewing class is over. Well worth the time and money, I'd say. I have renewed sewing energy. I went to Fabricana yesterday and bought some gorgeous organic cotton, bamboo denim and bamboo lineny stuff - all 20% off until Friday! I can't wait to get started.
These two shirts were finished up before my new sewing skills were acquired. My sister is sure that the fabric for this shirt came from the curtains my late grandfather's office. The print reminds me of my grandmother's cigarette smoke. I was going for that 1960's gin, cigarettes and poofy hair look, anyway,
This shirt was fun to make and is fun to wear. It layers well (something I do not, normally, have a knack for). It is made from bamboo. The buttons are from AZ's pre-fatherhood travels in Peru (gotta love a guy who buys a nice button when he sees it). The ribbon is from Value Village. The pattern is from this Japanese pattern book. I would like to make another with a little less billow.
I'll stick a nicer picture up here when I can wrangle up a photographer.
We have been snacking in the garden. Cherries, strawberries, spinach, peas, zucchini and (not quite fully grown) carrots. We won't have a huge harvest, but it's exciting nonetheless! Will this potato yield more potatoes if I plant it?:
Little rabbits:
I like to do things by myself.... like travelling, sewing and running. You know, an independent sort of person. I did not reveal myself as a passionate left-handed sewist or keen-but-sloppy gardener much before the blog, so I have been slow to make like-minded friends. This is OK. Except...
Little by little, I am learning the importance of having like-minded folk to share interests, challenges and successes with. I just spent the evening roasting marshmallows around a fire - with my kids and extended family (an assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins, cousin-in-laws, and multiple offspring). We spend a lot of time together in the summer. I have been having a blast this year, with my kids being hardy and happy and fully-immersed into this community of rowdy relatives - relatives with a shared history of summer adventures. I have recognized that this is what I have been seeking with the blog - a community. In this case, a community with shared interests (sewing, crafting, childrearing, gardening).
Thanks to the blog (I am serious), craft-oriented relationships have been developing in non-blog life. I am joining a knitting group. I have sewing friends. I am talking about gardening with other real-life gardeners. My own sisters bring me their baking and needlepoint stories more often. Weird.
Speaking of the importance of shared lives and community:
My sister brought home this book the other day entitled Can Any Mother Help Me? by Jenna Bailey. It is about a group of mothers in the 1930's who wrote and distributed a private magazine. The magazine started in response to a letter written to a British magazine by a lonely and frustrated mother - a mother in need of friendship and community! Was this the blogging of the 1930's?
I have not read it yet. I am next in line. Sounds cool, though.
We have been experimenting with popsicles - freezing combinations of juice, honey, berries, yogurt, flowers and/or maple syrup. Some have been more appetizing than others. The girls are constantly refilling the empty spots in the popsicle mold.
A crazy weekend of year-end dance shows and concerts is just about finished. Summer begins tomorrow, complete with freezies, daily swims, dirty feet, bike riding, trips to the beach, berry picking and gin and tonic (for the grown-ups).
Three friends pose proudly after a summer concert (that is my angel with the dirty shirt):
Jam-making was a very popular activity here. Even Willem cut up berries for a good forty-five minutes. There was a lot of sneaky berry-tasting going on. After a scolding by the big sisters, Willem harvested berries out of his mouth and deposited them into the berry bowl. What a good boy, eh?
Niece Mae was eagerly awaiting the loss of her first tooth. Yes, that is dental floss sticking out of her mouth. The tooth fell out later in the evening - but not into the jam.
I have homework. I have to install four types of darts into tiny construction-paper bodices. After almost nine months (or 25 years?) of hacking tops together using patterns and old-shirts-as patterns, I have decided to take a pattern-making class. Because I tend to do things upside-down and backwards, I think some lessons will do me some good.... ie. force me to slow down and do things properly.
The class is wonderful. It is run out of a sewing studio in Strathcona called Haute Kootoor. Classes are available for students of all levels, are limited to two or four students (lots of attention) and only run for one month at a time (good for busy folk). The studio is bright and clean and has an artsy Strathcona feel. The instructor is kind, clear and enthusiastic about sharing her knowledge. I like it because I can cycle to class with my tools (rulers, french curve, pins, etc.) in my bag and, essentially, 'play designer' for a couple of hours a week.
So, I may not produce any tanks or skirts or "shpants" (short pants) or hats for a bit... because I have homework. After that, we'll see what happens.
