Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Outhouse pictures and update.
Back at work after ten days of vacation and so forth. Sadly I haven’t got all the photoset uploaded from our week at Link Lake, but I offer the following woodshed and outhouse update for your viewing pleasure:
One finished shirt……
In the last two weeks I bought a ton of fabric for making new fall and winter shirts. I’m tired of what’s in the wardrobe, but I can’t stand the idea of shopping for ready-made clothing right now which means….. somehow eking out the time to make myself some new things.
Yesterday I made this blouse from start to finish (almost finished, I have a sleeve facing that needs to be re-sewn and then the sleeves need turning up). It took longer than a blouse of this type might normally because 1) there are darts, and pleats, 2) the front is made up of six pieces of fabric which gives it a bit of flutter, and 3) it’s all french seams. (Pattern here).
A simple pull-over, this belongs with a plain skirt or jeans. I’ve got two denim skirts I plan to make this fall as well which would pair with this nicely.
I’m hoping to finish one more blouse/jacket this week before heading out to Link Lake (and away from my sewing machine) for a few days – and then to redouble my efforts in October/November to churn out several more garments for my autumn and winter wardrobe. (Fortunately in Vancouver we have mild winters which means from late fall until late spring one can really wear the same cloths with varying degrees of layering).
Mostly I’m just happy to have a single garment finished – since I have been struggling with a couple others started earlier this month – I needed to tackle something more straightforward but still fabulous to prove that I still have my sewing chops!
Magpie…. magpie.
In a little rush this morning because it’s a day full of meetings, I’ve got class tonight, and I’m off to Campbell River in the morning — which leaves me with little time for posting.
So I will share this shawlette that I took off the blocking last night – crocheted from Sweet Georgia sock yarn in one of their new fall colourways: Magpie!
A true beauty, in low-light Magpie looks pretty much like a navy, but in the light it reveals a true depth of colour and slight variegation that gives it the “oooh, ahhh” effect it had on me when I got my skein in the mail.
This shawlette is another gift, for who I will not say — I love this ability to give beautiful and handmade to awesome people!
What are we eating? Three weeks of meal plans
It’s fall and time for new things – and what better way to herald a new season than by trying out some new recipes?
So I’ve made a meal plan for the next three weeks that relies heavily on Mark Bittman and also incorporates some of the food blogs I read. Meal-planning makes shopping easier, ensures we use ingredients already on hand, and makes it a breeze for anyone in the household to prep dinner depending on schedules. The themes for this menu are:
- very-little processed food
- balanced
- gluten-free options – which means most meals are gf, but those which aren’t can be eaten without the wheat-component (like a bun) or have an acceptable gf substitute (gf pasta or rice)
I am so looking forward to each of these recipes!
Week: September 9
- Monday – Crispy Roast Duck with Pan-roasted corn and tomato salad & garden greens
Sweet thing: Meyer Lemon cake (gluten free) - Tuesday – Portobello & Pork Burgers with steamed green beans & home fries
- Wednesday – Duck Leftovers (B. alone)
- Thursday – Roast Beef Sandwich leftovers (B. alone)
- Friday – Fried chickpeas with chorizo and spinach
- Saturday – Grilled steak and vegetables with corn tortillas, green salad
Week: September 16
- Monday – Lamb meatballs and collard dolmades
Sweet thing: Apple-rhubarb crisp with homemade vanilla-rum ice cream - Tuesday – Pasta with peas, prosciutto and lettuce (w gf pasta for me)
- Wednesday – Out for dinner
- Thursday – Chinese style vegetables and beef stew (substitute veal with stewing beef)
- Friday – Black chickpea soup with cheese, deli cuts & green salad on side
- Saturday – Chicken Stew served w Rice (make-ahead to take to Link Lake for reheating)
Week: September 30
- Monday – Polenta pizza with pancetta and spinach
Sweet thing: Chocolate pudding & coconut-apricot macaroons - Tuesday – Thai Beef Salad
- Wednesday – Leftovers for B.
- Thursday – Grilled Carne Asada for Tacos
- Friday – Pasta with Leek and Garlic Pesto
- Saturday – Lamb and rice stuffed cabbage with Tomato Sauce
I just went to Dress Sew on my lunch hour……
I’ve been feeling a real sewing urge lately, but the coat I am working on isn’t exactly lining up right and I have been looking for a simpler project to restart my sewing self with. At the same time, I have a distinct lack of shirts and blouses for the cooler season coming up. It’s not that I have *nothing* but I specifically want a couple of tunics, a couple of new pull-overs, and maybe even a blouse or two made out of something satin-y. And so what I ended up with after this lunch hour are six new fabrics – a micro-fibre knit, 2 cotton jerseys (one light and one heavy-weight), a yarn-dyed cotton, a jacquard with some slight stretch, and a crinkle nylon with some silver embroidery. It is a little overboard, I will admit, but shirts are something I don’t make nearly enough of and I wanted to try working with a few different fabrics and patterns this fall in order to determine what exactly it is that I like to make and wear.
I think I’ve picked out patterns for most of them already – some of which I have and some of which I don’t – so on my way back from Victoria on Sunday I might just take a stop at FabricLand to grab the ones I need. Truth is, fabric + patterns will come to $100, which isn’t bad for six garments – so I’m not feeling too bad about the money. Now I just have to find the time.
Also, this month’s Interweave Crochet is out today and has the awesome-est cozy sweater which I so want to make:
The nice thing about something like a sewn top, as opposed to a fully-lined coat or a dress, is that it is a reasonable project to take on over a couple of evenings – so I’m hopeful that if I can get a pattern to fabric match worked out by the end of this weekend, I can move through each project quickly and have six new shirts in my wardrobe by the end of this month. Let’s see if I can do it! Pictures will follow of anything that gets finished.
Red Cedar 