Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Tidbits.
- Back at work after four days of union convention and I am glad to say that I’ve given up an area of major responsibility in my union as of yesterday. I still have shop stewarding and district labour council roles, but I’m choosing to keep those for now.
- I still have a majorly clogged sinus, though otherwise my sickness seems to be mostly cleared up.
- My first graduate seminar is next month – in preparation I must read the Orestia and come up with two questions for discussion.
- This rainy May weather is a major bummer.
- I am looking for other work even though my job is safe for the time being. Feels like a season of change in my life, so I’m using that impetus to put the feelers out for jobs that might give me some new challenges.
- I’ve decided that I would like to learn how to make simple clothing. Operative word – simple. I’m obsessed with crocheted garments and basic skirts at the moment – so once I finish up the bags I am working on I think an elastic-waisted skirt will be the next order of business. With the crochet, I’m working scarves at the moment, soon to move on to a shawl. Hopefully by next winter I’ll be working on a sweater.
- I’ve got another busy week coming up, but fortunately it’s mostly home-centered. I should be at work and on here more often too.
Pretty pleased
All in all, last night’s dinner for B’s birthday was a fabulous success. Here’s the table pre-dinner with my fancy handmade linens out for the first time:
The menu consisted of three main courses and many appetizers, sides and other goodies, the theme being Greek:
- Appetizers: white bean/sundried tomato dip with homemade pita, dolmades (storebought), apricots stuffed with almonds, stuffed olives.
- Sides: homemade olive bread, honey-lemon glazed carrots, filo-wrapped asparagus, pear & cambazola salad, rice pilaf
- Mains: Shrimp scampi, spanokopita, chicken in lemon-yogurt sauce
- Dessert: Lemon-yogurt cake with whipped cream and raspberry coulis – thanks to Jill for putting that together for us!
Basically it took all day, but it was totally worth it when all the food was out on the table and I got to bask in the appreciation of ten people who descended on the food with great fervor. Probably the best dinner party I’ve ever put together on my own (with a little last minute help from Masha)…. so I’m pretty pleased about it.
And a final shot, with food on the table:
Bragging rights
Despite being sick, this week I:
- got accepted into grad school
- got a grant for this project
- finished these placemats and napkins
- bought the perfect birthday gift for B.
- am busy making a 10-person dinner for tomorrow night (B’s birthday dinner)
I still feel physically crappy, but I’m excited about all of the above.
New table linens for a new table
This may seem excessive, but after 20 hours working on these placemats and napkins I feel that I have earned some bragging rights. Thus, a gallery showcasing the ten placemats and napkins (plus trivet) I put together in honour of Brian’s birthday and because we didn’t have a single set of linens for the ten people our new table seats.
Using Anna Maria Horner fabrics from the Innocent Crush collection and Kona solids to complement – I pieced the centers together using the Mod Mosaic Blocks tutorial from Oh Fransson. I have no idea why I thought this project would be a quick one! But still, I’m pleased with the result even though the top stitching used a gazillon meters of thread.
So here they are:
The latest stitchery.
It’s been awhile since I posted any craftiness on this blog – but not for a lack of things made – more from a lack of inspiration to write about them. At the moment I am in the middle of a project to make all new place mats and napkins for our new dining room table (which has to be done for a dinner party on Saturday), in addition to still being mid-quilting on a double-size quilt for the spare bedroom.
One of the things I have been lamenting recently is the lack of a craft in my life that is easy to travel with. Cross stitch is one possibility, but lately I’ve found that it’s too much of a hassle with rules on many forms of transportation which disallow scissors. Not to mention that my eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be and I require a lot of light to find the little holes in the fabric (or I have to wear reading glasses which makes me look like a granny even though I’m not forty yet!)…..
Flashback to a couple of weeks ago when I was hanging around the house one evening and decided to pick up a crochet hook from the sewing box and some scrap yarn I had leftover from another project. I’ve always wanted to learn, you see, but never was able to figure out crochet (or knitting) from book diagrams no matter how hard I tried. But I decided that I would go for it again, and did some Internet searches to turn up not only written instruction but several very helpful videos.
I started out with crocheting a few wonky washcloths while visiting with B’s family over Easter weekend, but once we got home I went straight to Baaad Annas (my neighbourhood yarn shop ) where I picked out a few balls of wool and cotton to practice some more ambitious projects on. The photo above is a neck scarf made using a lazy split v-stitch pattern from mercerized Egyptian cotton. Far from perfect, I am totally in love with it and have worn it the last two days. Here is the close-up shot of my finished scarf.
From there, I picked up a ball of raw, undyed wool and am working on another scarf – this one for winter – for which I plan to make matching wrist warmers.
I’ve been oddly obsessed with crochet since I started. Literally, I have been carrying a project around in my bag since I first realized I could do this and am totally focused on getting better at it every day. I’m not sure why this craft-form particularly except that I find it absorbing, and it gives me something to do during all my otherwise idle time (riding the bus, waiting for appointments, watching movies).
After my current project I think I’m ready to move onto granny square washcloths – just in time for Mother’s Day (which we’re celebrating late because I’ll be in Victoria near the end of May). And after that? I’m eager for all projects – large and small.
Red Cedar 