7QT: Ode to a Steam Iron, Outlander Talk, and Ripley's Believe It Or Not!

Today I am all over the place--we've had a rough week with the girls health-wise, we realized that Boo in particular is struggling a lot with the camp schedule, and Piglet is anxious about starting his new school in the fall.  So it has been a barrel of laughs this week.  We're off to the pediatrician this morning to discuss what to do next for the girls, camp is over after next week, and Piglet starts school on September 3, so hopefully everything will even out soon.

With the lack of anything substantive to share, I present: silly quick takes.  Linking with Jen, like we do.

--1--

When my husband and I married, he had a functional, if clunky, iron.  It was a little prone to temperature fluctuations, and would occasionally leave mineral deposits on clothing, but it worked for every day ironing (of which there is very little in this house, frankly).  It also lives on the 3rd floor with a bolted-to-the-wall ironing board.  When Boo's godmother lived with us, in the summer and fall of 2011, she brought another iron and then left it when she rejoined her husband overseas.  I started using it for my sewing, and it was a fine iron--good heat, good steam, just a little prone to tipping over.  And tip it did.  Many times. Because I sew in my kitchen, and all the outlets are behind one side of the table, finding a set up for the iron and the sewing machine has proved tricky, because my preferred set up means constantly stepping over cords.  Sometime in May, one of the kids tripped on the cord and the iron went flying.  (No one was hurt, thankfully).  The plastic assembly that held the steam function completely fell off, and while the iron still held a good temperature, it no longer had a steam function, and the iron seemed to be running a little hotter than I like.  I bought an iron on sale from Joann shortly after that happened, but it was a dud and I had to send it back, so I've been sewing these last months with the gimpy iron.  Finally I decided it was time to bite the bullet and replace it.  The new one is great.  It has a great solid base so it doesn't tip as easily, it has good steam, good heat, a shut-off function, an extra long cord, and a teflon-coated ironing surface.  Brilliant.  My last two makes (sneak peek below) have been much easier to put together with a nice steamy iron.

--2--

Let's pause for a moment of silence for the awesomeness that is Episode One of Outlander.  I've watched it twice now, and it definitely improved on a second viewing (although the first time through was pretty great).  There are a few minor changes from the book (noticeable to me mostly because I just re-read the book and the little details are fresh in my mind), but I really liked the extra time spent establishing Frank and Claire's relationship and marriage.

Taking the time to show us Frank and Claire's relationship drives home the theme of the first half of the book, which is Claire's determination to escape back to the 20th century, and also her increasingly divided loyalties.  The casting is superb, and I'm appreciating the period details and wonderful soundtrack by Bear McCreary.  The music for the Samhaim dance of the Druids is sublime.

--3--

While we're on the subject of man-crushes in Outlander, let me present: Graham McTavish.  As Dougal McKenzie, the war chieftan of the Clan McKenzie, Graham brings so much to the table.  I've always been intrigued by Dougal (even more so since reading MOBY), and Graham really inhabits the character for me (shiny bald pate not withstanding; in the books, Dougal is described as a redhead).  He has a lot of ulterior motives, and his actions often reflect things unseen, but he is loyal, if wily.  Plus, hello, tall.

--4--

And as long as we're talking actors, let's talk about Tobias Menzies, shall we?  I've seen him in several things now, and he never disappoints.  He played the Home Secretary in a later season of MI:5 (no spoilers!), and I liked his tortured Brutus in Rome.  I didn't love his character in Game of Thrones (although it appears to be the role for which he is best known, at least at the moment), but he did do a bang-up job making Edmure Tully a character you love to hate.  He had a minor role in season one of Foyle's War, and I just finishing watching his excellent performance in Forget Me Not.  Let's talk about that film for a sec, because it is really worth a watch.  It is an indie film, and has echoes of Remember Me and Before Sunrise in the telling, but the acting is wonderful, and the twists and turns unexpected and fresh.  Tobias brings a rich complexity to the character of Will, and while there are some hokey musical moments, for the most part, I really enjoyed it.

--5--

Now for an edition of Ripley's Believe It or Not!  My husband has been reading Patrick Leigh Furmor lately; he was an Englishman who wrote of his travels in the early part of the 20th century, and in his memoir of northern Greece, he notes that villagers would take the cut end of a cucumber (the part normally discarded) and stick it to the middle of their foreheads, providing an instant cooling sensation.  Pre-modern air conditioning!  I tried it, and it really works!  I don't know if it would work as well on room temperature cukes, as we keep ours in the fridge to keep them from spoiling, but every time I cut a cuke lately, I stick the end on my forehead and enjoy the instant chill.

--6--

My mom and I Face-timed earlier this week because I've been having issues with the bobbin tension on my machine and she thought it would be easier to talk it through with video than over e-mail or the phone.  We tried a few things, I learned a few new things about my machine (I now know how to pop the entire foot plate off and clean underneath, and boy did it need doing!) and it turned out to be that the tension on the bobbin itself was too loose.  All better now.  I need to find a reputable Bernina service place to have the machine looked at because it has been a long time since it was serviced, and it sat unused for almost a decade before I started sewing in earnest last fall/winter.

But here's a sneak peek of my latest makes:



Another button-down Portrait blouse!  I still have to work the buttonholes and add the buttons (they are a pale peach that coordinate with one of the smaller flower colors) and I made a goofus mistake on the facing, but it worked out in the end, I think.  I'll post more about construction when I show the finished blouse.  The skirt is the wrap Miette from Tilly and the Buttons, and I think this will be a great skirt.  I'm letting it hang for a few days before I hem it because it is cut almost on the bias, and I need to work the pass-through button holes to make the wrap part work properly.  I'll talk more about it when it is finished.

--7--



Mushroom sweater progress!  I'm nearly finished the sleeve (shaping the cap at the final decreases before binding off).  I usually find sleeves to be very tedious, with all the increases and decreases, but this one wasn't too bad.  I'm hoping the second sleeve goes quickly too.