Stocking Taking: 2017

I was thinking about writing a 2017 sewing/making wrap post, as I've done in years past, but I find I just can't make myself do it this year.  In part, this is because my making has settled into something like a routine: I plan my rotations, I make what I need to fill the holes, and then move on.  I make things for the kids as needed, using a couple of simple patterns.  It's a fairly utilitarian approach and I'm mostly happy with it.  I've tried some new things this year (some with great success, some not so much) and made some pieces that I really love and wear a lot.  I still find sewing and knitting satisfying, particularly as it is such a tactile craft.  I can't really replicate that with anything else I do right now.

That said, the novel has taken a lot of my creative energy.  There is always a small part of my brain that is working on some aspect of the novel, trying to figure out a thorny problem in the plot, or some character issue that has cropped up, or even just trying to fill in the details of various scenes in a fully realized way.  The story is an emotional one, and I have to travel that journey with the characters in order to write it well, so there is that. 

2017 has been a year of reckoning, of emotional bills come due.  I do want to be very clear that this book is not autobiographical.  These characters and their lives are quite separate and different from my life, but at the same time, they are my creation, so they are all, in some sense, me.  And yet, not me as well.  Like any good actor, I must try to understand them, have compassion for them, and walk in their shoes in order to write their stories well.  The story and the people in it won't leave me alone, so I find that even when I want to quit (as I sometimes do, when the going gets tough), I can't.  I need to finish it and hope that this story tells something truthful that is also worth reading.  I think this story has been in me for a while, and is now working its way into the world.

So.  Where does that leave my making?  Probably in a state of stasis.  I have fabric in my bins for future projects and summer dresses for the girls, but nothing specifically planned for my rotations.  I have three very basic cardigans in progress plus the Mattock cowl.  I cast on a fancier cardigan, with nice stitch work on the fronts, but frogged it less than an inch in because I knew I'd never finish it this year and I want to have that color in my rotation sooner rather than later.   I realized I just needed projects that I would actually finish in a goodly amount of time.  So I'm sticking with simple raglan top-down construction, worsted weight, stockinette stitch, no frills, no fuss.  Git'er done knitting.  I'm a process knitter, mostly, but right now I need the process to support the finished product.

I don't have a tidy list of things I'm going to make in 2018, or a fun graphic or anything like that.  I'll probably make some Dottie Angel frocks, another Everyday skirt, maybe try another pattern, knit some sweaters and cowls, and keep it all very simple.  Things I can work in around my writing time, rather than the other way around.  I don't have a specific deadline for the novel.  I'm not sure what my ambition is for this book.  Obviously, I want people to read it, but the story doesn't fit tidily into a genre, which means it might be difficult to find a traditional publisher willing to take on an unknown author.  So I have things to consider as I move through the revision process.  I'm still wrangling the first draft, so I've got time to see where things lead.

On a positive note, I feel better physically than I have in years.  Probably since before I had children.  I'm creaky in the morning, and still taking a lot of ibuprofen to get through the day, but overall, I'm doing better.  I'm walking more, my diet is more varied and healthful, and I feel fairly positive about where I'm at with it all.  I'm about what I weighed when I got married, and have more or less hit my first major goal post in my weight loss journey.  I'd like to lose another 15 pounds, but that is a moonshot goal.  I've made peace with a lot of things about myself, and am trying to make peace with the parts of my food life that cannot be changed. 

Thanks for sticking around for the ride.  I appreciate all the comments and e-mails and dialogue that this blog has given me over the years.  I'm so very grateful.

Happy New Year!

St. Lucia

We don't have a Lucy in our family, nor do we have any Swedish heritage on either side, so we've never really observed St. Lucia's feast day, which falls on the 26th on the Old Julian Calendar.  This year, I decided it would be nice to add the tradition to our Nativity Fast.

Since the Western world celebrated Christmas yesterday, we were all home for a quiet day of celebrating St. Herman's feast day.  We had a book about St. Lucia that Boo is quite interested in, and last year's New Martyr magazine had devoted an issue to her (including a fasting version of the Lucekatter buns!)  Being a yeasted bun, the bread needs time to rise a few times, so yesterday was the perfect time to make them.  Boo helped.  They came out pretty well!  Boo and I worked on some school work he had to do over the break, and Piglet, Birdie, and I played Skip-Bo while we were waiting during various rising times.

 I love this little folk art print of St. Lucy so much.  I put it up with my Christmas decorations. The kids had the Lucekatter for breakfast this morning and everyone declared them a success!

We had salmon hash and leftover vegan pumpkin custard for our St. Herman's Day dinner.  Overall, a nice day yesterday.

And random weird additions to Christmas decorations, just for kicks and giggles:

Because every paper plate wreath needs a super hero to guard it.

I found a new musical group through YouTube (I'm always a sucker for a good version of Gaudete; the King's Singer's version is my favorite).  The group is Catholic and sing traditional Latin hymns.  Their Christmas album is lovely, and I got another of the Marian hymns, which is also lovely.  They are called Prima Luce, and I highly recommend them.  The music is available for download through CDbaby (amazon doesn't carry either album).

~reading, watching, listening~

~reading~

I've been reading Larry Moss' Intent to Live as research for my novel (one of the protagonists is a professional actor), but it has proved a surprising writing resource as well, since he delves very deeply into how to portray a character on stage or screen.  Much of what he discusses can easily translate to writing character as well.  This book will be staying with my writing resources after this novel is done.  I have Stella Adler's book and a book on character by Stanislavsky on my stack as well. 

I also started Madeline L'Engle's Irrational Season, and it is magnificent.  The third chapter on marriage is particularly wonderful (I picked up her longer book on the same topic and will get to it soon).  I started and finished Ulrich Lehner's God is Not Nice, which is excellent, and have made good progress on David Bentley Hart's Experience of God.  I'm still poking my way through Mere Christianity (a re-read) and have a bunch of novel-related things on my stack.  I did start re-reading Gorky Park a few weeks ago, but put it aside to focus on reading for the novel instead. 


~watching~

I watched the first season of The Mentalist recently.  I only watched that show sporadically when I would visit my parents (they were fans) and I enjoyed it, but never thought to look it up on amazon.  I had a small Simon Baker kick in November (I watched Something New for the fourth or fifth time; I love that film so much).  I enjoyed the first season of the Mentalist, but Amazon's pricing system for later seasons is a little weird, so I'm taking a break for now.  I also rewatched Medici and loved it even more. 

I've also seen some wonderful films in the past couple of months and thought I would pass along the titles.

1. A Year and Change: this passion project by Brian Greenburg is a wonderful portrait of post-secular middle America, and the character arc for the main protagonist is amazing to watch.  I thoroughly enjoyed this film and still find myself thinking about it several weeks later.

2. Fugitive Pieces: I saw this when it first came out about a decade ago, and enjoyed it, but I don't think I fully understood it.  I needed to be older, I think.  I rewatched it this week and it is amazing.  Stephen Dillane is a particular favorite of mine, and he is so subtle and heartbreaking in this film.  The emotional journey he undertakes is riveting to watch. 

3. You Before Me:  I know this film has been controversial, but I found it quite interesting, and am still thinking about it.  Sam Claflin is an actor to watch, I think, and Emilia Clarke is so likeable in this film.  Janet McTeer and Charles Dance are also wonderful.

4. The Secret Scripture: I don't even know where to start with this film. It is heartbreaking, moving, wonderful.  The story is wrenching, and the acting is incredible.  I did find a few things about one of the storylines slightly predictable, but overall, a wonderfully complex and rich story.

5. My King (Moi Roi): this is a recent French film that gave me a new appreciation for Vincent Cassel as an actor.  (As a random aside, I know a Russian priest who resembles him quite strongly; it is a strange thing).  It is a hard story to watch in some ways, as it is about a relationship that self-destructs over time, but it is so truthful and well-wrought, you just can't stop watching it to see how it unfolds. 

6. Thor: Ragnorok: I went to an actual theater and saw this in October.  It.Was.Fantastic.  Everything everyone has said about it and more.  It was hilarious, it stayed true to the characters established in previous movies, but also moved them through time and had authentic emotional journeys.  I particularly enjoyed the brother relationship between Thor and Loki in this one.  I can't really say much else about the storyline without spoiling anything, but I will say it is well worth the watch.  There is so much hilarity in it.  I was laughing through the whole thing.  It is wonderfully self-aware.  (It reminded me a bit of the way Twilight's Eclipse laughed at itself, but stayed true to the novel and the emotional story).

7. Child 44 (rewatch): I read the book on which this movie is based a number of years ago (it is an excellent novel, but chilling) and watched the film version when it first came out on video.  I rewatched it last week some time and was riveted by Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace.  The storyline is a bit uneven as adapted from the book, but the production values of the film are very high, and I liked the atmosphere of the whole thing.  Plus: Gary Oldman.  He's amazing.

8. Walk the Line: I watched this mostly because I've been listening to Johnny Cash on and off this fall, and was curious about his story.  The movie is excellent, and deserved the awards it received, but I admit I wasn't as riveted by the story as I was by I Saw The Light.  The performances by Joaquim Phoenix and Reece Witherspoon were amazing, but I just wasn't as interested. 

I finished season 3 of Outlander (nicely done, especially the Boston episodes; I have Big Thoughts about the changes from the book this season, but don't want to write them here just now.  Maybe later.  Connie Vernak is better at hilarious recaps than me anyway).  I want to watch Richard Armitage's new film Pilgrimage.  It appeals to me on so many levels.  Plus: Richard Armitage.  I'm looking forward to Aardman's Early Man film, which is supposed to release next year some time.  (And of course, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War.  I might even go see them in the theaters!  Fancy that!!)  Counterpart and The Last Post look interesting on amazon, as does Bright on Netflix.  I can't decide about finishing Berlin Station.  It's on amazon now, but I found the first three episodes hard going because the material is so gritty and the characters (aside from Richard Armitage's) so unlikeable.  I was basically hanging on for him.  But it has a second season now, so I don't know.  Maybe I'll give it another go.

~listening~

I've had Ed Sheeran's Divide and Multiply albums on repeat for the last few months.  I just added Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour to the mix.  A bit of James Arthur.  I'm ashamed to say that I liked two songs from Taylor Swift's latest album enough to get them on iTunes (Gorgeous and Call It What You Want).  A bit of Florence + the Machine, but I think I've burned out on that.  Hank Williams, of course.  I keep thinking I might be getting done with Ed Sheeran, and then I realize I still want to listen to it.  I have this eclectic playlist on my little ipod shuffle that I listen to when I walk to get the kids from school in the afternoons, and includes all of the above plus a few more things from Bon Iver, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anna Clendening, and some songs I'm forgetting. I keep revising it every couple of weeks, taking some things out, putting new things in.  The Sam Smith album is wonderful.  I also got back into Adele and really like her 25 album.  I am disappointed by Sting's latest album, 57th and 9th.  I want to like it, being a nearly life-long Sting fan, but I just can't get into it.  I loved The Last Ship, but I'm one of those weirdos who loved The Soul Cages too (apparently, there is a small group of us fans that love those two albums particularly).  I guess I like songs that tell a story. 

I've also been listening to Capella Romana a lot this fall.  Like, A LOT.  Mostly Lay Aside All Earthly Cares and Angelic Light.  I don't care for their Byzantine albums as much.  I like the Finnish Light album quite well.  I'm eager to start listening to Christmas music, but my husband doesn't want to hear it until Christmas day, so I have to wait a bit.  I do have a couple of albums that I find are appropriate for Advent (The King's Singers Christmas, Advent at Ephesus, and Sting's If On A Winter's Night seem to hit that sweet spot of anticipation for me).

A Humdinger

So this month.  It has been crazytown.  I cannot remember another December like this one, and that includes last December, when we were repainting the whole inside of the house and I was putting together multiple large pieces of furniture for several weeks' time.  That was stressful, but not the kind of crazy-making that this month has been.

It's not even that we have so much going on, per se, it's just a lot of things got stacked up at once.  I feel there isn't enough time to get it all done.  I mean, it's getting done, but I feel rushed and crazy doing it.  

So let's start with easy stuff, hmm?  This dress is from last year:

I always struggled to layer this dress, as the sweater I made to go with it doesn't really fit that well (it is quite big on me and I don't care for the way it looks).  I like it to sleep in, but it is kind of schlubby and big to wear out.  Plus the yarn has pilled a lot over the past year.  Unfortunately, the blue in the daisies is VERY difficult to match.  It's not quite navy and not quite royal blue.  Admiral blue, I guess you might say.  I have a cardigan kind of started to go with it, but I have too many other projects on needles right now, so I don't think I'll get it done this season.  I was chuffed to discover that my heavy cotton pullover (this one) is a good match!  It is a bit thick under the dress, but in winter, that is all to the good, I think.  So I'm getting a lot more wear out of this dress this year.  Plus the orange cowl I finished this fall looks nice with it.

I usually put up our Christmas decorations on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, which would have been Monday, except this week has been a particularly crazy one, so I knew there was no way I was going to manage it on Monday.  My kids were off school last Friday, so I decided to put everything up then.  It was a little nuts trying to unpack it all with the kids "helping" but it went okay in the end.  

A good time was had by all on the feast of St. Nicholas on Tuesday.  I got smart about how I do the presents from St. Nicholas after last year, and this year I think I got it right.  (Since we celebrate Christmas on the Russian calendar, on January 7, the winter break always feels very long to me, with nothing new for the kids to play with.  I usually keep the St. Nicholas Day presents kind of small--a book, some vegan chocolate coins, an orange, maybe a little thing, but this year I decided to get each kid a real present.  The younger three got superhero action figures and the eldest got a small lego set and a Lego book he wanted.  It was the right call).  We do very modest Christmas presents (each kid gets pajamas, a book, and a toy), so this works well.  (Future self: remember this year). 

Yesterday, the kids had their Christmas program at school and after that we scooted down to the courthouse so that my husband could be informally sworn in.  (There will be a more formal investiture in the spring).  We got to meet his new clerks, and several of his new colleagues, including the chief justice (pictured above on the right).  Everyone was lovely and nice.  It seems like a collegial group.  There was a nice crowd of people there.  He started the new job today!  (And for anyone wondering why there was a six week lag between his confirmation and swearing in, he had ongoing litigation that had to be passed off to a colleague at the Supreme Court clinic before he could take the bench).

I sewed a dress yesterday, in between doing stuff at the kids' school in the morning and everything in the afternoon.  I'll say I didn't intend to make the whole dress, just to cut it out, but by the time I got through cutting, and realized I wasn't going to get any writing done yesterday, I figured, why not?

So. This dress.  I am slightly annoyed with myself about it. I mean, I like it, and it fits well, and I will definitely wear it, but I learned another lesson about plaid with this one:  make sure the plaid is lined up vertically as well as horizontally if the plaid is very symmetrical!  I was so careful to line everything up horizontally, but I didn't check as carefully about the vertical alignment before cutting, so the plaid is just slightly off center.  I don't think it is too noticeable, but I'm annoyed that I didn't see it until I'd cut it out.  (Particularly as I was thinking about it after reading Tasha's post where she did something similar).  So the shoulder lines don't match At.All.  Oh well.  I mostly plan to wear this with a sweater, so I think the horizontal stripe matching on the side seam matters more anyway.  I have a dark gray undershirt that I think will look nice under this dress too.

I took these photos after dropping Ponchik at preschool and going to PT, so I'm a bit rumpled--apologies!  My physical therapist liked the dress, though!  (And yes, that is a tag sticking out of the back neckline; I have little fabric tags that say "handmade" that I put in all my dresses now).

My reds don't quite match between the cowl and the shirt, but I guess it doesn't matter.  (I made the cowl last winter for Boo, but he likes the Spiderman fleece one I made for him better than this one, so I'll wear it instead!  It is the same wool-cotton yarn as the white one that I wear all the time).  

Successful side matching!  

I used Robert Kaufman's Mammoth Flannel for this dress after my order from Joann was awful (more about that below).  I liked the layering possibilities for this dress, and the fact that it was a little subtler than the other plaid options I considered.  I'm knitting a dark gray (almost black) sweater right now that will probably look nice with this dress as well. 

I made a patch pocket, but made it significantly smaller because I felt the scale of the plaid would look better on the bias with a smaller pocket (also: I could cut a smaller pocket on the selvage and be more efficient with my cutting).

I'm such a fan of this flannel line--it washes and wears so well, sews up beautifully, and is soft and comfortable to wear.  I had ordered some Buffalo check flannel from Joann during their Thanksgiving sale and sent it right back when it arrived, it was such a hot mess.  Printed on one side only, stiff and nasty feeling.  I didn't even want to touch it.  Lesson learned: cheap flannel is still cheap flannel.  

I have low hopes of getting any writing done during the next two weeks (I'm doing some background reading for the book at the moment, so it's not a total loss, but I regret the enforced break as I was just starting to get some real momentum on stitching whole the narrative together).

I do hope to finish the album from our trip to England.  I usually enjoy that sort of thing, but this album has just been a kind of chore hanging over my head all fall.  I would have just done a Shutterfly photo book, but we had so many other things from the trip (maps, tickets, bits and bobs) that I couldn't incorporate in a standard photo book that I decided to do a scrapped album instead.  I'm sort of regretting it right now, but I guess I'd better just forge on.

We are less than 24 hours into the winter break and I'm already longing for January 3!  The kids have been up insanely early every morning this week and that is wearing on me (yesterday, half the household was up at 4:00 a.m. and everyone was up before 6:00 a.m.  Today, everyone was up before 6:00 a.m. That's just wrong).  If the kids would just sleep in, I think everything would be better, or at least less injury-prone.  

In any case, I'm supposed to be drinking less coffee, not more!

Geo Flannel Skirt: Remade

Otherwise known as deja vu week, here on the blog.  First the flannel dress, now this skirt.  

I made a straight skirt out of this flannel two winters ago, and wore it a lot.  I mean, A Lot.  I really loved that skirt.  I don't normally like light colors in winter, so I was surprised how much I liked that skirt.  It was clear to me last winter already that the original skirt was a) on its last season after heavy wash/wear and b) too big.  I wore it through my rotation, and tried a controlled shrink to make it fit better, but bought another length of the same fabric (thankfully it was still in stock!) in order to remake the skirt at some point this year.

When it came down to brass tacks, however, I decided to make an Everyday skirt instead, for the same reasons as the Orange Wool: alterations.  As I said, I'm still trying to lose weight, and my straight skirt pattern is particularly fiendish to alter ex post facto (as I've found, to my consternation, over the past two and a half years).  

I did worry that this fabric (which is a bit stiff) would stand out too much and make me look wide, but I think it is okay after all.  I do think I made the back elastics slightly too short, because the left side wants to ripple just slightly below the waistband, but I'm reluctant to change it because it might be fine in another few weeks.  The sweater I'm wearing is quite thick, and wearing it untucked might solve it.  In any case, it's not terrible.

I added 1.25" of length to this one and it is close to perfect, I think.  I pleated the front as with my other skirts and made sure to pin the pleats down pretty far so they lay nicely.  I debated top stitching them down a few inches, but in the end decided to leave it, as I worried it would affect the fall of the skirt.  The geometric lines of the design made the pleats dead easy to mark!

I couldn't quite get the whole waist band on the fold of the design, as with my first iteration, so I went for something that cut across the middle, which works well too.  

Overall, I'm pleased.  I am feeling the cold today--the temps have turned arctic!--but I think adding some silk long underwear will sort me out.  And of course, it was definitely time to pull out the big fuzzy boots.  I love these things--they were possibly my best ebay find ever.

The kiwi cowl is still going strong! 

Some real talk: 

So here's the weird thing about losing a lot of weight (I'm about 35 pounds down so far).  I have a hard time reconciling the image in the mirror with the image of myself in my head, which is the much heavier version of myself.  There are a lot of things about my body that are alien to me at this lower weight.  I worry that the odd cookie or treat will put those 35 pounds back on my body overnight and am always surprised when it doesn't happen.  I still struggle with sugar cravings and other unhealthy eating habits--the urge to go back to eating the way I did before always lurks in the back of my mind.  Sometimes it is loud, sometimes a whisper, but always there.  I'm still surprised when I fit easily into a narrow seat on the bus.  I know it is all irrational, and I have some body dysmorphia going on, but in the interest of Keeping It Real, I thought I'd share it.   

Just the Facts:

Geo Flannel Everyday Skirt: Everyday Skirt pattern (Oliver and S), double napped flannel from Robert Kaufman, elastic, 1.5" petersham ribbon for interfacing

Cotton pullover sweater: Nautica via ebay

Kiwi cowl: wool/alpaca blend yarn (discontinued from yarn.com)

Earrings: Ireland, seven years ago (I think!)

Boots: Ebay

Flannel #1: Remade

I mentioned that I remade my Flannel #1 dress earlier this fall.  I hadn't bothered to match the plaid on the original, the kanga pocket annoyed me, and it was too big.  So I just started fresh.  

I admit, this is probably not the best styling for this dress, as my tights aren't a great match, and brown boots would have looked better, but it is what it is.  I had a crazy week this week and these were taken on Thursday.  

My main changes for this version were to use bias cut patch pockets, to cut smaller (I've been cutting smaller since just after I made the original of this dress, to good effect) and to use shorter back elastic (thus cinching the whole dress slightly more).  I also used green bias tape to bind instead of orange, but that's not really visible.

I also matched the plaid!  It came out pretty well, if I do say so.  I know this dress doesn't look like much, but I do get compliments on it whenever I wear it, so I think it must look better in real life.  In any case, I like it, and I like wearing it, so that's all that matters, right?

The fabric is the Mammoth flannel from Robert Kaufman and it is slightly creped.  It is so lovely to work with--very stable, stays on grain, thick and snuggly.  All you'd want in a flannel and more.  It washes beautifully and doesn't pill.

What can I say?  Big ol' patch pockets are my go-to right now.  

I've been layering thick wool socks on top of my tights and putting my gray boots over all that, but I think I need to just switch over to my heavy winter boots+tights.  The combination of the layers and boots makes my neuroma unhappy.  I had a third injection this week (on Thursday afternoon!) and I'm really hoping this is the fix.  Because I'm so tired of the rocks and broken glass-feeling inside my foot.  I've started walking to get my kids in the afternoon (1.5 miles one way) and some days it is okay, and some days, not so much.  But the fresh air and exercise is good for me, so I soldier on.

It is snowing today, and just started sticking a bit (it has been snowing for about 4-5 hours at this point) but it is right at freezing, so it is unclear how much we'll actually end up with.  Our city isn't exactly stellar at snow removal (we do live in The City That Does Not Plow) so I don't get excited about snow anymore.  It's just a lot of hassle and panicked people and stripped store shelves.  

Wherever you are, I hope you are warm and dry!  We are staying cozy today, and having a slow day.  Boo isn't feeling well and the girls both seem under the weather a bit as well.  We cleaned the house together this morning, the kids did their Greek lessons, I got my hair keratined and trimmed a bit, and stopped by the store for a few groceries we were short of.  I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were out and how unpanicked the whole thing seemed.

Orange Wool Everyday Skirt

I was quite skeptical about this skirt.  I should say that up front.  I was quite worried that it was going to make me look quite wide--the combination of heavy woolen fabric with a pleated front and big a-line silhouette made me quite nervous.  

But I didn't want to make this fabric into another pencil skirt because my shape is changing so much and I didn't want to make something that would fit for five minutes before needing alterations.  The fabric for this skirt (and the lining) came from an etsy seller who bundled it together with a vintage pencil skirt pattern from the late 1950s.  It was something like $10 for the whole thing--2 yards of wool, 2 yards of poly lining, a spool of thread, and a vintage pattern in a larger size (mine at the time I bought it!)  I figured even if I never used the fabric, the price for the pattern alone was worth it.

But the fabric stayed in the back of my mind.  I felt I needed to use it.  After my Everyday Skirt successes this fall, I thought it was worth a shot to use this fabric for a winter skirt.  I'd never really looked at the fabric, and so when I got it out to work with it, I realized it would never have worked for a pencil skirt anyway because it has a pretty loose weave and a fair amount of drape.  So it is actually perfect for this pattern!

I confess it was a bit difficult to work with, since it had been folded for a LONG time, and I think there is probably some polyester content in with the wool.  The lining was a bear, being both polyester and having been folded for probably 20+ years.  I despaired of getting the fold lines out of both pieces, but in the end, a heavy steam from my steamer did the trick!  

I did kind of mess up the lining a bit, as I applied it inside out (instead of having the raw edges of the seams to the inside of the skirt, all nice and lovely encased, I put them to the outside).  I didn't realize my mistake until I was nearly finished with the skirt, and I wasn't about to unpick the whole waistband to fix it.  The fabric is loosely woven, as I said, and unpicking stitches was quite a job.  I worried that I might wreck the skirt in the process of trying to fix the lining that only I would see anyway.  It doesn't really bother me, and the edges are pinked, so it won't fray.

I almost didn't have enough fabric for the skirt--it was a squeak!  I added 1.5" to the pattern for extra length (although in future, I think I will add another 1" to the top so that I can stabilize the waistband more effectively; the 1.5" petersham is good and stable, but it wants to roll on the seam allowance).  

I ended up using lining material for half of the pocket bag because I didn't have enough, but it ended up reducing a lot of seam bulk on the pockets, so that worked out well.  I also had to cut one of the side panels on the opposite grain from the rest of the skirt.  There is a subtle chevron pattern in the fabric, so one of the side panels is running the opposite way, but it is pretty subtle and not noticeable unless you are right up close and looking for it.

I think it looks nice with this sweater--I bought it last year off ebay and struggled to find things that looked good with it.  It is a little big on me this year, but not unwearably so.  It is cashmere and so soft!  I love the big collar.

The temps have dropped significantly overnight after a big rain (the temps are going to continue to drop into polar regions over the next week--winter is here!!)  I pulled out my big fuzzy boots this morning and was so happy to wear them.  I swapped my wool fall coat for my down parka too.  The parka is really getting big, but I don't even care.  It means I can layer a lot of sweaters under it and still be comfortable and warm.

You can see the chevron pattern above.

And the lining.  It was a good color match for the skirt.  I am glad I lined it, even if I didn't attach it right.  It was a little tricky to attach at one of the side seams because of how the waistband is constructed in the back.  I'll probably do it differently next time.  I had planned to line my flannel Everyday skirt, but ended up not doing it on account of the trickiness of this version.  I don't mind wearing a slip.

I'm pretty pleased with this one--I think it is pretty flattering, the colors are good for my skin tone, and I feel good in the outfit.  Win-win.

Talking Tuesday: "It is Good That You Exist"

(Rio Grande, U.S. Parks Service)

I'm in the middle of Ulrich L. Lehner's excellent book called God is Not Nice: Rejecting Pop Theology and Discovering the God Worth Living For.  I started reading it as research for the novel, but I'm finding so much good in it personally.  I've taken extensive notes on the book, and I find myself thinking about various passages at odd moments.  One that stood out to me a few days ago was a short analysis of what love is, and how that relates to God.

"In order to love, we have to know what love is, or at least get a better understanding of its nature.  Aristotle gives us a famous definition of love in his Rhetoric: "Let loving, then be defined as wishing for anyone the things which we believe to be good, for his sake but not for our own."  He reminds us that often what we believe is love toward our neighbors or enemies is in reality egotistical affection.  If we wish somebody well because we fear that if she is doing badly she might turn on us, our wish was centered on us and not the other person.

...

[But Aristotle does not go far enough in his definition]. I think therefore, that Pieper's more basic understanding of love as saying yes to the existence of another person, stating "It's good that you exist," is a more powerful summary than Aristole's of what love in a Christian context can mean.  When we confirm that it is good that somebody exists, even our greatest enemy, we confirm simultaneously that God has a plan for this person, and we realize that we will be able to turn our aggression and ill will into wishing her God's blessing.  Growing in love transforms the human person.

...

By saying yes to the other, one answers to the value this person represents, and by doing so on participates in the gift of love.  Only when two lovers exchange an unconditional yes to each other do they constitute a unity that transcends their earthly existence and participates in the mystery of the divine life.  The result of the complete self-surrender to each other is joy, but it is an effect that comes unintended.  It has to be unintended, because if I desired something else besides the beloved--for example, joy--I would be using my beloved to fulfill my needs!"

~Ulrich Lehner, God is Not Nice. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2017, pp 73-74.

"It is good that you exist"--this is such an interesting meditation on what it means to love another person.  To want their happiness and well-being above your own needs and wants, to pray for their salvation above your own.  The chapter is called The God of Surrender, and I've thought a lot lately about what that means.  To surrender my own wants and wishes, to give up my idols and ideals, to stop bargaining with God, to just take what is and go from there.  It is a hard thing, to do that, every moment of every day.  We are all profoundly selfish human beings after all, and our culture encourages us to wish the complete annihilation of our enemies.  To do the opposite--to wish for the prosperity and salvation of our enemies, to not only forgive, but to think good thoughts about those who have wronged us, to remain in friendship, these are all difficult, wild things.

But then, we don't serve a tame, predictable God.  We serve a wild God, one who is, in the words of C.S. Lewis, "not safe, but very good."

Project 333: Winter 2017

My winter rotation is pretty lean, but I'm actually okay with that.  I always wish all my rotations were as lean as my winter, but it never ends up working out that way.  

Folk Birds canvas dress (with undershirt), Daisy Chain canvas dress (with underdress), olive knit dress, Menagerie dress

I'm quite eager to wear my winter dresses again!

Flannel Dress #1/#2

I should say that I remade Flannel #1 earlier this fall; the original dress wasn't matched on the plaid At.All and it bugged me.  I also wanted patch pockets instead of a kanga, and the whole thing was too big.  So I remade it smaller, matched all the plaid and made bias patch pockets.  I'll try to photograph it soon.  I also swapped the pockets on #2 for patch pockets as I thought they looked nicer than the kanga pocket.  I have some additional Buffalo check flannel I'm going to make up into a dress in a few weeks' time.  I have my Cross Hatch dress in my closet right now as a place holder for it.

Cream wool cardigan, cashmere cardigan, Fair Isle cardigan, green wool cardigan/jacket

I have a few sweaters in progress that I'm hoping to finish soon and add in this rotation.  I also have a wool cardigan I bought on ebay that hasn't arrived yet.  It will probably take the place of the green cardigan/jacket as I don't love the way it looks on me.

black undershirt, blue cowl neck sweater, waffle knit henley x2, green henley, blue cotton pullover 

The henleys are mostly to wear as undershirts under the dresses with a scarf or cowl.

Orange wool skirt, Geo flannel skirt

The flannel skirt is a place holder, as it is too big on me now, and I'm going to remake it as an Everyday skirt (I have more of the same fabric).  The orange skirt is fresh off the sewing machine, from some vintage wool and poly lining that I got from an etsy seller for $10 (!!) a few years ago.  It was a squeak to get it out of the length, and I'm not sure whether I like how it looks on me, so we'll see how it works.  I'm also going to make a wool crepe skirt out of some spruce colored crepe I've had for a long time.

Gray wool pullover, black wool cardigan, Clouds in My Coffee cardigan

The Clouds in my Coffee cardigan is a place holder for a cardigan I'm still knitting in the same colorway.  The CimC sweater was always too big on me and I've never cared for the way it looked on me, but it is a nice sweater to sleep in, so I'll probably keep it for that.

So a few things to make yet, and a bit of knitting, but I think I'll be warm enough. :)

Project 333: Fall 2017 Wrap

I know it is a little bit early for a wrap post, but as in my summer, the rest of my week is kind of shot, so today was the day to make the clothing swap.  (The weather is also consistently colder the last week and I'm feeling like my clothes aren't warm enough!)

Forgive me for not having a cool collage this time--the software I used to use for it now wants to charge me an arm to use it, so you'll have to put up with a row of photos instead.  

Chambray skirt, Marigold linen skirt, denim pencil skirt, chambray shirt (not pictured: burgundy skinny jeans)

I didn't change a lot about my rotation (which is a good thing, on the whole).  I did feel like I had two micro-rotations, as our fall weather varies from 100+ degrees to below freezing, and my clothes have to accommodate that shift.  

Coral double gauze dress, Liberty #1 lawn dress, Blue Forest double gauze dress, Eggplant Birch dress

The double gauze and lawn dresses were primarily for the heat that lasted until mid-October.  I didn't actually wear my Birch dress as much as I thought I would.  I did wear it to a wedding in September, but ended up not wearing it to the wedding in October.  My main problem is that I didn't have the right layers for this dress.  Next year I will make sure to include a black wool cardigan in this rotation, as it would have made the Birch dress more useful once the weather cooled (I did pull it out at the very end of my rotation to wear it once).

Chambray dress, Rennie dress, blue linen dress, garnet knit dress

The chambray dress wasn't as useful as I envisioned, but I did wear it quite a bit, mostly in the warmer half of the rotation.  It was a little thin once the weather cooled significantly.  The Rennie dress was the surprise hit of this rotation--I wore it constantly.  The blue linen dress is worn out and fits me badly now.  I tried to fix it earlier in the fall but it didn't help much.  I also have never liked how the shoulders fit on that dress (I cut the back neckline too low).  Plus it is just sad looking after so much heavy wear this past year.  So it goes.  The knit dress was my "nice" dress for this rotation.  I wore it to Washington DC for my husband's Senate confirmation hearing in October and it was just the thing.

Cross hatch dress, black tank dress, Bluebird dress

I wore my Cross Hatch dress quite a lot too.  The Bluebird dress got a lot of wear as well.  The black tank dress was great with light layers in the early part of the fall, but didn't work at all once it got cold. 

Purple wool-cotton cardigan, Yellow Brick Road cardigan, L'Enveloppe #2

I wished I had another warm sweater or two, and ended up taking my gray pullover out of my winter bin in November because I was so cold all the time.  I'll probably put it in the rotation next fall as well.  I'm also not thrilled with how the Yellow Brick Road cardigan fits me.  It is okay as a pullover, but it really flaps in the front when worn open (as I usually do) and I'm constantly adjusting the fit on the shoulders.  I also wish it was shorter.

Purple elbow sleeve tshirt, navy 3/4 sleeve cardigan, yellow 3/4 sleeve cardigan, orange 3/4 sleeve cardigan

These were my light layers for the early part of the rotation.  The cardigans were especially useful.

striped boatneck shirt, green long sleeve tshirt, burgundy long sleeve tshirt, orange henley, brown 3/4 sleeve tshirt, navy battenburg 3/4 sleeve shirt, purple henley, navy blue long sleeve tshirt, blue marl cotton pullover (not pictured: black 3/4 sleeve tshirt, gray wool pullover)

I wore most of these shirts as undershirts, but sometimes as just a regular layer with a skirt too.  The burgundy shirt was probably the most-worn shirt as it went with several dresses.  My marigold linen skirt got HEAVY wear this fall.  It was easily my favorite thing this rotation.

I'm pretty happy with how this rotation turned out, and liked that it was stable throughout the fall.  I didn't really make very much and I didn't feel the need to add much.  I was a bit sick of the dresses by the end, though.  I'm glad to have my winter rotation now!  Winter rotation tomorrow!!