Fun Watching

Going by what I write about here, it probably seems like I only watch high-brow independent films, but I actually enjoy a pretty wide range of genres.  I thought it might be fun to share some of the rolicking good time movies I've seen lately.

1. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call.  I know this movie got a lot of flack when it came out, but as someone who is a fan of both the original Ghostbusters and its sequel, this is an absolutely brilliant reboot.  There were a TON of nods to the original film that were super fun and the revamped storyline was witty and enjoyable.  I thought it was great.  I smiled through the whole film.  Plus: Chris Hemsworth is hilarious as the dumb-as-doornails Kevin.

2.  Thor, Avengers, Thor: The Dark World: I rewatched this whole triology recently and I enjoyed them so much.  The first Thor movie is an epic Shakespearean tragedy and the other two movies just build on the story.  Tom Hiddleston is magnetic as Loki, and I really loved how much clever humor was placed into each movie.  I'm quite eager to see Thor: Ragnorok this winter.  I'm sure Cate Blanchett will be brilliant as the super villian and I'm curious to see what role Loki will take in this story (so far, he's been the anti-hero, the super villian, and something not quite either).

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron:  I confess, I didn't like this movie quite as well as the first three, in part because there was no Loki as a foil, but I thought James Spader's creepy Ultron was a great villian and made the movie for me.  I also really enjoyed Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch. 

4. The Huntsman: Winter's War: I missed this one when it first came out, in part because it looked like a sad sequel, but I ran across some interviews for it recently and decided to give it a try.  It.is.brilliant.  I dare say it is better than the original movie, which I did like but didn't love.  This is epic fairy telling at its best and the cast is just superb.  I especially loved the relationship between Chris Hemsworth and Jessica Chastain's characters.

5. Tower Heist:  I should state for the record that I am not a huge Ben Stiller fan (although I did enjoy Keeping the Faith, mostly for Edward Norton's performance).  I saw this movie when we were visiting my parents and actually enjoyed it a lot.  The plot was clever, the ensemble cast enjoyable, and Alan Alda was a delightful foil.

6. Iron Man: I am not planning to dig deep into the Marvel universe, but I did want to see Iron Man, in part because one of my boys is really into him (from reading Marvel storybooks) and I wanted to see what the story was.  I did enjoy it, but I'm not sure I'll watch the other two.  I might watch Dr. Strange, however, because: Tilda Swinton.

7. Center Stage (sequels): I haven't actually watched these yet, but I just found them on amazon when I was looking for something else.  I loved the original movie (I know, it is cheesy and the acting is just so-so but the dancing is amazing). The two sequels look like over-baked reworkings of the original storyline, but the dancing looks phenomenal. 

Watching: Only Lovers Left Alive

Only Lovers Left Alive

I already wrote about this movie when I wrote about my summer film fest, but I've watched it twice since then, and keep thinking about it a lot.  I thought about this movie on and off all summer, particularly as some of the themes are pertinent to the novel I'm writing.

So.  As I wrote before, the movie is almost without plot, and is mostly just a long, slow meditation on art, music, literature, math, and science with a love story at its core.  The two lovers, Adam and Eve, have been married for centuries, and they are still madly, passionately in love.  They don't live together all the time, but they do need each other very much.  I love watching the two of them together, because the dynamic is so interesting.

I loved all the details that Jarmush brought out in those slow scenes, of Adam and Eve being together and obviously enjoying each other's company.  These two people are very different, but they seem to relish the differences between them, and find those differences helpful to their dynamic as a couple.
Adam is very dark and aloof, and tends toward melancholy, seeing the worst in the things, whereas Eve is light and warm, and curious about the world.  She's half full, he's half empty.  Their relationship has a physicality, but it is almost all off-camera, implied rather than shown.  Their physical relationship is instead shown in a high degree of bodily intimacy.  They are so vulnerable with each other, and so conscious of caring for the other person.  You can tell they've been through a lot together.  I found it all fascinating and endearing.

There are some funny literary and musical references sprinkled throughout, mostly of the alternative history variety--I love the fact that one of the side characters is a vampire called Christopher Marlowe (brilliantly played by John Hurt).  It gives the movie some levity.

I kind of have a girl crush on Tilda Swinton now.  I always liked her as an actress, but I couldn't take my eyes off her in this movie.  She lights up every scene she's in.  She's interesting to watch, and her face is so expressive.  I appreciate the fact that she is very comfortable in her skin.  I love that she just doesn't care about so-called body standards in the industry (and by extension, society).  I read somewhere that she said there's really no reason to get fussed up about bodies.  Everyone has one, and they are all different.  So what.  Or something like that.  It was a very body-positive statement.  I'm not in a body positive place right now, so I especially appreciate it.

My only complaint about the film as a story is that (as one other reviewer noted) the last few scenes seemed a little rushed, and I would have liked another 30 minutes to round out the storyline in a leisurely manner.  I could have used a little less language throughout the film as well.  It doesn't really add anything to the characters and the story would have been fine without it.

A couple of notes about the film for sensitive viewers: there is a fair amount of language throughout the film, so if that bothers you, I'd give this one a miss.  There is also one short scene with nudity, but it is fairly brief and shown in an artsy way--like a still life.  There is also a short scene in the middle related to vampirism that some viewers might find off-putting.  The movie is primarily about the relationship between Adam and Eve, however, and not about being a vampire.  It's almost incidental.

That's on my mind today.  I seem to be a in rhythm of writing a lot for a few days, then percolating for a day or two, then writing a bunch at night, then percolating a day or two, then writing more during the day.  I'm almost always thinking about something related to the story, throwing things into the mental pot and giving it a stir to see what flavors come out.

I did worry briefly a few weeks ago that I was going to run out of scene ideas before I ran out of story, but I don't think that is going to be a problem.  I have sticky notes everywhere with ideas for scenes I haven't written yet, and I still have fully realized scenes pop into my head unexpectedly, as happened last night at about 10:00 p.m.  I spent an hour writing in bed just to get it on paper before I went to sleep.  It feels good, this writing.  It's also hard work!  The characters have peeled away from me enough to have their own lives and make their own decisions, and now I have to follow where they go, to an extent.  I have questions about the storyline that I don't have obvious answers to right now because I honestly don't know what the characters are going to do when we all get there.  It is part of the adventure, I guess!

Shlanket

Ladies and Gents, I present: The Shlanket.  Otherwise known as a shawl that wraps like a blanket.  I don't know who coined the phrase (another knitter on the blogosphere) but it perfectly captured my idea for this shawl.

I wanted something that would wrap all the way around me and tie in the back, ala Claire's Rent Shawl in the second half of season 2 of Outlander, or Tess D'Urbavilles' shawl in that excellent series.  I started out using one of the multitude of Rent shawl patterns sometime last year (possibly in the summer or early fall).  The problem was that the increases were only in the center and it was coming out very square.  I could tell that the ends were not going to wrap nicely around me, and also I didn't like the eyelet increases on the center line.  It looked untidy to me.  The straw on the camel's back, however, was the discovery of a mistake on the center increase about 2" from the bottom.  When I was into my second ball of yarn.  There was just.no.way.  So I started again sometime in February.

This time, I used Kay's Tess D'Urbavilles shawl pattern, which was closer to the finished look I wanted, and I knew several other people had made it and liked the end result.  I did end up making the end increases slightly differently than the pattern called for (her pattern is four rows long, with increases on the ends for two rows and increases in the center for two rows) but I made all my increases on the same row and then knit straight for one row.  Because I worked on this in fits and starts, it was much easier to pick up and put down that way, as well as "read" where I was in the pattern.

I used Malabrigo Rios in Azules for this shawl.  I've been holding the yarn for over a year and waiting for the perfect project.  I think the photos don't really do the yarn justice--it is a very pretty variegated yarn that has a depth of color that didn't really come out in the photos.  It goes from the darkest of blue greens all the way to a light periwinkle.  I really like how it looks, and the blues make it quite versatile for my wardrobe.

It is a great layering piece for this time of year and I'm totally happy with how it came out.  In other news, I've worn that chambray skirt quite a few times since I finished it, and I've decided a few things.  Number one is that it is too big.  I made my marigold linen version and took it down a size and the fit is ever so much better.  Every time I wear this chambray version is just feels too big.  The other problem is that because it is too big, I had to make the elastic quite tight, so it is a little bit tricky to get on and off.  The other skirt doesn't have that problem.  I also am not happy with the interfacing in the waist band.  It wants to roll constantly and doesn't look good at the end of the day.  

Finally, I think the skirt is a little too short for my taste.  I added an inch to the other skirt and find that to be about right for my comfort levels.  I am constantly in fear of flashing my bits in this skirt (even though it is probably not really a worry).  I've realized that I can tolerate slightly shorter lengths in fitted skirts because I can feel them on my body and tell if something is showing that shouldn't be.  With a slightly fuller skirt like this, I don't have that same fabric feedback, so if it isn't an inch or two below my knees, I don't have the same security.  It is why I like my dresses slightly longer as well.  I'm thinking I may remake this one in the smaller size with the extra inch of length.  I think I'll be happier with it in the end.

Quite Possibly the Perfect Dress

So I mentioned in August that I had tried to make the Pearl shift dress with some chambray I had in my bin, and that the dress was an abject failure.  I think that the shape of the dress just wasn't good for my figure and there really wasn't a way to fix it and make it better.  Thankfully I had just pin-basted everything, so I took it all apart and cut the fabric down into two dresses for the girls.

I had sort of resigned myself to not having a dress out of that particular chambray, but as I was making the dresses for the girls, I decided it might be worth ordering some more fabric.  This decision was helped along by a rather desperate need for specific clothing needed for a professional family photo we were going to have taken when we visited my family at the end of August.  My sisters had a very set color scheme in mind for the photo and I didn't really have anything that worked.

So I quick ordered some more, made it up as a Dottie Angel in a mad rush and hoped for the best.  I think it turned out rather well.  I've actually worn it quite a bit already, although I ended up in my navy blue linen for the photograph--go figure!  But the girls wore their dresses, so it wasn't a total waste of effort.

The only construction detail on this dress is that I made the bust tucks slightly longer at the bottom, so they are almost 4" in length rather than my usual 2.5-3".  (I don't actually measure when I pin the tucks, I just eyeball it and make sure they all match one another.  This time, I used the little dobbies on the fabric to mark my length)

I also used the "wrong" side of the fabric as I liked the look of it better than the "right".  The right side kind of washed me out.  The wrong side had more navy blue in it.

I wore this dress to travel in to come back to the city after our trip and it was a super comfortable travel dress too.

I should probably add that I took these photos more than a week ago before our weather got gross again.  I was in boots and stockings for a blissful week, and now it is humid and disgusting again.  At least the temps aren't too bad.

The dress looks blue or greyish, depending on the light, and I really love how versatile it is.  I suspect I'll be snugging up the back elastic later this season, but that seems to be the chapter and verse of this rotation.  All my dresses are slightly too big, so I have a growing pile of dresses that need tighter back elastic.  It is a quick fix, honestly, but pesky.

I'm looking forward to layering this baby up in a few weeks' time.

Chambray Skirt

I finally got around to making the Everyday Skirt this past week.  I've only had the fabric and pattern since the early spring!  I just kept putting it off, although I don't really know why.

Or rather, I do know why.  I always have a hard time fitting skirts and I was put off by the very fact that it was a skirt.  That really shouldn't have stopped me, as this pattern was easy to put together and really easy to make fitting changes on the fly.  It is a slightly different silhouette for me, but I think I like it.

After I took the initial pictures, I went back inside and got a cardigan and tights like a sane person because it was actually quite chilly this morning!  We are having an extremely unusual September--it isn't usually this cool until the last weekend of the month, but it has been thoroughly pleasant since Labor Day.  I keep waiting for the heat to return.  (I did take the tights off again before lunch time, however).

I do think I could have stood to make this skirt a size smaller.  I made a large, as the sizing suggestion was to go up if you plan to wear it at your natural waist, and used the medium elastic measurement but I ended up having to cut off more than 2" to make it fit my waist properly.  I also feel like there is some excess fabric all around, so I might try it a size down next time.  I'll look at the pattern to see how big the grade is between sizes and see.  This fabric has a fair bit of body for a chambray, so it might behave differently in linen.  I might just leave it.  The waist fits, and it is comfortable, so I think it is probably okay.

I think I'd also like another inch of length.  I meant to add it when I was cutting and then forgot.  I intended to use a bias finish on the hem anyway, and the skirt is long enough, but I do prefer just a bit more knee coverage, especially in a fuller skirt.  

I used Petersham to interface the waistband, but the waistband is taller than the 1" ribbon I had, so I had to add fusible, which just isn't as firm.  I'm hoping to find some slightly wider Petersham for my next version, as I prefer it to almost any other method of interfacing.  I also wondered whether pleats might look better in the front than the gathers (which are a bit fiddly), but I don't know.  This was a test run for the marigold linen, so I'll have to decide about it all soon.

I do like it, though.  I'm glad I made it, as I now have another skirt silhouette to play around with.  My pencil skirt pattern is good and I love the silhouette, but it requires a lot of refitting (or a total remake) when I lose weight (and I'm still trying to lose), so perhaps this style is better for the moment.

Altogether good, I think.

Just the facts:

Chambray skirt: Everyday skirt pattern by Liesl and Co., Robert Kaufman Union AK Chambray (4.3 oz, I think), vintage bias tape, 1/2" elastic.

Purple tshirt: Ann Taylor via ThredUp

Cardigan: Ann Taylor via ThredUp

Tights: Foot Traffic

Sneakers: Keds

Clogs: Dansko via ebay

~reading, watching, listening~

~reading~

I have a bunch of things on my stack at the moment, mostly related to book research, but I started The Brothers Karamazov on my kindle.  It is easily my husband's favorite book ever, but I've never read more than snippets here and there.  I thought it was high time to read it.  So far it is interesting and accessible.  I also read The World's Largest Man by Harrison Scott Key during August and I've never laughed so much.  My husband thought I was having seizures.  There is much to laugh at, but there is a surprising amount of truth in the book too.  Truth about growing up, figuring out who you are, discovering your parents as people rather than parents, about marriage and what it means to stay together over a long period of time.  I highly recommend it.

~watching~

It's no secret I've been on a Tom Hiddleston kick all summer.  If Hozier, Lumineers, and Mumford and Sons were the soundtrack of my summer, Hiddleston was the film star.  I've never been a comic book person, so I wasn't really aware of him before I saw The Night Manager sometime this spring. I mean, yes, I watched Wallander (mostly for Kenneth Branagh), but I didn't realize Hiddleston was in it until much later. Personally, I recommend starting with The Night Manager as a way into his work, because it is a stunning piece of storytelling.  Hiddleston deserved every bit of the Emmy he won for his role as Jonathan Pine.  I am ever one to explore actors who make me think about the world, and so I was curious to see more of his films.  I was, however, reluctant to plumb the depths of the Marvel universe (at least, at first).

**I would like to point out that this list represents four months of film exploration.  I did do a lot of other things in that time!!  And yes, my husband works a lot in the evenings.**

I had started watching High Rise during the winter, but found it a bit weird and stopped just after the half way point.  I figured I might as well go back and finish it, since Hiddleston anchors the film, and I'm glad I did.  It is a supremely weird story, based on an equally strange dystopian book (that I now want to read) by J.G. Ballard, but it is also quite interesting.  Although, truth be told, I don't think I would have finished the movie if Tom Hiddleston weren't in it.

I watched an early film of his, Archipelago, in fits and starts in late May and early June.  It is a Joanna Hogg film, so you have to kind of appreciate independent film and a quiet story, but I thought it was a very interesting film.  The film is also Very British, which might be off-putting to some.

Next, I watched I Saw the Light, in which Hiddleston plays country music legend Hank Williams.  It is an excellent, excellent film.  I love the docu-drama style of it.  My favorite scene in the film is a little quiet scene between him and Elizabeth Olsen in the middle of the film.  I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the film, but if you do see it, let's talk!  I didn't even realize how many Hank Williams' songs I kind of knew from other places until this film.  Country music was definitely not the soundtrack of my childhood.  The film not only solidified my admiration for Hiddleston's excellent work, it made me an instant Hank Williams fan. There is so much truth in his songs.  I've had his top 40 on repeat for the past several weeks.

After that, I watched Only Lovers Left Alive, an independent film by Jim Jarmush.  It co-stars Tilda Swinton, which should tell you all you need to know about the film.  I happen to like Tilda Swinton, but I realize that she is an acquired taste.  Jim Jarmush is also a kind of strange guy, and the film has a very slow pace that takes some getting used to.  That said, it is a really brilliant film, and an excellent meditation on relationships, particularly relationships over a long period of time.  The dream-like pacing of the film only emphasizes the Adam and Eve's interactions.  I loved this film, but it isn't for everyone.

I decided after that, I should give Crimson Peak a try.  I generally can't handle scary films, and avoid the horror genre, but I was intrigued by the notion that it was a gothic romance and only secondarily a scary film.  I also really like the trio of actors in the film.  I did watch it (and rewatched it again recently), but I admit to having my eyes closed through all the scary bits.  The gothic romance, however, is delicious.  I really love the way Del Toro told the story, and Hiddleston's character is delightfully complex.

Sometime in July, I figured it was time to dip my toes into the Marvel universe.  And promptly fell into the rabbit hole of the Avengers.  I watched Thor (excellent, excellent piece of Shakespearean style storytelling; I expect nothing less from Sir Kenneth Branagh), The Avengers, and Thor: The Dark World.  I'm now a huge Loki fan, and am eagerly awaiting the amazon release of Thor: Ragnorok.  I might even watch Avengers: Age of Ultron.  My boys are really into the Avengers right now too, so that has been a nice point of contact with them.  Boo in particular likes to talk about it with me.  I don't think I'll go for the other Avengers movies at the moment, but who knows?  They are a lot of fun!

I also watched Kong: Skull Island in August which was a super fun old-fashioned monster munch of a movie.  It is a great ensemble cast and I enjoyed every minute.

Watching Thor (and reading some commentary about it) reminded me of my long-lost love: Shakespeare.  I decided to start with The Hollow Crown series, and watched Henry IV (Parts 1 & 2) and Henry V, both of which star Hiddleston as Prince Hal.  As I wrote previously, the films also star a who's who of classically trained Shakespearean actors, and I enjoyed them immensely.  They are magnificent.  Sometime this fall I want to watch the second series, which is Henry VI and Richard III.

I watched a few other things here and there like the last season of Grantchester (so much to say about it, but will save that for another post, perhaps), but that was about it.  I'm currently watching the most recent season of Endeavor and waiting for Outlander to start up again.  I'm done with my network show (I gave up on Blindspot after nbc's streaming service made me frustrated) and don't have anything else I particularly want to start on this fall.

I have a couple of films I want to check out when they become available to stream, but nothing worth writing about here.

~listening~

Not much new since I wrote last.  I've been giving Brandi Carlile a lot of air time, as well as the five Twilight soundtracks when I'm walking around by myself.  I had a Bon Iver day a few weeks ago, but haven't gone back to it since.  Ditto for Florence and the Machine.  I had Adele on while I was working yesterday, but found it mostly unhelpful to my process, so today I've been listening to Thomas Tallis radio on pandora.  I find myself in an exploratory mood, musically.  I keep listening to Hank Williams, feeling him speak to something jagged inside me.  I think that is why I keep going back to the Lumineers, Hozier, and Mumford and Sons.

For the first time in almost a decade, I have some real time to work, to think, to write and reflect.  I'm trying to use that time well, taking breaks to exercise, talk a walk outside, trying some new sewing patterns, visit art museums and galleries, catch up with friends who can spare the time during the school day.  It is an interesting time.  I'm curious to see what (or who) emerges on the other side.

Merry Old England

I promised a few pictures from our trip to southern England in late July.  I took about 450 photos, so I'll spare you a photo dump, but I'll just share a handful of nice ones.  

We started out in Arundel, which is situated on the River Arun and features a medieval castle that is the seat of the Duke of Norfolk.  The history geek in me was in heaven.  The castle also happened to be hosting a medieval jousting tournament with historical reenactors that week, so the boys and I were in heaven.  

Arundel Castle

We next went to Colchester, which is the oldest city in Britain, predating the Romans by some time.  It is the site of an Iron Age fort, upon which is built a Roman fortress, upon which is built a Norman keep.  

The castle is not inhabitable at this point, but there is a rather nice museum there, and the park grounds of the castle were lovely.  There was a fantastic children's playground there.  

We also attended a Vespers service at a Saxon-era church that has recently been returned to the Orthodox Church.  My husband took the boys to visit the Essex monastery for Sunday liturgy, but the girls were too ill to travel, so I just took them to Liturgy at St. Helen's as well.  

St. Helen's Antiochian Orthodox Church

Next we spent a week in London and saw a number of different things.  We also had some sickness while in London, so we had to adjust our plans a bit to accommodate that.

London, near the Thames

We took a double decker bus tour to see the sights and tried to see what we could in the few days we had in the city.  The tour included a ferry tour, so we got to cruise down the Thames for an hour as well.  Given that our group had 10 people with six children under age 9, I think we did pretty well.

Houses of Parliament

London Eye, on the Thames

One of the changes we made included going on the H.M.S. Belfast, a WW2 era battleship that has been restored into a museum and is now sitting in the Thames opposite the Tower of London.  The kids really loved it.

Aboard the HMS Belfast.

There was a lot to see on the ship, and we spent the morning crawling all over it.  So many ladders and steps!  

Bridge on the River Thames

Our last weekend was spent in Oxford, where my husband attended graduate school at University College.  We were able to see his old digs as well as poke around the campus a bit.  

The chapel at University College

There were so many nice things to see around Oxford.  We got to see some of my husband's cousins and some old friends of his as well.  It was a nice weekend.  

Overall, the trip went very well, and we had a great time!  The weather was great, our accommodations worked out extremely well (Airbnb, mostly) and we were able to get by on public transit.  I'm already plotting our next UK vacation, although it will probably not be for another few years.  

Project 333: Summer and Fall 2017

I decided not to do a formal wrap post with photos for my summer rotation.  In part this is because my rotation ended very similarly to where it started.  In part it is because my rotation swap happened in a mad rush as I was packing for a trip we took last week to visit my parents and I just didn't have the energy or will to photograph everything as I was putting away.  I could barely assess it all as it was.  

As for my summer, I added two ready-to-wear skirts (a denim pencil skirt from Land's End and a chambray skirt from ModCloth), and a light yellow cardigan from ThredUp and that was pretty much it.  I did make some swaps from my fall and spring bins in mid-August, but I wore the swaps only once or twice, so I don't think that really counts.  The upside is that those swaps helped me to think through my summer rotation overall, and I think what I put away is a good mix for next year.

I did decide that the Picnic dress just wasn't right for me--*sigh*--and the red linen dress is too big. I could take it in, but it also bleeds all over everything and that annoys me a lot.  It would probably work better as a layering dress, ala my navy linen dress, but it would ruin any undershirt I wore with it, so that is a no-go.  I do keep going back and forth about it, so I might stick it in the bin to reassess next summer.   The Lily Pad dress fit better after I took it in a bit, but I still didn't miss it in my closet all summer (it was on my mending pile for almost the whole summer) and I decided it was probably ready to go.  

My light blue twill skirt got too big (hence the chambray skirt) and the red twill skirt proved to be impossible to take in (and I didn't miss it in my closet, so I guess I don't need a red skirt that badly).  I did think that my separates were under-utilized, but I don't want to get rid of my blouses.  I do still like them a lot and do wear them a few times throughout the summer.  I think I would also wear them more if I could sort out my summer skirt situation.  Perhaps I'll get it together by next summer.

On to fall:

Left: Rennie dress, Blue Forest dress, Liberty #1 dress, Bluebird dress

Top middle: blue cross hatch fabric (to make Sew House 7 Tea dress), marigold linen (to make a skirt), chambray (to make Everyday skirt)

Bottom middle: heavy rust cardigan, heavy purple cardigan (not pictured: in progress Calligraphy cardigan in medium blue)

Right: Blue linen dress, denim pencil skirt, Autumn florals dress (not pictured: Zwei Leben skirt place holder)

Left: Chambray dress (unblogged), Fall Birch dress (unblogged), Coral double gauze dress, garnet knit eshakti dress

Top right: striped knit shirt, purple bib henley, purple elbow t-shirt, rust henley, blue Battenburg knit shirt, light blue knit pullover sweatshirt

Bottom right: mustard cardigan, light rust cardigan, navy cardigan, brown undershirt

Not pictured: a chambray button-down shirt, wool red sweater

I'm keeping my rotation pretty lean this fall.  I have a couple of sewing projects, as you can see, but I don't have high hopes for the skirts.  I'm planning the chambray skirt to test the pattern, and then I'll decide if I'm going to make up the linen.  That particular shade of yellow has been difficult to obtain (the company changed dye lots, so the current color is more brown than true marigold); I'm loathe to use it until I'm really sure about the pattern.  I'm also okay if the two denim skirts I currently have end up being my skirts for the season.  (Although I did just buy the pencil skirt in a size down, as my weight is still changing).  

I also want to try a few new things.  I generally dislike collared shirts and woven tops with fitted sleeves, but I wanted to try a button-down chambray shirt and have been keeping my eyes open for a while.  Last week I was visiting my parents and my sister wanted to browse at Ross for some things for an upcoming trip, so I tagged along and lo and behold, a perfect chambray shirt was sitting there on the racks.  I bought it and will try it out.  I also ordered a plaid flannel shirt for the same reason, although that might end up in my winter rotation.

I do worry that my double gauze dresses are going to end up being useful only during the month of September, but I could say the same about my two heavy sweaters that will probably only get worn a bit in November.  I'm sort of hoping that the blue dresses will end up being blocks in my wardrobe that I can just layer with different things to keep myself from being bored, but also keep my closet lean.  I do have high hopes for the Tea dress.  I have another dress pattern I'm going to try, but I'm not counting it in the rotation, as the fabric I plan to use to test the pattern may not suit me.

I'm also thinking ahead to winter and spring and about wanting to lean everything down.  My winter is already quite lean, but my spring is a bit bloated.  I counted all the items in my bins when I was swapping clothes out and each rotation (except spring) has about 20 things in it, which feels about right.  My spring is slightly heavier because I tend to wear more cardigans in the spring (and differing weights of cardigans as the weather changes).  I need to reassess it again after my winter and see if I can lean it down more, but that was all I could manage right at the moment.

I mostly want to get to the point of just pulling clothing out each rotation and not making much each season.  I still enjoy sewing and like the creative process, but sometimes it feels like I've just turned it into my own form of fast-fashion, and I don't like that either.  I realize there are always things that wear out with time, and sometimes newer stuff doesn't wear well or just ends up not fitting or suiting me, and that is always hard to predict, but I'd like to make do with less.  I'm not going to make some grand pronouncement about only sewing from my stash (my stash is mostly scraps from other projects at this point, plus a few lengths that I have reserved for replacements for current items in my closet that are too big or wearing out).   I'm not going to put a ban on buying fabric either, but I will say that I'm trying to be prudent about purchases and really think about what is needful.

That was a lot of blather about not much important, but there it is!  The kids go back to school tomorrow, so I hope to tackle the summer-related clutter in the house this week.  I got all the school supplies together this morning, as well as the summer work they were required to complete, and will make lunches later this afternoon for tomorrow.  I also did some LEGO organization this morning and did a bit of toy organization two weeks ago, but there is more that could be done.  I have a few fall decorations to put out (now that I have a cabinet in the living room to put them on!) and some other little piddly thing like that.  Then I'm back to the writing grindstone!