Five Favorites: Communist Bloc Edition

Been a while since I did one of these lists, but I was listening to some music in the car, which reminded me of a movie I love, and well,...things sort of rolled from there.  So without further ado, I present five favorites of the Slavic/Communist Bloc variety.

~1~

The CD I was listening to in the car was La Vent Du Nord's Dans Les Airs.  They are actually a French-Canadian folk group, but it suddenly occurred to me that several tracks remind me of the soundtrack to one of my favorite Russian films (see #2).  I've really enjoyed this album in the past few months.  I took a break for Lent, but I sometimes need a break from Lenten music in the middle of the season.

~2~

One of my favorite Russian movies is Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears.  It is from the early 1980s, and it follows a group of friends for about 20 years, starting in the mid-1960s.  I find so many things about the storylines compelling, and I realize that it is a fairly sunny view of life in the Soviet Union, but I've also seen some of that life lived out, so there is some truth there as well.  I think some of what I like about the film is that everything seems so familiar somehow.

~3~

I can't really mention Russian films and not talk about Ostrov (The Island).  I was fortunate to be in Russia on a month-long language study when it was in theaters there, and was able to see it twice in Russian.  I missed some of the details, owing to my own less than stellar language skills, but I really loved the film.  I was grateful to watch it again with English subtitles about a year later when it came to the States.  

~4~

I have to mention another favorite film that I've written about on the blog before, long ago: Zelary.  It is in Czech (with a little German thrown in here and there) and it is just so wonderful on so many levels.  It technically takes place before the Communists took over, but I still think it belong in this list, and since its my list, I can do what I want to.  (nana-nana-boo-boo).  I think the best part for me is the picture of old-world village life--the simplicity and complexity of human relationships in a small intimate setting.  I like that it doesn't romanticize the people who live in small villages, but yet the richness of human connection is very present.  Plus it is a cracking good story.

~5~

And finally, Slavenka Draculic's How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed.  She is writing from Yugoslavia/Croatia in the 1980s, and she captures so much of what I find fascinating about Soviet life.  It is light and readable, with many personal touches and lots of dark humor, which I enjoy.

~Bonus~

I have a handful of German films from the Communist period (or about it) that I really love:

Goodbye, Lenin!, Barbara, The Lives of Others, and The Promise.

***

There are obviously many other books and films about Russia, the Soviet Union, and the former Communist bloc countries that I would recommend, but this is my short list.

Linking with Jenna for Five Favorites!  

Five Favorites: Birthday Round Up Edition

My birthday (35, in case you were wondering) was on the 22nd of July, and I received many lovely gifts from my family this year.  I also purchased a few things recently since the sales are good at this time of the year, and I have narrowed down my sewing and knitting projects into a specific list (I'll probably have a post on my fall and winter sewing plans soon).  

 --1--

Cool jewelry.  I received several pieces of jewelry for my birthday, including this great clock necklace, which came with a bonus pipe charm in the box.  

I thought it looked like something from Sherlock Holmes and have worn it several times already.  

A Luxulite brooch!  I love these--so fun, so bright.  I also had a Modcloth account credit that I used to purchase a fun retro camera necklace.  I've worn it a few times already, and one night during prayers, I was holding Birdie, and she was fingering the necklace, and then she leaned in and whispered, "Cheese!"  It was hilarious.  I couldn't stop laughing.

 --2--

Great fabric.  I got two fabric lengths, both vintage, both lovely.  The first is a super soft, super drapey 80s rayon fabric, that I think will be enough to get a blouse out of; I have a 1950s pattern in mind to try with it, but I've heard rayon is a bit tricky to work with, so I'm going to wait until I have a bit more time and mental space to deal with it (plus I need to muslin the pattern first).  The other is a vintage percale (I had thought it was feedsack, but after feeling it, I'm pretty sure it is a percale), and there is enough for a blouse.  I'll probably make a button-down Portrait blouse or perhaps a long sleeve Balcarra.

--3--

Sewing supplies.  My sister gave me a bottle of antique buttons, in which there were some very cool carved ones.  She also gave me a pair of embroidery scissors (nippers!) that I intend to wear on a chain around my neck to use to clip thread while sewing.  

My husband gave me a French curve, which I'm super excited about, as I'm starting to gain confidence when I fiddle with patterns, and having the French curve would help my pattern fixes to come out more evenly.

--4--

Accessories!!  My parents gave me a pair of navy blue Salt Water sandals, and I love them.  It took a day to stretch them enough to be comfortable, but now they are perfect.  I prefer slip-on style shoes, but I've figured out where to buckle them so I can slide them on and off without undoing the buckle.  These are the perfect casual summer sandal.  My youngest sister gave me a pair of vintage-style sunglasses, also much appreciated as my kids tend to destroy whatever sunglasses happen to fall into their paths.  I do try to keep them up out of reach, they still manage to get a pair or two every year.

--5--

Patterns!  (and a bit more fabric): This isn't technically a birthday present, but this time of year we have a bit more room in the budget for discretionary purchases, so I bought some patterns I've had my eye on for a while, including the Emery dress pattern, the Hollyburn skirt, and the Balcarra blouse pattern (which I got with a sale code from Lladybird).  I also bought some fabric I've had in mind for several projects, including some Shetland flannel and some novelty print quilting cotton.  Since my beloved wool pencil skirts from two winters ago are still too small (and I've given up hope of fitting back into them), I have in mind to try Gertie's pencil skirt pattern with the flannel.  I also plan to make an Emery and Hollyburn with the novelty prints (watch this space!)

Go see Heather for more Five Favorites!

Five Favorites: Mostly Food Edition

Doing Five Favorites today!  Linking with Heather, who you simply must read.  Just make sure you aren't drinking anything at the time, because I guarantee you will spit it out laughing.  Most recently, she nailed it on children's clothing (warning: language).  Preach it, sista.

--1--

Talkin' 'bout food today.  After several bloggers extoled the virtues of good old fashioned Southern tomato sandwich, I had to try one.  And, wow.  Delish.  I made my open-faced with heirlooms and used ciabatta because that's what I had.  Sprinkle of maldon and pepper, yum.

--2--

I made a vegan flag cake for the 4th of July tomorrow.  I didn't want to mess with baking when all the kids are home tomorrow, so I made it today, and put it in the fridge.  I'm hoping the strawberries don't run too much.  I used a Duncan Hines yellow cake mix, subbed Energ-G for the eggs, and made royal icing with shortening.  I'm sure Piglet will inform me that the flag doesn't have the requisite 13 stripes, but whatever.  Details, details.

--3--

Chocolate Teddy Grahams.  I re-discovered these a week or so ago, and they are my secret-snack stash item.  I like that I can have a portion (130 cals) and feel like I'm getting a treat.

--4--

My husband's birthday was yesterday, and he wanted to go out to Vedge, which is a kind of chi-chi upscale vegan restaurant downtown.  It certainly wouldn't have been my first choice, but the food was really good.  All vegan, without a lot of meat substitutes.  Mostly small plates.  I had the shaved Brussels sprouts with creamy dijon, the fingerling potatoes with creamy Worcestershire, and braciole, which was some kind of roasted eggplant thing that tasted like bacon and looked like sausage (if you look at the gallery on their webpage, it is the dish right before the picture of the baguette).  And some kind of mint chocolate "ice cream" and strawberry balsamic sorbet for dessert.  Very delicious!  It was all super adventurous and right up my husband's alley: interesting flavors/food combinations, tapas style dining, open air kitchen, and funky location with period detailing.  Plus it was fun to watch the waiters flying by our table with plates of food for other tables.

--5--

I got 2 yards of this one to make another blouse in the fall; I have some buttery soft fine line twill in teal that I'm going to make into a skirt that will match the darker blue flowers.

Art Gallery Fabric.  This is my newest non-quilting cotton fabric find, and I love it!  It is a bit cheaper than Japanese cotton, comes in fun prints, and has an ultra-smooth hand.  The Pure Elements line has a lot of lovely solids to choose from as well, which I'm excited about, because I'm planning one or two solid-color tops in the fall.  I bought three different selections from Moona Fabrics, and I can't recommend Sue enough.  She was a pleasure to work with.

Go see Heather for more Favorites!!

Five Favorites: Sewing and Reading Edition

--1--

AdBlocker Plus just became my new best friend.  I've been increasingly concerned about the specificity of the ads I'm seeing in my Facebook feed (as in, I searched for something on ebay, saved it to a watch list, and the item popped up in my feed prompting me to buy it).  First of all, I think it is creepy, and a violation of my trust in both companies, which makes me less likely to buy anything through a Facebook affliate link.  Secondly, I strongly dislike the feeling that Big Brother is watching my every move.  And yes, I know there are better browsers to use like Mozilla (which get lots of bugs, in my experience) and more opaque search engines to use (like Ixquix), but I find that the quality of the results is just not as good as Google's results.   Thirdly, I don't want the constant visual pressure to buy buy buy to be happy, to match some unrealistic photoshopped picture of someone else's life or body.  It interferes with my own sense of contentment, and cheapens the quality of my interactions on social media (which, in the absence of ads, are quite uplifting and useful to me). So AdBlocker Plus to the rescue.  It comes free from the Chrome App store, which makes me quite happy.  

--2--

I'll blog about this blouse later, but this was my test garment for the blouse.

Gertie's Portrait Blouse pattern.  It comes with Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, and, aside from the book being a great resource, this pattern is great.  It is super easy, very adaptable, and can be sewn up in less than an hour.  It is basically a t-shirt in woven fabric.  I've sewn up three so far, and I love them all.  

--3--

I made a portrait blouse out of this fabric--pics to come soon!

Japanese cotton.  Seriously. Where have you been all my life?  I think when you get used to the cotton offerings from Joann Fabrics, you forget that there might be other, better cottons out there.  This is not to denigrate the offerings at Joann, but they tend to be a rather uniform quality, and mostly of quilting weight.  I don't mind sewing garments with quilt-weight cotton, and have sewn several much-loved garments from quilt-weight cotton (so inexpensive, such fun prints!), but Japanese cotton is a big step up.  It does cost more, but comes in equally fun prints and the hand is just so nice and so smooth.  It is a step lighter than quilting cotton, but has a nice drape and weight.   I think now that I've got a nice base of me-made garments in my closet, and have whittled down the fabric stash I mostly inherited, I'm going to be more picky about my fabrics going forward.

--4--

I started re-reading Outlander to get me through to June 10 when the next Big Book is released, and remembered anew why I love reading, and why I love the Outlander universe.  It checks a ton of boxes for me: history, fantasy, romance, adventure, humor, quirky and memorable characters, strong storylines, long complicated plots, Scotland, World War II...did I mention Scotland??

--5--

Hand embroidery.  Ponchik has spent the last month or so (probably longer--in my sleep deprived state, I don't have great recall) thinking that the hours of 2:00-5:00 a.m. are playtime, or at least, not sleeping time, and I'm really starting to feel it.  I'm not safe to drive more than 15 minutes, and I spend a lot of time going about in a mental fog.  I can drink a cup of fully-leaded coffee at 9:00 p.m. and still go to sleep within an hour. I've made a ton of ridiculous sewing mistakes this month--mostly because of tiredness.  One of my mistakes resulted in my having to radically alter my Strawberry Fields Forever project, and during the revamp, I decided to add some hand embroidered strawberries to the skirt.  I remembered how much I like hand sewing, and plan to add more embroidery to other projects in the future!  I'll blog more about the specifics when I get around to photographing the whole outfit, but for now, a sneak peek: 

I've been doing a lot of hand sewing this week, and I have some Big Thoughts about the role of machines in crafting and community.  As soon as my brain can string two coherent sentences together, I'll write it up.

Go see Hallie for more Favorites!!

A Horse is a Horse, Of Course of Course...

Doing the link up thing today, for Five Favorites and Yarn Along.

--1--

Juliana: 1, New York 1290: 1.  I'm pleased to present my latest make: New York 1290!  After the disaster of several weeks ago, I was determined to figure this pattern out, and I had some fabric sitting on my chair begging to made into a summer dress, so I got a little brave on my drafting day, and pulled out the beast.  I trimmed 1/2" off the upper curve of the neckline so that it would hit lower on my chest (the original neckline was almost jewel-height, not a great look for me), and also trimmed 3/8" off the center placket as the instructions indicated.  I decided to add in the darts after sewing up the side seams, and split the shoulder yoke section so that there is a seam at the shoulder instead of just one curved seam at the gathered part of the yoke in the hopes that making a shoulder break would help with the facing issues I had on the last version.  I also shortened the whole thing by 3", which was just enough.

It was not to be.  Things were going great until I got to the facings (again!)  I decided to install a lapped (metal!!) zipper on the front instead of sewing 13 buttonholes by hand (obviously) and that went well, as did all the other seams, but then I came to the facings, and ran into exactly the same problem as before!  I had drafted full facings this time, instead of trying to bind with bias strips, and it was just.not.working.  So I threw the dress into a corner and pouted for a few minutes before getting really brave and just hacking the neckline into a square (don't worry, I used a ruler and chalk), which I know how to face, as well as being my current favorite neckline style.

--2--

And it worked!  After that, everything came together swimmingly.  Also, my new favorite thing is lace hem tape.  Where have you been all my life?  I bought a bundle of them from an etsy seller for some ridiculously low price and pulled out a lovely mint green package to use on the hem of this dress.  I was able to use a machine hem on the whole thing and it just went so fast and quick, plus it looks so nice on the inside. Oh, and I had these vintage coral buttons that were a perfect match to the flowers on the dress--win!

--3--

You like my horse pin?  It's from Acorn and Will and was part of a lovely bundle of their brooches that my husband gave me for Mother's Day! The theme song from Mr. Ed keeps running through my brain (and probably yours too now!)  Birdie keeps pointing to it, exclaiming, "Horsie!" and then asking me why I have a horse on my dress. 

--4--

Sweater progress: slow but steady.  I've done the arm hole decreases, and now the top part is going pretty quickly.  It seems strange to be knitting a woolie when it is 83 degrees out, but if I want to wear it when it is cold this fall and winter, I need to keep at it now.  Plus it is nice to have something in my hands when I'm in a waiting room or some such.

--5--

Reading: I just finished the latest Outlander novella, released this spring to help us Outlander fans last to the next Big Book publication in June (I can't wait!!)  I was so sad when I finished it (I basically read it in one big gulp--a thing you can't do with the Big Books!)  But then, I expect nothing less from Herself.  Now I need to know what happens to Michael and Joan!!  I'm hoping that thread will be picked up in Written in My Own Heart's Blood.  (Also: the Starz series has a release date of August 9!!  Which means hopefully Netflix will get it shortly after the new year--happy Christmas to me!!)

Go see Hallie for more Favorites, and Ginny for more Yarn Along!

Five Favorites: vol. 10

Linking up with Hallie for Five Favorites this week!  I have made good progress on the Knit For Victory pullover front, but will do yarn along next week, God-willing.

--1--

I've mentioned my love for the Outlander book series before, no?  And the fact that Starz is making a television series out of the books?  (Squee!!)  They just released the first trailer, and I.am.so.excited!  I even inquired about paying for a streaming subscription to Starz just for that (since we don't have a television), but sadly, they don't offer it unless you also have a cable subscription, so I'm just going to have to wait until Netflix or Amazon.com picks it up.  Boo.

--2--

I got a Kindle paperwhite for Christmas from my parents (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and I am really liking it for light reading.  I am a serious bibliophile, and we are just running out of room for our books.  I buy a lot of books that I only read once, and the Kindle is perfect for those sorts of purchases. And since we have Prime with amazon, I'm eligible to borrow some books for free!  I also like it for times when I want reading material but don't have the room to carry a bookstop.  I'm considering purchasing the Outlander series in e-book format just so I have it wherever I go.  You know, just in case.  Because it is hard to tote along 800 page books when you have small children.

--3--

I bought these Oreo Mint Fudge Cremes for our Twelve Days, and while they are different than what I was anticipating, they are so good!  Just like Thin Mints.  

--4--

We did a Jesse Tree this year during Advent, and because I decided to do it a little bit too late to get any really neat ornaments, we just used paper symbols I found online.  I grew up with a Jesse Tree tradition, complete with unique ornaments, and wanted something like that for our family.  I found these ornaments a little too late to order for this year, but went ahead and bought them for next year!  They even have an Orthodox version so we can do it all 40 days of the Fast next year.  I'm so pleased.  The quality is great, the pictures are lovely, and the kids were really into it this year, so I think next year will be neat.  My only complaint is that they don't come pre-strung (there are strings included, however).

Piglet was asking me about doing something similar during Lent, so I might get their Holy Week one too. 

--5--

I've had some unfortunate falls in the last month (I fell down the stairs just before Western Christmas and bruised my left foot rather badly--I still can't get all my shoes on--and slipped on the ice last Friday and sprained my right ankle and twisted my knee), so I'm very grateful for a light support Ace brace that is keeping me mobile and upright.  Since Birdie has figured out all the gates in the house in the last two weeks, I'm spending most of my days trying to run herd on her because she is up and down the stairs all.day.long.  It is driving me nuts--my whole routine has been thrown off by this little development.  I think I would be completely bonkers if I was also completely immobilized.

Go see Hallie for more Faves!

5 Favorites: Christmas Music Edition

Every year I try to buy a few Christmas albums, to add to our growing collection.  I try to steer away from contemporary artists and look for religious recordings.  Anonymous4 has some lovely sacred music for Christmas (The Cherry Tree, Wolcum Yule, and a couple other albums come to mind), but there are certain albums that just seem to herald the season for me.  I have favorites across all genres, and I wanted to list some of them, old and new.

--1--

Advent at Ephesus

When Jen reviewed the Angels and Saints at Ephesus album earlier this year, I promptly bought it like the good little lemming I am, and it is stunning.  Reminds me of the music I grew up listening to (as a Protestant, no less!).  I put their Advent album in my Amazon queue, waiting until November to purchase it.  We've been listening to it in rotation for the last week and it is gorgeous.  What I really love about the album is that all the songs are geared for Advent (the preparation) as opposed to the Feast.  Even my husband can get into this album during this time.

--2--

The King's Singers Christmas

I've had this album for several years, and it always gets heavy play during Advent because of the tone of the music, and the fact that it features several Advent hymns.  I love the King's Singers generally, and this album does not disappoint.  One of my favorite songs of all time is You Are the New Day (from an older album in the 1970s) and this album has a lovely rendition of it, with the lyrics made over for the Nativity.

--3--

The Piano Guys Christmas

I enjoyed their first album when it came out, and we listen to it frequently in the car.  They just released this Christmas album, and while I've yet to receive my CD copy, I've been listening to tracks on YouTube and it is phenomenal.  Angels We Have Heard on High is a treat, especially to watch.  

--4--

If On A Winter's Night

Technically, this isn't a Christmas album so much as a winter-themed album with some Christmas songs woven in.  It is so intimate and lovely.  The whole album begs you to cozy up to the fire with a mug of something hot while wearing thick socks and a heavy sweater.  

--5--

The Carpenter's Christmas Portrait album

This album just says Christmas to me, and it doesn't feel like Christmas until I've played it at least once.  I grew up listening to the record version, and the digital remaster doesn't disappoint.  There is some instrumental padding on the front end, but the LP is all there, with Karen's throaty vocals whisking me away to Christmases past.

Bonus:

Steve Green's Joy to the World is another perennial favorite, as is Glad's Christmas album. The Steve Green album I just have in an old old cassette that has seen better days, but I see I can get it now in mp3 format! 

Go see Hallie for more Favorites!