Clairiere Cowl

I almost didn't photograph this one.  It is a little cowl that I bought the yarn for at the end of last winter, and worked on here and there all summer.  It was a great traveling project because it was small and easily fitted into a bag.  I took it to England when we went in July, and ended up ripping everything out and starting fresh because I made a mistake and couldn't fix it because it was in the round.  It was a shame because I was a couple inches in by then, but what are you going to do?

I made this from Malabrigo Rios in the Glazed Carrot colorway, which is a deep burnt orange with some subtle variation.  I mostly went with the Rios because it was the right color, not because I have a particular thing about Rios (although I do like it a lot).  I wanted it originally for my canvas daisy dress (in my winter rotation) but it works well with my fall clothing too.  As much as I love red, I think I actually get better use out of orange in my closet.

The cowl is sort of reversible, but I like the faux cables on the "right" side the best.  It is an easy four row pattern and while I normally dislike working in the round, this was fine.  I used exactly one skein of yarn and it is just the right size.  I'd make the pattern again, I think.  There is a lot of nice texture to give it interest and the knitting wasn't boring, but it wasn't too complicated that I had to think about what I was doing every moment.  As I said: the perfect traveling project.

After a couple of stinker sewing projects, it is nice to have a viable finished object (although in truth I finished it a few weeks ago; it just now cooled down enough to wear it!)

Talking Tuesday: Grief Observed

Over the weekend, I had the rare opportunity for a substantive conversation with a friend who lives a state away.  She was visiting the area for the weekend and our kids were happily occupied for a goodly stretch of time, giving us the chance to actually talk.  The conversation ranged over a number of topics, but she spoke of grief, and how people's reactions to her recent grief drove her insane.  She felt that the pat responses given ("she's looking down on you now," she's in a better place," she's an angel now") not only denied the reality of what she feels, but also failed to be of any comfort to her. 

I think as we get older, death becomes more present, and we are more respectful of its place in our lives and its power to hurt us.  When we are young, death seems remote, something that happens to other people, not to us or anyone around us (and yes, I know there are exceptions; my experience is that people who experience death at a young age tend to grow up faster, and have more gravity to them).  But then you get older.  Your parents age, your grandparents begin to die, perhaps you bury a child born too soon.  Out of the blue, it seems, death has found you.  And then you are clenched in the jaws of its fury, wailing at the frailty of human life, at the briefness of existence. 

The truth is, even for those of us who are believers, and have some framework for understanding the afterlife, there is no ontological way to prove such an existence.  There is no proof for God, only the absence.  We have to take a risky leap of faith that such things are real, do exist, and there is a place waiting for us when we die.  That our lives have meaning, and that we are in need of saving. 

In some ways, the New Atheists live a more comfortable mental existence with regard to death.  If this life is all there is, then this life is where you can focus your energies.  You can acknowledge that the world is basically a messed up place without having to howl at the wind for a God who allows evil to flourish.  It simply is.

If there is a heaven and a hell, and God exists and wants us to follow Him, to be like Him, as we Christians believe, then there is constantly the tension between the knowledge that you can never attain that which you seek on your own, nor can you have tangible assurance that things are as you believe them to be.  Faith is a risk indeed.

I suppose it is a risk we keep taking, a leap we continue to make, because I think most of us who hold on to belief have at least had some flash of something bigger than ourselves, some emotional sense that God is present and fills all things.  In life's hard seasons, when God seems absolutely silent and remote, it can feel like He doesn't exist, and certainly doesn't care about our puny existence or petty problems. 

But then I think about what God did for the sake of everyone and everything in the cosmos.  A cosmos that is riddled with death and destruction and decay.  God came to earth in human form, as a man.  A real, historical man, at a real historical place and time.  A man with human frailties and longings.  A man whose passions and nature were perfectly ordered with God's, because He was God.  But merely coming to earth as a man wasn't enough.  It wasn't enough to be a good teacher, or a crack philosopher.  He had to go and get himself killed in a gruesome way by the local authorities.  He went down into the pits of death and destruction and fought the greatest battle there ever was against those forces.  He pulled Adam and Eve from that place of dark despair.  Then three days later, He returned to earth to tell everyone that He had done it.  Death was overcome. 

So we can hope.  We can hope in a better life to come.  We can rage at death, we can howl with grief, we can feel abandoned and alone.  But we can hope.

Cross Hatch: Now with Sleeves!

I decided last week, after studying the Sew House 7 Tea Dress pattern, and looking at finished versions from other people, that there were too many things about the pattern I didn't like.  I was concerned about how much ease was built into the pattern (to get the fit I wanted, I was going to have to cut a size 2 or 4--what?!?) and I was worried that it was still going to be baggy on top.  Baggy tops are not particularly flattering on me since it is my smallest part.  

I am very happy with the fit of my Simplicity 1080 (aka Dottie Angel), particularly in the shoulders and bust, and I thought perhaps I could simply alter it to capture the essence of what I liked about the tea dress.  The Tea dress has cut-on sleeves with a cuff at the elbow.  I do not like cuffs because I wear my sweaters fitted, but I did want to experiment with longer cut-on sleeves after the failure of my muslin with set-in sleeves earlier this week.  There was also a bunch of blousy going on in the back, and I didn't like how the yoke looked with the waist ties.  What I did like were the big square pockets and the wrap-around waist tie, together with the cut-on sleeves. 

I decided to just extend and narrow the sleeve of my Simplicity 1080 out to the edge of the fabric, which gave me sleeves just below elbow length (one of the rare advantages to short arms!)  I do think I might take the sleeve up to a proper elbow length, as not-quite 3/4 length they currently are is a little awkward looking.

I added long waist ties and put them into the bust tucks (which is actually something on the original Dottie Angel pattern that I've only done a few times).  I made the ties wide to mimic the ties on the Tea Dress pattern.  

I also used a different pocket pattern.  They are big and square with a point on the bottom.  Super easy to install, and similar in look to the pockets on the Tea dress (the original pattern has the skirt cut in panels and the pockets are set into the side panels, but I couldn't really do that with this dress since it is all cut in one piece). 

I added 1/2" of length to the bottom to account for the waist ties bringing everything up slightly.  My only complaint is that I think I should have scooped out the neckline in the front slightly.  It is the same as I always cut it, but I think a slightly lower neckline would balance the dress a bit more.  I could still take off the bias and do it, but this is fine for now.

The fabric for this dress is a cross-hatch chambray from Robert Kaufman.  It has good body and is a decent weight but still has some nice drape to it.  I actually think it looks better in person than in the pictures.  It is a deeper blue than looks like in the photos as well.  The back of the fabric was a little bit of a pain, since all the crosses are attached to one another by threads, but I just zig-zagged all my raw edges and am hoping for the best.

I'm quite pleased with this one, as it is comfortable and a little more transitional.  The weather finally cooled back down today, so I was happy to be able to wear it.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the movie Our Souls at Night on Netflix.  I saw it yesterday and it is fantastic.  I highly recommend it.  It was fun to see Robert Redford and Jane Fonda together again on screen.  Robert Redford remains a particular favorite of mine, and Barefoot in the Park was one of my favorite movies in high school.  My mom and I designed a dress for me my junior year that was based on the pink dress that Jane Fonda wears in the movie.  :)  (I think my favorite movie of his is Up Close and Personal, followed closely by Out of Africa.  But really, there are so many good ones to choose from).  Our Souls at Night is about second chances, about relationships, and about being older.  The movie made me feel better about moving through my life.

A Birch for All Seasons

Somebody stop me.

Sometimes I just can't help myself.  I made a navy blue Birch dress for my spring rotation, and I liked it so much that I made a summery version in a periwinkle blue.  I liked that one so much that I decided I needed to make an eggplant version for fall.  It worked out well that Rifle and Co. has conveniently issued this print in various colorways to suit the seasons.

I wore this dress for the first time to the wedding of Birdie's godmother a few weeks ago.  It was the perfect wedding dress.  I wore some dressy black sandals and this orangey cardigan that matches the orange in the big flowers perfectly.  I had intended to wear it to the family wedding this past weekend, but the weather in Minnesota was significantly cooler than here, so I chickened out and brought something else instead.  As it happened, the weather on the actual day of the wedding would have been fine for this dress, but oh well. 

I do like it.  I will like it even better when I can layer it up with boots and a heavier cardigan.  This past weekend was a spur to finish my Yellow Brick Road cardigan, as I discovered that my beloved (and very ratty) Ramona cardigan had some nascent holes when I wore it in Minnesota.  The YBR cardigan is a good color match for this dress too!  I just have one button band to do, and put the buttons on and weave in the ends and block it.  It is super wash, so blocking is no big thang.

The color is a deep purple in real life--it came out more brownish on the photos, but it is actually purple.  I have a long sleeve shirt that is exactly the same color to wear underneath, and my long line purple sweater is also a good color match.  It is a nice fall dress, honestly.  

I added 1/2" of length but didn't change much else about the construction.  Patch pockets as per rayon usual.  I do think that the sleeves could be slightly shorter when I make this pattern in rayon, as my arm motion is slightly restricted when I'm sitting down, but it isn't bad. 

I muslined a set-in sleeve version of this dress yesterday and I didn't get the armscye right.  I don't really know what the problem was, as it is a pattern that I just made that fit fine.  Maybe my muslin fabric didn't have enough give?  Makes me nervous to try a set-in sleeve version with real fabric, as the fit was definitely uncomfortable.  I'm considering trying to make longer sleeves by doing a fast fashion trick and just adding tubes of fabric to my cut-ons.  Seems lazy, but I think the fit in the shoulders and upper arms is more forgiving for those of us with boss biceps.

Overall, a good make.  I'm experimenting with some things right now, and also cut out a longer/smaller version of the Everday skirt in chambray, so hopefully I will have some more things to show soon.  I'm shrinking out of some of my things, so I guess I'll need to get working on alterations and suchlike.  I have at least two dresses that need the elastic in the back snugged up.

~reading, watching, listening~

~reading~

I finished High Rise by J.G. Ballard a few weeks ago.  It is a great book.  It is a totally dystopian look at society and was at times hard to read, but I think it is an important book in the vein of Fahrenheit 451, 1984, or Brave New World.  I appreciate Ben Wheatley's (admittedly strange) movie version a bit more now, but I think I like the book better.  It also has what is probably the best opening line of any book I've ever read.

I'm re-reading the first couple of Decker/Lazarus mysteries for book research.  The mysteries themselves don't interest me that much; the development of Peter and Rina's early relationship does.  But it has been enjoyable to read the first few books again. 

I have du Maurier's Rebecca sitting on my stack just now, but haven't started it yet.  I was interested to read it after watching Crimson Peak a few times--that movie is a perfect gothic romance, and I'm curious to read one of the classic gothic romance novels.  I'm poking away at the Romantic poets, but haven't made a ton of progress.  I also started reading Shakespeare's Sonnets.  The first one is an interesting reflection on aging.  Shakespeare is my passion reading project at the moment.

~watching~

My dad visited us last week during my husband's Senate confirmation hearing, and one of the nights we watched Captain America: The First Avenger together.  He'd seen it before, but didn't mind watching it again.  I quite enjoyed it!  I watched Captain America: Winter Soldier while sewing this morning and enjoyed it as well.  I'm glad I watched it while I was doing something else though.  And Robert Redford in a Marvel movie--who'd a thunk?  I'll probably watch Civil War soon.

I watched Dr. Strange during a sewing session last week one day and also enjoyed that, but again, was glad I was doing something else at the time.  I mostly watched it for Tilda Swinton.  It was a nice background kind of movie. 

(Apparently, I've fallen down the rabbit hole of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I don't think it is a bad thing on the whole.  The movies are fun and light and actually feature character arcs with mostly decent storylines.  I could do worse.)

I watched about half of another Tilda Swinton movie (in Italian and Russian--go Tilda!) but I had to turn it off.  The movie is the basis for an English language version that I saw a long time ago and I knew how it was going to end, and I just couldn't go there. 

I'm obviously watching season 3 of Outlander and this season is So.Good.  I was initially not impressed with Sophie Skelton as Brianna, but she's grown on me (funny, I had the same experience with the book character as well!) and Rick Rankin as Roger is Spot.On.  I'm eager to see the rest of the season.

~listening~

I bought the soundtrack to Only Lovers Left Alive and it is wonderful.  I also bought Yasmine Hamdan's album Ya Nass as a result of her amazing track on the album.  Also a great album. 

I went back to Laurence Fox's Holding Patterns today and that was just the thing.  His album is beautifully written, and full of reality and truth and jagged things. 

Still listening to Mumford and Sons' Sigh No More, but I've given the Lumineers and Hozier a rest for the time being.  I'm also maxed out on Brandi Carlile and the Wailin' Jennys for the moment.

I also started a Pandora station that is heavy on the Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.  What the what?  I know.  I'm unrecognizable to myself.

I actually need to update the playlists on my little ipod shuffle, but I just keep not getting around to it.  I seem to have a stack of little tasks like that that I don't seem to get to right now.  I don't quite understand how I got so busy!  I guess it is better than not having enough to do.  Better to have the work.

We were in southwestern Minnesota for a family wedding this past weekend, and while I'm exhausted from the trip, I'm very glad we were able to go.  I've missed seeing that side of the family in recent years, and we've missed a lot of family weddings due to babies being born, so I'm glad this one worked out so well.  I also realized how much I miss living in Minnesota.  I miss the culture and the climate especially.  I suppose it is no accident that my book is partly set there. 

In addition to all the traveling of the past week (up and back to DC for the hearing, and then out to Minnesota all weekend), the kids have been passing around a fever and I'm feeling very run down.  I'm trying to clear my schedule for the rest of the week so I can recuperate before the next round of insanity.  I'm letting the book sit for a bit and just writing sticky notes as things occur to me.  The book is taking a pretty heavy emotional toll on me, and I've noticed that taking breaks now and then is useful to the process.  It's still a fascinating journey, however, and I'm more interested and engaged with these characters every day.  The challenge at this point is to tell the right story in the right order.  I have so much backstory coming to me right now that I need to figure out what to include and what to just have in my head.  I've got some sewing projects on deck, but nothing particularly taxing. 

Summer Jazz Dress: Tabula Rasa

Let me start by saying I don't love this dress.  I don't hate it either, but I don't love it.  It's not an unqualified success.

It is wearable and it fits okay.  But this pattern had issues.  (Can I get an oy?) This is the Summer Jazz dress from Snapdragon Studios (they have an etsy presence, as well as an independent web store) and I used the free sleeve download to make it 3/4 length.  The fabric is some yarn-dyed Indikon from Robert Kaufman that I like but the color isn't the best for me.  My favorite color-way was a darker blue and was almost sold out; I was only able to get 2 yards, which wasn't quite enough for this dress.  

My main complaint about this dress is that it has a lot of extra ease.  As in: I could probably wear this during a whole pregnancy and have it still fit.  I made a straight size medium, and probably could have sized the bottom down to a small (what the what?  I'm a classic pear shape--this should not be true for my body).  I took the side seams in to 3/4" seam allowance, and snugged up the front elastic as much as I could to make it look better, but it still feels like there is a lot of extra fabric in the front and sides.  

The back is a bit better, with the little pleats at the waist, but it is still quite roomy.  The pocket placement was off--they are quite low.  Also: the pocket markings on the skirt pattern do not align with the actual length of the pocket pattern pieces.  That was annoying.  There were a couple of drafting issues I noticed when I was making this, and the sleeves in particular had some technical issues on the pattern pieces.  I thought some of the construction methods were a bit odd (especially for the application of bias at the neckline.  I just went ahead and applied as I usually do).  The construction of the casing for the elastic is super weird and leaves you with a pretty bulky front seam.  The construction details for this dress were a bit sparse and the diagrams were not always clear.  

I added three inches of length to the skirt pattern and it is okay.  Maybe another half inch would be good.  The sleeves fit pretty well and the dress is easy enough to put on over my head.  I don't hate the woven in-set sleeves, which surprised me.  I usually am not a fan.  I attached the sleeves flat and seamed up the whole side, which made the construction very easy.  

I'm not normally a fan of a v-neck, but I do like the shape of this one--it is subtle and the right depth.  The dress does look better with accessories like a scarf, so perhaps it is just one of those dresses that will be fine as a blank slate that I can throw other things with it.  

The fabric has a subtle texture to it that I like, and the drape and weight are nice.  I do wonder if this dress would look better in a rayon (I have some saved for spring that I may try out with this pattern, but I don't know).  I just can't decide if I like it that well.  I will wear this dress, but I'm not sure I'll make this pattern again.  I had high hopes for it, so it is disappointing to me.

Not much else to say, really.  I'm glad I made it, for the experience, and I might use some elements of this dress to redraft my Simplicity 1080 for in-set sleeves for cold-weather dresses.  It gave me some things to think about anyway.  And it is wearable.

Marigold Linen Everyday Skirt

Second time's a charm: the gold linen everyday skirt is an unqualified success!

I.love.this.skirt.

I took this one down a size to a medium, and added 1" of length which was perfect.  I still had to trim about 2" off the elastic for a good fit, but it is an easy thing to fix on the fly.  I'm glad I forged on with taking it down a size (I was dithering about it when I realized how big the chambray skirt really was on me; I'm definitely remaking it smaller and longer now).  

The linen had a few challenges in terms of getting it to behave during the actual sewing, but otherwise, a smooth and easy make.  I put pleats in the front instead of gathering, because I thought it was more flattering and will probably do that again.  I might even experiment with a single box pleat in the middle for a different look.  I used 1.5" petersham to interface the front waistband and I'm MUCH happier with the result on this one.  It holds up better during the day, doesn't want to roll in half, and generally looks nicer.  Fortunately, the roll I bought has 10 yards on it, so I'll be good to go the next time I make this skirt pattern (which I predict might be several).

The gold color is one I so love, but can't wear near my face, so I think a skirt is perfect.  I wore it last weekend to see some friends in Lancaster Co. and then again this week when the weather cooled down (finally!)

I think it works as well with boots as with sandals.  The linen is the heavy-weight variety from fabrics-store.com, so it has a nice heft to it.  (And can I say, HOORAY for proper fall weather??)

I got my hair cut last week, including a keratin treatment, which I've never had before.  What a difference!  I thought I was going to have to get 4" or more trimmed off, given how awful my hair was looking, but it ended up being about 1.5" in the end.  My hair looks so much better!  I was really starting to despair because my hair has gotten very thin recently.  I don't mind the grays, but I do mind the thinning.  

In other news, I put a little fall-themed decoration on our new living room cabinet and like it very much!  I forsee putting a little seasonal decoration here throughout the year.  It seems to define the space better or something.  Otherwise, the cabinet top just becomes a total dumping ground for papers and art projects and mail. 

I bought some of the stuff at Rite Aid, and some of it I just had around the house.  Winter should be easy, but I'll have to have a bit of a think about spring and summer.

Just the facts:

Marigold Linen Everyday Skirt

Purple t-shirt (Ann Taylor via ThredUp)

Navy blue shirt (via ThredUp)

Navy blue cardigan (H&M, in a completely improbable size XS--size inflation much?)

Boots: KadiMaya via amazon