The World's Best Socks!

Today I received a package from my friend Tini who lives in Kiel!! Whoo hoo! I was eager to tear into it since I knew there were a pair of hand-made socks in the package. Tini is a marvelously talented knitter who also dyes her own yarn. She had also put some extras in with these gorgeous socks - some extremely yummy chocolates and some milk chocolate Kieler Sprotten! I laughed out loud when I saw the Kieler Sprotten - we had had a discussion on a message board on Pattern Review about souvenirs for the European Pattern Review weekend in October this year and I'd asked what Kieler Sprotten were and Tini said (and I paraphrase) that they were yucky little smoked fish that weren't even made in Kiel anymore...

Here are my happy feet in my beautiful socks! Wow! Socks that fit my size E for Enormous footsies! Me dogs ain't barkin' no more!

Nifty Snooters - Neat-o!

I saw this article on the BBC's website:

Double-nosed dog not to be sniffed at

Xingu, son of Bella
Bella


They're both probably thinking "What's the big damn deal? I got two eyes, two ears and two noses! So why dontcha keep your malformed single nose outta my business???"




Well, don't get too snooty about it, my smellicious pals...

My New Toy Car

Yesterday I finally got my new Mini Cooper - I ordered it a couple of months ago and it came in last week. I am soooo excited!




It has a very compact engine







Here is the salesman Jay explaining things like variable ambient lighting, and how to work the air co
I've waited 14 years for this! I know most people in the States buy cars more frequently than that, but I only buy one when I absolutely cannot stand driving my old beat up jalopies any more! In the case of my old Jeep, I was tired of getting soaked every time it rained. It rains alot in Seattle. Many years ago I had an Austin America, which was even tinier than this Mini. I loved that car and named it Larry O, short for Lawrence Olivier. Hmmm, what should I name the new baby?

The PNWA Conference

So the PNWA Writers Conference came and went this year. I only attended one day of it, Saturday, because I was one of the speakers. Melody and I had 90 minutes to blather on about why authors need to get blogs and web sites. I wish I could have stayed for the entire day, but I am still recovering from either food poisoning or a nasty virus and my energy is easily depleted.

It's Time to Dance!

Jennifer and Rosie have come to stay for a while. Rosie has been busy entertaining us with her magical dances! Her choreography includes a mish mash of hula, ballet, jazz, gymnastics and belly dance!
As you can see, we found a lovely silk-painted-with-the-salt-technique veil for her which she has dubbed the "water" veil.
Luckily, the weather has turned soft and silky cool again. I love sunny days in the winter, but prefer cool. cloudy days in the summer.
Incidentally, Rosie didn't like the pink velvet bubble skirt I made for her, so I'm going to donate it to a shelter for battered women (and their kids).

The Ovens of Hell

It was 101 degrees Fahrenheit here today. That translates to 38.3333 degrees C.

Scorch-a-roo!

Over the weekend I finally finished both the Athena blouse and the Hong Kong vest. I had given JoAnn the spring green Knipmode skirt I made a bazillion years ago, but she pointed out that it matched the Athena blouse perfectly so I should take it back! So I did! Ha! I had delayed finishing the Athena blouse because I don't have a proper way of making buttonholes with my blessed Singer Featherweight- so we got together last Saturday and she showed me how to make buttonholes with an old machine of hers. After viewing the photo I realized I don't like how the front hem came out - it shifts up too much, so I'm going to reposition it a little bit lowerThe fabric is a sort of barkcloth-raw silk-like mix I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics a few years back. It frays like crazy and resists ironing a smidge, but I love the colors.
The Hong Kong vest was a prezzie for JoAnn, what with her wild hair-do and all. It was made with a lovely asian-esque rayon fabric snagged at a Goodwill for $5.00.

Darling, You Need More Flair

Oh Christ God do I have hay fever! I'm stuffy, bloated and prone to fits of sneezing like you would not believe. That has not stopped me from sewing, though. I'm working on the Hong Kong Vest and just finished the Marci Tilton Vogue 8397 pants. Did I follow the directions? Heavens, no! Did I even follow the pattern exactly? No, I tell you, no!
I used the pattern for view C, which is only two pieces. The front and the back halves are the same piece. You're supposed to create three long darts at the sides and I did so , but was unimpressed with the look of it. I was too lazy to take them back out again. I think the side darts add to the "Size E for Enormous" look, but that's okay with me. We have a saying "There's enough blue in the sky to make a Dutchman's britches" I think these pants bring that to reality; here they are, made from patches of blue in the sky. (I hope I am not offending any of my friends and relatives from the Netherlands, it is a quaint saying probably thought up by Netherlanders who moved to the States a century ago. Like my grandfather.)Actually, I used a lovely blue checked poly I found at fashion fabrics club.

I recently found a whole slew of Flair pens! Whoo hoo! So what, you say. I remember when Flair pens were all the rage in the early 70's and I loved them for creating strange, overtly colorful sketches of hippies wearing psychedelic bellbottoms and doves flying over rainbows...I'll see if I can dig one out of the Annika archives...

Busy busy busy

I have been very busy this last weekend. Linda had her 40th birthday party at P.F. Chang's - here are some photos. The first is a picture of Linda's sisters (from left ro right) Lois, Lori and Linda's niece Sabrina (Lori's daughter)

Next is Zanne and Linda
And Matt sandwiched in between Linda and Fran...


Additionally Sabrina just graduated from highschool! Yay! Sabrina is a vibrant, clever force to be reckoned with! She's off to university in the Fall to study marine sciences.










Also on Sunday I managed to put together a bubble skirt for Rosie. It's an Ottobre pattern from one of last year's magazines. the fabric is a glorious stretch pink velvet with embroidered flowers. I couldn't find any velvet ribbon that matched the skirt so I used pale pink from my stash. Whatever! The stretch velvet was much easier to work with than regular velvet - the plush fibers sort of smooshed right into eachother and held fast while I sewed. Usually velvet slides all over the place whilst between the feed dogs and presser foot. This time I lucked out.

Simplicity 4076

I made this wrap version of Simplicity 4076 for my friend Linda out of a lovely silky single span I got from Emma OneSock. The print on the fabric is a medieval tapestry of a man and woman and various medieval beasties. See the teal version of this wondrous stuff in my previous blog below. I think the sleeves are a bit long, but she likes 'em that way. Sorry the photo is so murky - my digital camera broke today and had to use a spare camera...

The Swinging Sixties

Here are some of my favorite 60's book and magazine covers...if only I'd known that bellydancing could shimmy me into the big time...

Yay! Fit for Real People arrived today!

I used to have this book. In fact, I had two copies. I think I may have given one away but the other one is on extended vacation somewhere. So perhaps now that I've bought yet another copy, the one on vacation will come back home. I am sewing some basic t shirts this week...here's one in progress.
It's Pamela's Patterns #104. It'll have 3/4 sleeves.The black paisley material is some cheapo jersey I found for $1.95 per yard at either Hancocks or JoAnn's. The neckband is black stretch velvet binding which I think is cut a little too short; Pamela suggests 20 1/2 inches for the length of the jewel neckband - I think it could easily be an inch longer if stretch velvet binding is used. I might just rip it out and start again. I did not bother to do an FBA on this pattern since I didn't have the Fit for Real People book last night when I cut the t shirt out. But that's okay - it's a sort of wearable muslin to see how bad the chest area looks without an FBA.

Suzanis and Molas - Textile Heaven to Me

I have recently acquired a charming little mola of a toothy cat - everytime I look at him I have to laugh, he's so silly with that curly tail! Molas are bits and pieces of Panamanian and Guatemalan applique'd embroidery; they're very colorful and usually have many many tiny stitches sewing the layers together. The subjects of modern molas can be just about anything the artists have been thinking of - two pears, abstract birds, lightning bolts, a comment on Mickey Mouse, etc. This little guy measures 9 inches by 10 inches.
I also have a passion for Uzbek suzanis - suzanis are large silk embroideries usually done in panels that are then sewn back together. This one is from Bukara, a city which has long fascinated me, and measures 85 inches by 60 inches. Many suzani are red flowers of different types sewn on a background of cream or white. Pomegranates figure prominently as do rosettes, carnations and various other flowers from that part of the world.

Isabel Toledo Pattern

I found a lovely Isabel Toledo pattern the other day; it's not even close to my size but I'm a big fan of hers so I thought, why not?

Ignorance...?

I know I've ignored the blog for a week or two. I've been busy attending memorials for the relatives of friends of mine. Four friends have lost members of their families within the last month: Jen lost her mom, JoAnn lost her dad, Linda L lost her mother-in-law and Linda S lost her beloved grandmother Rose.
Today we had a memorial party for Rose at the house - it was a pleasure to honor this lovely, fiery-eyed woman by celebrating her life with her child Doddie, grandchildren Lisa, Laurie, Lois and Linda, great grandchildren Jennifer, Eli, Sabrina, Matt and Luke, and great great grandchild little Rosie!
Today was a sunny, sparkly day. The breeze kept us cool in the sunshine, and the leaves on all the trees (even the bamboo) fluttered and flickered in the bright light. The kids ran themselves crazy all over the property playing hide and seek, exploring the wilds, and laughing with eachother. The grownups congregated on the front deck and enjoyed the time spent together.
God bless you, Rose! In my mind's eye I see you smiling.

The Ins and Outs of Freaky Obsessions

Lately I have become obsessed with cameos and intaglios and have acquired a few from a guy in Germany. This one is "Diana" the next in lapis is "DAEMON with lion-body holding a palm-branch and a amphora" (well, that's how he described it on the eBay listing) and the cameo is soon to be a centerpiece for a macrame neckpiece done in black cording and black swarovski crystals.

The Line, the Witch, but no Wardrobe

I've been kept busy creating more bracelets for a project - it's kind of a secret right now, but I am waiting to hear some good news from my agent concerning it - so I have been unable to focus on sewing the new wardrobe I so desperately need. I did manage to order some chocolate colored bamboo jersey for one t-shirt from Wazoodle and I got some absolutely gorgeous buttermilk from Emma One Sock, but my energies have been directed elsewhere for the time being.

Ministry of Magic, Department of Tourism

Vibeke and I found Platform 9 and 3/4 at Kings Cross Station last summer. Alas, it wasn't September yet, so we couldn't pass through the brick wall to get onboard the Hogwarts Express...so we went to York instead and found Mad Alice Lane. If you think she was mad before, she's actually quite peeved now...
I half expected all the little carved faces in the York Minster to call out to me in their scratchy stone voices¹, but they remained silent. The poor fellow with the crow on his head was having a particularly difficult day.




1 Read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clarke for explicit details.

Pigs in Space!

A few years ago I attended the Annual Avalon High School Prom. The theme that year was something to do with science fiction, or perhaps space or ummmm, I don't really remember...Anyway, I went as Lwaxanna Troi, sort of....
Here's my friend Jay as Link Hogthrob from Pigs in Space!
Hey! Today is May Day! Happy happy! Joy joy!

Micro-macrame bracelet

Last month I purchased two micro-macrame kits from the Ben Franklins over in Redmond. I finally got around to making a bracelet from one of the kits. I think the bracelet is a great beginner's bracelet, however the directions are a bit wonky and would be hard to read, for a beginner at least. It was interesting trying to do someone else's design; I haven't done that since I first learned micro-macrame some years ago.

Moonbeams and Zig Zags

I've been busy micro-macrame-ing this past week and have come up with a bracelet I call "Moonbeam"

Here's a start on an old standby of mine called "ZigZag" - I love the triangular beads with their subtle rainbow scaling.

And here is a prototype I call "Loopy" that isn't quite working for me yet...