Happy Friday + Randomness

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Happy Friday! I’ve been noticing that I like to go in cycles when it comes to making things. Right now, I’m feeling a huge resurgence of love for sewing and my sketching/painting is taking a back seat. I had a brief fling with knitting and then my enthusiasm waned, but I can tell that I’ll want to go back once the sewing bug eases up a bit. Do you find that? Are you the alternating or concurrent type? I used to think I liked to dabble in a variety of crafts at the same time, but lately I want to focus more — what is it that they call it? Single-tasking, I think.

Anyway, I painted this li’l blue-grey lady a while back with some beautiful handmade Greenleaf and Blueberry watercolors (based here in Washington!).

We had a balmy, sunny, I-want-to-run-around-without-my-winter-coat kind of day yesterday and I’m hoping for some more of those.

I’m wishing you a happy weekend!

Haiku by K:

Friday is the best
No homework I need to do
I get to relax

 

 

SVE Prep

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I’m “shopping” through my stash, looking for Secret Valentine Exchange inspiration. My partner, like me, favors blues and neutrals and linens, so I’ve got an abundance of choices. Ute has already completed and shipped her gift!! Isn’t she amazing? By the way, if you haven’t been following Ute on Instagram, it’s a must. She takes breathtaking photos of nature and her projects are impeccably made and presented. I often gasp at the beauty she creates.

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Totally inspired, I’m plotting and planning and scheming about what to make for my own special Valentine. Are you making progress? Have you already shipped your gift? If so, I’m beyond impressed!

Everyone should have their assigned partners by now, and our final count is 177 participants (I wrote 179 before, woops). That’s almost double of last year!! Ute and I are very excited and grateful that so many women are taking part in this special celebration of Valentine’s Day and handmade goodness. Please let us know if you have any questions, issues, etc. at secret.valentine.exchange [at] gmail.com. If you’re on IG, don’t forget #2016sve!

Time for me to wade through some more fabric!

Gingers in Indigo and a Shakespearean Valley Top

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So my right calf is slightly bigger than my left calf. These are the things you learn when you make your own clothes. I’m on a sewing roll, and I pumped out not only my second pair of Ginger skinnies, but also the Cali Faye Valley Blouse. It was a good week.

Look at me, trying to mix things up with some props:

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Yes. A little cornball. You can’t help but imagine muzak accompanying this.

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Shall we start with what I’m calling my Shakespearean Valley top? It looks pretty awesome on the hanger, and though the top has grown on me now that I’ve worn it for an entire day and now that the cashier at Jo-Ann’s complimented me on it — she called it my “over-shirt”– I have to admit I feel like I’m billowing all over the place in this blouse. I could probably be airborne if I jumped off of a roof.

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I saw the top featured on the Sewing Rabbit via Pinterest, and loved the way it looked so I immediately purchased the pattern. It’s pretty easy to construct, but I noticed that it was labeled “intermediate”. Had I read that first, I probably wouldn’t have attempted the top because I wanted a quick and easy project of the flow-y variety. I’m guessing it’s the fabric recommendation of very light wovens that makes this garment slightly trickier to sew up since I’d made similar types of tunics that were considered beginner-friendly. I used a double-gauze (I can’t remember from where, sorry), which made it even fiddlier. I like the keyhole feature, and I opted to go the non-functional button route. I lined it with a cream voile, and this is what the inside looks like:

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The sleeves are what make this top especially Shakespearean, or of that era if you know what I mean. If I’d sewn it in white linen, I would be spouting sonnets. Such full, gathered sleeves! And more gathers at the front and back yokes…all of this makes for a very cute design, but I think the issue is that I should have gone down one size. According to the sizing chart, I should have been an XL, but when I looked at the pattern pieces, I was certain a large would fit me. Sizing is always such a conundrum. At least too big is better than too small!

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As for my indigo Gingers — I’m a proud, proud jeans-making mama. I made these out of Selvage denim, which wasn’t quite as stretchy as the black denim I used for my first pair, but with a little tweak here and there (letting out the seam 1/4 inch along the sides and 1/2 inch around my calves), the fit of these indigos are almost better than the black ones. I also made these a smidgen longer.

gingersandvalley8Excuse my exposed belly there and hey, you can see a little of the zipper. Also, I know it’s pure vanity that makes me even mention this, but the fly guard is sticking out in the middle image, making me look like I’ve got a bit of a pouchy stomach. Not that it matters since my Valley blouse leaves everyone wondering when I’m popping out the triplets (what else is new, right? I say this about virtually all my tops). It was significantly easier and faster to sew my second pair of jeans, though I ran into a major problemo:

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Ugh. That there is a hole inelegantly patched near the crotch. The lesson here is not to multi-task when serging the fly seam allowance. K was chattering about this cool restaurant she went to with a friend where robots serve sushi, and my hand slipped in astonishment. “Are you okay, Mama? Are you going to cry?” K asked me when she saw my expression as I put my eye to the hole.

Luckily, it is just where no one can/should see unless the person happens to be pervy. Moving along, I used this beautiful striped cotton for the pocket lining. Ditto for the black Gingers.

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The only other issue I ran into was my inability to hammer in the rivets to the back pockets. In a display of foresight I’m not usually known for, I had purchased several Thread Theory jeans notions packets. After destroying 12 rivets, I conceded defeat. I’m all out of rivets now, so I’ll have to order some more. I tried to steam close the pocket corner holes, but no go.

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I tried this outfit with different shoes, and I can’t decide which I like best. That’s the great thing about skinny jeans – so so versatile. I love that I can slip on boots without all the bunching that happens with my bootcut jeans.

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It’s official: my sewing energy is back!
gingersandvalley13P.S. The winner of the giveaway is Jeannie, congrats!

Happy Friday + Cleanse

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Happy Friday! Yesterday, I met up with a good friend for coffee and received this mouth-watering book as a gift. The Food Lover’s Cleanse by Sara Dickerman — a chef turned food writer — is exactly what I need right now. I can’t wait to dive in! Although I didn’t indulge that much in junk food during the holidays, I was under the weather much of the time, and my body is feeling a little run down and in need of a reboot. It’s a stunning book with photography by Michael Graydon and Nicole Herriot. I’ve been a fan of Herriot Grace since the beginning of time and I’m eager to immerse myself in Sara’s writing and food concoctions.

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There are 140 recipes divided into seasons, and I love that it comes with a menu and shopping list for each seasonal cleanse. Originally an online series in Bon Appétit magazine, it became so popular that the idea has been expanded into a full book. Brilliant!

I’m going to try it…I might crash and burn because my track record for these types of declarations isn’t exactly stellar. I recently tried to incorporate the Korean 10-step skincare with much fanfare and enthusiasm, then quickly abandoned the routine because it was just too much. I’m way too low maintenance for such an elaborate system.

Food shopping will happen this weekend, and the cleanse shall commence Monday. I figure that either way (success or failure), it’s sure to be a learning experience.

Alright, I’m off to peruse the book. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and see you next week!

It’s body cleanse time
Can I do it? I’m not sure…
Let’s see how this goes

P.S. SVE update: we are fine-tuning some final details but it looks like we have a grand total of 179 participants!!! Woo-hoo!! Are you getting excited and planning your makes?

Merchant & Mills Rapid Repair Kit Giveaway! [CLOSED]

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One of my favorite things to do during the book process was prop shopping. I love me some good props. Being the way that I am, however, let’s just say that I didn’t hold back and now I have a mountain of charming, photogenic items taking up a whole lotta space in my basement. Luckily, most of them are very small.

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Like this tiny Merchant & Mills Rapid Repair Kit. “FIRST AID FOR CLOTHES”, it promises, and this approximately 3.25″ wide x 2.75″ high metal box contains teeny scissors, thread (black + white), needles, pins, a couple of buttons, safety pins and a tape measure.

I mean, really. How can you not love this? Since I have an extra kit, I thought it might be fun to offer it up as a giveaway. Perhaps you too have a soft spot for all things miniature and industrial chic?

To enter the giveaway, any comment would do, but I’ve been thinking about how I schlumped and dragged and resisted making the jeans when in reality, it was completely doable and enjoyable. Now I want to make 10 pairs. There are so many things that I do that with, big and small. Do you have a project or projects like that? Something that feels beyond your capabilities or too much work or just plain hard, but you know that if you took that very first step and saw it through to completion, you’ll be so excited and will find yourself proudly telling the mailman that you just completed your first pair of jeans? Okay, I didn’t tell the mailman, but I came close. Now that I’m feeling more comfortable with jeans-making, I’m noticing that I still feel that way about grown-up sized coats and in the non-sewing realm, entertaining — I’m quite intimidated by the idea of hosting dinner parties, though I have no problems having friends over for tea/coffee with snacks or even casual impromptu dinners (our neighbors come over for dinner all the time). There’s something about the “dinner party” that raises the bar and stresses me out. There’s a list about 15 miles long with additional stuff, but those are the two that came to mind first. And you?

I’ll keep the giveaway open until this Friday, January 22nd and will announce the winner on Monday. International entries are, of course, lovely. Good luck!