Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Fresh From the Garden


Recently our family has become more "food conscious," thinking about what ingredients we're using and trying to reduce our intake of processed foods. This shift in perspective coincided with my sister's and my desire to have a vegetable and herb garden this year. With the help of our father, our garden is now flourishing.



I raided the green beans yesterday for lunch; they've already supplied us with beans for four meals, besides the random beans I pick when I'm outside.



It just doesn't get more organic or more local than this. Now that's peace of mind.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Recipe for a Blouse



1. Take one yard of fabric. Mix pieces from various patterns well. Apply to fabric and cut it into shapes.

2. Add a few yards of lace:



3. Incorporate all of the ingredients, shaping fabric into ruffles...



...and tucks.



4. Combine with eight almost-matched vintage pearl buttons:



5. Decorate as desired:



6. Sew well, until blouse emerges complete:



Note: The back should and front should both be well-done before removing from the sewing room.




This is quite possibly my favorite blouse so far. The inspiration for it came from a recent browse on the Cath Kidston website: Embroidered Cream Lace Shirt. Not wanting to spend $110 on a blouse, I decided to take the idea to the drawing board.

I used out-of-print Simplicity 4499 (no surprise there!). I've actually transferred this pattern to nonfusible interfacing because my original pattern is basically in shreds. To do the lace along the front, I reluctantly gave up my easy fold-over front placket (one of the things I love about this pattern!). I interfaced the facing, serged the edge, and sewed it on (after applying the lace to the other side). One hint to save lace -- and trouble -- is to taper off the lace a few inches down on the "button side;" it will be overlapped by the other side, anyway. For the back, I took six tucks (a last minute decision before cutting my pattern out -- I just moved the back away from the fold about an inch).

Of course, I can't use just one pattern!

I used the collar top from McCall's 4922 and elongated it a bit to make it work as a fold-back collar. I also did lace around the collar, which was a bit tricky.

The sleeves are from McCall's 5138. I lengthened them about an inch, made a narrow hem, and added a fabric casing on the inside as a channel for elastic. I applied the casing before sewing the sleeve together, except for about 2 inches at each end. I sewed the sleeve together, and then folded the remaining casing ends and sewed them down. It was a bit complicated, but it was worth the trouble!

For fabric, I used a soft pima-cotton sheet that I found for $3 at a thrift store. It's still in good shape, and is delightfully soft to wear.

But my favorite detail of the blouse is the "smocking" detail in the back. I had enough ease in the waist to do this technique, which I first discovered on a black thrifted skirt made in Italy. I sewed my rows of tucks together, alternating rows to create a diamond shape. I just love it!


All told, this blouse took one day from start to finish. My inspiration files are overflowing, so it was nice to check one off the list! But as summer comes ever closer, I think I'll have plenty excuses to dig into that file.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Make Way For Ducklings




This Spring we have at least two duckling broods in our neighborhood's canal system. We discovered them yesterday, little balls of yellow fluff bobbing along in the water. They are still quite young, and irresistably adorable. I'm amazed at how fast they can move.

Have I mentioned that I love Spring?


Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Miss Dearborn


"Miss Dearborn's stock in trade was small, her principal virtues being devotion to children and ability to gain their love, and a power of evolving a schoolroom order so natural, cheery, serene, and peaceful that it gave the beholder a certain sense of being in a district heaven. She was poor in arithmetic and weak in geometry, but if you gave her a rose, a bit of ribbon, and a seven-by-nine looking-glass she could make herself as pretty as a pink in two minutes.

Safely sheltered behind the pines, Miss Dearborn began to practice mysterious feminine arts. She flew at Rebecca's tight braids, opened the strands and rebraided them loosely; bit and tore the red, white, and blue ribbon in two and tied the braids separately. Then with nimble fingers she pulled out little tendrils of hair behind the ears and around the nape of the neck. After a glance of acute disapproval directed at the stiff balloon skirt she knelt on the ground and gave a strenuous embrace to Rebecca's knees, murmuring, between her hugs, "Starch must be cheap at the brick house!"

This particular line of beauty attained, there ensued great pinchings of ruffles; her fingers that could never hold a ferrule nor snap children's ears being incomparable fluting-irons.

Next the sash was scornfully untied and tightened to suggest something resembling a waist. The chastened bows that had been squat, dowdy, spiritless, were given tweaks, flirts, bracing little pokes and dabs, till, acknowledging a master hand, they stood up, piquant, pert, smart, alert!

Pride of bearing was now infused into the flattened lace at the neck, and a pin (removed at some sacrifice from her own toilette) was darned in at the back to prevent any cowardly lapsing. The short white cotton gloves that called attention to the tanned wrist and arms were stripped off and put in her own pocket. Then the wreath of pine-cones was adjusted at a heretofore unimagined angle, the hair was pulled softly in a fluffy frame, and finally, as she met Rebecca's grateful eyes she gave her two approving, triumphant kisses. In a second that sensitive face lighted into happiness; pleased dimples appeared in the cheeks, the kissed mouth was red as a rose, and the little fright that had walked behind the pine-tree stepped out on the other side Rebecca the lovely.

As to the relative value of Miss Dearborn's accomplishments, the decision must be left to the gentle reader; but though it is certain that children should be properly grounded in mathematics, no heart of flesh could bear to hear Miss Dearborn's methods vilified who had seen her patting, pulling, squeezing Rebecca from ugliness into beauty.

The young superintendent of district schools was a witness of the scene, and when later he noted the children surrounding Columbia as bees a honeysuckle, he observed to Dr. Moses: "She may not be much of a teacher, but I think she'd be considerable of a wife!" and subsequent events proved that he meant what he said!"


-- Taken from New Chronicles of Rebecca (the sequel to Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm) by Kate Douglas Wiggin. While it may not be great literature, it is certainly unparalleled in offering delightful vignettes of village life in Maine at the turn of the 20th century.

Monday, April 21, 2008

All Buttoned Up



My first apron design: Tabbed button closures at the waist and bib, a little pocket for necessities, and cheery yellow striped fabric with roses.



See it in the shop.

Now to try a new design!


Empty Nesters (Nearly)


Today marks the sixteeth day since our first house finch hatched. Out of five eggs, four hatched (we're still not sure what happened to the fifth). The past two weeks have been a wonder of transformation, as our little chicks have grown from blobs of downy strangeness into tiny birds complete with feathers.

Here's a snapshot taken shortly after all of the birds had hatched:



This was one of the last "family" pictures, taken two days ago. I love the downy eyebrows! As you can see, it was getting a bit crowded in there -- not to mention messy!



This picture was taken yesterday, while we still had all of our birds. I don't quite know what this little fellow was thinking. Did he assume that opening his fierce-looking beak would scare off the "monsters?"



Every time we checked on the birds, the parents would be chirping nervously nearby. You might just be able to make them out in this picture; they're perched in a convenient maple tree.



I would like to think that this is some kind of fraternal embrace, but I have a feeling their position is due to the crowded living conditions:



And then, this afternoon, my sister and I discovered that three of our little chicks had flown the nest, leaving just one (very scared) little bird. Is there anything like a bird's downy softness? We've been very careful in touching them, but we couldn't resist a few caresses.



Over the past week the chicks had started making noises during their feedings, and as I walked down the hallway I could hear them through the front door -- gentle chirrups and scufflings as they vied for meals. Sometimes I would just stand with my ear to the door and listen to their movements, wondering what they were doing and wishing that they wouldn't be quite so frightened of us.

But I know it's good that they're frightened. And I know they have to fly away. I'm just delighted that we had this chance to watch them hatch and mature. It was hard to believe that those ugly little hatchlings would ever be able to fly. Truly, we have an amazing Creator!

Incidentally, today also marks my 100th blog post. What an eventful day!

Friday, April 18, 2008

A Diary of Private Prayer


My package from Amazon.com came today, bringing with it the last two books of my order: Writer's Market 2008 and A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie. I came across John Baillie's prayers in a devotional book, and was drawn to them immediately. He is straightforward in expression, but almost poetic in the beauty of his phrasing. There are two prayers for each day of the month, and space beside them for notes.

Here is the prayer for the morning of the seventh day:

"O Lord and Maker of all things, from whose creative power the first light came forth, who didst look upon the world's first morning and see that it was good. I praise Thee for this light that now streams through my windows to rouse me to the life of another day.

I praise Thee for the life that stirs within me:
I praise Thee for the bright and beautiful world into which I go:
I praise Thee for eart and sea and sky, for scudding cloud and singing bird:
I praise Thee for the work Thou hast given me to do:
I praise Thee for all that Thou hast given me to fill my leisure hours:
I praise Thee for my friends:
I praise Thee for music and books and good company and all pure pleasures.

O Thou who Thyself art everlasting Mercy, give me a tender heart to-day towards all those to whom the morning light brings less joy than it brings to me:
Those in whom the pulse of life grows weak:
Those who must lie abed through all the sunny hourse:
The blind, who are shut off from the light of day:
The overworked, who have no joy of leisure:
The unemployed, who have no joy of labour:
The bereaved, whose hearts and homes are desolate:
And grant Thy mercy on them all.

O Light that never fades, as the light of day now streams through these windows and floods this room, so let me open to Thee the windows of my heart, that all my life may be filled by the radiance of Thy presence. Let no corner of my being be unillumined by the light of Thy countenance. Let there be nothing within me to darken the brightness of the day. Let the Spirit of Him whose life was the light of men rule within my heart till eventide.

Amen."


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Ruffles and Pinafores


One of my mom's co-workers recently asked if I would be able to make a dress for her friend's eighteen-month-old daughter. After selecting and approving a pattern and fabric, I pulled out my shears and snipped away!.



I used Butterick 6711, a pattern that my mom had purchased in the 70's. As you can see, the pattern cover has not fared too well over the years! Fortunately, all of the pattern pieces were intact.



The yellow calico fabric and blue ric-rac trim are the same that I used in a recent baby shower gift. I had purchased enough calico to make both dresses, but having just the right amount of ric-rac for this dress was a surprise! I had three inches left over.



To be sure the pinafore would fit over the little girl's head, I decided not to sew the side seams up the entire way. Instead, I added a button and a ribbon loop to each side:



Only three buttonholes for this project! I used ric-rac for the collar, which was a surprisingly easy thing to do. I love the effect.



I actually like the dress even without the pinafore. I must admit, I was skeptical about the pattern cover -- but once again, the illustrations didn't represent the finished product.



My mom's co-worker also wanted a little purse to go with the outfit. I improvised a pattern for this. The bag is made of two rectangles, which I curved on the bottom by using a protactor. I added a two-inch gusset between the sides to give the purse some shape. Because it's lightweight, the bag was a bit floppy, so I took four pleats along the top (two on each gusset end and one on either side). Voila!




Now it's time to move on to some other projects. Ideas are swirling around in my head -- aprons, blouses, and miscellany of all shapes and sorts. I just have to prioritize!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Memories


About five years ago, my parents traveled up to Baltimore to help my paternal grandmother empty her town house. She was making the dreaded transition from a home of her own to a small apartment in retirement community. But at nearly ninety years old, it was time. Her basement yielded many treasures, not least of which was her collection of vintage patterns from many years of sewing to supplement her family's income. But another treasure that parents brought home was a stack of old snapshots from the early 1930's.

My grandmother came to live with us three years ago. It was the perfect opportunity to ask her about the snapshots, and, armed with a pencil and a sheet of paper, I asked. Almost without exception, she could remember the names of the people in the photographs -- people who had been no more than faces to me, but people who were real to her. I learned the stories of some of the curious photographs that had always puzzled and delighted me. But that was nothing to watching my grandmother's face brighten at the happy memories that came flooding back to her through those brief, captured images of a time long past. There was sadness, too; she was the only one in the pictures who was still living. And a less than a year later, she too was gone.



But before she died (at the age of 91), I made an album of the pictures. It was partly for her -- she was delighted when she opened the cover and saw the photos laid out with the names beneath each one -- but it was also for me, for my family, and for my own children one day. Because those memories are the only glimpse we have into the lives of some of the people who were dearest to us.

There was a whole page of photographs of my grandmother, Anne.



I love this photo of her sitting on the running board of a car. She was 17 years old at the time. What I wouldn't do to own that car!



This young man had just had his appendix removed:



I think this snapshot is so sweet and whimsical:



The gentleman hiding under the hat in this photo has his tongue extended!



I would love to know how this photo was taken, and why on earth those two young men were playing around on beams:



While many things in this photo appeal to me -- vintage fashion, weddings -- I think I like this photo primarily because of the (short) priest with the wild white hair, peeking over the shoulders of the happy couple:



This is one of the few photographs I have of my paternal grandfather, Frank (he's on the far right). I never met him because he died when my father was only eighteen years old. Because of that, he has always been something of an enigma to me. I can see in his face traces of my father and my uncles. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of him without a smile on his face.



Now as I look back through the album, I find the photographs just as tantalizing as they were before, even though I can put names with most of the faces. Baseball games, picnics, weddings -- I wonder what was said, and what the people were thinking.



And, of course, I enjoy the vintage fashions!


Friday, April 11, 2008

Vintage Inspiration



Check out these fabulous vintage fashion books:

Fashionable Clothing From the Sears Catalogs

My mom found the Mid-1930's volume at the library yesterday -- One hundred fifty-nine pages of glossy illustrations of everything from women's clothes and shoes to little boys' ties. The 1930's is, hands down, my favorite fashion decade of the 20th century. So I'm gloating over this book and dreading having to send it back to the library. Let's just say that I'll be making several sketches before I let it go!

I also learned something new: wrap-style house dresses in the 1930's were also called "Hooverettes!" And you could get two of them for 95 cents. I won't even start on the shoes... *sigh*

So if you like vintage fashion, see if your library has any of these books or try interlibrary loan. They're well worth the $27 they're selling for on Amazon, but at that price I think I'll have to add them to my collection gradually!

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Gores and Godets


In search of a new skirt pattern, I came across McCall's 5274 (now out of print). I made a few minor changes that I found absolutely necessary -- first of all, no seam allowances on the outside! I have taken great pains throughout my life to avoid having my seam allowances show, and I do not plan to change this now. Also, no fluttery inserts or sheer godets. Just plain and straightforward.

I have an ankle-length khaki skirt, but I wanted one a bit shorter that would be cooler in Summer and would be more practical for outdoor Summer activities. This skirt is about mid-calf-length, and it fits the bill perfectly.



The fabric was a $2 a yard poly-cotton blended that I found at Wal-Mart. It's a heavy fabric that suits this skirt very well. I measured the width when I brought it home, and discovered that it was a whopping 72" wide! I think I have enough for a jacket this fall.

I'm glad that this skirt was casual enough for a machine hem, because that hem was long. Very long!



A serged seam is a thing of beauty; a thing of beauty is a joy forever; so a serged seam must be a joy forever! I love my serger, and can't imagine life without it. Of course, it hasn't always been this way -- I came close to throwing it out of a second story window several times before I discovered the itty-bitty problem (one of the threads wasn't pulled correctly into a tension disc) that was messing up the whole stitch. Live and learn.




Tuesday, April 08, 2008

A Walk Through Yesteryear


Last Wednesday my mother, sister, and I took advantage of some free time to explore the historic downtown area of a neaby city. While our Florida coastline doesn't hold much in the way of history (our hurricanes have taken care of that!), a few square blocks of our city offer a respite from modern life.

I fell in love with this church the first time I saw it several years ago. Built in 1832, it's the second-oldest church building in Florida and it resides just a few hundred yards from the Bay. Inside, Gothic rafters span the vaulted ceiling:



Simple and lovely.



A fountain in the park across the street:



A few blocks away from the church, this 1825 beauty also has a view of the Bay:



April:



My sister and I relaxing in the Historic District:



Pretty in Pink:


Monday, April 07, 2008

The Spires of Oxford


I saw the spires of oxford
As I was passing by,
The grey spires of Oxford
Against a pearl-grey sky;
My heart was with the Oxford men
Who went abroad to die.

The Years go fast in Oxford,
The golden years and gay;
The hoary colleges look down
On careless boys at play,
But when the bugles sounded--War!
They put their games away.

They left the peaceful river,
The cricket field, the quad,
The shaven lawns of Oxford
To seek a bloody sod.
They gave their merry youth away
For country and for God.

God rest you, happy gentlemen,
Who laid your good lives down,
Who took the kahki and the gun
Instead of cap and gown.
God bring you to a fairer place
Than even Oxford town.

-- Winnifred M. Letts
Published during the First World War


I came across a thin red volume of poetry in a used bookstore last summer. The title, The Spires of Oxford and Other Poems, caught my attention. I decided to add it to my stack, and the one dollar I paid for it was richly rewarded. There is a gentle beauty in the poignant sense of loss that Winnifred expresses in her poems.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Nesting


Spring is almost synonymous with new life and adorable, fuzzy little creatures. But Spring seems to have been brought home to our family this season -- literally! First was the discovery of a nest in the wreath on our front door. The next day there was one little egg in the nest:



The mother finch diligently laid one egg every day, until there were four eggs in the nest.



But the finch wasn't the only mother that was nesting -- a new couple in our church were expecting their second child, and we hosted a baby shower for them last week. My sister and I combined efforts on a gift, and each of us made a little baby outfit -- my sister made one for the new baby, and I made one for the two-year-old "big sister."



We used Simplicity 7189. We decided to use ric-rac trim, and I'm delighted with how it turned out.



A few flower buttons from the stash and some pink ribbon loops served for the closure:



We had to use the garage door for the shower guests, so that we wouldn't disturb our little mother bird! She had laid her fifth egg.

But I never ended up getting a picture of that fifth egg, because yesterday the first egg hatched. By this morning there were three little birds in the nest:



Ironically, our friend's baby was also born yesterday! We visited at the hospital today and I had the opportunity to hold a one-day-old baby for the first time. I have to say, the new baby is much more adorable than our baby birds!