I really wish the internet had a scratch-and-sniff option because I assure you, they smell just as good as they look. Both lilac trees outside my house are in full bloom right now (It’s not even June yet!). They are very mature (I suspect they are original to the house) and reach up to the second story, so the smell wafts through the open windows at night. I have also used every vase and jar and can possible to bring them inside as well!
Hello dreamy summer. I have been waiting for you.
Still Truckin’!
The middle part is always the hardest. Things come up, I get busy, the usual. Despite this though, I have been doing pretty well! I’m behind on posting the photos, but I have been wearing my me-made-clothing and enjoying it. Trying to prepare for our random weather has been a little challenging (especially if you are someone who bikes or uses public transportation like me), but I’ve dealt with it – rain boots go with everything, right?
One week in and things are going well for my December Daily Challenge. I am actually up-to-date (you can see the actual pages here)! It’s been really fun to dig through my supplies, but also to see the colour scheme I am clearly drawn to: brown, red, and cream with multiple shades of green. In preparation for this project, I created a loose list of possible topics based on events I knew I was already committed to and have been filing in the holes with more day-to-day activities. I’m not sure how I am going to handle things once we are on the road, but for now, this is my favourite challenge yet!
When was the last time you saw line-ups outside of art galleries instead of bars on a Saturday night? Nocturne was a ton of fun this year and it helped that it wasn’t bitterly cold for once. We trampled all over town, going from one installation to the next, while running into everyone we know (it’s so interesting to see all the different worlds you inhibit collide at a public event). It kind of feels like Halloween for grown-ups. People are giddy and excited and it’s just as much fun to watch the public as the artists!
It was Canadian Thanksgiving last weekend. I was really looking forward to cooking something other than the traditional turkey dinner. There was no crack of dawn farmer’s market run for the appropriate sized bird. There was no jostling for oven time between dishes. It was great and delicious. I made Martha Stewart’s mushroom tart and orange cranberry sauce as well as a curried pumpkin soup. I put cranberry goat-cheese on the top of the tart, but really you could use anything (I’m already plotting another one with chorizo and sun-dried tomatoes).
For dessert, I made baked apples stuffed with walnuts, pecans, gluten-free ginger snap crumbs and marzipan, served with chai gelato. It was just the indulgent comfort food I was looking for. I found the recipe for that on Tastespotting.
So today I would like to say Thanks. Thank you to all the people create and post content online. Thank you for inspiration and ideas, explanations and stories, and – best of all – tutorials and how-to’s for everything from enabling a macro in Power Point, to sewing a blind hem, to baking stuffed apples.
And thank you for reading this blog.
So in the end, I only managed to photograph 11 days of my attempt at Self-Stitched September (you can view the other instalment here and the entire set of images here). I wore self-made items more days than that, but the photo-shoots quickly went awry as the month evaporated. However, this was still a better result than last time and I’m definitely going to give it a go again.
Photographer: Denis Duquette
Photographer: Denis Duquette
Photographer Denis Duquette
Photographer Denis Duquette
Photographer Denis Duquette
I wanted to make a maxi dress for awhile, but I was having a hard time finding a pattern I liked. Being curvy, I was looking for a style that was not strapless or with spaghetti straps. This is Simplicity 2692, but I took out the sleeves. The dress came together pretty easily, once I very carefully cut out the material. I left the zipper fairly exposed, as I was able to find one that perfectly matched the print. I just lined the bodice, however, when I tried the whole thing on I decided that lining the skirt was definitely not optional. I wore it to two weddings in August and I felt so comfortable. The skirt has a lot of gathering, but isn’t too full either.
Thanks to photographer Denis Duquette I was able to get some great images and let my usual conscript have a break. We did a quick little shoot one night right before sunset. Between my dress, the sky and the water, I felt a little like a mermaid. Check out more of Denis’ beautiful work here!
Self-Stitched September? So far so good. There are a couple days missing, but it’s a work in progress. I didn’t bother to take pictures on Labour Day, as I spent most of it in my pyjamas. Okay, all of it in my pj’s. I have been posting my photos to flickr and you can watch the set develop here. I have really enjoyed seeing all the outfits by the other members of the group, although the last thing I need is more sewing inspiration – there are so many things I want to make! I think a spreadsheet is in order.
