Sewing Fever

As I mentioned before, one of my 2010 goals is to make more time for sewing. Part of the reason for my renewed enthusiasm is that my friend Maggie just started sewing and there is nothing more contagious than the enthusiasm of a new sewer.

Friday after work be drove out to Stanford and visited the newly-expanded fabric section of Marden's (a local surplus/salvage chain). Rows upon rows of fabric, most priced at $2.99 a yard. Let us just say that our cart was pretty fully by the time we hit the cutting table. I whedled my selection down to the five pieces above.  I already have plans for a few of the cuts (from left to right):

The green on the bottom I hope to make into the Ceylon pattern from Collette Patterns.

Some kind of dress, but I'm sure yet- any suggestions are welcome!

The next two pieces will likely be tops of some sort.

The yellow piece second from the top is going to be a flouncy skirt of some kind, with a dark navy contrast

The flowered piece on the top I'd like to make into a version of this top.

I also just finished drafting a simple A-line skirt from my new favorite craft book - Design It Yourself Clothes, I'm hoping to work my way through the book over the course of the year. Now I just need to solve that pesky sewing machine problem 9 but the research is on!)

Vivian Row 117 + 55

Moving along quite nicely.

Going to Marden's tonight for some discount fabric shopping with my Sweater Knit-Along buddy.

Quick Stitches

One of my new year's resolutions was to sew more and since Jan first I've managed to finish four - yes four! sewing projects.

For being one of the slowest sewers I know,  this is unheard of.

There are two main contributions to my productivity

1. I bought a 6-foot folding table, which means I no longer has to do all my fabric cutting/set up on the floor. I also means I can leave my stuff out instead of having to pack it up between sewing sessions (thanks to a very gracious Mr. Cleaver, since my sewing nook is in our bedroom).
2. I have embraced the quick & dirty sewing project.

I'll admit that I have a strong preference for garment sewing over craft sewing, particularly if that garment comes with a large number of pintucks/pleats/darts/gathers/buttonholes or other lovely details that inevitably make the project take forever. That said, of the four projects only one was a garment (which I'll post about in a few days - let's just say today is my MIL's birthday and we're celebrating later in the week due to the crazy weather we're having).

The other included a cheery bunting and table runner set for my pie potluck.

The bunting was roughly based on this tutorial, while the table runner was improvised to use up all (and I mean all) the scraps from the bunting project. The with the runner I threw my perfectionist tendencies to the wind and eyeballed and zig-zagged my way to a cute little decoration.

My quickest project was this 5-minute flower brooch I whipped up last night on a whim and that totally brightened my day today as I wore it.

Of course all this rapid-fire sewing wasn't without its trials: I broke my seam ripper a few weeks back, so any undoing was a challenge and there was a lot of undoing because my sewing machine seems to be firmly set against doing anything other than a straight stitch in a forward direction - any attempts to back stitch or zig-zag generally were followed with bobbin-rethreading and mild curses.

I'd take any recommendations for possible repairs, but this may be a sign that it's time for me to upgrade from my little $78 dollar sewing machine. So I'll also take any sewing machine recommendations. :)

National Pie Day

According the American Pie Council, today (Jan 23) is National Pie Day . Loving all things pie the way I do, when I read about this in a magazine back in December, I knew I had to celebrate. So I invited all my knitting friends over for a Pie Day potluck!

We had a meat pie, chicken pot pie, two apple pies, a blueberry pie, a lemon meringue pie, a turtle pie cream pie, a chocolate pie/tart, and some cherry cup-pies (which I've wanted to make every since cup-pies were mentioned on the tv show Pushing Daisies). It was a yummy pie-extravaganza!

Vivian Row 58

I love the part of a project when it suddenly starts to look like something! Of course at this point, that something could be anything, but something it is :)

Vivian Row 24

Does anyone find that after frogging*  a section of knitting that you try to knit faster afterward to make up for "lost time"? I do it all the time and I don't think it works.

*Frogging: to remove the needles and pull out knitted stitches.  So-called because you rip-it rip-it rip-it.

Turning New Leaves

Last night after work, I picked up my 2010 calendar for the home-front (think I have a thing for sheep?), along with a new comic book and sewing book. It was a good night.

So this morning I did the annual shift of birthdays, etc. to the new calendar. I always love going back over the prior year's pages and seeing what I did - things like a Pink Martini concert, a trip to New York, and a lot of rehearsal days.  I used to just tear out my favorite pictures and recycle the rest, but now I like to hold on to the calendar as a simple momento of what happened that year.

In other news, I think I've officially shifted from a blue-green phase to a purple phase. (I'll be casting on that dark purple Eco-Wool later today for a Vivian knit-a-long I'm doing with my friend Maggie.)  Does anyone else do this? Get obsessed with a color, then move on to another, and so on? My phases usually last for about 5-6 months, then I ban myself from buying the shade for a while and then I'll usually come back to it again. (My last purple phase was Oct 2007-May 2008) Maybe I can talk myself into a yellow phase next.

In other other news, I got my 400th comment on my last post, from the lovely Jen at Pretty Little Pictures. I always love hearing from my readers, so thanks to you all for brightening my day 400 times!

Stitching in the New Year

I'm very particular about my calendars, just ask Mr. Cleaver. Every year around this time comes the search for the perfect wall calendar, which usually requires visiting a minimum of three-five places that sell calendars. I figure I have to look at it for a whole year, so it better be good. (For the record, last year's was a Jaime Wyeth one).

This is not my home calendar, but for my wall at work, where I knew I wanted a year-at-a glance format because the majority of my work scheduling revolves around things like 2nd Thursday of every month.

The calendar panel came from SeptemberHouse on Etsy. The inspiration image is a print by Charles Gesmar I found during a search for circus images on All Posters.

This was my first attempt at doing fill stitches and there were definitely times I thought the elephant was turning into a giant grey blog, but I'm really happy with the way it all turned out and now I get to enjoy it for a whole year (after which I'll probably turn it into a pillow and enjoy it even longer!)

Christmas in California...

...or you really can't go home again.

Mr. Cleaver and I just returned from an almost week spent at my Mother's in Napa, California. Our flight out was delayed (canceled and re-booked, really) by two days due to a huge snowstorm on the east coast, but our actual travel was fairly uneventful.

It'd been two and half years since I'd last been back and it was the first time I was truly hit by the fact that I didn't live there anymore. Though in general Napa has gotten more touristy, with large hotels and tourist-aimed shopping centers being the most noticeable changes, not all that much was different (the Uptown Theatre is still closed, the flood abatement project still isn't completed, the Cinedome still stands tall, my mother's favorite restaurant is still the Red Hen, and Butter Cream still makes the best doughnuts in town).

But it wasn't home - I didn't remember my way around the roads, my childhood bedroom was filled with boxes of things that weren't mine, all the art seemed lower on the walls, I couldn't recall where the pots went in the kitchen, the bakery I once worked in was now a hair salon. I not longer had any ownership of the place as it is, only as it was and it was a sobering feeling.

That said, the weather was beautiful and it was nice to see family (Mr. Cleaver got to meet a lot of my mother's side of the family for the first time) and friends (shout out to Angie & Steve, Sean, Heatherly & Angelina!). I love that there will always be people in my life that no matter how long it's been since we've talked or seen each other (which is regrettably often too long), we can always pick back up right where we left off - and that's a comforting feeling.

I didn't take many photos while on the trip, but I did take a series of shots on Christmas morning when Mr. Cleaver and I visited my neighborhood park (which is, yes, also a city drainage basin). I'd like to point out that Mr. Cleaver is wearing my Christmas gift to him, a Woven Bands Pullover re-imagined as an Elizabeth Zimmerman shirt-yoke seamless sweater knit in Cascade Eco-Wool.  Mr. Cleaver loves it, which makes me so happy  - you have no idea.

S'more Pie: Take Two

Back on May 14th, 2008 I posted a pie without a recipe or a link to a recipe - it was an attempt that didn't quite work out and I hadn't gotten another chance to test out a new version.  My brother has not let me live this down. He pretty much brings it up every time we talk.

In general, I just wasn't all that inspired to give it another try, but then I had the Snicker's Pie at the Great Lost Bear and found my chocolate filling. That, along with  having my company holiday potluck today, gave me enough reason to make a second go. (Oh  - and can I say my company's Christmas potluck includes a fresh raw oyster shucking station and a pound of local shrimp is the parting gift? I love Maine. )

The tart was a big hit at the party -  it turned out exactly how I wanted, chocolately without being too much like cake or pudding and a perfect balance of flavors.  And so after a year and a half of waiting,  here it is.

Merry Christmas, Big Brother.

S’more Pie

Makes 8 to 10 servings

For crust: 8 to 9 graham crackers,  finely ground (about 1 cup) 5 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/4 cup sugar

For filling: 1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) heavy cream 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (not more than 65% cacao if marked)(as always, I prefer Ghirardelli’s) 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt

For Topping: Half a bag of mini-marshmallows

Equipment: a 9-inch round fluted tart pan (1 inch deep) or 9-inch pie pan

Make crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Shift together graham crackers and sugar. Stir in melted butter and press evenly onto bottom and up sides of tart pan. Bake until firm, about 10-12 minutes. Cool on a rack 15 to 20 minutes

Make filling:

Bring cream to a boil, then pour over chocolate in a bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and salt in another bowl until frothy, then fold into melted chocolate.

Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until filling is set about 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly, 20 to 25 minutes. (Center will continue to set as tart cools.) Cool completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour.

Add topping: Distribute about half a bag of mini marshmallows on the tart, until the top of tart is evenly covered and place under broiler until marshmallows are golden brown (about 1-2 minutes, but watch carefully and rotate as needed).

Best served when marshmallows are warm and gooey! (If you don't eat it all in one sitting - and I'd be amazed if you do - it's seriously rich, store in the fridge. Let sit out until room temperature before eating and if desired, microwave for a few seconds to re-gooify the marshmallows).

In other news, last weekend I made my annual batch of peanut brittle and this photo op was too good to skip, even if my hair is a little crazy and I'm wearing one of John's flannel shirts.

CHOMP!

In other, other news. I'm off to my hometown of Napa, California for a week come Sunday. I haven't been back since before I was married! I may not have internet while I'm gone, but I'll let you know all about it on my return. If you're a Napa-based reader, send me a email/comment before Sunday - I'd love to meet up!