A Bookish Life

The Last Day

It's the last day of the Make Something Everyday Challenge, and of course my camera batteries took this opportunity to go kaput.

I loved the challenge and thought it was just the sort of inspiration-- not to mention distraction-- that I needed.

I loved:
a. thinking about what to make and show
b. jumping between genres
c. seeking out quick inspiration and running with it

The only thing I didn't love was feeling like I needed to pick small projects so I could finish them in whatever 15 minute time slot I had open.

So, instead of showing you the tiny little project I finished the month with, I wanted to take this opportunity to announce the February challenge. Why a challenge? Because I need some smokescreen of accountability if I'm ever going to concentrate. Why a theme? Because I happen to think they're fun!For the month of February, I plan to follow a single line of inspiration. It's the way I would go about making an art collection, a story- if you will. The theme will transcend all genres and although I don't have a daily obligation to finish something, I will be working on something each day.

We'll see how it goes. Join in if you are so inclined- the more the merrier! The theme for February is "Rain."

Day 28

A birthday is a marvelous thing! I think my parents were great at imparting a feeling of specialness to each of our birthday months/weeks/days, and it's a happy tradition I get to carry over into my adult life now. It helps that I have a fantastic group of friends who have been supportive of my creating/design dreams for the last few years now.

A friend is having a birthday soon. Sure, she may see her silk and tapestry present ahead of time here with all of you. But she won't know for certain it's hers until she opens the brown paper package!

The design was a new one for me. I caught sight of the shape when flipping through Vogue magazine last night and thought it would just perfect for a spring bag. I plan to make a few smaller models to put in shops around town, along with the wallets and pouches.

Day 26

A new volume of Henry James tales and a homemade mocktail. Today I'm creating a mood- a little bit decadent, a dash of sophistication, and a pinch of relaxation.

I read through an old Donna Hay recipe for non-alcoholic punch and came up with this little concoction:

Grapefruit Mocktail
juice of 1 grapefruit
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C water

Shake these ingredients together in a jar with a couple handfuls of ice. Then add a little extra water, if it's too sour or sweet and top with a spash of soda water (although I used a blood orange italian soda for an extra kick, not everyone has access to such luxuries).

Happy Saturday!

Love

I've been going on and on about new patterns lately- even one post in this rabbit trail brain of mine insinuates a preoccupation bordering on obsession. But, did all you sewers know about this new pattern from Denyse Schmidt? Please tell me I'm not the last to know.
They're carrying the instructions at the incomparable Purl Soho shop in New York. I'm hoping I have the time and energy to put something pretty like this together for our newly organized and redecorated office/study/guest room.

While I was there, I had to notice the new clothing patterns from Amy Butler and the new spring line of Liberty prints are out. They showcased both on the blog. The adult jumpers are just asking to be part of the post-pregnancy wardrobe redux, and the fabric should, in a perfect world, become several tiny baby jumpers.

Speaking of tiny babies, however, those might not actually work for little Cate. She's estimated to be close to four pounds already, measuring big for just 31/32 weeks!

A Girl Can Dream

I love when the pattern lines release their spring collections. The world according to dresses is just a little more fun. So, I can't exactly start wearing dresses with waists while I cart around this growing baby, but I surely can start to plan and dream, now can't I?

I also love:* this shirt pattern. * the Project Runway collection (that shift dress is just begging to be made)* the Burda World of Fashion magazine I picked up this month in Barnes and Noble

Sketching and cooking have been the creative forces of the weekend. Sometimes just rummaging through fabrics and ideas feels like a world of creation.

Making Time

The last couple days have passed in a bit of a blur. Taking care of a terribly sick husband, visiting a new baby (!), spending time with several important people, and trying to get my work done and my house clean on the side, has left little room for swimming (ah, disappointment- but at least its gotten cold and I don't have the same desperate desire), reading, resting, or creative endeavors.

I picked up five small kale plants, five blueberry plants, and a rose bush from the plant nursery today, so hopefully tomorrow I will be creating a little in the garden.

Tonight I'm passing the time watching Planet Earth past my bedtime, trying to finish a couple resumes before their deadlines (my day job is resume writing), and taking the occasional, procrastinator blog break.

Day 15

Today I worked on wallets bound for Alter Ego. This little trio needs only to be paired with their buttons before being tagged and whisked away.

Its been a rough seven days and I find myself thinking uncontrollably about swimming. Perhaps tomorrow I can set aside a few adult tasks. Perhaps the house will be clean and the work will be done. Perhaps I can barrel toward the water in my hand-me-over maternity tankini, submerge my heavy heart, and leave all those cares beneath the surface when I leave.

Days 12 and 13

In all these days of creation, there is still one thing I can't decide: Is it better to feel like there is too much creative magic and not enough time or that there are fields of empty minutes waiting to be picked, but no inspiration (or skill)? This weekend was certainly an issue of the former, but I managed to make a few significant forays into the world of inspiration.

I ended the week with a garden plan. From consulting my seed catalogs, my existing garden bed, and a few local nurseries, I decided on just the right assortment of fruits and vegetables to nurture this year. Brandywine tomatoes, blueberries, red onions, and more will find their place in my yard and in our bellies. I'm so excited to get started, but faced with the everpresent problem- the garden is just not big enough for all that I want it to hold. Even when it spills into the side garden, I have to make the inevitable decision to cut some things out. It's excruciating, but I think I ended with a pleasing and condensed list.

Now, I just need to meet with my raised bed architect, order the seeds from Baker Creek, and buy the items that will go in the ground now- blueberry bushes, roses, and an apple tree for Cate. This is one of those projects earmarked with *finish before the baby comes, so I'm hoping to get seedlings ready to plant by March 24th.

This weekend I also started another little baby dress:
It's a soft gray with a cute little pocket on the front. I just need to add snaps and buttons to finish the project. I haven't yet decided if I'll need to keep this one, or if I'll be able to give it up. The jumper is so plain and simple that I love it. Why do baby clothing shops so constantly feel the need to overcome a baby's natural softness and warmth with garish pastel patterns and prints? It's my own little soapbox, and I'm afraid I get on it too frequently.

Anyway, little Cate will want for nothing in the clothing department as she received two huge shipments of hand-me-overs (as Brian likes to call them), and can expect even more from her cousin Addyson who is due to arrive sometime tomorrow!!

Finally, as I wear you down comlpetely with weekend creating, I tried a new french toast recipe on Sunday morning. My mom was a master at french toast growing up, and try as I might, I haven't been able to replicate her recipe the way I remember it. Because it calls for a frying pan, it's always been a little too hands-on for breakfast company (my favorite sort of entertaining). So this weekend I tried a baked french toast with homemade bread from an old issue of Everyday Food and it was as close to my mom's recipe as I've ever gotton-- and the oven does all the work, leaving me to emerge from my sleepy coma slowly, with delicious smells swirling about the house.

I would be remiss not to share it, with my corrections alterations.

Baked French Toast
Combine 4 eggs, 3/4C half and half, 3/4C milk, 1/3C sugar, and a teaspoon sized dash of vanilla. Whisk.
Pour mixture into 9x13" pan and lay several thick slices of homemade bread in the goo- I could fit 6. Soak for 15 minutes. Turn and soak for 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
Transfer to buttered pan and cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

* most people would lather with maple syrup and enjoy at this point, but having always been a maple-syrup-hater, I covered mine with a thin film of fruit jam and fresh blueberries. Delicious!

Days 10 and 11

I'm completely sold on the idea of having a little girl after making this little jumper as a gift for a friend. The picture's a little fuzzy, but you probably get the idea.

The buttons are hand-painted and really just a smokescreen to conceal the highly practical snap shoulders. The size is for a large baby, pre-toddler. I have so many more of these little dresses dancing through my mind, and another similar present (for someone else) sitting on the cutting table.

This was a day 10 creative project. I keep trying to find the energy to tackle day 11, but I sure am not there yet. In fact, I'm still operating at a deficit. The only thing that is promisingly tempting is this tantalizing dinner idea. It's not exacly the time of year to find eight ball zucchini at my local produce market, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Day 9

Yesterday was an amazingly productive day. On day nine the most significant thing I made was progress on the nursery.

You see, the beauty of photography was when I showed you the picture of my nursery progress before, I neglected to show the floor that you couldn't walk through, the desk piled high, or the mound of projects stacked precisely everywhere. Now, what the picture doesn't show is a vast expanse of clean cream colored wood floors, an empty desk, and one tiny, measly corner of mess that still needs to be gone through and put away.

Now I can breathe a little easier when people ask "Is the nursery ready?" as they look pointedly at my growing belly, instead of assuming the look of panic and bolting from the room. Of course, it's not exactly ready, but we do have a place for the baby to sleep, one pack of diapers, and an assortment of clothes.

But because making progress, however valuable, isn't exactly what I meant in the spirit of the Make Something Everyday Challenge, I also tried out a new white sandwich bread recipe that came with my stand mixer. It came together like a dream and made the house smell wonderfully bready while I worked, toiled, and sweated through mountains of fabric and layers of thread.

I have a few ideas of what to make today- day 10. The clean sewing area in the nursery room whispers that I should pull out every fabric I own and drape them together over the bare expanse. It is quite possible that I need to practice sewing without the creative trail to mark my every thought process and whim.