Category: Uncategorized

I have really tried to figure out a good way to keep track of sewing patterns, fabric stash, and my current plans – and so far, I am largely failing at tracking anywhere other than my brain. I do my best work impulsively, so honestly that’s what this blog is going to be – waiting for fabric that I ordered to arrive so that I can start making the garments I have in mind.

That said, I did make myself another Hartwell Vest last weekend with some fabric I’ve had for about a year, and I was so pleased with the fit and execution that I ordered some wool broadcloth to make another one in a less wintery-looking fabric. So, that may be another weekend project as the fabric is supposed to be here on Friday.

But the other fabric order I’m waiting for is purely a whim purchase – Fabric Mart Fabrics had a 65% off sale and I happened to see an organza bomber jacket on Anthropologie’s website while I was browsing their sale last week. So here’s what I ordered (on the left). And it took some searching but the image on the right is the closest color match I could find in a ribbed knit.

Basic idea for the jacket below, but in red of course. Hm, I really hope the ribbing works with that tomato red organza. But of course, colors in person frequently turn out differently than colors online so WHO KNOWS.

If the ribbing doesn’t match, I might just use a black or cream one. Either way, I figure this will make a nice late summer/fall “jacket.” Plus I would like to be better at sewing other types of silk than crepe and, like, faille. And hiding all the seam allowances will be a fun exercise.

But as always, no promises that I will keep up with it. I’ve always processed stuff through writing it down so this may scratch my sewing/planning itch while I’m way from my sewing machine.

I’ve been sewing a bit over a year now and it’s gratifying to see myself get better and better at it. I’ve let all my other hobbies fall to the wayside, except video games (occasionally) and reading I guess. Oh and I have been baking bread again after Stephen got me the Mockmill for Christmas. He is killing it with gifts these days. He needs to like take a year off to let me catch up.

Last year I bought a year-long subscription to Cashmerette Club and sewed almost entirely Cashmerette patterns. This year I decided to subscribe to Seamwork instead. I am missing Cashmerette but mainly because I had gotten to the place where I did not have to make a toile for their patterns as I knew exactly what size I would need (and even adjustments – always lower the bust apex by 1″). Now I am trying Seamwork patterns as well as some other independent pattern makers and am having to force myself not to skip the muslin step. I’m almost through my old quilting cotton stash from Helen and am going to have to start buying sheets at thrift stores soon.

Right now I am sort of participating in the Design Your Wardrobe course at Seamwork. It’s helping me to figure out what my style is or what I want it to be, and last week I picked out colors I want to use for the coming season. This week I think we’re going to be looking at silhouettes and picking actual patterns. I have some already that I want to sew – a slip dress, a button-up shirt with a pleated back, a shirt dress. But the refining is very helpful and I hope that once the class is over, I can stick to the plan and stop myself from buying any new fabric or patterns (hah).

Currently I am working on my third trench coat, using this corduroy fabric from Julia Allison Cost. It’s so so cool. It’s also reminding me that I need to have some neutrals that i can wear underneath the coat, since it’s not exactly a neutral itself.

I have it almost finished. I have to finish the sleeves and then the hems, and do the button holes and buttons, but I think that’s it. Should have some buttons coming from Wawak today or tomorrow.

It’s one of the good mornings. Sometimes I feel so calm and peaceful and comfortable in my body and it’s such a pleasure. This morning was rainy and dark and the leaves are starting to turn yellow and fall off of the trees, and even though I am sitting here in my brightly-glaring-yet-dull office, I am feeling peaceful. I know it won’t last all day so I just wanted to take this moment to acknowledge it and savor it.

I keep meaning to journal more but forget to carry a journal around – so when my domain name renewed again this year I remembered I have this blog. Not as much fun to write in, but still scratches that itch.

I think when Covid happened, I started drinking too much. I know I’m not alone there. But I’m going to be 40 years old in a few months and I want to start acting like it. Not to say that I don’t enjoy cocktails and wine or that I want to swear them off entirely. I just really want to make them special occasion indulgences. I don’t want to drink any more in the middle of the week, or even much on the weekend. Maybe a cocktail on Friday but if I can’t limit it to that, maybe abstain totally except for fancy dinners out or parties.

The reason I wanted to do this is mainly because I need to be healthier as I’m turning 40 and getting older. I’m starting to think about aging more, as I’m noticing my face change and my hair change and my body change. I’ve mostly stopped smoking which is really great, but now I need to mostly stop drinking too. In reading about how alcohol affects your mind and body, I know that I am using it as a crutch and that it’s causing me to feel less happiness if I’m not drinking – but abstinence can heal that. It’s also causing me to really have a harder time focusing, and my reading comprehension is not what I would like it to be either – mainly because I can’t focus. I want to change these things.

As aging is more and more on my mind, I need to stop using alcohol to distract myself from it and make myself feel temporarily better. Aging isn’t bad, after all. And I think my avoidance is creating dread. Aging isn’t bad. One of the only IG reels I’m actually glad to have to seen is a woman in her 50’s responding to a younger woman to tell her that aging is a gift. And I know I’ve heard that sentiment before but it made me thankful. Aging IS a gift. (Not to go into that analogy too deeply – can’t say who the gift is from but it feels more meaningful than saying it’s luck.) (Maybe a gift from yourself.)

So anyway, I think my goals this week are

• No alcohol at all
• Menu planning and stick to it
• Prep lunches the night before going to the office
• Mow the lawn
• Clean the house, including mirror trays and dusting
• Find an interesting non-fiction book to read, and read a little bit every day to work on focusing

Looks like this blog has turned into a Thanksgiving planning space for me. That was unintentional – but maybe lack of intentionality is the problem.

Well anyway, Thanksgiving is ten days out, and I’m getting pretty excited! Have decided to smoke a turkey on the Weber grill this year. Previous years, I’ve used an electric roaster to make the turkey which leaves the oven free for all the other stuff I have to use it for, but I have never figured out how to achieve a uniformly-colored bird with that roaster. I wanted to try the oven but couldn’t figure out a way to cook the turkey AND all the casseroles/rolls that I’ll be baking on Thursday. How do people with one oven do it all?! I don’t want to know. So — planning to do a wet brine and then smoke it on Thursday.

The rest of the meal will be your standard Southern Thanksgiving fare. The only new dishes for this year will be a broccoli casserole, and some glazed carrots. I always want to do carrots but never end up planning any – so have fixed that problem this year. I am trying a new cranberry relish this year too- half cranberries, half apples, with some citrus. I’m thinking of getting some Calvados to spike it a little too.

This last weekend (today is Monday), I made a bunch of hog bone broth (with some hog bones from our CSA) and also cleaned out the freezer. Did some cleaning and re-organizing in the kitchen too, hoping to make it feel less cluttered in there. I need to clean out the grill sometime this week, but otherwise I’m mostly caught up until this weekend. This will give me plenty of time to try to finish playing Red Dead Redemption (the original) so that I can start playing RDR2 on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I started RDR1 several months ago after Liesl strongly recommended it, and sorta got distracted by stuff after making it into Mexico. I decided to get RDR2 because I DO like the feel of the game, and the new one is supposed to be spectacularly gorgeous, and I wanted a new game to play after Thanksgiving. I preordered Fallout 76 but then canceled the preorder after reading too many bad/skeptical reviews. I’m not much for PvP games. I feel like a traitor to the franchise, and will probably get the game later once it’s not so expensive, because I do love FO and have played the last 3 games. But I didn’t want to spend $60 on something I’m not sure that I’ll like (duh). Plus even though I have put HOURS into FO4, I have still not ever actually finished the game because it keeps bugging out on me. First playthrough I couldn’t finish off the Railroad and the Institute because – though Deacon had already died – the game thought that he was still alive and living on top of the Mass Fusion building. Second playthrough I can’t finish off the Institute because f’ing Desdemona won’t even acknowledge me (I think this is because I let a Railroad agent die during the battle of Bunker Hill). Drove me crazy, may never play the game again. (I DO have some mighty fine settlements from both playthroughs though, I will note.)

Anyway, so there you have my Thanksgiving plans. We just got new dishes and new wine glasses too, and I got a new roasting pan (purely out of necessity since I can’t very well use the electric roaster on the grill) – so yeah, excited about using everything. Not nearly as excited about the next five days at work, but I’ll live.

I have held back on blogging about Thanksgiving because I don’t have much to say that isn’t purely gushing with excitement….but sorry, going to go ahead and tell you ALL about it.

So! I am incorporating a few new things this year, and sticking with the old staples that make the day Thanksgiving. Menu this year includes –

Roasted turkey, which I have ordered from Porter Road Butcher and is probably frolicking around in a field right now which makes me happy. I wish these turkeys came with names. This year, I’m going to do a wet brine again (a cider and citrus brine which sounds AMAZING), and I also purchased an injector this year! Going to inject a butter and cider/citrus marinade that I will probably make up next Wednesday. I’m excited about how this will add to the flavor of the turkey – have never done this before!

I’m also going to do a roasted acorn squash for Katie because Stephen has an amazing recipe and I feel bad that Katie never gets a “main dish.”

Stephen will be making the stuffing this year. I made it last year since he was out of town…but I can’t remember what recipe he uses so can’t say anything about it…..

I’ll be doing Aunt Carol’s Sweet Potato Casserole, OF COURSE, and I’m also making mashed potatoes (of course). This year I’m going to try Julia Child’s recipe for garlic mashed potatoes, which basically consists of blanching a fuck ton of garlic (30 cloves, to be more precise) and then combining them with a bechamel….and then adding that to the mashed potatoes. It sounds amazing.

I’ll make the cranberry sauce that I made last year, except I’ll probably use bourbon instead of brandy. And Faith is bringing a cranberry salad, so we’re covered on the cranberry front!

I made some honey butter rolls last year which were delicious, so I’m going to use that recipe again this year. Nothing new or exciting – except that rolls are always exciting, so I should really just say nothing new.

Katie is bringing some kind of green dish (like made with green vegetables). Not sure what yet, or how many.

And probably last on the menu is another Thanksgiving staple – Grandma’s Magic Chocolate Pie. And Faith will make a custard pie.

So that’s the menu.

Have about a million things to buy this weekend for all that. Also I bought a carving board for the turkey this year; it’s basically a cutting board with a grid of small pyramids in the middle to hold your [piece of meat] in place while you carve. I had been pining over silver platters recently, as the turkey platter I’ve used the last several years was purchased at a thrift store and basically feels like plastic. And the more I use it, the more the silver finish washes off. So – new serving board this year!

I realize that it’s on Tuesday…but I really can’t wait for the weekend. Going to spend it cleaning out the refrigerator, grocery shopping, making pie crusts, and cleaning up the kitchen (etc).