SIX WEEK RECESS...

I didn't really plan to take a break...I've been dealing with a health issue and a few other inconveniences, then I began a BIG studio clean out and finally got back my sewing mojo...so here I am!

I tried out Sandra Betzina's new jacket/vest pattern, V1540, in a two-sided
quilted poly from Mood Fabrics.

I love that the other side (solid "merlot") shows a little when I move...

The weight of this fabric is better-suited to my climate than some of the heavier ones I've sewn lately...although, it's in the high eighties this weekend, so I'll
need to bring out my lighter-colored clothes now.

I also made another pair of my "Trifecta" pants in a pretty floral print stretch cotton from Marcy Tilton..

.
Teddy is doing well, maturing a little bit...he goes to a doggy day care several times a week at his trainer's where he gets to play with the big dogs. He's growing
big, himself!

I forgot to take pictures of some of the food I've been cooking, except for  this recipe for
linguini and clams,
 which is one of our favorites...

It's better with little manilla clams, but this is what my market had.

I'm hard at work on a somewhat complicated jacket in my studio...I hope it will be finished by the next time I post!

I'm heading off to Patti's Visible Monday party...come pay us a visit!

TTYL

A BIENTôT À PARIS!

Last blog post before I leave for Paris! I am getting SOOOO excited! I managed to make one last pair of pants to go in my travel wardrobe...

I used my 

"Trifecta"pants pattern and a gorgeous cotton/silk blend cross-dyed fabric

from Marcy Tilton.

I am pleased and highly relieved that my foot is much better and will not slow me down in Paris. I went twice a week for three weeks to my chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries, and he performed the magic!

Teddy has continued to dominate our lives...he is growing so tall, and he 

LEAPS at the counters in the kitchen in the hopes of getting up there. Luckily, when we built the house, we added several inches to the height of the counters.

We'll be safe for a little while...

Here he is, flying back from a run on the (covered) pool.He seems to like it equally, with or without water...

Even though we haven't gotten lower temperatures in our area, the trees and vineyards are turning colors and my thoughts turn to heartier fall dishes.

I made "Drunken Beans" from a recipe from Rancho Gordo and they were wonderful!

This morning, I started a new-to-me recipe;Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder with

Caramelized Onions and Apple Confit. I chose not to use my Instant Pot, but to do it in a Dutch oven on stove-top and then in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Here are the onions, caramelizing...

and here is the pot coming out of the oven. I'll serve it with wide noodles and roasted delicata squash. YUMMMMMMMY!

No, he didn't get any, and yes, it was a fantastic 5-star meal!

I've done my travel wardrobe planning a little differently this year...here are the "finalists" from which I will choose:

Let me know what you think of this way. Now the hard part comes, deciding which items stay, and which have to go.

I will be joining up with Patti's Visible Monday, so come on over and say hi!

I probably will not blog from Paris; I'll have only my iPad and very little free time. I think I'll 
follow Shams' example and post pictures on Instagram instead. I'm mhoutz4 if you want to
follow me.

TTYL

SEWING, BOOKS AND PUPPY---WHAT A TRIO!

That's how I've spent my time since the last post...

This vest is Sandra Betzina's new pattern, Vogue 1510 and the fabric, which is a wool mix with shiny dots woven in it, is one from several seasons back via Marcy Tilton.

I love this fabric...but it didn't behave very well, so I learned a new-to-me technique from a tutorial written by Bunny at La Sewista, flatlining with seam finish.

It involves sewing a layer of fabric, in this case silk organza, to each pattern piece before any sewing takes place. The resulting double fabric is treated as one piece, so the unsightly parts of the interior are masked, and the hems are
encased in Hong Kong seams. It took a lot of time, but the results were worth it!

I made another iteration of the PaperCut Rise and Fall Turtleneck, using a lightweight Ponte knit, also from Marcy Tilton. Unlike my previous attempts,
the collar on this was "upright and uptight", so I removed it and recut it.

I really like this fabric, which Marcy called "Black Marble".

And here I am with Teddy, who is growing up fast! He had his final puppy shot this week, so he is safe to go "out in the world", he got microchipped, AND
he and I are signed up for 6 weeks of puppy school. We both need it!

 Here he is in the kitchen last night, trying very hard to trip Dave and me up!

And the books...The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead...I had a little trouble getting into this, but I persevered and am glad I did. Quite an insight into slavery and the attempts to end it, and very well written.

A Man Called Ove, by Fredrick Backman. Enjoyable and quite a good character study of a difficult man.

And I just started listening to Louise Penny's new book A Great Reckoning, another chapter in the life of Three Pines and Armand Gamache. I haven't tired of this series yet.

These 3 books were on Audible, which I listen to in my studio. As far as my Kindle books go, I have discovered a new mystery series by Inger Ash Wolfe which features a 63-year-old female D.I. in Port Dundas, in a Canadian county. I'm on #2 and enjoying it.

There are 7 ½ weeks till the Tilton Paris Trip. I THINK my travel wardrobe is in
good shape, except for a pair of pants I will sew in a couple of weeks. We shall see!

Other than enjoying the amazing fruits and vegetables available right now, I haven't spent much time in the kitchen. Except for this...

I adore fresh figs, and the season is so short...these are Roasted Mission Figs with Blue Cheese and Honey. AH...so delicious!

My 5-year blogging anniversary is coming up next week...first post! And, as long as I'm looking at stats (which I don't do very often), I hit over-a-million page views a little while ago!

I'm headed over to the party at Patti's Visible Monday...come join us!

TTYL

YAY FOR SEWING MOJO!

The sewing mojo chez Houtz has been strong lately! I made another Paris Piece,
a very textured silver tunic to go with many of my already-sewn jackets.

The pattern is my old friend B5526, with added pockets and a stand-up ruffled collar. Shams from Communing with Fabric chose the fabric for me, a textured synthetic from Fabrix several years ago.

It enhances many of the fabrics in my Paris Wardrobe-to-be, so I made it so that I could use it as a layer, as well as on its own.

Here it is under the Minoru

under the Giant Houndstooth jacket I made for Portugal

and under my knit vest from last year

I'm very pleased with it!  Here is a peek at the new hanging rack I got to put the Paris wardrobe possibilities on...more on this later.

After I finished that, I went to work on my "Franken Pant" pattern, which is 
Marcy Tilton's V8929 plus my custom pattern from Lynda Maynard. I'm trying to get the combined patterns (that's the Franken part) to the point that I can cut them out, serge all the edges and sew them together in a day. The first one was a wadder, the second ok, but meh...and here's the third one in a stretch cotton from someone on Etsy...

o

It gets better every time! While I was doing all this sewing, I listened to the
final two books of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes trilogy, Finders Keepers and End of Watch.  They're pretty good...I've not been a Stephen King  fan in the past, but I enjoyed Mr. Mercedes so I decided to follow through on the last two. After those, I started Barkskins, Annie Proulx's new book. It's loooooong and fabulous. I'm about ⅔ finished. All these audio books are available on Audible Books.

Before I bring you up to date on the puppies (I know some of you are mostly interested in them....!) here's a RTW outfit from Sun Kim that I had to have...

I've already worn it several times and I love it!

Our beloved housekeeper gifted me with this awesome charm "bracelet" for my birthday...her sister made it and I'm so touched by it!

It's a spool of thread, a button, a dress form, a measuring tape, a thimble and a pair of scissors with a rose. Love it!

And one more thing...there were quite a few questions after my last post about  my raincoat...here are some answers...

I didn't line it or add inside pockets as I wanted it to be as lightweight as possible.
I did not shorten it.
The top in "the wineglass picture" was the top of this Alembika outfit that I bought in Oregon

...

The sheer sleeves belong to my "Sleevey Wonder"!

And HERE are the latest pictures of the puppies...(they are English Cocker Spaniels, blue roan, and we're only getting ONE although Dave has been wondering if we should get TWO
NO I said...

..

I have a very cute video of them tussling with each other, yipping and GROWLING...
I'll try to up load it.

Well, I tried twice and I couldn't get it to work... 

I'm headed over to Patti's Visible Monday...come see us!

TTYL
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