THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF SLOW SEWING!

After too many years to count of speedy sewing, trying to get things done quickly, I have become enamored of slow sewing. Why? For one thing, I don't really need many clothes...I have so much and lead a fairly quiet life (Clothes-wise). For another, I have come to appreciate the steps in the process of making something, which includes A LOT of hand sewing, basting, and experiencing the magical process of MAKING.  And for a third thing, I am able to listen to audible books, music, podcasts for some of the time I'm sewing. When I get to a hard part, I turn off the sound and concentrate on what my hands are doing.

So, as I mentioned, I have been working on another Koos van den Akker
pattern, V1493, a kimono-styled jacket with "tulip-banded sleeves".

I made it in an "embossed velvet knit" in two shades of gunmetal gray from Emma One Sock, trimmed with (LOTS OF) bias binding in a stretch taffeta in metallic gray. This jacket used even more bias binding than my previous one, and was very labor-intensive.

Laying out the criss-crossing bias tape on the sleeve band.

After attaching the sleeve band. I probably spent more than 2 weeks on this, but I am very happy with the end result; I wore it out to dinner the other night and received many compliments.

After that was finished, I moved on to a vest to add to my travel wardrobe for our upcoming trip to London and Scotland.

I'm sure you recognize my TNT vest pattern, V1453; the fabric is a very interesting Black and Red Abstract Embroidered Lacy Mesh which I got from

Mood Fabrics sometime last year. It is embroidered wool mesh on a nylon tuile

base.

When I got it, I knew the red wasn't right for my use, it was somewhat on the orange side. So, I overdyed it...SEVERAL TIMES, with different types of dye, until I got the red I wanted. All that hot water also shrunk the wool a little

so that it's not so see-through. I really like it!

I lined it in a red satin, so it should be warm for the all-spectrum weather we will have in Scotland.

We leave a week from today; we will fly to London and spend a few days visiting the new Tate Modern wing and have a dinner at NOPI. Then we'll take a train to Glasgow for 3 days. After that, we'll go by train to Inverness, whereupon we'll embark on a week-long small ship cruise on "The Lord of the Glens" to the "Heart of the Highlands". Neither Dave nor I have been to Scotland, so I'm really looking forward to it.

For those who have asked, this is what I've been reading/listening to in the last few weeks:

books  

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Blacklight Blue by Peter May

Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves

Earthly Remains by Donna Leon

The Old Man by Thomas Perry

audible

Broken Harbor by Tana French

The Secret Place by Tana French

Celine by Peter Heller

music

C.P.E.Bach Symphonies and Cello Concerto

Leonard Cohen, Complete Studio Albums

Madredeus

Mariza

Podcasts-

On Being with Krista Tippett

We've been escaping the ongoing construction and termite work whenever we can...last week we took a picnic lunch to our old winery and vineyard (now Beckmen Vineyards) so I could check out some of the many roses I planted more than 35 years ago...

Those olive trees in the back are part of a gift for my 50th birthday from Dave...
50 olive trees!

Here's Dave with his well-loved and used tractor, which came with the raw land when we bought it in 1979!

My travel wardrobe will rely heavily on my past trips to Portugal and Paris... I have updated the pictures, which follow:

,

As I did during my Paris trip, I will not try to blog, but I will put some photos as we go on my Instagram account, here.  We'll be back the middle of May. This afternoon, I'm heading over to Visible Monday, where Patti is hosting our party!

TTYL

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

FASHION, FOOD AND FOOTWEAR!

I carved out some studio time over the last two weeks and worked on this;

I returned to V1510, Sandra Betzina's vest pattern from last fall. I have been holding on to this verrrrry interesting fabric from EOS which I got a long time ago. It's a medium weight black jersey with squares of faux leather glued on. It looks a little like an alligator, but with a lot more texture...and you know me, I'm all about texture!

..

I removed the extended shoulder, drafted a facing, and changed the pockets to folded patch pockets. The facing, collar and pocket lining were out of a lightweight faux leather, also from EOS.

Here are closeups of the collar and pockets:

The vagaries of the fabric made this a little hard to fit, but it's unusual and subtle and I really like it! The snuggly boots are my latest Stuart Weitzman find on eBay..."Humzozomay Shearling Studs Wedge Boots"

Dave came in the other afternoon with the first harvest of our "Moro" blood oranges...so we had these at cocktail hour...

 Blood Orange Margarita with Ginger  Beautiful AND Tasty!


Since I had the camera out yesterday, I also took pictures of an outfit I bought in Paris at Juliette Ozouf.I would characterize her clothing as high-end boho...simple shapes, exquisite fabrics, subtle textures.

These are mostly wool, but so lightweight that I can wear them in my climate at least half the year.

Dave and I celebrated our 41st anniversary last week...with a fantastic meal and a bottle of good wine.

To celebrate the arrival of my Rancho Gordo Bean Club quarterly box, I used

the RG Cassoulet beans to make one of my favorite recipes:

Here's the recipe: it's Caramelized Onion Cassoulet and has no meat or cheese in it. It's OUTSTANDING! And while I was at it, I made this: Bon Appetit's Best Chai Masala.

I'm drinking it as I write.

Books? I read "The Dry", a debut novel by Jane Harper set in Australia, which I quite liked. I'm listening to "The Mischling" by Affinity Komar...a very hard book,

but the writing is gorgeous. I listen to it in small segments. It's about a set of twins in Auschwitz. If you can handle the subject matter, it's well worth reading (or listening to).

And finally, sad news about our Teddy...he is deaf. He was not deaf when we picked him up from the breeder, but he is now, and is proving very hard to train.

But we love him dearly and will do everything we can to help him learn his manners.

That's it for now...I'll be heading over to Patti's Visible Monday to join up with the other Visible Women. Come on by!

TTYL

PARIS TRIP, PART 2, AND A WARDROBE REVIEW

More time has passed that I had anticipated...but the memories of the Paris
trip are still warming my heart!

photo by Shams

 This was at the large flea market at Clignancourt, which Shams and I visited to test our Metro skills before the Tilton Tour began. A lotta red!


One of the thrills for me was the evening boat trip on the Seine, in the rain. In all my trips to Paris, I had never done this, and it was magical!

We had a few days of rain on the trip, but not pouring, and for this California
girl, the rain was welcome! Here are the beautiful clouds after a storm.

 The cool weather made dishes like this bouillabaisse all the more welcome...

 Here I am at Cafe Strada for a quick lunch with Shams...

 photo by Shams

I amused myself by taking a "Shamsian" shadow portrait...

and this is a photo of me at the Musée Galliera...

There's that sillhouette again!

TRAVEL WARDROBE REVIEW

I was pretty happy with my choices for the travel wardrobe; I took more clothes than usual, mainly because we were staying in the same room in the same hotel for a little over two weeks. Not having to continually re-pack and schlep a suitcase from place to place was a 
true luxury.

I wore everything I took except for the last-minute red pants. I preferred wearing jeans and I had red jeans in the suitcase, added after this storyboard was made, which were better suited for the weather. 

I also wore the Minoru Coat, the inspiration for the wardrobe, only once. Again, the other jackets and raincoat were better suited to the weather.

I LOVED my raincoat and wore it often.

I wore all the tops a lot; the silver shirt jacket not so much. Again, turtlenecks plus vest plus jacket or coat was more suited to the weather.

I wore all the vests (except for the "Keith Haring" one, which I pulled out at the last moment), and didn't wear the poncho. I find ponchos a little fussy at the best of times, and it just didn't suit the occasion and the weather.

I wore all my boots/shoes (bought 4 more in Paris, of course!), both hats (bought some hats,
too!)and both bags. I carried the Professional Tote as my plane carry-on, coming and returning, and used it several times in Paris. I need to add a strap to it so that I can wear it
cross-body.

So, I'm pleased with the wardrobe; again, I wouldn't take quite as much if I was traveling from place-to-place.I took just the right amount of jewelry and scarves, and the only reason I had
to buy a new suitcase was because of the shopping I did!

I cannot emphasize strongly enough the joy that I experienced on this trip...Marcy and Katherine are the perfect leaders, sensitive to the needs and desires of the group, extremely knowledgeable about where to go in Paris, and a heck of a lot of fun to be with! DO IT!

I made a very good potato recipe last night...Crispy Parmesan Potato Stacks... I halved the

recipe and we're having the other half tonight! Highly recommended!

Books? I just finished reading My Name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I haven't been spending much time in the studio, so the Audible book I'm listening to, Moonglow, by Michael Chabon, is still being listened to. It's good, so far!

Teddy is growing and thriving...he turns 7 months on the 20th. Here he is in my office...

and this is our usual view of him in the kitchen while we are cooking dinner...

I probably won't post again till after the holidays...we are having a quiet Christmas, and leave for Iowa on the 29th to attend our oldest grandson's wedding on New Year's Eve. I am watching the weather reports to make sure I take enough warm clothing.

A very happy holiday to those of you who celebrate, and to those who don't...

from Margy, Dave, Teddy and Micmac

I will be hanging out over at Patti's Visible Mondays; come on over and say hi!

TTYL