CATCH UP!

I'M BAAAACK!

It's been over a month since I last posted...I've been extremely busy, but I have missed connecting with all of you and it's time I brought you up to date with what has been going on...

First of all, Happy New Year to all...I have to confess, I am rather glad to see the end of 2013; I am hoping 2014 will be a happier year for all those I know and love.

So what's been happening?

• Amazon Jungle Cruise over Christmas week
• Jacket Workshop with Shams
• Several wardrobe items sewed
• Memorial for Kenny (Joan's son) yesterday

Our cruise, with Aqua Expeditions, on the upper Amazon in Peru, was fantastic! It was luxurious without being stuffy or glitzy...a wonderful experience with just 24 passengers and an outstanding crew of 22, who catered to our every need before we knew we had it!

We went out on "excursions" twice a day, in comfortable small skiffs with at least one highly trained, personable naturalist per skiff...

Roland was my favorite leader...

We saw wildlife galore...

 Village kids showing an anaconda and a sloth

 An anaconda, up close and personal

 a bat...

 A cayman

 Hen and chicks...

 A deadly poisonous frog...

Lizards...

 Bottle feeding rescued manatee babies

 Village puppies...

 Tarantulas...

 Turtles and highly colored fish...

Blue and gold macaws...

I'll show more trip pictures in a future post....

Next up...the Jacket Workshop with Shams from Communing with Fabric

I felt very privileged to be invited to participate...it was planned by a private group of highly skilled women and they graciously welcomed a "stranger" (moi)

into their midst!

They of course, got more than their money's worth...Sharon did a stellar job, and could easily have a new occupation (workshop leader) if Google ever gave her time off...

These are pictures of Sharon during her "trunk show", on Friday night. She
brought many many garments to show, to everyone's delight. I spied her
"LadyBug Lab Coat" in a familiar red dotted fabric...I tried it on and absolutely
fell in love with it...to make a long story short (you can read her telling of it on her blog), she gave it to me! 

Perfect buttons!

Lucky Me!

I will post more about her wonderful workshop in a later post...right now I have to get the pictures to her (I was the official photographer) so she can write about it too!

And at the risk of a way-too-long-post, these are the clothes I've sewn in the last month:

Another version of my TNT B5526, View C, in a cotton/lycra pinstripe cotton from my local B&M store

This was made for the Amazon trip and was worn a lot...it's a fine white stripe on a black background...a little hard to see the details here, but it has been a real workhorse in my wardrobe.

I also made a pair of StyleArc Lola Pants in a black/white check shirting fabric with a little stretch, from Marcy Tilton

I made them last minute, so I eliminated the pockets, but I like the fit and I will make them again, with pockets. Coincidentally, Marcy made travel pants in the same fabric for herself, and blogged about them.

I'm sure there is at least one more catch up post to come...I'll be back before you know it!

HOLIDAY WISHES...AND A LITTLE BREAK

Here's wishing you all a lovely holiday...Dave, MicMac, Paddywack and I got 
together again for our annual photoshoot...

We are leaving on Thursday for a Christmas cruise on the Amazon...we fly to Lima, Peru, then to Iquitos, where we board the Aqua for 7 days of adventure.
This is a short trip for us; we'll be back before New Year's Eve.

I've done a little sewing for this trip, but it's a very casual cruise, very hot and steamy, so no big wardrobe post! We won't have internet, so I'll take some pictures to show you when we get back.

This has been a bittersweet holiday season, so far; my dear friend Joan lost her
 brilliant 49-year old son from complications following a heart attack. He was a spectacular man, deeply involved with his family, including two young sons, an American Lit professor at Cal Berkeley. Such a tragedy...

Enjoy your loved ones during the holidays...

Margy

THE TURKEY, THE RUANA AND ME...

Thanksgiving was lovely, with DD and DSIL here, just the two of them, for a lovely, relaxing holiday. The turkey was not so lovely...after more than 50 years of cooking a turkey, I UNDERCOOKED the bird...and my capitulation to Dave's wish for sweet potatoes with marshmallows (his memories, not mine!) was also less than stellar. Luckily I was so exhausted that it didn't bother me (much). Maggie and David made side dishes and Dave made pies...those were GOOD!

I have had a wonderful piece of felted wool from Emma One Sock for at least two years...it's quite heavy, a felted gray knit with fabulous black nubs...

It has a great selvage, too, that wanted to be used. I made a ruana this last

week...so easy that I didn't even use a pattern. I had to make a seam down the back so that I could utilize the selvages...

Notice the mirrors hanging from the eucalyptus tree...these pre-date the wedding mirrors-in-the-oak-tree by 15 years...also, notice the branch-coming-
out-of-the-head in most of these pictures...the photographer (that would be 
moi) forgot to check the pictures and then was too lazy to reshoot... it's 76º
outside right now, so a heavy wrap like this one isn't comfortable for too long.
It's supposed to get down in the high 20's - low 30's at night, next week, so maybe I can wear it soon.

I'm sure it will be a surprise to many that Paddywack matches the colors of the 
ruana...or vice versa...

I am participating in both Visible Monday, with the fabulous Patti from Not Dead Yet Style and in December Hat Attack with the equally fabulous Judith from

Style Crone. How lovely of these women to give us an opportunity to "show

off"!

I am still working on my Super Secret knock-off and it has been a godsend this

week; a very dear friend is going through an unspeakable tragedy and any

project I can do to divert my pain for her is welcome. She has no such diversion. Hug your loved ones tight and tell them how much you love them.

Tell them NOW.

Till later...

BITS 'N PIECES...CATCH UP!

My best friend, Joan, had a birthday right in the middle of all the wedding activities, so we put off celebrating it till I could get my act together. That finally happened this last week. First, the food...

(I know I've shown this before, but I LOVE those colors!!!)

We had Lamb Shanks with Gremolata and Baked Polenta and Warm Kale Salad with Maple Roasted Acorn Squash...a perfect meal for our cold rainy night!

For her birthday cake, I made a Clementine and Almond Syrup Cake (AGAIN!)
from my TNT cookbook, Jerusalem...

 

The other part of the celebration was a Travel Vest for Joan; she travels as much or more than I do and had wanted one. I had her try on mine (here and here) and showed her the colors available from the vendor I use. We're almost the same size, so I didn't have to make many changes...she did want a reversible vest, so that was new for me with this pattern.

She close black for one side, with black twill tape and tiny "evil eye" beads I got in the fabulous Ashkabad Market in Turkmenistan. (I astounded the old lady in the market when I bought her entire stock.) The opposite side is the cranberry stretch taffeta I've used before...

I used some printed bias tape for the pocket trim. I had to find a place for my label that wasn't on the neckline...so I hid it behind the zippered pocket!

One change I made was to use elastic in the back waist channel; it works better than trying to make the tape tie gather evenly.

Here are some pictures of the vest on Joan, at her beautiful home on the Alisal Ranch...

N.B. The warrior in the background is from Xian, China, as is my horse who

has lately appeared in the blog...

My jacket is a RTW ponte moto jacket trimmed with (faux) leather by NYDJ, as are the jeans...and my beloved red western boots!

As for my next sewing project, I am working on a Super Secret knockoff of a jacket by one of my favorite designers...I do have a couple of non-sewing posts
to share, so stand by...

Till later!

BLACK AND SILVER!

I've been having a little trouble getting back in the swing of things... I made this in a carmine/black knit from Marcy Tilton, but it seemed dark and murky to me and the style was kinda dumpy...so it's already gone to a new home! I have a new pair of silver jeans, and some spectacular silver boots, so it was clear I needed a top to go with them!

Pattern is V8699, OOP, and I used a black light-ish weight ponte from who-knows-where, and a gray with silver dots knit from Girl Charlee. The necklace is a silver chatelaine which I found in Uzbekistan.

The silver jeans are from Chicos and the shoes are black and gray spectator wedges from Sesto Meucci.....

The gorgeous silver boots are "Groove" Distressed Leather Boot in Pewter...Charles by Charles David, which I got from Bluefly...

I'm making it under the wire for Style Crone's Hat Attack, wearing my very old, very beloved Patricia Underwood hat, which is  soft and worn...

'

and also for Patti at Not Dead Yet Style's Visible Monday.

Cooking? Oh, yes...this

and this

both, of course, from Plenty and Jerusalem, by Ottolenghi and Tamimi.

Today, I made two soups for a party my friend Joan and I are giving tomorrow...

Cannellini and Kale soup, and

Winter Squash Soup with Curry and Coconut Milk...YUMM!