a fresh pack

I have to say, the guy really knows his gum.

Jay is exhibiting 15 new pieces in a solo show at LE Gallery here in Toronto up until June 29th. There is an opening reception this Friday, and the gallery has graciously posted all the works here. I find the overall feeling of the pieces to be darker, more serious than his previous work, which is a curious evolution. Perhaps others will see this too; besides being"cool" to find the show written about on coolhunting.com today, it seems the writer had a similar reaction. And as usual, I'm pretty proud of my guy.

Hopefully with the pre-show tension over and life returning to normal, I can get back to a few creative projects...and actually have something new to share here. My Coquette Lace Tube Top is almost done, but it will involve a quick trip to Mokuba for some ribbon, and I have a couple of sewing projects on the go. So with a can of Coke and some chocolate raisins, I may just get somewhere.

(P.S. edited to add: oh Blogger, how you frustrate me. All I tried to do was place photos within the text and now every time I post I have to insert paragraph breaks into the HTML. Arghh.)

favourite things

On the sunniest day, after visiting Sacre Couer and walking around Montmarte, we ventured downhill in search of the highly recommended shop "Le Comptoir". Thank goodness for knitting blogs because this little shop was simply delightful and one of my highlights (yes, I am that...um...geeky). There was a comfy bench for Ragdoll to relax on while I poked through all the wares. It was a tiny shop, but every surface held gems and I'm sure I annoyed the fashionable salesgirl by repeatedly saying "oh, I'm done. Yes. No. Wait, what is that over there?" I picked up buttons, ribbons, knitting needles, embroidery thread, fantastic wooden bag handles, cross stitch linen...and more. It was hard to stop. The wooden shelves and cute displays added to the charm and I left that shop with an enormous smile that stayed with me for hours. Rewind back to the "I am geeky" part.

The other shop we found on a very rainy day was "La Droguerie". Even though I picked up some nice buttons, I could have lived wthout finding this spot. For those in Toronto, it was like comparing The Knit Cafe to Romni; sure the latter has lots of wool, but it kind of lacks charm and if you're not in the know it can be an intimidating place. At the very least it was the one place where I used what little French I knew and managed on my own to choose and pay for buttons. But the wool seemed so-so, and I'm much more excited to seek out the Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Tweed we spied at Le Comptoir here at home.

Right after my "Le Comptoir" highlight we ate at what instantly became my favourite cafe (which I admit, may have been influenced by the notion-intoxicated mood I was in). It was part of our "literary" walk - a spot where Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Paul Sartre frequented. The atmosphere was very Parisian and quite nostalgic. Red leather booths and an army of pleasant middle aged waiters made me forget that I was spending 7 euros on a simple coke. And as the napkin photo shows, I was taken by even the smallest of details.

Sacre Couer, a special knitting shop and Cafe de Flore. Add to that list the prison where Marie Antoinette was beheaded, and I've covered all my favourite things. But I have one more very important mention - my wonderful travelling companion. A week in Paris with a good friend is definitely the memory I'll carry with me forever. Buttons and ribbons may be enchanting, but they hold nothing next to her.

ooh la la

There is simply no way to say everything about Paris in just one post. And right now it's late and I'm sifting through my photos, trying to figure out where to even begin. So for now, here's the most obvious shot, but at least with an unusually moody presence. Tomorrow night when Sadie drifts off to sleep I'll begin with a gem of a knitting shop...which I'm sure will lead into a few other perfectly Parisian moments.

Ahh, Paris.

stitching for sadie

How could I forget how much fun it is to sew for a little girl? Maybe it was Sadie's reaction to the pants I made her last summer, but luckily her tune has changed. Or perhaps it's the polka dots.

I was inspired by elsiemarley's pillowcase dresses and I had just enough scraps left from my ginham top to put together this tank. I didn't use a pattern - which truly is the joy of sewing for a 3 1/2 year old - and decided to only gather the front. The MOP buttons are just decorative, but they did a nice job of echoing the green polka dots. All in all it was a quick, simple garment that was fun to make and that Sadie has happily worn. And I've already cut out the next project: a three tiered skirt with an elastic waist. Sadie is really enamoured with skirts and dresses right now, so I better jump on the opportunity while it lasts.

The sewing will have to wait though - I will be absent from here for about two weeks because I'm hopping on a plane this Friday destined for...Paris!! I'm going with Ragdoll; she has a wedding to attend and her husband didn't want to go. I don't think she even got the question out of her mouth before I said "yes!". I have never been to Paris, and I'm getting more excited every day. Paris in the Spring with a girlfriend willing to do all the girlie things we want to do? I'm a pretty lucky girl and ready to be overwhelmed with inspiration. And if anyone has any "must-do" suggestions for Paris, please share. Little shops, places to eat, places to dream - anything! Oh, and I'll also take suggestions for how to handle leaving my favourite little girl behind, a whole ocean away. I may be excited, but I'm still a Mommy.

Gulp.

reading challenge #11

Hey - only two more to go!

This isn't the first time I've read No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod, but perhaps I should have taken my halfway-through bookmark as a sign. A few years ago I traded with Chris my Patrick McGrath's Spider for his MacLeod, and some part of me still felt obligated to finish the borrowed book. I couldn't remember a single thing about it though, so I started all over again and got bored at almost the exact same point. Don't get me wrong, the storytelling is top notch, I just think the novel wasn't for me.

The first third of the book was quite riveting; the characters were both tangible and endearing. And when I got to the moment of the terrible tragedy I gasped aloud, it was that shocking (even though it was the second time I'd read it). But as the story progressed too much time was spent between storylines. I almost forgot about Calum in his sad Toronto room, and I especially laboured through the Ontario mining camp section. It felt much like a director's cut - the length just wasn't necessary, and the story still would have worked without every single scene. And Alexander's twin sister's anecdotes seemed insincere and irrelevant, though perhaps she just wasn't a believable enough character. Definitely she was under-developed, but looking back, there weren't really any female characters developed fully. This is a story of men, and maybe that is why I was more emotionally detached than I have been with other East Coast novels.

Oh well, at least it's done and I can finally return it to Chris. And as for the knitting comparison: I'd say this was like a cardigan, but from a published pattern that is rife with mistakes. You go over and over the same section trying to figure out how to make it work. In the end you finish it, but you never quite get over how long it took to get there.

spring is gingham

With my May 1st deadline out of the way, the time has come to catch up on some practical sewing projects. This little tank is actually from the 70's pattern I found in the winter but with a whole whack of modifications. I just couldn't handle the sleeves, so I cut them right off and then had to put darts along the bust to help pull the shape up. You'd think this would be a disaster with gingham, but so far it doesn't bother me to see the lines intersect. The fabric is a seersucker-ish cotton which has already lived through an egg yolk spill (really, must I always slop something atrocious on a newly sewn garment?) I think my favourite part is the gigantic hem - it's about 4 1/2 inches and gives the shirt weight at the bottom. There is some debate whether I look pregnant or not when I wear it, but the low neckline has been given at least one rave review, for better or worse. Overall, a fun project and a nice kickstart to some summer sewing. And after seeing great garments like these, I'm itching to tackle more.

(Though I better improve my pressing skills, that hem is a sad sight when photographed!)

reading challenge #10

April was National Poetry Month and in its honour, I had a full-on spring romance with poetry. Not only did I savour every single poem in Anne Compton's Processional, but I also quietly took on the challenge of writing a poem a day (even though I totally forget how I stumbled upon this challenge). Ragdoll started writing poetry again too so I finally had the chance to read some of her fantastic (and even published) endeavours. The two of us are so inspired we may even take a poetry class in the fall. Ahh, I heart words.

Anyway, back to Anne Compton. PEI was a hard province to choose for, and I almost went with Saltsea by David Helwig. But I really wanted to use the challenge to go beyond fiction, and I needed a divining rod of sorts to find a new poet. With little more than an Amazon review as guidance, I gave Compton a try and I was spellbound immediately. As I sit here I'm not even sure how to describe it; her words just worked for me. Her way of using domestic metaphors was refreshing, and her references to nature were wonderful (and a great follow-up to Sharon Butala). I think I'll order her first collection, Opening the Island, right away because ending the day with her poetry has been an inspiring ritual that I'd rather not be done with. Not yet.

Dawn was in the details: each branch a charcoal stroke
against the grey.

Only 3 more novels to go to finish up this challenge. Currently I have Mercy Among the Children picked out for New Brunswick, but for no good reason I just haven't been eager to get it. If anyone has a suggestion - or a huge high-five for David Adams Richards - please let me know. Thanks to a super father-in-law, I've got an Indigo giftcard burning a hole in my wallet.

reading challenge #9

I started The Perfection of the Morning by Sharon Butala one rare day when I was riding the subway alone. When I stepped off at Eglinton station a woman stopped me to say the book was an all-time favourite of hers, and that she happened upon it at a time in her life when she needed a change. The woman, who easily looked 20 years younger than she told me she was (and my goodness, I believe she told me she had 6 children!) left quite an impression on me and certainly inspired me to dive right into Butala's words that night.

Published in 1994, The Perfection of the Morning is equal parts memoir, meditation, and call-to-action. This title had actually been on my non-fiction wish list for some time, and I'd say it completely lived up to my expectations. I did however, read it at a leisurely pace and I'm not sure if that's because I was savouring the experience, or, being a city-dweller with little to no contact with nature, I just couldn't keep focused on the subject matter for too long. Butala herself admits that until you have a similar experience with nature, it is hard for a writer to find a common language to say what they want to say. Which leads me to one of my favourite sentences ever as written by Butala: "The world is more wonderful than any of us have dared to guess, as all great poets have been telling us since the invention of poetry." And being National Poetry Month (for which I have been writing a haiku a day, for better or worse) I think it's just a great sentiment to share.

I was also quite drawn to Butala's musings on how living in nature affected her dreams and the relationships she developed with the wild animals around her ranch. Also her thoughts about women were inspiring even though she admits to believing we have a long way to go before equality is ever truly achieved. Overall, it's quite a wonderful read - I just think the prose had a pace that I had to adapt to. And in the end it inspired me to do something totally new: I suggested to Jay that we disappear to a cottage this summer for TWO WHOLE WEEKS, somewhere that has land around it and a limited number of technological distractions. He readily agreed and we have now booked this vacation, which is my first two week vacation since graduating university. I just hope we city-dwellers can get through it without pining for the internet.

And the knitting comparison: since this is essentially a meditation on nature, I think a very meditative, repetitive project like a throw would be the most fitting. I have not knit a throw yet - it just seems like such an ambitious project to take on, but I can imagine the relaxing quality it would have. And I think this pattern by Norah Gaughan is the perfect choice.

cupcake love

Yum, yum. My Mom got me the best baking book EVER and now Sadie can enjoy moist, decadent cupcakes. I should probably explain: one of the main reasons we have been baking so much around here - apart from the fun factor - is that Sadie is allergic to both dairy and eggs. This makes sweets and desserts especially hard, but luckily the vegan route has been very kind to us. The cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World is hands-down amazing, and already we've adapted the recipe to make a full-size cake and it had none of the density of my previous cake attempts (sorry to Sadie - at least we'll get it right for birthday #4!) It was a sad day when we took Sadie to a birthday party and there was not one single thing she could eat, so now, cookbook in hand, we can bring along cupcakes and share around. Everyone wins.

Also, cupcakes are pretty much the most fun food to make. In the first photo Sadie is grouping sprinkles, which would appear to be a very serious matter. And icing? What kid can resist licking that sweetness off their fingers? Sadie was smitten with the chocolate icing from this batch, which yielded enough to top two dozen cupcakes (half chocolate, half vanilla). Note to self though: making two dozen cupcakes over a two day period is not good for your waistline...or Jay's. I guess it's not just kids who are smitten.

(And P.S. - what a fantastic cover design too. I just never want to put this book away.)

reading challenge #8

It feels a bit like cheating, but I chose a children's book for my Yukon portion of the challenge. Truth be told, it was downright exciting to get this in the mail from Amazon, probably more so than the novels. I mean look at those colours! This is Children of the Yukon by Ted Harrison, and although the content is years ahead of Sadie's interest, she was captivated by the paintings (especially the ones with purple and pink skies). And the best part is that I learned a lot about the Yukon that I never knew while getting to enjoy the wonderful illustrations. On a whole it may scream 1977 (the year it was published) but hey, I'm a child of the 70's and it feels perfect to me.

A very simple knitting comparison: although I have never posted the final garment, I knit the Swing Thing coat for Sadie in a very colourful Noro yarn. The striping effect resulted in a truly technicolour sweater for my little girl, and this book reminds me completely of the whole experience, especially watching the stripes take shape in my hands. And something tells me that a sweater just might come in handy in the Yukon.