sewing mishap #635

I've done it again. Even though I used a pattern, I've made a shirt fit for a pregnant woman.

The pattern was easy (Simplicity 2931), and I was really happy with the shirt until Jay caught sight of it. He just laughed and asked why I'm so drawn to puffy, baggy clothes. Sure, empire waists are in, as are gathers and flowing tops, but still, it seems this shirt pushes the limits. In its favour, it is very comfortable and I love the deep chocolate brown of the corduroy (thank you Superbuzzy). But speaking of corduroy, that's probably the main reason why it's too puffy. Oh well. A lightweight cotton or linen would probably turn out better but I think I'll move on to another pattern.

Or stop sewing altogether. Yeah, that's it.

lantern tricks

Last year I announced to Jay that Hallowe'en was the one "holiday" I was going to purposely decorate for. Luckily, he didn't mind the idea and even helped out. And where last year's attempt was a little haphazard, this year is completely different. I heart these Jack-O-Lantern lanterns.

I wish I could take credit for them, but truthfully, I saw similar lanterns in a store window that came with faces already printed on. My trick was to buy plain orange lanterns (a fun trip for Jay, Sadie and me to Chinatown last weekend) and draw our own faces on them. Sadie drew one all by herself and helped out quite a bit filling in the bigger faces. Then I found this string of copper ball lights that my Mom gave me last year, which couldn't have been more perfectly suited. The lanterns just clip on to the top of the copper light, and I spaced the lanterns to leave other lights exposed. At night, the shadows that the copper strips produce add an eerie feeling to the lanterns that they just don't have during the day. Then some orange and black-and-white polka dotted ribbon on the door, and voila, we have a Hallowe'en porch. All that is left is the real Jack-O-Lantern, but he won't make his appearance until Hallowe'en night. I'm loving this "holiday" so much I'm even going to take the day off work.

I mean, someone has to be here to walk the 4 year old Cat-Princess-Bunny to school in her costume.

word pile up

The benefit of starting the Canadian Reading Challenge on time this year is that I don't feel rushed to get through my list. On the flipside, I haven't been very successful posting about reading. I have finished another 3 Canadian novels since I last wrote, but I fear that waiting so long to write about them means I may forget the details that stood out. On top of that, I've fit other books in between, namely books about design and advertising (see the top of the book pile for example) which make my recall even harder.

The Body's Place by Elise Turcotte: This was a swift read. Even though character details were sparse, the tension that the author created was well crafted and it lead to a riveting ending. The story is told through a 15 year old girl, but it is actually the story of the three children in her family. On the outside the family seems typical, living through a dull suburban existence. What is underneath the veneer however, is a broken marriage that impacts each child in totally different ways.

Streak of Luck by Richelle Kosar: I already passed this one on to my mom, forgetting I would want a photo of it. Like The Body's Place, this came in my $5 book bag from Comorant last year at Word on the Street. Another story about a family, told through three female characters (the mother and two daughters). Most of the story is set in Toronto, and so I enjoyed the familiar details of my city. There were moments when I absolutely cringed; the family is perpetually down on their luck, yet I never felt truly sorry for them as it seemed clear it was the parents' decisions that were responsible for their situation. And the ending surprised me, leaving me totally satisfied. Overall, a good read.

Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark: Yes, I loved An Audience of Chairs more, but this novel was a pretty close second. I'm so thankful Ragdoll introduced me to Joan Clark. East coast stories are particularly charming to me, and the main character, Aurora, was another woman I was drawn to. Her story begins when she is found as a baby, floating on an ice floe, suspected to be a Titanic survivor. We watch her grow up, get married, have children and live out her life in her favourite Newfoundland. I loved everything about the story, but it's funny that sometime last year I checked out a few pages while in a bookstore and a passage upset me so much that I really had to talk myself into giving it a chance this year. The passage was about the birth of Aurora's son, and how her 6 year old daughter reacted. The birth had been hard so Aurora was hospitalized for 6 weeks. In that time her daughter's allegiance switched from Aurora to her father, and until the daughter was middle-aged it never once turned back. It hurt my heart to think that a child's love could be so temporary, and that an unforeseen absence could have such a devastating effect (not to mention totally freak me out about the prospect of having a second child while Sadie and I are so close). But clearly I got over it, and it was a wonderful novel. I heart Joan Clark, and highly recommend her to everyone.

So there is my second round-up of book reviews and still no sign of a knitting comparison. It could be due to the fact that every knitting project I take on these days takes me forever, but I still intend to get back into the habit. I just need my knitting mojo back. The leaves are falling, surely that should be enough, right?

birthday girl

A certain little girl turned 4 yesterday. In one word, wow. I have no idea where those 4 years went, but at the same time I can hardly remember that this person was a baby. She has grown into someone who charms me every day with her sweet and relaxed personality, along with the occasional practical joke. To illustrate her budding humour, here is an example: on the way home one day Sadie told Jay that she had made friends with Tallulah in her JK class. Excited by the name, Jay then told her the story of how our cat Ellie was named Tallulah for a day until we realized it didn't suit her. So, Jay and Sadie get home and Jay tells me that Sadie has a new friend. I ask about it and Sadie tells me her name is Tallulah. Just like Jay I start telling the story of Ellie's name, but Jay says he's already told the story and Sadie gives me an "oh Mommy!". Fast forward an hour and the three of us are sitting around the kitchen table finishing dinner and Jay says to Sadie that he just loves that there's a girl named Tallulah in her class. Sadie looks at him with a knowing smirk and says, "there's no Tallulah in my class". Confused, I look at her and ask "what do you mean?" and she responds, without missing a beat, "I was only joking". We erupted with laughter. She played us - both of us! - for over an hour. We couldn't believe that she actually planned and followed through with a joke. I better be careful with this one, as if watching out for Jay's traps wasn't enough.

So that's my girl. Enchanting, funny and growing up way too fast. Insert the typical Mommy sigh here.

word on the street

Boy, have I ever become a book girl - and Sadie is my little book-girl-in-training. The two of us went to Word on the Street on Sunday and filled our book bag in record time. I think I've figured out a good system - kids books first so that Sadie can read something in the stroller while I find the few publishers with either good deals or just plain good books. My stops of note were: Coach House Books (poetry by RM Vaughan), Anansi (poetry by Ken Babstock and Dear Gabriel) and Insomniac Press (fiction and non-fiction, including a very enlightenting Lover's Tongue).

There is something so fantastic about a book fair at the end of September. On the cusp of Autumn, it's like stocking up on words for the winter. And this year's funny experience? Being interviewed while we sat on the grass and then quoted in this Toronto Star article. I laughed out loud when I read that Sadie and I were considered "two traditionalists". It's a Mommy moment I'll hold on to for, oh, about the rest of my life.

(P.S. Too funny! As I was grabbing the link for the Star article, I found that Quill&Quire's blog used the interview too. Suddenly I feel pegged devoutly anti-Sony Reader!)

kitchen duty

Every year when cheap peppers grace the grocery stores, I consider devoting a day to freezer cooking. Why peppers? Well, I was 8 1/2 months pregnant exactly four years ago, and the only thing I knew was that stockpiling food was a good idea. I purchased this cookbook, and planned a few days of cooking. One of the recipes was for 12 stuffed peppers, and although they weren't great out of the oven they were divine when cooked from frozen (I'll never understand why the difference). So for me peppers = September = a good time to fill the freezer with hearty food.

This fall I have another reason to be practical enough to devote an entire day to cooking. Sadie left her daycare in August and as much as it was time for her to move on, I desperately miss having her close to me during the day. The daycare was across the street from my work, and as soon as I walked out of my building at 6pm, in less than 5 minutes I got to be a Mom (which I have to say, is the best stress-buster of all time). Then Sadie and I would have a leisurely TTC ride home, catching up on our day. Now, everything has changed. Sadie spends her days at JK and with a good friend in the neighbourhood (and I have to note - Sadie loves, loves, loves this new arrangement!) and Jay picks her up because he's closer to home. Work is ridiculously busy, so I don't leave until 6:30 at the earliest and then I carry my work problems home with me on the subway. I walk in the door somewhere closer to 7:30, and have to get dinner ready immediately. Needless to say, this is why I need a freezer full of quick food. I want to spend time playing with Sadie and talking to Jay - not figuring out what to make us all to eat.

A simpler solution would be purchasing meals (frankly, it's not a perfect scenario to sacrifice one whole day of an already too short weekend) but I'm having no luck there. With Jay's poultry allergy, and Sadie's egg/dairy allergies, there is limited choice in Toronto. We live close to Urban Fare, but the one time we tried a casserole Jay had a reaction (even though chicken was not listed). And the vegetarian delivery service we used to love, called Jay's Gourmet, has ceased to exist. So I figure I need to make the food to guarantee that the ingrediants won't force either of my loved ones to use their Epi-pen. Which means I'll be in the kitchen with a whole lot of canned sauce and ground beef, playing Willie Nelson and wearing an apron. Truthfully, it's not so bad, though I realize there are way more cookbooks I could try. Branching beyond ground beef would be a good start if I need to make this a regular habit.

Which it seems like I will. Let's hope the can opener holds up.

pink persistence

Patience is indeed a virtue that knitting forces you to acquire. Case in point: this pink sweater. I originally bought some lovely tweed Garnstudio wool for the Juliet vest. I knit the vest from the top to 3 inches from the bottom before I realized I hated it. So, knowing that the wool was too nice to waste, I patiently unravelled the garment and wound the wool back into balls. Next up, I tried a top-down cardigan for Sadie using 3 yr old sizing from an online pattern. This time, I got 3 inches below the underarm before I thought, "hmm, this seems big, let's see if it fits me". Unfortunately, I was right and it was miles too big for Sadie. For the second time, I unravelled a garment and wound the wool back into balls. On to attempt number three: a top-down raglan sweater for Sadie, using a random number of stitches for the neck (I know, I know...I was getting loopy and obviously making poor decisions). I didn't get nearly as far before I realized it was too big again. Thank goodness the fourth time was a charm.

I can hardly believe how patient knitting has made me. I could really use a dose of patience at work these days, but for now I'll simply marvel at the power knitting has to change behavior. The secret to my fourth attempt was to do a bottom-up raglan, using the sizing from a Debbie Bliss pattern (ultimately, her patterns feel trustworthy). I tried a folded hem, but left the neck and cuffs as a rolled edge. The wool is lovely, but I've been told to wash it a few times for it to really soften up. And Sadie looks so great in this pink - as much as I bought it for myself, I could never have pulled it off. I found a great pair of pink cords for her that are the exact shade, so when the cool weather hits she'll be pretty in pink.

Now that this sweater is finally done - and really, I feel like I've been knitting this for months - I'm trying the Juliet vest again with a dark purple Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed. My fingers are crossed that it will work this time. So far so good...but I still haven't tried it on. See? I may have learned patience, but I haven't learned from past experience. Or maybe I'm just addicted to unravelling.

the new world

This week, there was a seismic shift in our family life: Sadie started school. Sure, it's only Junior Kindergarten, but it's still school. And as long as we live in this house, this is the school she will be attending. So, as I walked away from leaving her there on the first day, all I could think about was how she would grow up in that building, and that we wouldn't be there to see any of it. Oh - and I also thought really, really hard about not crying.

In a few short weeks she will be 4. She understands everything I say and her logic astounds me. Like every parent before me, I think her drawing is frameworthy. Case in point, during this profound week she drew a family portrait. Basically all the sizes are accurate, as is the amount of hair we each have, but the most important detail is the glasses she drew on Jay. Glasses! Oh, and that would be a pear shape for me. Of course.

I'll say it each and every year that I don't know how Sadie got to be so grown up. The baby cheeks are gone and the girl is breaking through. Long curls even cover the tell-tale backpack straps on this "first day of school" photo. It's been a seismic shift for sure, and all I can hope for is to keep my balance and a dry eye as we journey along.

tie one on

Three years ago I started this blog mainly because I wanted to join the "Month of Softies" challenge. I'm a student at heart - I thrive on assignments, and so far web challenges have got me making and reading more. angry chicken's "Tie One On" has always been on my radar, but this is the first time I've made an entry. The theme was Gingham Summer, and even though I had plenty of gingham and coordinating fabrics on hand, I ended up making an apron that is very simple bordering on downright plain. As soon as the ribbon went on I just could not add another embellishment. But I really like the hostess style these days, and I'm excited to pass this on to a special someone. Actually, that may be my new approach when I make things - figure out who would like it and give it away. Like I've said a hundred times to myself, our house is just too small and I'm not about to stop making stuff.

And check out the great Flickr gallery for Gingham Summer - this child's version is capital A adorable.

raccoon therapy

This little guy is from my "quick and dirty" category of sewing. I probably spent more time drawing out possible faces than sewing him (the whole bandit-eye-thing is tricky, as it easily veers into panda bear territory) but I feel like it took a while because I spread the short sewing time over...umm...about three months. Back in the spring we had a Mama Raccoon and 5 babies spending their evenings in our backyard, and it's no understatement to say that Jay was freaked out by them. So I thought I would adorable-ize the animals by making a stuffed version for indoors. Ridiculous idea I know, but that's how it started. Or maybe I just needed a new animal to try out.

In the end, Jay is far more fond of this fellow than I am. I don't dislike him, he's just not totally my thing. Generally I make very plain softies, so this guy almost has too much going on for me. Or maybe he just feels...stumpy. I'm not sure. But I won't abandon the idea of raccoons just yet, even though the family of 6 seems to have abandoned us. Perhaps they caught sight of this guy hanging out in their garden and found another tiny house in the city to call their own.

(As an aside - I'm amazed that the raccoon looks like he's out in nature, when truthfully at every edge of this photo are pieces of the city. Our front yard is so small, but if you crop it just right, instant forest!)