Who's Sewing? Are You Sewing?
I haven't been. Well, except for hemming the handkerchiefs.
Why? There's been renovation work going on in the basement just outside my sewing room door. I've also been a little adrift after deciding I didn't like the blue dress, therefore I've been reading fashion/wardrobe advice books. (And I have formulated a plan, but more on that later...) But primarily I haven't been sewing because David's birthday was a week ago Sunday and Clara's was just yesterday.
Here are photos from Clara's dinner party (I didn't get any from David's).
Let me give the highlights of David's party and then Clara's.
David's party was held on a Sunday evening after the kids had gone to bed. David and many of our friends graduated from a nearby theological school and he wanted to organize a theological lending library from the personal libraries of all of these friends. As alums, they have library privileges at the school, but it can be a bit of a hassle to get all the way across town. Luckily, many of our friends were interested in joining the effort. They had a discussion about the library at the party and made some preliminary plans.
We also had a book swap (any variety of book welcome) and the party attendants brought any books they were willing to swap. That was fun and got everyone together and chatting and laughing about different books.
I made hummus and warmed naan, and baked yam fries with a balsamic reduction for dipping/drizzling. We also served chips and salsa and juice and adult beverages.
Clara's party was held on Sunday afternoon/early evening. We invited two families that we spend a fair amount of time with who also have 2 or nearly 2 year old girls. We served "fancy" grilled cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks, apple slices, and potato chips for dinner and, as you can see in the photos, birthday cookies rather than cake (by Clara's request).
Fancy grilled cheese means that you buy nice bread from a local bakery rather than regular sandwich bread, you use two kinds of cheese from the local amazing deli (in this instance, old orange cheddar and mild provolone - both on special). You also offer the following additions: pesto, sliced tomatoes, and thinly sliced ham cut in small strips (so as not to prevent sticking). You could also offer ripe avocado or tuna salad or really anything else you like.
On to fashion and my wardrobe... I am at a fashion/wardrobe transition point in my life. My body is my own again, and even though I will likely be at home for the next couple of years, I want to be able to transition well when the time comes for me to do something different. To that end, I have been doing a little fashion research.
I stumbled upon Brenda Kinsel's book, Brenda's Wardrobe Companion: A Guide to Getting Dressed from the Inside Out. In it she describes a few collage exercises to help bring themes or interests to light and to help narrow your focus for wardrobe shopping/planning. I am excited to get started on those projects, but I need to get my hands on some recent fashion magazines and clothing catalogues.
Once I have those projects done a friend of mine (single, childless, fashionable, and fantastic) is going to accompany me on a day of trying on clothes in stores. I plan to leave my debit and credit cards at home and bring my digital camera, to make sure this is a research trip. We will take photos of me in anything I really like the look of, so that I will have those photos to reference when I am shopping or sewing later.
Then I need to start the task of actually adding to/changing my wardrobe.
As I have thought on the disappointment that was the blue dress, I felt good about my ability to execute tricky things like the notched collar. This gives me a bit more confidence in expanding my sewing skills. To that end I went ahead and purchased this t-shirt pattern from Jalie. I have a remnant of the correct kind of fabric to experiment with, so I am just waiting for the pattern to arrive. I already know this neckline is flattering on me from my experiences shopping for dresses about a year ago.
Why? There's been renovation work going on in the basement just outside my sewing room door. I've also been a little adrift after deciding I didn't like the blue dress, therefore I've been reading fashion/wardrobe advice books. (And I have formulated a plan, but more on that later...) But primarily I haven't been sewing because David's birthday was a week ago Sunday and Clara's was just yesterday.
Here are photos from Clara's dinner party (I didn't get any from David's).
Let me give the highlights of David's party and then Clara's.
David's party was held on a Sunday evening after the kids had gone to bed. David and many of our friends graduated from a nearby theological school and he wanted to organize a theological lending library from the personal libraries of all of these friends. As alums, they have library privileges at the school, but it can be a bit of a hassle to get all the way across town. Luckily, many of our friends were interested in joining the effort. They had a discussion about the library at the party and made some preliminary plans.
We also had a book swap (any variety of book welcome) and the party attendants brought any books they were willing to swap. That was fun and got everyone together and chatting and laughing about different books.
I made hummus and warmed naan, and baked yam fries with a balsamic reduction for dipping/drizzling. We also served chips and salsa and juice and adult beverages.
Clara's party was held on Sunday afternoon/early evening. We invited two families that we spend a fair amount of time with who also have 2 or nearly 2 year old girls. We served "fancy" grilled cheese sandwiches, carrot sticks, apple slices, and potato chips for dinner and, as you can see in the photos, birthday cookies rather than cake (by Clara's request).
Fancy grilled cheese means that you buy nice bread from a local bakery rather than regular sandwich bread, you use two kinds of cheese from the local amazing deli (in this instance, old orange cheddar and mild provolone - both on special). You also offer the following additions: pesto, sliced tomatoes, and thinly sliced ham cut in small strips (so as not to prevent sticking). You could also offer ripe avocado or tuna salad or really anything else you like.
On to fashion and my wardrobe... I am at a fashion/wardrobe transition point in my life. My body is my own again, and even though I will likely be at home for the next couple of years, I want to be able to transition well when the time comes for me to do something different. To that end, I have been doing a little fashion research.
I stumbled upon Brenda Kinsel's book, Brenda's Wardrobe Companion: A Guide to Getting Dressed from the Inside Out. In it she describes a few collage exercises to help bring themes or interests to light and to help narrow your focus for wardrobe shopping/planning. I am excited to get started on those projects, but I need to get my hands on some recent fashion magazines and clothing catalogues.
Once I have those projects done a friend of mine (single, childless, fashionable, and fantastic) is going to accompany me on a day of trying on clothes in stores. I plan to leave my debit and credit cards at home and bring my digital camera, to make sure this is a research trip. We will take photos of me in anything I really like the look of, so that I will have those photos to reference when I am shopping or sewing later.
Then I need to start the task of actually adding to/changing my wardrobe.
As I have thought on the disappointment that was the blue dress, I felt good about my ability to execute tricky things like the notched collar. This gives me a bit more confidence in expanding my sewing skills. To that end I went ahead and purchased this t-shirt pattern from Jalie. I have a remnant of the correct kind of fabric to experiment with, so I am just waiting for the pattern to arrive. I already know this neckline is flattering on me from my experiences shopping for dresses about a year ago.
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