Ordinary Time

Here is one of the more fascinating photos you are going to see on the blog.  Clearly you should read that previous sentence with a sarcastic tone because this looks like just a piece of fabric. Which it is, sort of. It's also my latest addition to my personal sample book that I'm slowly constructing.  I've learned that when you draft your own patterns one of the most challenging aspects is that there are no construction directions. It's great to say I want to put side seam pockets into something, but what would those pattern pieces look like and how do you put them together? This is where a sample book comes in. It contains directions and samples for various parts of garment construction, such as fly front zippers or ratios for Father's or side seam pockets.  I'm very pleased with how it came out and I am pretty sure that I can replicate it in an actual garment. But it also took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure the whole thing out and then actually doin...

J. took four children camping this weekend (H., R., L., and G.). Y. stayed home to work and I stayed home to see clients, take care of animals, and drive Y. The camping group met B. and HC at Apple Canyon State Park in NW Illinois. They had a great time, though Friday night, with its freeze advisory, was a bit chilly. Here are some photos various people took. 

I've just finished reading, With Her Own Hands: Women Weaving Their Stories by Nicole Nehrig. I highly recommend it. It takes you on a journey around the world and through time looking at the relationship between textiles and the woman who make them. I found it fascinating.  Some of the book addresses the idea that the textile crafts and hobbies of women are not seen as 'real', whether that is 'real' work, 'real' art, or of 'real' value. I realized as I read that my negative reaction to the words 'craft' and 'hobby' stems from this tacit second class dismissal that comes along with these terms. "... beyond taking public actions, these feminists endeavored to shift the mindset about what textile work means for women as an expression of our value and influence. Writer and maker Betsy Greer, ... , says, 'It's about making your own creativity a force to be reckoned with. The moment you start thinking about your creative produ...

Our fourth apple tree on the far side of the pasture seems to ripen later than the others. There still seemed to be some apples on it, so J. asked H. and R. to go pick what they could. This explains why my kitchen island suddenly looked like this.  They were taking up a lot of space and I couldn't quite bring myself to ignite them and eventually feed them to the chickens, so it seemed as though I was going to canning applesauce after all. Today I didn't need to drive anyone anywhere and I had no clients during the day. If applesauce was going to happen today was the day. H. pitched in to help and by dinner  I had canned 9 quarts of applesauce with another 2/3 quart in the refrigerator. Don't you think it sounds more impressive to say 2 - 1/2 gallons, though? Why is that? I would make an announcement that I am really and truly done with apples, but I think there are still more on that tree. 

Today is H.'s 24th birthday if you can believe it. She chose a dumpling stir fry for dinner and chocolate mayonnaise cake for dessert.  Grammy sent her a pink sweater and a graphic novel from one of her favorite series.  I am having a little difficulty with the idea of H. being 24 if I'm honest. 

I am continuing to enjoy the podcast, The Rest is History, very, very much. I have finished the first half of the French Revolution and have decided that I am just going to listen to whatever episode comes next because it all ends up being interesting. J. has started listening to it as well, but he has been pretty focused on Elizabethan history.  I thought I'd offer a little history trivia quiz here based on some of my current listening. Answers will be at the end.  1. The number of times Louis XVI had left Versailles in his entire life before being captured by the revolutionaries and taken to Paris.    A. Too many to count, he was always heading to Paris.    B. 1, and only to be crowned king.    C. 6, when he toured other countries and met with foreign rulers.  2. When Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette decided to try to escape Paris and flee to safety, the first step in their plan was:    A. Send money on ahead to help ease their esca...