The Last Shall Be First

The birds are singing, the weeds are blooming, and it finally stopped raining, briefly, after some significant downpours.  It is time for the gardener to start gardening. 

Before applying my handy tiller to the beds in the southeast corner, I paused to pluck the remaining carrot tops.  And actual carrots came with them.  I keep planting carrots, because I still have seeds.  But they never amount to much in one summer.  These seem to have overwintered well.  In fact, these are the largest carrots I have ever grown. 

So I have brought them in, the last of last year's harvest, and hopefully harbingers of a good harvest to come this year.

What is in your garden?

Welt Pockets

Every January I see lists of sewing resolutions, in which people choose skills and techniques they'd like to master in the new year.  If you are that organized, good for you!  Keep it up!  I like to learn new things, too, but my approach is more project-driven. 

Take welt pockets, for example.  I thought they were complicated, scary, and unappealing, so I never would have put them on a to-do list.  But then, I received a commission to sew some trousers for a special occasion.  The client is a Gentleman of Unusual Size, so the first part of the adventure was drafting a pattern from pants he provided.  Once I had a pattern I was in pretty familiar territory.  I can do inset pockets for the front, and I consulted the instructions for another pattern when constructing the fly.  But I had no instructions for the welt pockets in the back.  So I found and carefully followed this excellent tutorial from Oliver + S.  And look!  A buttoned welt pocket.  The one on the other side looks good, too.

In the middle of the white trousers project, I took a break to sew a birthday present for Dandelionslayer.  Once a year or so, we like to attend Scottish Highland Games to celebrate my family's heritage.  We enjoy the music, and I like the dancing, and it's fun to watch big guys throw heavy things around while wearing kilts.  Tartans are so cool, in fact, that apparently some have been registered for families from Ireland and Wales.  Last year, Dandelionslayer picked up this tie in the Welsh Jones pattern.  And if you give a Welshman a tie, pretty soon he'll want a waistcoat to go with it.  I ordered the fabric from The Scottish Weaver, and it matched, thank goodness.  I used my old familiar men's accessories pattern, Simplicity 9345.  The pattern includes appliquéd welts, but I knew Dandelionslayer would want real pockets.  So I followed the tutorial again, and sewed these nice diagonal welt pockets.  He's very happy with the vest.

After those two projects, I was ready to sew for myself again.  I chose McCall's 2401 for a nice basic sheath.  As I laid out the pattern, I mourned a little that not only did the pattern not include pockets, but that the side-seam pockets I like to sneak into dresses would probably not be appropriate.  And then I had a vision: slanted welt pockets, right in front, with bows covering the welts.  I considered this crazy idea as I cut.  Feeling empowered by the trousers and waistcoat, I decided to go for it.  I reviewed the tutorial, but didn't need to check it for every step anymore.  The hard part was getting the knot part of the bow to not be too bulky, but I solved that problem.  The bow-welt pockets turned out just the way I had envisioned them, and added an elegant detail to a very plain dress. 

I don't have any more welt pockets planned right now, but if they come up again, I will sew them without fear.

What skill have you learned lately?

Sheet Music Competition

The Caterpillar and I have each entered a piece to the yearly Sacred Sheet Music Competition at Free LDS Sheet Music.  We both submitted arrangements of Christmas tunes.  There are many beautiful entries.  Check them out, and vote for all your favorites!

Radiant Mantelet

When I ordered this yarn I had no idea that Radiant Orchid would be selected as Pantone's Color of the Year for 2014.  I felt pretty fashion-forward when I found out.  That is not natural for me.  It was definitely more characteristic for me to not really wear it until new colors had come out.  Twice.

I used it to crochet Lizzy's Lace Mantelet, from Austentatious Crochet.  Sadly, this pattern gave me more trouble than its sisters have.  I had gauge problems, as usual, and tried a few different hooks.  Then I took the project on a trip, where it comforted several idle hours.  Some distraction made me skip a round early on, and by the time I noticed the problem, the product looked like a hat, not a disk.  I took it out and tried again, increasing hook sizes as I went.  Eventually, I completed the final round and tried it on.  And it just didn't hang right.

Most of the interest is in the layers on the back, you see.  It wasn't really layering on me.  So I took it out again, all the way back to the armholes.  I set the armholes closer together for my narrow shoulders, and tried again.  This time I was happy when I finished. 

I tried wearing the mantelet a couple of times, but it didn't really go with the outfits I selected.  A little over two years after choosing the yarn, I have sewed myself a simple gray dress.  It supports the soft, warm, lacy radiance quite well.

Christmas Quilt for Valentine's Day

A few years ago, Grandma O and I visited a local quilt shop.  A beautiful sample quilt caught her eye.  I admired it, too.  She made inquiries, and went back to the shop later to buy the lovely Christmas-themed fabric and the pattern.  She was already ill at that time, and I wondered if she would be able to make the quilt.

I have to admit this project was one of the things I hoped to find in her sewing room when she'd left it behind.  And I did, neatly bagged up.  The block pattern is basically a disappearing nine-patch.  Grandma O had sewn the nine-patch blocks together, and cut more squares for the border.  A year after I brought the fabric home (about a year ago, in fact--I guess I do quilts in January and February), I sliced the blocks up, rearranged them, and made new blocks.

I added sashing and borders.  I found some wide material for the back, and sandwiched it all up.  I used the walking foot to quilt along the sashing, then tried free-motion quilting inside the blocks.

That was hard.  Even when sewing on the big dining room table, the weight of this queen-sized quilt was difficult to work with.  I tried to keep the quilting simple, but I didn't make my big loops very smooth.  I should have practiced more before diving into a big project, but I was excited to quilt this blanket.  After I quilted the blocks, though, I was tired.  I contemplated trying a holly leaf pattern on the border, but I had to think about it first.  I also had some cloth for the binding, but wasn't sure if I really liked it.  And then some other projects came up that were more urgent, important, or interesting.  I set the Christmas quilt aside, with the vague notion that I ought to finish it before the next Christmas.

That certainly didn't happen.  Last Saturday I pulled it out again.  I decided that straight lines in the ditches of the borders would be fine.  And that the fabric I already had would make a good binding.  And even though, to my dismay, I found that I'd missed quilting two of the blocks, I sat down and finished it all that day. 

Now it's ready to keep us warm next December.  Though it does look nice with my chicken-scratch heart pillowcases, doesn't it?

Tolo Tie

A week or two ago, I ran across this stunning peacock feather bowtie online.  Go ahead, take a look.  Look at the price, too.  Yikes!  I showed it to Dandelionslayer and the Caterpillar, who were suitably impressed.  But not with the price.  "Feathers are a renewable resource," Dandelionslayer pointed out.  And it's true.  The elegant birds molt every year, just like other fowls, and their keepers can just pick up the feathers and sell them to pricey designers or ordinary craft stores.

I took it as a challenge.

I found feathers at JoAnn's, two for about $4.  I used some black peachskin fabric and bowtie hardware I keep handy and made a pretied bowtie.  I trimmed the feathers and glued them in before affixing the knot piece.

Ta-da!  Peacock feather bowtie, 98% off.  In hindsight, and for your benefit, I see that Gorilla Glue was probably not as good a choice as a high quality fabric or craft glue would have been.  And maybe there's a better way to attach feathers.

But the Caterpillar was happy with it, and it was ready for him to wear to Tolo.  What is Tolo?  Tolo is a Chinook Jargon word, "from the Calipooia language (of western Oregon,) meaning to earn, control, convince, overcome, or triumph. Now used . . . as a term for a ladies'-choice school dance." (From the White River Valley Museum)  This usage came from a fund-raising (and eyebrow-raising, in 1910) dance put on by the Tolo Club, a ladies' honor society at the University of Washington.

When the Caterpillar's friend, S, invited him to the dance, she also invited him to go dress-shopping with her.  It was an arduous process, as she tried to find something pretty, well-fitting, and modest.  I guess the Caterpillar has told her enough about our standards that she wanted to fit them, too.  Good boy, nice girl.  And they found a lovely dress. 

It seemed appropriate to put a little effort into the Caterpillar's outfit.  He already has the tuxedo for band (S has one, too, actually), so I was happy to add a feathery touch.

Ponderizing Psalm 1:1

Blessed is the man that walketh not 

in the counsel of the ungodly, 

nor standeth in the way of sinners, 

nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Psalm 1:1

Rollo chose this verse for us.  It's a great list of what not to do.  God is a loving Father who wants what is best for us.  "The ungodly" must be opposite.  Whose advice would you rather follow?  Isaiah describes the Lord as a "Wonderful Counsellor"(Isaiah 9:6).  I'd rather walk in His paths.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

"Standing in the way of sinners" sounds doubly dangerous.  Joining with sinners and doing what they do is obviously not the way to be blessed.  "Getting in their way," available to be a victim, doesn't appeal, either.  I'd rather "stand . . . in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come" (Doctrine and Covenants 87:8). 

"Sitting in the seat of the scornful," though.  That could be more of a trap.  When we're avoiding sinners and the ungodly, are we tempted to label them, to scorn their foolishness and unrighteous behavior?  It's easy to find others' faults, and to gloss over our own.  Even in our loving home, sometimes we doubt each other's intentions, criticize, make fun.  But it doesn't help.  We need to persuade, to lead others to righteousness with example and love.  And with repentance for our own sins, because we do have them, even when we're trying to be good. 

Let's watch how we sit, stand, and walk, so the Lord may bless us with wisdom, righteousness, and joy!