Rushing off to see if Tina has more in her Etsy shop. She recently sent me this beautiful scarf and I bought another for an upcoming birthday gift. I love the splash of color, the soft yarn and rocking the handmade.
~K
It was just a matter of time until I pulled out the sewing machine again. I took a two-week break to enjoy the holidays, sleep (and man, have I been sleeping) and spend time with friends. When Katie and I cooked together a couple weeks ago, she picked out a pattern and some fabric. She’s starting a new high school tomorrow, so I pushed to get this Amy Butler Birdie Bag done today.
These are always so tricky for me to photograph. I should really sign up for a product photography class. Chocolate brown, white on white lining, turquoise exterior. This is the first time I’ve been able to figure out the gussets in this pattern. A-ha! I love it when puzzle pieces finally fall in place. Also, I wish someone had told me when I first started sewing that if you are going to take a shortcut (which generally bite me in the ass), don’t skip the interfacing. Interfacing makes a world of difference in a project like this. It takes it from looking like a Girl Scout project I made in 4th grade to something I’d actually like to carry.
For those non-sewers, interfacing is a fusible synthetic material you iron on to fabric to make it heavier and therefore sturdier. It makes so much difference in handbags, especially handles.
Now that I’ve got gussets down, plan on many a more bag in the next few weeks. Specifically, this bag. Beki is so good. Have you seen her amazing patterns?
~K
P.S. Katie got into a sledding accident this weekend and broke her collar bone. I’m hoping the new bag redirects the stares from her rather unfortunate brace. Poor thing. Could not be worse timing. As if starting a new high school weren’t hard enough, doing so with a brace seems like an Ellen Page movie waiting to be filmed.
I’ve been waiting for the last gifts to be gifted and received to post the projects I made for the holidays.
Cigar Box turned Correspondence Kit for Colleen
With much thanks to Kinchie for nudging me along to get this done and helping with the details!
Tea Towel Headbands, which I put together with help of my mama. (God bless her patience. I hate turning tiny things like this.) I love the idea of having a little towel on your brow when you are working out, gardening or running down the field playing frisbee. You want to look cute, but you don’t want your hair in your eyes. And if it sucks up a little “glisten” along the way, even better.
These were paired with my 2008 Christmas music mix. If one doesn’t get you out on your bike, hopefully the other does.
And finally, Amy Butler wide leg jammie pants. I made these in fleece and added a t-shirt to make pajama sets for eight friends.
And to all a good night! The Christmas tree is down, the Valentine’s heart is going on the front door and I’m looking forward to a rockin’ 2009.
Cheers,
Kelli
Books:
I gave up sometime during 2008 in blogging about the books I was reading. I’m not sure why, but I’m back on the media blogging motivation train. I just finished “Ask Now the Beasts” which came as a gift from a fellow blogger. It is a moving and eloquent collection of essays about animals written by Ruth Rudner. Rudner writes about her pets (dogs, cats, horses) and of the animals she admires in the wild (coyotes, wolves, penguins) and at the zoo (gorillas). Her stories are insightful and a true delight to read.
“There are many of us, reared by humans and lavished with love, who dream of release into the wild, free to spend a lifetime wantering in mountains and forests, confident (to a certain extent) we could survive. But we are not gorillas. What can it be to bet the center of lavished attention, a pampered child, and then find yourself in so radically a different world? To be released into the wild, a captive animal has to be trained to survive in the wild. To be released into a zoo is different, The threats are different. The expectations are different. The knowledge of life is different.”
I’m now enjoying “The Ridiculous Race,” a book Finny gave me for Christmas. I am also re-reading “The Red Tent,” one of my favorites from years past with Katie. I started to read, “The Five Love Languages,” after having it recommended by a bunch of friends, but it doesn’t make sense to read this when you aren’t in a relationship. So, it’s sitting on the bookshelf for a bit.
Music:
I am currently absolutely in love with Bon Iver, Sasha Fierce and Kings of Leon. Take that for a diverse taste in music!
Movies:
No surprise, I was taken by Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. It ranks right up there with “Slumdog Millionare” for best picture. Love! Great movies. I also saw “7 Pounds” and it broke my heart. Beautiful movie, but bring lots of tissues.
What are you reading/watching/listening to?
~K
Dear Fin,
Did you ever think two years ago when we both fell head over seam ripper for Amy Butler’s In Stitches that we’d be here, organizing our third sew-along? Me either. But here we are and while there have been some bummer projects, for the most part I am still having a great time.
Thank you for being my partner in crime.
So, I understand Denver Brunette pretty much ran away with the competition for the best project of the year. Seriously, the girl knows how to work the wrap skirt. I think that skirt was my favorite project this year. I’m going to make a couple more for spring. Bravo DB! You rock. And now you’ll also rock a subscription to CRAFT.
For those sewers, bakers, knitters and other folk who love to be creative or just want to learn, consider jumping on the Finny & Donk Adventure wagon and coming along for the 2009 ride. This year you don’t have to buy a book. !! We appreciate the crap economy. We also appreciate the hotness soon to take the White House who we hope will make buying a book next year no big deal. Anyway, enough politicking: the 2009 Finny & Donk sew-along is as easy as it gets to play along. Finny and I will select two projects from CRAFT magazine’s website each month.
Finny, you were so smart to select the January projects and give us all some variety. I love your idea of the Men’s Hoodie and the Lemon Drop cookies. Woo hoo! Plus, now we don’t have to hear about all those lovely folk who: have a sewing machine but are frightened to use it, don’t have a sewing machine but want one and can’t play along, don’t have a sewing machine and think we are dumb. Okay, we might still hear from that last group, but obviously they are wrong.
So, to again review the 2009 rules for the Finny & Donk sew-along: We’ll pick two or more projects from CRAFT each month and you’ll decide to do one or both, take a photo of your project and post them to the new CRAFT flickr pool. We’ll then select winners and of course send a fabulous prize.
Sound good? Yeah. I thought so. Now would be the time to add CRAFT to your reader if you haven’t already. Me loves free.
Also sounds like a pretty great way to rock 2009, ifyouaskme.
Cheers,
Donk
P.S. Finny, way to rock the badge!
2008 was a banner year. While I didn’t buy that house (thanks economy!) or get the dog, I did create a garden, feed friends regularly at community dinners and flew past my goal of reading 40 books. I’m not necessarily any more financially secure this year than I was last, but I did manage to get a great new job and a sweet new ride. Plus, there were several a splash and dash, a couple triathlons and those five weeks in sweet Africa. I also found a great new church, saw myself published in newspapers and secured a ghost-writing deal. There was Mexico, Nicaragua, Steamboat, Portland, San Antonio, Denver and even a jaunt to our Capitol. While I could join the chorus of moaning, I’d rather not look at my 401K. Instead, I’ll just be thankful for what a great year this has been otherwise. I’m healthy and happy. There is a family moving into the White House who I admire and am proud of. My own family is doing great. Last year treated me very well.
I’m hoping in 2009 to see:
I’m going to post where I’m at with each of these monthly, including a weight/health/strength update. If 2009 had a theme, it would be accountability.
What are you hoping for in the New Year?
Wishing us all the very best,
Kelli
P.S. Roscoe is growing up and some how keeps getting cuter!
Gray is one of Mini’s sons and one of my very favorite people on earth. I can’t tell you how much I adore her kids. This one in particular always seems to make me laugh. Today, he says that if you have an extra second, you should check out Mozi Esme’s site. She published one of my essays on Mozambique.
~kelli
I’m making my 2009 resolution list, crossing off ideas, writing others in permanent marker and dreaming about the future. While my dream home varies from beach-front to mountain-top, the one constant is a nice kitchen with a giant garden to keep it well-fed. I never expected to love cooking and entertaining as much as I do, but if there were ever a chance to become a professional baker, I’d jump. You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive Alice Water’s “The Art of Simple Food” for Christmas.
My mama, she is a smart cookie. I was on Twitter the other day raving about how much I loved this book when another person commented that if I liked Alice, I should check out her right-hand man, David Tunis. He recently wrote a cookbook called “A Platter of Figs.” Without a moment of guilt for spending yet another $30 on myself during the holidays, I scooped this book up this weekend and have been reading it ever since.
Tunis’ story is funny, honest and simple — like his cooking. He makes mouth-watering meals from basic foods and sticks to seasonal and local eating. He and his partner split their time — 6 months in the Bay area working with Alice Waters at Chez Pannise and 6 months in their European home, where they prepare fabulous meals for friends. Sounds like a dream!
I’ve only cooked one thing so far from either — steamed halibut. I didn’t know how to cook halibut (fish is new to my kitchen), so I pulled out the cookbook and took Alice’s advice. Ten minutes steamed and I had a piece of fish so flaky and tender, it melted. It was wonderful.
I am looking forward to fewer giant community dinners in 2009 and more intimate meals with a few friends at a time. “A Platter of Figs” is catered to feeding 8 people a three-course meal. This sounds just about right. Tunis is also a fan of using meats not typical in American kitchens, namely rabbit and duck. It is going to take the right group of friends to want to come over for this sort of menu, but I think I’ll be able to round up a few. I intend also to make Ms. Waters and Mr. Tunis great friends of mine in the new year.
And that resolution list will be posted by the end of the week. I’m still editing and dreaming.
~K
We ate so much food during our Christmas break, by the time the official meal rolled around, we weren’t that hungry. The main culprit? Carmines on Penn. So, so good. Like it makes me wish I lived in Denver so I could have dates take me there regularly kind of good. I think we would have stayed to continue eating there if we could have. We extended our one meal there to left-overs for two days. Four star recommendation for you Denver folk.
So when we sat down for a last meal before I flew home, our plates were less teaming than the usual fair. Also, because we were celebrating at my brother’s house — none of the traditional Christmas dinner foods made an appearance: sweet potato casserole, creamed corn, green beans, butter rolls, pie, etc.
But there was ham. Ew.
Thankfully I talked Cody into grilling me a steak instead. Elk steak, to be precise, with a sweet potato on the side. The one benefit of having an outdoorsy brother is an endless supply of game. These steaks were so incredibly good. He marinated them and then stood in the snow to grill. I was pretty fond of the antelope spicy sausage too.
And in lieu of pie, there was a nice fruit salad. It was a great meal. I like that we put tradition on hold for a year, although I tried cooking up a new family routine. After we finished our stockings Christmas morning, I put in my dad’s new copy of Nacho Libre.
While Cody did in fact like the stretchy pants I made him for Christmas (Amy Butler wide leg lounge pants):
Camo fleece, no less
Raja seems entranced. “Where did my dad’s legs go?”
Alas, he was not a fan of the movie. He watched the first five minutes before storming off alone.
My parents, however, have good taste and thought it was hilarious.
“I am worried about your salvation and stuff…”
“Don’t judge me because I believe in the science!”
We said these lines about a dozen times, laughing our butts off. A new Christmas tradition is formed, stretchy pants and all!
~k
Knits up beautifully. I wish I knit with such luxurious supplies all the time!
~K
