analog me

Blogger Resurfaces

After being spotted in the French submarine the Argonaut (in a self stiched skirt, natch),

 

the blogger resurfaced at a typical tourist site,

 ate cous-cous, then drank beer, 

 

while listening to these musicians.

After that, things got messy.  I came home and accidently ended up with a job and a half, no free time, and, a semi-scrambled sense of self. 

Yes, I have purchased more fabric. No, I haven't made anything with it. More pictures to follow.

 

Patched together

We got our eldest boy off to college last month, so I guess it's a good thing that I have been working a lot. Otherwise, I am afraid I might have too much time to think about what it means to send my son off, and out of the house. 

He might kill me, but here he is on his last day of high school last spring.

See that messy porch?

Before heading to college, my son painted that trim for us and asked me to mend a bunch of his favorite pants. At first I thought that this was an odd request. Some of these pants were worn, tattered and paint stained, so I hesitated a bit before fixing them. Then I realiszed that he wanted to have some old favorites to wear while heading off into the unfamiliar.

Sometimes I feel the same way.

 

These patches come from that stash of uphostery fabric I scored last spring. I have not had the mental presence to start a new project, but I do find myself having an urge to sew, and patching has been the perfect activity. I imagine that these will build up into a mosaic of mending someday, in a sort of organic way.

They were a big hit with the repair guy at the bike shop. He kept asking me where I got the fabric and how I sewed them on. He seemed to think I was pretty amazingly hot to have managed to get that fabric to cover my knees. If women really dressed to attract men's attention, it wouldn't be what the fashoin magazines advise.

Speaking of fashion, I am going to Paris in a week ans have an invitation to a fashion show. 

Should I be excited. . . or terrified? And what sort of look will I patch together? I am welcoming all advice.

Finally, If you have read this blog for a long time, you might remember that our porch has been in a slow process of rehabilitaion. Getting it to a useable state has taken a fair bit of effort and the final steps involved finding a rather ugly love chair, wrapping fabric over the cushions, and then making some pillows to match.

I know I took a bunch of artful photos, but I think they ended up on another computer so I'll keep it real. Here is the new, improved look with number two son doing what he does best: eating and reading.

 

imbalanced but grounded

My life has a way of shifting madly from one extreme to another. After a long period of underemployment, I have become temporarily overemployed. And on top of work, I'm preparing to send my oldest son off to college. In this case, the lack of free time to ponder the change is probably good.

I haven't made a thing lately besides dinner, but I did grow an eggplant that bears a striking resemblance to Donald Trump.

Style? None. Today I had to give a presentation in cargo pants, steel toe boots and a high visibility shirt. Guess what? Instead of being my usual tongue-tied self, I felt bad ass and nailed those questions.

It makes me realize how much clothes can empower. I'm not sure what this means I should be making for my wardrobe, but It's probably not pretty dresses.

Anybody else have work clothes that help you make it through the day? And by work I do mean anything!

Vacation Unplugged

 

On the way.

There. 

Best time for a swim.

Oh yeah, I did plug in my machine and got re-hooked on straight seams. This simple non-competetive crafting was great for my sewing mojo. My life is sort of crazy right now, and I'm thinking I might make another dozen of these. Anybody else ever feel like going back to those beginner projects for awhile? Garter stich scarves? granny squares? Pillow cases?

I have to admit one of my favorite things about vacation at the lake is not wearing "real" clothes. I often go from pjs to my swimsuit and have a big piece of indigo-dyed fabric that is my skirt/towel/umbrella/tent. It seems like a huge luxury to forget about clothes for a few days. 

Anybody else thinking of simplifying?