Cut It Out

That's what I did all afternoon.  This morning I made Grand Errand Rounds -- Pick 'n Save for Kingsford charcoal (15# bags for $3.77 x 5; there was a coupon), Meijer for grapes, sweet corn, & hazelnut decaf, Shopko for potting soil, and ALDI for a fresh pineapple and 3-8 oz. packages of mushrooms. (and I barely got a mile from home in any direction; I love my neighborhood)  Got the charcoal because I'm addicted to grilling, got the grapes and corn because Durwood loves them, the decaf is for me as is the pineapple, potting soil to transplant the lantana into a hanging pot brought to Friday Night Knitting by N&GS because she read it in my blog post (thanks a million, NS!), and the mushrooms to slice, saute, and freeze.  Durwood started doing that years ago and it's the most convenient thing you could imagine.  We go all the way and cook each 8 oz. package in its very own Tablespoon of butter, freeze each half-pound in a square plastic box, and then vacuum seal each one for the freezer.  It's so handy to nip down to the freezer for some mushrooms to doctor up a bland recipe.  While I was downstairs cutting fabric after lunch, Durwood's job was to wash and slice the 'shrooms.  After supper I sauteed them and got them into the freezer.  We're a team like that.

Oh, and sweet corn.  Mmm.




Fabric.  Yes, I had a wonderful time cutting this afternoon even though a couple hours spent hunched over the cutting table gives me a lovely backache.  In the photo the brown linens on the top left (dark with dots for the front and the cocoa for the back) and the white cotton pique with orange & red flowers are destined to be Shirts no. 1, a simple shape with small cap sleeves.  The brown & orange stripe and the red with giant fish print are going to be Dresses no. 1, the sleeveless jumper with patch pockets that I've made so many of in the last year.  And the white polyester silk with the watercolor fish is a hybrid of the two.  I wanted something with sleeves but not sleeve sleeves, you know, cut separately and sewn on, and I also thought that the fabric would make a nice summer dress-ish garment so I pinned the Shirt no. 1 pattern piece on and then slid the Dress no. 1 pattern piece around until I thought they fitted together like a dress is supposed to... oh, and I also cut out pockets to sew into the side seams rather than the usual patch pockets.  Tomorrow I plan to cut out a pair of Pants no. 1 and a Tunic no. 1 that I'll adjust the neckline on so it's not too wide, and another Shirt no. 1 since I found this oddball map fabric in a bin downstairs that's probably meant to be lining fabric and some gray polyester suiting that'll be good for the back piece since I don't have enough of the map fabric for a whole garment and the suiting'll give the flimsy front fabric something to hold onto.  I don't know what alchemy Sonya Phillip imbues her 100 Acts of Sewing patterns with but I have never in all my life been this brave cobbling together fabrics and patterns and adjusting things on a whim.  Who am I?  BTW, I thought long and hard about making a dress out of the bright red big fish fabric.  It's outdoor fabric so it's a little stiff for a garment and I suspect I might look like I escaped from the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta but I can't resist making it and wearing it.  If people don't like it, they can look away.

June 16--Robert Delaunay, The Cardiff Team.  The Ferris wheel was in flames.  It still turned, bright against the night sky like a baton twirler's trick.  Caleb stood staring, wondering how something made mostly of metal could burn.  The amusement park was quiet except for the hum of the wheel's engine and the laughter of the fire as it consumed the circular metal ride.

Hm, kinda creepy but I like it.  Too bad I fell asleep before the story got any further.  One of these days when I'm resting I'll have to gather up all these interesting story starts and see if I can't do something with them.  Time to hit the sack.
--Barbara