red star mittens

Don rarely wants me to make him anything, even when I ask him if I can, so when he asked me to make him a pair of Red Star Mittens as a holiday present of course I said yes! And I think they came out great.

The pattern I used was the Basic Men's Mitten pattern from Knit with KT, which is also the first mitten pattern I ever knit when I made Don a pair of mittens a couple years ago.


I was going to try to teach myself stranded colorwork with these mittens and designed my own colorwork chart for them and everything, but when I tried it I got so frustrated that I pulled all the knitting I had done so far out and started over with the plan to sew red stars onto the black mittens. Someday I'll learn colorwork, I just won't be overambitious again and try to teach myself on a project I also designed.

Here are the Red Star Mittens on ravelry too!

now i just need a slip

Dress worn as shirt: thrifted
Locket: thrifted
Belt: thrifted
Skirt: made by me
Sandals: thrifted

So remember when I wanted a skirt that was a jeans equivalent and posted this link to a shirt to skirt sewing project? That's fine, I don't expect you to remember all of my ramblings. However, I remember this, so when I found a good shirt candidate for the project it was full sails ahead!


I felt almost guilty cutting into this shirt because it was a nice old Union made thing, but the finishings weren't great and I don't force Don to wear things just because I like them. So a skirt this shirt became.


I'm probably the most proud of my belt loops, even thought they were a huge hassle. I ended up sewing them with tissue paper under them because they kept getting jammed in the feed dogs (I love this term). So no super close ups of them, because they are messy but I love them.

All I need now is a good slip or two because this baby is see through! I'm wearing a dress-as-shirt here because it also worked as a make shift slip. I haven't worn it since these pictures were taken a couple weeks ago because I don't have/haven't made a slip that works well.

kitten

I took a few days off of work to go home to Cape Cod for my birthday. I had all these grand plans to take nice pictures of me turning a glorious twenty two, but the only pictures I ended up taking were of my friend's new puppy, Diesel.


Diesel is a 3/4 pit bull 1/4 lab mix that my friend rescued from rural Kentucky while at a workshop. She is the cutest dog, and contrary to what many people say, pit bulls and pit bull mixes are super sweet dogs. When they're treated poorly they grow up mean, just like any other dog. If you're looking to adopt I really, really would encourage you to look into getting a pit bull. There are so many good dogs who need homes and as pit bulls they're usually only given a few days in a shelter before they get put down.

Now that I've got that out of the way, I can show you more cute pictures.


This was Diesel's first trip to the beach. She is really unsure about going in the water even though she has perfect lab webbed feet. Though we did get her in up to her puppy knees that day.

I got to spend my birthday hanging out with these cuties

I'm partial to the name Kitten (or Amelia Junior), so that's what I've been calling her. Not that there's anything wrong with the name Diesel, and not that I haven't also been calling her Diesel, I just call her Kitten more.

She caught and ate a dragonfly at my mom's house. You can see it in her mouth.

That's pretty much what my birthday looked like. It was wonderful.

ticker tape parade no. 13

Interrobangs Anonymous via Academichic

I love having the internet back. Lately I've just been admiringly perusing because I can. It's funny that while I didn't have an internet connection I didn't care too much about going on but once I had it back I just want to overdose on internet. Surprisingly this post is pretty light considering I haven't done a ticker tape parade in a couple weeks. I tried to focus on more recent things.

I loved this post by E. on Academichic where she dressed like the cover of the book she was reading. So you can only imagine how my little heart skipped a beat when I saw another post dedicated to other bloggers doing the same thing!

The next 30 for 30 challenge on Kendi Everyday starts on my birthday! I'm trying to put a list together and take part in it this time around.

A lot of the time I feel uncomfortable talking about queer things here, which is weird because "queer" is a huge part of how I identify. Maybe linking to someone else's list of queer terms (from subversive lesbian anarchic femme) will help lighten my odd discomfort.

Then on a sewing related note, Tasia from Sewaholic posted a slip sewing how to and some slip tips, which is great because I need a short slip to go under a skirt I just finished sewing!

House of Humble and Kyla Roma have been added to my blog reader, both a couple weeks ago. I guess with the lack of internet connection also came a slowing down of my voracious blog consumption habits.

lace and polka dots

Lace top: thrifted
Belt: thrifted
Skirt: thrifted
Wedges: thrifted

Yesterday one of my co-workers asked me as I came into work how I look so adorable everyday. It was a really sweet thing for her to say. And a huge ego boost.


If I ever had anything remotely resembling a "go to" outfit this would be it. White shirt, high waisted skirt and belt. Done. Maybe shoes too.

minolta x-700

This past weekend I found my best yard sale deal to date. This Minolta x-700 camera and a bag full of accoutrement for ten dollars!


What ever yard sale gods are out there really have been listening to me. For a really long time I've been looking around, patiently waiting for but not seeking out a nice quality, cheap film camera without really thinking I'd ever find one and BAM! In my lap. With some fun filters and flash bulbs!

I don't know very much at all about film photography but I've been wanting to learn. A friend who knows a good deal more than I do was impressed when I sent them a picture of my camera (to the point where their text back read "O.M.G."). Now I only have to learn how to use it. Expect some goofy pseudo-artsy film photography someday in the future.

ice cream date

Shirt: swapped
Skirt: thrifted and altered by me
Shoes: thrifted

I love warm weather. I love being able to wear minimal clothing and still be dressed. And I love ice cream and cows.


As a treat to keep ourselves from going crazy from packingcleaningpackingcleaning last week, me and Don went to our favorite ice cream place: Flayvors. The window is located right on the farm so you can wander around with the cows who provided the milk for the ice cream as you're eating it.

And they have great flavors. The ice cream I got was called the "Elvis," banana ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate chunks. I'm not quite sure what this has to do with Elvis but it was so delicious that it doesn't really matter.



Funny story: we got ice cream here on my twentieth birthday and I got so excited about petting a cow that I walked into an electric fence. The thing is I was well aware of the fence, and as I walked into it Don was telling me to watch out, but the only thought going through my mind was, "Cows are SO BIG."

The cow who's laying down was giving birth. She was at the beginning of her labor so we didn't stay to watch the whole thing.

moby dick

Plaid button down: Target
Shirt: Out of Print Clothing
Pants: Target(?)
Shoes: thrifted

Moby Dick has been a major topic of conversation in our house lately. Don's almost done reading it, and I finished over a week ago. We're even going to visit the Herman Melville House soon (it's pretty close to where we live, so this isn't as big a deal as it might seem).

In honor of the Ahab fever that's taken us I wanted to feature Don's Moby Dick shirt from Out of Print Clothing. I love what this company does so much that I couldn't help but mention them again. And how sweet is this shirt?

espresso explosion

The other morning the saddest thing happened.

There were a number of things that went into this catastrophe: We're in the process of moving, so we didn't have a coffee grinder. So we ground our coffee at the store when we got it, putting it on the espresso grind. Then we put it in the freezer when we got home. I'm pretty sure what happened was that it was ground too fine (take that espresso setting on the store grinder!) then frozen, so the too small grounds clogged the filter then expanded/made more steam when they got hot.


All that to say that there was an espresso explosion the other morning. I almost cried as I was cleaning it up, but only because it was first thing in the morning, all I wanted was coffee, and there I was sopping up coffee grounds.


Aaaand this is the entire scene. Can you see how far that thing flew? If not I drew an arrow in to make it really obvious.

Happily the espresso maker isn't broken! I apprehensively made a shot of espresso yesterday (using our new grinder) and it turned out fine. Then I poured the espresso over ice and made an iced americano. Delicious.

inspiration monday no. 3 (a week late)

Button down: thrifted
Tie: thrifted
Skinny jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: swapped

I haven't had an internet connection at my house for over a week at this point, so here's last week's inspired outfit from Two Birds Inspiration Monday series. I was considering not even posting it since it's so late, but I wanted to post something. And I really like that tie.


We don't look too similar, do we? Since starting this blog I've noticed I've been "dressing up" a lot more than I used to. Part of this is paying more attention to what I'm wearing and why, but sometimes I'm just wearing things for the blog.


This shirt might not be super flattering, but I love it and it's comfy. I think it looks nice even if it's not fitted. I like wearing menswear in an androgynous way. Sometimes I even like to look like a twelve year old boy.


This is a special sneak peak at what I've been knitting (even though it's hot now and I'm not going to wear it anytime soon!). I wanted visual evidence of this vest because I'm going to rip part of it out. If you've been following this blog at all you'll know that I rip out my knitting kind of regularly. It drives other people crazy when I pull out something I've finished, but I can't see any reason to keep something I've finished if I know I'm not going to wear it because of some problem. I'd rather just redo it.

ticker tape parade no. 12

I finally finished reading Moby Dick! And man, was that an insane ending. Not unexpected, but still insane. Don recently got this shirt (made by Out of Print Clothing) from a bookstore that just started carrying them. I've liked this company for a really long time and want to get Don this Master and Margarita shirt, since I meant to get it for his birthday last year. (Also I finished reading Moby Dick first!)

On the topic of books, on Facebook a friend posted this review of Stuck Rubber Baby, a graphic novel by Howard Cruse, and I'd really like to read it.

There was a fantastic post on the blog fatty unbound about being comfortable in and claiming your own skin.

Related is a post by Already Pretty on self care. It's a quick little cheat sheet but it's nice.

Three wardrobe related posts:

• "What I Wear Everyday,"a post which shows off how Dana of MADE gets dressed everyday.
• "Wardrobe Strategy,"on Casey's Elegant Musings is a mini remix of one dress.
• "Building a Wardrobe and Demystifying Those Fashionable Girls" by Kyla Roma. I really want to try this exercise: collecting images that make me say "I would wear that!" Then figuring out my style from the collection. I have a lot of clothes and a very large "nothing to wear" problem.
  

I also started following the citybirds nest.

P.S. Anyone get Raptured yet? No?

potato soup

For the last year (at least, probably longer) I've been really lazy about cooking. So part of my "get over the winter into spring blues" plan is to start cooking more, especially since I'm not worrying about school anymore. So after finding a simple potato soup recipe I decided that was a good place to start.


I'm not vegan or gluten free, in fact I'm pretty far from either, but I brought this soup to a potluck and there was someone who was so excited that the soup was both vegan and gluten free that I was glad I hadn't changed the recipe too much.

This is the approval of a haiku writing master!

What I did change was instead of using green chiles I cooked green peppers with the onions (and added garlic). I also chopped up some mushrooms and sauteed them with liquid smoke so they would mimic bacon and added them after putting the rest of the soup through the blender.

Sweater: Gap, adopted from a friend
Shirt: swapped, stenciled by me
Pants: Old Navy
Belt: swapped

Also since dating Don (three years coming up in September!) I haven't really been eating peppers or mushrooms because he doesn't like them. He's more of a wheat-a-tarian than a vegetarian as he's very picky about his veggies, and I've adopted some of his veggie hang ups; peppers and mushrooms were never my favorites in the first place. So I wanted to reintroduce them to my diet by cooking them in a delicious way. I didn't mean to do them both in one go, but the soup was definitely a success!

ticker tape parade no. 11

from Vixen Vintage

What a weird past few days these have been. Along with Blogger being on the fritz I was convinced all of Friday (the day that I've been doing the ticker tape parade posts) that it was Saturday and that I'd missed doing the post and thinking I might wait until next week. Then all of Saturday I was convinced that it was Friday and that I'd do it later. Really, I don't know how or why.

Most of what I've been entranced by on the internet this week is pretty clothes, I'm not going to lie. And not even really sewing related, just clothes. This is probably because I've been sewing more lately (I finally got my desk set up even though we're moving at the end of the month). So I'll start out with this gorgeous outfit from Vixen Vintage. I love how all the colors match. Those socks, that sweater, that skirt? I melted when I saw this. I wish I was exaggerating.

I also loved Gertie's instant gratification eyelet dress. To the point where I might want to try one for myself this summer.

Now on to the more sewing related eye candy: part two of the 30's style collar pattern drafting tutorial is up on Casey's Elegant Musings. (Want part one?)

I've been working on an elastic waist band skirt sewing project with a friend of mine lately and now I'm hooked. I've also been lamenting not having a jeans equivalent skirt. Enter this chambray shirt to skirt tutorial via Grossgrain.

I also started following Elise Blaha::enJOY it and Dixie DIY.

these are a few of my favorite things no. 2

I have a dark secret to admit to you. I am a mug collector.

The "Fat Cat Mug"

Cat mugs are my real weakness. And when I say weakness, I mean that I scour the home goods sections of thrift stores searching for them, and impulsively stop at thrift stores hoping that they'll have cat mugs.

The anthropomorphic cats on this mug really scare Don

But it doesn't just end with cat mugs. Me and Don have a "Nerdy Mug" collection. (Chemical structure of caffeine? Check.) A "Creepy Cute Mug" collection. (Cartoon bunny saying "I love you" with a heart shaped handle? Check.) There's even an "I just like it" collection. (There's a Cape Cod mug, so sue me.)


This is the newest member of the cat mug collection. On the other side there's a sign with a curly cue frame that says "Let's Clown Around."

However, look how creepy that mask the cat is holding is.

inspiration monday no. 2

Jean jacket: thrifted Forever Twenty One
Pin: thrifted
Romper: thrifted
Belt: thrifted
Shoes: thrifted Etienne Aigner

Inspiration Monday again? Yup! I don't have any kids to take to the park, not even any borrowed ones, so I went to a book sale in my romper instead. The only book I came away with was "The Cosmo Girl's Guide to Etiquette" from sometime around 1970. I read it before bed last night, maybe now I'll be more tactful. Probably not though.


And the inspiration! Again, my "interpretation" is pretty spot on, but I only have so many rompers (one) and so many jean jackets (one) in my closet; there aren't too many ways to mix and match them.


I've also had this jacket for years and I can honestly say that I haven't worn it once. Not because I don't like it but just because I never know how to. Most of the time I'm worried about jeans on jeans outfits or even just blue on blue. A while ago I put a patch on the back thinking I'd wear it more but then I just got anxious about matching the patch to whatever else I was wearing (I don't think I'm punk enough for patches), so I took the patch off recently.

Maybe one of my summer goals should be to get more comfortable wearing this jacket. I shoot high with my goals.




I also thrifted this pin recently for my fantasy etsy business. Don only has to finish up some finals (and graduate this weekend!) and then the fun of putting it all together and hopefully sending things off to new homes will begin!

ticker tape parade no. 10

I LOVE True Blood. Last summer the new season premiered on my birthday (June 13, if you didn't have it memorized when the last season premiered/wanted to know when I get older) so I kept calling it HBO's special birthday present for me. So I was really excited to learn through Q's Daydream that Anna Paquin did a spread in Self Magazine July 2oo9.

Let me preface this by saying I have an awful sense of humor, and if you don't like graphic images you don't want to follow this link. It's definitely not safe for work. Ok! Probably my favorite thing on the internet this week was a post on Regretsy about some fantastic royal wedding memorabilia. I wish I had endless amounts of money to waste on things like this. It would probably go in the bathroom or something ridiculous like that. I think I'm one of the few people who didn't watch or pay very much attention at all to the wedding. Oops.

Elycia of Love, Elycia is doing a series called "28 Things," 28 things about herself leading up to her birthday, and I love this Ahnold Schwarzenegger video that she put together.

A Fashionable Stitch is doing a sew-a-long with one of the new patterns from Colette Patterns!

I've been listening to Pomplamoose pretty much non-stop for the past couple days.

I've been looking for nice ways to keep my indoor herb garden and I've decided on these tin cans and mason jar terrariums!

Started following Vintage Seen, Skunkboy Creatures, fuck yeah haikus, All the Fuss, Made by Rae, A Fashionable Stitch (the new home of The Cupcake Goddess), knitxcore,

I also realized I could follow web comics on Google Reader! My life is now complete! Ok, now you know a bit more about how much of a nerd I am.

yard saling

Remember when I said I struck gold on a yard sale this past weekend? Here's the haul! (Minus two pants hangers. I didn't think you really wanted to see those.) Laying it out on the table made it seem like so much less, but I'm still pumped about it.


Let's start out with something exciting, such as getting things for free! There was a great free table at the corner of the driveway where we picked up this neat vacation kitsch wall hanging/dish towel thing. The colors! The font! The popularization of the family vacation!

I have no idea how to figure out when this might have been made, but I think a good hint could be that it was made in Ireland.

These cups were also on the free table! I love them so much I was considering giving them their own yard sale sneak preview post. We had the exact same cups when I was younger and I'm pretty sure they had sippy cup lids.

Probably my favorite thing from the yard sale haul was this Cape Cod charm. I really, really almost gave it it's own post, as you might be able to tell from the sunset porch wood background. The charm makes me feel all giddy and happy when I look at it because I'm originally from Cape Cod. Hopefully I'll get to go sometime over the summer.

The next few things are for the Etsy shop that me and Don are opening sometime soon. We already have a big plastic bin and a couple of overflowing bags full of knick-knacks, clothing and jewelry for the internet to ogle. See something you like? It could be yours in the near future!

Humming bird tin! I already have a tin collection, but this one is so pretty. I can't decide who deserves this more, me or the internet! It also used to be someone's sewing tin; they left little labels on the sides with things like "pins," "needles."

Bottle opener from a local brewery/spirit house that I'm pretty sure no longer exists.


Mirror set. They're not fancy, but they do have a pretty design on the back.


Handy-Hannah blow dryer! I got really excited when I saw this, but I couldn't tell you why. It doesn't have the stand anymore, and it's not something that I want to own, but look at that sweet fifties pink!

Now on to Don's picks:


This 1933 World Fair wallet is a potential birthday present for Don's brother.


It's hilarious to me that Don wanted to get a sharp, serrated knife because he's avidly vegetarian, and has been for years and years. What does a vegetarian need a well made, sharp, serrated knife for? Cutting Field Roast. Duh.

Now for the grand finale, a trash can!

The entire year we've been living in this apartment we haven't had a trash basket in the bathroom, we've just been using the ol' grocery store bag on the floor trick (classy, I know). But now we have one and it was free! It may be a little dingy, maybe even to the point where I asked Don if he thought someone used it as a spit bucket for chewing tobacco (too graphic?), but it's sitting on the porch in the rain and hopefully that will clean it off. And look how neat those pictures are! If it wasn't quite so dirty I might mind using it for trash.

And there our trip through what came home with Don and Amelia last weekend ends, one step closer to having an attractive bathroom!