Damselfly's Delights

Make Space Project

October 7, 2019 damselflysdelights2 Comments

Do you have any idea how much stuff one can collect after living in the same house for nearly 41 years? Especially when there are two people with multiple craft interests involved? It’s not like we haven’t cleaned and purged and sorted and pitched lots of things over the years. But no matter how diligent you are (and we haven’t been especially) there’s always more you can do. And then when you’ve done it, you can always do it again! Stuff grows to fill the available space, right? And priorities and tastes change. Also your tolerance for clutter. Mine is decreasing rapidly and I’m starting to crave more simplicity in my life. Is this an age thing?

Anyway we’ve started on the bedroom first as the room we spend the most time in. We went through our clothes not that long ago but there were a few more things that had to go. And then I fell down the KonMari rabbit hole. Oops!!

I’ve been frustrated in the past trying to locate a particular garment in a pile without disrupting the whole drawer. I’ve totally lost things at the bottom that I’ve forgotten I had. This method solves these problems by making everything visible at once. Another advantage to folding everything was that it gave me a chance to inspect each garment for popped seams, loose buttons or other mending. This is just one drawer out of 10 and includes my bras, panties and leggings. I surprisingly had more room in it after I folded everything! And yes, I included Thom’s drawers in that count because I folded all his clothes as well. Now we’ll see how long I can keep them this tidy.

Yes, I do have quite a few garments! I am no minimalist by any means. However, if you realise that I’ve made most of my clothes with my own two hands that might put my collection in better perspective. Not to mention that most of the things that I haven’t sewn myself are a minimum of 10 years old. The t-shirts that I wear to bed as pajamas are old enough to vote! I actually think that owning more clothes makes them last longer. But you do have to be careful to cycle through them regularly and not just wear the same three things over and over. And that’s proving to be another example of how the folding helps with that: you take garments from the front to wear and after they’re laundered you put them back in the rear of the lineup.

We’ve also cleaned off most of the shelves, sorted the grandkids toys kept in the closet (and chucked a whole bunch), donated most of my jewelry which I no longer wear to the eldest grandkid (who I’m sure will find lots of creative ways to use them), and are contemplating buying a new mattress for the bed. We’ve given ourselves until the end of the month to finish this room and we’re well ahead of the deadline. Hope we don’t run out of steam before we get to That Silly Season Which We Shall Not Name! We’re already only a week away from our Canadian Thanksgiving which we ~~foolishly~~ happily volunteered to host this year.

In other news, I’ve started knitting a new sweater. Let’s not mention the fact that I already have a sweater on the needles that’s been in time-out for months. Also a pair of socks, same. I wanted something fresh and new! This is the beginning of Sammal, a cardigan by Joji Locatelli.

Sammal Cardigan in Cloudborn Fibers Wool Fingering Twist

The pattern is beautifully written and edited so there’s no excuse except my own that it took me two tries to get the short row neck section correct. Going well now though. I do like the Sand Stitch texture and the cute little braids down the fronts. Yeah, it’s dark grey, aka Iron Heather. It goes with everything. So sue me.

Lastly I bought myself an early birthday present! It’s not until next month but so what? I’m worth it. Since I had to retire my oldest pair of Blundstone boots after our last holiday (OK, I couldn’t throw them out – they’re gardening boots now) I was going to get another pair of brown ones. But this colour, Seal Grey, jumped out. Not quite grey, it has elements of taupe and brown in it. I’m calling it Bob because that’s our family’s name for all harbour seals which it totally resembles!

Seal Grey Blundstone boots – goes with everything

Ferry Circle Tour

September 30, 2019 damselflysdelights4 Comments

Well, goodness! How did it get to be Autumn already? And the last day of September. We’ve been a bit chilly here so have actually turned on some heat. That’s at least a couple of weeks earlier than usual but really, who wants to take a shower when the bathroom is only 15C? (That’s 59F for those non-metric people out there.) The garden is mostly done producing and ready to be put to bed for the winter. Our chestnuts are starting to fall now but leaves are just beginning to turn colours. I have no idea what kind of winter all this means we will have. I’m not in a hurry to find out though because I love this time of year the best!

We just got home a few days ago and we’re still cleaning up and drying out after our September vacation. This time we again stayed in British Columbia and explored some of the places we had only a glimpse of last year when we went on a seniors’ bus tour with Thom’s mom. The weather was very changeable which made it a little challenging to camp in our 30-year-old VW Westfalia especially in the dark damp forest which is where every campsite we stayed at was located. At least it was relatively warm up until the last couple of days where we had an electric hookup so we could have some heat going.

In total we took eight ferries! I think we spent more time waiting for and cruising on ferries than we did driving. First we explored the Sunshine Coast. This beautifully maintained trail around Inland Lake near Powell River was a highlight. It’s 13 km long though so we really only walked halfway up one side of the lake and back.

We got as far north as Lund at the end of Highway 101. Just so we could say we did!

Then we backtracked to Powell River and ferried over to Vancouver Island and up to Campbell River. From there we took the short ride to Quadra Island where we got the best campsite of the whole trip at We-Wai-Kai, a privately run campground in the protected bay next to Rebecca Spit. We were right on the beach with power and reasonable wifi. Pretty cushy! And very quiet this time of year.

Home Sweet Van! Covered in dust and mud so we were obviously having a good time.

From Quadra we ferried over to Cortes Island and stayed a couple of days. Love this bicycle on the beach. Wonder how long it’s been there?

From Cortes we went back to Quadra and then to Campbell River where we stayed at Elk Falls. We did a lot of hiking along the river and to see several different waterfalls.

Elk Falls itself is the most spectacular. Wish you could hear how loud it sounds! And how deep that gorge actually is. From there we headed south and west to Sproat Lake just past Port Alberni and viewed the petroglyphs on the lake shore. Weird and wonderful sea creatures! So different from the petroglyphs we’ve seen the deserts of the US South West.

After that we continued west (in the pouring rain) to Green Point in Pacific Rim National Park for our last 3 days. At least the wet stuff let up long enough for us to get in a few more beach walks. We were glad of power to run our electric heater though because it was very damp and colder than it had been up to then.

We went into Tofino on our last night to celebrate Thom’s birthday. Best Dutch chocolate gelato ever (and I’ve been taste-testing them all year!) from Tofino Chocolate in lieu of a birthday cake and then dinner in town. On our way home we stopped at Cathedral Grove to visit all the giant Western Redcedars and Douglas Firs. This fir is the biggest one and I couldn’t get all of it in one photo! If I recall it’s 70 metres (230 feet) tall and the second largest in Canada.

You will notice that the sun finally came out as we were on the homeward run to our last ferry at Nanaimo. Figures. All in all it was a relaxing if somewhat soggy holiday. We saw whales, sea otters, porpoises, garter snakes, loons, sandpipers, red-legged frogs, deer, a bear and a whole lot more. I dragged my Louet Victoria spinning wheel along but only got one day where I could get out and spin.

A few more random photos.

Do or Do Not

August 22, 2019 damselflysdelights2 Comments

Part of me always feels like I’m running behind and the other part of me doesn’t care enough to try to catch up. I’ve read a ridiculous number of books. And not meaty informative literature either but instead they’re mostly historical romance and murder mysteries. Frivolous fluff. Like eating too many potato chips. Oh yeah, I’ve done that too. Oops.

Reading is a distraction from struggling with my current knitting projects, in particular one of which has been stalled for months. Needs to be fixed or frogged. But first I need to assess and I’m not even looking at it. I usually consider myself a knitter first before all other textile-based occupations, but recently I’ve gone days without knitting a stitch. What on earth is wrong with me?

I’m also not dyeing anything. Haven’t used any of the dye plants in my garden at all this season apart from harvesting and drying some of the Japanese indigo and saving some weld seeds. (Why the weld seeds when I have a gazillion babies that keep popping up?) I keep looking at the dye stash from years past and thinking that I have enough. Especially if I never use it! I even have a couple of things that I want to dye before summer is over. It will be next week or not at all. Wish me luck on that one.

And there’s two spinning projects, one on each wheel, that have been sitting around not progressing any further. I did have plans for the yarn but obviously I’m not feeling in a hurry. In my defense it was rather hot for spinning but even though it’s cooled down (even rained hard for most of yesterday) that hasn’t inspired me to spin either. And we won’t even mention the naked looms. Nope.

The only craft that seems to be enticing me at all is sewing. I’ve already made four dresses this month and am working on a fifth. I showed two of them in the last post so I guess number three is up next. The pattern is the Rushcutter dress from In The Folds.

This photo shows the fabric better, a purplish-brown linen. (I think! It might be a blend.) I even had the perfect zipper in the matching colour but decided that I didn’t need it. I was right too. As long as the neckline can go over my head my dresses are all loose enough in the body to not need a zip to get it on. Besides the fact that I can’t do up a back zip by myself anyhow! T-Rex arms, remember?

Debbie Double and me sharing a cup of tea

The other photos I took are rather dark and lightening them up in the photo app tends to leave them grainy. But here’s a more full-length shot anyway.

I love how it fits and I didn’t even do much in the way of modification. Just cut a size E at the sleeve/yoke area and graded out to a size F at the underarm/bust. Of course I also shortened the sleeves by the usual 2″ or they would be full length. The pockets are huge and I love the little inset in the front yoke. There’s also a sleeveless version that has quite a different piece for the shoulder/back yoke with a button placket instead of calling for a zip. It also has inseam pockets and a waist tie that I won’t use. I’d like to try this variation or maybe a combo of the two views but definitely there will be more Rushcutters in my future. It’s such a perfect shape for me.

In other news the garden is winding down somewhat for the year. I replanted some of the Asian greens and lettuce which may or may not survive the slugs and insects to maturity. The arugula bolted almost immediately! The zucchini, cucumbers and beans slowed down a lot during the really hot weather but are now starting to come back a little. The tomatoes are ripening earlier than usual. I’ve got a few trays of Juliets (small paste tomatoes) in the dehydrator right now making “sun-dried” deliciousness. Sometimes I get really frustrated with the garden and other times I’m so grateful for its bounty.

Lastly, I got new hearing aids! Whoo-hoo! My audiologist gave me top marks for keeping my old ones going for over 12 years – twice as long as they were supposed to last. Probably because I was notorious for not wearing them as much as I should have. Ahem. They’ve been limping along for a couple of months anyway and are no longer repairable. It was exciting to have a good excuse to replace them! My new ones are the same brand (Oticon, a Danish company) but the technology has come along lightyears since my first pair. And naturally they’re also nearly twice as expensive! These little guys are rechargeable (no changing batteries) and have 4 programs and adjustable sound levels. Also Bluetooth so I can listen to audio directly and I even got a TV connection box too so now I can actually hear movies correctly! I haven’t actually watched TV in months because I found it so frustrating. 100% improvement. Two thumbs up!

There’s an app for my iPad (I don’t have a phone) that gives me another way to access the sound levels and programs besides the buttons on the hearing aids themselves and the separate remote control. The app also charts my usage so I can tell how much I’ve used them and on what programs. Besides the regular program, there’s one for noisy background places like a restaurant, one that will hopefully help me at my weavers’ guild meetings in an uncomfortably echoing room, and one called “comfort” that cuts everything back so I don’t feel I need to take the hearing aids off when I’m reading or doing something else quietly by myself. There’s definitely a learning curve with these bad boys though since even the comfort setting is much more powerful than my old failing hearing aids! I’m not yet used to hearing so much detail. And it’s not even cranked up to my full prescription yet. Not until October when hopefully my brain will have adjusted.

Don’t the in-ear domes look like wee jelly fish? Heh.

I know a lot of people are reluctant to get their hearing tested or to wear hearing aids if necessary but I really don’t understand why they should feel any embarrassment or shame. Do you feel bad if you have to wear glasses or contact lenses in order to see? It’s exactly the same thing – except the hearing devices are more complex and expensive. Here in Canada at least, hearing aids plus their batteries and repairs are even tax deductible as a medical expense which helps somewhat. (Eyeglasses are not.) Research has shown that untreated hearing loss can contribute to social isolation, cognitive decline and dementia. Sounds like some really excellent reasons to suck it up and do something about it, no? Yes!

Woof!

August 8, 2019 damselflysdelights4 Comments

We’re well into the dog days of summer here. I can tell because I feel like I should be panting with my tongue out like a dog! Hot. We spend half our lives watering the garden and the other half hunting for ways to use up all the beans and zucchini. Perhaps I planted too many but you never know how well they are going to do. Extra is better than not enough, right?

I have 6 different kinds of beans so they’re rather pretty together:

Too bad the Burgundy ones cook up green and the speckled Dragon Tongues fade to yellow in the pot! Currently I have about 10 pounds worth in the fridge. We’re eating them as fast as we can because I won’t use them if they’re frozen or canned or pickled. Fresh is best!

So my studio has been rather steamy even with the big fan on but I have been persevering with the sewing anyway. In a switch from green I’ve been working on this brick red poly twill fabric that’s been lurking in the Deep Stash for who knows how long. I tested out the downsized version of Grainline’s Farrow dress with long sleeves.

This is a much smaller size than I made the first time and I like it much better. Not nearly so voluminous. Now I want another sleeveless one too! Putting it in the queue.

With the leftover twill I cut the outer layer of a slightly revised Sew Liberated Metamorphic Dress. The underlayer is a poly voile in a softly coordinating floral that’s probably been around since the 1980’s judging by the colours. So nice to use this stuff up finally! The bodice fits better on this one than my first attempt last year but for such a simple shape it seams hard to get right. At least it’s mostly pretty bra-friendly so I can wear it without a t-shirt underneath.

I like that there’s pockets on both layers, though I did increase the size of the outer patch pockets because they seemed a little too tiny. I’ve actually worn it with the floral side out most often even though I don’t think of myself as a flower print person.

So that’s the last of the brick red projects. Next up there’s a grey shirt. And then I’ll have to start cutting out more garments. No shortage of patterns and fabrics around here!

It’s Not Easy Being Green

July 28, 2019 damselflysdelights2 Comments

Well, hello! I’ve been trying to get photos of my latest sewing but it has been very hot and I had no desire to model anything made of French terry. But needs must so I sucked it up for one garment anyway. First though, the two pieces that made a lazy flatlay:

Top and pants, not necessarily to be worn together

The top is the tunic from Love Notions La Bella Donna pattern. This version has elbow-length dolman sleeves with long cuffs and I used the bias-bound neckline from the t-shirt view. Unfortunately, this fabric isn’t very stretchy at all so the binding puckers a little but it doesn’t look too bad whilst wearing. I made the pockets a single layer underneath and top-stitched it to the tunic front so they are stable and don’t flop around as regular inseam pockets often do especially in knits. This was a pretty quick make since I’ve used this pattern before (for the snow-dyed hoodie version) and I’ve already done all my fitting changes. This one fits a little snugger however because of the thicker firmer fabric but it’s still comfy.

The cropped pants are from the pattern that I rubbed off a RTW pair and made before in grey knit. I left off the pockets this time and gave the rise another inch in height which seems more comfortable. Both of these garments have already been worn several times when we were camping on Vancouver Island so I guess they’re a good addition to the wardrobe. Yes, I laundered them first before the photo. Heh.

The last piece I made from this four-metre piece of French terry from Dressew’s bargain basement is the Robin Hoodie:

If I’m going to wear a warm hoodie dress on the hottest day of summer so far, you can bet I’m going to have fun doing it! The pattern is yet another hack of the Hey June Lane Raglan which I’ve used so often I’ve lost track of the variations. This is the first one I’ve tried with the hood and the thumb-hole cuffs (aka monkey thumbs). You can barely see them but I used tiny cord-locks on the drawstring cord that I got from our local outdoor fabrics store before it sadly closed a few years ago. Nice to find a perfect use for them. Instead of the usual kangaroo pocket I used the big pockets from the Helen’s Closet York Pinafore pattern.

So for once I’ve used all the fabric (six metres total) that I bought most recently before it sat in my stash for a couple of years…or decades. Six garments out of six metres: cap-sleeve tee (which I’m currently wearing), skimmies and leggings from the 2 metres of nylon/lycra and long-sleeved tunic, cropped pull-on pants and hoodie dress from the 4 metres of cotton French terry. At $4 per metre/garment I’d say I got my money’s worth, doncha think?

Last week when I went fabric shopping with my granddaughter I asked her to remind me that we were buying fabrics for her coat project, not for me. She was very diligent! I got nothing and she got:

The coat fabric is a bit soft but it’s glorious: wool and cashmere in a deep dark brown! We got that and the interfacing from Atex Designer Fabrics and the purple-brown lining from Dressew. She’s planning to make the longer ankle-length version of this princess-seamed open-front coat. Hopefully we can put enough structure into it to hold its shape without having to resort to elaborate tailoring. Neither of us are quite up for that! She’s really lucky that she’s got me and all the resources of my studio to make this big project that’s been stuck in her head for awhile. Even though she’s not-quite-15 (only a couple of weeks to her birthday!), she’s a pretty fearless sewist already. Hah, but she can’t sew unless she comes here because…I have her sewing machine! Mwa-ha-ha!! She’s gotten pretty good at taking public transit now, thank goodness. It’s about 25 kilometres from her house to ours and it takes about an hour and a half to get here. Now that’s dedication, no?

I’ll leave you this time with a photo from the walk Thom & I took today along our Vancouver harbour waterfront:

Big Holland America cruise ship, the Westerdam, was at Canada Place over on the right there. (It’s heading to Alaska as I type.) Then we walked west toward Stanley Park, turned south and skirted Lost Lagoon, and eventually hit English Bay:

We had lunch at the Cactus Club on the beach and then continued (well fed and lubricated with local beers) down Davie Street to the Roundhouse Skytrain Station and home. A total of nearly 10 km walk in gorgeous sunny and not too hot weather! Gotta take it while you can get it. Right?

Short Summer Odyssey

July 20, 2019 damselflysdelights4 Comments

It’s been a bit quiet around here lately but that’s because I’ve been away on the Annual Fambly Camping Trip. This time we went to Horne Lake on Vancouver Island and even though the weather wasn’t particularly cooperative it was rather fun.

The campsite was excellent and only a short path to the beach. We managed to squeeze in some swimming and some relaxing with books and a cider between rain showers. The whole gang attempted to explore the Horne Lake Caves. Here’s the intrepid cave explorers:

Minus the Grandpa acting as photographer. One half of the party (aka my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter) made it about a couple of metres in. Thom and I and our 12-year old grandson (our son’s youngest) made it about twice as far. Same for the second cave we tried. Even though Thom and I have explored lots of cave systems over the last 15 years or so, these caves are undeveloped and a quite difficult for the average person. We didn’t go on a paid cave tour which may or may not have been more accessible. However the guides were definitely not very forthcoming on ability levels needed even though we asked explicitly. Kind of disappointing really. Eventually the other half went back to camp while The Boy and Thom and I hiked up in the (warm) rain to one last cave. We made it a little further into this one with some delicate maneuvering to get down a ladder. At least we could show The Boy how dark it is in the caves when you turn out the lights! Then he found an alternate exit:

As his first caving experience I think he was fairly pleased! I wouldn’t consider this that great myself though because I’ve definitely been in much better and more accessible systems. I’m sure that stronger, young, more athletic people could have gotten much further than we did. Whatever. We did what we could and enjoyed it as much as possible.

My other project for this trip was to knit a hoodie for a pig.

The special request was a sweater for Waddles. I brought yarn and needles and The Boy brought the pig. Lots of measuring and trying it on with no actual pattern but I think it turned out okay. Some random knitting worsted from the stash, size 5mm needles and a couple of days of knitting and there you go! A final round of crochet to snug up the hood opening and both the pig and The Boy were very happy.

I have to admit this has been rather an odd summer so far. Cool and cloudy and occasionally wet. I have to admit that’s better than last year’s forest fires and smoke. You takes what you gets, right? Forecasts are calling for warmer weather coming up so I’ll be complaining about having to water. No pleasing some people!

Back to the sewing machine.

Green Instead

July 7, 2019 damselflysdelightsLeave a comment

Well, now that I’ve gotten brown out of my system for awhile, I’ve moved onto green. I apologise in advance that my iPad’s camera has big trouble rendering this colour correctly! It shimmers back and forth between brown, grey and a really washed out green none of which are close. Trust me that these are all a matching and evenly dyed dark olive drab.

First up, this is the Peppermint Magazine’s Button-Up Dress, a free pattern designed by Emily Hundt of In The Folds. It features armhole princess seams and a relaxed easy fit.

The fabric was lurking about in my stash for a number of years, purchased on one of my trips through Portland, OR, at the Mill-End Store. It’s a lovely designer cotton sateen in a heavier weight that of course creases like the dickens. The buttons are from Dressew and are quite dreamy, like looking into a pool.

Since there’s 10 of them quite close together down the front of this dress, I thought it was worthwhile having buttons that actually show up! The changes I made to the pattern for fit were nearly but not quite right. I need a little more bra strap coverage on the back armhole and it gaps a little back there. Also the all-in-one facings needed some remedial work to lie correctly. I probably need to redraft them if I make this pattern again. The dress is quite short, above the knee even on my 5’3″ self, so taller folk might want to lengthen it. There’s only a tiny 5/8″ hem!

So because the dress felt a little too open on the armholes, I managed to find some nylon/Lycra fabric in the exact same colour in Dressew’s bargain basement. Yay! Out of 2 metres I squeezed a cap-sleeved tee, a pair of “skimmies” (aka undershorts) and a pair of Helen’s Closet Avery Leggings. I’m always needing layering pieces and these are perfect.

Wearing the cap-sleeved tee and the skimmies under my Button-Up Dress

The first two pieces are really quick to sew and have been adapted and changed enough from the original tee and shorts/leggings patterns that I consider them my own now. The Averys are quite a lot more work to make, with the doubled yoke, crotch gusset and elastic sewn in between the layers.

I prefer the high waist but the shorter legs. This pair has legs that are even shorter than the pattern by about 2-1/2″ because I was squeezing them in to a tight amount of fabric! However, they’re still long enough on my short legs coming just above my ankle bone.

I skimmed another wee slice out of the cuffs though because they were still a little looser than I like for my skinny ankles. It’s quite a lot cooler here today so I’m glad to be wearing them and with socks too! The high waist and doubled yoke design acts like a more comfortable version of shapewear on me, keeping the beluga blubber a little more under control than usual. Heh. Totally worth the extra effort to make them.

So now I’m busy cutting out the next pile of green sewing! This lot is a slightly lighter olive green soft cotton/lycra french terry, also from Dressew’s bargain basement. It’s a colour I have a lot of in my wardrobe and I don’t really tire of seeing it. This fabric was obviously hiding in the bargains because it’s quite off-grain even after washing and machine drying. No amount of tugging would straighten it out so I’m ignoring that issue and have 3 items all cut out and ready to sew. More green to show you soon! I’m on a roll here.