Winter Housekeeping

Rather than say we got more snow, let's just think of this as winters way of freshening things up a bit.  Who doesn't like a tidy layer of fresh white snow, even if it only lasts a day or so?



 Not me, especially when I had planned for it with a quick run to town Tuesday morning. A "just in case sprint" should we get "over-cleaned".

Wednesday found me snug in the sewing room, radio on the classical station while I took needle and thread in hand and prepared to hand sew the lining in.



 Penance no doubt for all those other machine shortcuts used on lesser garments. First order of business was attaching the side seam sewing allowances to each other. Lining to garment. Then of course, closing up the front facing and back facing edges. I saved myself a bit of hassle by remembering to iron in the fold crease of the lining, so I didn't have to monkey with rolling that hem while sewing on such a heavy bulky garment.


 
Oh and before all of that, lined pockets went on. They were a bugger to sew if you want the honest truth. Getting such a bulky item under the sewing machines presser foot was challenging.



The Pfaff handled it all well, but even with the little extra manual lift on that foot, it was a struggle to find a path to set the foot down on the pocket to sew. A sewing machine in a table would have been most welcome! I added little denim stabilizers sewn to the wrong side where the pockets will get the most stress when in use. I fabric glued those in place to hold them while I lined everything up for stitching.

The next time you see this coat, the interesting closures I ordered will be on and the lining hems (bottom and sleeves, more evil hand sewing), will be completed. I have have opted not to do the detachable hood.

 I don't like coat hoods in general and I think the weight of leaving one on this coat will pull the coat into strangle mode around my neck.



I would rather wear a hat if I need head covering and a pretty scarf. I'm hoping for a couple more weeks of cold weather just so I can test out my new coat! Selfish I know.
And Michelle, I'll try to get pics of me in the coat. :)

In other news, Miss Bea goes in next Tuesday for some much needed dental work. Old dogs and their teeth, it is a common battle. While I hate to put her under at 16, she has a strong heart, good constitution and one really nasty back molar. It's got to go. It's a quality of life issue plain and simple.

The horses are in full shed mode and this afternoon, I'm hitting the paddock with shedding blade in hand. I don't know why, but the white parts always seem to release first. It has always been a mystery to me so if any knows why or has a theory, I'd love to hear it.

The fox pair continue to visit us regularly but I'm betting as the snow recedes we'll see less sign of them while they choose a den sight and can again expand their hunting range.

Parting shot: Geez Mom, that post was kind of a snoozer....

Bob Rides Again!

Tractor Bob has been freed from enforced snow related down time.

 

 The way to the paddock feeding area is just barely passable, so we tried making a little run yesterday afternoon. I had cob in the car I needed for this mornings feed too and he certainly needed the run time. He started right up too. It was nice to have Bob back in service, as short lived as I think it's going to be.



 I refer to this typical thaw and melt as the BIG TEASE. We see ground, we can walk from front door to car door without snow boots but keep the mud boots handy! Bare patches, early buds forming and horses shedding are all signs that spring might be on its way. It's a trick. Today and tomorrow we are expecting up to 15 inches of snow. And you just know this is going to be the wet nasty stuff. We never really know how much snow we're going to get. They do a forecast for the Cascades and they do one for the Siskiyous. We live right at the convergence of the two. I usually do best when I add the low totals together. Dart board anyone?

So, I guess I'll sew! And thanks to parental birthday generosity, once I get my coat done, I'll have lots to pick and chose from.



 Such a lovely selection! Linen blends, blouse weight rayon, heavier weight cotton canvas and crisp and shiny shirt weight cotton in ultramarine. What's not to love?



 A few patterns have made it into the stash too, and when I start on them, I'll show you.

The coat moves along. The collar and facings went in well.



 It all made sense and more importantly, it all matched up!





 What you can't see is the time that went into hand sewing the hems, sleeves and bottom, or the catch stitches attaching the facing loosely to the interfacing. Then of course, two rows of machine top stitching on front edges and collar which was done after these pics were taken. I have to admit, I loath hand sewing. Mostly because my left hand always cramps up holding the fabric while I stitch. But the coat is worth it, so hand stitched where needed it is.

And let me direct you to this beautiful piece of crewel work with a fox on it!



 This too was a special birthday gift, and while aged and tattered in many spots, the handsome fox is still regal as he sits and ponders under leaves of many colored ( and now faded), wool. Talk about hand work! I can't even guess how many hours of labor are in this piece. Thank you good friend!

 For fun, lets add a new bag into the birthday mix.



I am not a hand bag person. Like shoes, I can count the number of bags I have on one hand but I fell head over heels in love with this one. It's red and matches Bob! And while it looks like leather and feels like leather, it is a cruelty free option. All Espe bags are.

There is one more wonderful gift on it's way. We'll give that one it's due when it arrives!
Any guessers in the crowd? ;)

Parting shot: Poor Pogo, this seat is occupied!

Zoom! Another One Zips By.

Well, birthday 2013 is in the books, and just like sequester, it was unstoppable. Of course, it was much more fun!

 Lots of salutations from friends near and far, wonderful gifts and a dinner out.  The kitchen sink was miraculously cleaned of it's contents and the horses and donkeys fed without me so much as lifting a strand of hay. I could get use to this! I'll share the b-day goodies in the next post or two.

Today's post is all about coat progress. The lining was completed last week so there was nothing stopping me from getting started on the coat proper. This is a long out of print pattern and I'll say, the directions are much better than most new ones being printed. So away we went. The first order of business was attaching the yokes front and back.




 I had decided to use baste in interlining/underlining for this project and went for a stiffer horsehair option. If you have knitted or spun cashmere, you know it's very soft, has good drape but can be limp to work with, having no body, crispness or spring like wool does. So too this fabric is quite heavy but with no real body of it's own. It needs good underpinnings to hold its shape. And the closures also for this coat will need that extra support.



It was pretty straightforward to attach the shoulders and then onto the sleeves.



 I decided I wanted another detail on them so added a decorative panel that runs the top of the sleeve to elbow joint.



Also beefed up is the decorative cuff tab. I liked the relief the cream plaid provided but it was too wimpy looking for this wide sleeve, so I added another layer using the same cashmere fabric. At this point my sewing machine is going through about 10 layers of fabric if you count the bits where seams are made and the sleeve seam itself. That size 16 needle certainly did it's job and did it well.



Then it was time to set in the sleeves. They were very nicely drafted and done flat, which was a godsend with the additional thickness over the top cap area. Add 45 minutes of top stitching time and it was onto seaming up the sides and finding out if the thing really fit or not! It does, like a glove.




 

 I'm thrilled. It's also upped the anty to do a first rate job on getting the collar in. I stopped yesterday after finally figuring out what it was they wanted me to do with the under collar.



 It took me about 15 minutes of reading and looking at the pieces and pictures before the light dawned in my now 55 year old brain.





I did the step and decided that collar wrestling is best done when one is fresh and eager. The sewing closet was picked up, the coat draped over Rhonda for safe keeping, the Pfaff 1171 got a pet and a mini clean out for doing such a nice job on those extremely thick layered areas. I then cracked my Kindle and spent the early afternoon reading between the comfy chair and the bench in sun outside. Mother Nature offered up her gift of a bright sunny 60 degree plus day and I certainly wasn't going to squander that!

Parting shot: Will you be my friend too?

Pairings

There is nothing quite so satisfying as a successful pairing, be it food and wine, yarn and weave structure, or two fabrics that were meant to be together. I've had some utter failures with all of the previous pairings, but also some great successes. Most recently, another little capelet.



 I had been saving this barely one yard piece of Italian wool herringbone for almost two years.



 I love it that much but was unable to find anything that remotely matched it's odd peachy/taupe or deep eggplant brown hue. So it sat. And then a roll of silk arrived one day at Fabric of Vision and (you can imagine a drum roll, and enough light bulbs going off to power a carnival), I just knew I had found the perfect pairing for my wool.





 Not only that, I had already done the perfect pattern and enjoyed wearing the style. Over the weekend I did some slow sewing. I pressed and steamed and got it all just right.



But wait, there are some other pairings going on up here at Runamuck! Monday night I stepped onto our deck and what should I spy but Mr. Fox and not just the Mr. but it would seem there is a Mrs too! Two lovely Grey Foxes, full and fluffy, that have found each other this winter mating season. They will stay together all through the spring and summer, raising their litter of kits and then the family will disperse in the fall. Kits and parents all going their separate ways until next January or February, when the cycle will repeat itself. I am hoping we will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of those kits when they are old enough to accompany their parents. This year, summer can't come fast enough!

Back on the sewing front, I have started the duffle coat. Since it is a new pattern and while well checked in a tissue fit on Rhonda, I decided to do the lining first. There are a couple of reasons behind that decision. Number one is making sure there are no obvious fit issues
and number two is a practical measure on needle sizes. The lining is quite thin and I'm using a small sharp size 10 on it. For the outer wool shell, a size 16 jeans needle. There will be some thick seams and of course, a fair amount of simple top stitching. Pairing the needle to the fabric weight and content is always a consideration for good results. With lining complete I can change out the needle to the larger size and be good to go for the rest of the project.

Finally, Robin has provided me with some great pairings this week. The most surprising is some serious bonding with Dandy. Believe me, it was quite mutual.  I will let the pics speak for themselves. Consider them all Parting Shots of great Hello's!

 

 

Two Chicas in Chico

Last Thursday a girlfriend and I hit the asphalt for a little road trip down to Chico California. We had talked and talked about taking an overnight antiquing adventure and Chico is a good destination for just that thing! There is a a wonderful overload of antique shops, consignment and thrift shops in the greater Chico/Paradise area. It's about 3.5 hours from Ashland. Just a titch too much for a day trip but perfect for an overnight. We hit browsing overload and visited maybe half of what's there. But that doesn't mean we came home empty handed. In fact the "party" van was pretty loaded with stuff as we headed north on the I5 for home.

My dear friend got some wonderful furniture pieces to fill a perfect little dollhouse of a second home. I think the whole thing is around 800 square feet so while few pieces are needed, they all are important. A lovely chair and large wooded rack with shelves made it into the van along with some other neat smalls. Myself, I had one or two little things I was looking for, foxes always and but only spied furs. Mid century or danish style smalls of which a pair of salt and peppers



 and a pair of candlesticks fell into those parameters and my bag!



 Easy to pack and inexpensive. And then of course, the strange and funky that might catch my eye. This old elementary school desk probably fits that bill.



I was unhappy with the step down end table. The bulk of it too low for ease of use next to the comfy chair and no secure storage from curious little thieves. Frankly, it was too small to hold all the crap that accumulates by the much coveted comfy chair. Enter indestructible school desk, mid century vibe with those legs and some great storage areas.



 No worries about drink rings on this piece with its Formica top!



And it was cheap! It was gum free! A score!

Did I mention that Chico is the hometown of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company?
If you like beer this is THE place to be, and we like beer.



 I was expecting some great beer, but I wasn't prepared for how good both the food and service are. The menu is not large (but the brewery is!), but it has a good selection and that goes for vegetarian options too. It was a classic case of eyes bigger than stomachs but we managed to roll ourselves out to home base at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, another nice place with excellent value.

So if you like antiquing and are on the west coast, I'd say the Chico area is a good bet for nice finds. The prices on the whole were astoundingly reasonable. You won't find any really early stuff like on the east coast but late 1800's/turn of the century 1900's oak and mahogany plentiful and well priced. A plethora of fine glass and decorative arts and some great furniture. I found some amazing danish teak pieces and some Heywood Wakefield items all at jaw dropping low prices. Take that San Francisco! And if you are a weaver, AVL Looms is right in Chico proper too. We will certainly make a return visit at some point in time.

Parting shot: Jack and the new tattoo flash collar. A gift from a Swig & Stitch demo.

First Dibs

Free patterns! If you see one you want, let me know via the comments. First come first served. You should be able to see the sizes if you enlarge the photo but if not, just ask! All are uncut/original folds etc. Please leave an e-mail contact or e-mail me so I can get an address for mailing from you. :)







In other news, Fabric of Vision had the front window busted out (busted in actually) at some wee hour Monday morning. Owner and friend Sandi got called by the police at 2:30 a.m. and had to wait until a glass place opened up before it could be boarded up. I figured it was much more fun sitting downtown keeping someone company than cleaning house so headed down and we waited together. Thank god Starbucks opens early! :) It was a long morning, but finally a local company came and got some plywood up and was able to clean the glass mess inside. We joked that she should put a sign on the wood saying it was a meteor strike, but Ashland being Ashland, someone probably would have thought aliens or a super secret branch of the government was responsible. Most likely it was some club goer, far gone in their cups, maybe pushed by a friend in similar condition. Nothing taken, no blood or severed body parts. Just one of those things.
 

I had some thoughtful feedback from Valerie on Detroit and I am linking here to her comments on my previous post. Check it out, some about the author Charlie LeDuff, others on Detroit itself. My father also added to the conversation privately with this article link and an additional book suggestion; "Punching Out--One year in a Closing Auto Plant" by Paul Clemens. He has this in hard copy and it will be waiting for me when I arrive in New England come April. Thank you both for putting some additional resources and information at my fingertips and for others to see too!

Monday also marked a drastic change in our weather. Good bye warm sunny thaw, hello winter, again. This week will be one of cold little clippers dropping down from the great north, bringing just enough snow at each shot to make the roads slick as all get out and freshen up the tree flocking. Nuisance snow! On request yesterday, Gene started a fire in the fireplace.



 After cleaning I plopped into the comfy chair, complete with Kindle and critters and we enjoyed some quiet time with a crackling fire while the snow whirled and whitened outside.
 
Parting shots: Juno, enjoying the sun while it lasted.