These are both cotton. The one on the left was a remnant and the one on the right is yardage from my stash left over from textile art. I'm going to use the white fabric as...
... the main fabric for this Vogue 7937 skirt and use the polka dot for the middle back and center back flippy sections. Instead of hemming, I'll use a bias binding around the bottom from the black and I'm debating a bow of the white at center back. It might be too prissy for me when it's done. We'll see. As an idea, it seemed fresh and bright and spring-like - as opposed to snow.
The pattern is drafted with a 1 1/4" hem. The two previous times I've sewn this, I've cut it off the bottom and then used a serged and turned edge. This time, I cut it off the pattern ahead of time, which is a good thing since I just barely had enough of the white to cut out the three pieces needed. I'll start by serge finishing the edges in white which is already threaded in the serger and then change to black. I've done a lot of black to white and back again serger threading lately.
Johanna wrote - House cleaners are a great idea! We have them come every other week and it works out well. I rush around picking up the day before as I don't want them to spend their time putting things away. Things don't always get done exactly the way you want them to, but at least they're done!
They come tomorrow for the first time. I explained to everyone about how things have to come off the floor and other surfaces to make it easier and quicker for them. I know it won't be done completely my way and I'm okay with that. The boys are just glad that someone else is going to do the work however...
... my husband and I are looking at this more from the perspective of there's only so many hours in a day - in a life - and how do we want to spend them. It might seem like the timing is related to my job and I guess it is in a way but more from the perspective of getting the job because just being around the house wasn't how I wanted to fill my hours. I wanted more interaction with people and less repetitive stuff that I don't really enjoy like cleaning... and cooking.
Becky wrote - Every time you mention food allergies, I keep thinking you should check out the GAPS diet. I have kept my mouth shut until now. Here is a link for a cooking class.
That's a great link for someone first dealing with allergies especially if they need help walking through those initial stages. The elimination diet is simple but NOT AT ALL easy. That information is available for free in numerous places only there's something calming about having company when you're dealing with an issue this big. I did a lot of research into leaky gut syndrome when I first started to develop allergies although my research said that recovery would take 3-5 years which is what ...
... the Naturopath that I see agreed with - in part. It was his opinion that some foods were never going to return, some would return with trigger point guidelines, and some would return without issues. He also felt that if foods were not rotated, more allergies could develop. I've been building up my system much as described in the link (above is my lunch cocktail) and so far I agree with the Naturopath. It's going about as he described. It also went as the link described. First I was allergic to one food and then to more and more. That's why I finally went to the Naturopath for food testing. Having that list is helpful.
At first, when it was just gluten that I was intolerant to, I read The Gluten Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern. She has such a way of writing about food that I wanted to run into the kitchen and cook something. That's so not me. Shauna decided to focus on all the food she could eat and make a journey out of that perspective rather than focus on what she couldn't eat. She was able to do that because she already had a love of cooking and because she's only Celiac with no other allergies.
When it was just gluten I was avoiding, it wasn't so daunting but as the list got longer, figuring things out got harder and harder. Statistics say that most people eat the same ten foods over and over which is partly why we develop allergies. (Never mind the fact that the same ingredients are in processed foods over and over and hidden where you least expect such as cornstarch or flour used as an anti-caking agent in spices or coffee.) Before the allergies, our family had those ten foods. They were nothing fancy. Just basic "farm food" that relied heavily on cans and packages to add flavour.
I feel we are wasting a lot of food while I try to figure things out and it's quite discouraging when you cook a wadder after a wadder. I know nothing about cooking completely from scratch and using herbs and spices effectively. I've never cooked that way and my mother never cooked that way. When I observe someone who loves to cook, I can see the same passion and energy that I have creating with fabric and I know that spark is missing BUT... there's enough of a desire that with help I can improve considerably.
If the woman I mentioned yesterday is not able to cook for us, I will find someone to help develop menus. That approach would be second best. What I like about having someone actually cook the food is that we can taste it and I'll know what I'm aiming for when I try cooking it (and my boys will get an idea of what's possible). Recipes alone haven't helped. I have a HUGE stack of cookbooks and it's all gibberish to me. Someone who cooks passionately knows the difference between batters, the interaction of ingredients, and the language of taste and reads those lists completely differently. That's an interesting thing about our information overload culture. Even though it's all out there, it can be just words. Sometimes you need a real live helping hand.
It's a short morning. I start work at noon. It's coffee and blogs time and then I'll get dressed, sew for a bit, and go. Yesterday wasn't as busy as I expected. Maybe people are waiting for the best sales at the end of the week. I hope there is something to entice because there is a LOT of stuff still in the store. Packing it looks NOT FUN.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - chosen changes
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