Friday, February 21, 2014

New Shoes for Spring & Summer

It's that time of year again.  This time last year, I had no desire for new shoes and I didn't order anything.  Having a broken foot, I didn't know what type of shoe I would want or need.  I will say that I have not been looking at heels anymore.  So, sad.  However, I still want some cute shoes even if the heels are much lower.  So far, I have found two pair:


These are from Aerosoles.  Love the color and hope that I will have many items to wear with them.  I have wore them around the house and they seem comfortable.  However, it really takes an all day wearing to know if they will be good.


I just ordered this pair from Zappos.  They are from Lucky brand.  The color is called Brindle and I'm really hoping that I like them when the show up.  Funny, I had 4 pairs of shoes in my cart and 3 pair were all very similar style.  This pair being one of the three.

Ok before I order anything else, I really need to look over the current shoe wardrobe.  I know I cleared out some items earlier in the year but I really need to look everything over.  I know I kept a few of the items with heels and I'm really not sure that I should have.  It doesn't mean that I don't want to wear them anymore because I loved to wear heels. It just means I need to be more realistic with my shoes.  I know there is a problem with my ankle and the lower heels are better for it.

Happy Sewing!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

More Sewing Library books and sewing mistakes

I have continued to add to the sewing library in the past couple of weeks. I added the kindle app to my laptop with the help of my husband.



 I purchased How Patterns Work: The Fundamental Principles of Pattern Making and Sewing in Fashion Design. I like the instant gratification of getting the book minutes after purchasing but I’m still undecided about whether or not like reading the book on the laptop. I’ll review the book at a later date as I’ve only made it to Chapter 11 out of 52 chapters so far. At this point, I haven’t seen any new material.


Next, I purchased Couture Sewing: The Couture Cardigan Jacket, Sewing secrets from a Chanel Collector. I have glanced at this book. It is going to take more than a glance. I’m looking forward to viewing the DVD. 


The last item that I purchased was Seams Unlikely: The Inspiring True Life Story of Nancy Zieman by Nancy Zieman with Marjorie L Russell. I can hardly wait to read this. Nancy has been in the business and on TV for many years. I know I started watching her series in the mid 1980s. I even have some of those early shows still on tape.

I realized this week that I made a mistake when I cut out my brown wool skirt. I’m in the process of figuring out how to correct the mistake. What was the mistake? I forgot to add the needed width to the waist. Yes, this means that I will need to add fabric to the sides on the front. What I don’t know is how obvious this will be. I guess I will find out. It will be a disappoint if it doesn’t work out but it is OK. Sewing is always a learning process no matter how long you have been sewing. Fitting is another learned process.

Last year, I purchased a class on Making Cheese at Craftsy.  My husband and I made goat cheese several times.  We decided it was time to move to the next cheese - Mozzarella.  This was definitely a little more work than the goat cheese.  I wouldn't call our attempt a complete failure as we did end up with curls that tasted like mozzarella but we were never able to get the curds to stretch.  However, it melts just fine.  With the leftovers, we made some ricotta.  Oh my goodness but homemade ricotta is very good.  A gallon of milk does not make much mozzarella or ricotta.  We found a local farm with jersey cows and we are hoping to get some fresh milk to try the mozzarella again.  Has anyone made fresh yogurt?

Happy Stitching (Crafting or Whatever)