A wee burro (burrito?) friend found at Porchlight, a lovely shop in Portland, OR.

It’s pouring rain and it’s really nice.  I love waking up on the weekends when the weather is like this: the interior of the house is grey and a little chilly.  I make myself a cup of cocoa and pull out the warmest, loftiest blanket I have.  Sometimes I’ll read, watch a movie I’ve seen a hundred times or up date my to do list.  (That sounds incredibly dorky, about the to do list.  But I’m obsessed with it and have about 50+ things listed at the moment.)

Speaking of reading, have any of you read The Mysterious Benedict Society series?

I just finished the first book and I’m onto the second one (above).  I find the cover illustration pretty thrilling!

So, I know I’ve been a little bit scarce around these blog parts.  I’m like the friend that thinks about you but gets really bad about calling.  ;)  A couple of reasons include me taking on more hours at work, and a sudden and unignorable (not sure if that’s a word but it works for me) Tendonitis/carpal tunnel flare up.  My husband and I even made a trip to Ikea to buy a new desk hoping that it would help.  (My old one is currently in the middle of my office.  Totally in the way but what a nice place to pile stuff on. [It's better than the floor.])  And I’ve been keeping off the computer as much as I can when I’m not working.   At first I was really bummed about it but I’ve resolved to find a solution.  I’ve been reading up on things, exercising and trying to keep my mind in a positive space.

Oh, there are a couple of things I wanted to mention before I forget:

• I’ve installed a “subscribe to comments” plug-in in this blog.  You’ve probably seen them elsewhere; when you leave a comment you can click on a box to subscribe.  Then you’ll receive follow up comments in your email.  I’m going to start to respond to comments by leaving reply comments since I’ve been so bad at responding in the last few posts (and you all have left such thoughtful and helpful comments too! ) and I hope this would remedy that, plus perhaps make it easier for you to touch base with each other if desired.
• Spoo Kee got a twitter account!  I know, it’s about dang time.

Ok, it’s cocoa time.  I hope you are all having a cozy weekend so far!

xoxo

I’m now the proud owner of a dickie.  I never thought I’d say that so feel free to laugh with me.  But this is not a silly polyester/cotton blend faux turtleneck sweater.   I don’t know how old this one is but it’s so pretty and, despite how delicate it is, it’s in such good condition.  I particularly love the bow/ruffle at the neck.  I’m either going to leave it as a dickie or somehow incorporate it in to a dress, perhaps as a bib.  Wouldn’t that be lovely?

I’m also adding to my collection of millinery flowers and rayon fabric.  Everything has a purpose; not that I’ve necessarily figured out the future lives of these treasure but I will - someday!

Last weekend a friend and I went to the Vintage Clothing & Textile Show in  Burbank.  It was a relatively small gathering of vendors but there were a ton of people there, so much so I felt a little overwhelmed at times.  Nonetheless I found some pretty things.  Some of the fabric I picked up is cute but kind of malodorous.  (Something I did not realize until I got home, of course.)  I spent some time searching online for remedies because, assuming the fabric in question was 60+ year old rayon, I wasn’t confident I could handwash it without suffering terrible consequences.

I posted a question in Etsy forums and lo and behold, answers!   The black fabric is now non-smelly and ready to be made into a little dress thanks to 1 part cheap vodka to 1 part water in a spray bottle.  But I have to tell you, the vodka/water solution I used on both pieces did not work out so well for the nutmeg-colored one.  Initially it toned down the funk but after several sessions the stench simply evolved into another smell, which reminded me of old crayons.  Pungent old crayons.  That led me to wonder if 1. The smell will ever leave, and 2. Is this even rayon?  Because, does rayon smell like smelly old crayons?  I’m no textile expert so I really don’t know.  But the smell was annoying enough that I took a chance and washed it.  First, I hand-washed it.  Now, it’s in the washing machine.  Yup, in the machine.  I mean, if it’s going to smell then it’s useless to me and I’m not going to pay a fortune at a fancy dry cleaner.  I’m just not.   (We’ll see what happens!)

UPDATE:  After washing the rayon in the machine, using the delicate cycle (which included a good, long soak in OxyClean and Arm & Hammer detergent) and tossing it in the dryer on low, the fabric has come out smelling good and not worse for wear!  Yay!

I also started two sewing projects this weekend: a 50s sundress in a kitschy Hawaiian print and a pair of shorts.  Shorts!  I’m excited about making a pair of shorts.  (I only have one pair, from the Gap Kids clearance section.)  I even made a muslin since fitting pants can be tricky.

Oh, and I’m working on the 2 Hour Sweater. So far I’ve logged WAY more than 2 hours for this project but it has been a breeze so far.

Stay tuned and Happy Week to you!

Sometimes I’m posting every couple days.  Sometimes every couple weeks!   Oh, to be consistent.

Let’s see, what has been happening around here lately…I changed up my blog header (Dear RSS feed readers, have a look!).  I acquired 2 lovely pieces of vintage rayon that I’m in the middle of de-stinking.  I also mistakenly painted the breakfast nook a pale lime sherbet rather than the pale sage I intended.

If you’ve painted a room before, you know the paint looks lighter on the wall than on the chip.  That’s what I kept telling myself as I painted in the afternoon Sunday.  Then I woke up the next day to find a huge container of lime green sherbet had barfed all over my breakfast nook.  As it turns out, the lady at the store mixed the wrong color (off by 1 digit).  When I went back to get a replacement she told me I gave her 2 chips, remember?  Yea, lady, I remember.  I remember giving you 1 paint chip.  (Why would I give someone 2 paint chips if I wanted 1 can of paint?)  Never fear, I did get my paint - in the intended color - and now I just have to get motivated again.

New blog header, new wall color and new swimsuit!  I guess I’m looking for change, maybe some spring weather.  Gosh, the weather in L.A. is tricky in the winter.  It may look warm and sunny outside but then you dash off to a meeting without the proper layers and you are freezing!  (Ok, not really freezing.  Freezing in SoCal is code for 58 degrees.)

Anyway, back the swimsuit, the reason for this post.  (I’m rambling a bit, I know, it’s late!)  I’ve been looking high and low for a one piece.  I’ve always liked the “old lady” ones with the skirts (like the one my Grandma used to wear) but they never come in my size.  I found the one pictured at Target.  It’s not really a one piece: it’s a tankini that’s really long and ruched with a wee little ruffle at the hem.   So you have to wear a bikini bottom with it.  (I guess you don’t HAVE to, but I’d highly recommend it.)  It comes with a removable strap too.  It’s so cute and actually fits me!

1. Hunkers down in a new fleece blanket.

2. Cozies up to a computer monitor (while watching colorful bubble screensaver).

3. Nestles in a pile of vintage clothing meant for the wash.

4. Gets toasty under the wee halogen lamp (while ignoring the mess).