Notes of a Middle Child

Deja vu

Back in February I showed you this apron which I made for one of my sisters:

She was with me at the fabric store and picked out the main fabric which she loved.  I showed her a striped coordinating fabric and suggested using it as trim.  "No, I just want this fabric," she assured me.  Then, after she'd gone off to the knitting section, I saw this other coordinating fabric, the jelly beans, and thought for sure this would make a better apron (being the self-designated arbiter of taste in the family).  Well, it took her a few months but she has confessed to really, truly hating the jelly bean fabric and, gee, could I just alter it to have the main fabric.  Since she asked so nicely, I had to oblige.  So, here is the plain-Jane version which I actually prefer now.  My favorite part is the vintage buckle to adjust the neck strap.

The grass is always greener

City living has many wonderful things to offer - culture, dining, job opportunities, but the suburbs have desirable destinations, too, like...Target* and Ikea**.  When I visit my sister in New Haven I usually request a trip to either of these "big box" stores or, gulp, The Mall.   And since I began sewing last summer, I demand being taken to Joanne's.  The fabric doesn't get me very excited, but I have yet to find an easy place in the city to get basic things like thread, zippers, bias tape, etc.  I volunteered to feed my sister's cat, Betty, this past weekend while she was vacationing in Belgium.  My mother said I was a saint to take a 1.75 hr. train ride to feed a cat.  I would agree except my sister left her keys so I could take a road trip to Joanne's.

* Technically, Brooklyn has a Target but it is the world's worst Target and is dead to me.
** an Ikea is being built a few miles from my apartment - something I feel very conflicted about.

And can I tell you how excited I am about my new bobbin case!  How did I live without this?  My previous storage "solution" was a ziplock bag which encouraged unwinding and intertwinning.

The opposite of stuffing

I've been trying to work more fish into our diet - something our two cats are very happy about.  I usually just throw fish, brushed with a little olive oil, under the broiler and then squeeze some lemon juice over it.   Simple and good, but last night I tried this small variation which was also tasty.  It uses pulverized stuffing mix as a crust.  Thumbs up.  The recipe called for cod, but our fish market didn't have any so I used sole.  I can't remember where I found this recipe, but am happy to share it with you.  Happy eating.

Cod with Herb-Stuffing Crust

2 fillets of fish
3/4 cup dry stuffing mix
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (you can skip this if you don't have any around)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3-4 tablespoons butter, melted
s + p

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Process stuffing mix, parsley and zest in food processor until fine.  Spread mix onto a plate.  Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and then brush with melted butter.  Roll fish in stuffing mixture to make a crust.  Arrange on a baking sheet and drizzle with any remaining butter.  Bake about 15 minutes.  If you like, serve with lemon wedges.

Spring pommes

French kids' store, Du Pareil Au Meme, (which I've mentioned before) is having their Spring Sale until April 25th or (25 April if you prefer).   Apples seems to be a trend, which is just fine by me.

Bugbear

Bugbear
1) an imaginary goblin or specter used to excite fear
2) something that causes fear or distress out of proportion to its importance
3) mitered corners

Okay, that third definition might only be in my personal dictionary. 

I have found a few online tutorials for making mitered corners, but I chickened out again!  In this case I had already cut and ironed my border/binding fabric before learning that I would need an extra 2" on each one to do proper mitering.  Since I find cutting and ironing to be my least favorite aspects of sewing I couldn't face re-doing it.  Instead I did the lame folded-under corners.  They were at least neater than the last ones I did so it was a tiny step forward.

Okay, enough of the negativity - I love this fabric!  I think it's my favorite Amy Butler print of all time, and this is my favorite colorway too.  The blanket is for a beautiful 2 month old boy, Isadore, who, thankfully, has declared to me his ambivalence for mitered corners.

April showers damn well better bring May flowers

What happened to Spring?  I know, lots of others got snow so I shouldn't complain about the rain - but it's also cold and overcast.  And I swallowed my gum. 

Here is the only crafty endeavor I have to show for the week - a reversible baby blanket (with an inner layer of batting) which will be part of a gift for a baby shower I'm attending on Sunday.  I know, pretty simple, but I think it's pretty nonetheless. 

I hope it's sunny and warm wherever you're reading this.

Museum of Online Museums

New York City boasts some of the world's finest museums and I've been to many of them.  But the truth is that most New Yorkers don't take advantage of the cultural institutions around us.  Being in our backyard, we take them for granted.  But the big thing keeping me away from museums is the crowds, especially on the weekends when it's most convenient (for everyone) to go.  Case in point:  a few months ago we went to see this exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.  I have been to this museum several times over the years and always lamented how empty it was - great for me, but not great for the museum.  So I had no worries about crowds at 4 pm on a Sunday.  Whoa, was I wrong.  After a 45 minute wait in line just for tickets (at least 15 of which were spent convicing my husband we shouldn't head straight for the nearest bar), skipping the 10 minute line for the elevator and instead hoofing it up 4 flights of stairs, we found ourselves amidst throngs of people, about 3-deep in front of the photographs.  To compound the claustrophobia, I couldn't concentrate on the work at all and instead became obsessed with the poor museum etiquette of, seemingly, everyone.  We left cranky and tired.  (But, yay, Brooklyn Museum for getting your numbers up!)

Today, however, I was able to visit several museums before breakfast!   No lines, no admission, food and drink allowed.  Coudal Partners has all kinds of fun things on their site, but my favorite is the Museum of Online Museums.  Many are traditional art museums with online galleries, but my favorites are exclusively online and often a bit wacky.  There's a full list here and I recommend visiting the Alice Statler Menu Collection, the Museum of Kitschy Stiches.

In other Coudal Partners news, I was psyched to receive my Vintage Camera Poster by Rod Hunting in the mail today, part of their Swap Meat project.  It's a fantastic poster and my photographer husband loved it. 

(photo from Swap Meat)   

Tagging along

My wrapping paper stash and accoutrements (ribbon, bows, tags, etc.) is disproportionate to a) the size of our apartment 2) the size of our budget 3) the number of gifts I give.   But I can't help myself!   A contributing factor is that I accumulate a lot of this stuff because I can't bear to part with it - not very generous of me.  I did better with this recent purchase as they are gift tags to be given as gifts - the trees to my sister, the deck of cards to my bridge-playing mother.  Both are from Every Jot & Tittle who has lots of pretties in her shop. 

In other gift tag news, I finally got around to printing and cutting these free tags courtesy of the gifted Ashley.  (Get yours here).  I have a few baby showers coming up and these lovelies will make a perfect decoration.

Patricia Waller

Not much to report today, but I'll leave you with a few links.

1.  Patricia Waller's unexpected, often gruesome crochet (via Made by Milla).

2. The Goldberg family through time.

3.  Let Janet of Primrose Design teach you how to embroider.  Today's lesson: the Vandyke stitch. 

Headband Mania

This is the first time I've made something, just by looking at photos.  Okay, it really couldn't be much easier, but I was patting myself on the back anyway.  Reversible headbands.  Two are below.  I made three more, but forgot to photograph them. And, yes, I ran out of blue thread on the blue one so I'll have to finish that when I restock.   Do I even wear handbands, you ask?  No, but these were on my sewing to-do list and now I've to-done them.