Make It

Yesterday was a travel day for me again so I was able to flex my hours and have some time at home during the day. I can't tell you how glorious those days at home are for me. I try to fill them with all the things I long to do while I'm sitting in my little, drab office.


I spent my whole day on Wednesday making things. You certainly know by now that making is my lifeblood.


I'm hosting a jewelry party here at our house on Friday night as a fund raiser for our parish youth group. I want to have some simple, delicious food to share and thought it would be fun to have bread, oil and grated cheese for dipping. I was really inspired by the bread video on the kinfolk site. I can't get enough of kinfolk right now. I can't bring myself to pay so much money for a magazine subscription so I splurged and bought the ipad app. The photography is just stunning. 


This bread is from Julia Child. It is her french bread recipe but I substituted a cup of whole wheat flour for a cup of white and added a squirt of honey. She recommends using a food processor to make the dough but I really love to do it all by hand. There is so much contentment and time to think that occurs when you knead the dough. I feel like more love goes into the baking when it's all by hand.


Of course, I'm trying to avoid eating refined carbohydrates right now so I haven't had a slice but my boys have been raving about the bread so I know it must be good. I'll bake another loaf tomorrow so it's fresh for the party. 

Above is another little creation I made Tuesday night. I wanted a linen table runner but it was all wrong for our retro metal top table. I've had the strawberry fabric (three pieces that size that were someone's curtains) for quite a while. I have a small pile of vintage strawberry linens that I have been saving. It was REALLY hard to cut this and use it but I'm super glad that I did. The red fabric is the left over from Nolan's Christmas messenger bag. I just love using up left over bits of fabric like that. 


While the bread was rising and baking I spent the day in the sewing room making linen napkins (I'm hoping to embroider them with the free patterns from doodle stitching at Lark crafts). That'll be a good project while I'm sitting with the boys helping with homework.


I also made a VERY red skirt. I used an old skirt that I like and created a little pattern for myself. It turned out really well although the waist is a little big. I guess that's why they tell you to make a sample skirt before cutting into the real fabric! This fabric I bought for a Halloween costume that I never made. I'll try to get some photos of this skirt and also the other one I made a few weeks ago (also patterned after a skirt that I love).


I could have spent many more hours on projects yesterday but I think I got quite a lot accomplished in the time I had. Tonight I am on sewing duty at the Beauty and the Beast rehearsal. It's costume night. My projects might have to go on hold until the show is finished in early February.