Photo Friday: It is a Day for Pizza

  

Growing up, Friday's meant pizza for dinner. It was a thing that many people in my town did—you picked up the phone and ordered from Riv and then went to pick it up, standing in line nodding and waving to people you knew. Riviera makes the best Sicilian pizza and does a bang up job with a regular slice, and I credit them with my deep down love for pizza. (Well them and my grandparents who fed me a lot of tomato pie!) I have learned that you can keep a batch of Artisan Bread in 5 min a Day in the fridge and pull off chunks to make dough, like Marc of No Recipes routinely does for lunch, and that even the simplest sauce of garlic sauteed in olive oil with half of a large can of diced tomatoes makes for an excellent topping. 

I have no solid plans to make pizza this weekend, but I'm doing my darndest to convince a friend to because I know that it's worth it, so I thought that I'd share a bit of food inspiration as we head into the weekend. I wish you all a happy and relaxing two days, hopefully with a glimpse of grass and warmer temperatures. Until Monday!

Image of Grilled Onion, Gruyere and Rosemary Pizza via No Recipes

Sew, What?

 

Okay,  I'm going to call a spade a spade and admit that I realize that learning to make my own clothes is neither necessary or all that efficient. But after sharing my recent attempts to learn to crochet, this desire shouldn't come as much of a surprise to you—so at least there's that! I first saw a box full of old dress patterns at my friends store a few weeks ago, so the notion was already in my head when I came across this pattern from Built by Wendy yesterday. And I immediately thought that since I have basic sewing machine skills, I should be able to do this. But please realize that by basic I mean I can't for the life of me ever reload a bobbin, so I definitely don't understand how my machine works at all.

When I was little I had a Snoopy notebook where I used to "design" clothes. This was the period when I wanted to be a fashion designer and I was full of lovely ideas (at least in my memory!). I eventually took a home ec class in high school but really wasn't impressed by what we were learning. I even had to make a dress using a pattern, but I vaguely recall that I never finished it...for reasons that have long since gone by the way side. I do remember that I found it really hard and that the paper pattern, fabric and I didn't get along. I stuck it into a box somewhere and left clothing construction right there.

But now that I've learned how to knit and crochet, two things I didn't think I'd be able to do, I have to consider that maybe making simple clothes is within my reach. As the craft movement continues to grow by leaps and bounds, the main thing that I'm learning is that the walls of "what I can do" are coming down. Actually this applies to food as well: it's not that someone's forcing me to do this, or telling me that in order to be a good or successful woman, I have to make my own bread and hand sew quilts. Instead, I am finding that these things actually give me a whopping dose of satisfaction and a sense of control in my own life, control that when taken in projects with a decisive beginning and end, makes me feel productive in a way that is somewhat rare.

All of this has been on my mind because there's been a bit of a feminist debate going (or continuing) about the pressure to cook everything from scratch even as we're all so busy. I remain firmly on the side that if these things—whether they be cooking or crafting—are something you choose to do because you feel that it personally makes your life better, makes you a happier person, then more power to you. (And me!) I am not sure that I'll wind up making a dress that I will want to wear outside of the house, but I ordered the pattern shown above and am ready to give it a shot. I might just learn something about myself along the way.

Turning Lace into Jewelry and a Day Job

 

I am just loving the new-to-me line of jewelry, 24Karas, from Elizabeth Karas—and that it was a career that she found and took full time after working as an art director at Victoria Secret and J Crew. I particularly like how Elizabeth incorporates texture and hints of lace and nature into many of her handmade  creations. (Pictured above, Golden Lace Ring)

 

Elizabeth says, "Making jewelry is an emotional experience to me. It is a way I can express myself. When I'm designing, I am channeling experiences and emotions from my life directly into the final piece of jewelry." (Pictured above, Lovely Petals Necklace)

 

Here are two more pieces that I was especially drawn to. Above is the Annabel ring and below is the  Flower Lace Bangle. Nothing like a mid-week pretty jewelry pick-me-up!

 

Instant Heirloom: Jan of Obelisk Fiber Arts

Name: Jan, Obelisk Fiber Arts
Location: Saint Paul, MN

How did you learn to weave?
I learned to weave on a second hand rigid heddle loom I picked up when I was in college. I found a nice little book about weaving on a rigid heddle loom written by a local weaver, and used that to learn to weave. I finally met the author a few years ago, and she has continued to be an inspiration.

What about it appeals to you so much?
I think the variety of possibilities in terms of colors, patterns, and fibers appeals in weaving to me.

 



















 

Where do you find your inspiration for your designs?
Most of my ideas are from feeling, inspired by nature.

Is this your fulltime work?
It's time and a half really!

 




















How long does it take you to make a scarf? A rug?
This is a difficult question to answer because so much depends on the complexity of the piece. A simple plain weave scarf can take less than a day. A more complex scarf especially one with fine, closely set yarns takes 2 or 3 days to weave. Shadow weave or other structures and patterns that require 2 or more shuttles with different colors of yarn take awhile. Wet finishing, and finishing the fringe adds time beyond the actual weaving. A simple overhand knot of the fringe is fastest; flat 4-stand braiding the slowest.

The only rugs I've woven, ripsmatta, shadow weave and double binding all require 2 shuttles, so they take days to complete. Shadow weave rugs take more time because of the color changes in the warp. Some of the fancier fringe finishes on rugs can take days. Hemming is much faster. When you consider the time needed to plan and design, wind the warp, dress the loom, do the actual weaving, then finishing, weaving is a slow process. I've never timed the process from start to finish, hence my vague answer.

Let there be Light (and Warmth)

 

Oh, perspective is a lovely thing, especially when it comes with a warm side of heat and light. I went to NYC for the weekend to see my friends new house (and, honestly, to get a haircut) and my arrival coincided with the biggest power outage in 100 years. From Friday through Sunday at 3:40, there were no lights, no heat due to wet snow that knocked out power lines all over the Hudson Valley. Thankfully, we could drive to shops and restaurants that did have electricity, and Dan and Virginia had piles of hand warmers and really warm sleeping bags. Plus, the one plus of being unplugged is that you really have no choice but to plug into each other, which is great because I love my friends and don't see them nearly enough.

That said, I haven't been so thankful for heat (and hot water) and light in years and years—and for the ability to drink hot chocolate with a lovely lit chandelier in the distance. 

Photo Friday: Cake Love

 

I admit to having a serious need to bake as of late, and while I don't typically bake anything quite this fancy, seeing them inspires me to consider it. Until then, I'll get my fix flipping through more moody images of baked goods on Nikole's flickr page and via the product images for her store, Herriot Grace.

Granny Squares, Gone Magical

 

I'm not sure I needed any more motivation to improve my crocheting skills, but this certainly is a whopping dollop of icing on that particular cake. This granny square blanket rivals Alicia Paulson's design that all of blogland has been swooning over, which just means that I am learning how infinitely open to interpretation my new craft is. This blanket is by Sandra Juto, who also knits lovely multi-tone scarves and wrist warmers.

Via sfbybaygirl