2016: Still waters running deep

Things have been a little... quiet... on the blog lately. As predicted, school has been kicking my butt time-wise, but I did do some things this past year. I'm going to make a concerted effort in the new year to follow my original goal of blogging on average once a week. Many posts are currently sitting in the drafts folder, but they will see the light of day. Maybe even this year.^*

On with the yearly wrap-up. It was a year. The consensus is that it sucked globally, but personally, it was pretty good. I had 8 months of vacation, followed by 4 months of making up for it in spades. The DC and I celebrated our first anniversary as married adorables and my cat Lucy celebrated her 17th birthday by finally realizing that she has massive arthritis in her hips and so therefore shouldn't be leaping from the sewing table to the ironing board and that she could, in fact, pee on this.

What a smashing, absolutely dashing spectacle

Another weekend, another opportunity to dress up — and inadvertently complete a Vintage Pledge make. I mean, it being a Vintage Pledge make was inadvertent; I only realized that the hat applied on my way home. Yay, planning. Handy, since it's #VPJuly and all. Scroll down if you're only here for the food clothes, because here be horses.

All I know about horse racing comes from Dick Francis mysteries and The Sting but I've always wanted to go to the racetrack, so I was happy to join in when a bunch of pals decided to go to the 157th running of the Queen's Plate at Woodbine on Sunday.


I lucked out by getting this handsome lad to go with me. First stop: the Hats and Horseshoes Party where all the food and beverages were tasty but seriously overpriced. Also? There was croquet. Just like the Gatsby Party, right?

Why math is important: A 20s dress

I've pledged to make 2-3 things for my vintage pledge. One is this 20s dress gleaned from Loran's World's Art of the 20s dress challenge.

Update: Loran got it from The Midvale Cottage Post (specifically this post, but check out all the amazing 1920s stuff at that first link); I thought I had the original source can't believe I didn't click through. The pattern is from Ruth Wyeth Spears.


It's not a terribly useful dress, but it's oh so pretty. Chiffon. Floaty. I kept thinking this dress was familiar from somewhere...

Make up your mind, May: MMMay16 week 2

It's Spring in Ontario: one day slightly chilly, next day beautifully warm, then we plunge down to near-freezing with threats of snow and actual hail. Good times. Clothes were worn. It's halfway through Me Made May!

First days, last days, and a casual skirt

Posted very timey-wimey more than a year later.


It's the first days of the new year, so we went to the last day of the last days of Pompeii exhibit at the ROM. Seemed fitting. I wore my first make of the new year: a tan denim Lekala spiral gore skirt. It's the second time I've made this skirt: scroll down to see more details but the tl;dr version is that... I like it, but it's too big in the waist. Again.

The sailing may be smooth; the swivels need some work

Earlier this year I pledged -- at least, I thought I pledged; my comment seems to have been eaten -- to make two vintage items: the Wearing History Smooth Sailing 1930s-style trousers and a dress from a pattern I bought in the 1980s. It's extremely unlikely I'll get around to making the dress before the end of the year, but these trousers have been on my wish list for a long time. I tried to kickstart them by including them on my FESA15 list, but life intervened and I never got around to buying the fabric.

Smirking my way through another week: MMM15 week 3

So... cardigans. I've now made four versions of the Swoon Patterns scarf-neck cardigan, and this week I managed to wear them all. Which is impressive considering one of them is for cold weather, two are for warmer weather, and one is decidedly evening-wear. I may need to take a wee break from that pattern for a while. But not from the cardigans. You can expect to see those a lot.

Also? Smirky resting face all the way.

A year in the life: 2014 retrospective

...sort of. I was going to do Gillian's 5 things roundup, but then I decided to steal Oonaballoona's collage idea and grey out the makes that didn't work out so well. And then I thought: since this blog isn't just about the stuff I make, usually, why not do an entire year in review? I've done some fun stuff this year, and I haven't gotten around to blogging it all yet, but this would be a good way of remembering where I went and what I did.

So that's what you're getting, with some reflections along the way, minus the pancakes. You can see all my makes at Crazy Stuff I Do; most of the event posts are In Progress^TM.

The biggest thing to celebrate is a year a successful cohabitation with the DC! I'm still not sure what I did to deserve him, and I'm very excited to announce that Lucy has stopped hissing at him. Plus? He brings me tea and does the dishes. Often. And unasked. He's all-around awesome and I'm a lucky lady.

Ahem. On with the remembrances. Do you need me to tell you it's probably going to be a long post?

Waves of history

Timey-wimey Tiramsisu.


The DC and I went to the ROM today. I'm supposed to be wearing a totally different dress, but that hasn't happened. Yet. Instead, I'm wearing a dress I made in June.

I mentioned I had planned to take part in the Sewaholic Belcarra sewalong; similarly, the Monthly Stitch had an indie pattern month sewalong which I was officially going to join because of prizes. The official part never took place, but I did do three of the challenges, mostly. My Gatsby dress was my quasi-Franken-Indie outfit, and I made up some New-To-Me Measure Twice Cut Once Mary knickers (although there's a fit issue that I'd like to sort out before I blog them). This Cake Tiramisu, made with the last of the mystery fabric I got from Fabricmart, would have fit either the New-To-Me or Dresses categories.

Sheerly Oonatastic: killer (in more than one sense) clothing

If meeting people online is great (and it is), meeting online people offline is even better. Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow proposed that we have another Toronto meetup at the Bata Shoe Museum, where one of the exhibitions is "Fashion Victims", followed by a swap at Ewe Knit on Markham St.

An event! A sewist event! Which requires an outfit! Of Oona-like proportions! To recap: the fabulour Oonaballoona is having a birthday, as one does, and we are celebrating with Oonapalooza, as one does. The idea is to make something Oona-esque. Gillian and I sewing-dared each other to have our makes done for the meetup, and so we did. The outfit details are further along in the post. First? Meetup!

Love's Labour... found

Another timey-wimey post

Assist me some extemporal god of rime, for I am sure I shall turn sonneter.
Devise, wit; write, pen; for I am for whole volumes in folio.
-- Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost

Last year, one of the Fringe shows I kept not getting to see was Much Ado About Nothing. I was disappointed, so when the same group put on Love's Labour's Lost at the Victory Cafe, I made sure to get tickets in advance. Good thing, too, since every show sold out.

That familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer

And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.

To get you in the proper frame of mind, go read Hark! A Vagrant's series of Great Gatsbys. Go ahead. I'll wait.

All set?

What better way to spend the first full day of summer than to dress up in 20s garb and go to the Gatsby garden party at Spadina House. I didn't manage to take a lot of pictures because my battery was dying and also because I gave the DC control over the camera and he's just not as snap-happy as I am.

Various bits of geekery

Still head-down in marking and making some progress on the sewing, but I thought I'd pop in to remind everyone in the Americas, Australasia, and East Asia that there will be a total lunar eclipse Monday night (or early Tuesday morning). In Toronto, it will be from 1:58 AM until 4:24 AM. Phil Plait has a nice article about it here.

For everyone in the Toronto area, the penultimate^* Nerd Nite is this Thursday at the Transac Club. If you live elsewhere, there's probably be a Nerd Nite in your area. They're running in about 65 cities in quite a few different countries. Check this link to find out.



^*Before they break for summer, that is. Not forever. I sincerely hope.

Nerds uNite: Errandonée #7

Today is Pi Day, if you're into that kind of thing and use the US form of dating, but whatever; it's a nice day to eat pastry and think math thoughts.

Me, I ate pastry last night, because I am contrary. I finally went to Nerd Nite at the Tranzac Club, which I've been meaning to do since I heard about it last September. Community meeting of nerdy folk. It was a tonne of fun.

To Campbell House, therefore, they were to go: P&P #19

Elizabeth - Darcy: An Adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Hallie Burt & Kate Werneburg, Toronto Fringe Festival, June 4-14

Imagine my delight when, perusing the Fringe program, I came across the following title: Elizabeth – Darcy: An Adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. To wit:

This is a love story. This is a comedy. This is two women playing all the parts. This is the Jane Austen you love with a squeeze of lemon. This is you moving through historic Campbell House with the story. This is you getting caught up, swept away, laughing out loud.

Sign me right up.



Now, Fringe plays can be a bit hit or miss, but this one delivers. Hallie Burt & Kate Werneburg completely inhabit each character with a mere addition to their costume: a feather fascinator for Caroline Bingley, a fan for Mrs. Bennet, a lace dickey for Mr. Collins. And using a flower for Jane seems to be a popular idea:

The actors use all of Campbell House quite well, going from room to room; I was afraid it would feel awkward to stand right next to an actor when they were performing, but after a while I got so caught up in the story it didn't matter. I have never been inside before, although I've always been curious, so it was a good opportunity to get a peek at it.

My one quibble is that they dropped Bingley's income down to ₤4000 for no good reason. It bugged me more than it should have. There was a lot of necessary cutting due to the time restrictions, but I didn't feel that anything major was lost, and the meat of the story came across really well. How well it works for someone not familiar with the story is another thing; maybe it will inspire them to read it.

Best parts: Burt's transformation into Lydia ("Whee!") and Werneburg as Mr. Collins; his proposal scene in particular is really funny. Also cute: Mr. Collins being a bit scandalized when the audience, instead of making up two lines across from each other to create the feeling of the Netherfield Ball, starting making a square around the room. "Must be one of those new London dances!"

The show is playing for six more performances. Go see it! Go early, because they are selling out, and wear comfortable shoes.

As for me, I have five more tickets to use. Fringe on!

Not exactly Wordless Wednesday

The Toronto Fringe Festival has begun. Last night, we went to see 2 For Tea by James & Jamesy. So hilarious. I laughed so hard I couldn't see at one point.

They still have three shows left. They have sold out each time, so catch them while you can. Bring a tea cup.

Update: They won Fringe Patrons' Pick, so there's an extra show on Sunday! Yay for them! And for you! Go, go, go!

Festing chez soi

I went to the plant nursery Saturday morning and sadly got back too late to be on time for the first Cupcake ride of 2013, so I did penance by marking a bunch of stuff. I managed to drag myself away for a few hours in the evening to visit the first annual Dundas West Fest. Party in my neighbourhood! I was a little concerned that were so late we would have missed all the good stuff, but I needn't have been.

If you are feeling bored this weekend...

...there is plenty to do!

It's Bike Month in Toronto, and there's a heck of a lot of stuff going on this weekend alone. I was about to write a post listing them all when Hyedie beat me to it. Hop on over to her blog to see what's on.

As for me, I'm up to my eyebrows in marking, but I plan to come up for air to do the Cupcake and Pastel de Nata rides as well as catch part of Dundas West Fest. The DC is a big fan of Brooks, but the show will be around for a couple of weeks, so we'll go later.

And if you've never had a Portuguese egg tart? Well, it's kind of like this.

Image source:Wikipedia

Not that Pacino... Early Renaissance Art at the AGO

Wednesday nights at the AGO are free^* after 6:30, and as a result the tickets to special exhibits are half-price, so the DC and I took advantage to see Revealing the Early Renaissance. Illuminated manuscripts? Yes, please.

Why the world won't end next Friday*

*Or even the Friday after that, which is the one the crazies are worried about.

Yesterday was the first Thursday of the month, and the topic for U of T's Astronomy public lecture was debunking the apocalypse. Anticipating a large turnout, they moved the lecture from the McLennan building to the new-since-my-time Bahen Centre. They were right to do so; by the time we got there, the room was packed and we had trouble finding seats. They even had an overflow room.

First of all: so the Mayan long-form calendar is coming to an end. Big deal. When our calendars come to an end, we don't freak out; we put up a new calendar. I'm sure the ancient Maya figured that, at the end of 5000 years, somebody would get around to making a new one.

You can see more debunking at www.2012hoax.org. I strongly suggest you read the first page at least, which explains why it is so important to debunk this crap. Think of the children, people!

The talk was excellent, and I found myself making notes for future lessons based on some of the topics (using Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation to show that the force of gravity between us and Sagittarius A*^* is less than that between us and the Moon! Earth's magnetic field won't disappear during pole reversal -- which will take about a thousand years anyway! That it would take a Mars-sized object to come past and cause a physical flip of the axis^**! Also stuff for the optics unit.

It seems that the apocalypse is a very useful teaching tool.

Anyway, after the hot chocolate (with real, add-your-own-marshmallows^***) and cupcakes, the DC and I made our way back over to the McLennan labs to see the telescopes. We had no luck with the night sky this time either, but I remembered my tripod and got some better night shots of the cityscape.



We also went up to look at the large telescopes. There wa quite a lot of people queuing to look at... nothing, actually, since there were so many clouds. Next time I'll check the weather forecast first.



The next public talk is in February. You should go! They have hot chocolate! And after all, we will still be here. Might as well learn something.


UPDATE: NASA has done the timey-wimey thing in reverse; they've posted this "Why the World Didn't End Yesterday" video a week early.


More pix by clicking on the name below and scrolling:

From Rambling Through Toronto

^*The black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. And that's not a typo; '*' is part of the name.

^**"At which point," Lepo said, "you'll have other things to worry about."

^***Do not underestimate how much better real marshmallows make powdered hot chocolate. Or any hot chocolate, for that matter.<sup>****

****</sup>It is possible that I am easy to please.