random updatery

...in which our plucky heroine finds some of the many missing pieces

Step by step, maybe not as quickly as would be desired, but progress forward at all is a blessing. I had a chance to visit my friends in the West Hills for a Thanksgiving potluck, it has been months since I last was up there, and the ongoing progress on their house remodel was quite impressive. There were finished rooms where last I saw raw framing, and N has been doing some INCREDIBLE inlaid tilework in their bathroom shower - think japanese maples and iris, and corvids cavorting. Their home is always a delight to visit, both for the excellent company and conversations, but also for the fascinating artworks both acquired and home-created... It was a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat, and on the ride home N also offered me some potential building materials to include into some of my own projects here at tiny Acorn Cottage. I am blessed with kindhearted and generous friends.

My contribution to the potluck was "Party Coleslaw", and since my beloved sister has asked for the recipe:

¼ cabbage ½ jalapeño 1 red bell pepper ½ jicama 1½ carrot 2T cilantro,chopped fine ½ c mayo ½ c orange juice 2 T sugar 1 T lemon juice salt pepper

prepare the vegetable ingredients, using common sense + sharp implements (peel and de-seed where necessary) grate or finely chop everything Mix together dressing ingredients thoroughly (may substitute olive oil for mayo) (fresh squeezed OJ is very nice, one good size valencia will do, but pre made is totally okay too) Combine and eat happily...

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Woke up this morning to find that my pal E very generously gifted me with an early Yule surprise, class credits to use at Craftsy , this is treat indeed! I am not certain which of the many workshops I shall indulge in, likely some from the sewing section... I recognise some of the instructors names from books and Threads articles; there are classes offered that teach skills new to me, not just "sewing for beginners"...

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This Saturday I was going to start on my next piece in my winter sewing, a new version of the Sewing Workshop Teagarden T, adjusted to fit my current size/shape. ( I last made this up several years and pounds ago) Alas, when I opened up my pattern envelope, I was missing just one vital piece, the gusset... I have the instructions, the main/only body+sleeve pattern piece, the interfacing pattern piece, the tagboard templates I made for hemming, but no gusset pattern piece. The pattern has rather unusual configuration and construction, and the gusset is not a simple square, but a kind of complex polygon, which would be quite difficult to reverse engineer. When I put the call for help out on the Stitcher Guild message board, a kindly soul was willing to trace out the errant piece in the correct size for me, I look for a small envelope to arrive sometime before too long.

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Today, I had intended to simply spend the day doing chores, after staying up far too late last night starting a new whimsical hat project, a late morning call changed that. My pal B suggested a sewing get together... I spend waaay more time alone than is good for me; housey-chores can happen anytime, while B works long hours, and is lots of fun to visit, so it was an easy choice. I met her friend SR for the first time, always a treat to meet someone new; she and her gentleman friend like to hug, so I not only got my weekly dose of vitamin "s" for socialising, but vitamin "h" for hugs. There was talk about swapping stitchery for bodywork, which could vastly improve my situation. (fingers crossed) Turkey leftovers and tasty pie bits were consumed, and pieces for a new t-shirt were cut out. There were even noises made about possible field trips to the Gerber knife store, and to pok pok...

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And, much to my surprise, my very own missing little tourney box of eating utensils showed up tonight in a FB picture; it has been a long time gone, and was apparently left behind on a weekend excursion. A viking women's knife forged by my blacksmith pal Heidi, a handcarved (by me) little wooden spoon, a Barak from when Ambrose and Marian were Summits royalty (with our household otter as part of the design), a forged micro fork from a longago AnTir/West, and by golly, the linen napkin has the main charge of my heraldry on it, as well as a blackwork border of acorns... Yup, tis mine, and will be welcomed home again at 12th Night. Girl is happy when lost pieces come home....

All in all, our plucky heroine is grateful for the lovingkindness of family and friends, without which I wouldn't make it through