A Year in the Making, day 304

Remember I talked about having cantaloupe with the lavender custard last night?



Yeah, it was tasty.

Hubby grilled steaks for us, along with corn on the cob. Nothing in the world like roasted corn on the cob. I have very fond memories of growing up, going to the Wisconsin state fair. They'd have these huge ovens, like pizza ovens, in which they'd roast the corn, and then they'd pull them out, shuck 'em and wrap the husks in paper towels, then dip the ears in melted butter and hand it to you. The home grill isn't quite as good as memory says, but it still rocks. I also had a filet mignon, perfectly rare. Life is good.

Spent today playing in monochrome - I found these frosted matte glass beads in grey and black awhile back, and then a few days ago found the perfect pendant to accent them:

Matte Black and Silver Multi-strand Necklace with Glass Leaf Pendant



I also started a project that I've been mulling for years this evening, and hopefully will get a chance to finish it this weekend. A few years ago I came across a piece of antique green cinnabar, carved in the shape of a butterfly.



I'd found some beads to go with it, faceted discs of green and black. At least I thought they were black. I wanted to mix it with straight black beads, and I'd finally picked up some black onyx last month, so I pulled them all out today to start work. I put the beads next to each other on the dining room table, in afternoon light with the french doors open, and I realized these beads weren't green and black. They shaded from green to puce to purple! So I made an emergency run to the bead store and found some deep purple fluorite rounds. I did a little bit with it today, and it seems to be coming together. I don't know that I'll get a chance to work on it until Monday, though, with the upcoming festivities for the holiday weekend. So stay tuned, green and purple Victorian goodness is in the works!

A Year in the Making, day 303

Wait a minute! Didn't you just post "day 299" yesterday? Yes I did. And then, with today being July 1st, and the end only two months away, I did the math. There are 31 days in July & August, and with 365 days in the year, that means that somewhere in the last 10 months I messed up my count. Oops! So I jumped four days to put me back on the correct schedule.

I tried an experiment, a lavender custard. I heard them talk about it on The Splendid Table sometime last year, and thought it sounded absolutely lovely, and have been meaning to try it for months. But when I got the serious urge it was the middle of winter, and no lavender to be had. Ours finally bloomed, and I decided to give it a go.




According to the program, you should simmer the lavender in the milk first, then strain it and go on to cook it according to whatever recipe you're using. I gave it a go, but it didn't set, so it's more like lavender cream soup. It's still delicious, though. No pictures, you'll just have to use your imagination.

The lavender is currently the only thing left in our front yard - we are finally getting some landscaping done, 8 years after buying this house. They came in today and stripped the lawn down to the dirt:



They'll be bringing in some dirt tomorrow to level things off, and then putting in new sod and trimming the hedge. (Again! You'd never know I almost killed myself trying to tame that damn thing earlier this year!) We'll have a real lawn! One that I won't break an ankle walking across that isn't a mixture of clover, dandelions, and pricklers!

Look! More exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!

Finished another piece for the gents today, using that pinstripe trim, with another vintage black silk umbrella:

The Steampunk Gents Brolly



Very tempted to go get another helping of custard soup. Wonder how it'd go over fresh canteloupe? I think I'm going to have to find out. Excuse me!

A Year in the Making, day 299

Been a bit distracted the last few days - cleaning house, as my father decided to come in at the last minute for the holiday weekend. It's amazing how quickly the clutter takes over the house. Creep creep creep goes the clutter! But I did get a couple of new pieces made, and the pieces from the weekend listed as well.

Pyrite and Antiqued Sterling Necklace



Tequila Sunrise - Citrine and Burgundy Red Glass Necklace on Sterling Box Chain




I also made a bunch of trim for parasol ruffles. I started with 2 yards of pinstriped fabric, cut out 3" strips on a diagonal, folded it over and ironed it, then finished the edges. I'd initially done about 6 yards for the first gent's brolly I posted a few days ago, and decided Tuesday night to go ahead and cut and finish the rest, as I have two more umbrellas that are asking for similar treatment. I knew I was accumulating lots of strips, especially after I went through almost 6 bobbins sewing it, but it wasn't until I got done and measured it, at just short of 24 more yards, that I decided I may have gone a bit over the top!

Here's what 24 yards looks like:



I've got the ribs covered and trim around about 1/3 of the next brolly. Who knows when I might get it finished, though, with company in town. There's also something blooming at the moment that is making me very cranky - my eyes have been itching and watering for 4 days now. We were crabbing about having such a cold rainy spring, but now that the weather's shaping up I'm praying for rain again to wash whatever this crud is out of the air.

Here's the pieces from the weekend, now listed in my Artfire shop:

Blue and Silver Necklace Bracelet and Earring Set



White Glass Strung Necklace with Silver



Waiting for the benedryl to kick in. Hopefully this isn't riddled with typos, as I'm squinting at the screen and typing in bursts between sneezes. Unhappy Kitty tonight.

A Year in the Making, day 296

It's been a busy weekend - I had two social events on Friday, a promo photoshoot for Steamcon and a movie viewing party on Saturday, and today was Pride Parade!

For one of Friday's gatherings I made what I call my Lemon Dream Cake:



It's always a favorite.

I finished the dress for the parade Friday night, and made a hat from scratch to match. I've made one other hat from scratch, but that was with a pattern. This time I completely winged it, with the aid of a pre-made piece I picked up ages ago at Display and Costume. I still had buckram left over from my previous project, and used scraps from the dress-making for the fabric.

I started off using a hat I reworked for my daughter for the basic shape:



I did a double thickness for the brim, for stiffness:



Traced out the crown for the opening on the brim pieces:



Cut out the circle for the crown and tabbed it:



Traced out the top of the crown - the outer border is the seam allowance. Neglected to take a picture, but this piece was tabbed too after I cut it out.



The assembled buckram framework:



The line you see around the brim is aluminum wire tacked on for stiffness, to keep the shape of the brim.



Here's the underside:



The fabric was tabbed also, and sewn on:





I made a band of the contrast fabric from the gown for around the crown:



Here's where I stopped taking pictures because I was running out of time. Some black cotton was used for lining, and the edges finished around the inside of the crown and around the rim of the brim with black bias tape, and then I finished it with daisy gimp:





And here's a shot of me in the dress and hat, and the necklace which inspired the gown, from today's Pride Parade in downtown Seattle - unfortunately I blinked.

A Year in the Making, day 294

Very very sleepy at the moment - got distracted and didn't post these earlier, and now all I'm wanting is beddy-bye. I got a lucky score today, a whole jar full of new beads with which to play. "What?" you say. "Aren't you supposed to NOT be buying beads?" Yes, yes, I know. I am weak. What can I say?

Playing with stringing again today:





I got the skirt of my new done this afternoon, too, only the bustle left!

A year in the making, day 292

A few pictures accumulated in the camera, but I neglected to download them yesterday.

To start off, a picture of Sunday's dinner, the savory bread pudding:



It was quite tasty, let me tell you.

And more tastiness was made yesterday, a new batch of jam, with strawberries, cherries, and peaches:



Yesterday, I also cut out the pieces for a new dress for myself. Ever since I received this necklace, I've been thinking I needed a spectacular dress with which to showcase it. I had some black on black fabric already, and when I went in search of a contrasting fabric for it, I found this wonderful white taffeta with a black velvet pattern:



The dress I'm making with it is McCall's M6097. For some reason, they have this labeled as a "Victorian" pattern.

...

*blinkblink*

...


Ooooooookay. I guess maybe because the back has a bustle? Even though the naming boggles the brain, it's still a lovely dress, and it's not the pattern's fault someone labeled it so ridiculously.

All the fabric got cut out yesterday, and I got the bodice together today. It's being modeled by Phyllis, my new dress form:





Tomorrow I'll tackle the skirt. Tomorrow afternoon, that is. Late tomorrow afternoon, most likely. I have a lunch date with a friend and a strawberry margarita.

A Year in the Making, day 290

Technically day 289, since I finished this last night, but don't want to mess up my numbering system. I'd previously taken a pink parasol and embellished it with black trim and lace. That one sold last month, and I miss it. But instead of doing another pink and black one, I decided I'd try my hand at doing a black one with pink embellishments!

Black and Pink Gothic EGL Lolita Parasol



This is the first parasol I've made that I could actually reproduce, as the materials are all very straightforward.

Also last night, I prepped today's dinner, a savory bread pudding, the husband's request for father's day dinner. He'd bought a loaf of good french bread for sandwiches last week, but my food poisoning completely threw meal planning out the window, so the loaf had gotten rather crunchy. No problem, though, that made it just perfect for baking.

Savory bread pudding:

1 loaf french bread, cut into ~1" medallions
8 eggs
3 cups milk (or 1 cup cream or half and half plus 2 cups milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped ham (optional)

Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. Pour over bread in mixing bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight, turning at least once.

In the morning, mix in cheese and ham, reserving about 1/8 cup cheese. Preheat oven to 400.

Butter an 8x8 casserole dish. Press bread mixture into dish and cover with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, uncover and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Cook an additional ~10 minutes, till cheese bubbles and starts to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes. Slice into 2" squares and serve.