Zucchini on a Diet

Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~ Jim Davis 

 

And if ever a zucchini needed to go on a diet, it was this one.  Our neighbors, M and C, had a banner squash year and gave us a real monster.   I didn't think to take a picture of the poor thing before I started hacking into it, but it was nearly a foot-and-a-half long.  The remaining portion you see in the picture about is about 1/4 of what we started out with.  

The real problem when you let your zucchini reach such epic proportions is what to do with it.  You can't just cut it up and cook it or you'll be eating the vegetable equivalent of leather.  I started out with bread (which was wonderful and I will cover in another post as I still have the remnant above to deal with), but then one of my co-workers suggested zucchini-chocolate chip cookies.  He had fond memories of his grandmother's cookies, and it was just off-center enough to be a must-try.  I used this recipe, and my final assessment is that while zucchini cookies are interesting, they're not as good as bread.  I was assured by my taste testers that the cookies were good, but for me, they were too cake-like.  I still search for the perfect crunchy, chewy chocolate chip.  Also?  It's easier to convince people to eat the familiar bread than the weird-sounding cookies, and this is a major consideration because while I love to bake, I can't be responsible for consuming 100% of what I produce and Mr. flyskim doesn't really like sweets.  My co-worker took some home but had no plans to tell his daughters that there was zucchini in the cookies.

The recipe calls for two cups of shredded zucchini.  I used a really fine grater, and the result was pretty liquid.  I ended up draining it a bit to cut down on the moisture.

Even with the eggs and butter, the batter was pretty crumbly until the zucchini was added in.

You end up with a pretty standard-looking cookie dough.  

And some pretty standard-looking cookies.  You can see the zucchini bread making a guest appearance on the cooling rack.  My one real beef with this recipe is the portion estimate.  The recipe calls for you to drop the cookies by the teaspoonful for a total of 36 cookies.  No further guidance.  A heaping spoonful?  A scant spoonful?  I used a tablespoon and wasn't stingy on my dropping, and I still ended up with 30 cookies.  I also used the recommended cooking time.  If I'd used a teaspoon, not only would there have been significantly more cookies, the cooking time would have been really off.  This could just be my problem as cookies are something I have difficulty with, but there you go.

Here's a beauty shot of the last dozen before they went off to a good home.  I still have a good 5-6 inches of giant zucchini left, so there will be more bread.  I'm not sure if I should stick with my standard recipe or maybe branch out towards chocolate again.  More to come later. 

Oh, and we are still in our hot weather for another week, but after that, it looks like we're becoming more seasonable with temperature in the mid-70s.  That means the sewing room reopens and I can finish my first fall dress!  Super excited about the season.

"Color Is My Day-Long Obsession, Joy and Torment"

~ Claude Monet ~

Over-exposed, I know.  But the backyard was bright, and I had to set the exposure ahead of time for Mr. flyskim.  I think we've all had the dilemma of wanting a good shot but not wanting someone to have to take 9,000 pictures for you, so once he got something semi-in focus, I called it good enough.

So, as I mentioned earlier, there's actually been a good amount of sewing but not much blogging here at Chez flyskim.  My friend H got married at the end of July, and for once, I wanted to actually finish a project in time to actually wear it as intended.

Enter Simplicity 2176.  H got married in her mother's backyard, so I knew that I wanted something lightweight and summery.  I had this pretty cotton stretch sateen from a spring fabric.com order that fit the bill, and I thought that the vintage feel of the Simplicity pattern would suit the fabric beautifully.  For once, I seem to have done a good job pairing the fabric to the pattern, because this dress is just what a summer sundress should be:  light, airy and yet with a little body and shape. 

The pattern was simple to put together.  A princess-seamed bodice with a top band.  I made a size 12 in the bodice with my usual full-bust adjustment (dropped the bust point 1 3/4 inches and then added about 3 inches in total fullness). The full bust adjustment did not affect the bodice band itself, so I cut the size 12.  Then I freaked out a little and added 1/2 inch at each side seam for insurance, and it turns out that I needed it.  I have tried starting with a 14 recently because of this exact problem, but I've ended up with a lot more fit issues that have just frustrated me, so I took a chance and went with the 12 this time.  Turned out well because the fit around the bodice is great. 

I used the thicker straps because I wanted the option of wearing a standard bra and still be able to take off my sweater if I wanted (you eventually reach and age when visible bra straps are just tacky).  This means that I did not use the markings given for attaching the straps.  Instead, I tried the dress on without straps and pinned them on to match my bra straps.  Because the straps are sandwiched it between the top band and the facing, you need to do this prior to attaching the facing for this to work.  In reality, it turns out that I didn't need to worry about it so much because I actually prefer the dress with the sweater.

Oops.  I was in such a hurry to wear this, I haven't tacked down the facings yet.  Better see to that.

I also cut a 16 in the skirt but had to bring it in a little at the side seams, not because I should have cut the smaller sized but because the skirt seems a little large to me.  This is straightforward because the pleating on the skirt does not alter from size to size.  The size of the skirt is entirely dependent on the side seam.

The lace was a simple addition.  When I first planned the dress, I expected to have to catch the lace in the seam between the bodice band and the skirt band, but the instructions just have you tack it on to the outside.  I started out by hand sewing the bodice lace on because I thought that would be less visible, but that was time consuming, and since my hand stitches didn't seem to show, I took a chance and stitched the skirt lace on by machine.  Good thing, too, because I finished this up right before lunch on the day of the wedding. 

All in all, a very successful venture.  I did think that this dress was going to be pretty versatile, but I've discovered that it's a little too dressy for general weekend wear for me.  But with a cardigan, it's a pretty addition to my business casual work wardrobe. It's probably because I like the look of this dress better on me with a sweater as it's been too hot around here lately to wear one if there's no air-conditioning (which we only have in the bedroom) and by the time it's general sweater weather again, the dress will be too summery for me.  Something else for me to consider in the future when planning garments.

Kate Middle-aged-ton?

The above title is a poke at my quickly advancing age and not a poke at the Duchess.

I am a big fan of this black jersey Issa dress worn by Kate Middleton back in April.  I am also a big fan of a lightweight black dress for the summer and have been without one since last year when my stalwart Banana Republic cotton dress finally gave out.  When I first saw this picture, I knew that I had found a suitable replacement but was not going anywhere near the $575.00 price tag of the original.  This is where being able to sew comes in handy (as you all well know).

My first step was to find a pattern that had the same feel as the original.  As you can see, this is a wrap dress with a draping detail at the waistline where the dress wraps.  I settled on Vogue 8631.

While the details are a little different (pleats rather than a draped front, a little more pronounced tulip hemline), I thought this pattern had largely the same easy feel as the Issa dress.  Add in some very lightweight jersey of unknown fiber content (the bolt said only that it was a "designer" fabric, but it had the right feel and weight and was dead cheap, so I took a chance), and I was in business.  (The fabric turned out to be either a poly or a water-based rayon jersey.  I washed a swatch with no shrinkage, so I took the plunge and pre-washed the entire piece of fabric.  It turned out beautifully.  Good think it's so lightweight and air dried in a snap because I didn't want to take the chance of putting the fabric in the dryer).

Here's my interpretation.

So have to work on taking pictures indoors at night.

I absolutely love this dress.  It was simple and straight forward to put together.  Once the pattern was fitted, it only took a weekend, which is lightening speed for me.  There are only four pattern pieces (you cut two of each), and the kimono sleeves further simplify the construction (set-in sleeves are totally my Lex Luthor).

The view from the back is no more visible.

I pretty much followed the instructions for the construction of the dress.  I omitted the pockets and shortened the skirt by 2.5 inches as the dress looked a little out of proportion as drafted.  I considered just doing a narrow hem instead of the bias tape hem finish, but in the end, I went with the bias tape as the tape actually was a little more stable than my fabric, even with the bias taken into account.  It also gave the skirt hem enough weight for it to hang well.

Here's a detail of the bias tape on the inside of the neckline.

 After attaching the bias tape, I fully folded it to the inside of the dress so that it would not show on the outside.  I thought that this gave a nice, clean look to the dress, and it also avoided the problem of the blacks not matching perfectly.

Here's a detail of the front.  See how you can only see the white cat hair at the neckline edge and not the bias tape?

One other change that I made was to stabilize both the shoulder seams and the waistline seam with clear elastic.  I have been using clear elastic to stabilized shoulder seams for a while now, but I got the idea to use it on the waistline, too, after a close examination of a couple of my jersey ready-to-wear dresses.  They had this construction detail as well.

I just serged the elastic in at the same time I serged the skirt to the top.

Same thing with the shoulders.

Even though I was working with a stretch fabric, because the majority of the suggested fabrics were wovens (with a lightweight jersey thrown in at the end), I fitted the pattern as I would for a non-stretch fabric.  This meant cutting my usual size 12 and then doing a full bust adjustment to get the proper ease (despite how the dress looks, there is surprisingly little ease in this dress; only the barest 2 inches of wearing ease).  I think this was the way to go as there is enough ease left in the dress to really let the pleats drape.

The six-million dollar pattern.  We can rebuild it.  We have the technology.  If you can really consider pattern paper and tape technology, that is.

One of these days, I'll chronicle how I do a full-bust adjustment with a pleated front and no darts.  I tried once, and it was so confusing.  Here, I cut off the kimono sleeve prior to making the adjustment.  Instead of a side dart, I rotated the additional fullness equally into the waistline pleats.  I also took a very large tuck (like 2.5 inches) out of the neckline tapering to nothing where I cut off the sleeve so that I could still take advantage of the ease and draping quality of the fabric without any neckline gaping.  When all those adjustments were done, I reattached the sleeve and filled in the resulting gap with tissue.  Does anyone else have to make a consistent adjustment to any wide v-necklines to avoid gaping?  My breastbone is apparently very short.

Oh, and about that neckline, it's fine for casual without anything underneath.  I wore this to a bachelorette party by itself with no gaping and no accidental flashing.  But for work, I have to wear a camisole underneath (see the pictures above; I think it looks kind of Edwardian, personally).

Here we are on the hanger.  The kitchen gets some great light in the afternoon, and you can see the front details well here.  You can even see the big, white cat hair on the skirt if you look carefully enough.

So, because of the mild summer we've been having, my sewing room has stayed largely inhabitable instead of making its usual annual transition into the 7th layer of Hell.  So, there's been a lot of sewing going on.  I've also completed Simplicity 2176 and am about 2/3 of the way finished with a modified version of Vogue 8615. 

I'll have the post up about the Simplicity pattern in another day or two, but here's a preview of the Vogue.

We're in the low-80s right now, so pretty temperate compared to other parts of the country, but the upstairs just traps the heat.  Right now the skirt is just basted on, as is the back seam.  I've used a heavy double-knit, so I was testing to see if I could get away leaving out the zipper, and it slips on just fine.  I still have to hem the sleeves and take several inches off the skirt hem.  I also need to draft and cut facings for the neckline as I neither need (nor want) to line this dress.  I think I can get this done in a couple of chunks in the morning over the weekend and hope to have this nearly completed this week.  My goodness.  The first sewing for fall.  Where has this year gone?

All Speckled With Stars

 In working on our kitchen, I've learned that there's one rule that applies to any project, remodeling or otherwise (i.e. sewing).  The more times that you have to stop work, put the project away and clean up your work space, the less you want to start up again when it's time.  Our kitchen has been halted no less than three times due to holidays and visitors, and it's gotten harder and harder to resume work each time.  We finally gave up, and our backsplash, bookshelf and trim are being installed for us Wednesday. We have great hopes that we will inspired to complete the detail painting and put the hardware on our cabinets. 

The same goes with sewing.  Because my sewing room doubles as our guest room and because we've had a parade of visitors over the past couple of months and a vacation, it was so hard to get back to work on my denim dress, particularly since I haven't decided if I wanted to topstitch the seams.  In desperation, I pushed everything aside and pulled out something simple and new, in hopes that if I could just finish something quickly, this would jump start my motivation.  Enter Butterick 5562, view A.

Here's my version in a lightweight cotton jersey that I picked up this past spring at the Mill End Store.  Some of the things I wanted to include in my summer and spring sewing were shirts that had a little more interest than your regular pocket-T but that were still comfortable to wear and light enough to layer.  Our nights can still get a little chilly here in Portland, even in July and August.
                                                            

There's a little back wrinkling, but I'm really not sure that I want to bother with a sway-back adjustment on a t-shirt.  Maybe when making these becomes a little more automatic, I'll straighten out that particular fitting issue.

There are two design features that I really love about this shirt.  The first is the bateau neckline.  Other reviews have stated that the neck is too wide, but on my linebacker shoulders, it's just right.  The second is the sleeves.  In my opinion, they make the top.  And while they are pretty and interesting, they're also close enough to the body that you can throw a cardigan on and not look like you're trying to stuff a gigantic puff into the sweater sleeve.

There were two things that I had some difficulty with.  The first is the sizing.  Others have mentioned how big this shirt is, and they're right on.  For anything with stretch, I make a straight 14 (I usually make a 12 or a 14 with a FBA with wovens for reference).  The shoulders and upper front fit fine; however, the body of the shirt is very large.  I ended up taking out six inches total out of the body width starting with the armscye.

The purple broken line towards the top of the picture is where I ended up sewing the actual seam.  I made the same adjustment on the other side.

Here's a slightly different view.  That chunk is 1.5 inches (yes, I measured).  I took that out on each side of the shirt for both the front and back.

So, I've read the reviews of this shirt on pattern review, and I seem to be the only person who had trouble with the sleeves.  You create the gathers by stretching a piece of elastic down the sleeve from the shoulder to the sleeve hem.  Now, I've made gathers this way before, and I get the concept, but I got confused by the instructions.  This was my own fault, and it wouldn't be the first time that a pattern didn't go exactly as planned due to user error.

I got confused when the instructions said to center one piece of elastic over the placement line and dart on each sleeve, matching the large circles.  For the life of me, I could not figure out where the circles were that I was supposed to match.  I mean, I marked the circles on the sleeve pieces themselves, but I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to match them to.  Now I realized that, duh, I should have also marked the circles on the elastic and matched those to circles on the sleeve pieces.  The instructions do say to transfer the markings, but I must have skipped that part.  Like I said, user error.  I was so focused on the circle thing that even though the pattern illustration clearly shows the elastic running to the top of the sleeve, I started the elastic under the dart (somehow, I ended up with a circle there).

You can see here where my elastic ended before the top of the sleeve.

I used clear elastic, and I need to go in on the right sleeve and blunt those corners because it's a little scratchy.  The left sleeve is identical but inexplicably fine.  I don't think that my little detour caused a problem with the end result at all.

For the sleeve and bottom hems, I just folded up the hem twice and did two lines of stitching close together in a very wide zigzag (it looks like a straight stitch but has a little give).  I will have to learn how to use my twin needle soon.  I also strayed from the instructions when setting in the sleeves.  I sewed them in flat and then did the side and sleeve seams all at once.

So, there you have it.  One cute summer shirt that hopefully means that the sewing is back on track.  I'm just finishing the pattern adjusting for Vogue 8631 and hope to have an update in a couple of days.  I need to get a move on because I want it to wear to my friend H's bachelorette party next Saturday.  Wish me luck!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

 I don't actually remember ever having to write about this/  Maybe my teachers were more creative about their writing assignments or maybe my memory is starting to go (which is where I'd place my money).  Since there's been an unbelievable lack of action around here, I thought I'd do a general update with an actual sewing update as soon as I can get pictures.  (Don't get too excited.  It's a t-shirt and a pattern that everyone else seems to have understood but I apparently didn't).

I turned 45.

Please see the comment about the memory above.  I still haven't reached an age that has caused me to panic yet, so I'm just going to keep on taking it one day at a time and see where we end up.  We didn't do anything too exciting, but I took the day off work, and we went out for pizza at Apizza Scholls (which was excellent).  Here's a picture of my birthday flowers. 

Also?  The Kindle has increased my reading speed by the power of 10.  I'm back to where I was in high school when I devoured books.

I got a new camera.

A Nikon D3000.  And, more importantly, I took a class on how to use it.  Nothing advanced.  Just on what the different settings are for and what they do.  I've been experimenting and taking a lot of random pictures, but now that I'm comfortable with the general operation of my camera, I'm ready for something a little more detailed.  Here are a couple of shots.

I went to Lake Tahoe.

Three nights and four days of Mr. flyskim's annual family Tahoe gathering.  The flyskim dad when along, and he wants to go every year now.  Even though the temperature was in the mid-70s for most of the time, there were still huge piles of snow on the ground.

 

The weather here in the Pacific Northwest (can you still consider Tahoe the Pacific Northwest?) has been more than a little strange this year.  I thought last summer was mild, but this one is setting out to prove me wrong.  

We took a couple of great hikes:

The flyskim dad (doing great for a man who had half a lung removed less than a year ago) and Mr. flyskim.)

The view from Eagle Rock.

And walked down by the water. 

There was the dramatic rescue of a hunting knife after a fumble at a twilight fishing session:

Short version?  One of the kids brought a friend.  He dropped his dad's knife in the lake and panicked.  He said it was his dad's favorite knife, but the real story is probably that his dad didn't know he had it with him.  I mean, who sends a 12-year-old to Tahoe with someone else's family and lets him take a knife?

A lot of eating:

And a little recreational welding:

What?  Your family doesn't weld when they get together?

And last but not least, I got my hair cut.

With Mr. flyskim and niece A. 

I'll be back (hopefully later today) with a review of Butterick 5562.  As noted above, I am apparently the only person to have problems understanding this pattern, so please don't judge me. Oh, and the tiler comes next week to install our backsplash, so the kitchen will be finished soon!

Apparently, I Have No Pride (part 3)

Well, I didn't plan to be away for so long, but it's been pretty hectic around here.  Still not much sewing.  It's the time of year in Portland when all the relatives come to visit, so my sewing room has been serving as its alter-ego, the guest room, pretty much constantly for the past couple of weeks.  And now, Mr. flyskim has that spring cold that's been going around, so he moved up there himself this week.  (Tip?  I don't care if you are the supervisor, when you're contagious, don't go to work.  Anything else is just selfish.  All you're going to do is infect your co-workers, ruining any plans they may have had for the holiday weekend.)  So, many visitors, kitchen still not finished.  But there has been progress.  Without further ado, here are a selection of photos from the kitchen redo, since I don't really have anything else to share at this point.

Our contractor is coming in tomorrow to look at the tile work that still needs to be done.  We've had to stop and start so many times now, that we've run out of steam and just need some help getting it done.  Mr. flyskim goes to work tomorrow while I have another day off, so hopefully, I'll get my sewing room back.  I've cut out several patterns and want to finish up my denim dress so that I can get started with new things.