Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Honey, I'm Home!
I'm sitting at the desk in my new bedroom in my apartment! I'm surrounded by boxes, but luckily my kitchen is (mostly) put away, thanks to my mama and her wonderful help: she washed all my new pots and pans and helped me figure out where everything should go. My family has left now and I have a few hours to unpack before I need to head downstairs to begin training. Pictures will come soon, I promise! Once I find my camera, that is...
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Busy days
I've had absolutely no time this past week to post anything; my mom's been working full time and so in addition to taking care of the house, I've also been driving people around town, which makes for a very exhausted me at the end of the day! I'm also trying to get everything in order to move into my apartment, which I will do in just 11 days! :) Hopefully once I settle in, I will be able to post on a more regular basis--things around here have just not slowed down recently. I should be off, though; we're celebrating my paternal grandfather's birthday today and I need to bake a cake. Mmmm, yellow cake with lemon icing!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Busy busy!
I've been writing more than I've been posting the last few days; I have several things in the works, as well as some pictures! On Tuesday I purchased a sewing table, so I now have that set up in a corner of my room. I also have several skirts I've finished and material that was just purchased today to work on AND a pattern coming for the 40's swing dress from Sense & Sensibility patterns. In addition, I'm headed down to the beach in the morning to see my best friend, go to Mass at my priest friend's new parish, and just hang out til Sunday afternoon. While I'm gone, you might find this post interesting: http://applecidermama.blogspot.com/2008/12/what-do-you-think-of-education-for.html
The woman who writes this blog, Bethany, is a young Catholic mother and shares my viewpoints on many things. I've just discovered her blog, but am enjoying reading her archives. Happy Friday!
The woman who writes this blog, Bethany, is a young Catholic mother and shares my viewpoints on many things. I've just discovered her blog, but am enjoying reading her archives. Happy Friday!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Seamstress heritage
My great-grandmother Margaret, with whom I share my given name, was a seamstress by trade. She actually has quite a fascinating story, having been sent from Ireland to America as a young woman to follow her sister, who had run away from home. On the boat over to New York, she befriended a woman who was traveling alone and, when they arrived in New York, the woman offered a ride to Margaret to their common destination of Pennsylvania. The woman’s cousin, who was a coal miner, had come to bring the woman to her family; Margaret accepted the offer and, nine months after she arrived in America, she married the young man—they went on to have 5 children.
Why do I mention her? Well, I’ve been sewing quite a bit lately and I’ve been thinking about her. She died before I was born, so I never got a chance to meet her, but from what my grandmother has told me, she was quite a talented seamstress. My own grandmother taught me how to do some basic sewing when I was a freshman in high school; a few elastic-waist skirts, but until recently, that’s been all I’ve known how to make. Last week saw the creation of a denim skirt with a zipper (!!), a major accomplishment that is not diminished by the fact that the zipper went in and out at least three times before I was satisfied :). I’ve discovered that it is incredibly fulfilling to see a project that is practical from inception to completion.
This recent sewing binge was actually brought on by a $3 pattern from Walmart, Simplicity 2955. I saw it while looking for something else entirely and thought “That might come in handy someday,” so I picked it up. It was sitting on my desk, burning a hole in my pocket, so to speak, so a few days later, Mom and I made our way to Jo-Ann’s, one of the fabric stores near our house. There, I picked out a lovely turquoise patterned fabric and the necessary notions. After that skirt was completed, I went back and bought a brown flowered cotton; then I went back for denim… You see where this is all leading. This weekend, as mentioned the other day, I went through my old “craft box” that hadn’t been touched in probably 5 years. I found the lovely toile that I’m planning to make a skirt from and enough plain blue fabric to make a simple blouse to match the toile skirt. Coincidentally (or not), there is also a blouse pattern in the Simplicity 2955 pattern, so that outfit is my next project.
My other big project at the moment is to do some redecorating in my room. The desk that I currently have is the only consistent piece of furniture (besides the treasured dollhouse that my Grandpa made for my 5th birthday) that I have had since childhood and it is no longer serving its purpose. As an English major, I have a lot of books, so many that right now, I have books stacked on top of the shelved books, as well as a 3-foot pile on top of the bookshelf. Since I have several filing boxes, I no longer need the storage space in the desk, so this weekend, Mom and I are going to try the flea market to find a smaller desk just for my laptop/printer so that I can purchase another bookshelf. I also want to get a small sewing table to put underneath my window so that I don’t have to commandeer the dining room table every time I want to take on a project. I also want a dressmaker’s dummy, but I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself.
I think my great-grandmother would be proud of me.
Why do I mention her? Well, I’ve been sewing quite a bit lately and I’ve been thinking about her. She died before I was born, so I never got a chance to meet her, but from what my grandmother has told me, she was quite a talented seamstress. My own grandmother taught me how to do some basic sewing when I was a freshman in high school; a few elastic-waist skirts, but until recently, that’s been all I’ve known how to make. Last week saw the creation of a denim skirt with a zipper (!!), a major accomplishment that is not diminished by the fact that the zipper went in and out at least three times before I was satisfied :). I’ve discovered that it is incredibly fulfilling to see a project that is practical from inception to completion.
This recent sewing binge was actually brought on by a $3 pattern from Walmart, Simplicity 2955. I saw it while looking for something else entirely and thought “That might come in handy someday,” so I picked it up. It was sitting on my desk, burning a hole in my pocket, so to speak, so a few days later, Mom and I made our way to Jo-Ann’s, one of the fabric stores near our house. There, I picked out a lovely turquoise patterned fabric and the necessary notions. After that skirt was completed, I went back and bought a brown flowered cotton; then I went back for denim… You see where this is all leading. This weekend, as mentioned the other day, I went through my old “craft box” that hadn’t been touched in probably 5 years. I found the lovely toile that I’m planning to make a skirt from and enough plain blue fabric to make a simple blouse to match the toile skirt. Coincidentally (or not), there is also a blouse pattern in the Simplicity 2955 pattern, so that outfit is my next project.
My other big project at the moment is to do some redecorating in my room. The desk that I currently have is the only consistent piece of furniture (besides the treasured dollhouse that my Grandpa made for my 5th birthday) that I have had since childhood and it is no longer serving its purpose. As an English major, I have a lot of books, so many that right now, I have books stacked on top of the shelved books, as well as a 3-foot pile on top of the bookshelf. Since I have several filing boxes, I no longer need the storage space in the desk, so this weekend, Mom and I are going to try the flea market to find a smaller desk just for my laptop/printer so that I can purchase another bookshelf. I also want to get a small sewing table to put underneath my window so that I don’t have to commandeer the dining room table every time I want to take on a project. I also want a dressmaker’s dummy, but I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself.
I think my great-grandmother would be proud of me.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Skirts
Recently, I have become a skirt-wearer on a daily basis. In fact, as I sit here thinking right now, I realize that it has been over a week since I’ve worn a pair of pants—and you know, I don’t miss them! I always thought that the women who did wear skirts or dresses every day were overly romanticizing how easy it was to live your life in a skirt, but I must say that I have become a convert. I like how feminine I feel when I am wearing a skirt and being that I am in the South in the summer, a skirt is much cooler than the jeans I used to wear all summer long, since I am not a fan of shorts.
I know that for many women, the choice to wear skirts and dresses rather than pants is a religious one; they feel that that is God’s command to women. While I’m not disputing that, I will say that for my part, it is not a religious concern. Catholicism only requires that women dress modestly and does not mandate how that is to be done. For many years, I have worn pants and feel completely comfortable in them, but I have found that when I am wearing a skirt, I feel more graceful and feminine. I am a fan of long skirts, again not because I am concerned about the modesty aspect, but because they allow me to function more easily. I can sit on the floor to play with my youngest brother, climb up on a chair to reach a bowl or pot that is inaccessible, and lie on my bed to read without having to reach for a blanket first.
The latest book that I have finished is The Gift of Femininity, edited by Christine Muggeridge. This book tells the stories of twelve women who have worked in and for the Church for many years. All of them link back to Mary, the ultimate example of femininity. Each author points out that, like Mary, the way they discovered true femininity was by staying close to the Church and her sacraments, especially Jesus in the Eucharist. Without Him, all the rest is just frills—it doesn’t matter how graceful and flowing my clothes are or how well I keep a house—if I don’t have a close relationship to Jesus and frequently receive the Blessed Sacrament, I’m not truly fulfilling my role as a woman. It is through the Eucharist that we draw the strength and the graces to live out our vocations in the world; I know that mine is to be (someday) a wife and mother, so while I outwardly learn to clean, cook and sew, I also need to be developing my inner life through prayer, reception of the sacraments, and spiritual reading.
My summer apprenticeship is teaching me that there is so much more to domestic life than appears to the outward eye; this adventure is exciting, but challenging in so many ways. I wonder how I will be able to keep all this up when I return to school in two months. What will I have to adapt to stay on track with all of my school assignments as well as what will need to be done in our apartment? But I do know this: my prayer life cannot be neglected for any of the other thousand important things that need doing. For without prayer, without Jesus in the Eucharist, all this is and will be nothing.
I know that for many women, the choice to wear skirts and dresses rather than pants is a religious one; they feel that that is God’s command to women. While I’m not disputing that, I will say that for my part, it is not a religious concern. Catholicism only requires that women dress modestly and does not mandate how that is to be done. For many years, I have worn pants and feel completely comfortable in them, but I have found that when I am wearing a skirt, I feel more graceful and feminine. I am a fan of long skirts, again not because I am concerned about the modesty aspect, but because they allow me to function more easily. I can sit on the floor to play with my youngest brother, climb up on a chair to reach a bowl or pot that is inaccessible, and lie on my bed to read without having to reach for a blanket first.
The latest book that I have finished is The Gift of Femininity, edited by Christine Muggeridge. This book tells the stories of twelve women who have worked in and for the Church for many years. All of them link back to Mary, the ultimate example of femininity. Each author points out that, like Mary, the way they discovered true femininity was by staying close to the Church and her sacraments, especially Jesus in the Eucharist. Without Him, all the rest is just frills—it doesn’t matter how graceful and flowing my clothes are or how well I keep a house—if I don’t have a close relationship to Jesus and frequently receive the Blessed Sacrament, I’m not truly fulfilling my role as a woman. It is through the Eucharist that we draw the strength and the graces to live out our vocations in the world; I know that mine is to be (someday) a wife and mother, so while I outwardly learn to clean, cook and sew, I also need to be developing my inner life through prayer, reception of the sacraments, and spiritual reading.
My summer apprenticeship is teaching me that there is so much more to domestic life than appears to the outward eye; this adventure is exciting, but challenging in so many ways. I wonder how I will be able to keep all this up when I return to school in two months. What will I have to adapt to stay on track with all of my school assignments as well as what will need to be done in our apartment? But I do know this: my prayer life cannot be neglected for any of the other thousand important things that need doing. For without prayer, without Jesus in the Eucharist, all this is and will be nothing.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Repurposing
Today I was going through my closet in an attempt to organize my fabric and sewing things. While I don't have a ton (yet!), I've realized that if I don't try to contain it now, it will soon get out of hand. As I was digging through, I found an old project: a white and blue double-sided duvet cover; one side is toile, the other checkered material. I have since (in the 5-6 intervening years since this project was begun) switched to a smaller bed, besides having received a lovely bedspread for a high school graduation gift, so this project was no longer needed. I ripped out all the seams--why I decided to double my seams, I have no idea--and am planning to use the toile for a summer skirt. However, the blue checks will make me look like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz... I don't need curtains (my room is a rose color anyways) and I probably have 5 yards of this material. I don't want to waste it, but I'm not sure what I should do with it... Any repurposing ideas out there?
Friday, June 12, 2009
The lovely thing about staying at home
is that a sick day isn't too guilt-inducing. I must have eaten or drank something bad yesterday, as I've been ill all morning. But my lovely mother offered to take over dinner for me tonight and told me to spend the day resting. So that is what I am doing.
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