Hemp time: Summer in the city.

Ain't he handsome? That's my Dad, all decked out in a Hemp Linen Negroni, with mother of pearl buttons. (I know, I know, you can't really see that sharp mug. He's keeping it incognito. Because of The Man.)

This rare sighting is many layered. Dad is wearing not only a solid color, but a NON color. I inherited my sense of technicolorality from my parents, dontcha know. Come summer, Jams are his jam. So the request for this neutral shirt was a bit of a shock.

Not a shock: the desire for hemp. For years now, Dad has had a 100% hemp shirt on his wishlist, despite my protestations. Because LISTEN. I searched here, there, and everywhere for hemp fabric, and all I found were cardboard rolls of scratchiness, in the most unsatisfying color palette imaginable. Holidays would roll in, and I would hand over psychedelic Negronis in barkcloth...linen...rayon...cotton...his Charlie Brown closet was starting to fill up nicely, but there was a large hemp shaped hole. (I'll let you imagine what that might look like.)

Then Organic Cotton Plus contacted me, and the heavens opened up and sang. Well, I mean, they didn't sing for me, the color palette is obviously very much out of the oonasphere, but OH SO MANY CHOICES for my Dad! I'm delighted when I can collaborate to sew something up for my people! (And although solids are not my style, I assume the range of color choices is excellent for about 99% of the population. I should perhaps dip my toes into the realm of "solids." I hear they are good for "coordinating.") 

This is exactly the classic, lightweight summer shirt my Dad wanted, hue and all. He went for this hemp linen (which is far less yellow than pictured, at least on my screen). 

And although I hollered over the lack of color, it was seriously sweet to work with. It had such a crisp, lofty drape upon arrival, I decided to go the RTW route and sewed it up before washing the yardage. SHOCK AND HORROR! My reasoning was twofold: the hand was so beautiful, and it pressed so cleanly, I thought leaving it alone would make the sewing of it a delight. (I was correct). Reason number two: Dad prefers a slouchy Negroni, and although I've told him many times that we could go down a size and still get the slouch factor, he will have none of it. 

KIDS. THEY NEVER LISTEN. 

So, I thought, if I lose a little ease in the post-wash, no biggie. And since this is a cold wash, lay flat to dry fabric, going the post-wash route wasn't a problem at all.

LOOKIT THAT POSE! Where did you think I get my skillz from?

I can already hear what my Dad will say: You shoulda posted this on 4/20. Yep. Missed opportunity, that. Luckily I've found my hemp source for future themed posts. Stay tuned for 4/20/2018: The Return Of The Hemp. 

But don't expect to see his mug. That's top secret stuff.

Organic Cotton Plus supplied the fabric for this post. Thanks OCP, for making my Dad's hemp dreams a reality!

palm trees and warm sand (and even a muppet)

What is UP y'all. I've been silently stalking you like mad, commenting in my head on rehearsal breaks and such. Oh, the dialogues we've had! The witty repartee! What, you don't remember? Are my powers of telepathy waning? Must work on that.

I've also been stalking peeps who've made up Colette's Negroni. Big Daddy needed a grillin' shirt for father's day!

Yes, you're right, I've made one of these before, for ruggy. But his UNDYING FIT PICKINESS made for a less than stellar outcome. (I love you ruggy.) And, according to the fitmaster, I needed to go with a larger size if this was intended for backyard barbecuin'. Mommaballoona stealthily measured a favorite shirt flat for me, and I cut with held breath and crossed fingers.

And also some cursing. This fabric hails from Dallas' garment district, Golden D'or, to be exact, which I raced away to on an unexpected half day off. Y'all, they are not lying. Everything IS bigger in Texas. The district is comprised of warehouses full of yardage, rugs, jewelry, shoes...it's pretty insane. Now, bigger is not always better...these warehouses hold mostly closeout yardage. There are treasures to be had, and this cotton/linen blend is very nearly one of them, but when I went to iron after prewashing, I realized the palm trees ran horizontal to the selvedge. In other words, that split back yoke you see up yonder is the only pattern piece placed properly. Had to go cross grain everywhere else.

Oh, the cursing.

I went so match crazy on the pocket, I decided to change up the flap so you could actually SEE the damn thing. And HELLZ YEAH THOSE ARE REAL LIVE BUTTONHOLES. Have you seen my late night buttonhole instagrammification? It's a whole new world, yo.

The peeps at pattern review had the usual stellar info on process, which I devoured in short 2am bursts. One of the whopping 23 reviews made an interesting point: going bigger than a size L could send you into grading issues. Since this was arriving via USPS, I stuck with large, but redrew the side seam from underarm to hem (after raising the waist 1 1/2 inches. We kalkatroonaans are a petite people.) I was pretty sure this would throw the grain off, but went for it anyway.

Did it work, you ask?

I screamed when i saw this shot!!! Wait, why are you screaming too? No, no, don't run away, Big Daddy is not a masked serial killer. He's just a wee bit internet wary, and asked if I would paste this Jerry Rubin ventriloquist puppet head on his face instead.  

(Oh yeah, I played Jerry Rubin via a ventriloquist dummy in a musical about John Lennon. As you do.)

Hope every dad had a wonderful father's day!

win some monday candy!

we're still in the middle of craziness at work (it involves, among other things, me standing on top of a bar deftly teetering around cocktails) but i had to jump in here and shout about something.  there's a new kid in town, kollabora, and as you can tell by the candied collage above, she's a beautiful child.  i'm in love with her.  at the moment you can hop over to the site and request an invite... which i suggest you do.  right now.  i'll wait.
edit: you don't need access to the site to win!  they're uploading new members as fast as they can.  all you need to enter the contest is a twitter or instagram account, and a photo of handmade item.  you've got some of those, yes?

okay, good.  isn't the front page gorgeous?  did you scroll down and see the yummy projects?  now!  to whet your appetites before the main course, kollabora is hosting their first contest.  over the past week, they've been giving away all those beautiful hors d'ouevres you see pictured above.  would that i could have come down off the bar to mention it sooner, but you still have time to win. today's prize is the colette patterns crepe dress kit, which comes with all the goodies you need to make your frock (including some gorgeous heavy fushcia sateen fabric from mood). 

all you have to do to win is upload a picture of your sweet self holding, wearing, or using something you made to twitter or instagram.  make sure you include the hashtag  #kollabora  so they can see your entry.  how easy is that? no stunt sewing necessary, just have a bellini, choose something pretty from your handmade arsenal and upload!*  you can check out the past winners on kollabora's blog.  i want the neon earrings.

*i realize most people do not work the odd hours i do.  if your boss frowns upon alcohol at 9am, you can always upload after 5, with, say, a martini.  you have until midnight to win, after all.  

what did you do new year's eve Eve

so, you might have noticed last week, i made colette's taffy blouse.  and also a self drafted skirt from the scraps of pajama bottoms made for Hot Mama.  this ensemble was actually worn in public, to see the billy hart quartet during our kalkatroonaan christmas.

i would've liked to have worn it last night to our new year's tradition of seeing the bad plus at the village vanguard, but in order to get the best seats there, you have to be first in line outside the joint.  warmth trumps blouse made of air. 

we spent the first set with our friends, at a modest distance from the stage.  Dapper Friend had red corduroy pants on, and many of you will be interested to know: the grain ran horizontally rather than vertically.  my mind was blown.  what was left of the blown bits of my mind were then shredded as our favorite band in the world voraciously ripped into their newest creations.  

the neck was pretty wide, and of course not having made a muslin, i just pushed and pulled until i found darts that made me happier.

i had a teacher who talked a lot about the basketball effect: you're watching a game, and a player makes a particularly stunning move, and your body moves with it unintentionally, pushing and pulling an invisible ball. lots of basketball going on last night between the athletes on stage, and in the audience.  both parties were also guilty of excessive grinning.

for the second set, we were able to move up front to our favorite table, and during the break ethan copped a squat and we talked about blogs, lawyers, and buffy the vampire slayer.  at this point the rest of my mind was phaser blasted to happy dusty particles. 

i just serged lots of strips together until i had a tunnel shape that would accomodate le booty.  there are six seams altogether.  speaking of serging, i finished the arm edges like so.  i'm not into the bias tape much.

being that close to the stage is amazing sight and sound wise, which is why i love that particular table, but you're also very aware of being almost a part of the stage.  i mean, my foot was resting on the lip.  you are actually sitting in the light of the stage at this table.  it starts to feel like you're invading something very private, like maybe you're on safari and you don't want to make any sudden movements and disturb the wild life.  

again, seeking an alternative to bias tape, i handstitched some trim around the serged neckline.

until i was comfortable enough to steal glances at their faces, i was fascinated by their hands.  their hands are insane.  ethan's on piano, his fingers sort of do backbends and then the CGI technicians come in for his solos. reid's on upright bass, his hands meld into the wood like they're made of liquid.  dave's on drums, his digits alternately choke and caress sticks, cymbals, brushes, playskool toys and rubber ET dolls.  it was so cool to see their hands do their work that close.

my hands have now got to get busy on new year's eve preparations, though my ears are still full of music.  have a great night, y'all.  drink one for me, i'll certainly drink one for you. 

dream lover

i dreamt the other night that ruggy was my first boyfriend, and after years apart, we were working together. because he was my first love, it seemed perfectly kosher to sit too close and hold hands and touch his hair, even though i was married to someone else.  dream oona realized this logic was flawed but let it slide.  i woke up nervous, paused, remembered that ruggy is my husband, and was instantly, incredibly happy.

i tell you this because my first ever colette patterns purchase arrived last week.  it includes an oolong for me, and a negroni for ruggy.

yes, i am about to embark on Sewing For Others once again.  but, as illustrated above, i am insanely in love with this certain Other.  in my dreams, i cheat on him... WITH HIM.  for this man of men, i am bending the golden rule.  plus he really rocked the whole birthday week extravaganza.  in the concrete jungle shot of us, we're pre-boarding a sunset cruise, on a yacht, around manhattan, with a cooler full of alcohol and charcuterie that ruggy had prepared himself.

i think that warrants a shirt.

(oh.  and i pre-ordered sarai's new book to ease any residual pain.)