sanity

I find when I am stressed or depressed, I like to sew.  Currently it means making clothes.  Black dresses in particular.  But I really do not need to make myself anything.  During the winter storms, I spent a lot of time at my sewing machine.  That treadle machine I purchased when I was 18 because I always wanted to live off grid.  It always works.

I ended up making three dresses.  I hand sewed most of the hems so to make the process last longer.  Letting creative last longer.  I made the black dress that was wandering around my head.  I sewed the red jersey dress I had already cut out and it had been sitting to be sewn for six months or more.  I made a linen dress as a gift for a friend.

All of these helped my state of mind.  More so then crocheting.  I need to cut out squares for quilts but I will also say that is not really were my head is either.  Lots of little bits.  I may play with some bigger bits into scene quilts.  Just ideas.

I am off to my Dad's.  More doctor visits are need pre-op.  But it is forward moving.  I should check the weather.  I was walking this afternoon and wishing I was in the shade.  The weather changes fast here.

Part of the mess

I am living through the mess in Texas.  We have been lucky to have had power the whole time.  Water not so much.  Currently, we have lovely people trying to fix our main to the house.  We actually shut the water off at the street but obviously not soon enough.  Though I knew I ran water right before we shut everything off and we did not seem to have a pipe breakage.  I do not currently have walls that need fixing so I am good.

I will say I have gotten to the tired piece.  I am grateful for all I have and how easy it has been for us compared to others.  I have learned that living through hurricanes that no matter how lucky you are there just comes a point of tired.  Imperfect normal looks good.  

There is much more babble in my head.  I am grateful.  

vest? tunic? i do not know what to call it

I was watching skateboarders on Instagram and I saw one of the skaters wearing this sweater thing.  It covered the body but left the arms free.  I really liked it.  

I then saw it again in a Chinese drama I have been watching on Netflix.  That got me to look on Pinterest.  I saw so many ideas for sweater type garments without sleeves.  Not really vests.  Not really tunics.  Not really sweaters.  But I thought the shape would work well for my life.  No sleeves in dough or in the way but keeping my back and front warm.  Between my shoulder blades does get cold.

I had some skeins of Lion Brand wool that I had been gifted and I thought why not.  Especially since it was black yarn.  I did not have a pattern which means I ripped out the start how many times!  I also connected the sides how many different ways until I was happy with it.  

But now?  This is a go to garment.  I wear it almost every day and I am waiting for it to dry when I wash it.  With a small velociraptor and a Bear in my life, I am not the only one who gets it dirty.  I am making one in an olive green for my best friend but I keep thinking I should make another.  I have green and red yarn that would work.  If I want black, I will need the yarn and I just might do that!  I have to make yarn for the sweater I am working on for my best friend anyway.  It just slows down production!

lots of chai

When I go to Washington, I always vist the food co-ops.  I like them.  I have always liked them.  When I was doing shopping pre-Thanksgiving I found a chai tea I wished to try.  I forgot how much I like chai.  I like the taste.  I like how it warms me.  I like that because it is so full of flavor it can take the place of a sweet.

I have always been picky about chai.  Even before many of the chain coffee shops carried it, I drank it.  One of the ingredients I find I like in chai is astragulas.  For some reasons, chai with that spice/herb in it I seem to always like.  I really like Zen Dog Studio's Dragon Breath Chai and Morning Glory Chai.  It gets costly buying these though.  Especially if I am feeling the need for comfort.

I went down to Phoenica and bought spices.  I ordered a few on-line.  I got all the spices and herbs from the labels and went for similar quantities, not weights.  The list is:

Honeybush

Cinnamon

Cardamom pods

Ginger

Star Anise

Astragulus

Clove

Fennel

Orange peel.

I went a bit heavy on the orange peel and the ginger.  The tea I added was a pu-erh I did not particularly care for.  I have to add more black tea to every cup just because there really was not enough.  It is a good cup of chai.  I also have enough to probably six months to a year.  Which nice because I got tired of going to the store.  And airport security really does not know what to do with tea tins.

black dresses

I have had been having a need to wear more black again.  So I took out the black linen I had and made two black dresses.  Very basic and something I can wash easily.

I was given Christmas and birthday money and I am thinking about making a couple more.  Whether they will be linen or a nice cotton, I do not know.  I just know that I need more washable then wool.  Though I am wearing the clothes that I used to wear to the office around the house.  I am playing with dye with some of them too just so they are darker.

I do not need more clothes.  I need to wear out what I have.  Which means it will really be years before I need new clothes.  What I make lasts until it falls apart.  Nightgown and slips are what fall apart the fastest.  I have been mending those by cutting off the falling apart bits and adding a new section.  I just do not wish to look tattered.

And I want more black.  And I do not really like RIT dye.  With the pandemic, many dyes that would give me a very dark brown or black are out of stock.  It makes life interesting.

This week is about grinding axes, working on chef rolls, and making more face masks.  I am waiting for the doctors to call about my Dad's next appointments.  The valve replacement is coming.  I am hoping to have enough quilt squares cut out at that point that I may actually work on a quilt while I am there.  Or maybe finish the sweater I am working on?  The stitch is hard on my hands and I have to count.  The quiet helps.