sarah in nyc

The summer my father was dying, I got this fabric as part of a mystery bundle from http://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/ . I don't think I would have chosen a stretch cotton twill in army green for myself. I made it into a short sheath dress. It was a little on the short side, but was wearable with tights and flats. Never the less, I was less than comfortable with how short it was. (My legs aren't that terrific) So nn an attempt to make the dress a bit more wearable, I added a length of the sheer netting the I had made the "pond scum dress" out of. It was not much of an improvement. A couple of weeks ago, I pulled the not fabulous dress out of my closet and started to rummage in my fabric stash. I found some of the suede cloth that my friend Deb had sent me from her late mother in law's large fabric stash. Tan suede cloth isn't my idea of fantasy fabric either. But since all of the fabric I was working with was either free or nearly so, I decided to forge for...

Hannah's tallit is now complete. Hearing Hannah's reaction as she walked into the dining room and saw the tallit on my dress making dummy was worth the price of admission. It is so nice to be able to exceed expectations. Working with a kid as intellectually engaged and as comfortable with who she is is also a pleasure. Hannah's mom joined us for a lively and fun time tying the tzitzit. They were happy to have tied the tzitzit last night because their rehearsal session at the synagogue is tonight. A photographer is joing them to they are glad to have the tallit be in the official bat- mitzvah photos. Hannah's mom was delighted that I was able to take flashy materials and tone them down to be tasteful and elegant. The silver silk on it's own, without the gold /blue doodles looks like something that could be worn on a Mardi-Gras float. It's funny that adding more flash quiets the whole thing down. It turns out that Hannah had purchased a deep purple dress to wear...

I found this beautiful Nanette Lepore skirt at my local thrift store. it seems to be made out of silk and cotton. The seams are all piped in black and the hem is bound in black. It is just so sharp looking. I love the mix of narrow and wide stripes. Yes, it is lined. I decided to do a Google search to get a sense of what Nanette Lepore skirts go for. They seem to sell in the neighborhood of $300. So what did this gem cost me? $5. I will clean it and then store it until next spring.

This fabric was an impulse purchase at Kabbala Man's. It is a soft drapey knit with a bit of a nap. Kabbala man claims that it is a cotton. It feels like it might be a rayon /cotton blend. I loved the early 1970's vibe that this fabric has. I bought two yards. It has a cozy feel. So what do you think I ought to make out of this fabric? Let me know. Post your suggestion in the comments section. In addition to letting me know the type of garment, ( skirt, jacket etc.) also describe the style of garment so I have a clear idea of what you think would work best with this fabric. Thanks.

Our dear buddy Bill's daughter is celebrating her Bat- Mitzvah this weekend. We are going to Philadelphia to be part of the event. Some b'nai mitzvah reach the day at a high point of spirituality. Meira , at this moment in her life is feeling ambivalent about the Jewish stuff. It seemed unfair to give her a gift that would give her no pleasure. So, instead of giving her a piece of Judaica , I made her a pearl necklace and ear rings. I also made a bag to contain the gift. The bag is a light blue grey silk shantung. I used the pretty diamond stitch on my machine and used regular sewing thread to embroider the diamond motif. The organza ribbon comes from a piece I made about five years ago. Here are the pearls and the gift card that I placed in the bag. For those of you who can't read Hebrew, the border around Meira's name, is her name in Hebrew, all done in pen and ink and with the addition of watercolor.

My work day is rarely ever of a piece. I usually end up weaving my client work time in with other domestic chores. Yesterday, after breakfast, I got a loaf of bread going. As the day went on, I tended to the bread in little bits as needed. It was baked before my son got home from school. I also did a huge load of hand wash along with tons of machine washing. My son is applying to High School this year. For those of you NOT living in New York City, think college application but with much less information about the schools available, many fewer choices and much higher stakes. It's awful. I need to spend some time each day setting up appointments to visit schools or dealing with other inanities of the process. I also managed to get some work done on Hannah's tallit . Hannah's tallit is made out of silk shantung. Shantung is lovely to sew because unlike a chiffon, it's easy to cut. Unlike a charmuse, it does not slide around as you sew. The down side of shantung is that it...

Since my last adventure in making noodles from scratch, I find myself thinking about the lovely, supple feel of noodle dough. I wanted to have that feel in my hands again so I made up another batch of dough. Last time I used the formula in Mark Ruehlman's book, Ratio . This time I turned to my old, trusty Settlement Cook Book. If you want to give their recipe a try, here it is. 4 eggs 2 2/3 Cups flour ( but this may vary based on how large your eggs are and how dry your flour is) 1 tsp salt. Beat the eggs with the salt. Then add in the flour, first mixing with a spoon and then kneading with your hand. Put out on floured counter and continue to add flour and mix until you are able to knead the dough easily. Add flour until the mixture no longer sticks to the counter. Knead until the dough is really smooth and supple. The dough will need to rest for about 20 minutes before you roll it out. Just turn the bowl you began your mixing in, upside down over the ball of dough. Clean off yo...