25.5.11

mm, bagels

ok here's my favourite from the seven sins series:



warning, the song will get stuck in your head. but it's so good! this is the jamie travis "on greed" "do you like butter on your bagel" short that i promised a couple of weeks ago! airing tonight at 10 pm ET/7 pm PM on bravo! in canada, and obvs online around the world...

24.5.11

mmmmm

my lovely ex-coworker erin who never updates her blog sent me this link a while ago which fills me with ten kinds of jealousy. the home, the wardrobe! sigh.

i think i just need to pump myself extra-full of caffeine so i can get even a tenth of the things done that i want to do. this weekend was a bit frustrating on that count, although i did manage to fix one skirt (curse cheap zippers that don't stay done up! never again will i be seduced by you until next time!), and make another. and even managed to cut out the remaining fabric for a sundress inspired by one of betty draper's. and a shirt for the kiddo. oh, the kiddo.

and, knitting. oh the knitting tragedy of last week. but more on that later.

18.5.11

wow!

okay i love the beatles as much as the next person - we just watched help recently, actually - but this is amazing! paul's sweater from magical mystery tour, painstakingly recreated. just looking at the psychedelic fairlisle is enough to make my eyes cross, i can't imagine squinting at it hard enough to figure out the pattern. again: wow!

15.5.11

another challenge

this looks eminently manageable, especially in june: the me-made challenge!



i know, i know, i'm always starting challenges and failing, but if a man's reach don't exceed his grasp, then what's a heaven for?

also, june is summer dresses month, and i love summer dresses - making and wearing. i've got one cut and pinned just waiting for me to get my act together, actually. and i'm yearning for more 1930s glamour, if i ever find the time! sigh.

one day, one day...

rainy weekend afternoons

there's no point in going outside, when you could be baking cookies and watching movies.



so, the fred astaire indoctrination continues. when i was a kid i used to watch musicals with my dad, so it's a double dose of nostalgia. and i always wanted to learn to tap! no luck finding a teacher in my small town, though.

this afternoon we watched the 1935 classic top hat. this has always been one of my favourites, and i was really enjoying the gorgeous 1930s decor and gowns, especially as i nursed a bit of a hangover from going out the night before to a 1930s-themed party - finally, a chance to dig out my authentic silk chifoon 1930s gown! doesn't look like much on the hanger, but put it on and wow. i resisted the urge to wear my opera cloak and break out the austrian-made deco horn cigarette holder of the same era, for fear of damage. but the dress turned a lot of heads, and my hair thankfully cooperated.

but enough about that, back to top hat. there was much gorgeousness to behold, but i found myself more enticed by the costumes of matron madge than the more obviously showy dresses ginger rogers wore as dale tremont. specifically, what really caught my eye was this gorgeous backless satin number:




back to the cookies, i've had a hankering lately for my nemesis, the butterscotch chip. so i decided a batch of scotchies were in order, modified to accommodate the kiddo's oat allergy.



barley scotchies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups toasted barley flakes (looks identical to rolled oats)

cream together the butter and sugars, beat in eggs and vanilla.

sift together next 4 ingredients. add to butter mixture in batches, mixing well.

stir in butterscotch chips and barley flakes.

drop by tablespoonsful on a cookie sheet covered with waxed paper. bake about 8 minutes at 375 f.



so lovely with a glass of milk. between the cookies and fred astaire, i could be a kid again.

12.5.11

kind of relating to this guy right now

i wish i was a bird instead of the office right now...



super short film by bruce mcdonald (yes that bruce mcdonald of roadkill and trigger fame). i can't say much because i don't want to spoil the ending (it is only 2 minutes of your time!) but i will say that i honestly gasped when i realised what was about to happen...

eta: i just noticed that a lot of people are suddenly arriving here by searching "jamie travis on greed" and "butter on your bagel" - another short from the same seven sins project as bruce mcdonald's envy. that one won't be available till the broadcast on 25 may, but i will most certainly post it then!

in other news, i have picked up the craxiest project i've ever taken on again, a spring dress (yes, dress) knit in fingering in a complex lace pattern. well it's not all complex lace, but the bottom foot or so of the skirt is, and that's what i'm working on right now. gah. it takes me about a half-an-hour to do one round. maybe it will be ready for next spring? not this one!

6.5.11

where i've been for the past week...

there's a reason i haven't been posting; i've been far too busy at work! on wednesday we launched our new show in short, an exploration of the seven sins. and with it we launched a new youtube channel featuring all the short films in wednesday's ep. why youtube? well our old player was somewhat buggy, and of course it was only flash so useless for ipads and iphones. now youtube takes care of the software/format schmozzle for us.

we've also launched planet sin a website of true confessions, but also (better?) the reporting and shaming of others! for those who like pointing the finger.

so i've been ignoring my own blog and crafts and stuff and instead been working like mad on those two things.

there's one big project that ties it all together: a series of 7 short films, one for each of the sins, which are rolling out one per episode, and going on line at the youtube channel and planet sin at the same time. my favourites are envy by bruce mcdonald, which literally made me gasp when i realised what was about to happen, and the stylish mini-musical greed by jamie travis, although i have now had the bagel song stuck in my head for weeks and it is driving me crazy. i also suspect that "do you like butter on your bagel" may be a euphemism for something, but i'm afraid to google.

envy airs this coming wednesday 11 may on bravo! at 10pm ET/7 pm PT. greed is on the 25 may, same bat time, same bat channel.

4.5.11

finished except for finishing

i finished knitting h's new sweater vest! (tutorial here)



now, i just have to run in the ends.