Baby zucchini!

Also baby peppers. One per plant.

Here is what we will do with these baby vegetables. The zukes and one of the peppers will be sliced and sauteed in a smidgen of olive oil with some of our plentiful basil . We’ll throw in a handful of frozen corn (too early for fresh, of course) and sprinkle the whole thing with a little Parmesan cheese. Put the lid on the skillet for a minute or two, and you have a wonderful dish.

Obviously, I haven’t yet done any weeding, but that is still going to happen. Today, most likely.

Apart from church, a family cookout, and the completion of the Jasmine sweater, we spent yesterday sewing.

The things we finished were dark blue, which requires talent to photograph, so you will have to use your imagination to appreciate these things fully.

This is Simplicity 7183 in peachskin.

It’s a simple pullover camisole, but it has a bit of elastic in the back for a nicer fit than most.

#2 daughter wanted some waist shaping, but our experiments showed that a shaped camisole in a woven fabric could not be pulled on over the head. Actually, pulling it on was okay, but once in there, she was trapped. She had to tear the seam to get herself out. There. Now you don’t have to do that experiment yourself.

Here is the well-designed skirt from McCall’s 5008. It’s a circular skirt with a good flat yoke.

Well, yes, of course it is flat and upside down. I wanted you to be able to see the shape. It’s a very graceful skirt, and the yoke ensures that the fullness is all at the hem, not the hip.

I am not sure what to call the fabric we used for the skirt. It is heavier than the peachskin for the camisole, but still light and drapey. I believe it is a microfiber.

Here is how the two pieces look with a jacket from #2 daughter’s closet. She is ready for her job interviews now.

Well, in fact, you cannot see how the pieces look at all, because they are dark blue and have therefore just swallowed up all the light.

I think we will be finishing burgundy stuff today. It may photograph better. On the other hand, since I am the one doing the photography, it may not.

We rounded up our fabric estimates when we had it cut, and it is turning out that each length is making the item it was chosen for, plus a second garment for the other seamstress. I am using a burgundy paisley and #2 daughter is using a ginger African print, but we are sharing the gray and blue stuff. We are being amazed at how many pieces of clothing we are getting from the one well-organized fabric shopping trip. Before we tried out the Australian sewing plan, the amount we spent would have produced one print dress. Using coordinated solids, we are not ending up putting the excess in the scrap bag. It is already evident that this approach to sewing is an economical one.

Nadia helped us, as you can see. It is true that her idea of helping concentrated on chasing all bits of paper, especially the patterns, and sleeping on the materials. Layers of cat hair deposited on our fabrics were also part of the service. Let us not speak of the claw marks and rips left in the patterns when she pounced on them. Nor of the footprints.

Let us not speak at all of what a mess we ourselves are making. The pictures speak for themselves.

When Nadia got tired of helping, Toby stepped in to assist.

He has recovered entirely from his adventure with the donkey.

You cannot see in this picture that Nadia has commandeered the beanbag chair which was brought out so that #2 daughter could watch movies in comfort while sewing.

I did some baking before dawn this morning so as not to heat up the house too much, and put dinner in the crockpot for the same reason. I am enjoying the quiet of the house, which will last only until someone else gets up.

The sewing marathon continues! 

Hey — I just happened upon something cool, and so have come back to add a link Now, #2 daughter is moving from college to work, and needs appropriate clothes for that. And I have this aversion to shopping and am working hard on acquiring enough clothes to constitute a normal wardrobe. So our clothes-making project is in the need rather than the want category. It is the grown-up equivalent of that back-to-school shopping trip I will have to take my boys on in a couple of months.

However, if you are inclined to overdo the clothes shopping, then this link will take you to the Refashionista Pledge. This clever plan encourages remaking of old clothes and the using up of one’s fabric and yarn stash rather than buying new clothes. It looks to me as though today is the last day to join. Even if you don’t want to join, though, you might enjoy their creative ideas and book suggestions.