Easy Striped Table Runner

Even though the blogposts have been few and far between, I have squeezed in some sewing projects here and there. I made a super EASY striped table runner using this pattern: Easy Stripe Table Runner. I got the fabric, pattern and the triangle template at one of my favorite quilt shops, Red Barn Sewing and Yarn Center. In the mosaic, there is a close-up of one of the ends, the top side, and the bottom side.

We met family at one of our favorite restaurants, Simon Pearce, in Quechee, VT. If you haven't been there, you should go! Simon Pearce also makes blown glassware. You can see the glassblowers at work in the basement.

We met for lunch and then took over the lobby as we exchanged Christmas gifts (I made the runner as a gift). Yeah, we were pretty obnoxious. Thankfully, the lunch crowd had gone and the dinner crowd had not yet arrived. Yes, I put the table runner on the table in the lobby at Simon Pearce to take a picture!!

DC Grub

OK, I promised to write about how I ate my way through DC. Sorry it's a bit tardy, but here goes.....

I was in DC for only three days, but I managed to visit quite a few restaurants. The first one I went to was called Nam Viet. Can you guess what kind of food they had? I had the Lemongrass Beef and the egg rolls were to die for. I liked it so much we went back the second night!

After we watched the Inauguration, we were hungry (despite all the refreshments the Senators had for us). B suggested looking for a restaurant in the area. Within walking distance, we found The White Tiger. It was a madhouse -- packed with other hungry people who saw the Inauguration. it was also freezing out, despite my long wool coat and thick knit hat. Thankfully, the buffet of Indian fare was worth the wait. The meatballs were so delicious. There were a couple of other tasty dishes, but I didn't know what they were called. We left the restaurant fat and happy.... until the next grubfest.

For breakfast one day, we went to The Pancake House. I had the potato pancakes, which I have to say, were just OK. I was happy that I ordered the sugar-cured ham, because that was quite good. However, there is an interesting menu item called Dutch Baby that my friend, B, ordered. It was delicious. It looks like a pancake has exploded in your plate, but it's definitely worth it! It's quite a popular place. Many people were willing to wait for seating.

We managed to hit two delicious places in one afternoon. They were Dolcezza Gelato and Le Pain Quotidien. Dolcezza Gelato has the most interesting gelato flavors I've tasted: grapefruit, blood orange, pistachio, cinnamon. Yes, I made quite a nuisance of myself and tasted almost all the flavors. Hey! I was on vacation! :) I ended up getting grapefruit and pistachio. Strange, I know, but it was yummy!

As if we hadn't noshed enough, we headed down the a couple of doors to Le Pain Quotidien. This was my kind of place. We didn't sit down to eat, since we whiled away the afternoon at Dolcezza Gelato, but we did purchase some pastries. Le Pain Quotidien was busy as well. There are 3 parts to this establishment: restaurant, cafe, and to-go. You can buy pastries to go or one of the delicious spreads. They had savory spreads like olive, and sweet jams and jellies. I brought only one small bag that I planned to carry on the plane, so I had to be selective. I decided on the apricot tart and the oatmeal raisin cookies. Yummy! I will check out that restaurant on my next visit.

On the way home we stopped by Rodman's. This is my kind of store. You can get anything and everything there. It's like an old school supermarket and five and dime. Upstairs in the grocery store, there are so many international brands of food. I saw pasta in all different shapes and colors (like pink, green, lavender), coffees, teas, candies, all kinds of sauces and spices, too. Remember our Ad Hoc Christmas? Well, one of the spices Hubby needed was Fenugreek. I found that at Rodman's and brought some home. I also got one of my faves, the skinny breadsticks. There were several flavors. I bought the ones with rosemary in them. Yummmmeee!

Downstairs had anything and everything. There is a wall full of kitchen gadgets. You can buy plates, glasses, chairs, handbags, holiday cards and decorations, and any doo-dad you can think of. I escaped with a large tote bag. I knew I'd need one for the trip home -- I always do.

My last day in DC, I had lunch with my good friend, R, at Morton's. I very rarely eat hamburgers, but I decided to have one there. It was so yummy. It was large, too. I ate only half! If I didn't have to Metro to the airport, I probably would have taken it with me.

Good grub and Obama love. They made for a great mini-vacation!

In other news, I have finished the quilt top for the BBCQ. I've still got to put the sandwich together, quilt and bind. (I did the binding one night while watching PR videos.) I have a nice idea for the quilting. I will be doing it by hand. I'll share that soon!

Tavern on the Green

Later Friday night, Laura K called to invite me to Saturday brunch at Tavern on the Green. Hmmm, let me think about this.... uh, yeah!

Saturday morning I got up to get ready for brunch. As I do at home, I turn the TV to Bravo, first thing, in the hopes that old PR episodes are playing. I was treated to some episodes of Season 5. Hooray! In case you are wondering, yes, I do know that I am obsessed with the show.

Thankfully, the day was clear and crisp yet much warmer than the previous day. It almost felt like spring time in Central Park. I was glad I arrived early so that I could walk around a bit with all the other New Yorkers. :) Laura K, Kaitlin, The Scarlett, and TBone soon arrived and we chatted until the restaurant opened. Once inside, we waited for the others since they don't seat you at "the Green" unless your entire party has arrived. I met the lovely Amanda Fields, PR model extraordinaire. She is pretty, tall and such a nice person. (I have to say during this adventure I met the most amount of nice people I ever have in a 24-hour period!)

Amanda walked during the finale show and looked beautiful. As I said in an earlier post, I thought that designer's clothes were the most wearable. She told us a bit of what Fashion Week was like this year, and the differences with Season 6. Sorry, kids, I'm not telling anything! (I must admit it was fun being privy to little details I otherwise would not have known.)

Joe Faris and his lovely wife, Kara, joined us as well as a friend of Kaitlin's. They, too, are super nice people. Unfortunately, TBone could not stay because had to leave because he had to catch his flight. (Later, TBone! We'll catch up soon!) We walked into the main dining area that was absolutely gorgeous. The dining room is a sunny, glassed in gazebo. The sunlight streamed in and the beautiful gardens surrounded the room.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch (I do recommend the lobster bisque) and lively conversation. We discussed more PR tidbits about seasons past, a little PR trivia and some reminiscing of Amanda's run in Season 3. She was a trooper! I sat next to Kara. She told me that Joe went to school in Boston at Mount Ida. If you are a PR fan, then you know that Joe won the drag queen challenge, "Queen for a Day". He dressed Varla in a pepto-pink, skin-tight, sequined, sailor-style jumpsuit and gave her an Ann-Margaret vibe. Kara said at the time of the first airing, she guessed the topic of the show because it was announced that RuPaul would be the guest judge. However, she had no idea that Joe won that challenge. She had invited a dozen friends over to watch the episode! I'm sure that was a pleasant surprise!!

My Project Runway weekend had come to a close. It was a blast. I had so much fun. Thanks again, BPR!! Until the next adventure.....

Ad Hoc Christmas

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas! Hubby and I always get our tree on Christmas Eve. I ended up getting home late on Christmas Eve, so by the time we got started, all the tree places were closed. :( We did find a place that was closed but had trees that were not behind barbed wire. So, we took one! We did leave a note to let them know we'd be back to pay.

We got the tree home. Hubby had to do some cutting so it would fit in the stand, but he got it done and we got the tree in. I don't like our ornaments. They're a mish mash mostly of hand me downs and a few we've purchased. So, we put the white lights on and left it at that. The plan was to go and find some ornaments on sale the day after Christmas.

Christmas morning, we exchanged gifts and we both loved what we got and what we gave and had a great day together. Hubby did quite well and gave me three outfits and a matching hat, gloves and scarf.

The next plan was that Hubby would make Christmas dinner and that we would have chicken tikka masala. Christmas morning, he reread the directions and noticed that the chicken needed to marinate overnight!! LOL. Well, Chinese restaurants are always open on the holidays, so we headed over to SuChang in Peabody, our favorite. It's a little bit of a drive, but definitely worth it. The food was delicious, as always. The salt and pepper scallops were divine.

After dinner, we drove around to look at Christmas lights. We happened to be driving by Blockbuster, and surprisingly, it was open! LOL. So, we rented movies... This Christmas, Hancock, and The Dark Knight.

I didn't manage to get to the stores on Friday. I caught a cold, somehow, so I've been in bed since then! I am feeling better today, thankfully. Isn't it nice that I am spending my vacation in bed? The tree still has no ornaments. All the blocks of the BBCQ are complete, but I missed Christmas! Oh well. I will still display it proudly once it's quilted. I am also working on a little slideshow of the pieces used to make the project for my patternmaking class.

Everything didn't go exactly as we'd planned, so Hubby and I have been calling it the "ad hoc Christmas," but we have been enjoying our time together. That's what it's all about, right?

I hope all of you out there are enjoying your holidays!

Sawyer Brook Pictures

Here are some pictures from the day at Sawyer Brook:

Row 1:
The old mill building the houses Sawyer Brook
Antique baby carriage
Antique bicycle

Row 2:
Robert J Rodgers, a carpenter in the building
The Sawyer Brook sign
Inside Sawyer Brook

Row 3:
The willows in front of Meadowbrook Orchards
Meadowbrook Orchards restaurant
Inside the restaurant; old stove in the background

Row 4:
Rows of jams and jellies
Potbellied stove
Old cash register

Pattern Review & Sawyer Brook

If you are a sewer, check out the PatternReview website. PatternReview was started by Deepika out of her frustration with sewing. She said she wondered why the garments came out so nicely in the pictures, but when she made them they never did. So, she reached out to the online community and PatternReview was born. I have been a member of PatternReview for a couple of years, but I have not been a full-fledged participant. One of the monthly emails mentioned a trip to Sawyer Brook (SB) Fabrics. With the demise of Fabric Place, I thought it would be a great chance to check out a new fabric source. A PatternReview member offered her mini van for carpooling out to Sawyer Brook, which is in Clinton in Central Massachusetts. How could I resist?

Hubby dropped me off in Arlington for the carpool. Five of us, who had never met before, headed off to SB. We rode out Route 2 to Route 495. The weather was beautiful. It was a crisp, clear, sunny New England day. There is no better place than New England when the weather is great! We drove past deep green trees and rolling hills. There were many roadside shops that are full of bright orange, milky white, and dark green pumpkins. The mums were in brilliant colors of orange, purple, red, yellow, and white. The scarecrows are out already, too! With all the rain, we had a cruel summer. I'm not quite ready to let it go, but I am enjoying early Fall.

We arrived in Clinton after almost an hour. Clinton is an old mill town, complete with brick buildings and railroad tracks. SB is in one of those old buildings. On the way up the worn wooden staircase, there were antiques such as a wicker baby carriage and an old school desk complete with a hole for an inkwell!). SB shares the second floor with an antique dealer so we saw lots of furniture pieces as we made our way to SB.

The SB space is made up of two rooms. We were set up in the anteroom. We were treated to pastries and apple juice as we waited for the trunk show. Barb, SB's owner, showed us their newest arrivals. SB sells fabrics of the highest quality for garments. I was impressed with how soft each piece was. Some of the fabric pieces were:

Liberty of London fine wale corduroy
Diane von Furstenberg double knit
Marc Jacobs rib knit
Jones of NY blends
Anne Klein blends
Anna Sui viscose -- colorful print
Oscar de la Renta tweed
Herr Wolle herringbone
Loro Piana (Italian makers of fine cashmere)
Nicole Miller metal blend (not metallic thread, but metal!)

Barb also explained some things about fabric. Viscose is a method of producing rayon and, most of the time, is a fabric that was made in Europe. Viscose can be considered a high-end rayon and is washable in most cases. Quality knit is harder to find in the states. It's very difficult to find high-end natural fibers.

After the trunk show, we were allowed to shop in the back room. The Sawyer Brook inventory is relatively small, but each roll of fabric is of the highest quality. The prices range from $12 - $30 a yard, 58"-60" in width. You will buy fewer yards because the fabric is wide. They have the softest denims and wools. They have any type of lining you might need in any color. The same goes for YKK zippers. They also have a button matching service. Yes, button matching! Barb explained that after working with a customer for awhile, based on the garment, they know what kinds of buttons to suggest. They also have a swatch subscription you can sign up for (at a cost).

I bought one of those soft denims and a cute, delicate conversational print decorated with dressforms. There were about 30 of us. I believe each one of us walked out with a little something in a green bag! In the email, Deepika asked each of us to bring the oldest garment we'd sewn. I didn't bring anything, since my oldest item is probably somewhere in California. However, many women did! One woman brought a wedding dress she'd made. Another brought a shirt she'd made for her son when he was little. There were dresses, christening gowns, aprons and even coats! The ladies of Sawyer Brook were so kind to let us come in and take over for a few hours. They opened the shop especially for us on Saturday -- they are not open on the weekends. Thanks so much, Barb!

After fabric shopping, we went to Meadowbrook Orchards in neighboring Sterling for lunch. There was much more than lunch going on there! I absolutely loved this place! There was a beautiful apple orchard behind the building and two gorgeous willows in front. The restaurant was full of people who'd gone apple picking. The restaurant was decorated like a country kitchen. There was an old farm stove, a potbelly stove heater, and an old-fashioned cash register. (These are all non-functioning, by the way.) We placed our orders before we left SB, so we gathered around and chatted while we waited for our food.

The food was delicious. I had a tomato and cheese sandwich on wheat and Thai chicken soup. Yummy! They make the bread and pastries on site. They also make pies that you can take home and bake! It would have been nice to soak in more of the surroundings, but it was already after 3pm and time to get back home.

All in all, it was a fun day of fabric shopping, sharing, good food and meeting new fabroholic friends. PatternReview will be going to NYC on October 11! If you are looking for the finer fabrics for garments, don't hesitate to check out the Sawyer Brook website! :)

NY Fashion Week -- Spring '09!

I'm back from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NYC! Hubby and I attended the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fundraiser for emerging designers, which was sponsored by American Express. The featured designer was none other than Zac Posen! Thank you, American Express, for the opportunity to attend a show under the tent at Bryant Park!

The atmosphere inside the tent was festive. There were several vendor booths, including iGoogle, Judith Ripka, Havaianas and Office Max, believe it or not. Amex puts on a good show, I must say. Servers passed around drinks and hors d'oerves while we waited for the runway to open. The DJ played an array of R&B tunes from the early 80's. There's nothing like old-school funk to get a party started!

When the runway opened, there was a lot of pushing a jockeying for position! I saw Malan Breton, designer from Season 3 of Project Runway, as I was going in. I said, "Hi Malan!" He responded, "Hello, Daaahling, how are you?" It was as if we'd known each other forever! Malan was eliminated from Project Runway early on, but he is a truly talented designer and has shown during Fashion Week since then. I am glad to see that he looks happy and is doing well in the industry despite his early departure from Project Runway.

We were given green wristbands upon entering the tent. Once we got to the runway, we were happy to discover that the green wristbands had the better seats. The runway looked just as it does on TV. All the chairs and walls are black. The runway and the backdrop from which the models enter are white. For the Zac Posen show, the runway backdrop was decorated with dozens of clear chairs that looked like the Phillipe Starck Ghost Chair. They looked as though they were just randomly thrown up on the wall and they stuck. The chairs were a great effect. They provided an interesting back drop without taking away from the presentation.

Andre Leon Talley, Vogue's editor-at-large, was sitting in the front row. Zac had already shown earlier in the week. This show was a re-do and a fundraiser for the CFDA, as I mentioned. Thus, I knew the "real" fashionistas had already seen Zac's "real" show earlier, so, I was surprised to see Mr. Talley there. As it turned out, he was the emcee. Those of us fashionista wannabees were giddy with excitement and self-importance, since we were in the exclusive runway at Bryant Park! We were of all ages, sizes, and colors. We all had a fashion for passion (except for maybe, Hubby). There were those who were dressed to impress and looking around to see and be seen. Several people were taking pictures and having people take pictures of them on the runway. How fun! Eventually, production assistants pulled the protective plastic off the runway and lights went down. The show was about to begin!

The show started with five models wearing shimmery, lingerie-like pastel dresses and handbags. They were beautiful and powerful in full makeup and flowy big hair. They were robotic in a way, but not completely. They reminded me of the fembots in the Austin Powers movie. The collection was absolutely beautiful. There were lots of gorgeous, floaty, pastel fabrics. I am not a fan of animal prints, but I do like the way Zac did them. There were leopard prints that were enlarged and faded on flowy dresses. There were slim fitting dressses that were cleverly decorated with paillete "stripes". Other dresses were billowy, ruffly and seemed to glide across the runway. There were lots of jewels on the garments, which I found surprising on outfits for spring. One can see that Zac is a true artist. It was amazing to see Zac's vision and artistry come to life.

Andre Leon Talley interviewed Zac for a few minutes after the show. Zac explained that he had been working in the industry since he was 17. He went to London at that young age, as well. His family is a huge part of his company and thus his success! Zac did seem to be exhausted. It was probably near 11 pm at that time, so that is understandable. He is thoughtful person who really cares about his customers. The sheer volume of garments was impressive. Zac Posen is one of my big three, along with Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors, so I am glad I got to see him!

Hubby and I were pretty tired ourselves, after our whirlwind NYC trip. Before we went to Bryant Park, we did manage to visit the Magazine Cafe (I'd received a flyer earlier in the day). I liked Magazine Cafe. It's got just about any type of fashion magazine you'd want, from countries such as Canada, Italy, France and Australia. There are also home decorating magazines and finance magazines. I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy that YSL collector's edition magazine, which featured looks from each of his collections. Looks like I can order it online, so maybe I'll do that, if I don't visit sometime soon. :) It's a little light on the "cafe" side. I saw only a small area up front that you could have a coffee. However, they do sell a nice cup of coffee. It's also a good place for inexpensive "I heart NY" tchotchkes.

We were in the mood for steak, and so we went to Keen's Steakhouse, as suggested by the concierge at the Marriott (we didn't stay there by the way, but concierges are usually happy to make a recommendation to anyone). Keen's is an old New York steakhouse. The waitstaff was quite helpful and the steak was delicious. We chose potato leek soup and Caesar salad as appetizers. The soup had a nice flavor, but it was not thick -- the way I like my potato soup. The Caesar salad was very good. We had crispy fries and glazed carrots as sides. Delish! The ceiling is decorated with hundreds of old pipes. They look as though they were old enough to be smoked by the native Americans who sold Manhattan! I do like Keen's, but a few of the patrons seemed to have had a little too much to drink. I'd probably refrain from staying there too late at night. I love finding "spots" -- places I know I can return to when I visit the city again. Magazine Cafe and Keen's are definitely spots when I'm in the Garment District.

I've attended a couple of Fashion Week shows now. Let's hope I actually get to work one, next time. Behind the scenes, of course. :)