This week in pattern drafting, I transferred my skirt block to oak tag. The heavier oak tag is then used as the template for drafting all other skirt patterns. It was kinda challenging to transfer the pattern to oak tag, I couldn't get the lines straight until I pulled out the cutting mat. Then everything fell into nice 90º angles and all was right with the world.
In class, my teacher is combining the 12 skirt patterns so it's moving much faster than I thought it would. On Monday, we combined the yoke and slit patterns. I have to sew this up, then I also have homework combining pencil/empire/kick pleat. It's a bit ambitious as I'm also prepping and riding the SFR Populaire this Saturday. Haven't done my homework yet, it's hanging on my consciousness a bit. :/
We saw a wonderful production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch last Saturday. Highly recommend going to see this at the Boxcar Theater. You can enjoy EIGHT Hedwigs and sing along, as I did.
I made the Rice Cakes and Lamb and Chickpea stew from the Feedzone. I am not in love with either recipe, but I learned a lot and both recipes are a good starting point for other ideas.
Next month's Dr Sketchy's are in the works:
The Pelican and I are ready for Pt Reyes Station this Saturday.
I went on my first AIDS/LifeCycle training ride last week with a coworker. It was pretty low mileage and a route that I know pretty well around the city. I chose this because I wanted to hang out and I wanted to get on board with the ALC training. I'm glad that I did as it was a good reminder of how to ride in groups. Also on the actual ride, we have to stop for all stop signs and call out alerts to other riders. ALC has about 50 permits from SF to LA, if riders don't follow the rules they could lose their permits and a lot of folks depend on this fundraising so it's supér important. (70 miles total last week)
I finally went for it and got a wind vest. I have agonized over this piece of kit for what seems like forever. I couldn't really find what I wanted I guess. Rapha is having a sale, so that's where I landed.
One of my favorite teachers is at Dharma Punx this week!
I sewed up the pattern I drafted last week at Apparel Arts. It fit great with minor adjustments. It was thrilling.
Some family upset this week. My thoughts on the matter in a general sense are twofold: Growing old is not for sissies. Having a parent with dementia teaches one a lot.
Listening to dharma talks and talking to my counselor is helpful. Feels like my emotions are a heavy weight on my chest.
We had Dorian Faust channeling the artist Basquiat at Dr Sketchy's this week. Dorian is adorable, her features and shape are wonderful. She painted her face and body with bright colors and symbols that Basquiat used in his work. The contest was to draw in the style of Basquiat and we had a record number of entries. I think everyone had fun trying out his style. It was a really rewarding experience to see everyone trying something new and having fun.
I had a fun time with the playlist. Recently, I purchased a 'best of Bo Diddly', the soundtrack to 'Oh Brother, Where art Thou', an album called 'Ska Down Jamaica - the best of Ska' for a song called 'Oil in my Lamp' (I'm obsessed with this song), and an album by Jelly Roll Morton.
Bo Diddly and 'Oil in My Lamp' were purchased because JD McPherson played a bunch of this stuff in December and I liked it a lot. Oh Brother was a purchase because I LOVE the song 'Lonesome Valley' by the Fairfield Four. I heard it recently in a cafe and it is so powerful. I actually love songs about death. Somehow it feels right to contemplate it. Another great one is 'Wayfaring Pilgrim' by Doc Watson & Clarence Ashley on the Original Folkways recordings. SO FUCKING GOOD.
We saw some info about Jelly Roll Morton at the Conservatory of Flowers, so I wanted to check him out. He was a ragtime piano player in San Francisco during the Barbary Coast days.
I'm exploring the cookbook The Feed Zone. My friend Kacey lent it to me a while ago and I just purchased it for myself. So far I can highly recommend the chicken fried rice and Sweet Rice Porridge. There is a ton of good information in here that I might get into later, for now I'm just working on making food for my rides. I really like the idea of taking time to make my food for rides before the weekend. These are on my initial list of things for this week and next:
Breakie
Sweet Rice Porridge p. 40
Portable
Rice cakes
brown rice muffins - need a muffin tin
Waffle sandwich - waffles can be frozen!
Après
Beet juice
Chicken fried rice
Dinner
Slow cooker - maybe the lamb chickpea stew
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Current obsessions: the song Oil in my Lamp, chambray, buttoning up my shirts all the way, wool, rice cooker, my drawing for Box Dog Bikes, menswear
There's nothing new here if you follow me on Insta, FB or flickr. But maybe I'll elaborate at bit later on.
Last weekend I tried to go out for a while, I really did. But I got bored and cold, and the light was completely absent from the world. I just didn't feel it. So I came back home and went exploring with my bebe.
We discovered that we can walk to Sutro tower in about 45 minutes!
On Monday, I started Pattern Making at Apparel Arts.
I'm tempering my excitement with awareness of how much work and learning is involved in this course. With ALC and Apparel Arts, it's going to be a challenge to keep balance this year.
However, I can say that in one night my mind was a bit blown. We made a sloper from my measurements in about 30 minutes. I've spent hours altering commercial patterns in the past two years. In 30 minutes I pretty much drafted a pencil skirt to my shape. It was magic.
