Laowai

We’re having a heatwave suddenly. So I made a new shirt. I used some of the pretty gingham seersucker that I got in Japan. It’s the Fern shirt from Seamwork and it’s perfectly loose and light for this weather.

Don’t look too closely – I was doing some baking and didn’t realize I had a sprinkling of flour all down the front. 

I think I might shorten the sleeves a bit next time I make this pattern. And maybe a little drawstring around the bottom hem would be cute.

And here’s a photo of Bea. Brian flew over and met her in Vienna – and they are going to spend the week biking and seeing the sights.

I tried a new pattern from Liesl and Co. – it's the Kyoto Dress.

I saw this dress online and I've wanted to emulate it. So I made sort of a wearable muslin. I found the fabric at a church rummage sale and only spent $5. Is it taffeta? Maybe? Seems like a home dec. fabric that you would see at Joann's or Calico Corner.

Here are the changes I made to the pattern: I straightened the v-neck – I just like a more severe shape. I took an inch off the length of the bodice because I'm short. I made a size 16, D cup but then after it was sewn I ended up taking about an inch off each side seam at the waist. I made short sleeves with an elastic-encased hem. I cut the bodice out of one piece of fabric instead of having a seam down the middle. And I lengthened the skirt. 

For a second version I would like to deepen the v-neck and made the sleeves poofy. I also find the skirt sort of awkward – probably because this pattern is not intended for a stiff fabric like this. I think if I use a similar fabric I should either add more fullness or take fullness away. Also, at this length the back of the dress seems sort of boring – again maybe more fullness is the answer but not sure how I would do that.

So I'm happy with this and as always the Liesl and Co. pattern was a pleasure to use. I didn't take a photo but I matched the plaid perfectly along the back zipper – yay! It feels good to make a dress that is fitted properly to me!

Just one daughter celebrating with Brian this year.

He cooked his own Father's Day dinner. Yum.

Earlier in the morning I came down and found him having coffee and wearing my sweater (?).

We love him.

I finished my latest knitting project the other day. It's a chunky little cardigan. And since we've had such a frustratingly cold spring I've been throwing it on all the time.

The pattern is called Audrey's Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith. The yarn is a really soft Merino wool.

I'm really pleased with the fit and the feel of this sweater – I know I will get a lot of use out of it.

And even though it's not a very knitty season I do feel like starting another sweater. It's going to be stripy.

Here are a bunch of photos that Brian and Bea took in and near Dresden. Brian flew over and helped her get settled so they were able to explore a little together. She's been taking her German class for about a week and a half now and she's been riding her bike all around the area.

Lately I've been thinking about knowing when to stop and when to start. 

When knitting I tend to keep going and going when I really should stop. I make sweaters longer than I intend to. I've been trying to improve the fit for my knitting projects. Here's my latest project where I really tried not to make it too long. I've been trying it on as I go and I can't wait to see the final fit.

We've been having a very chilly spring. I'm longing for warm days and so are my plants. The hardest thing is to wait to plant. I think it's better to wait to plant certain seeds like my green beans. They just don't like the cold. In the past I would try to get a jump on the season by starting seeds under cloches but for some plants it's just not worth it. They will grow happier and faster if I can just manage to wait for that warmth.

So I planted my bean seeds last weekend thinking that we were done with the 50 degree weather. We'll see… this morning I woke up to another chilly day so maybe I should have waited another week.

Chives season has arrived.

I did a spontaneous thing last weekend before I planted my beans. I realized my garden was a strange wonky shape. The edge on the East side was sort of curved and not perpendicular to the brick path. So I dug out the brick edging and added a couple feet. It makes more sense now. 

Here are a couple more recent project I've finished. A whole cloth quilt for a dear friend's high school graduation gift. Green flannel because she's off to Michigan State. I would love to make a quilt like this for my Bea but she is going to be living out of suitcase for the foreseeable future and so it's just not practical.

And I finished this fun zig zag scarf. Luckily Both of these project have unambiguous finishes – meaning I just quilt to the end or knit until I'm out of yarn.

Bea is done with high school. Wow, hard to believe. Here she is heading to her last day.

She won't be going to her graduation ceremony because her German lessons in Dresden start the same day.

Here she is packing her bike into Brian's bike bag so she can ride around Dresden.

I'll take her to the airport Thursday and then hopefully she'll call her mom now and then.

I have mostly photos of my garden and things I've made but what's really on my mind lately is my oldest daughter.

I feel like we're in a period of holding our nerve. You see she has her heart set on going to college in a German speaking country. While all the other seniors at her school are enjoying their last bit of high school, knowing where they will be going in the fall, Bea won't know her fate for a while yet. I feel like we've been trying to educate ourselves about the Universities and their application procedures for a really long time. She has been able to apply to one school but we have to wait for her transcript to be complete for the others and then she has to take a test for most of the schools on her list. It will be months before we know if she gets accepted… or not. And then I'm not really sure how the timing works. Seems like she gets accepted and then school starts a week later for some places. When do you figure out a place to live (dorms are not a thing over there).

Anyway it's such strange time. It's amazing that she is in her last week of high school right now. And I want so badly for her to get what she wants. She'll be off to Germany soon – several weeks to improve her German speaking skills just like last summer. What can I do but busy myself with weeding and planting and picking flowers while we all wait anxiously.

I had just one crust of rough-puff in the freezer so I made sort of a galette/pie. We sometimes call this driveway pie since the rhubarb grows right along the driveway. Mmmm.

A bad photo of one of my old friends – Mr. Bunny. A fellow gardener lamented the large number of bunnies this year. They are big and healthy and numerous! Someone mentioned that it's because they had so many cicadas to gobble up last summer. Maybe?

I like the bunnies because they are cute and they keep me company while I'm in my garden. I like to spot one stretching. I like to see one taking a nap in the sunshine – white belly fur catches my eye. Sometimes I see them taking a dust bath under a pine tree. Once in a while they get the zoomies, chasing each other all around the yard. And sometimes I spot them being still in amongst the daffodils. 

But then I gnash my teeth because they mow down my favorite plants and then I have to put up all manner of barriers. Improvised fences and cloches dotting the garden are not so attractive. 

And so it's a battle. I wonder if Mr. McGregor secretly thought of his nemesis, Peter, as a friend.

Here's another photo, even worse quality, of a new friend. It's an indigo bunting! I don't think I've ever seen one before. I started seeing two several days ago. They've been visiting my bird bath fountain. They're so blue and so sweet!

Here are some other things that are making me happy around my garden.

My peas are looking happy. I put little twigs in to help them get started climbing up the trellis.

Lilacs – must stick my nose in the blossoms each time I walk by.

Lots of spring flowers that you have to get up close to see – the bleeding heart, violets and wood poppy.

Let's talk about the Mayapples – my neighbors and I share a big colony between our houses. They form a sea of floating umbrellas. They are magical. 

Here's a view of the undersides.

And here they are from the top. They will disappear by mid-summer.

I always thought this shrub, with the white flowers, was a viburnum but I recently learned it's called a black jetbead. It's native to China and Japan and it's part of the rose family. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, Brian is finishing a trip to New York and Europe with an extra day in Copenhagen.