sandy boys.

For your Sunday afternoon pleasure. I have a goal to learn how to play the banjo before I die. Or maybe just before I turn 30. :) I used to hate the sound it made (Blue-grassy stuff isn't my style, but Old Time definitely is) but now I LOVE it. Enjoy.

book club

This week was another book club and as always, it was fabulous! I have met a really wonderful group of women and am so grateful I was included. Thank you, Brandi!! Last month we read Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell. This month we're reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Everyone I've talked to said this book is amazing. I've watched the movie, but I guess that doesn't count. Plus books always have so much more detail that movies leave out.

Thanks everyone for the comments on my last post about the Mociun knock-off! I guess as they say, "necessity is the mother of invention." Honestly, I just needed a dress and have always wanted to attempt making the Mociun tie-front dress. I think it's both elegant and casual and really the perfect dress for all occasions. I actually love the Mociun fabrics, because they look hand printed and unique. But I'm also happy with my vintage fabric! I think it would be fun to try hand printing my own fabric and then making another dress in the same style. There are so many possibilities!

Listening:: Camera Obscura, Grizzly Bear and Fanfarlo. {until july 4th, you can download fanfarlo's new album for just a buck. get it!}

they make me smile huge.

{via A Continuous Lean.}

the week at its end.

**Been sewing a lot and listening to Billie Holiday.

**Yesterday I woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground. Despite wishing it were summer, this made me happy.

**Last night I watched The Women while hand sewing trim on a dress. I saw it once a long time ago and I don't remember it being so good! Really, you must check it out (especially if you are a woman.) ;) I heard there is a remake? It couldn't possibly be as good as the original.

**Today is another day of sewing for me, but I'm nearing the end of one project and it's turning out really very nice. I always get a little nervous until I see it all coming together the way I pictured it.

**Hey, look...Erica gave me a little blog award. Aww, thanks! :) And here are 10 blogs I love:

• The Habit of Being
• Grass Doe
• Manteli
• Needled
• Abby Try Again
• A Continuous Lean
• Obscure Classics
• Behind the Curtain
• The Pioneer Woman
• Savilintu
  

I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. I had better get started on that pile of sewing!

P.S. I forgot someone had asked awhile back if I could get them the link to my old music playlist. I took it off because it was screwing up my page, but I want to make a new one sometime. Until then, you can find the old one here. :)

music!

So it's 2009 and you know everyone is talking about their favorite music of 2008. Well, I'm freaking out because I discovered Music Blog Zeitgeist 2008 on Hype Machine. If you've never heard of Hype Machine, oh man you are missing out. It's the place to go to find the music people are blogging about. It's awesome. I use it all the time. And now they have this amazing thing going on right now. They've got the top artists, songs and my absolute favorite, top 50 albums of the year. You can stream all 50 albums for freeeee! Yes, I'm freaking out over here. Also, you know what makes me even more ecstatic? Top album of 2008 is Fleet Foxes!!! I adore them. Got their album for Christmas and haven't hardly listened to anything else since. It's so beautiful. You have to take a listen. Last night I streamed Blitzen Trapper, which is pretty amazing as well. I'm digging their song Furr. (And that video is aaaamazing.) And right now I'm listening to TV on the Radio who rock my little socks off. I love that group and their new album is rad. Yes, rad. I am full of love right now. And yes, I should get back to sewing now. But at least I've got tons of music to keep me company through the day. I have a feeling I'm going to be spending money I probably shouldn't be spending on new amazing albums. But hey, it supports the artist, so I shouldn't feel too bad about it. Have a lovely and musical weekend!

p.s. I can't stop listening to this either.

new music playlist

I just thought I'd drop in to say I added some new music. In case you still want to listen to the old list, you can find it here.

Enjoy!

busy time

It is that busy time of year. I will write more soon, but until then, I thought I would share this lovely song with you. It makes my heart sing.

going for a walk

I have a bit of time before I hit the road, so I'm sharing a few pictures from my recent walk. Today is rainy, but a few days ago it was gorgeous out. I ran out the door right when I finished my work for the day. It felt so good.











I'm listening to Sarah Wood. She's lovely.

music for wildflowers

Last night I made a bit of a mixed-tape for my blog. Inspired by Marjorie, yet again! :) I'll probably add to it and change it periodically. Mostly I am adding "easy-listening" selections. Enjoy.

After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on - have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear - what remains? Nature remains.
-Walt Whitman

colorado girl

Oh man he's such a hippie, but I love him just the same.

fall is in the air

Well I've tried to ignore this chilly weather that is creeping in, but I suppose I should just admit that fall really is here, though I still have this huge urge to go lake swimming and wear summer dresses. Summer went even faster this year and I already miss it. But since I can't do anything about the change of weather, I might as well enjoy the colder months that are coming. Inspired by Abby, here's a smallish list of stuff I'd like to do:


-Camp out in the woods for five days in south-east Missouri, 1863 style. {NEXT WEEK!!!}

-Sew lots of my own clothing, including more jeans (I have some interesting styles I want to try out, but haven't quite found the right jean cloth to use yet), knit wear (I made my first knit sweater last Sunday with the help of this book and it turned out smashingly. Lots easier than I thought and only took me about an hour and a half from start to finish) and lots more warm clothing.

-Try printing some fabric to use in my own clothing with the help of this fabulous book.

-Start knitting again (which means finishing that sweater I started last year!!)

-Get back into reading on a more regular basis, so I actually finish the books I start.

-Watch lots of obscure classics.

-This goes along with knitting, but I have always wanted to figure out how to knit stockings. Perhaps this year is the time to accomplish it. {On a side note, whenever I meet a guy who finds out I can knit, they ask me to make them a pair of socks. Dude, they aren't easy! At least I've heard they aren't. So I'm a little hesitant to learn, 'cause then maybe I won't get out of it next time some guy asks me to make him a pair...haha.}

-Write more hand written letters. They mean so much more and I have put this off for far too long.

Well that's all I've gotten so far. I actually wrote this early this week, when it really was chilly, but didn't have time to finish it. Now the weather is nice again and I'm wearing a summer skirt. Hey, this is Iowa for ya. You never know quite what you're gonna get.

I found this video last night and I really really love this. I love the way these two girls sing this Fleet Foxes song. Makes me want to sing along. so. frickin. bad. All this good music I keep hearing, it's kinda makin' me giddy. {via}

Check out this video a friend sent to me. I want to learn to dance like that!

Today I'm going to spend the rest of the day finishing projects all for myself. I started several, but had no time to finish them and I want to wear some new things. Perhaps I'll try some hand printing today. Then again, I always say I'm going to do more than I do. If I end up finishing a blouse or a pair of trousers I started, I think that will be good. Take care and be well.

i feel like writing whatever i feel like writing

{finally had a chance to visit the lake the other day, only to find out the beach was closed. but we had fun anyway and i will go back to be sure! a few more pictures on my flickr.}

Dude, this chick has got something going here! {Thanks Casey for pointing out that link in your blog!} Let's just say I'm definitely going to be making this dress as part of my summer wardrobe. Looks easy, I've actually got some jersey fabric sitting in my closet {it's been there for umm almost going on three years now??} and it's the perfect weather for dresses. So yeah, totally going to be printing this one out for when I get a spare moment. These days the free-moments have been few and far between. I'm really trying to get a lot of work done and instead I'm going crazy over here feeling like I am all of a sudden going back to school and writing research papers. It's kinda funny, but also I'm learning a lot. Mainly I'm learning how I need to prioritize. Also documentation, documentation, documentation. Yeah I know you are going "huh?" How 'bout we just leave it that way.

So back to my favorite topic; clothing and "stuff." Actually you know what? I've found that I can do quite well without stuff. I don't really have a lot of summery clothes because my style has changed a lot in the last few years and for some reason I thought I looked bad in shorts so I don't really have any, except for a pair I use to paint in. And I'm not buying anything right now. Thus the whole "anti-stuff-movement" I seem to be into these days. I haven't even gone thrifting in months. It's just too easy to see something that is a good price and blow my money on it only to find out later I didn't actually need it. Even a top for $3 is well, THREE DOLLARS! It's like going down to the coffee shop and getting a macchiato {to DIE for}, which these days I've tried to cut back on {sad, I know}. As far as clothes are concerned, I have enough so I don't walk around naked and if I'm so desperate to have something different to wear, I'll make it myself. And since my time is limited, I better wear whatever it is I am making for myself otherwise I will feel awful about spending all that time for nothing. When you do business you realize time is money. Whether or not that is a good thing, I couldn't tell you. Though somehow I still manage to waste large amounts of time. Now I feel like I'm contradicting myself. hmm...Anyway, don't listen to what I say. I'm sure you can find a million contradictions in my blog if you look at past entries. But I'm OK with that. Well now I'm just rambling.

Let's go back to the dress-wearing topic, because I like that topic.

I'm actually wearing dresses and skirts every day for the first time in umm since I was like a three year old. Every year I tell myself I'm going to do it and then every year I get all weird and decide I feel too dressy in a skirt or dress. Right now it's more a matter of "I'm hot, jeans suck." And who wants to wear jeans on a hot day, especially when your legs are severely sunburned from that day at the lake when ::ehem:: someone forgot to put on sunscreen? Besides, I've started quite a nice little collection of summer dresses. Some are vintage and some are dresses I've made; I'm hoping to add to that little collection when time permits. Of course the moment I end this post I will lay out what I'm going to wear tomorrow and it will probably be linen pants and a tank. Yeah, go me. But heck, I don't care. I'm gonna wear what I feel like wearing so whether or not it's a cute summer dress because I want to feel good and look pretty all in one, or a baggy shirt and baggy pants because I feel like it. Whatever it is, I'm sure the rest of the world will continue on as per usual. :) And that fact alone makes me happy.

Also, some music for your perusal.

vintage dresses make music oh so much sweeter

Do you ever listen to an artist/musician based solely on what they are wearing? Well today that is what I did. I was checking out World Cafe website, as I often do when I am in need of something to listen to while I sew, and as I was scrolling down through the different interviews I noticed this woman wearing a cool vintage dress. So of course I decided to skip the interview I was listening to (not all that interesting anyway) and went straight to Dawn Landes. I hadn't realized I'd heard her before about a year ago (singing "Young Folks") but now I'm gonna have to check out more of her stuff because I am definitely digging this sound. Not to mention her clothing selection ummm totally rocks. :)

::the love of detektivbyrån

Talking with my friend last night about music and flipping through some of my favorites I came upon Detektivbyrån. I almost forgot about this most brilliant group from Sweden. love love love love them. And I find out they are working on a new album! Seriously, if you have not heard of these guys before now, take a listen. They are beautiful.

On MySpace.

Making of::Part4

songs for 2007

I'm attempting to post some of my top songs for 2007 on here, though they may not all have been released in the last year. In some cases they may not even be the most amazing songs you've ever heard. But they stand out to me for one reason or another. I'm probably leaving out a great deal of music that should be included in this list, but this is all I have time for. I'm already late in the game. So we'll try this out. I will probably delete the mp3 files soon. But I'll leave them up here awhile. Enjoy the music!

::in no particular order::

Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
Dance party at the beginning of the summer. I say no more. This pretty much says it all.

Wilco - Either Way
Wilco - Hate It Here
(sorry, couldn't just pick one.)
My sister gave me their album for my birthday last year. Many thoughts flow through my mind when I listen to this.

Lily Allen - Littlest Things
This song I'm actually a little ashamed to put on my list. It's not that she's the worst singer ever, just not someone I can see lasting for very long. She's like my guilty pleasure. "It's like eating a full bag of m&m's. You know it's bad for you, but you do it anyway." (I probably butchered that quote.) She's not a GREAT musician, but not bad. And people could probably argue with me on this one. I'm just not sure I can say she's the most talented artist out there. But I still listen to her. And admittedly, sing along. :)

Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
There's something about this band that makes me happy every single time I hear them play. And you gotta love their lyrics...
"Chemicals, don't flatten my mind
Chemicals, don't mess me up this time
Know you bait me way more than you should
And it's just like you to hurt me when I'm feeling good."

Just makes me smile. Even my little brother gets into them.

Devendra Banhart - Cristobal
He came out with a new album this year ('07), which was surprising to me. He's the kind of artist you never really know what he'll come up with or when it will happen. They call his music "freak folk," which is a bit of a new genre starting to become pretty popular in the past few years. Or perhaps it has been around for a long time and I've been out of the loop. Anyways, I don't care what they call it, he's wonderful. There is something about this man that brings me back to his music every time. I can't stop listening to him.

LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum
Not too much to say about this one. I like it.

Regina - Minua Ollaan Vastassa (Tiger Baby Remix)
Makes The perfect dance song. It's absolutely the best. In my humble opinion. :) I really like the group Regina, but this remix I actually like better than the original version. Anyways, awesome band from Helsinki, Finland. I don't even know when this song came out. I heard about it early last summer and pretty much listened to it throughout most of the year.

Gentle Touch - Memories (2006)
Another dance song. I love how "New Wave" it sounds. I feel like I'm back in 1980-something. It's so sappy, but I love it. Besides, they're from Sweden. And that just makes them pretty cool.

Cat Power - The Greatest
Even though this is not a song that came out in the year 2007, I re-discovered it last year. And I listened to this song over and over and over and over again. I guess I really liked it. :) So I'm adding it in my list.

Nico - These Days
I know, another song that definitely did NOT come out in '07. I think it's from 1966. I sure gave this one a work-out last year! I adore this song so very much.

Antony & The Johnsons
This one is for you Annie and Rachel. You know what it means. :)

Daniel Johnston - Worried Shoes
I think this was one of my greatest discoveries of 2007. I had never heard of Daniel Johnston before stumbling upon several tracks on a random music blog. I feel as if I should have known about him long before. Anyway, it was great to find such an interesting and talented artist as this man. My particular favorite is "Worried Shoes" and I love the version sung by Sufjan Stevens and Daniel Smith. Sounds like Daniel Johnston is quite the interesting guy. There's even a documentary about his life. Need to get that on netflix...

I also listened to a lot of Gillian Welch last year, though she hasn't come out with a new album for awhile. Went to see her live and she blew me away. I love her cds, but seeing her live was even better than I imagined.

Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel
How could I go without mentioning these guys?? This is an older track, but I love it so much. I don't know anyone who dislikes this song. This reminds me so much of my reenacting life. As silly and crazy as that sounds, all of my reenactor friends dig this song. It's hilarious. You go on their myspace pages and they all have this song on their profile. It's either a good thing or a really bad thing. But whatever it is, I dig it too... On a side note, I believe this song is a Bob Dylan cover, which makes me like it even more than I already do. :)


Last, but not least, a few music videos that stood out to me:

Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks