I’ve been silent because it’s been hot and sunny here (yay!) and I’ve been sitting out on the back patio reading and relaxing. I’m going to enjoy every minute of this gorgeous weather while it lasts!

In addition to trashy adventure novels, I’ve been devouring books on fashion. Tim Gunn is my new hero. Not only does he have an impeccable personal style, he knows how to behave decently to his fellow human beings–and he’s articulate on on that subject. I particularly liked reading Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons in Making it Work.

His narrative style is chatty but refined at the same time. He obviously draws from a broad and deep education–both the academic sort and the school of hard knocks sort. I agree with so much he has to say about etiquette and like the glimpses he provides into a world I’ll never be part of. I only wish there were some NICE way to gift this to the few people in my life who need a little schooling in manners.

I’ve also read Nina Garcia’s The Little Black Book of Style, which is interesting, particularly the introduction where she discusses how her parents influenced her. I personally would rather hear a lot more about that than what follows in the rest of the book: good, but basic fashion advice, which could be found on any number of websites or in magazines. She seems like a fascinating person–and, as she says, “beauty is not all that interesting [...] but when a confident woman walks into a room, it is entrancing.” I am “entranced” by the author, but not so much by the book.

Finally, I’ve been skimming through an e-version of Christian Sirriano’s book, Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self, on my blackberry. It’s definitely not the best way to enjoy this book. I’m having trouble seeing the pictures, since they break up between one screen in the next. However, his lively voice comes through. What a FIERCE personality and brilliant designer! I love his enthusiasm for fashion and his encouragement to revel in what makes you special–a similar message to Nina Garcia’s but delivered in his unique colloquial style. Sirriano is far more taken with designer labels than I will be or ever could afford to be–just like he does, I admire the fabulous styles and high quality materials and craftsmanship, but unless I win the lottery, they’ll never be part of my life.

I haven’t been doing all that much sewing, with the exception of working a bit on a denim jacket. I’m making slow progress due to the heat, but also because I have some misgivings about how it will turn out. For starters, the bust darts are giving me fits. Ideally, I should have divided them into two sets of darts, horizontal and vertical, since that would distribute the fabric more evenly, but didn’t want to change the look of the jacket too much by adding extra darts. That was probably a mistake. So, now there area under the front appliques are puffier than I’d like.

The other thing that’s making me worried is the fabric. It’s really stretchy…almost like a rubber band. I don’t know what possessed me to buy it in the first place, but I’m trying to “Make it work.” Wish me luck!

I suspect many of you are familiar with Sew Weekly, but it’s a fairly recent discovery for me. Every week, the site’s moderators announce a challenge and you have a week to sew up something fitting the theme. This week’s challenge was to create an outfit that paid tribute to a beloved children’s book. I chose Olivia, because she’s my style icon.

Before I explain my fondness for Olivia, let’s back up for a minute. While working on this project, I had plenty of time to reflect on pigs and fashion. Nearly all of the porcine literary characters I can think of enjoy putting on a show and/or dressing up.

For instance, take Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web. While he didn’t wear clothes, he did love a good bath and putting on a performance at the state fair.

And what about the Three Little Pigs? At least in the storybook we have, each pig has a colorful and individual style.

I’d kill to have pants like the ones the pig in the middle is wearing.

Kidding. Sort of.

We can’t discuss porcine fashion without mentioning the inimitable Miss Piggy.

As fine as all those pigs are, I don’t admire them as much as I do Olivia. She’s a dreamer with great ambitions (she’d love to paint masterpieces, dance ballet or sing opera). She’s so busy trying things, she wears people out. She tries doing grand things, some of which don’t work out as she hoped–but failure doesn’t stop her for long. Many of us who create things would do well to follow her example in that regard. Don’t give up too easily!

The other thing I admire about Olivia is that she is her own self and that self is anything but a wallflower. She wears black, white and red exclusively–which is the color scheme I used for my outfit. Like me, she also loves stripes, but as much as I would have liked to work a striped top into this ensemble, it just didn’t work out this week. What did work out this week is pictured below. I’m pleased with the outcome!

The Facts:

Fabric: Red cotton sateen with some stretch; white french terry
Patterns: BurdaStyle Jenny skirt; Tanit-Isis’ 50′s Shrug; Jalie Sweetheart top
Notions: One plastic vintage button
Time to complete: a week
Wear again? Yes!
Total Cost: Everything was already in my stash…

Olivia likes a good handbag. I “borrowed” this one from my daughter.

BurdaStyle’s instructions for the skirt were largely inadequate. Luckily, the Cupcake Goddess had written a series of how-to’s for the skirt when she hosted a sew-along. Her posts were very helpful!

I had already sewn the black and white top in January. My notes on that project can be found here. I just stumbled across Tanit Isis’ pattern for the awesome shrug and it went together in no time. I’m particularly thrilled with how it turned out and plan on making another one or two using fancier fabrics.

Finally, I made an Olivia floral brooch. I covered the central button with a piece of Olivia-themed quilting fabric I had in my stash. Cute huh? These flowers are quick to sew up and would make great pieces to decorate handbags, headbands, etc. I found the tutorial at Pink Paper Peppermints.

I’m a voracious reader and avid collector of crafting books.

I love them for their practicality. You want to make something? Why, here is how you go about doing it, step-by-step.

I love them for fueling my fantasy life. Here are some cozy pictures of domestic scenes or people strolling through the wilderness in intricate sweaters or cobweb shawls (Rowan magazines and Vintage Lace Today are tops in this category).

I love them for the inspiration they provide. I never would have thought of that! Why, that’s cool, but what if I did this or that?

My newest favorite isn’t new on the scene at all and it isn’t really a craft book, per se, but since its author particpates in the craft blog community, I think of the book as a craft book anyway. Take that, Melvil Dewey!

The Gentle Art of Domesticity articulates the feelings and muddled notions I have had percolating in my system for many years. I never could have explained those things half so well as Jane Brocket does in her book. I found myself nodding so frequently as I read through its pages that someone might have mistaken me for a bobble-head.

Yes, yes! I also feel compelled to be doing something creative! To surround my family with beauty and comfort! I also struggled with professional and personal notions of success. Pink and green are obviously a superb color combination!

My reading list has been populated with Jane Brocket’s suggestions. My Netflix queue has been filled up with fascinating movies and my impulse to create a vibrant quilt a la Kaffe Fassett has been reignited. I even want to start drinking tea again so I can make a fun tea cozy like those pictured in the book. I draw the line of my Jane-Brocket-hero-worship at the pineapple upside down cake. Fresh pineapple is good…I can’t stand it when cooked.

Other than some intriguing recipes, the book does not offer a lot of “how-to’s.” At first, I was disappointed, because it seemed like such a tease to show a picture of a pineapple tea cozy, which made me want to create one of my own…and then not explain how it was done. I tabled the tea cozy idea, mainly because I don’t drink much tea, but couldn’t let go of the idea of making a ripple afghan like Jane’s. I do a lot of curling up under afghans, so this project immediately gained a sense of urgency about it. There were a few problems:

(1) The book doesn’t provide a pattern.
(2) I didn’t know how to crochet.

Problem number one was easily solved by searching the internet. Apparently, the ripple pattern is one of those old crochet classics that everybody and their grandmother knows how to do. Except me, because I didn’t crochet.

Problem number two required a little more work. I bought a copy of Erika Knight’s Simple Crochet, figured out how to create a chain and execute a double-crochet stitch…and just like that, I was off! Crocheting! Making a ripple blanket!

In another 7,689 months, I will have an afghan of my very own.