Purse Construction: Day One

First things first: cutting the fabric. I cut off the tape from my cardboard mock-up and used those pieces as my pattern pieces. I cut the front piece in half to cut the front and back on the fold.The purse has four layers: the satin, then stiff interfacing, then felt, then the flowered canvas lining.

Sewing together the lining pieces took no time at all. Then I decided to stitch the satin onto the interfacing since most of the pieces will be gathered or pleated onto it.

I tried simply gathering around where the front leather decal would go, but it wasn't laying the way I wanted so I eventually took out all the gathering stitches and decided to pleat the front into place. Here's the front with the pleats pinned before I sewed them down:

It seems that my sewing machine won't play nice with the faux leather, so all the leather has to be stitched by hand. It's slow work, but great practice, because I'm not very good at it. Hopefully by the end of this project my handstitching will have improved.

This purse is the first thing I'm making under my own brand name, 1801. I went to Things Remembered to get an 1801 metal plate made for the front of the purse. Unfortunately, the one I wanted cost $37 - more than the fabric! But it was the best choice, so I went with it. Looking at it on the front of the purse, I know I made the right decision.

This weekend I will be away in Las Vegas for my 21st birthday (woo!), so I'll keep the blog updated on my progress next week.

Book Review: Food Rules by Michael Pollan

First off, this is not a nutrition manual or a diet book. Food Rules is a collection of guidelines for how we can both enjoy our food and eat well without making drastic lifestyle changes. It is a celebration of food, real food, and makes the reader think harder about our relationship to food and where it comes from. Michael Pollan sums up his food philosophy in seven words:  

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

The beauty of this little book is in its simplicity. Aside from the introduction and acknowledgments, the book consists of 64 food rules, which are a witty and memorable combination of scientific advice and the kinds of common sense adages repeated by your grandmother.

Pollan's goal is to make choosing what to eat uncomplicated again, in an age where we don't see "foods anymore but instead look right through them to the nutrients (good and bad) they contain." The rules (which he prefers to call "personal policies") help guide the reader in a broad sense to follow his food philosophy.

Rule #1 is "Eat food," and all other rules stem from it. By "food" Pollan means real food, not the highly-processed "edible food-like substances" found in the middle of the supermarket. Rule #3 refines this: "Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry."

Other memorable rules include #11, "Avoid foods you see advertised on television," #20, "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car," and #51, "Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare."

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. 112 pages, Penguin 2009

Salmon cakes

Tonight's dinner came together in a somewhat eclectic manner. I got home late from a long day of class and meetings so I wanted something quick and easy - so waiting for my frozen salmon filet to thaw was out of the question. But then I remembered that I had a can of salmon in the cupboard, so I decided to make salmon cakes. Here's what I did:

I scraped out the can of salmon into a bowl and added probably around a half cup of crushed Triscuits (the only sort of cracker I had around). Then I added dill, lemon pepper and lime juice to taste. If I had an onion I would have added that too, but they tasted great regardless. Then I whipped an egg and added it to the bowl and mixed everything together. At that point I formed salmon patties and cooked them over medium heat on a skillet coated with oil, a few minutes per side.

For garnishes I steamed some asparagus and served the salmon cakes on a bed of chopped tomato, avocado and more lime juice. Simple, but delicious!

A new handbag

I've long needed a black handbag - it's a wardrobe staple. The reason I still don't have one is that I have somewhat expensive tastes, but there's no way I can spend hundreds of dollars on a purse. So the solution was to design my own.

The design

This is my cardboard mock-up. Finished, the bag will be about 14'' long, 4.75'' wide, and 8'' tall.

The fabrics

I bought all of the fabrics from fabric.com, and for a yard of each of the three fabrics below (including one yard of faux leather), the cost came to $24.00. Not bad! The exterior of the purse will be black satin with faux leather detailing and straps. It will be lined with the flower-print canvas and interlined for stability.

Deviled Eggs

Today I made deviled eggs for the first time, and man, this is definitely not the last time. Here's what I did:

• Hardboil 12 eggs, then peel and slice in half
• Put the yolks in a mixing bowl and add:
• Mayonnaise until mixture is creamy
• Approximately 2 tsp mustard
• 1 cap full of apple cider vinegar
• dash salt and pepper
• dash paprika

Then I put the mixture into a gallon ziplock bag and cut a hole in the corner (which was too big - ah well, next time) to squeeze it out into the whites. Then I sprinkled paprika on top.

I can't wait to eat them at Easter brunch later today!