Spring is almost over here in Connecticut and I continue to be reading lots of good books. I previously blogged about some of my spring reads here, here and here. And I wrote earlier this year about my reading muses and strategies I have adopted to be able to read more. There are two more days until the solstice and I am up to 34 books this season and 70 this year to date. Yikes! Here are the highlights from the last few months.
Fiction Favorites:
The One-in -a-Million Boy is a wonderful read. I loved the story and the writing and the characters, especially the feisty older woman. I am recommending it to everyone I know. I found this book through Anne Bogel and bought it because it was a Kindle Deal. Thanks Anne!
I loved Our Souls at Night. It is beautifully written, a gentle book about aging, love, relationships, small towns. It made me want to read other books by the author.
I loved Tell Me Three Things It is a smart YA book with characters you care about and a storyline that keeps you guessing.
Before We Visit the Goddess engaged me. I cared about the women in the story and their relationships (grandmother, mother, daughter). The story was well constructed. I didn’t love it as much as the other three but I am glad I read it.
You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine was a little wacky. The author was very inventive in this futuristic novel that explored themes like body image and societal values. I am glad I read it and I enjoyed parts of it but it might not appeal to some. Since I have had time to read a lot of books, I don’t mind reading one that isn’t my favorite but if I only had time to read a couple, this wouldn’t make the cut.
Although I enjoyed reading some of the others on the list more, the book that blew me away was The Chronology of Water, an incredibly raw, beautifully written memoir. The themes will likely turn many readers off. She explores sexual abuse, violence, sex, addiction. But even though so many aspects of her personal history are really disturbing, I never got the feeling that she was writing about these things with the intent to shock. At the end of the day, the facts of the story were only a small aspect of the impact of the book. The main thing that hit me was the writing. There is such an immediacy to the writing. It is poignant, funny, honest, raw and generous. She tells her story and invites the reader to experience the power of art and love as forces for healing and redemption. For the reader who can handle it, it is an amazing book, highly recommended.
Non-fiction: Favorite (a surprise to me) was Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. He is a wonderful writer but since the theme of the book is what I deal with at work every day, I didn’t expect to learn much but I did learn a lot about the history of long term care in our country and I was really moved by his humility in describing the challenges of helping his parents deal with his father’s end of life. I will say that his descriptions of aging in the early part of the book were hard to listen to. It puts aging in pretty stark factual terms, even for this nurse. But that was just a small part of the book. I enjoyed the second half much more. I listened to it on audiobooks which was great. I also listened to Five Days at Memorial about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on a hospital in New Orleans. It was very hard to listen to at times. So many truly horrific challenges for patients and the caregivers. As a nurse, I kept thinking about the nurses and doctors and the horrible circumstances of trying to care for patients and make the best decisions when no there were no good choices. My one complaint about the book was its length. The writer is a journalist and so she laid out all the facts but it felt really long to me, possibly because I listened to it. It might have been better to read the book (I read faster than most audiobooks). I enjoyed listening to A Walk in the Woods. I am late to the Bill Bryson party but his books are perfect for listening. They don’t require a lot of effort to follow the story, they are funny. I will definitely be listening to more of his books this year. I read Happier at Home in small bits mostly in the morning before work. It was the perfect book for that because there is no story line per se that you need to follow so you can pick it up and put it down. It was my first Gretchen Rubin book and I like her personality and her voice. I liked many of her suggestions and her honesty in talking about her own shortcomings. I definitely recommend it. I ended up buying it for my kindle because it was a MMD Kindle deal.
Audiobooks: in addition to the non-fiction audiobooks, I also listened to The Crossover, a compelling YA story that I loved. I was tearing up in parts of it. Great as an audiobook. And for a long trip to Maine, I got my British accent fix by listening to the second Harry Potter book (I read the first years ago and never read any of the others). I will be listening to that series this year as well. Perfect for long car rides. Great narration. British accent. 🙂
My to be read pile below. I am still working on making time to read City on Fire. I have actually taken it out of the library three times and run out of time. I am determined to read it this time but sometimes the 14 day books are a challenge to read in the two week time frame, especially when they are 900 pages 😦 What books are on your list? 
It took me a long time to get on the 
The dress is really comfortable to wear and I knew this fabric would be great for this pattern. It is not this orange in real life btw.
I cut between the medium and large lines (closer to the large around the hips) based on my hip size which is 41 inches. I lengthened the pattern by an inch. I used the leftover scraps from my Bound fabric Washi dress for the pockets.
I love the way the tops of the pockets are stitched flat in the waistband seam. Now that I know how to do this, I am tempted to make a skirt just to add pockets exactly like this.
The sewing is straightforward and the directions are easy to follow. Rae also has a series of blog posts that walk you through the construction. Link to Luna Pants 
The facing makes them cuter too and it really doesn’t take a lot of time. Another picture of the inside of the pant leg with hem facing:
If you had told me a couple of years ago that a) I would make pants and b) I would wear them in pictures online, I would have said you were crazy but I really like these. They are fun and comfortable and a quick sew. I have plans to make them again soon. I have some April Rhodes Fringe fabric that I know will be perfect. Here are more pictures of the pants as worn tonight to book club. We read 
side view
back view
pants in motion (a bit rumpled after book group.) 
Have fun! Make pants! to be continued 🙂
It’s all about the zipper.
I originally bought this 
Here are some tricks/shortcuts I use when making this pattern. First, I size up for french seams: I cut on the next size up cutting line for the sleeves and side seams to allow room for french seams. I don’t seem to be able to capture the fraying threads with just one seam and always end up with two, no matter how well I think I have trimmed the threads. Since this happens every time I sew french seams, I am trying to just roll with it and know that my seams are very strong (ha!) and I need to plan for it. I cut on the Large seam line although I am generally more of a medium. This gives me enough space for my double seam and have the dress still fit. By the way, I only use french seams for the long seam from the wrist to the hem. I am not confident enough to attempt them at the shoulder seam. Those I sew using a regular seam and then zigzag to finish. 
I don’t gather the sleeves: It may sound funny but I don’t gather the sleeves. I have only made the Pearl with heavier fabric with some stretch/give. I line up the center of the sleeve with the shoulder seam, pin it, and then I sew from the top down in one direction and then from the top down on the other side without using pins, just holding the fabric in place as I go. I get a nice clean shoulder seam with no puckers. Then I sew the sleeve and side seams in one long seam. I generally end up trimming a bit of the sleeve before sewing the long seam in order to make everything line up but I end up with a nice looking sleeve that fits the way I want it too. I am happy with the somewhat close fit I get doing it this way and it is quick and easy. I wouldn’t try this at home using your nice fabric. I would try it first with a muslin to see if you like the way it fits, but I did it this way the first time and it has worked for me ever since (this is my 4th Pearl shift.) P
I use a contrasting lighter-weight fabric to finish the neck, hem and sleeves: 
I blame the ruler that has different numbers on the two sides. Of course, I was looking at the wrong side when I measured. I took this picture May 19th and then the project sat as Me Made May sped by and then it was June. More pictures of the 
Hem facings in process: step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Sleeve facings
Neckline with zipper. A little wonky but the nubby fabric hides all.
Neckline selfie. It’s a little higher than the Beatrix, a little 60’s looking. I like it with the linen. That’s my dad at a young age in the background. My 
Front of finished dress once again
Inside of dress front
and back
This is my third Beatrix Tunic. The first two were blogged 
Sometimes I will make a great deal of headway on a project and then weeks go by before I find the time to get back to it. I have learned to relax and know that some day I will finish, even if it takes weeks (or months). For this tunic, I cut out the top of the Beatrix and graded out to the width of the Pearl. This time, I didn’t curve the hem but used the Pearl hem line. My new go-to work uniform is a tunic over leggings with boots in the winter and sandals in the summer. It is easy and comfortable. I will definitely be making more of these. Some pictures below.
Stay-stiched neck line above and darts below as per the Beatrix 
Sleeves are turned down once, ironed and then a second time and stitched with two rows of stitches. Quick, easy and durable.
My favorite way to make a simple pattern more interesting is a contrasting hem. I love these two fabrics together.
I have blogged about my very simple method for hem facings 
Lots of ironing is involved.
I actually use the metal plate on my sewing machine as my guide as I sew. It works perfectly for the measurements of this hem facing.
When I think of it, I leave the threads long and pull them to the inside and knot them using the quilter’s technique of sliding the knot down the thread using a big pin or needle as seen here.
Some pictures of the finished hem. I was really happy with how this one turned out.
with facing showing
My zipper didn’t completely line up with the top of the dress so I added a hook and eye at the top. My top stitching along the zipper is not perfect but as my dad actually used to say, “It wouldn’t be noticed from a trotting horse” which is true. I think the machine sometimes has trouble with the layers.
Finished Dress/Tunic ready to be worn. I intentionally made the back slightly longer (you can see the back facing peeking through in the picture below) because that is where my weight is (ahem) and if I make the front and back the same, the back appears to be riding up which is not the look I am going for. 
Rae also recently posted about a Beatrix with a zipper. Hers has an invisible zipper, something I have yet to master. You can link to her post and see her beautiful blouse 
It was a beautiful sunny day and in the afternoon, Sadie wandered in the back yard and I wandered with her. My husband has made a beautiful meadow in our backyard. What started as a project to reduce the amount of mowing has made our yard more beautiful. This picture makes me think of other meadows in my 
Many of our flowers were just on the verge of blooming. Peonies are ubiquitous on Instagram this time of year. Ours were still tightly wound up buds. This one looks like a little wooden headed doll from my children’s youth.
I previously blogged about a little walk I took with Sadie in my 
This was a particularly wonderful gift because none of the flowers or plants were planted by me; they are all things that were planted by previous owners. I love the surprise in the spring when things emerge from the ground and you find you have flowers you didn’t even know you had. In the course of just a few minutes, this is what I found in my backyard: spring springing everywhere!
here
and here
this rhododendrun looks positively prehistoric
tiny wildflowers (weeds?) look like flower fairies from my children’s picture books
I love the shadows on the bricks
Our garden is sort of a mish-mosh of plantings by the former owners and weeds that are trying to take over. One of these days, I will spend some time putting things to rights but I kind of enjoy the chaotic jumble for now.
color everywhere
about to bloom
I finally got one picture with a bird in it 
Sadie the explorer
Sunlight at the end of the day
Thought for the week: Listen to the Music of your Life.
The sound of the wind traveling through the tall grasses, the buzzing of insects, the wildflowers, the birds. I loved the hum of activity, the sunshine, the many little worlds contained in the expanse of the field. Sending the kids out to pick wildflowers for the dinner table. Sitting on the deck and listening to the hum of activity. It was mesmerizing and calming at the same time. (Maine summer 1997 above).
One of the best children’s books ever is 
I didn’t have much time during this visit to do much more than spend a few minutes at a couple of old haunts. The roads where our old house used to be has one of the biggest fields of lupines on the island, but I just couldn’t bring myself to drive down it. So I went instead to a spot where the kids and I used to go to watch the sun set over Blueberry Hill.
And to the lake where I used to love to swim (still do but too cold this trip).
So peaceful. There is a big rock that we used to swim out to but I just liked being able to swim and swim without chlorine or line lanes or bumping into other people.
Lily pads below.
There were were wisps of fog shrouding the tops of some of the mountains.
Fog, sky and the shadows of trees forming a pattern on the field.
The harbor is just starting to have boats on moorings. In a few weeks, it will be full of boats. The day was mostly gray with bits of sunlight poking through. It matched my mood.
Not so much sad but thoughtful. I don’t wish my children young again. I am not interested in turning back time, even if I could, but those summers were precious. Every life is filled with befores and afters. This time when my children were little and we spent summers in Maine was ironically both an after-after some tough times that I never expected to come again and then turned out to be a before-before a big challenging shift that I didn’t see coming. I had planned on spending the rest of my summers in Maine but things turned out differently as they often do. This weekend in Maine, thoughts of those happy times swirled around me like friendly spirits. (Maine summer of 2002 below with our dog Sam, a gentle soul, much missed)
I ended up at the lake where we would take long walks as a family on a path along the shore to another rock where we would swim. This year I didn’t have time to do the walk so I just sat on a rock in the sun and took in the beauty. 
A peek at the Western Mountains and a favorite hiking trail.
Rocks line the shore.
The surface of the pond like a path spread out before me.
Beautiful beyond words. 
I made two new Washi dresses for family members. A 
and a 
When I made my first 
When I made my own black washi with the puppy fabric lining, I must have cut the lining a bit bigger than the bodice pieces for the dress dress and when I went to topstitch the neckline, it shifted a bit.
I ended up doing it on purpose to create the effect of piping without actually having to make piping. I did that for Madeleine’s dress as well. It is such an easy thing to do and I love the effect.
Once again, I used the wonderfully clear Made By Rae 
I used the cutting lines for the Washi tunic and added several inches to create my seam line for the main part of the dress. I sewed all the side seams and added the contrasting border at the end lining up the seam in the border with the side seams of the dress.
After sewing on the border, I ironed the seam and then topstitched for a more finished look and for durability, something that is important to me as I machine wash everything. Dry cleaning costs are just not in my budget.
I am really happy with the way it turned out. The polka dots add just enough cute to be fun. 
And here is the finished dress which was mailed out to Michigan for the birthday girl.
The puppy version (slightly rumped) below. I wear it often. 
nursebeansews 