Month: July 2024

Potato Technology’s Spring Summer 2024 Collection Part Two

L to R: Main Sails Billow Tank with Updated Houndstooth Shorts (2023)

Star and Moon Sanderson 1693 Vest with Dungaree Buttons

Vintage Fabric ‘I Just Adore Puff Sleeves, Marilla’ Blouse with Tie Back (Deadstock)

Purple Set Sail Tank with Peplum in Sheer Cotton Gauze, Fishing Tackle Chambray Mini Skirt with Matching Belt,

Vintage Fabric Green Thrill Blouse with Flutter Sleeves (Deadstock)

Koala Empire Waist Tank Repurposed from PJ Pants

Rabbit in Thicket Camisole Repurposed from Shorts (2023), Map Skirt Repurposed from Map Dress (2023)

Mark 14 – Dipping that Bread

Today was a good day because I remembered to do my Bible Study, a bonus for coordinating my Bible Reading by lying on my yoga mat. It is incredibly peaceful. I’m reading through the book of Mark which I can’t study without thinking of a sermon series at my childhood church in Mark, which if you don’t know is the shortest gospel and is written with the intention of conciseness and fast-paced structure. Ironically this series took years, literal years with a lot of repetition and I just find it amusing. But focusing on what is important here – I was struck by something new while I was reading Chapter 14, a couple new things actually.

This is not my first time through Mark or the Gospels or the whole Bible actually, I read through the entire book from 2020-2021. Today when I was reading through Chapter 14 which is all about Mary Magdalene anointing Jesus for burial, the Last Supper, the plot to kill Jesus, Jesus’ arrest, and Peter’s denial, I noticed something that I had added to the story by paraphrasing in my previous study. Like clearly was not listening or comprehending what I was reading, which I get distracted easily so no surprise there! Thankfully I have started praying before I study and asking God to help me focus only on Him and guide me to what He wants to teach me.

“And when it was evening, he came with the twelve.  And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.  For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

Mark 14:17-21 ESV

This is where I was adding something! I was reading it as this sign that Jesus would offer the bread and the cup around and each disciple was going to have the chance to dip and only Judas does in this ultimate sign of his transformation. Revealing his true identity in a bold betrayal like a movie or a strategy reality TV show. This was his mic drop of shadiness!

It doesn’t say that or imply that at all, it says one of the twelve who is eating with Jesus. I totally read into that and added a whole bunch of cinematic drama that isn’t what God intended here. I was struck by how convinced I was that this was in the Bible when it’s not at all. Judas betrays Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane a few verses later.

I was shook by how I could be so familiar with a story and not know the actual details of the events! It shows why you read the Bible more than once, and you continue to study it because there is a lot in here and it is hard to remember everything as I should. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try though!

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#58 – My Favorite Summer Weather

As I was thinking about this post this scene from Miss Congeniality popped into my head because I feel like what I am about to write sounds a bit like Rhode Island and that’s okay because it gives me a good laugh.

There is this amazing breeze today, fresh, clean, not humid air that I haven’t felt in over a month, and yet on these days I feel like I’m in a portal of memory. One of my favorite things about living in Pennsylvania and a climate with four seasons is that the weather changes. Quite often actually. We get cold fronts that scream across Ohio and things change in a few hours and I love it. Especially in the height of summer, when I’m burnt out on the bright sun, humidity, and heat waves. We get one of those cold fronts, like we did yesterday and the humidity clears, the sky changes and the leaves turn over and instead of storming it looks like fall.

It feels like fall in the middle of July! Instead of dangerous storms, we get gentle rain. The clouds in their kaleidoscope gray and purple changes the light to that spooky vibe of a cozy Halloween movie. It refreshes me.

It brings me back to some of my favorite summer memories. Such as the feeling of being 17 at my summer job at Geneva College on their Paint Crew, after a stretch of painting in muggy, non-air-conditioned dorms, when finally a storm breaks through and the cold front brings this melodic rain and I watch it from inside Memorial Hall. The lighting is so spooky, it’s hard to see what I’m cutting in but I feel alive in the cool breeze. I can’t wait to walk home in the rain!

The breeze coming through the windows of my home today reminded me of the sweetness of the summer air that I used to smell at my friend Cailee’s house as a kid. They always had the windows open in the summer. As I walked into my bedroom to grab a pair of socks, I could swear I was on the second-floor landing about the help Cailee clean her room again before she got grounded. Four Harry Potter books were strewn across the floor, the first movie had just come out. Like magic, I’m 8 years old again.

What’s your ideal calendar date? Is there a certain moment from summer or a change in the weather that transports back to childhood?

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The Curse of Rusty Twill

Like a slinking shadow, the smell crawled through the air, around corners, through doorways into my senses. A stench. Burnt, rotten, the stank of a memory I wanted to forget. Alive in the darkness, its origin story, a wasteland of fashion monsters of dye. But what was it that was haunting me? Is its origin or its nightmare of an olfactory bouquet?

It began one innocent day, the day I met the monster of rust and cotton. On an innocent bolt it dared to rest its head, in the middle of the broad day, have it no decency? It was a fabric unlike any other. It called to me. Upon its skin was a color shift, a creasing of sorts that changed it from a monotone to a cacophony of lighter wrinkles depending on its movement. Oh, little fool you were then, innocent, blind. Dreaming dreams of Japanese raw denim and its way of embossing life on its fiber with wear and time. This was no Japanese denim. This cotton twill, was its foil, a disappointment wrapped in the innocence of Hobby Lobby’s fabric aisle. A devil creeping.

But our devil wasn’t creeping, it was clever. It hid its true form, pretending to be normal, a kind soul of twill and natural fiber. A fabric you can count on for pants, jackets, a workhorse, a staple. These were my dreams before the nightmare began.

Maybe it achieved consciousness? An impatient menace, you waited in my fabric cabinet as we packed up and slumbered in our storage unit as time passed by. Did you act out because you thought you were forgotten?

How could I forget how we met? It was one golden summer day, a day full of promise. A new life began in 2×4 frame and carpeted meadows that roam my floor. A washer and a new dryer. As I invited you out of your slumbering resting place, your weave was rough, and a little stuffy, but I thought nothing of it.

That was your warning sign, a marker of what you are. We walked together. I carried you down the steps. I wanted to keep you safe. Gently I washed you with my hypo-allergenic laundry soap. There were no corners cut. I welcomed you into the fabric family but this was no ordinary wash. Something changed about you in that water. You became a monster. Swampy. A whiff smacked me across the face.

In horror, I smelled the washer. A stench emanated from the room. What could it be? My mind raced – did something crawl into the washer and die? Shaking off the fear, I placed you into the dryer which was a deal with Winifred Sanderson. A cauldron of heat and dry air transformed you into a thing of scent not even a dog could love.

With the dryer’s final squeal, I plucked you from your transformation machine. A stink with strength. Fortitude and funk. Your form was different. Your threads were softer, malleable, and even toned. But your evil had spread, and with fear, I pulled towels from the dryer. They became one of your covens, in a soft amber tone. The smell, it was pungent, accosting.

Lost in thought I carried you upstairs and contemplated my fate. Was it the washer or perhaps the dryer? That old, squeaky dryer. What kind of mayhem did the dryer succumb to in its former life? Was it contagious? I shook the thoughts from my mind and tossed the towels back in the hamper, encrusted in a stench that made me question whether they were washed with soap or copper pennies.

But you, the problem, the evil in rust and twill, you, I placated with Febreze and time. I brought you back to my sewing studio and waited. Instead of getting to know the Febreze and fresh air, you woke me up to the stench of your fibers wafting from the room. You evangelized your rancid agenda and spread it throughout my room. A beast of smell, there you sat proudly, smirking at the work of your hands.

You were an enemy beyond my wildest dreams. A creature lurking in the depths of the nose. An odor I could taste, it lingered, it languished in my mind into paranoia. And that was what it was living with you after your second wash, you monster.

I tried to live with you, accept you for your true form but the stench of your dye was a war cry of all that comes from you. You lead the charge of fashion’s destruction of our peace. Rust is your form. Toxic, destructive, you had to go.

I thought you were going to win. Even with you out of my room, your smell lingered. A nightmare with no end. Burnt, acrid, copper pennies, a smell that dries out the senses like the desert of Fury Road. Why must you torment me?

You gaslit me. A smell that lived on. The towels held on to your evil. Third wash, a scream at the growing wall of your fortress. A sinister scent crept, it jumped from the towels to anything washed them with. An evil baked in. Will this nightmare end? What do you want from me? An enemy without logic but hungry for conquest.

The stench was set into the fiber of your being and I played right into your trap for revenge. Foolishly I gave you more to feed on, as I looked in sadness at the towels helplessly smelly lying on the floor. Could they be saved? How far would your campaign of olfactory pain carry on?!

Your rusty threads were a root system taking hold of me. I could feel them choking me in my dreams. A smell that could not be forgotten. A creature unwilling to die. An assassin of fiber. Mutated from fast fashion’s evil realm.

One day, when io began to lose all hope, a bright light, like a sword dropping from the heavens came to me. A plan. I hurried before you could imprison me forever in your devilish arms, running towards the light. I had to dispose of you and your ground zero stank.

With all my might, I held back your reach, your scaly hands from taking the towels with you. A splash of white vinegar. A bottle of vinegar. I drowned your sinister stench, I killed it in the name of all that is good and pleasing, fresh air rejoiced for the freedom to exist again.

Although you are dead and buried somewhere far away, I worry you’ll come back with your creeping stench. Rusty twill of my nightmares…I think you might be alive.

Summer Knitting Plans

Going into June, after being in a yarn stash busting low-buy for the first half of 2024, I knew I wanted to break away from the acrylic in my stash and go for something lighter. In preparation, I watched a summer yarn review from NE Knits (I recommend her channel) to get a lay of the land for these lighter yarn and the best projects in her opinion to make with them.

Now if you look at my summer pickups below, they don’t really match what I thought I would buy based on her review. I gleaned a ton of fiber knowledge from her video that I plan to apply to future purchases (and one I already did from Knit Picks) to try silk, linen, and bamboo yarn.

As far as what I am actually working on this summer, these were capricious finds from the sale and clearance bins, as well as one destashed lot from my mom. Going into these purchases, I knew what to expect from some because of NE Knits review which helped me lower my expectations of one brand that has led to me being pleasantly surprised. It also helped me get in a good mindset for shopping so that I browsed with intention instead of reckless abandon. Let’s get into it!

Big Twist Cotton in Blueberry Speckle

Based on the online reviews, Big Twist Cotton is not a fan favorite, which is probably why these balls of cotton yarn were marked down to $0.97/107 yard skeins. This blend of 85% cotton and 15% polyester in composition is delightfully soft and easy to knit up. I instantly felt in love with the dye work on this yarn. It looks like blueberry ice cream! There were 10 balls of yarn left at my local store so I gathered the lot in hopes of making a long sleeve knit tee. The label calls for 11 balls to make a sweater so I hope it pans out because this project is stitching together so well! The fabric it makes feels cozy, breathable and like a garment I will enjoy wearing in multiple seasons.

I’m currently 6 skeins into the project, wrapping up the back panel. I’m about to split for the neck and shoulder pieces. Next I’ll split the remaining 4 balls of yarn between two sleeves and sew up. I’m knitting on size 6 needles.

Lion Brand Comfy Cotton Blend in Chai Latte

This set of yarn was an unexpected plan, but was graciously given to me by mom from her de-stashing project we worked on over the fourth of July weekend. It is a yarn that I was familiar with but as a knitting novice, I didn’t understand how to use at the time. It has a blend of colors that somewhat stripe and somewhat cluster throughout the stitches to make a knit fabric that resembles a meadow or hillside dotted in flowers.

Instead of calling this color way “chai latte” I prefer ‘seashell’ for its subtle variations of creams, a soft peach, and a purple-gray that is reminiscent of the variety of seashell colors you find washed up on the sand. I get distracted as I knit, looking at how the colors deposit across the rows. It’s a beautiful play on highlight and shadows.

I am currently knitting a cardigan, unless I change my mind to a sleeveless sweater dress, time will tell. I enjoy the weight of the yarn, the only thing I don’t enjoy is how the strands split whilst knitting them. It’s caused me to drop stitches and have some messy yarn work. In spite of that it is comfy, cozy, and a lovely yarn to behold. I have 5 balls of 392 yards that is a wonderful amount of yarn to be gifted. I’m knitting on size 7 needles.

Big Twist Cotton in Sea Glass

This yarn is vibrant and exciting – I can’t wait to get started on this project. It was on the same sale as Blueberry Speckle and is the same composition and yardage. I bought 12 balls of yarn for 1274 yards in total. I am planning to make a garment, probably a knit shirt because I’d like to knit more basics. If not a shirt a very short sleeveless sweater dress. This colorway combines my favorite shades and looks like salt water taffy. It was a win-win of a find!

This kind of blend I have been wanting to try again since I bought a blend like this as my first knitting project after a 5 year knitting hiatus. I ended up leaving the project as a UFO (unfinished object) and I regret that decision. I’m excited to see what comes of this multi-color blend and how I will style it once its done. I plan to knit my garment on size 6 needles.

Loops & Threads Everyday Cotton Yarn in Peacock

This was my first yarn purchase of the summer, a pick up during a big week, the week of our closing and this was definitely a stress purchase. I was wanting a new project to distract myself with and I’d say I got what I paid for. This yarn is not my favorite. It dyed the ends of my bamboo needles. I have actually taken my first project off the needles and put it back in my stash because I was so frustrated.

This was on sale for $1.99 per 120 yard skein and I bought 8 balls. I’m not certain what I’m going to make with it because of the dye transfer issue. I had originally thought of a knit top. I’ve also brainstormed a skirt, a bag, and wash clothes, but again the dye transfer. Will it stop after the first wash? I’ll have to try and find out.

Overall, I was dissatisfied with my experience with Michael’s this time. They did not give me the remnant price for the end of the bolt I purchased and their yarn seems subpar to Joann Fabrics and Walmart. It was also more expensive for both yarn and fabric with the fabric being but not fantastic. I think I’ll stick to Michael’s art supplies next time.

Eddie Bauer Cotton Adventurer in Blue Bird

This delicate yarn was an unexpected sale find with a yarn weight more like a fingering yarn for socks. It was an exciting and affordable way to plan a delicate project while seeing the yarn in person. I love this shade of blue and think a cardigan would be a great piece to make from this yarn. It’s lightweight and natural fiber should allow this finished garment to used almost 12 months a year. It seems gimmicky when I see clothing brands put out a yarn collection, but these skeins of “adventurer cotton” felt like good quality that I would purchase without the fancy label.

I haven’t worked with this yarn yet but plan to knit this with size 5 needles or possibly smaller if needed. I don’t want an open weave. I bought 6 skeins with 344 yards per ball in fingering weight yarn. If I like this yarn I think fingering weight will be a permanent fixture in my stash because I have plans to learn sock making.

Final Thoughts

Now, this can’t be a complete review because I haven’t worked with all the yarns I purchased yet, but I do have some takeaways from this experience. I highly recommend watching yarn reviews. Not because you have to take their word as law, but it was great inspiration. It helped me go into this season of knitting with ideas of what I wanted to look at. I went into the yarn store with a plan and took the time to read fiber content, examine the yarn weight and needle size, and to be particular about what I was buying.

My original plan without the clearance finds, was to buy Coboo instead of Truboo based on NE Knits suggestion of how the yarn knitted up. I took the time to look at each version and decided that Truboo also seemed like a better yarn for my needs. If it had been on sale I would have purchased but the price compared to some of the other finds did not make sense at the time.

I bought a yarn that was not reviewed well by customers because of the under $1 price per skein and because I wanted more time to practice with cotton yarn. That made sense to me before I splurge on a Coboo, a Truboo, and eventually a mulberry silk or linen for summer. More experience was my tipping point. So far I haven’t found the Big Twist Cotton to split like the reviews said, I hope this stays true for the rest of my projects.

This was the most organized I’ve been for a knitting shopping trip and a knitting season of project planning. I liked having a plan for each project, as silly as that sounds because I don’t believe I over bought which is important to me since the storage in my new studio is tricky at the moment. I don’t want to be overrun with materials. If you are a knitter or crocheter I hope this mini-review is helpful for your future projects, or that you just enjoyed the yarn content. If you are not a yarn junkie I hope this was still fun, I appreciate you being here and taking the time to read my blog. Have a wonderful day ❤

Potato Technology S/S 2024 Dress Collection

This collection is a combination of new items that I self-drafted and made this year and two dresses that I made in previous years that gave a refresh for a new garment. The ability to change up my wardrobe from existing items in my closet is one of my favorite aspects of sewing!

L to R: Bunny Swing Dress with Puff Sleeves, Heatwave Dress with Buttons, Plaid for Days Jumper Dress, Loyalty-Respect-Banana! Pinafore Dress, Blueberry Print T-shirt Dress, Potato Technology’s Strawberry Dress for 2024, Liz’s Shirtwaist Dress in Red Currant, A Classic Little Pink Dress in Polka Dot, Regina Phalange Dress with Lace Stripe

L to R Fabric: Joann Fabric Easter Collection (2024), Vintage Deadstock from my Gram’s Quilting Stash, Mood Fabrics and Hobby Lobby (2022), Joann Fabric Curious George Licensed (2024), Vintage Deadstock from my Gram’s Quilting Stash, Hobby Lobby and Joann Fabrics(2023), Mood Fabrics (2022), Vintage Deadstock from my Gram’s Quilting Stash, Joann Fabric Halloween Collection (2023)

#57 – Home

Two months later, I’d say I’m finally settling back into a home again. As I get used to this new place, this unexpected blessing, these have been some of my favorite views. First off is the view out of my sewing room into the backyard. I like the trees, the green, the sky. It reminds me of where we used to live in Meadville before things went sideways. Moving to our current town, I liked the safety, like Stars Hollow, but the townies and their tightly wound suburban ways were not my vibe. Seeing all this green instead of houses, cars, etc, it’s just more chill, and because of that it is slowly becoming one of my favorite sites.

Secondly, is the sight of this pegboard organizer hung up and filled with sewing notions and little hints of K-pop. I’ve been waiting since Christmas 2021 to hang this up, and our house has the right kind of walls to support it. Packing up my K-pop posters and sewing tools was the saddest part of moving. I felt like I was packing up part of myself, not to be dramatic, but you know when you find something you are so passionate about and it becomes an extension of yourself? Making clothes has become that part of me. Seeing all my tools back, ready to create, it feels like home.

The third has been painting. Painting has been something we’ve wanted the chance to do again for years now, but not as a job, painting for ourselves. When Kyle and I met painting at our local colleges was our summer job and since graduating, it’s been less and less of a thing in our lives. But the act of cutting in and rolling walls is so nostalgic! I’ve wanted to go bold if I got the chance to make a house my own and this green did not disappoint me. Excited to see how the rest of the room pulls together once we’re done painting, and actually how the whole house does eventually once we paint it all. That will be a process.

Before
After

Fourth is this view from my kitchen and front porch. I love sunsets and the previous rental had obscured views from the crowded block. I’m happy to be a bit less incorporated so that the beautiful sun as it dips lower and lower in the sky can show us its vivid splendor in the sky. With these few little moments, this house is starting to feel like home and I am incredibly grateful.

To Bridget, Just As She Is: Accepting My Neurodivergence

One of my favorite scenes from Bridget Jones’ Diary is the dinner party at Bridget’s flat where she makes the blue soup and assorted congealed things. Despite the chaos and mishaps where she is authentically herself, Bridget’s friends and Mark Darcy toast her effort – “To Bridget…who we love…just as she is.”

In many ways, I identify with Bridget. I am a chaos monster who tries my hardest to not mess up, yet I do. I am a bit awkward, a bit of a goofball, I often feel out of place with who I think I should be compared to who I am if I am just myself. I spent most of my twenties trying to be someone I was not because I thought I needed to change to fit in. I wanted to succeed in life and my relationships, without getting to the root of why I felt like a weirdo.

Self-Reflection and Seeking Wise Counsel

I mentioned before that I discovered I was neurodivergent this spring because of the eclipse. I see now how poignant that timing was as my life would transform from April to July. Everything changed overnight, like everything, my relationship with my parents, my marriage, my living situation, my mental health, and the current direction of my life.

All for the better I can say with relief because life doesn’t always go that way. I see now that if I hadn’t been prepared for this season of life, things may not have changed for the better, my life could be in shambles instead.

Being unaware of my neurodivergent personality traits, caused me to feel uncomfortable, overwhelmed, and in a place of survival instead of feeling steady, relaxed, and open to the adventures life has for us. Changes seemed unbearable. Trust unthinkable. Faith was hard to find. I fought it, resisted letting go of control, and let God fully take the lead of what I was worried about.

Unbeknownst to me as to why I would need to brush up on wisdom, I felt led to study Proverbs at the beginning of 2024, and through this study, I was challenged to grow and broaden my approach to how I live life. To seek out wisdom, to prepare for things before they come in faith, to be fruitful with my time, and to guard my heart and mind from toxic patterns.

It was not an easy task, I really like wasting time and worrying about things that I can’t control. I can also be a negative person, instead of focusing on things that are positive and helpful, I’d circle down spirals of negative, snarky, toxicity. This kept me from seeing forgiveness, and being a cooperative person in my relationships, and made me too afraid to step out on faith for what God was planning for me. I needed to renew my mind!

God putting neurodivergence on my heart to look into opened so many doors, I see now, to understanding myself, my relationships, and what I truly want out of life. So as chaos descended in April, I was incredibly thankful that God went ahead of me and gave me such tools of understanding to navigate the big and scary things that were on the horizon.

Fights and Communication

A week before I learned that I was going to need a buy a house or move, my mom and I had a terrible fight. Like a really strange unavoidable fight like we were two asteroids on a crash course with each other.

At the time I was hurting and confused but through the fight, we actually accomplished huge milestones in communication. We placed new healthy boundaries and were brave enough to be honest with each other about what we needed. I was honest about my neurodivergence afterward because of the new safe space we created.

I didn’t know at the time but I had needed that safe space for a long time, over a decade, and I was going to need it immediately as my life was going to be in upheaval with the move and house-buying process.

Having my mom as my confidant, my buddy, and my raft in stormy seas, was exactly what I needed. It was incredible. From chaos to order. That’s how God works.

In the same way, understanding my neurodivergence helped me draw closer to Kyle, finally being able to communicate what I needed and how we could work together and support each other more effectively. It was something we were going to need to be able to work in sync to determine what we were going to do. If we planned to rent a new place or purchase a house, and if so, where? I can see now how all these little things were woven together to make these steps in faith easier because I sought out wisdom and prepared before the trial came.

Bridget, Just as She is

When things got tough, chaotic, and tricky for me to navigate as a highly sensitive person, neurodivergent, and struggling to navigate the change without feeling overstimulated and scared, I didn’t have to explain how I was feeling. Kyle, my mom, and Scott my dad were one step ahead and ready to catch me as I stumbled. Most importantly God was with me every step of the way, and it was incredible to feel His love through the people around me.

As we moved through the process, the move, the closing, the navigating the weird limbo between renting and buying, the move-in, etc. This wonderful, gentle landing place was there for me through the love of my family and friends and around me, the sensitivity toward what I needed. They made me feel loved and worthy through my vulnerable moments, encouraged me when I was feeling low, and comforted me when this world felt too big and too much for me.

I am forever grateful for this journey because I feel secure like I’m on solid ground again. I don’t feel like a weirdo anymore that needs to change to succeed. I feel ready for this world. Okay with who I am and not afraid to be myself because I am a little different.

I have accepted myself for who God created me to be, differences and all. My loved ones have reinforced this. I see this came together so seamlessly because I first sought wisdom, which helped me figure out what I needed from my relationships, and most importantly I learned to give my loved ones a chance to be there for me.

Letting people in is hard. It can also be incredibly rewarding. So is taking the time to encourage, accept, and support people who you love. When a community comes together, amazing things truly do happen, even on the smallest scale.

I challenge you to seek out wise counsel, self-reflection, and healthy boundaries, and find the people who love you just as you are. Be brave and let people see the real you. Be even more brave and support others, a random act of kindness goes a long way! For example on Saturday, my mom reached out and held my hand when we were in a big crowd. That small gesture reminded me that all the overstimulation I was feeling, was temporary and it was going to be okay.

Thank you, dear reader, for spending time with me today. ❤

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