North African flavors

I've been intrigued and inspired by the flavors of North Africa since I visited Paris' Quartier Latin as a teenager. Since then, I've had the pleasure of traveling to Morocco for a couple months, and always seek out North African restaurants wherever I live and travel. This weekend I tried out a couple new recipes that were both simple and delicious. Above is a Moroccan-style potato and egg sandwich, mid-preparation. When I saw this recipe, it made me think of going on a late night sandwich run with my travel-mate to this place where you could get egg sandwiches stuffed with french fries. The perfect late night guilty pleasure. I seasoned the potato-onion-pepper mixture with a liberal amount of cumin, salt and pepper, and a good dash of cayenne. It was perfect, easy to prepare, inexpensive, and something I am sure to return to when I'm seeking comfort food.


Last night, in the interest of making more of my own bread, I prepared Flatbread with Dukka. Dukka is an Egyptian spice and nut blend that I came across in Australia--apparently it is pretty popular there--I had never heard of it in the US. I bought a small pouch of dukka at Herbie's in Sydney, but had yet to open it. This recipe seemed like the perfect way to sample the dukka and make some simple homemade bread. It turned out delicious, crunchy in some areas, softer in others, and the warm nutty spice blend sprinkled over the top. Also very good for breakfast!

Minimalist giveaway #2

I used a random number generator to choose the winner of last week's pattern giveaway, and the winner is....

Mama Gina of Associated Bag!

Thanks everyone for stopping by and entering. This week's giveaway will also feature vintage patterns, but this time for you knitters:


First up is "All Time Favorites to Knit and Crochet" a pattern book from 1967 (I had to use a Roman numeral converter to figure this out from Copyright MCMLXVII!). This booklet features a lot of coats, some dresses and sweaters, a hat and a few items for men. Some of the pictures are truly priceless. The second pattern is a pattern copy I purchased from yesterknits. It is a Patons pattern from Great Britain (hence will have British terms and needle sizes) and looks to also be from the 60s.

This giveaway will run for one week (til Saturday 17 January). Please leave a comment below to enter--one per person, and you must leave some way for me to contact you (blog, email, ravelry id, etc) or your comment will not be entered. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Vintage Pattern Thursday

This week: the good, the interesting, and the funny.

Mail order pattern 4906 from the 50s or 60s? I adore that neckline, and love the button detailing on the front and back. I'm seriously tempted to get this for myself, as I think it could be the right size...but I'm not sure if I'm sassy enough to pull this look off!

I've been intrigued by this and other similar wrap dresses for some time. From the looks of it, you don't need to do any real sewing--just attaching the fabric at the shoulders, and finishing the edges. It looks pretty cute, but I always wonder how well it stays closed--I mean, wrap skirts can be tricky enough, but a wrap dress? Simplicity 7572, 1960s.

And lastly, I couldn't help myself! I guess I've never seen a pattern for men's undies before. Do they still exist? I just love the pattern art on this one--like you just happen to be catching these guys since they wouldn't dare pose voluntarily. Simplicity 1960 from 1947.

Note to self

Make every future project in a delicious shade of Kaffe Fassett's Shot Cotton (seen above in Grass). The warp and weft are two different colors, which gives the fabric this gorgeous richness and variation. I love love love it. The color above was purchased for an upcoming top secret project. If this is any indication, it will likely be stunning.

New year, new sewing

It seems like every time I'm away from my machine for a while, all of a sudden I get this urgent need to sew. It happened again over the holidays, and so upon my return I immediately started working on McCall 5658. Normally, I'm a fairly conservative dresser, so one-shouldered dresses seem a bit flashy to me, but I've seen a few really great ones lately, and I like my shoulders, so I figured why not give one a try?

My original idea was to use some vintage yellow drapes from my stash to make the skirt, to fashion something like I talked about oh so long ago. I learned a lot while making this dress. Lesson 1: I am not currently capable of working with anything but woven cotton. Try as I might, this vintage fabric was far too fussy for me. By the time I realized this, I had already made the bodice in black cotton sateen, so I searched my fabric stash for something else that might work. I finally settled on a black print with tan and purple that I bought in Cameroon many years ago. Although I was never in love with this fabric, I bought 6 yards, since that is how fabric is sold there. It was among the most muted fabrics I could find, so at the time I figured it would be easier to work into my American wardrobe.

In Cameroon, people regularly wear the same boldly patterned fabric from head to toe--I find this a bit overwhelming on myself, but while making this dress I learned lesson 2: my somewhat bold African prints could totally work as the skirt to a dress with a solid colored bodice. I actually really like this look, and I especially like that the busy fabric is not near my face--I think you can get away with a lot more in a skirt.


I'm still struggling with fit issues--both in knitting and sewing. And I think the big culprit is ease. I picked my size based on my measurements, and trusted the pattern company and their idea of the appropriate amount of ease. I was a bit skeptical of 2 inches of ease on a bodice that really needed to be fitted, but I went with it anyway. Sure enough, the bodice is pretty huge on me, which almost works, but any wrong move could result in a wardrobe malfunction.


The tricky part is that the skirt seems to have the right amount of ease--I think I'm going to have to cut a different size in the bodice than the skirt next time.


Despite the fit issues, I'm actually very happy with this dress. I think it looks cute, is both a bit dressy and very unique, used up some of my stash fabric, and best of all--I think this was my best sewing yet! I am most proud of my zipper. Although it's not perfect (still a few puckers, and wonky stitching near the top) it is light years ahead of my last zipper. My secret? I used this wonderful tutorial at Sew Mama Sew that has you glue the zipper in place before top stitching. Genius!! And thank goodness, I found a washable glue stick in the house I'm subletting! This experience has been very encouraging--unlike many other previous failed sewing projects. I think I'm starting to make progress.

Next up, I'd like to make several dresses from one pattern in order to perfect a basic dress that fits me well. I've chosen New Look 6824. It has a great 1960s vibe, and many options that I really like.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Minimalist giveaway

Over my holiday in Chicago, I was thinking a lot about minimalist living. Now, this is something that is frequently on my mind, and I've probably mentioned this here before. I think what triggered this latest stream of thoughts was a visit to my friend TG's house. She has this great minimalist decoration thing going on in her apartment. Her furnishings are all very nice--and mostly unique vintage pieces and artwork--and I think you notice their uniqueness all the more because each stands on its own, free from clutter. I am constantly torn between wanting to have only the bare minimum in possessions, and my love of stuff--especially unique vintage finds, and items I picked up while traveling the world. That being said, I know that I have a lot of things in my life that I don't actually need, and can part with, and so I think it's time to do a little spring cleaning.

Luckily for you, I've decided to offer some great things as giveaways here on my blog! I'm hoping to do this semi-regularly (perhaps even weekly) but won't commit to a time frame since I know my schedule will become very hectic shortly.

M I N I M A L I S T G I V E A W A Y # 1

Free to a good home is this sewing pattern from 1967. It makes an A-line dress with either a side-tied collar, or round collar. The pattern is uncut, and appears to still be factory folded. Instructions are complete, pattern appears complete. The pattern is size 16, bust 36. It's a great pattern, but it's not the right size for me, and I don't love it enough to figure out the alterations.


Rules:
-leave a comment below to enter the giveaway--one comment per person, please.
-you MUST give me some way to contact you (email address, blog, flickr, whatever).
-a winner will be chosen at random in one week (1/10/09).

feel free tell your friends!

Vintage Pattern Thursday

Things I love.

Bold, earthy patterns paired with golden yellow accents. (Butterick 2978, 1960s)

Subtle, dark lace and soft, flattering lines (Butterick 2636, 1960s)

Feminine necklines, softly gathered skirts, skinny belts and sparkly fabric (Vogue 4848, 1957)