Archive for March, 2013

Sewing Sunday: March Edition – Domestic Bliss

Finished Apron

For about a year now, I’ve been wanting to sew myself an apron.  I’ve been increasingly interested in the idea of the apron as a metaphor for domesticity, as well as what appears to be changing attitudes about what domestic life means to women.  I feel like so many professional, well-educated women I know (myself included) are also really embracing the trappings of homemaking, choosing to spend time cooking, sewing, baking, decorating and generally making their homes these inviting, beautiful places–all the while finding enjoyment in these domestic tasks while maintaining professional careers.  These same women also seem to frequently have an apron they love to wear and talk about as if they are extensions of themselves.  While watching Mad Men last winter, I was thinking a lot about the apron metaphor (as Betty Draper so frequently wears an apron at home), and it really made me want to have my own apron.

So yesterday I finished March’s Sewing Sunday project–an apron.  Yes, I know it wasn’t Sunday, but in my defense, I had planned to sew last Sunday, but then my body was under assault from some mighty nasty allergies.  So instead, I spent last Sunday sleeping and watching season 3 of Breaking Bad on Netflix.  Since we had plans to see my grandfather today for Easter, yesterday had to be the day to sew if I was going to get the project done by the end of March.

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Analog Work in a Digital Age

Instructions from Ray

For quite some time I’ve known–and from time to time have worked with–a man named Ray, who is quite possibly one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.  Not only does he have an encyclopedic knowledge of mechanical and industrial engineering, but he holds numerous patents, has a wonderful sense of humor and until recently, commuted back and forth from the Jersey Shore to Bethlehem, PA on a weekly basis (at what must be about the ripe old age of 90) to continue to do engineering work at Lehigh University.  This is a man who has devoted his life to problem solving and seemingly greets each day with the excitement of having another opportunity to design, to improve and to invent.  It’s quite remarkable, really.

The other thing you should know about Ray is that he doesn’t have e-mail or really use the computer.

This last point has, admittedly, caused me some frustration over the years, especially when we are working on projects together.  Although invention (and presumably, technological progress) is very much part of what makes him who he is, it seems to me that he longs for the days when phone calls and face-to-face conversations were how business got done.  I would bet that if I asked him, he would say there’s no replacement for real, live human interaction.  And that is part of what simultaneously confounds me and endears him to me.

So when he approached me about doing some design work for his latest invention, I knew that the process was going to have to work differently than it usually does for me.  It was going to be decidedly analog.

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Adventures in Upholstering

dining chair - cropped

Last winter I decided it was time to reupholster my dining room chairs.  They had been gradually deteriorating for several years, and they finally got to the point where they looked so miserable that it was time to do something about them.  My dining room furniture belonged to my paternal grandparents, and it’s this interesting mid-century Danish modern design.  I had been considering getting rid of the chairs because the needed a little structural help in addition to their upholstery woes, but Ben thought their design was unique enough that I should hold onto them.  After doing a little research on Danish modern design, I found a dining room set very similar to mine listed on eBay for somewhere around $1500.  It was enough to convince me that I should probably hang onto the full set and just give the chairs a little facelift.

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