I'm Obsessed With:

...these British Pathé short films.

Just search for "fashion" and set the decade for the 1940s, and it's a wonderful historical resource and source of inspiration.  For instance, check out this May 1945 video (I wish I could embed it, but the technology won't bend to my will).

The narrator implies that rationing will soon be over, but in fact it would be in force for another four years.  Sorry, girls--those frills and fripperies will have to wait.

(Thanks to CargoCultCraft for the link; I never would have found this amazing resource on my own!)

Autumnal Whole Wheat Pancakes, Or, Joy For Your Belly

I know it's been a while since I put up a recipe here--that's because I've been too busy to do much baking!  Teaching can really eat your life if you're not careful.  Anyway, we've been eating these pancakes at least three times a week lately.  The whole wheat gives them an excellent, chewy, dense texture, and makes them really stick to your ribs, and the apple cider lends a slight appley flavor without being overwhelming.  Give it a shot.  (This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's "Everyday Pancakes" recipe in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, my food bible.)

Autumnal Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk (plus up to 1/4 cup extra if needed)
1/2 cup apple cider
2 eggs
splash vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

extra butter for the skillet

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.  In a small bowl (or four-cup liquid measure), combine the buttermilk and cider.  Beat in the eggs, then add the vanilla and butter.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir until mostly combined (a few lumps are okay).  You should be able to pour it thickly--if it won't pour, add a little more buttermilk.

Now, put a large skillet over medium heat.  This batter can handle tiny silver-dollar pancakes or giant ones as big as your head--just cook them until the bubbles that form in the center leave little craters.  In my house, we bang the spatula against the edge of the pan every so often to pop the bubbles and see if it's ready.  When they start to get all craterfacey, flip 'em and brown the other side.  Serve hot with butter (apple butter is also a great choice), syrup, and a large glass of cold milk.

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Side note: I used homemade butter and buttermilk for this recipe, and boy howdy did it make a difference.  I found this tutorial easy to follow, and it barely took five or six minutes of shaking before the butter magically appeared!  I added a teaspoon or so of apple cider vinegar to my buttermilk, since the real stuff tastes more like skim milk than the cultured stuff from the store.  Give it a shot--you will not regret it.

I Just Keep On Amazing Myself, Sweater Edition

Dear readers, despite my previous frustration, I do seem to be making some progress on my wardrobe gaps. First off, I picked up a men's extra-large wool sweater at the Salvation Army, cut it apart, and reassembled to make this cute little number:

Sweater: men's wool sweater repurposed into a forties-style women's sweater.

Skirt: see here (I wasn't kidding when I said I wore it all the time).

Winter in the Snowiest City in New York State: A Preparatory Guide

Winter in Syracuse is cold.  It is awfully, awfully cold, and awfully, awfully snowy, and if you measure the season by "first snow to last snow" it's about five months long here.  My wardrobe has adapted appropriately: I own a pair of snow boots, and a knee-length down coat, and a warm hat with earflaps, and gloves, and a variety of scarves, and a clear zippered container full of sweater tights.

Here's a typical late-fall, early-winter outfit, not counting under-underthings (bra and panties and so forth):

Winter Wardrobe by southerlywind

Wardrobe Planning--It's a Pain in the Ass

Inspired by The Wardrobe Reimagined, I've been thinking a lot about my closet this week.  My wardrobe is fairly small, as a matter of necessity--I've moved eight times in the past five years--and my everyday wardrobe is even smaller than that.  However, there are still things I can and will get rid of, and some things I very badly need and don't have--particularly in my winter wardrobe.

Here are the things I wear at least once a week, often more (fall and winter edition):

Sad.

Tops: I have a bottomless wardrobe of stretched-out Old Navy v-neck t-shirts.  I also frequently wear this dress under skirts and sweaters, so it works as a top sort of.  I also borrow Dear Partner's extensive wardrobe of plaid flannel button-up shirts.

This Lining is Not Bagged But Is Instead Something-Elsed: A Tutorial.

Readers, I have probably not really invented a new method of lining a jacket, but I'm sure you will excuse me for wanting to claim that distinction.  I have read literally four million tutorials on how to insert a jacket lining (not really).  Not one of them made any sense to me.  As a concept, lining a jacket is even less intuitive than rolling a men's dress shirt up into a giant sausage and stitching the yokes together!

So here's what I did, for a collarless jacket with contrast lapels.  Take it with a grain of salt, because as usual I'm making it up as I go along, but hopefully this will be helpful to at least one other person!

First, assemble the lining, sleeves and all.  Press the seams open, so they lie flat against one another when the jacket and lining are sewn together, but don't bother to finish them unless you're a completist like that.  It should look like this:

Fall Essentials Sew-Along

My relationship with the rest of the sewing-blog-o-sphere is a complicated one.  I'm always stumbling across challenges or sew-alongs and thinking "wow, I'd love to do that!" and then realizing the post I'm reading is from February of 2009.  Well, this time I'm only a month and a half late, so I thought I might as well sign up anyway!  And I realized, glancing over my handy-dandy sewing spreadsheet, that I've basically already been participating (click to enlarge):