Café Dictator, and a heart-wrenching letter

To my lovely, lovely followers,
You may have noticed (though of course you're excused if you haven't) that the frequency and quality of TwilightTree posts have been declining of late. Alas, with the unexpected chance of full-time work and half my friends getting married (okay, two of them), I've been giving my time to other priorities.

I think, therefore, it's time to take a break. Don't fret, though; this isn't goodbye. I do like blogging. But I like to be able to do it properly, and I've really been cutting corners this summer. So I am going to take a blogging vacation, and you may expect to see me again, refreshed and renewed, with quality pictures and useful tutorials and whatever else it is I do around here.

And I will not leave you bereft! As a parting gift, here is a poem I wrote last week but couldn't put on the blog because I was overcome with shyness. But now... why worry? If anyone is offended, I won't be here to know about it!

Café Dictator
For Trevelyan and Fawaaz, who began the rhymes

Welcome, welcome to Café Dictator.

From Louis to Vader I’ve catered to all.

Young Alex the Greater,

Old Sulla the traitor,

They’ve whined and they’ve dined in this hallowed hall.

They come for the fish—

It’s my signature dish—

Just ask Mr. Stephen the waiter.

I’ve flayed and filleted her

And later I’ll plate her

To serve with a side

Of some fried green tomaters.

I’ve served Mr. Il, who is partial to eel,

Though Franco is fonder of gator.

I always stock blini to serve Mussolini,

A big salad platter for Rome’s Imperator

(who nevertheless just gets fatter and fatter)

And roots in the cellar each fall

‘Cause Stalin has fallen in love with my ‘taters

And carrots and onions make Amin stand straighter.

They all find their way to me sooner or later,

These men who hold so many nations in thrall.

The food is delicious,

The clients malicious,

And we serve it MY way at Café Dictator.

Super-Speedy House Dress

There are times when you just don't want to wear clothes. At least not real clothes - the kind you could wear to work. But you still have to be decent, because there are other people in the house, or outside the windows. This has been my dilemma lately.

And this is my easy, comfy solution, made with an old top and some leftovers from a T-shirt blanket:

Super-Speedy House Dress

You need:

A comfy T-shirt that fits

A few sleeves from long-sleeved knit shirts

To Sew:

Cut off the cuff and seams of the sleeves. Sew them together in a wide strip with the narrow ends together. I used a serger, but a zigzag stitch on a standard machine should work. The tapering of the sleeves will give your skirt a gentle flare.

Measure the circumference of your T-shirt's bottom edge (if the T-shirt is hemmed, cut off the hem first). You want the top of your skirt panel to measure the same as that circumference. For me it took three and a half sleeves to reach the right length.

Sew together the edges of your skirt panel so that it is a tube (or basically a skirt with no waistband).

With right sides together, slip the T-shirt inside the skirt. Sew them together around the circular edge.

Unfold the skirt and, if you like, hem it.

Wear your comfy new dress and stop worrying about what the neighbours think!