Tomorrow is my birthday and this week I was blessed by the birthday fairy every single day with a treat! Monday’s arrival was magical. Let me share with you the daily progress of Herman the Birthday Dinosaur.
Category: Jamie’s Creative Life
Visiting the Toronto Botanical Gardens
When I was a little girl, no matter where we travelled, my mom always made sure that we stopped at the local gardens. I don’t remember being excited or bored by these outings. They were just something we did. It was only a few years ago, when I saw a little girl dancing in her own little world at the Rose Garden in Portland, that I realized what a formative experience my early garden visits had been. All the feelings of ease, freedom, magic and joy returned in a rush. Maybe we’re less like to remember the gentle joys. But now I remember.
I remember.
Since then, I’ve made sure to continue my mom’s tradition, always with camera in hand. (I learned that from my mom too!) And so on the perfect day in September, it seemed only right that Justin and I discover the gardens in our very own city. We hopped on the bus and headed out to the Toronto Botanical Gardens.
It was a blue-sky day sprinkled with yellow leaves.
The perfect day for gentle chats and meandering…
For a slow pace and a deep breath…
For following magical pathways…
And meditating on beauty.
The Toronto Botanical Gardens includes a learning garden and when we were there, plenty of children were running about, getting their hands in the dirt and discovering. I smiled thinking how this experience would become a part of their history, perhaps a part of who they would become, just as my early garden visits had with me.
It was a delight to take in the beauty of flowers as we walked.
But the real stars of the show this fall were the trees.
Oh, the trees.
One of the things I truly love about Toronto it is that in this bustling urban centre there are places like this.
I absolutely had to bring some beauty home with me! A visit to the lovely gift shop had me delighting in parrot tulip bulbs. I’ve planted them in my little back garden and, squirrels willing, they’ll infuse the beauty of the gardens into our own backyard next spring.
What are your garden memories?
October Cats in the Hood
I have always loved cats and I’m always delighted to make a new friend. Luckily for me, I seem to meet them everywhere I go! I’ve decided to capture these precious moments with my camera in a series called #catsintheood.
Learning to Sew: Braving the Fabric Store
I find it incredibly odd and perfectly true that stores can be intimidating. An invisible barrier often exists between the newcomer and the world within, especially with stores that represent something aspirational and/or that cater to a special interest that stirs our hearts but in which we lack knowledge and expertise. For a newbie, stepping into an art store, a music store or a yarn store, for example, is like treading on foreign soil on a hero’s quest, not knowing the lay of the land or speaking the language. It’s easy to feel lost and overwhelmed.
That’s how I felt about going to a fabric store.
I’ve recently decided to open the door to sewing and my first mission was to choose a pattern and buy some fabric. Though I spent ages searching and exploring online (the perfect beginning when something feels intimidating), I knew that at some point I had to actually go into a store! Scary! So here’s my top tip for finding the courage to cross the border into the unknown: bring an adventure buddy! I enlisted my sister Shannon, who has studied fashion and knows a thing or two about fabrics!
We decided to go to the closest store, nothing high-end or special, just the most straightforward nearby spot we could find. It ended up being that perfect level of “generally we ignore you and let you do your own thing but you can bother us when you need something.” Perfect.
First: Picking a Pattern
From the time the idea of sewing came to me, I knew I wanted a simple little tunic dress, something I’d wear with tights, something creative and comfortable, something easy to make and easy to wear. This is what I found: McCall’s Fashion Star Pattern 6553. I’m taking the pink dot on the package that says “Easy” at its word! We shall see.
Next: Choosing Fabric
With so many choices it seemed to me that one of the joys of sewing is making something tailored to your own taste (and eventually to your own body). This was strongly reinforced when I Googled people’s finished results with this particular pattern. Have a look. What a range! I especially like this one.
Immediately I was taken with how all of these people had created something that was both exactly the same and completely different. They all began with the same pattern and ended up with something unique and personal. This is one of my very favourite things about creativity – that dance of form and freedom, of function and expression, of earth and fire.
In this aspect, sewing reminded me of the theatre, something I do know and love. Different players perform the same play and it will always always be different. At its core, Hamlet will always be Hamlet, but it will also be alive with the energy, the thoughts, the creativity, the vision of a particular group of people in a particular place at a particular time. As an actor and a director, I know what it is like to ground myself first in a script, letting it guide me and also inspire my own imagination.
Maybe that would help me with sewing too: to start with finding ground in its creative constraints.
Creative Constraints
Fabric Type: One constraint in sewing is that each pattern is best made within a range of particular fabrics, mostly because of how they flow and sew. My pattern outlined the types of fabrics I should be choosing from. If I hadn’t been with Shannon, this would have been a time to ask for help because even with the descriptions of “Double Knits, Cotton Knits, Gabardine, Suiting Fabrics” I wouldn’t have been sure what to look for. Note: Lesson Learned. On the outside of the pattern there was no indication of the width of fabric I needed in order to have room to place my pattern pieces. This resulted in me not having enough. This is another detail that would be great to confirm at the store.
Price: Another constraint when it comes to choosing fabric is price. To stay within your budget, be sure to check your pattern for how much fabric you need and then do the math as you look at your options. It was quickly clear to me that sewing wasn’t going to be about saving money.
Availability: Once I narrowed down my fabric options by type and price, I chose from what was there. I knew that this time around I wasn’t going to visit dozens of fabric stores or do massive online searches. This was my first project and I had a timeline for starting so I would be working with what was available, here and now.
Creative Freedom & Inspiration
Once the constraints were handled, it was time to have fun and get inspired! Shannon and I had a great time looking at options. The colours, the textures, the patterns – oh my! Right away I could see how a trip to the fabric store could become an artist’s date. Everywhere you looked there were fascinating design choices, colour stories and themes!
I found myself gravitating immediately and repeatedly to a gorgeous floral in dynamic contrasting tones of red and green! It was a major divergence from my favoured greys, whites and blacks and my love of monochromatic colour stories with blues, pinks and purples. I tend to live on one side of the colour wheel and this wasn’t it!
Lesson Learned Note: From years of clothes shopping, including at all sorts of vintage and secondhand shops, I’ve learned it’s important to pay attention not only to what pleases your eye but also to what you love to wear. There are many gorgeous colours you’ll find on my painting palette that you won’t find in my closet!
Having said that, I choose the red and green. Being unattached to the result of this very first project allowed me the freedom to be playful. I’ll be pleased if this dress simply comes together. I’ll be delighted if it fits. I’ll be over the moon if I can wear it even for one filming of stART or the Behind the Scenes! And then, if I feel like I enjoyed myself, if I feel like this is something I’m interested in and that this is a dress that I’d really like, I’ll go buy some tweedy charcoal grey, something that feels right at home in my wardrobe. And maybe by then, I’ll also be feeling more at home at the fabric store.
Learning to Sew: The Adventure Begins
I’ve always loved fashion. I remember the clothes I wore as a girl like they were dear friends. The pink blouse with the pleated sleeves that ballooned dramatically. The red button-down shirt with glorious ruffles down the front. The thinly striped yellow peasant skirt that I would hike up in front for dancing. The red alphabet shirt my mom sewed for me the night before picture day so that I could have something new to wear.
My mom sewed.
I have so many memories of tucking into her sewing closet and spending hours upon hours hidden away amidst the piles of fabrics and pattern books. I’d flip the huge pages of these weighty tomes deciding for every single outfit which options I preferred: this collar, that length, this sleeve. I’d run my hands over the fabrics, taking in their textures, immersing myself in their colours. Creative heaven.
But sewing? No.
Maybe it was because when we were little my younger brother played with the sewing machine and the needle went right through his finger.
Maybe it’s because I missed the lessons in Home Ec where they showed you how to use the machine and so every class I felt bewildered and lost.
Sewing was not for me.
But this year I was was reading Lisa Congdon’s blog and came across her Sewing Odyssey in which she commits to a year of not buying any new clothes but rather sewing and upcycling. I looked at her cute dresses over tights and great boots and thought, maybe I could do that. An unexpected seed was planted.
I started to wonder what it might be like to sew. Would I still feel the same way? Would it surprise me? Would it be worth trying just to break through the barrier of “that’s not for me”?
I found myself mentioning it to people, this curiosity I had, this wondering. One thing I’ve come to know about myself is that when I hear myself saying something out loud that’s a sure sign I’m about to do it!
When I asked my Auntie Laima for advice on sewing machines (I was just looking for a little beginner clunker I could try out), a door opened. She invited me to come over the her house to learn. She’d introduce me to the sewing machine and help me get started. Oh! What a gift!
How could I say no?
So, I’ve said yes to this adventure and I’m so curious where it will take me. I’m stepping into a whole new realm of creativity, one that for decades I thought wasn’t for me. I’m going to learn to sew. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Is a new creative adventure calling your name?
Is there a realm of creativity that you thought wasn’t for you but maybe, just maybe it is?
Confident Travelling: Utrecht
After Amsterdam we took a day to visit with Justin’s family, sharing dinner and lively conversation at his Aunt’s home. It was so wonderful to hear family stories and shared memories. A quiet day gave us a chance to get our energy back before our next outing and adventure: Utrecht.
Confident Traveller Tip: Consider taking a gentle day to relax and drink in local life when you travel. The world is vast and we can’t see everything. Slowing down a bit here and there can help us be present with what we do get to, especially if we’re highly sensitive people!
Justin and I liked Utrecht the moment we arrived. As the day went on, we realized it was the cultural vibe of the city that was drawing us in. Later we found out that Utrecht has the second most cultural events in Holland after Amsterdam. It’s also home to the largest university in Holland and several other institutes of higher learning. We were even approached by film students who were set up in the middle of the street to interview people about their relationship to time. Too bad we didn’t have time to stop, LOL!
Having said that, our exploring in Utrecht was very relaxed, wandering here and there and discovering beauty everywhere…
From elegant statues to a giant runestone! This is a replica of one of the the Jelling Stones and was gifted to Utrecht University celebrate their 300-year anniversary in 1936. As a Canadian, that means the university is older than my country!
Beside the runestone we found a beautiful arched entryway leading to the Pandhof garden of the Dom Church.
Dating back to 1390, this beautiful spot has no doubt welcomed centuries of quiet reflection and deep conversation.
However, for deep conversation, we went out for a beer! I think we managed to stop for a beer in just about every place we went in Holland. One of the things that was quite different about Utrecht was the lower level canal and these interesting restaurants a level down by the water.
Of course, the area did have a few scallywags!
The shops in Utrecht were charming and though I don’t tend to do much shopping when I travel, this one had me stop and walk back to it after I caught sight of some beautiful handmade mugs. Thanks to my lovely father-in-law Chris, I brought one home. Now my morning koffie can bring me back to Holland anytime.
Confident Travelling: Amsterdam (Day One) Maritime Museum, Sebastian’s & Belhamel
Midway through our trip, Justin and I planned a two-day visit to Amsterdam. Along with Justin’s dad, Chris, we took the train from Den Haag and once we arrived, it didn’t take long to feel like we could have stayed for two weeks!
Our first stop was at the Maritime Museum or Het Scheepvaartmuseum , which was a delight of wonder. First we stepped onto an exact replica of the Dutch East India Company ship the Amsterdam. It seemed to me such a great adventure to brave a cross-Atlantic flight and come to Holland; I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to sail for days and days on a ship like this, perhaps to parts unknown. What an enormous amount of courage and fortitude! Perhaps that’s another reason that I found these ship decorations hauntingly beautiful.
The museum has a gorgeous exhibit of nautical instruments. I found the display spell-binding. The walls sparkled with constellations and accompanied by great explanations of how sailors used the stars to navigate. The beautiful presentation evoked a sense of mystery and wonder.
The museum also housed an impressive collection of marine paintings and again, you could feel how deeply Holland’s history and culture is tied to ships and the sea. It was fascinating that alongside this work, there was an interactive exhibit of the port as it is today, including information about actual ships and the jobs they currently do
After the Maritime Museum, Chris left us to our own devices and we spent some time simply walking , taking in Amsterdam.
We stopped for pannenkoeken and some coffee and started to think about what we might want to do during our stay.
Time to get settled and drop our stuff off in our hotel. What a delight! We booked just a few days before and risked a no-cancellation reservation to get a good price for our stay. It was our one night in the city and we wanted to pick somewhere that felt special and Sebastian’s certainly did.
Confident Traveller Hotel Recommendation: Hotel Sebastian’s in Amsterdam. We were absolutely delighted by every aspect of our experience at Sebastian’s. It’s on a lovely tree-lined canal street a bit away from the city crowds. From the moment we arrived, the staff was friendly, helpful and had great recommendations. The room was exactly as pictured on their website. It was beautiful, clean, comfortable and quiet with a great view.
One of the things Justin and I truly delight in when travelling is simply walking. We love walking through a city and getting a feel for it, looking at the buildings, the businesses, taking in the people, the fashions, the pace. Walking is a great way to get a sense of what a city is all about.
And besides, it’s the best way to find cats!
We walked down to the Amsterdam flower market and I wanted to bring everything home! Maybe that was my inspiration for planting tulip bulbs as soon as I got home!
After a full afternoon of walking in the city, it was just perfect to sit in our hotel room, open the big, beautiful windows and pour ourselves some chilled champagne. Thank you, Sebastian’s, for making our special time in Amsterdam even more magical!
The hotel also gave us a list of recommendations of nearby restaurants, ones that are off the tourist path. We chose De Belhamel and the concierge made us a reservation. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Belhamel managed to be both lively and intimate, cozy and romantic and the food was very, very good! Midway through the evening it struck me that this was exactly the evening I had dreamed of having in Paris but here it was in Amsterdam. My heart was full of gratitude and love.