Vaute with your Wallet
Did you happen to notice my cute new winter coat in that photo with my Hawthornden fellows? I'll show you again.(Yes, I am blogging about my winter coat on the fourth of July. Ha!)
Gorgeous, right? It's also nice and warm. Best of all, it's not made of sheep!If you're one of my knitting buds, you know I've given up knitting with wool. As Victoria Moran points out in Main Street Vegan, the wool industry IS the mutton industry. Now that I've made that connection in my head, I can't un-know it. I can't de-understand it. I am ready to make better choices.Until recently, though, vegans living in cold climates didn't have very good outerwear options. Now, thanks to Leanne Mai-Ly Hilgart at Vaute Couture (pronounced "vote"), you can be snuggly, stylish, and ethical.
Rain and Stephanie at the Vaute Couture flagship store at 234 Grand Street in Williamsburg.Depending on your budget, Vaute Couture coats may be "pricey"--they are made in the NYC garment district by people who are paid fairly for what they do. You can preorder in late summer for up to 50% savings; I paid $220 for mine, which is what I'd have paid for a quality wool coat (probably made in a sweatshop) anyway. Get on their mailing list (click here and scroll to the bottom of the page) and they'll let you know when pre-orders are starting.As with anything else in life, you get what you pay for. And I feel awesome every time I put on my coat.
Photo: @Victoria_Moran looking super kind & cute in @VauteCouture! Yesterday's #MainStreetVegan class... http://t.co/y6NNuAswMn-- Stephanie Gorchynski (@CompassionAteTO) June 23, 2013
Earlier this year Vaute Couture launched their ready-to-wear line--the first all-vegan clothing line at New York City fashion week!--and it got lots of good press. I love this video.
(Amiee took this shot of me with my new Maidenhair fern at Ott's Greenhouse back in March. Have I mentioned yet how much I love this coat?)Next up: coming full circle with PETA at NYU.(See all Main Street Vegan Academy posts here.)
Main Street Vegan Academy, part 2
We kicked off Main Street Vegan Academy Tuesday evening (June 18th) with a delicious chickpea curry, DF Mavens ice cream ("the best dairy-free ice cream in the world" is no exaggeration), and a presentation by Dr. Robert Ostfeld of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Dr. Ostfeld did a great job of explaining the mechanics of heart disease in layman's terms. ("Grummus" is something you do NOT want inside your arteries, but it's such a fun word to say!) Dr. Ostfeld and nutritionist Lauren Graf offer a plant-based cardiac wellness program for their patients, many of whom are living on limited incomes. These are awesome people doing awesome work, and I know we all felt very lucky to learn more about it.Wednesday was our most lecture-filled day. First up was Marty Davey, La Diva Dietitian, who offered us a basic course in vegan nutrition, followed by special guidelines for pregnancy and children, athletes, and the elderly. Marty is very wry and witty, making the material way more engaging than it might have been. (She likes to tell teenage boys that if they stick with the standard American diet, "by the time you're 35, Mr. Happy may not be so happy!")After lunch, Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan of Our Hen House gave an impassioned and very articulate talk on animal rights and animal law (Mariann is a professor of animal rights law at Columbia and a couple other NYC schools. I really loved it when she said, "What was I thinking before the light bulb went off?", because that's how I've felt every single day since I went vegan.) If you're interested in exploring the philosophy around animal rights, their website is a great place to start. (See also Main Street Vegan Academy Will Change Your Life.)After their talk, Jasmin and Mariann were guests on Victoria's radio show, with our classmate Zachary co-hosting. We got to be the live studio audience.
Truly inspired afternoon with @Victoria_Moran & @ourhenhouse - love this candid pic of the podcast! #mainstreetvegan pic.twitter.com/tLsBIGJfvc-- Stephanie Gorchynski (@CompassionAteTO) June 20, 2013
After the radio show, Joshua Katcher of Brave Gentleman and The Discerning Brute gave an equally powerful presentation on animal cruelty in the fashion industry: fur, leather, wool, silk, and feathers. For a quick intro (no, shearing sheep isn't the same as a haircut!), check out the FAQ on his blog."We must not allow the beauty of an object to blind us to the horror of its origins."Joshua designs vegan business suits, which are manufactured in Italy. Fashion may seem frivolous on the surface, but the work he, Leanne Mai-Ly Hilgart, Jill Milan, Jaclyn Sharp, and other designers are doing is so, SO important. An estimated one billion animals annually are killed for their skins, and the undercover footage Joshua showed us almost literally made me sick.(You don't want to watch this, but you really should. This particular footage was taken at a fox farm in Illinois.)People like to think if you're going vegan you can only dress in burlap sacks, but there's absolutely no excuse to wear leather or fur when alternatives exist that are ethical, sustainable, and stylish.Wednesday evening, after a delicious avocado quinoa salad at Candle West (I skipped dessert, though I did have a bite of Marcia's cannoli and it was just as tasty as "the real thing"!) I went down to Union Square for some edible and inedible treats.Thursday morning Jennifer Gannett gave us a very practical presentation on "mixed" families (i.e., not everyone in the family wants to go vegan) and transitioning to veganism in general. That'll be really useful for those of us who will be focusing on private coaching.
Thursday lunch: carrot-pecan-coconut salad; mock tuna salad; Aztec salad with black beans, red onion, red pepper, tomato and cilantro; and a creamy dill dip. Words can't express just how much I enjoyed this meal.Thursday afternoon we took a field trip to a cute little raw food store called High Vibe, followed by Sustainable NYC and Vaute Couture. After dinner at Jivamuktea, we headed down to NYU to hear a talk by Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I'll be blogging about Vaute and the PETA lecture over the next couple of days.
More Main Street vegan fun :) #msva http://t.co/KEQAIY8hHi-- Treehousechatter (@treehousechat) June 20, 2013
(All Main Street Vegan Academy posts here.)
Treat Yo'self!
Thursday night (of vegan academy week), after a delicious dinner at Candle West with my classmates, I went down to Union Square for dessert and some browsing at one of the world's best bookstores.(That "treat yo'self!" episode of "Parks and Recreation" is the only episode I've actually seen, but I do like to quote it.)
Dairy-free dark chocolate YUM in a pretzel cone at Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Company.People sometimes have this notion that being vegan means giving up all the fun stuff. Not true at all! I enjoy a treat way more now, because I can feel good about where it came from.
As much as I enjoyed that "soft serve," browsing at the Strand was an even bigger treat. (Here's an example of something awesome I found there on a past visit.)
Delicious books! The Decomposition Notebook was a gift for a friend, but isn't that sort of a treat for myself too?(I'm almost finished with Hardcore Zen, which my friend Mike recommended to me years ago. It's a great book. I'll be blogging about it.)
I don't usually spend much time perusing the clearance books outside the store, although I do like to daydream sometimes that the Strand is still around a hundred years from now, and some NYU student finds one of my books on the dollar cart, reads it and loves it....Is that weird?
(And here is a random window shot of a store called Mantiques Modern. Ha! Love it.)(All Main Street Vegan Academy posts here.)
Petty Magic audiobook coming soon!
On Thursday night I received the Petty Magic audiobook files. EXCITING TIMES!!! The narrator's name is Kelley Hazen, and like I said before, she is astonishingly perfect for this novel. Now I just have to listen through the MP3s and make a note of any little things that need fixing. It'll be available on Audible in the near future!The audiobook cover, designed and adapted by Daniel Rembert:
More soon! [Edit: now available!!!]
Critical Thinking
I mentioned in my first post on Main Street Vegan Academy that I'm learning to think more critically. Here are two examples:
Before: Gross. I can't look at that.After: So sticking capers in a cow's corpse is art, eh? Way to obfuscate. Art is CREATION, not murder! I'm taking a photo of this for my first Powerpoint lecture.
Before: Grooooooooss.After: It's at least ninety degrees out, and who knows how long those boxes of beef and chicken have been sitting out on the sidewalk. This is a ridiculous public safety hazard; but then, you could say that of any animal flesh we choose to eat. Powerpoint!
Today in the dining hall I sat down with my friend Ryan, who was seated across from a middle-aged woman I'd never met before. We introduced ourselves, and Ryan started telling my new acquaintance (his teaching colleague) about my being a vegan. We talked about the health benefits, and Ryan (bless him!) complimented me for expressing myself and my beliefs in a non-judgmental way. I couldn't help noticing that his colleague had tunafish and a few slices of ham on her plate."What I don't like," she said, "is when they try to teach chimpanzees English, or dress dogs up in stupid outfits. As if they didn't have their own wants and needs."I'd only just met her, but I wasn't willing to let this slide. "Can I ask you something? Isn't that also true for what's on your plate--the animals that food used to be?" She bristled, but I went on, making a special effort to express myself in a calm and friendly way. "It's so interesting how we want to be kind to our dogs and cats, but then there are all these other animals we only see as food.""All right," she said as she dropped her cutlery on her half-full plate and got up to leave. "I'm done.""I'm sorry if I've offended you," I said pleasantly. (As I said this I thought of my new friend Stephanie, who says we should never apologize for speaking the truth, but in this case it was a social nicety. It's important to me that people don't feel I'm being an "angry" or "militant" vegan. If I keep my tone and demeanor light and friendly, they can't honestly accuse me of jumping down their throats—which is, of course, thoroughly counterproductive.)"You haven't offended me," she replied as she gathered her things. (Hmmmmm.)As she walked away I said, "Have a good day!" Then Ryan and I had a nice little conversation about moral consistency. And because I'm certainly not perfect either, I invited him to call me out on my own bullshit the next time he detects any (though he already knows this, I'm sure). As Marty Davey (a.k.a. La Diva Dietitian) told us in her lecture for Main Street Vegan Academy last Wednesday, it's a basic sales principle that "he who questions owns the conversation." I asked the question, and now it's up to my new acquaintance to consider it.She might just decide that I'm a jerk, though, and for the first time in my life (thank you, Victoria Moran and company!!!), I'm totally okay with that. But I do hope she'll think about it. It takes courage to examine your own entrenched beliefs, but I believe that each and every one of us is capable of it.
Main Street Vegan Academy, part 1
Where do I even begin? It was that wonderful.Last week was thoroughly life changing. I made lovely new vegan friends and colleagues, learned a TON, gained confidence, and ate some of the most delicious food EVER. I've already noticed that I'm thinking more critically and I'm more sensitive to the issues. I want to speak the truth in a loving and compassionate way, and I feel empowered to do that now.How is this all going to play out in my life and work? More on that soon. I'll do a proper blog post later this week, but here are some highlights in the meantime.
Rain and Margo en route to Sustainable NYC and Vaute Couture. Here are some incredibly happy, healthy, gorgeous people!! Vegan is love, baby.
Thursday lunch, topped with Treeline cashew cheese. D-I-V-I-N-E. Dairy cheese is literally addictive--it contains casomorphin, an opiate (!)--and while this "cheese" is insanely tasty, you can eat all you want and stay healthy!
On Saturday morning we went on a supermarket tour, with Victoria's daughter Adair playing a new client who wants to eat healthier. Whether or not you're vegan (yet!), it's so, so important to read every label before you drop the item in question in your cart. Also very helpful to know which fruits and veggies contain which vitamins and minerals.
More fieldtripping. (We spent much more time in lectures, but apart from one food demonstration I didn't take photos.)
Seitan burrito at Jivamuktea. Thoroughly delicious.
A great photo of us, in every way! RT @Victoria_Moran: Main Street Vegan St. Vegan Academy class @JivamuktiNYC Cafe pic.twitter.com/KdP5SZXuaT-- Stephanie Gorchynski (@CompassionAteTO) June 24, 2013
Thursday night we heard Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, speak at NYU, and she was electrifying. I was so inspired!(Main Street Vegan Academy.)
Vegan Academy Prelude
(The Heart is a Compass; Victoria Moran's Main Street Vegan Academy.)I'm in New York City this week for Main Street Vegan Academy, which began with a glorious dinner (chickpea and green bean curry, lemon broccoli, lovely fresh salad with shitake mushrooms, raw chocolate cake and non-dairy ice cream) and a very informative lecture by Dr. Robert Ostfeld of Montefiore Medical Center.But before that, I got to have lunch at Pure Food and Wine with my lovely agent and my new editor at St. Martin's! We shared a plate of guacamole and a celebratory bottle of white wine. Such a treat. I also found out that they sold the rights in Italy, so Bones & All will be translated into my ancestral tongue. My grandpa would be proud.
Portabella and hemp seed burger. Sprouted manna bread, caraway kraut, lapsang souchong tea smoked cashew cheese, house made mustard, pickled pink onions. The "cheese" was my favorite part. More filling than it looks!Plenty more MSVA-related posts coming up! I'm already having a ball, and I can't wait to share it all with you.
First night of @victoria_moran's Main Street #Vegan Academy = AMAZING. Amazing food, amazing presentation by @drostfeld. So jazzed!-- Camille DeAngelis (@PettyMagic) June 19, 2013
First blurb for Bones & All!
"Bones and All is a fantastically terrifying escape from reality. I was enthralled from the opening scene and clung to every page of Maren's turbulent journey to find her father--and herself. This is a powerful story of a young woman learning to embrace her deepest secrets, and her darkest needs."
How exciting is this? The book won't be out for another year!!
Handmade Summer
I'm even more excited about making my own clothing since I went vegan. Yes, phasing out wool has been a bit of a challenge, but challenges are FUN! Here's some yarn and fabric I have plans for this summer:
Shibui Linen for a Xia blouse (Ravelry link). Treated myself at Gather Here after my book deal!
Cute vintage-y cotton lawn from Mood Fabrics, destined to become a Violet blouse. (It's almost finished!)
Making button loops using this tutorial from @colettepatterns: http://t.co/w603zGNBTp #sewing (So excited for my new blouse!)-- Camille DeAngelis (@PettyMagic) June 13, 2013
Vintage rayon from this Etsy shop and Italian shirting from Mood Fabrics. Both for dresses, one of which will have some pretty nifty bias action.
I had a plan for this Bamboo laceweight from Webs, but oftentimes when you order online what comes in the mail isn't quite what you expected. I think I'll make one of these instead. (Puffed sleeves! I can't resist!)
Ailbhe gave me these adorable buttons a few years ago. They belong on a vintage jumper, just not sure yet which pattern.I also finished a Miette cardigan a few weeks ago, which I'll blog about soon. Still need to take some photos!
Ciudad Perdida, part 2
(Ciudad Perdida, part 1.)
It's going on a year and a half since our trip to Colombia. I don't know why it's taken me so long to post these photos! We're going to Uganda in August (it's the good old crew--Kate, Elliot, Jill and Spencer), so I figured I'd better finish this up before we leave.I've been thinking a lot about Colombia lately because I've made a new friend (yes, Sarah, THAT kind of friend--ha!) who just spent two weeks in Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena. I've enjoyed looking through his photos from Bogota especially, since he saw completely different street art than Kate and I did. Makes me wonder if they regularly paint them over.
"Use your brain or the zombies will," haha! RT @nomadicotravel: #colombian #streetart twitter.com/NomadicoTravel...-- Camille DeAngelis (@PettyMagic) May 23, 2013
Anywho, here are the rest of our photos from the Ciudad Perdida trek. If I can give you one piece of advice, it's this: if you have to do this hike in four days (instead of the standard five--we were short on time), be prepared to be exhausted. We arrived at the ruins quite late in the day, and fumbled our way home in the dark. It was dangerous (although more guides came back for us with flashlights, bless them!), and I was spent, and I had a meltdown. It wasn't my finest moment by any stretch, but that's another great thing about traveling with your sister. No matter what goes down, you're still going to love each other at the end of it. She's stuck with me!
Don't get me wrong, though. I LOVED this part of our trip. I just wish we'd done it in five days so we could have enjoyed a more leisurely pace.
Spending the night in a hammock is way more comfortable than you might think. You just need to put a blanket under you so your bottom doesn't get cold!
We stood by a stream in the darkness, watching the frogs get frisky.
The hiking route takes you past several indigenous villages.
The upside of arriving so late in the day: we had the site all to ourselves! It was really misty up there, and we felt like explorers stumbling upon the ruins for the first time.
With our honorary sister, Alecia.
They were building this suspension bridge when we first passed, and it was finished by the time we were on our way back!I've still got photos from Cartagena, Bucaramanga, San Gil, and Villa de Leyva to share with you. Hopefully it won't take me another year and a half to post them!
A Novel is a Jigsaw Puzzle
I just had the juiciest conversation with a really smart new friend, who was nice enough to let me pick his brain over lunch. Like I said, this new novel has been marinating for a long time, but now that it's officially under contract everything seems to be drawing together in an eerily deliberate way. I think, "I need to know X because that's what my character cares about," and a few days later there it is, on the shelf at the library or on the lips of a friend or stranger. It might be the detail I need, or the way to the detail, but in either case I get really, really excited and can't wait to dig in. (Two and a half glasses of iced coffee enhance the effect, no doubt. I'll probably be up 'til four again.)
Iced coffee for lunch + incredibly good news tonight = wide awake at 3:30am. Early morning yoga class = not happening.— Camille DeAngelis (@PettyMagic) May 21, 2013
As I said to my friend, writing a novel is like sitting down to work on a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle when there are only half that many pieces in the box. Those other five thousand pieces I have to collect in my travels, or in "chance" conversations like the one I had today. The trick is to recognize a piece when I see it, which of course is why I always keep my journal handy.There's really not much of a "trick," though, come to think of it. It's usually more of a PING, loud and unmistakable. That's my intuition at work.
In the future I want to write more (and more consistently) about the mysteries of the creative process (and, like I said, how veganism has allowed me to enjoy that process much more fully). The nuts-and-bolts topics too, of course—I still have a list of FAQs from my time at St. Lawrence back in October 2011 to get through! The first two are about choosing a point of view and switching sexes (i.e., a male writer writing a female narrator or vice versa), and I'm hoping to have those entries finished and posted in the next couple of weeks. Anything else you'd like me to write about here, do please tweet to me or leave a Facebook comment. (I'll be able to switch the blog comments back on once my new website goes up later on this summer.)
Cocktails & Calico, part 2
(Cocktails & Calico, part 1; Musings from a Beginning Quilter.)
It's FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After more than two years, a truckload of fabric, and hours of cutting, sewing and pressing, I completed Kelly's wedding quilt. (It's been done for months now, I just never got around to blogging these photos for some reason.)
At least a mile of quilt binding strips.
Sewing it on.
I embroidered a dedication and sewed it on the back.
Ready to wrap!
Over the Moon, part 2
(Over the Moon, part 1.)Monday evening I got back late from a crafting circle at the Armory to find an email from my agent waiting in my inbox. I told you things were afoot in the UK!I knew people were talking about Bones & All at the London Book Fair, but I didn't dare to hope there'd be an offer, since there'd been no takers on either Mary Modern or Petty Magic. Especially since the economy tanked a few years back, the prevailing publishing wisdom seems to be that UK publishers aren't likely to take a chance on you if you aren't already a bestselling author in the US.There are exceptions, apparently. I got not one offer, but THREE. This was such a dream come true for me, I can't even tell you! This means I can walk into Foyle's on Charing Cross Road in London (where my dear friend Seanan works) and find my book on the shelf. This means everyone else I know in Ireland and the UK can walk into any other bookstore and find it there, too. I won't have to say, "Well, I think you can find it on Amazon..."
Just when I thought life couldn't get ANY. MORE. AMAZING.-- Camille DeAngelis (@PettyMagic) May 21, 2013
I was pleasantly shocked by the glowing things these London editors were saying. One of them literally got a sunburn after taking my manuscript to read in the park, she was so engrossed in it.
So excited to publish @pettymagic's utterly brilliant book Bones and All next year! The only way to describe it: unputdownable.-- Hana Osman (@HanaSOsman) May 23, 2013
I am very, very thrilled to announce that Penguin UK will publish the book next year!
The Next Novel
Last week I turned in the latest revision of Bones & All. Now I get to sink into the new book! (For your purposes, this will be novel #4, although it is the sixth novel I'll have written: Practice Novel, Mary Modern, Petty Magic, not-yet-sold-children's-novel-which-is-my-favorite-so-far, Bones & All, this one.)
I treated myself to a new notebook at Trident...
...I unearthed a mind map from more than two years ago (this idea has been marinating for at least six years! It's the project I was working on when I stayed in that hilariously awful hotel room in Hyderabad. It amuses me greatly, by the way, that I've already come up with the last line)...
...And I've started gathering my research materials. (Geek out!)I used to be afraid of giving too much away by showing you my reading piles or mind maps, but then Sarah reminded me that you do not have access to my inner workings (lucky for you). I could hand you one of my notebooks, you could skim through the whole thing and still have only the faintest idea of what a new novel is "about." ("Something to do with Catholicism...?")
(This widget is actually making me feel like I have all the time in the world to write this thing, hahaha.)
Coming Soon: Exotic Gothic 5!
Remember my telling you about my very first short story publication? Exotic Gothic 5 (in two volumes) is now available to pre-order! My story, "The Coroner's Bride," appears in volume one. Check out the gorgeous cover:
Ordering links:
And, since you've read this far, how about a little teaser? 
Tweedy iPad case
My mom got an iPad for Christmas, and I sewed her a case for it using a pattern out of Maya Donenfeld's Reinvention: Sewing with Rescued Materials. Maya is a regular teacher at Squam, and I've been wanting to take her botanical screen-printing class since I first started attending the retreat in 2011. One of these years!
The outer fabric is Donegal tweed from John Molloy, which I purchased on a visit to Donegal town all the way back in January 2001 (and I salvaged it from a skirt I made almost as long ago but never wore). The fabric for the lining and strap is a plain quilting cotton. (I used fusible interfacing on the strap for durability's sake.) I chose maroon (out of my stash) to match the nubs in the tweed. Even the batting was left over from a quilting project, so I like to think I was keeping with the spirit of the book by not buying anything new. (And you know I'd never buy tweed now, being vegan, although it IS beautiful!)
Maya's book was my mother's Christmas gift to me, fittingly enough. It's a gorgeous book, and I'm sure I'll be making many more projects out of it.
Blissit be God
My new mantra: Blissit be God of al his gifts. (Spotted above a doorway in Advocates' Close, if I remember correctly.)I spent so much time blogging about Hawthornden that I neglected to share some of my other favorite moments in Scotland this time around. I managed to get to Glasgow for a meeting of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research (SSPR), holed up at the National Library, reconnected with my friend Kate Mathis (she of the gorgeous vintage sweaters!), and when Seanan came up from London we spent a very happy few days exploring Edinburgh together.
Walking up to Arthur's Seat. (Why is my shadow so enormous?)
The Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.
This doll found in a London slum BROKE. MY. HEART. Yes, it is made from a worn-out shoe. Seanan said, "At least she had that to play with." (At the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh.)
Green no more. (I didn't get a good shot of all the litter.)
Spotted in a secondhand bookshop on the West Bow. HA.
We chose the easy path up Arthur's Seat (it's too easy, actually), then took our time coming down into Duddingston village for tea and lunch at the oldest pub in the city.
(To be honest, The Sheep Heid Inn isn't the top-notch gastropub it likes to think it is—my vegan option was lackluster—but it's still a cozy spot to relax after a windswept ramble.)
I don't have proper photos of it, but we also did the Mary King's Close tour, which was not nearly as cheesy as I was expecting. Packed with fascinating historical anecdotes, and I don't mind too much if half of them were made up. Now that's good entertainment.
Started rereading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell on the way home (found it for £2 in a charity shop, yay!), and it definitely holds up to a second read. Can't wait for the miniseries!
Juice-o-rama
I have really wanted a juicer ever since I saw "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" last fall. Then in March my dad surprised me with a Breville as a belated Christmas gift (we didn't really "do" Christmas 2012 since my grandmother was in the hospital.) Victoria Moran also recommends the Breville brand in Main Street Vegan, so I knew he'd gotten me a really good one. I had my inaugural juicing session with Amiee the night before she moved me up to Boston: carrot + apple + celery, and it was yum!Since my new friend Alex loves fresh juice as much as I do, we are using it quite a bit.
Things we have learned after maybe a couple dozen juicing sessions:1. Simple is best. More than three or four ingredients and the flavors can get confused, whereas apple + carrot + ginger (use a good chunk of ginger for a real kick) or beet + plum makes for some seriously delicious juice.2. "Shit brown" juice can still taste really good. (You can, of course, predict what color the juice will turn out. That time we used rainbow chard, so red + green inevitably makes brown.)3. Buy a CRAP-TON of produce. None of it will go to waste! (And make extra, because there's always someone around who'll gladly have a glass. I'm really enjoying the social aspect of juicing.)
Apple + kale. It grows on you.
Beet + plum juice looks and tastes like melted raspberry sorbet. My favorite so far, along with carrot + apple + ginger.
...And the pulp looks like red velvet cake, but the juice is WAY tastier! The Breville comes with a perfectly designed brush-cum-scooper (that sounds vaguely filthy, but it's the most descriptive) that makes cleaning up a snap. That's the reason people buy a juicer and don't use it--only because it's too much of a P.I.T.A. to clean. Not so with this one, happily!I'll blog more about juicing over the coming months--right now I'm still experimenting, but it would be great to get to the point where I'm coming up with my own combinations and recipes (and photographing them like a quasi-professional. I need a new camera and some photography lessons!)(Most of these photos by Alex.)
Vintage Quickie (goes Vegan)
As you know, I love vintage knitting patterns. This one's called the "Three-Hour Sweater" and while the name is a total exaggeration, it is fun and cute and easy.
I first knit this pattern back in 2008, and the result was so unflattering I can't even bring myself to post a picture here (but here's the Ravelry link). I stuck to the original pattern when I ought to have rejigged the whole thing, as I did this time around: finer gauge, back shaping, knit the yoke in the round. Much, much better. (Ravelry link for Vintage Quickie #2, with copious notes.)
These photos were taken by my friend and fellow Squammie Jen Barlev one March afternoon while we were visiting Amiee in Pennsylvania. Quality time with my Squam buds is always so nourishing for me. (Literally, too--Jen surprised me with a bar of cherry lemonade vegan chocolate!)
Hooray for back shaping!The yarn is Valley Yarns Southwick, a bamboo-cotton blend. Pleasant to knit, easy to care for, and it's holding up really well. I'm determined not to see knitting without wool as a dilemma ("how will I knit warm-enough sweaters for the winter?!", etc.) I am resolved, because as Victoria Moran says: the wool industry IS the mutton industry.I've gotten to the point where I want to replace my favorite wool handknits (like the Victory Jumper) as soon as possible because I feel a certain degree of uneasiness whenever I put them on. In keeping with my new direction, I'll be blogging about vegan knitting more regularly starting over the summer sometime (whenever my new website launches).
In the meantime, I'm slowly destashing my wool yarns and replacing them with pretty pima cotton.
This photo is my favorite because I look like I'm knocking on an invisible door at the edge of the reservoir.
This is my other favorite photo because of the printable Amiee colored for me (you can find it here). I put it over my bed and it makes me so happy every time I look at it!
Over the Moon!
I'm extremely excited to announce my new novel, Bones & All, will be published by St. Martin's Press in 2014! This is the announcement that appeared today in Publishers Lunch:
Camille DeAngelis's BONES & ALL a coming-of-age novel about a young woman, abandoned by her mother and left with only her rucksack and her birth certificate, who sets out to search for her father, who she hopes can tell her why she has the urge to eat people, specifically men who show her affection—a meditation on female power and sexuality, to Sara Goodman at St. Martin's, in a pre-empt, by Kate Garrick at DeFiore and Company (world).
As with any synopsis, this one really sells the story short. Suffice it to say that this novel is VERY different from Mary Modern and Petty Magic, both of which I'd categorize as cozy fantasy reads. This one, on the other hand, is really going to challenge you. I'll tell you more as we approach the publication date, which will be sometime next summer. (The other good news, which PL didn't report for some reason, is that it's a two-book deal! I'm working on another novel—not "the Edinburgh novel"—which will be similarly dark and demanding.)This, of course, is the fresh start I was hinting at last week. I really clicked with Sara, my new editor, over the phone, and I'm thrilled to be working with her and thrilled to have a "home" at St. Martin's!
[Edit: Looks like the novel will be published in early 2015. More details as I receive them!]