I'm working on having a FAQ page. When I visit a blog for the first time, I like reading a little summary of them. Even just 2 sentences that pretty much says "I do/not have kids/cats/significant other. Isn't sewing wonderful" sums up where they are coming from. When people use a lot of made up names and words, I like a little cheat sheet when I'm new to their blog so I get the in jokes.
Now a Frequently Asked Question implies that more than one person asked you. Thus far, I'm just writing out what I would ask about, but that would be a FARQ - frequently asked rhetorical question (at least until I develop a second personality to answer I suppose).
So... any questions?
And while I'm looking for comments...
A while back, I signed up for Living in Red's Pay it Forward. I think I had written maybe 25 posts and there were like 3 people visiting a week. There are a few of you commenting (thank you! it still makes me giggle) and there are more of you reading, so maybe it's worth revising that post.
The deal is that Living in Red will be sending me something within 365 days. I would send something hand made to the first three people who replied to that post. Now I am looking forward to whatever Living in Red is going to send me, she does such beautiful work both sewing and knitting (those shawls are to die for), but I sure will feel like I'm not living up to my end of the bargain without sending something to someone. This is open to anyone (yes, you, in Portugal, Germany and Australia, I'm looking at you), I know the bulk of my readers are not from Canada (particularly when I take out the occasional boost from Mr. Lina reading a month of posts in one sitting - I once emailed him all excited that someone in Canada was reading multiple posts on my blog only to find out it was him). The parameters of Pay It Forward require you to have a blog, but at this rate, I'll send something to anyone so long as I don't feel guilty about getting an awesome surprise.
Tuesday, January 31
Monday, January 30
I'm going to a pants party
Many of you know pants are a little scary to me. Sewing can be like an itch that needs to be scratched. Fabric calls your name from a distance and it doesn't matter what you planned, it NEEDS you. I have yet to touch fabric and think, oh, what pretty pants you would make. I don't even see pants in a store as interesting, just functional. I don't look at a fly without thinking how on earth does that actually go together... my brain hurts. I'm sure, like bras, that once you get to it and follow the steps it's not so bad. But fitting...
Did any of you see the Slapdash Sewists attempt at pants fitting? Yeah, that's the hell I imagine when I think about it, Trena is a brave woman. I bow to the mastery of Tanit-Isis and her wonderful array of jeans history. Absolutely incredible. All these fitted pants... sigh. There is some mental build up needed to go through what Trena did and I've never been up to it. I'm okay with the however many ill fitting bras I've made. They don't take up a lot of fabric or really a lot of time, the results are pretty if unwearable by me. I do get better in technique over time, but pants gone wrong... my ego hasn't been up to it.
I read that I won the pants blocker while at work on Friday. I damn near hyperventilated from trying not to laugh and giggle and cheer out loud. People do not need to think I'm completely crazy. I now have an idea of how I would react on winning the lottery (although I probably would laugh very loudly because I wouldn't be working there anymore and it's okay if they think I'm the rich crazy girl). I am up to this challenge with Steph in my corner. This is so going to rock.
Thursday, January 26
Time Management
Concert was great last night. Raghu Lokanathan opened up for them, we hosted him in late October, it seems I only mentioned it in passing at the time. Two of his songs will be on the final album. It's going to be worth getting it just to hear Corin's version of "Genius". Corin hit $1,500 in Canadian Tire money at the show. You can see the finale performance of the show last night, "Don't Spend it Honey" on Now magazine web site. Not that you can see me, but I was pretty close to the piano.
Down side? It ended at 11:50. Plus a drive home, brush my teeth... it was 1:30am when I went to bed. Ouch. I am glad we couldn't go to the Tuesday night show, I would have been a wreck by now.
But... I made use of my lunch hour today. Went to Winners, found shoes (although I'm not totally in love with them, they will do), nylons and two options for support garments. We'll see what I prefer. I've never made decisions while shopping so fast. It was a little surreal for me. I enjoy the process of shopping for shoes, this was very purpose driven. Are they closed toe shoes? Is the heel too ridiculous for future use at work and dancing? Are there stupid looking bows? Do they hurt within 30 seconds of wearing them? Yes, no, no, no... double check the price isn't ridiculous (ooh, leather soles, bonus - could become dance lesson shoes)... and purchase. Fit was kind of far down the list there.
Tonight I think I am too tired to sew. I'll just make mistakes. Better to rest up tonight, read all of your blogs, have a bath and be all set for tomorrow.
This is very true to Raghu's performance at our house, the Corin version is a little more rowdy. The first 2:30 is the story behind the song, so if you're pressed for time, skip to about that point. This song does have the word fucking very prominently in the chorus, if you have ah... sensitive ears, this may not be the song for you. Personally, I think it's brilliant. You all know someone like this.
Down side? It ended at 11:50. Plus a drive home, brush my teeth... it was 1:30am when I went to bed. Ouch. I am glad we couldn't go to the Tuesday night show, I would have been a wreck by now.
But... I made use of my lunch hour today. Went to Winners, found shoes (although I'm not totally in love with them, they will do), nylons and two options for support garments. We'll see what I prefer. I've never made decisions while shopping so fast. It was a little surreal for me. I enjoy the process of shopping for shoes, this was very purpose driven. Are they closed toe shoes? Is the heel too ridiculous for future use at work and dancing? Are there stupid looking bows? Do they hurt within 30 seconds of wearing them? Yes, no, no, no... double check the price isn't ridiculous (ooh, leather soles, bonus - could become dance lesson shoes)... and purchase. Fit was kind of far down the list there.
Tonight I think I am too tired to sew. I'll just make mistakes. Better to rest up tonight, read all of your blogs, have a bath and be all set for tomorrow.
This is very true to Raghu's performance at our house, the Corin version is a little more rowdy. The first 2:30 is the story behind the song, so if you're pressed for time, skip to about that point. This song does have the word fucking very prominently in the chorus, if you have ah... sensitive ears, this may not be the song for you. Personally, I think it's brilliant. You all know someone like this.
Wednesday, January 25
Do you hear that?
It's my half finished bra calling me. It is lonely, only one cup sewn in, the other limply waiting to join the band. I was thinking about it as I was walking back to my desk and realized, it's going to have to wait a while.
Crap.
Tonight we're off to see Corin Raymond and the Sundowners at the Tranzac. I'm so freaking proud of Corin, he has raised $1,000 in Canadian Tire money. For the Canadians in the audience, he was even mentioned on This Hour Has 22 Minutes last night. I've added a new blog roll at the side for musician blogs. He's posted about this on Don't Spend It Honey.
Saturday we're going to a wedding, same bride as the bachelorette party. I'm looking forward to it. It's in the distillery district in Toronto, always a nice place to visit. We decided that we'd get a hotel so we didn't have to have a driver.
Weddings are a great time for us to dance. We have taken lessons off and on as schedules allow (this is an off period) for both ballroom and latin dancing. Cha cha, salsa, merengue, tango, waltz, rhumba, fox trot and just a tiny bit of swing. I'd say cha-cha, tango and foxtrot are our fortes but rhumba and waltz are useful for weddings. Mr. Lina once dragged me out to tango to American Woman at a wedding. Kid you not, it worked. Cha-cha is great for nearly any modern/disco song they play at weddings. So much more practical than I ever expected. Here's hoping they have a decent sized dance floor, I hate feeling penned in when people don't understand floor craft.
Sunday evening we've been invited to dinner at my aunt & uncles house. Given that they are north east of Toronto, we might just kick around Toronto a bit for the day instead of going home only to drive east again. This might depend on how bad the hangover is.
I do have two dresses I'm debating between for the wedding. Either Lekala 5432 that I wore to the wedding in October or the red dress I wore for the work Christmas party. If I wear Lekala (which I am leaning towards, different friends, they haven't seen this dress), I need shoes (my favourite black heels are broken). I also would like some shapewear for smoother lines at the back. So shopping is in order. I'd wear my strappy silver sandals with the red dress. Bare legs for a wedding that is not in the same venue as the hotel will be rather chilly for January.
So if shopping does not happen Thursday night, I might make some headway. If it does, and I do buy shoes, then maybe Friday night I'll have time to sew. Here's hoping one night is shopping and the other sewing. I don't want both to be shopping. There is going to be some serious pouting going on from that half finished bra if I have to wait until Monday.
Crap.
Tonight we're off to see Corin Raymond and the Sundowners at the Tranzac. I'm so freaking proud of Corin, he has raised $1,000 in Canadian Tire money. For the Canadians in the audience, he was even mentioned on This Hour Has 22 Minutes last night. I've added a new blog roll at the side for musician blogs. He's posted about this on Don't Spend It Honey.
Saturday we're going to a wedding, same bride as the bachelorette party. I'm looking forward to it. It's in the distillery district in Toronto, always a nice place to visit. We decided that we'd get a hotel so we didn't have to have a driver.
 |
| From the Distillery District web site http://www.thedistillerydistrict.com/gallery.php |
Weddings are a great time for us to dance. We have taken lessons off and on as schedules allow (this is an off period) for both ballroom and latin dancing. Cha cha, salsa, merengue, tango, waltz, rhumba, fox trot and just a tiny bit of swing. I'd say cha-cha, tango and foxtrot are our fortes but rhumba and waltz are useful for weddings. Mr. Lina once dragged me out to tango to American Woman at a wedding. Kid you not, it worked. Cha-cha is great for nearly any modern/disco song they play at weddings. So much more practical than I ever expected. Here's hoping they have a decent sized dance floor, I hate feeling penned in when people don't understand floor craft.
Sunday evening we've been invited to dinner at my aunt & uncles house. Given that they are north east of Toronto, we might just kick around Toronto a bit for the day instead of going home only to drive east again. This might depend on how bad the hangover is.
I do have two dresses I'm debating between for the wedding. Either Lekala 5432 that I wore to the wedding in October or the red dress I wore for the work Christmas party. If I wear Lekala (which I am leaning towards, different friends, they haven't seen this dress), I need shoes (my favourite black heels are broken). I also would like some shapewear for smoother lines at the back. So shopping is in order. I'd wear my strappy silver sandals with the red dress. Bare legs for a wedding that is not in the same venue as the hotel will be rather chilly for January.
So if shopping does not happen Thursday night, I might make some headway. If it does, and I do buy shoes, then maybe Friday night I'll have time to sew. Here's hoping one night is shopping and the other sewing. I don't want both to be shopping. There is going to be some serious pouting going on from that half finished bra if I have to wait until Monday.
Monday, January 23
These are the bras I know I know
I did get to sew this weekend, not as much as I hoped, but it was good. I've made lots of bras and I thought it was time to try again. I went to take a picture of the work in progress and thought I'd post a few other bras I've made that have not worked out for one reason or another. Then I started singing in my head "These are the bras (Daves) I know I know" courtesy of The Kids in the Hall.
Before I get into my bra history, I have to give a shout out to K-Line. She has been doing a fantastic little series on bras. Pretty sure this is part of what gave me the push to make another. Sadly I haven't been in the right mental state to comment on it much, but it's a good read. Go over, I'll wait.
Most of my supplies come from Sew Sassy. Even with duty etc at the boarder, it seems worth it based on what is available at Fabricland (although most of the lace is from Fabricland). The under wire are heavy, I love the channeling (922 - not 909), the stretch satin has a nice amount of stretch to it and washes well. My parents go to Florida for the month of February, to save the crazy shipping I stock up once a year. My other recommendation if you are going to make bras is the Beverly Johnson book The Bra-makers Manual. This has saved my sanity and inspired me that I could make bras and it was okay to make a few to get it right.
To answer the first bra post from K-Line, I am not comfortable taking pictures of me in ill fitting bras. I'm sorry these are not so great pictures because my 38D/DD bras do not look so pretty flat, but I still don't have a dummy to model them for me. Maybe if I can get this looking good and no nipple showing, but for now, you get flat pictures. If I do work up that courage, it sure as hell won't be sexy "oh look at me" bra-porn pictures.
So first up is the bra I am working on. Elan 645. I'm making it in purple stretch satin, lots of support with tricot in the cup, powerknit underlining the back. So far so good, except... I put the black lace in on the wrong cup so it is inside out. I realized this after I had topstitched and cut the seam allowances so I'm sucking it up knowing it's not perfect. Right now one cup is inserted, the other is not. It will have under wire, I think that is optional with this full band bra but I like underwire if it's fitting properly.
I have made this bra before, but the cup is much too large. K-Line asked if people like a snug band. I am sad to say all the bras I'm wearing at the moment are loose from being too old and stretched out. The one thing I loved about this bra was the feeling of the band. It's snug, you aren't fitting much between my skin and that bra, but not uncomfortably so. It is quite sad just how much retrofitting would be required for those cups to hold my breasts because the band truly is perfect. My breasts get bigger when pregnant, maybe one day my band will stay the same and I'll fill those cups. Doubt it. So realizing a lost cause, there are no straps on this bra.
The first bra I was really pleased with was this one. Elan 510. Keep in mind, this isn't the first bra I made, there were a few white ones with the bra kits from Sew Sassy first. As directed, most of these bras would be disappointing. I don't think they give enough support as directed with the supplies in the kit. I figured that out quickly. 510 appealed to me as a front closing bra. I'm on the cusp of not being able to find front closing bras. Either they cut off at a 36 and are too tight, or they only go up to a C cup and there are spillage issues. I thought making my own would be nice. I did love this bra. It didn't lift them all that much, but I had a nice shape and I could wear a deep V neck shirt well. I would wash that out in the tub, hang it to dry and wear it all over again. The lace cup was starting to get a little stretched out when the front clasp broke.
So I tried to make another one. Not nearly as successful. This one ended up too small if I remember right. I think the satin shrank from the steam in the iron. So frustrating. Adding to that, I screwed up the straps, something is twisted. I should revisit this one to see if the magic closet has helped.
Ever try on a bra and you just know it's not designed for your breasts? The shape is wrong, it is just... wrong. That's Kwik Sew 2101.
All that lovely pink top stitching, black & pink lace... Sigh. Love the look, but it would take more engineering to make that fit than I'm willing to do. That said, it actually fits my mother in law well. At some point I'll finish the straps etc and give it to her. Someone may as well wear it.
I'd say the consistent fit issue comes down to a few points:
Oh and to answer another question K-Line asked, I have been for a proper bra fitting. The first time was to get a strapless bra for a wedding I was a bridesmaid for. A couple of years later I dragged a friend to get fitted. I was wearing the right size and was pleased to hear that. My friend, however, did have one of those life altering fittings that drastically shrunk her band and increased the cup size. Go figure, the bruising from the under wire stopped with the right size bra.
Before I get into my bra history, I have to give a shout out to K-Line. She has been doing a fantastic little series on bras. Pretty sure this is part of what gave me the push to make another. Sadly I haven't been in the right mental state to comment on it much, but it's a good read. Go over, I'll wait.
Most of my supplies come from Sew Sassy. Even with duty etc at the boarder, it seems worth it based on what is available at Fabricland (although most of the lace is from Fabricland). The under wire are heavy, I love the channeling (922 - not 909), the stretch satin has a nice amount of stretch to it and washes well. My parents go to Florida for the month of February, to save the crazy shipping I stock up once a year. My other recommendation if you are going to make bras is the Beverly Johnson book The Bra-makers Manual. This has saved my sanity and inspired me that I could make bras and it was okay to make a few to get it right.
To answer the first bra post from K-Line, I am not comfortable taking pictures of me in ill fitting bras. I'm sorry these are not so great pictures because my 38D/DD bras do not look so pretty flat, but I still don't have a dummy to model them for me. Maybe if I can get this looking good and no nipple showing, but for now, you get flat pictures. If I do work up that courage, it sure as hell won't be sexy "oh look at me" bra-porn pictures.
So first up is the bra I am working on. Elan 645. I'm making it in purple stretch satin, lots of support with tricot in the cup, powerknit underlining the back. So far so good, except... I put the black lace in on the wrong cup so it is inside out. I realized this after I had topstitched and cut the seam allowances so I'm sucking it up knowing it's not perfect. Right now one cup is inserted, the other is not. It will have under wire, I think that is optional with this full band bra but I like underwire if it's fitting properly.
I have made this bra before, but the cup is much too large. K-Line asked if people like a snug band. I am sad to say all the bras I'm wearing at the moment are loose from being too old and stretched out. The one thing I loved about this bra was the feeling of the band. It's snug, you aren't fitting much between my skin and that bra, but not uncomfortably so. It is quite sad just how much retrofitting would be required for those cups to hold my breasts because the band truly is perfect. My breasts get bigger when pregnant, maybe one day my band will stay the same and I'll fill those cups. Doubt it. So realizing a lost cause, there are no straps on this bra.
 |
| Bah, this is right side up in Photobucket. |
Ever try on a bra and you just know it's not designed for your breasts? The shape is wrong, it is just... wrong. That's Kwik Sew 2101.
I'd say the consistent fit issue comes down to a few points:
- Too much space in the upper cup, I'm a D/DD depending on the band, but it's not in my upper chest.
- My breasts do not push together, again, they just aren't spaced quite like other D cups I think
- Fabric - a small change in the degree of stretch has left some bras (not pictures) just making me look flat and spilling. Ick.
- Fabric - shrinking. One of them must have shrunk because by the time I went to sew it up, the band was smaller than the power net. It wasn't that way when I cut it.
Oh and to answer another question K-Line asked, I have been for a proper bra fitting. The first time was to get a strapless bra for a wedding I was a bridesmaid for. A couple of years later I dragged a friend to get fitted. I was wearing the right size and was pleased to hear that. My friend, however, did have one of those life altering fittings that drastically shrunk her band and increased the cup size. Go figure, the bruising from the under wire stopped with the right size bra.
Friday, January 20
Punch Drunk Humour
A very quick post so I can let my giggles out and get back to focusing on work.
My client Mad Men has an office in Quebec so we have team members there. Somewhere in their emails there is always French, even if it's just their title being listed in both French and English. My spell checker is rather confused by this. It just took the word d'infos (Demande d'infos = Request for info was the subject line in this particular email) and suggested...
Dingoes.
I also find it funny that the spell checker here made the same suggestion. It will let you spell it dingos or dingoes.
Dingoes looks better to me for some reason.
That makes me laugh. The word dingoes is just funny to me and it's so unlike the serious work mode of looking for information, it's even funnier.
It's not funny, is it? Am I just so overtired that it made me giggle?
Dingoes don't come up in my particular line of work.
Now I want to misspell words just to see what the suggestions are.
I think the most I'm going to accomplish tonight is opening some wine and reading a fluffy book I've read multiple times. Cotton candy for the brain is perfect when you don't have a brain left. Then I can tackle something with substance tomorrow.
My client Mad Men has an office in Quebec so we have team members there. Somewhere in their emails there is always French, even if it's just their title being listed in both French and English. My spell checker is rather confused by this. It just took the word d'infos (Demande d'infos = Request for info was the subject line in this particular email) and suggested...
Dingoes.
I also find it funny that the spell checker here made the same suggestion. It will let you spell it dingos or dingoes.
Dingoes looks better to me for some reason.
That makes me laugh. The word dingoes is just funny to me and it's so unlike the serious work mode of looking for information, it's even funnier.
It's not funny, is it? Am I just so overtired that it made me giggle?
Dingoes don't come up in my particular line of work.
Now I want to misspell words just to see what the suggestions are.
I think the most I'm going to accomplish tonight is opening some wine and reading a fluffy book I've read multiple times. Cotton candy for the brain is perfect when you don't have a brain left. Then I can tackle something with substance tomorrow.
Thursday, January 19
Work Life Balance Vent
There is something missing in my world this week. Work-Life balance is completely off the hook. Most of this is my own damn fault. Some of those days where I haven't felt very happy or had focus at work, I've slacked and it's coming to bite me in the arse.
My week is usually comprised of 3 sets of good neighbours, Mondays with my employer, Tues/Wed with my client... um... Mad Men and my second client I've been with for all of my time with my employer so we'll call them Established. I do not do work for Mad Men on Established days. I do not do employer work on client days. I might reply to email or answer questions, but if you're taking more than half an hour, then you can wait until your own day. Each client is paying for 15 hours a week so they really should get 15 hours and I shouldn't try to keep track of an hour here or there that one client "owes" the other. I get rented out at a far better rate than I'm paid for ad hoc projects so my employer really doesn't want me doing client work on their time.
Remember the wall maps I mentioned at the end of December? That's still ongoing and is not being a good neighbour. It often can't wait until Monday for the next step. So I do it on client time or on my time. Then because client projects are pushed back, I do that on my time. Net result was me driving home at crying at 3pm on Tuesday because of an IT problem that wouldn't let me work on the maps at the Mad Men office and I had to get them done before 4pm. Lovely to go home prior to rush hour, not so good to cry while doing it. Maps are on a pause while samples are printing, but other client projects were coming due.
I have backed myself into this little corner, but it's not good. I worked at the Mad Men office until about 6:15. That's not so bad considering I had a dentist appointment in the morning so I had a late start to the day. The bad part is working from 8-11 on it. I was giving a presentation at one of the remote Established offices this morning. It was suppose to be a presentation I gave a year ago just tidied up with examples that suited their business. No big deal. Then at 11, I realized I didn't have a copy of it with me.
1:30am, I had the deck recreated.
8am I realized that a copy had been sent to me in setting up the meeting, I didn't look in those emails, I only looked at what I sent, not what others forwarded.
Face to palm.
Anyhoo... meeting went well, presentation generated far more conversation than I expected. 36 slides (say 30 because some are just headings) shouldn't take an hour and 50 minutes to cover. Thank heavens they booked 2 hours. I thought 2 hours was ridiculous but people are happy to get out early, I didn't think we'd need it all. It did remind me how much I like training and educating people on the data I specialize in. It was a really good morning even on 5 hours of sleep.
Shhh... and it ended with someone hinting they forgot how close I live to that office... perhaps... if I wanted a shorter drive.... We'll see what comes of that, but it sure feels good to the girl who is stuck in a rut.
So, therapy tonight with Mr. Lina, then more work tonight to finish up the Mad Men project. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is an awful lot of open time on the weekend. Dinner plans at a friends house Saturday (but nothing during the day) and Mr. Lina has plans Sunday that do not involve me. What to make... what to make...
My week is usually comprised of 3 sets of good neighbours, Mondays with my employer, Tues/Wed with my client... um... Mad Men and my second client I've been with for all of my time with my employer so we'll call them Established. I do not do work for Mad Men on Established days. I do not do employer work on client days. I might reply to email or answer questions, but if you're taking more than half an hour, then you can wait until your own day. Each client is paying for 15 hours a week so they really should get 15 hours and I shouldn't try to keep track of an hour here or there that one client "owes" the other. I get rented out at a far better rate than I'm paid for ad hoc projects so my employer really doesn't want me doing client work on their time.
Remember the wall maps I mentioned at the end of December? That's still ongoing and is not being a good neighbour. It often can't wait until Monday for the next step. So I do it on client time or on my time. Then because client projects are pushed back, I do that on my time. Net result was me driving home at crying at 3pm on Tuesday because of an IT problem that wouldn't let me work on the maps at the Mad Men office and I had to get them done before 4pm. Lovely to go home prior to rush hour, not so good to cry while doing it. Maps are on a pause while samples are printing, but other client projects were coming due.
I have backed myself into this little corner, but it's not good. I worked at the Mad Men office until about 6:15. That's not so bad considering I had a dentist appointment in the morning so I had a late start to the day. The bad part is working from 8-11 on it. I was giving a presentation at one of the remote Established offices this morning. It was suppose to be a presentation I gave a year ago just tidied up with examples that suited their business. No big deal. Then at 11, I realized I didn't have a copy of it with me.
1:30am, I had the deck recreated.
8am I realized that a copy had been sent to me in setting up the meeting, I didn't look in those emails, I only looked at what I sent, not what others forwarded.
Face to palm.
Anyhoo... meeting went well, presentation generated far more conversation than I expected. 36 slides (say 30 because some are just headings) shouldn't take an hour and 50 minutes to cover. Thank heavens they booked 2 hours. I thought 2 hours was ridiculous but people are happy to get out early, I didn't think we'd need it all. It did remind me how much I like training and educating people on the data I specialize in. It was a really good morning even on 5 hours of sleep.
Shhh... and it ended with someone hinting they forgot how close I live to that office... perhaps... if I wanted a shorter drive.... We'll see what comes of that, but it sure feels good to the girl who is stuck in a rut.
So, therapy tonight with Mr. Lina, then more work tonight to finish up the Mad Men project. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is an awful lot of open time on the weekend. Dinner plans at a friends house Saturday (but nothing during the day) and Mr. Lina has plans Sunday that do not involve me. What to make... what to make...
Tuesday, January 17
Signs It's Time to Pause
If you remember, my grey skirt was made because I didn't have matching thread. I had cut out the slip (?) of a gift, but not sewn it up. Friday night I tackled sewing now that I had matching thread. I worked until 6ish, home at 7, went out for dinner with Mr. Lina so I did get a late start on the evening. One thing I like about that pattern is that the pieces really line up well. Even with me grading up 5" on the hips, notches lined up, the pieces were the same length, etc.
I did forget a few things.
A. I sewed the whole seam down forgetting about the cute slits at the front. I was lazy on this front. I could have unpicked the 2 seams but meh, it's stretch fabric, I put in a lot of extra fabric for her hips, pretty sure she'll have room to move.
B. I cut the SA too big. I use my overlock stitch on past versions as they were sheer and I didn't want to see the seam allowances. As much as sheer wasn't an issue, I went to sew it the same way but I had cut wider than that. I will admit to trying it on (over clothing, we have similar bust measurements) and realizing this was WAY too big at the sides and around the bust (although the extra at the bottom fell nicely). Sadly this was after I had put the bias tape on so it was a true PITA to fix.
C. My sewing machine is not a mind reader. More on that shortly.
D. Pictures. Yep, ran out of time. I was suppose to be at the bride's house at 3:00 (20 min drive). I finished it a bit past 2, then wrapping, out of the shower at 2:30, I managed to leave at 3... Sigh.
So the sign that it is time to pause in a project and go to bed. I had it done, bias tape along the top/straps (black satin bias tape that Fabricland sells by the meter), all it needed was a hem. I was getting tired, it was midnight, but I thought I'd push on so all that all I had to make were panties the next morning. I bought a double needle a while ago but really haven't had a chance to use it. In theory, this should be quick and easy. I practiced with a scrap to see if I wanted to put some interfacing or tissue to stabilize but honestly, the part that looked best was left alone so I went with that. Then I realized I should overlock the hem. Switch feet and overlock so it doesn't shed so much. Then go back to the double needle. That was my downfall. I did not change the stitch back to a straight stitch (see item C above) although I did put the width back to 1. I was so confused why it was going through so much thread, then it struggled with every vertical seam, eventually coming to a standstill. That's when I noticed the back didn't look the way it did on practice, way too much thread back there. I rethreaded a whack of times and go figure it looked the same. I went to bed with the hem half done and completely confused.
Next morning I look at it, use some scraps, see the same thing happening (because it was still doing what it was set to do), rethread again... I finally looked at the stitch setting and realize my mistake. I went back to the hem and broke a double needle trying to go through a big lump of thread I was too lazy to pick out. Sigh.
So off to Fabricland. 10am on a members 50% off day, it was better than the craziness I expected. I stayed away from fabric but I did stock up on notions and two double needles. Sewaholic posted today about the triple stitch with the warning to sew carefully because 3 threads are a PITA to pick out. Let me tell you, a double needle of overlock stitch was looking pretty painful until I finally saw the pattern of where the bobbin thread was. After breaking one needle, it all needed to come out no matter what time was involved.
Ah well, it was finished in time, black lace panties were made to go with it. The bachelorette itself was fun. I like the bride, but honestly, some of her friends are a tad shallow and I said I'd drive, I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Fortunately a very good friend was also part of the party, we had a great time. Dinner was at The Chef Upstairs.
It's a cool mix of dinner and cooking lesson. I got to plate the beets. Dinner was not very Sera-friendly (carrot risotto is hard to adapt to being carrot free) but the chef was a trouper fixing what he could and I ate a lot of beets. Good thing I like beets. We were going to head out to a bar in Toronto, but the bride was feeling a little headachey and wanted to go somewhere closer to home. Ended up at the pub where Mr. Lina and I had our first "let's meet for drinks and see if you look anything like I remember from Oktoberfest" (lots of alcohol at Oktoberfest, neither of us remembered names correctly, although he was closer than I was).
The boys had a longer day than us, beer tour starting at 11am. They went to 4 microbreweries in Toronto, dinner then went to watch the hockey game at a pub. They had some pub frustrations and ended up meeting up with us at the same pub. Mr. Lina was crazy drunk, but oh so very happy drunk. It can be annoying being the sober driver around drunks, but how do you get upset when he's asking for "hangaburs" as we approach a McDonalds? In the drive thru he was muttering in frustration at the seat belt because he tried to tickle me and couldn't reach. Ah, it was fantastic.
Sunday was recovery for Mr. Lina. We were suppose to play Dungeons & Dragons, but he wasn't mentally up to running it and there was some miscommunication so one player couldn't make it. There are 3 D&D themed board games that are a great time, highly recommend (and no, you don't need to know anything about D&D). We played The Legend of Drizzt. The characters are from a series of books I didn't read but for Mr. Lina bring back fond memories. It's a great cooperative game for 1-5 players.
If you are interested in board games, I'll add the occasional review. I grew up playing with my dad and brothers with rules like "we play until 8pm or when Clone cries". You know that rule was created based on experience. As a result, I didn't want to play board games and I'm pretty fussy. If it gets overly competitive, too "screw your neighbour", or boring as hell (why does anyone play Monopoly?) I'm not interested. We're usually playing games that are a little less traditional than Clue, unless you go looking, you won't hear about them.
Well, off to bowling tonight. I have the itch to sew after two projects finished in short order. So rewarding. The problem is that work is going to dominate my time. Too much on my plate right now.
 |
| Lekala 5241 or Modern Pattern Sewing Red Slip |
A. I sewed the whole seam down forgetting about the cute slits at the front. I was lazy on this front. I could have unpicked the 2 seams but meh, it's stretch fabric, I put in a lot of extra fabric for her hips, pretty sure she'll have room to move.
B. I cut the SA too big. I use my overlock stitch on past versions as they were sheer and I didn't want to see the seam allowances. As much as sheer wasn't an issue, I went to sew it the same way but I had cut wider than that. I will admit to trying it on (over clothing, we have similar bust measurements) and realizing this was WAY too big at the sides and around the bust (although the extra at the bottom fell nicely). Sadly this was after I had put the bias tape on so it was a true PITA to fix.
C. My sewing machine is not a mind reader. More on that shortly.
D. Pictures. Yep, ran out of time. I was suppose to be at the bride's house at 3:00 (20 min drive). I finished it a bit past 2, then wrapping, out of the shower at 2:30, I managed to leave at 3... Sigh.
So the sign that it is time to pause in a project and go to bed. I had it done, bias tape along the top/straps (black satin bias tape that Fabricland sells by the meter), all it needed was a hem. I was getting tired, it was midnight, but I thought I'd push on so all that all I had to make were panties the next morning. I bought a double needle a while ago but really haven't had a chance to use it. In theory, this should be quick and easy. I practiced with a scrap to see if I wanted to put some interfacing or tissue to stabilize but honestly, the part that looked best was left alone so I went with that. Then I realized I should overlock the hem. Switch feet and overlock so it doesn't shed so much. Then go back to the double needle. That was my downfall. I did not change the stitch back to a straight stitch (see item C above) although I did put the width back to 1. I was so confused why it was going through so much thread, then it struggled with every vertical seam, eventually coming to a standstill. That's when I noticed the back didn't look the way it did on practice, way too much thread back there. I rethreaded a whack of times and go figure it looked the same. I went to bed with the hem half done and completely confused.
Next morning I look at it, use some scraps, see the same thing happening (because it was still doing what it was set to do), rethread again... I finally looked at the stitch setting and realize my mistake. I went back to the hem and broke a double needle trying to go through a big lump of thread I was too lazy to pick out. Sigh.
So off to Fabricland. 10am on a members 50% off day, it was better than the craziness I expected. I stayed away from fabric but I did stock up on notions and two double needles. Sewaholic posted today about the triple stitch with the warning to sew carefully because 3 threads are a PITA to pick out. Let me tell you, a double needle of overlock stitch was looking pretty painful until I finally saw the pattern of where the bobbin thread was. After breaking one needle, it all needed to come out no matter what time was involved.
Ah well, it was finished in time, black lace panties were made to go with it. The bachelorette itself was fun. I like the bride, but honestly, some of her friends are a tad shallow and I said I'd drive, I wasn't sure how it was going to go. Fortunately a very good friend was also part of the party, we had a great time. Dinner was at The Chef Upstairs.
 |
| This isn't us, it's from: http://www.thechefupstairs.com/interactive_dining.html |
The boys had a longer day than us, beer tour starting at 11am. They went to 4 microbreweries in Toronto, dinner then went to watch the hockey game at a pub. They had some pub frustrations and ended up meeting up with us at the same pub. Mr. Lina was crazy drunk, but oh so very happy drunk. It can be annoying being the sober driver around drunks, but how do you get upset when he's asking for "hangaburs" as we approach a McDonalds? In the drive thru he was muttering in frustration at the seat belt because he tried to tickle me and couldn't reach. Ah, it was fantastic.
Sunday was recovery for Mr. Lina. We were suppose to play Dungeons & Dragons, but he wasn't mentally up to running it and there was some miscommunication so one player couldn't make it. There are 3 D&D themed board games that are a great time, highly recommend (and no, you don't need to know anything about D&D). We played The Legend of Drizzt. The characters are from a series of books I didn't read but for Mr. Lina bring back fond memories. It's a great cooperative game for 1-5 players.
 |
| Image from the Amazon site linked above. |
Well, off to bowling tonight. I have the itch to sew after two projects finished in short order. So rewarding. The problem is that work is going to dominate my time. Too much on my plate right now.
Friday, January 13
Driving Blues
We've had a crazy mild winter here so far. More often than not, it's above freezing, and outside of a couple of flurries, we haven't had snow that really stuck. Today is the first "real" snow and I live with a bunch of wimps. Granted, it was above freezing the past few days so the ground is relatively warm. The first snow would have melted, and the temperature will be dropping all day so it froze. So ice under snow is pretty bad to drive in. But it's 2 freaking centimeters of snow. Not even an inch.
Guess how long my drive to work took? It is 44 km from driveway to parking lot. 27 miles for my non-metric readers. Granted it's mostly on a slow moving highway across the top of Toronto, my drive in usually takes between 45 minutes and an hour. 35 on a really good day.
So you'd think, maybe 1.5 times as long, I mean, it's not even an inch of snow. An hour and a half sound right?
Nope. No accidents on my side of the highway to further complicate the drive. There was one accident, a bus (not bug if you read this before I fixed that) hit an SUV about 600m from my house, it wasn't much of a hold up to get around it. One car on the highway pulled over, another being hooked up to a tow truck, neither blocking lanes. West bound had quite a few accidents, but none on my side.
Maybe twice as long. Two hours? No, you're not right either.
Two and a half hours. Yep. This is why I work from home when the first flake hits the ground. I feel like a wimp doing that, but 2.5 hour commute is ridiculous. I would have, but I moved a meeting yesterday because of the car issues and I felt bad doing that two days in a row. Sometimes you just have to show up.
I figure that you can't move faster than the car ahead of you, so why bother getting upset? I did make it to work safely, I enjoyed listening to music in Mr. Lina's car (he wisely stayed home so I took the car with better tires), and played the "what if I won the lottery" game in my head. I have to say, it's easier with a piece of paper where I can keep track of where the magic money is going. First thing first, I'd quit and move so I didn't have to do that drive.
And in non-weather complaint news...
Half a day into wearing my grey skirt. Very happy. The waist is snug and comfortable when sitting so maybe this is the right amount of ease.
Corin Raymond got us into doing house concerts, he was our first show as half of The Undesirables, then he came back to so his solo work. Corin is going to be recording a new live album with his band of Sundowners in a couple of weeks. He found out the recording studio where they plan on doing all the post production accepts Canadian Tire money on par. For the non-Canadians in the audience, CT is a bit like a cross between Home Depot without lumber but including car repair. Camping stuff, small appliances, paint, plumbing, gardening, sporting goods, some have gas stations, it's like they have a little bit of everything. You are given Canadian Tire money when you pay with cash or earn it on your CT credit card. Five cents here, 10 cents there, it kind of collects. Well, Corin is on a mission to pay for as much of this recording in CT money as he can. He made it on the cover to two Toronto newspapers yesterday, at least two television news broadcasts, Canadian Tire actually tweeted about him. It's crazy. Follow the saga here. I know how expensive it is to do a recording right, where the perfomers all get paid rather than just helping a friend (which is nice, but doesn't feed them), where the art looks professional, the music sounds good. Artists go into debt for to make it, then slowly sell them off to repay only to go into debt for the second album. This is such a great way to get fan support from money they really didn't have a plan for anyhow. I counted up our CT money and it's just shy of $30. Those little bills add up. We'll be passing them along to Corin on the 25th for the second day of taping.
Guess how long my drive to work took? It is 44 km from driveway to parking lot. 27 miles for my non-metric readers. Granted it's mostly on a slow moving highway across the top of Toronto, my drive in usually takes between 45 minutes and an hour. 35 on a really good day.
So you'd think, maybe 1.5 times as long, I mean, it's not even an inch of snow. An hour and a half sound right?
Nope. No accidents on my side of the highway to further complicate the drive. There was one accident, a bus (not bug if you read this before I fixed that) hit an SUV about 600m from my house, it wasn't much of a hold up to get around it. One car on the highway pulled over, another being hooked up to a tow truck, neither blocking lanes. West bound had quite a few accidents, but none on my side.
Maybe twice as long. Two hours? No, you're not right either.
Two and a half hours. Yep. This is why I work from home when the first flake hits the ground. I feel like a wimp doing that, but 2.5 hour commute is ridiculous. I would have, but I moved a meeting yesterday because of the car issues and I felt bad doing that two days in a row. Sometimes you just have to show up.
I figure that you can't move faster than the car ahead of you, so why bother getting upset? I did make it to work safely, I enjoyed listening to music in Mr. Lina's car (he wisely stayed home so I took the car with better tires), and played the "what if I won the lottery" game in my head. I have to say, it's easier with a piece of paper where I can keep track of where the magic money is going. First thing first, I'd quit and move so I didn't have to do that drive.
And in non-weather complaint news...
Half a day into wearing my grey skirt. Very happy. The waist is snug and comfortable when sitting so maybe this is the right amount of ease.
Corin Raymond got us into doing house concerts, he was our first show as half of The Undesirables, then he came back to so his solo work. Corin is going to be recording a new live album with his band of Sundowners in a couple of weeks. He found out the recording studio where they plan on doing all the post production accepts Canadian Tire money on par. For the non-Canadians in the audience, CT is a bit like a cross between Home Depot without lumber but including car repair. Camping stuff, small appliances, paint, plumbing, gardening, sporting goods, some have gas stations, it's like they have a little bit of everything. You are given Canadian Tire money when you pay with cash or earn it on your CT credit card. Five cents here, 10 cents there, it kind of collects. Well, Corin is on a mission to pay for as much of this recording in CT money as he can. He made it on the cover to two Toronto newspapers yesterday, at least two television news broadcasts, Canadian Tire actually tweeted about him. It's crazy. Follow the saga here. I know how expensive it is to do a recording right, where the perfomers all get paid rather than just helping a friend (which is nice, but doesn't feed them), where the art looks professional, the music sounds good. Artists go into debt for to make it, then slowly sell them off to repay only to go into debt for the second album. This is such a great way to get fan support from money they really didn't have a plan for anyhow. I counted up our CT money and it's just shy of $30. Those little bills add up. We'll be passing them along to Corin on the 25th for the second day of taping.
Thursday, January 12
Rockin' the Skirt
The grey skirt is finished and Mr. Lina said the hem looks okay. Here's hoping he's right. I really should get around to making/buying a dress form at some point. I imagine that would make hemming a little easier. Here's a whack of pictures of it. Love the skirt, not so keen on the pictures of myself. I wasn't planning on going farther than the mechanics to get my car, so my hair is just pulled back, no make up, etc. Shows how much I trust you guys.
I was wearing the red sweater all day, so I started off taking pictures with it (far right). The problem is that it's kind of big and warm and not so good for showing off the skirt. So I switched to a close fitting tee.
StephC mentioned on her blog that she's more comfortable with her shirts untucked. I'm the same way. The tucked in look is growing on me, but I feel like there isn't enough space between my bust and the skirt with the shirt tucked in. Untucked, well, it's maybe more casual because I'm wearing a tshirt in most of these, but it's not a formal skirt. I took a lot of pictures, both tucked in and out, sorted it down to the 9 or so I liked, then down to 6 in a collage. I looked at it when I was done and realized there was one tucked in and I only kept it because the pose was different. I decided more pictures were in order, I even found some hot pink tights to match the top.
I see a few wrinkles near the waist at the back. I actually think I have a pretty good fit back there. The waist is loose, I could have made it a shade smaller. I was so worried about making it too small or a tight waistband that would leave muffin tops. The band itself is cut on the non-stretch direction of the fabric. I didn't want something that fit in the morning and was too big at the end of the day, my denim skirt does a little of that. It pouches out and then it doesn't fall quite the same. We will have to see what it's like after a full day of wear rather than an hour or so for showing off.
Now to go sew up that Lekala slip. We'll see how far I get before bedtime.
I was wearing the red sweater all day, so I started off taking pictures with it (far right). The problem is that it's kind of big and warm and not so good for showing off the skirt. So I switched to a close fitting tee.
StephC mentioned on her blog that she's more comfortable with her shirts untucked. I'm the same way. The tucked in look is growing on me, but I feel like there isn't enough space between my bust and the skirt with the shirt tucked in. Untucked, well, it's maybe more casual because I'm wearing a tshirt in most of these, but it's not a formal skirt. I took a lot of pictures, both tucked in and out, sorted it down to the 9 or so I liked, then down to 6 in a collage. I looked at it when I was done and realized there was one tucked in and I only kept it because the pose was different. I decided more pictures were in order, I even found some hot pink tights to match the top.
I see a few wrinkles near the waist at the back. I actually think I have a pretty good fit back there. The waist is loose, I could have made it a shade smaller. I was so worried about making it too small or a tight waistband that would leave muffin tops. The band itself is cut on the non-stretch direction of the fabric. I didn't want something that fit in the morning and was too big at the end of the day, my denim skirt does a little of that. It pouches out and then it doesn't fall quite the same. We will have to see what it's like after a full day of wear rather than an hour or so for showing off.
Now to go sew up that Lekala slip. We'll see how far I get before bedtime.
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