Author: stenaros

More sewing. And my sewing baskets.

Here’s an update I sent my friend at this point:
I’ve made all the adjustments to the pattern based on measurements and ease and what have you.  I’ve cut everything out in the muslin (well, half of it I cut out in an old sheet, because I didn’t have enough muslin) and sewn everything together.  Matt wasn’t around to sew me in, but I tried on what I had and discovered that, holy cats, it wasn’t as if I measured anything at all.  According to measurements I needed a 44/48/46 bust/waist/hips, but the whole torso is very tight, the waist is rather loose (although that might be in comparison to the bodice), and the hips seem a bit loose, though it’s hard to tell with the zipper seam not done.


So I’ve just retraced the bodice in 46, but I think I’ll bump it up to 48.  I need to move a bit more than that 44 was going to give me and the 46 isn’t that much bigger.

The sad tale of the whole matter is that I didn’t print the sleeve pattern when I printed everything else and it’s not available on the site anymore, for unknown reasons.  I did save it on the school computer, which meant going back down there yesterday, only to find my “new” monitor had died.  I replaced it with the one from the stand-up computer and printed out the sleeve pattern.  Did I then go that extra step and SEND MYSELF THE PDF FILE OF THE SLEEVE PATTERN?  No, I did not.  And now, needing to make a new sleeve pattern in a bigger size, can I simply dig the rest of the sleeve pattern out of the recycle bin and tape it all back together?  Well, I can, but it will be a more involved process since I so efficiently emptied my overflowing bins into the big bin.  Oy vey.

I’m glad I did make the muslin (and I’ll make another one in 48 before cutting into that fabric) because the directions are really awful and now that I’ve made the whole thing I have an idea of what they are trying to get across.  Don’t even get me started about the term “plackett” which is used often and refers to: the contrasting color in the bodice, in the skirt and also the waistband.  Those are six different pattern pieces, all of which are numbered.  Why they do not refer to the numbers is beyond me.  I also completely messed up one half of the collar, so I’ve got that out of my system.  And it’s been years since I set in a sleeve!  I prepped both of them, but realized that just putting in one would give me a good enough idea.
So, yeah.  At this point I’m happy I didn’t just start right in on the real fabric.  Here’s the too-tight bodice.

 

And we’re off again in muslin/old sheet land.
 
Also today, I cleaned out my sewing baskets.  I have two; one was my mothers, and one my grandmother’s.  This was a fishing tackle box, until my grandmother added the quilted lining for my mom.  It’s my usual sewing/mending basket.
 
In it I keep basic sewing supplies: pins, needles, basic thread, beeswax, measuring tape, marking items etc.
 
This sewing basket was one of the few things I asked for when my grandmother died.  It’s the one I drag out when I’m officially sewing something. It has a lot of sewing extras.  Here’s a look all the way to the bottom.  That tin on the right once held lip gloss, but now it holds all my bobbins.
 
It has a plastic divider that also holds things.
 
Isn’t it cheery and fun?
 
Here’s my favorite thing in the box.  My grandmother’s name was Helen.
 
Okay, muslin take two.
 
Better fit this time!
 

The Whipping Man


I received a free ticket to this play (thanks Michael!) and am so glad I got to go.  Though the first act had a leg amputation which caused me to nearly pass out/throw up* this play’s setting and themes (Jewish slave holder at the end of the Civil War, freedom, Passover) were intriguing. The plot twists were handy (That was me who gasped aloud when the big reveal near the end happened) and for a play that dealt with such serious topics, it was frequently funny.  Gavin Gregory, Carter Hudson and Christopher Livingston were all tops in their roles as young slaveholder (Carter Hudson) and freed slaves (Gregory and Livingston).  Also, the set was fabulous, and I wish my camera could do more with low-light settings.

*Really.  I was deep breathing while trying to figure out where, exactly, would be the best place for me to puke.  It took a good 10 minutes into the second act to regain equilibrium.

I embark on the Kristen

The Kristen is the first pattern I’ve made from Burda Style.  It cost $4.00 to download and then I printed out the pattern, taped it together and now I am cutting it out.  I’m not certain why you need to see 10 pictures of me cutting out a pattern, but I took them, so you get to see them.  As a reward, at the bottom is the material I chose.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Upper right is the contrast detail, lower half is main fabric, bit in the left corner is the lining.  I found the main fabric material back in January when I was buying skirt material.  I’m only allowed one sewing project at a time and I thought this design and weight would make a beautiful Crepe Dress from Collette Patterns.  That’s the dress I plan on making for my 20-year reunion, which is the project after this one.  But the bolt was considerably slimmer on this trip and Julie (she of the excellent fabric picking skills) convinced me that I needed to get the material for THIS dress and find something else delightful for the reunion dress, as this material might not be there when I came back next time.  I’m so glad she convinced me of this.

Three sentence movie reviews: 10 Things I Hate about You

This movie is much better than it had any right to be.  Probably because a bunch of very good actors* took this usual high school romantic comedy up several notches.  Also, I think the setting is so magical, it conspires to make the movie great too.

Cost:  free from library.
Where watched:  at home.

*Joseph Gordon-Levitt!  Julia Styles!  Allison Janney!  And Heath Ledger, who, it is amazing and sad to realize, would be dead less than 10 years from when this was filmed.

Postcards from Taiwan and Germany

This is from Sonia who is a senior in high school and hopes I can come to Taiwan.  She also hopes I like the postcard.  I do!    It reminds me of the movie Hannah.  But in a good way.
 
This postcard is from Jule, who lives by the Black Sea in Germany.  She translates the front as “Life is an adventure—dare it.”
 

A lot has been happening with the block.

I haven’t taken any pictures since November 30, but things continue apace.  I really like the look of this place; it looks like it will be very grand.  Here’s the view on the approach from Interstate, heading north.
 
They’ve blocked out the place where the sign will go.
 
This is the far side of the block and I usually don’t take pictures of it.
 
Here’s the usual view.
 

fun. is fun.

It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon.  Where am I going with a backpack?
 
The fun headboard, the painted walls, the lamps.  I must be at a McMenamins Hotel.
 
Indeed it is.  It’s the McMenamins Crystal Hotel located in downtown Portland.
 
Each room is  named after a song and I was excited to have the “Louie, Louie” room.  The very nice desk clerk told me that the song was recorded just up the street.
 
Here’s a map of the whole hotel layout.
 
 And here’s my room’s “Louie Louie” painting.
 
Why am I here on a weeknight?  Why to see fun., of course.
 
You know, FUN.  The band’s name is fun.?  It’s the worst name ever, because no one has any idea what the band’s name is.  It’s like a mini “Who’s on first” conversation every time I bring them up.  But if you have been anywhere near radio (including pop radio, alternative and adult contemporary formats) in the last year, you’ve heard fun.

Notice the ticket says “A December To Remember”?  And notice it’s March?  The show was postponed twice, I was supposed to go on December 19, but they moved it to March.  Because I decided too late I wanted to see the band, the show was sold out, so I stayed in the hotel and was able to buy a ticket.

How was fun.?  fun. was fun.  The band Family of the Year opened and they were great to watch. They said we were an “amazing” crowd.  This was very flattering, although I’m sure they say that to all the crowds.  Here’s a clip from the show.  This song was clearly their big hit as the sing-along got very loud.  I particularly enjoyed watching the bass player, whose hair and stage mannerisms were straight out of 1994.  I say that with love.

fun. was a good time.  They were apparently jet-lagged, but enjoyed us as a crowd as evidenced by this clip. I was interested to see how they would sound live as there are only three of them, and yet many more sounds on their songs than three musicians can make.  They solved this by having additional musicians on stage.  I particularly enjoyed watching Emily Moore (at least that’s what Wikipedia says her name is) who played a lot of instruments.  I learned the lead singer’s sister lives in Portland, which was an interesting fact.  And I particularly enjoyed hearing “The Gambler.”  Here’s a clip of “Carry On.“