Fun Friday

This made me laugh and I had to share.  Have a great weekend everyone!  There's some glue basting calling my name, in between time with friends :)

Jealousy

I have some guy friends.  Guy friends who I'm not remotely interested in.  If I were interested in them it wouldn't be appropriate to have been friends while I was seeing someone else.  That's my rule, for me.  If the guy finds me attractive, not much I can do about that.  I don't exactly have people breaking down my door seeking friendship.

Jealousy reared its ugly head today while chatting with my ex.  I guess it's a way to avoid facing his role in our breakup.  The guy wouldn't commit and was actively avoiding me.  That's the problem.  He also wouldn't talk--thus this conversation when it no longer matters.

It's my business, as a single woman, who I spend my time with.  Nobody, especially a guy who decided work was more important than me, gets to tell me which friends are acceptable or not.  So now I'm looking for new chat buddies during the day.

Play Date

I went on a date today and it was good.  It was with a guy I met online, who invited me to see a play this afternoon.  I was very nervous before he picked me up--my first date in 3 years!  Plus I was worried about my neck hurting, and trying to explain my health issues.  The play was good and we enjoyed talking.  After we got food and talked more.

We stopped in to play pool somewhere and found out there was a swing dance class starting in an hour.  So we went back to my place, I changed, and back we went.  I was so excited to meet friendly people in the swing dance community and dance for the first time in too long.  Maybe this would be the impetus to take more lessons and go to dances.  I got 15min into the class then felt so lightheaded I had to sit down.  For the rest of the class.  He was very nice and checked on me.  I felt better by the end of the hour-long class and we danced some.  We hung out there then he dropped me home.

Now my legs are sore, I have a headache, my neck's bothering me, and I hate that I can't go dancing--something I love.  I'm glad to have tried, and that I could do some, but it's very disappointing to always be reminded of how screwed up my body is.  I wish I could go back in time to 17yo and switch for a healthy body.  Telling someone about my life is pretty depressing.

Now with Improved Commentating

I switched to Disqus comments, which tests out fine.  I'll be able to reply to comments via email and other cool stuff.  Blogger isn't bad, and it's free, but the comments are meh.
Thanks to everybody who comments, they really make my day :)

Hazards of Online Dating

So, I'm on a dating site.  It's been slow until tonight: I think Valentine's Day brought out the crazies.

First I received this message from TribalMutt:
"FYI...

..."A woman's hair is a glory to God."

Therefore, if she has no hair, she has no glory. Although God understands if a woman is bald due to chemotherapy, but not because she cuts her hair off because it's a style that she wants.

Just fyi....

Be good.

Colin "

My reply?  That opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.  And apparently he is one.  

I also point out his faulty logic (losing a glory doesn't leave me with zero glories).  And mention that twice donating my hair to sick bald children seems more glorious than leaving it dangling off my head.

As if that weren't enough, here comes Jim4556:

"Your so incredibly beautiful."

Um, thanks.  

Watch out what you write me, guys, you might make it into my blog!

Being Loved for Me

I made it to knitting group last Wednesday, a really wonderful group of women.  I walked in as everyone was introducing themselves and saying what useful device they would create.  One device would rearrange chi, another make coworkers decide to retire, and a couple were knitting related.  Then it was my turn and the device was obvious: it would stop my chronic pain.

I've been feeling awful all week and weekend with high pain, no energy and my right arm going numb.  I was tired and needed to be around people so was glad to make the knitting group.  I only stayed for an hour and wasn't able to talk much.  As I got ready to leave, though, a lovely chorus of goodbyes rang out!  I felt so loved and accepted for me in that moment.  I'm terribly grateful for my knitting group.  It's the group of women I've been hoping to find for years.

Happy Valentine's Day

My readers are my Valentines this year.  Thank you to everyone who reads this blog :)

Some people dislike Valentine's Day, saying it's a marketing gimmick.  I think it's great to spend at least one day each year consciously appreciating the people we love.

Posing Practice

Inspired by Gertie's "I'm Tired; Here's a Video of a Cat" posts:


Some photos of me posing in my new fancy dress.  I saw the dress, loved the dress, bought the dress, now I need to find somewhere to wear it.  I'm sure something will turn up :)


This seemed a great excuse to practice posing for photos.  It's a silk bias dress with sequins, something I'd never sew for myself.  Plus it's a magic dress that skims over my lumpy bits!

I love the bodice! 

The back

The straps slide through loops at sides.
I'll baste the straps once they're properly adjusted.

Better Photos

Hooray, my camera tripod has arrived!  Now I can take actual good photos of myself, instead of balancing on a dining chair, often with arm outstretched and camera backwards while watching the viewscreen's reflection in the mirror so the flash doesn't blind the camera.  (I hope that makes sense, the cat is kneading my stomach as I type ;)

Also after tripod

After tripod

I still have to get the hang of posing--so not my forté! I also forgot to move the table, so the ugly door is in the background (my dining table doubles as the winter sewing room).  But otherwise I'm quite pleased.

Before tripod

Spring!

Well, almost...today I saw crocus buds!  Walking home I saw snowdrops blooming, too.  All the bulbs have sprouted and the daffodils are budding.  Spring is my favorite season :)

A Jacket

I started this jacket back in 2006 in a lovely browny-purple stretch faux suede.  Since then I got divorced, worked at PT so my muscles weren't in spasm neck-to-hip, couldn't sew for a couple years because I forgot to eat and lost 15-20lbs, remembered to eat and gained the weight back, made a whole new group of friends, and otherwise lived life.

Some things on this project I did right, like making a muslin.  Other things I did wrong: buying awful thin rayon lining fabric because it was the best color match, not pressing well, cutting inaccurately.  Thankfully I can fix the pressing mistakes, and I now have nice silk to line it.  I didn't mark the changes on the pattern tissue--mostly lengthening--and have since reused the muslin pieces so I cut the lining from the fashion fabric.

In a previous post I wrote about problems with my initial pressing and interfacing.  I still need to grade the seam allowances and decide whether to add more interfacing, or perhaps topstitch?

Since the outer fabric is stretch I'm cutting the lining on the bias.  I also added a couple inches of extra width to the back center.  Cutting is one of the single most painful things I do, but I laid out my new cutting mat on the floor and got it done.  I've started trying to sew the lining together but bias silk charmeuse is awful!  Hand basting might be in order.

Lining fabric

The wrong side is slipperier and a lighter pink so that's my right side.  I was given this silk, a dyeing experiment by someone in my sewing group.  It's perfect for my purposes :)

I'll post more as I assemble the jacket exterior and try to sew the bias lining.  Thanks for reading!

Bad Bad Seamstress (aka, Me a Few Years Ago)

When I started this jacket, in 2006, I'd done very little garment sewing.  I'd made a couple pair of pajama pants but this was my first big project.  I fit the muslin and got all the way to assembling the jacket when I had trouble.  I didn't press the seams well, then interfaced the fronts.  I developed awful neck pain, which I still have, so sewing was set aside.

I recently pulled out this jacket and saw the problems.  I busted out my utility knife and cut the interfacing at the edge of the seam allowances.  This allowed me to press the seams flat, showing just how terribly I'd pressed first time around.  Even the straight seams weren't pressed flat!  More photos here.

Seam pinned flat with gauge showing excess fabric

Starting to cut the interfacing

After cutting the interfacing I pressed the seams again.  Finally, a curve at the bust!  I didn't have a pressing ham in 2006 which surely contributed to the problem.  (I'm bustier on the left side; the differences are intentional.)

Left front

Right front 

I always liked this faux suede and am pleased that I can resurrect the project :)  Hopefully it turns out well, or at least wearable.

Change of Plans

Mr Simplicity got the axe

I had been contemplating whipping up a robe by Valentine's Day but then the recipient couldn't decide whether he wanted to continue our relationship.  That's not the kind of relationship I want to be in so I told him not to bother trying to decide.  So the robe is nixed.

I have everything cut out and ready for a jacket, along with an exposé post on my terrible sewing circa 2006.  There's also a mockup for a jumper that's been stewing for a couple years now.  I just found chocolate brown velvet for trim :D

I've been having some nerve pinching in my right arm/hand due to muscle tension but it seems ok to sew.  If I can just get some energy I'll be good to go!