Realizations

It’s been a bit nuttier than normal around here. Why? Because I had a golden opportunity to share my stash with a lovely stranger — the mother of the chap who located my sewing machine last year — at the bottom of the last stack of boxes in the far back corner of my storage unit.

So I decided to go through everything, and it feels good to know these fabrics have gone to such a special lady, hopefully to nurture her love of sewing.

Now that my stash is considerably lighter, I’m realizing why it’s taken so long to shift mental climates and evaluate my wardrobe needs realistically.

(I often muttered to myself, “Geesh, you moved almost 2 years ago – what’s the holdup??)

That first year was spent in an unheated basement with very consistent temps: Cooler in summer and never above 60℉ in winter. (Not that I’m complaining – I prefer cooler temps in winter so I can wear winter clothes.)

Leaving that and having now spent a late summer, fall & winter in a much warmer building*, I’ve got a better idea of current wardrobe needs.

Now, the challenge is to start sewing!

Couldn’t resist these, from Hawthorne Supply Company, normally a quilting cotton shop. The left is cotton knit, whilst the right is Brussels washer yarn dyed. It’s a looser weave than anticipated, but should work nicely for summer. Some of their cottons are also available in other fabric types so I’m always checking! CLICK PIC TO GO TO SITE.

*My windows were open all winter unless wind blew directly in. I only turned heat on about 3 times.)

Silly Saturday

Oops . . . . .

I thought I’d measured at least twice . . .

The curtain should come down to the AC unit & not leave part of the venetian blind uncovered. The curtain’s 9″ too short.

.

Wordless Wednesday

Lovely weekend reading from Melanie at Following the Thread‘s reviews. Thank you!

Spring cleaning

Just might get to some sewing these next few days. Time to get serious about spa time for Bernie. She needs a good clean & oil. I don’t think I’ve done that since packing up, moving, and a year in storage. In other words . . . since 2022?!?!?!

😵‍💫

It was very satisfying to remove that pile of red fluff probably left from a recent red rayon zig-zag session. That, plus oiling, has removed a slight clickety noise. (She’s a 300-series Bernina.)

If your operator’s manual is AWOL, like mine – even if you’ve got a different brand – you can probably find something in this YouTube to check out on your own machine.

❣️Happy Sewing, Lovelies ❣️

🌖 + 🔆 = Monday’s Total Solar Eclipse

Eclipse fever has thoroughly gripped my area because Monday, 8 April, we’ll witness a rare total solar eclipse. That means the moon will block the sun for about 3.5 minutes, as the moon slowly crosses over (the sun), both in their normal orbits. Here’s NASA’s special page on it.

What’s that got to do with fabric or yarns?

I discovered and acquired a wee bit of eclipse-inspired fabric last week at Sew Creative , and have washed the 100% cotton piece. Even though the eclipse-inspired fabrics were in the quilting section, this feels lighter and is behaving very close to cotton lawn after washing. No patterns decided on yet, but I have it on good authority that the black makes a wonderful shirt. (Thanks, you-know-who-you-are!)

Right now Monday’s forecast is for partly cloudy skies, and a high about 58 F/15C. Probably just a tad too chilly to be wearing much cotton, unless it’s corduroy. So I’m not considering these as must-makes beforehand.

Meanwhile – stay wise and if you’re in the path – DO NOT look at the sun without proper eclipse glasses, except during those 3.5 minutes of total coverage – if you’re in the narrow band of totality!

Also, please be aware the internet will be excessively busy on Monday, which may cause internet outages anywhere in the world.

Below is NASA’s map with a timeline for the North American continent, and showing the narrow path for the total eclipse.

You can also click the map to go directly to NASA’s 2024 Eclipse Site.

Catching up

Hello Lovelies! Long time~no blog. It’s been busier than usual round here with unexpected projects that didn’t include sewing. (Meeeh!) Some are resolved, some are on-going, but they haven’t stopped my thinking about wardrobe . . .

That’s what I was thinking about when I strayed into my all-too-local fabric store. You know what’s coming . . .

On the left are two 100% cottons that feel almost like lawn – wonderfully light and silky even though they were new bolts in the quilting section. (Gasp!)

Originally I was just looking for something to make a couple pairs of sleep shorts to go with 2 oversized tees I use as sleep shirts. But the fabrics are so soft I can’t stop thinking about other possibilities . . . . . .

The red rayon on the right (how’s that for alliteration? 🤣) looks to have been maturing in situ, waiting for me to grab the last 4 yards on the bolt. It washed beautifully and has a very luscious feel.

I’m thinking loose slouchy trousers & a top – maybe the Amalfi (by Masin). Has anybody made it? I’ve looked through IG but there’s not much about it, although there are lots of nice piccies.

If the universe will get off my back so I can sew!

✂️ 🪡 🧵 ✂️ 🪡 🧵 ✂️

Macro Monday

Sliding in a wee bit before midnight with a macro.

A bit of hot water ~

When I moved in last August there was hot water to spare and heating was off. I could shower any time and never have to twist the shower’s tap more than from 6 o’clock counter-clock wise up to 2.

Autumn came and it began to get nippy. I started sorting out buttons for donation & for Sis1, who uses buttons in her freestyle needlework designs. (She’s shy but if you’re interested, I’ll see if she’d let me post some piccies. Let me know!)

One Tuesday the heat was turned on. Mind you, I still had the heat turned off in my place and windows open or air con on.

Washing up after lunch one day I noticed a decided difference in water temperature: It was lukewarm. I made a mental note to check mid-afternoon.

Barely warm – I reported to Maintenance & was told the boiler would get fixed tomorrow. Meanwhile, they said, ‘run the kitchen tap whilst turning on the bath tap and eventually there’ll be hot water in the kitchen’.

Whaaaat??? It didn’t work or make sense, especially with water shortages & high prices, even if this building doesn’t charge us for water or heat.

The next day the boiler got fixed and I started washing up. Lukewarm water. Reported again. There was another problem, but it’d get fixed Thursday. I also learned . . .

Hot water temps are regulated by state law. (I’d been told this in other states, too.) The previous plumbers had been willing to raise temps above the legal limit; the current plumber wouldn’t. So we were advised again to turn taps on in kitchen and bath. Still didn’t work for me.

Meanwhile I was taking showers as late as I could, turning the shower’s tap 3/4 around. Then came the Official Office Memo I wrote about.

The boiler got another looking at/tending to, and it was announced Maintenance had raised the water temp, after signing a non-responsiblity waiver for doing so. (Quite rightly!)

So, is the hot water back to “normal”? 


Half-way. I’m still showering and turning the tap ¾ counter clock-wise. Washing up is sometimes warmer, but still not as it was when the heat was off. Will there be another chapter? We’ll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile during that last Arctic front I finally got to shut the windows, wear my fleece LB Pullovers, and was beginning to think about sewing a wint’ry vest.

How-EH-ver . . . now it’s back to the 30’s/40’s/50s. I’m sitting quietly writing this up whilst both living room windows are open. And the hot water is warm.

Wardrobe planning? ! ? ! ? ! ? ! ? !  I feel like starting with anything in stash and making whatever. Sooner or later it’ll be wearable. 🤨

Oh. Remind me to tell you about my adventures with Canadian quarters in the basement laundry machines . . .

Wardrobe woes

Last winter was my first winter back in North country. Grateful for housing even in a 60° basement, my wardrobe was 2 LB Pullover fleece sweatshirts, 2 pairs of L.L. Bean flannel-lined trousers and 2 Bean long-sleeved turtlenecks, to which I added a thrifted red puffer jacket & vest. Plus a new pair of low-heeled boots.

The rest of my things were in storage, stacked haphazardly & in haste by some truckers. Now let’s skip to this past August’s move into this old & well-insulated (read hot) building.

The above photo is a much cherished piece of a soft, synthetic knit sent by a lovely friend in Edinburgh and immediately made into a midi skirt with slit. I just love it!

However, static cling is a big problem here in winter. And the skirt doesn’t have pockets. If I made a half slip out of a cotton or rayon I’m hoping that would help.

There’s only 1 seam in the skirt, so in-seam pockets aren’t a possibility. But! Somewhere around here I’ve got a long piece of the fabric left over, and I’m thinking maybe patch pockets would work.

But I’m concerned about this stretchy knit. Pockets I can line, but a phone in a pocket might make for a sagging skirt. Oh! How about if, instead of a slip, I did a lining? Might that alleviate the problem?

Any thoughts on the subject, Lovelies? All suggestions are welcome!

Tree & Sky

Joining in with Cathy for her January Photo Challenge.

As I’m in the middle of town these days, getting a lone tree is fairly impossible, so I hope everyone will understand.

Given the fact this month has had abnormally cold, snowy and icy conditions, followed by abnormal fog and rain, walking around hasn’t been on anyone’s To-Do list. But I did take this last weekend, during an all-too-brief day of sunshine.

Hope you enjoy, and click over to see Cathy’s gorgeous entries. She’s got proper countryside, with fabulous trees and skies!

2024 Sewing Plans

As you can see, I finally got a door swag cobbled together, with inspiration from Sis2’s gift of, amongst other things, those small red bells hanging towards the bottom.

Hope everyone had, or is continuing to have, a most relaxing and enjoyable time celebrating whatever traditions you hold dear.

Happy New Year to all!

Some happy mail brought that french terry I wrote about here. The design is called “Chalkboard” and the background is that peculiar grayed/black chalkboard shade.

The colors are more pastel than I’d thought, but the overall effect still makes me smile. I’m trying to decide what to make with it.  AND – as the fine print says – after shipping I received roughly a 30% refund in the shipping cost. Great!

As the holidays started I finally got to listen to Lisa Woolfork talking with Tiffany Turner over on the Stitch Please! podcast. They were discussing sewing plans, and espoused a mantra so perfect that I shall try to remember it throughout the year and beyond.

Plans are a set of guidelines … possibilities … NOT contracts!

Tiffany Turner on Stitch Please!

Factoring in plain ol’ procrastination, and the mildness of the weather, there’s another reason I’ve had so much hesitancy with making plans:

I’ve discovered I’m living in a “warm building.” Meaning that unless the wind is coming from the West and my windows are wide open, my place is mid-to-upper 70’s even when it’s freezing outside and my heat is turned off.

That’s too warm for me to wear winter clothes. I’ve had to get out summery things. That’s another kink in my wardrobe planning.

🥵

Update: Late today a memo from management reports the boiler’s hot water temp will be raised on Thursday, and we should be careful not to scald ourselves.

While I’m delighted we may not be doing dishes in lukewarm water come Thursday, there’s another consideration: The heating is hot water powered. 

New-to-moi podcasts

Photo from Amanda’s Bundles – click the pic to go to fabric.

One of my favorite sewists (Julian Collins) has partnered with a new-to-me sewist (Aaronica B. Cole) to create a new sewing podcast, AudaSEWtea.

This past week I finally made time to have a listen, plus catch up with Lisa Woolfork‘s excellent Stitch Please podcasts, and Black Women Stitch. All of which I enjoy and learn from.

Now, about this fabric ~

I’ve long admired many of Julian’s fabric choices and learned some of his favorite online sources. Mood Fabrics is a given, but it’s so huge I’m often overwhelmed. Besides, I’m always on the lookout for something quirky, and who doesn’t ❤️ a bargain – he-hee!

One of the sites Julian mentioned was Amanda’s Bundles. The above photo is some french terry from their site, so deeply discounted that my 3-yard order almost equaled their basic $14.95 shipping. But I was in the mood, and it makes me smile.

Many thanks to Aaronica, Julian, Lisa, and everyone involved in these podcasts!!

🥰