what do you forget?

Whenever I go to Dallas with my sewing machine, I always seem to forget something.  I’m packing right now for SF and I’m afraid I’m going to forget something important.  You know, like thread.  Or a seam ripper.  Something not very expensive to get another but that I have at home and will still be a hassle to go find.  There’s not any quilt stores near our hotel.  It’s a 45 minute bus ride to the nearest quilt store, but they might not have what I need.  Britex isn’t that far, I guess.  I just might not be able to find, like, rotary cutter blades or something.

 

So my question is:  What do you find that you always forget when you travel/go to retreats?  And what is on your must take list?

stupid domain expiration

I nearly lost my website.  A customer emailed me saying that she couldn’t get to my website, so I double-checked to make sure it was still up.  NOPE.  The domain registration had expired but the company I used to register it didn’t send me any emails and I stupidly thought they would.  Another company had sniped it, too.  I was able to “reactivate” the domain, but the site isn’t up just yet.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it works and I don’t have  to pay some guy $200 to get my site back.  

This made me start thinking about my blog.  I’ve wanted to perk it up and change the theme.  That’s very limited with just the regular wordpress.com blogs.  Now, with wordpress.org, there’s a lot of options.  I have hosting space but I was afraid that if I moved the blog, it would be more hassle than it’s worth.  I learned this week that I can set it up so that this blog still exists and the feed still exists and it just redirects everything.  Thank you, wordpress!  Now I feel like I should do more research and see if this is what I want.

I have another customer today and then it’s time to pack.  We leave Sunday afternoon for a week.  I’m planning on posting while we’re in SF, so look for very different posts (like pictures of shoe stores…  hehehehe) and fun pics of zee TallBoy while we travel.  He’s hilarious in airports, I swear.  Looking forward to flying JetBlue for the first time, too!

SF to-do list

Strangely enough, after just mentioning that I was looking for a real girdle, I noticed a woman at the gym this morning wearing a compression garment.  My trainer told me she’d had a body lift.  I remembered my friend Terry wearing one after her tummy tuck and she showed it to me.  They’re very very firm and it’s almost like my aquarobics swimsuit with the legs.  I’m going to look into that, maybe while i’m in SF.

Speaking of SF (and back to non-body-issue-type discussion), I’m getting things ready to take with me.  I’m thinking my to-do list while I’m there will be:

1. Buy stuff at Fabrix (and make a blog post about the store)

2. Finish The Bro’s graduation cross-stitch gift (just in time for his birthday!)

3. Start work on the Mario scene I’ve had designed for a year.

** those are both on-plane projects for the most part **

4. Re-sew Vegas Batiks

5. Sew on Margaret’s Empty Nest quilt

6. Make a 5-minute skirt (maybe two if I decide I don’t want to piece any on quilts)

7. Opera on Wednesday, maybe

8. Do more try-ons at Harper Greer, Go Figure, and Igigi (if their showroom is open) and, of course, share with you, my lovely readers.  I’m sure you’re all just dying to see more poorly lit pictures of me in partially awful clothing.  I’ll take a real camera this time and TallBoy will be at work.

9. Check out that fetish shoe store I saw last time.  You know…  the one across the street from the mosque?

10.  Maybe also check out Cookin’

Can anyone think of other things I should do while I’m in SF?

gotta love the 50s

In my research about what to put in my wardrobe, I’ve been looking at vintage patterns.  I LOVE vintage patterns.  I LOVE vintage clothes, too.  It’s obviously hard for me to find anything in my size, but since I grade up for most patterns, I’m not too worried.  After reading some of Summerset’s Inside the Envelope posts, I think it’s as important to learn from the instructions as it is to get the pattern pieces.  And really, I can redraft a pattern if I can see how it’s put together.  

These dresses are really tempting me…

The try-on session taught me that I need skirts that skim my hips but have fullness in the knees.

Is this not the coolest idea?  The skirt skims, but it gives waist definition and the nice surplice top.  I might alter that one to make the waistband larger.

Now I just have to figure out where dresses fit into my everyday wardrobe…

try-on session #1

One thing about sewing your own clothes…  it’s hard to tell how the style is going to look on you until you’ve put in a considerable amount of time and/or effort.  So, I’ve taken it upon myself to go to a variety of stores and try on lots of different styles of clothing.  R tagged along and ended up taking some pictures of the few things that looked good in one way or another.  I’m going to share these, but please keep in mind that they were not only taken with a Blackberry, but they were also me mugging-all-goofy for the camera.  They look utterly ridiculous.  But I can’t really talk about them without *showing* them.

R really liked this dress.  He admitted that he has a thing for 60s fashion (I never knew that!) and he liked the flounce on the sleeves.  I wouldn’t have ever picked a flounce and even in the mirror I didn’t think it looked good.  But when I look at the picture, I’m surprised at how it balances out.  I also didn’t think I’d like the big round collars.  They’re a little too 60s for 50s-leaning-Deana.  But I have to admit that they do look good on me.  One thing I’ve learned from all these pictures is that Spanx are NOT a girdle, no matter what everyone keeps trying to claim.  I am now in search of a really really good girdle.  If I have to make it myself from 5 layers of spandex, I will!  Those bumps and lumps should be GONE with a dress like that. 

I don’t like prints.  They get dated too fast.  They’re often faddish.  I don’t do faddish.  Gosh, there are lots of things that I don’t do, aren’t there?  This shirt showed me that I can make the empire tops with woven fabrics.  But this is totally not designed for a pear shape and why do designers think that big girls look good with elastic digging into their arms?  Puffed sleeves are for redheads on Prince Edward Island.  :D

R really likes this sweater.  The sleeves work for me.  They do help balance my hips visually.  I have to be careful what I let R pick out, though.  This is the man that thinks I look perfect naked and doesn’t care if my shirt is too short or anything hangs right.  He thinks girdles are silly because they hide my shape.  I love him, love him, love him dearly.  But therefore, he is completely biased when it comes to what’s flattering.

Now, why is this the only focused picture of the whole lot?  I LOVE this view.  If I could erase the clothes hanging in the background, I’d make it my profile pic on Facebook.

This one really surprised me.  Do me the favor of ignoring the-arms-I-hate.  I never thought this would be so flattering.  It was definitely designed with a …uuuhhumm…. larger-chested-lady in mind, though.

And finally…..

This one I can’t decide on…  I feel a little bit like Madeline.  The big collar surprised me, but the fact that my favorite shirt hangs down below the jacket leads me to believe that it is too short.  Maybe over dresses, though?  What do you guys think?

New Book on its way to meeeeeee!

As someone who hates being just like everyone else, I’m always looking for new background quilting ideas.  I just ordered this book from the lovely and talented Irena Bluhm

Should be here in a couple of days.  I’ll let you know how it turns out!

Ahh, how relaxing…

I love spending time just doing nothing…  for the first day.  Then I get antsy.  And afraid I’m forgetting some super-important deadline (which I usually am!) and then spend a day trying to figure it out.  And then the next day rushing to get done that-which-I-forgot…

So, yeah.  Week o’ nothing was interesting.  I did manage to do a few things, including schedule a number of rentals to squeeze in before  SF.  I updated my projects list, which you can all view at any time, courtesy of Google Docs.  And I’m making some plans for wardrobe sewing.

I realized one thing in all of this “free time” — I really do much better when I have routine.  Has anyone else found that?  I envy friends who can just rearrange their schedule on the fly.  The Bro once said that he’s not a good waiter b/c he can’t rapidly prioritize.  I’m the same way.  And once I have something planned out (to the N’th degree, of course) I’m really thrown by the need to change.  I’ve gotten a LOT better since the introduction of *those drugs* (yes, Absent, you get jam-royalty-points).  But it’s still hard at home.  FLYlady doesn’t work for me, and the SHE system is sorta there, but I’m always looking for new methods.

Anyways.  Time for bed.  We had a very uneventful First Wedding Anniversary.  I wasn’t in the mood for a picnic, so we just went to Cheesecake Factory and B&N for a couple hours of magazine/book browsing.  But the dark chocolate ganache on our lunchtime cake gave me a bad allergic reaction and I need some sleep.

Thanks for letting me be away for a week or two, yous guys.  I needed to recharge my batteries.  Hopefully I didn’t loose my 3 readers in the process.

does this qualify for disability?

I have somehow managed to bruise my left wrist.  No, not by being a super-klutz, as is my usual M.O…  By holding binding in place while sewing two quilts and by holding little bitzy flowers and beads in place on GUoB.  A BRUISE!  Seriously….  Granted, I’m prone to this because I tore this same muscle 12 years ago this week.  Old marching band injury.  

Yes, laugh all you want!  

 

I’m curious, dear readers…  What has been your strangest quilting/crafting/anything injury?

can we say wow?

Mom called.  Asked me when the show was.  I gave her the dates.  She then asked when I had to turn in my quilts…..

<insert Charlie Brown ACK! here>

One week from today.  ONE.  WEEK.  7 measley days.  How did that happen?  It used to be two weeks!

I blame TallBoy and his alcohol poisoning on Saturday night.  Too much drinky-drink means wifey gets to stay up and make sure hubby’s still breathing.  Fortunately, it did not require a mirror as there was sawdust being created on that side of the bedroom.

There is no motivator like the realization of an impending deadline.  Tonight was:

- CC back on Lola to get the last little bits of quilting finished

- CC in the washer to get the marks out

- cutting out of flowers for GUoB

- blocking CC

- torturing TallBoy for opinions on where to place the flowers on GUoB

- sewing on of said flowers

- beginning to sew on beads for GUoB but realizing I hadn’t posted yet today

Et Voila!  

 

Ick, and now I have the hiccups….  again….  night, folks!

a fashion discovery

In looking for shoes for my fall wardrobe, I made the strangest discovery.  I spent a few hours in fruitless search for *that shoe* in *that color* and that will fit my giant duck feet.  When I found something (for a little more than I wanted to pay) I had to decide on a color.  In searching InStyle and Vogue, I kept seeing pictures of Natalie Portman with her satin pumps that are vegan friendly.  Really, I don’t care about it being leather or satin or whatever.  BUT, in thinking about satin pumps, I realized that I could get dyeable shoes and pick whatever color I want!  A very brief search brought me to my ideal shoes…

and then there’s this lovely one:

The best part of all of this is that the closest store is down the block.  I’m totally going over there tomorrow.

The worst part of all of this is that I still have to decide on what color.  But now at least I can get two pairs instead of just one.  :D