Bits & Bobbins from Around My Brain

I wanted to post a few things I thought may be of interest.  First, I was thrilled to find Erin's interview with Winnie (aka Scruffy Badger) on Seamstress Erin's site.  Winnie's blog is one of 3-4 I try never to miss, she's a nut, a stylish dresser, an expert sewist & fast, too...it seems like she posts new items at least twice/week...oh and I want her shoes.  Here's hoping she's up on the next season of the Great British Sewing Bee!  (All the episodes are available on YouTube, so catch up there.)

Second, you've seen the Roommate's math-flavored shirt, but I decided it needed a pocket, even though there's not one on the pattern.  I got the fabric at Bits of Thread, DC, & it was only $3/yard.  Problem is it's from a donation (they work with ScrapDC), so I bought all they had, but it wasn't much.  I had originally run out while making it without even putting a pocket in it...so the back yoke facing is from this same material, while the back collar & front plackets are from a bag of quilting cotton I got from freecycle.  I looked & looked thru my scraps, but just couldn't find the right fabric to match, so ended up using this stripy cotton, which you may recognize from my knickers obsession a few months ago.  

I am currently adding a slash pocket to another shirt he's getting, and because I don't have instructions, I have to keep walking away so I don't mess up.  I logically figure out the next step, do it, and then have to think a bit (away from my sewing room!) while I work out the step after.  So, I've been working on this post as a way to distract myself & think of something else!  Disclaimer:  I am messing up & have done lots of un-sewing, too, today, but, still, walking away means I mess up less.  

There's actually quite a bit of distraction around here...we're getting a new gas fireplace installed so there's a carpenter, a gas expert & 2 electricians here.  Very exciting, especially as our bookshelves are arriving from ISS today, too.  Bella is NOT supervising today...she's afraid of all these new & noisy people.  I'm on my own in the sewing room! 

Finally, another rearrangement of my sewing room. (The 84th time?!)  I decided to raise the height of my cutting table, as my back gets quite sore if I'm doing a lot of cutting out.  So, I swapped tables. (Yes, we have an abundance--three!--vestigial furniture from a 4 bed/3 bath apartment in Abu Dhabi.  They're all solid wood, so very hard for me to get rid of.)  I was using this with my sewing machine, with the machine sitting on a crate, and this one, which is wider, was my cutting table.  But I decided I needed a higher cutting/work table, so bought these lovely cans to raise the height 6".  And decided that the Norden gateleg (6 leg) table would not be as stable resting on 4 giant cans of green beans & whole potatoes in ham sauce, as the 4 legged Björkudden would.  

Another pocket!

If you don't live where there are floods, canned goods are a great way to raise furniture out of harm's way (if the waters don't come up higher than your cans!).  If I decide I like this set-up, I'll probably cover the cans w/ cloth so they're a bit prettier.  

It remains to be seen if this will be okay, I've dropped half the Norden, can now get to its drawers better (well half of them, where I store my muslin & interfacing) & it has changed how I get to my drawer of tools.  But I cut my workspace by 25%, too.  I promise to put a photo up soon...in a newly-finished dress!  

I did finish the 2nd pocket today...it took a long time & wasn't very easy.  But I think it looks pretty good!  

You Ain't Woman Enough, or, Style Icon Loretta Lynn in Concert!

The Roommate & I were lucky enough to be in Charlottesville a few weeks ago & Loretta Lynn was performing!  Neither of us had ever seen her and the concert was outside (I've an aversion to further ruination of my eardrums), so of course we went.

She's 81 & I hope I'm half as with-it when I'm her age.  Her voice sounded great & she did many of her hits (certainly most of my faves), plus a medley of a few others. No surprise that her band is rockin', too.  
I found her audience quite interesting...in contrast to the Camper van Beethoven/Cracker concert from a few months ago, which was about 80% men aged 40-50s, her show was about 80% women, all older than me (early 50s). Lots of groups of women sans roommates waiting in line with us.  Which isn't really a surprise as she's been an outspoken proponent of women's rights and she really knows what she's talking about. (Ever heard "Mother at 15, grandmother at 29"?  That's her life.)  Here she is singing "One's On the Way" and "The Pill."  She didn't write either, but showed some courage singing them in the late 60s/early 70s.  Actually, 9 of her songs were banned by radio stations--something to be proud of!  

If she has an area of expertise, I'd say it's the double standards for women & men in the US...thank the gods things have changed quite a bit, and she can take a lot of credit for highlighting those inequalities--and bringing some change.  

At the concert she chastised her back up singer for having his sleeves rolled up & said she felt it's important to look like a star when she's on stage.  She's also tiny (5'2"), so I expect these glittery dresses, besides showing she's a star, also ensure she doesn't get lost on stage.  

I'm including some of our favorites, all videos, so you can see her excellent fashion sense, along with some great hair: 

1. You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man)   
2. Don't Come Home A Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind)  
3. Blue Kentucky Girl  
4. Portland, Oregon (with Jack White)

Fake Ikat in Fashion!

A quick post to show you some fake ikat. Check out the photo from 1931 on that page & you'll see another thing I love about textiles: simple technology often produces amazing art. 

I posted recently about real ikat, & that post includes an amazing time-lapse video of a fiber artist, if you'd like to see how it's done.

This bag is made from fabric printed to look like it's been woven in the ikat method!  This bag is from Bungalow; saw it in a shop window in Charlottesville & had to run in & inspect. They have many fabric options for the bag, only a few are ikat-like.

I've noticed such printed (vs. woven) ikat elsewhere, too, lately.   Here are some bed linens from West Elm, for example.  

And shoes from DKNY here. 

And an iPhone cover here.

Notice I'm not even including pics from places like World Market or Pier One, or Ten Thousand Villages...where you would expect to see ethnic textiles used on products! 

Speaking of Style...Style Icons Sly & the Family Stone

Sly & the Family Stone has a new boxed set coming out, and NPR has a story about it.  I can tell you, if you don't know, that their music is well and truly amazing.  Just try to sit still while listening!  Just try!

But the band's clothing is also well and truly wonderful.  Definitely stylish.  Check out the photo here, and see what I mean. 

And here are a few of the Family Stone's songs to help you have a good day (there are a zillion more)!  And believe me, the videos are worth watching for the great style ideas. 

Remember...all we need is a drummer!  

If You Want Me To Stay 
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)
I Want to Take You Higher
Dance To the Music

Have a great weekend!

Old Maps for New Patterns: A Recycling Story

Guess why this map was recycled!

I work in a library where we have lots of maps. Recently the maps librarian decided to get rid of all the out-of-date maps, and there were stacks of them.  

So I asked if I could have them, and the Roommate came by and picked me up and we took many of them home. Now I'm using them to trace patterns onto, if I am changing a pattern, or just don't want to cut one up.  

I learned a technique in the Copy Your Clothes class I took at Bits of Thread DC.  It works best if you have a nice cutting board (mine is large and made of cardboard).  Put the map down (or the tracing paper), put the pattern on top, and start poking a straight pin through the pattern lines.  It's a good idea to put a few pins down at the four corners to keep the pattern in place while you're marking.  

When you're done poking, fold up the original tissue pattern piece (good luck with that), connect the dots you've made on the map or tracing paper and be careful not to forget dots or other pattern markings, like grain lines.   

And viola! you've got a sturdy pattern piece that you will hopefully remember you made the next time you need it.  (I put a post-it on the front of the original pattern packet, and keep all these large pattern pieces rolled up together.  Though as I get more and more a real system may have to be invented.)

In addition, the Roommate will take many of these old maps to school for his students to make posters or draw on, or just cut up and glue.  Speaking of the Roommate and maps and his collection of fun shirts, here's what he's wearing today:

Standing While...Well, Just Standing More

You may have noticed that my sewing machine is up on a milk crate now....and I've got a standing desk at work, too. I thought I'd provide a few links about why I'm a convert, and also about where to get a standing desk and additional information, if you're interested.

What is screen apnea? This quotation really got me: "The computer becomes animated and we become less animated." Scary!

There are zillions of articles out there (and journal articles too, if you are so inclined) about how you increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, etc., if you sit a lot.  Here's one from February 2013 from the Independent. 

My legs were really tired the first week after work.  After the 2nd day, I had to buy an anti-fatigue pad.  I can walk miles, but standing (like in museums) is hard on my lower back...the pad really helps.  (You can see I'm standing on it in the photo above.)

I also have to admit I really look forward to meetings ('cause I'll get to sit!) and to working at the Reference Desk...again, because it's mostly sitting.  

And some people even have walking desks!  I would love this, but can't figure out how I'd get it at work, and I don't think it would work sewing--too much jumping on & off to iron, cut, try on, etc.  Here's Susan Orlean at her walking desk.  And here's a her article in the New Yorker.  (You'll have to subscribe to read it, though.)  

Work While Walking is full of great ideas & links, more about treadmill desks, but also about standing while working.  

And there are lots of sewists out there who stand while sewing (google "standing while sewing"), most of them seem to have started due to back problems.  That is not my issue, though; I just found a standing desk & decided to try it because it's supposed to be healthier. 

Geek Desk has desks that can be raised or lowered quickly...so you can easily sit or stand.  

And an article about posture...along with a helpful video.

Music?!  How about Stand? Amazing music & fashion from Sly & the Family Stone! And today is my 29th wedding anniversary...and the Roommate loves Sly.  Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Next Up: McCall's 8841

Here's an old pattern (1997) that I'm going to try out w/ some "designer" rayon I got at G Street Fabrics recently.

I feel like I spend a lot of time trying to recreate clothes I've left behind...and wish I hadn't!  How pathetic is that?!  Anyway, I had 2 dresses made in China that I loved, they were cotton prints, indigo-dyed*. They got left behind when we headed south because we knew we wouldn't need work clothes for a while.  But I miss them.  

I usually work with cotton, so will be curious to see what happens when I try to sew with a slippery fabric.  I've already got my ballpoint needles at the ready!  

Because of the fabric, this will be a bit dressier, so we'll see how it turns out.  If I like the pattern I may make a few of them.  A simple summer dress--I always need more of those!

*The dye wasn't set!  (After a hot & muggy day in Hong Kong, the blue dye was crawling up my neck & down my arms! I had to go to a grocery store, buy a box of salt, and soak them overnight in salty water in the hotel room sink!.  That set the dye, and I got a lot of use out of them when we lived in Taipei.)  If you have fabric & the dye isn't set, try this...be fairly liberal w/ the salt--there are probably guidelines somewhere on the innerweb--but don't soak it more than a few hours or overnight as salt is fairly corrosive and weakens fabric.  You'll see them using salt in the dying workshop in Indonesia in the batik video I linked to recently.