Category Archives: Sewing

i’ve really shat the bed on this whole “blogging” thing, haven’t i?

i got engaged, had a birthday and the blog turned 19 — all without nary a peep.

three months later…

no, really. i totally suck at this. let’s see what i can do to rectify that.

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last februrary 13th, brad & i went for a walk around LaFarge Lake to see their winter lights display. halfway around the lake, we stopped on a small lookout platform where he proceeded to tell me a story about his Great Aunt Babe who got married much later in life when her boyfriend proposed “with this ring”.  eep!  suddenly, i was engaged! #heputaringonit

it’s now a year later and our wedding date of may 10, 2020 is approaching at breakneck speed.  most of the big things are already sorted:  venue, photographer, catering, wedding dress, groom.  the little things are now starting to fall into place:  hair & makeup, set-up & take-down, crafting decor & favours.  holy shit, though.  planning a wedding, even a small one, is no joke!

this weekend alone, brad is going out suit shopping with his best man and we’re having our engagement photo session. plus, i still need to run some crafting tests to ensure my plans aren’t entirely ridiculous (news flash: of course they’re <em>somewhat</em> ridiculous. this is me, afterall). and, i need a manicure pre-photos and plan what we’re going to wear (all while b’s family from the island is coming over and the kids will be at ours).

i’m exhausted just thinking about it. and that’s just one weekend!

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i got new glasses this summer.  it’s hard to believe i’ve only been wearing them full-time for three years. but, if i want to read, i kinda have to. my arms are no longer long enough to hold things far enough away for my forty-something eyes to focus.  presbyopia is a bitch, i tell you.

this is what i get for spending most of my teenagehood wishing i needed glasses, i suppose.

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oh! i had a whirlwind trip to Boston & Chicago this summer!  i spent 41 hours awake travelling to Chicago via Edmonton, Ottawa and Boston to help my friend heather (eop) transport her two cats to her new life in Chi-town.  we hadn’t seen each other in 19 years, but when she put out the call for someone to help with the cat wrangling, i jumped on the opportunity.  everyone seems to think it was way more of a huge deal that i did so than it was – i really feel like i got the best out of it.  a subsidized trip to see a long-lost friend, two cities i like AND cats?!  it was a no brainer.

even after almost two decades apart, it was awesome to find out we were still able to talk and hang like we always have.  we both admitted to each other that we’d had worries about that, but were so glad our long-distance, low-maintenance friendship has totally held up.  i love those kinds of friendships.

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i sew a lot. i mean, i must, as i now have two sewing machines and two sergers. wtf? how did that happen?

i also started a sewing-only instagram account last year that now has more followers than my 10-year-old original account.  double-wtf?!

actually, it’s been awesome. the online sewing community is kind of amazing. add in all the super cool local sewists… it makes for a really welcoming and supportive environment to advance my skills.

after the xmas holidays and rushing around was over, i had a whole week at home with minimal commitments and i spent almost all of it in the office sewing up stuff. it was fucking glorious.  honestly, it’s my favourite thing to do. i just wish i had more free time to do it.  le sigh.

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in everything old is new again news, i spent 7 hours on sunday setting up my dad’s new computer and porting over all his info.

i haven’t done anything super computery in a long ass time.  i mean, i use macs now.  i don’t have time for fiddling with this anymore. that being said, it was kind of fun to flex those muscles again.  it’s not <em>that</em> long ago that i’d spend allllllllll my free time futzing with my various flavours of PCs: tweaking this, reinstalling this, upgrading this, replacing this hardware, etc.  while i don’t <em>miss</em> it, it did remind me of why i enjoyed it so much – even the frustrating parts.

but, i’m not going back to it!  i need all that time for sewing! ;)

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okay, that’s it for now.  i won’t insult you (or myself) by making any promise that i’ll write more.  if you want me, you can find me on instagram and facebook, and sometimes twitter.  i can barely maintain my grocery lists – this doesn’t stand a chance.  sorry.

 

as previously posted, i decided to up my sewing game by participating in Me Made May ’18!  as our intrepid readers may recall my pledge was:

1. wear at least three me-made items each week
2. sew two new (wearable) items
3. complete the repairs/alterations of three other me-made items to make them wearable again

how did i do?

1. wear at least three me-made items each week

i did pretty good!  i wore me-made items 27 times, with peak me-made in my second-to-last outfit which consisted of THREE me-made items!  that was cool.  there were only a couple of repeats, too.  oh!  and i managed to wear every single one of my me-made items!  every one!  i wasn’t sure if that red pinafore was going to make it, but i made it work, dammit!

2.  sew two new (wearable) items

well, i did make two new wearable items:  a second pair of Winslow Culottes and a second Drop Shoulder Top.  my first Hemlock Tee met an unfortunate neckband issue and serger snacking i don’t care to try to fix because the yellow knit i used kind of awful.  i’m chalking it up to a learning experience!

3. complete the repairs/alterations of three other me-made items to make them wearable again

mission accomplished!  three items altered/repaired to make them wearable again.

but, wait, what? there are four photos, you say? yup. turns out that blue skirt didn’t need any altering, so i fixed the polka dot dress instead.  go me!  although, that being said, i can see having to give the skirt waist a wee bit of a nip in the near future (fingers crossed).

i’m super proud of that brown shirt though. it used to be a dress which shrunk in the wash because i didn’t pre-wash the fabric. so, not only did i shorten it into a shirt, i also made my own bias binding from the bit i cut off the bottom to hem it! i’m not going to lie, it made me feel pretty fucking badass.  (i just wish i hadn’t cut the front longer than the back — oops, back to reality, ego.)

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so, yeah, i completed all three aspects of my #MMMay18 pledge.

one unintended side affect was feeling really fucking shitty about myself by about week three.  i was so grossed out with myself and tired of taking full-body selfies and hating how some of those clothes made me look.  seriously.  it was not a good scene.  but, now that i’m out of it, i feel a bit better and can look back a the (highly staged and curated) photos and smile while enjoying my accomplishments.

anyhoo, that’s my recap.  i’m already working on some pants in hopes of making my way to being a jeans-maker by fall!  i’m tired of buying cheap jeans which i’m constantly hiking up because my monster thighs pull them off my non-proportionate waist.  woo.

let’s see…

• i did nothing but sew a shirt and make spaghetti sauce on sunday and i have zero regrets about that
• i cancelled my amazon prime account because it was enticing me to spend money too freely and without due consideration
• it’s Me Made May and i’m wearing nothing i made today
• Brad’s dad is having emergency eye surgery tomorrow, so he’s staying with us right now
• i’m going to a wedding this weekend
• no, really, i’m not going to buy any more fabric (just ignore that package which arrived last week)
• my friend Sarah has shared her pattern stash with me and i’m overwhelmed with sewing possibilities
• being over-scheduled makes me cranky
• my friend Lisa has sold me her bike — I HAVE A BICYCLE!
• my mom might have cancer