Pet Peeve of the Day

I try not to complain. I really do. And this is just one of my idiosyncratic personality blips, so I'm not looking for reader psychoanalysis or explanations for why some people are trifling. What really irritates me a few day ago was when I requested from a group of people that if they could help me with an important task, please contact me. Notice I specified if they could help to contact me. Why then do I get replies from folks saying they can't help me and some lame excuse why not? Did I ask if you couldn't help me? No, I didn't. Reading is fundamental. If you can't help, then don't respond. That's my thinking, anyway. Okay, just had to get that off of my chest.

Please share your pet peeve of the day as well so I don't feel like a complete sourpuss all by myself! LOL!

Old School Friday | Not Sure Why They're Famous

Can't stand these guys. There's not one good looking one in the bunch, and their music was always borderline raunchy. Silk wasn't as polished as Boyz II Men, and, imho, their songs weren't as powerfully sung as Jodeci's. But I know people liked them and bought their albums. I was not one of them, and this is the only song of their's that I like.

Silk -- "Girl U For Me" (1993)


The only song I like by 112 is the one featured. I primarily enjoyed this song as a college freshman because the beat goes hard, Biggie delivered a slick verse, and Puff/Diddy capped it off with some non-annoying adlibs. Other than that, I could never figure out why Slim sung most of the leads with his whiny, paper-thin voice.

112--"Only You" (1996)

Closing this Friday

Hello, readers!

I'm closing on my house this Friday and plan to move next Saturday. I'm going to be super busy packing next week, so all sewing projects are on hold until I get settled in my new place!

I won't make the deadline for Pattern Review's Wardrobe Contest, but I'll continue to putter along and work on the pieces I intended to finish. So it may end up being a mini wardrobe, which is fine with me.

Hope you all are having a great week!

Halloween Outfit and Fifi Candids

I just wanted to post a pic of my Halloween get-up. It was so fun dressing up as a "Disco Diva." The costume was a hit last Saturday and Sunday for a couple of parties I went to. The hair is a wig, though if I blow my own hair out, it's about the same diameter. I was called everyone from Donna Summer to Diana Ross to Angela Davis (???). Aside from her being much lighter in complexion than me, I don't think Angela Davis would be prancing around in a sequined mini dress and go go boots. But what do I know?

At the request of my coworker, I'm treating you all to pictures of my family member and new roommate Ms. Fifi.

As you see, she's here plotting her move to plop her little furry behind on the faux leather for my McCall's jacket.She changed her mind and sat on the instructions instead.I don't think she intends to move.
Curled up sleeping. What a cutie.

Old School Friday | Sade

Aww, shoot! It's Old School Friday, and Sade is the theme. My love for Sade goes way back to my Vermont days. My mom loved Sade and passed the appreciation of her music onto me. Easily, my favorite album of Sade is Stronger than Pride (1988). Listening to the title track reminds me of my mother and I driving home on the beltline at night after choir practice in her seafoam Buick Regal (limited edition!).

Enjoy!

Review | Jalie 2908 Stretch Jeans

Pattern Description: Jalie 2908 stretch jeans: "Women's flattering stretch jeans with slim fit through the hips and thigh and a flared leg, back and side front pockets, zip fly with button closure. View A has a low rise (2-3 inches below the navel) and View B has a regular rise (at the navel)."

Pattern Sizing: I made View A in a Size T.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing? Yes, except the model has no hips, apparently...

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. I followed the pictures mostly, and read the print instructions when I needed clarification. I used Sandra Betzina's tutorial for inserting a zipper in a fly front. Her video was good, but her instructions have you insert the zipper on the left, which I guess is common for slacks. So I reversed her instructions to put my zipper on the right.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like that the pattern is made for stretch demin. They look very ready to wear. Even thought I made a size T, I still feel like they are a bit snug in the thigh and the across hips. I figured they just need breaking in, so I wore them practically all day and even danced in them. By the evening, they had loosened up and felt more comfortable. I'm sure after a few more wears and a few more washings, they'll be perfect.

Fabric used: Stretch demin (4% lycra) from Fabric.com. I prewashed the denim twice for shrinkage and to remove excess dye. I still had some dye come off on my fingers though.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I did make a 1" dart in the center back of the waistband to eliminate "gaposis." It worked great. The waistband fits along the conture on my waist perfectly with no gaps or gapes, something I'm rarely able to find in RTW jeans. Also, I added a coin pocket. EDITED TO ADD: I copied my back pockets from a pair of RTW jeans.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'd like to make the regular rise jeans sometime in the future. I would most definitely recommend this pattern to anyone who wants to try jeans. I think the pattern fits the curves of a woman's body, so you'll get a very nice silhouette. Just make sure you go by hip measurement. I probably could go up a size in the hips, but I think a couple of wears will help me break them in.

Conclusion This is my third time making jeans. My first pair was a disasterous McCall's 5142. They looked okay, but the denim did not have enough stretch and the crotch depth was off. The second pair I made was this Jalie pattern. They looked cute, but were a size R--too small. So the third time's the charm, and I was finally able to construct some wearable jeans. I'm pretty pleased with the way they came out, and will wear them a lot!

Back Pocket
Coin Pocket
Fly
Carriers
Inseam Topstitching

Happenings

Thank you those who responded to my last post about the child-free gal and scrapbooking. I received a lot of helpful tips on what I can scrapbook about in this season of life. Some of the suggestions included outdoor photography, stages of a sewing project, chronicling a year of my life--like a visual diary, and a recipe scrapbook. These are great ideas, which I hope to use in the near future.

House update: My radon test didn't go too well. The level is above the EPA maximum. I'm requesting that the seller conduct a second test to see if the reading is any different. If it's still above the accepted level, hopefully the seller will pay for the radon mitigation.

Jalie Jeans update: I should have a review up tomorrow.

McCall's Jacket update: I just finished cutting out all the pieces for my McCall's 5190 jacket. There were a lot of pieces, plus lining. I don't think I'm going to interface this jacket, except for the collar and the cuffs. The faux leather is pretty thick already; we'll see. I'm using brocade for the lining to give the jacket some wearing longevity throughout the winter, which tends to be mild in NC.

What are ya'll doing for Halloween? I'm going to a dance party dressed as a Disco Diva--wig and all! No, I'm not making the costume--not enough time. What are your plans?

Childlessness Child-freeness and Scrapbooking

A couple of years ago, I started getting into scrapbooking. At that time, I was dating, and I wanted to chronicle our little excursions and trips together. I also wanted to chronicle my 2006 trip to visit my brother in San Francisco. But I found the creative process tedious and extremely time-consuming. Not to mention, it seemed like I kind of ran out of ideas on what to scrapbook about. So my scrapbooking phase kind of ended. Fast forward to a year ago, in attempt to revive my scrapbooking mojo, I signed up for email updates from Scrapbooks, etc. But I found that most of the featured layouts displayed all ages of children. Not that I minded, but it seemed to suggest that scrapbooking is for people who want to chronicle the lives of their children.

Nothing wrong with that, but where does that leave the childless gal (or guy) who has limited desire to feature children in her scrapbook? Unless she wanted to get picture of other people's kids. What is this presumption that if you are a woman who likes to scrapbook, you must like to scrapbook about your children? What if you don't have any children? Will the cat or dog suffice?

It also got me to thinking about the topic of childlessness child-freeness and societal expectation for women to become mothers. Most women do become mothers, and they love the role that being a mother gives them.

I, however, have never had a strong desire to become a mother. I don't know why. I just never have. I'm 30+, and I'm still waiting for this biological clock to start ticking, but it just hasn't yet. The only time I started feeling that pressure was during Mother's Day this past May. I think I sang in church that day. I can't quite remember, but what I do remember is the looks of pity various women shot my way when they saw me. One lady tried to encourage me by saying that I'm a good "spiritual mother." She didn't really elaborate on what she meant by that. I guess that was her way of "comforting" me in my childlessness child-freeness. Another lady, who has a high position at church told me, "Happy Mother's Day, someday, in the future," or some sort of mess. It really just made me want to chuckle. I guess these women thought I was cursing the day because I don't have any little ones nipping at my heels. Actually, I felt quite the opposite. I was happy for the mothers there, but I was in no way bemoaning my own childlessness child-freeness.

I always believed that when I met the "right" man, my desire for children would kick in--you know having the "total package." Well, that hasn't happened yet, and thankfully, my desire for children has remained dormant. It would be pure torture to have two unfulfilled dreams. One is enough.

So back to the original issue. Childlessness Child-freeness and scrapbooking. I think that was one of the main reasons I stopped scrapbooking. It seemed like it was only for mothers, and since I'm not a mother, what would I scrapbook about?

Are there any childless child-free gals out there who love to scrapbook? What do you scrapbook about? Do you have any examples? Please share!

Old School Friday | Freshmen Year of High School

This was really hard. There are so many good songs from this year, the year I was a North Carolina high school freshman. So many of these songs bring back specific emotions and memories.

EDIT: The year was 1992!

Jodeci "Stay"--I had an iron-clad crush on Devante. Too bad he couldn't preserve his sexy. He fell off big time. :-(

En Vogue "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)"-- One of the fiercest female groups of all time, imho. This song solidified them as the funky divas they were. I remember imitating their choreography in my living room. I think is the first single that featured Maxine on lead vocals.

Arrested Development "Tennessee"--The girls I hung with loved this song. I mean loooved it. They would recite it every day at lunch. It got quite annoying. I still like the song though.

Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit"--This was the time that my classmates began donning flannel shirts (in NC!) and Birkenstocks. Not to mention dying their hair with Kool-Aid, I kid you not. Fun times.

Jeans success and other developments

It's October!

Okay, I'm kind of late, but can you believe it's October already? Isn't that wild? This year has flown by. Fall is my favorite time of year. Even though I'm cold-natured, I love the change in the weather from muggy to crisp, and I love seeing the foilage change. It's also turtleneck and sweater season. What's not to love?

JeansIs it wrong to go out and by this cute red sweater from Kohl's rather than make it (can't find a picture at present)? It will go great with my jeans, which are almost done! And they fit! I was smart this time. I re-bought the Jalie pattern and traced the pieces out in a larger size. It was tedious tracing and cutting out all of the pieces (for both views), but in the end it is worth it. I still have the original pattern that I can retrace and modify at will. All I have left of the major construction is the waist band and carriers (and button, rivets, hemming, etc., but those things don't really count). This might be the last time I make jeans. They are just so labor intensive.

My Dad is turning 60!Whoa! I can't believe my Dad (on the right) is turning sixty this month! He still looks good for his age, despite his smoking habit. My mom and I are going to have a small dinner party for him, despite his protestations.

I'm about to become a homeowner!After about three months of searching, I put in an offer for a cute two-bedroom townhouse, and it was accepted! I'll be doing inspections tomorrow! I hope to close by mid-November. Just in time for the $8,000 tax credit. Sweet.

I got a cat!This is the family cat, Fifi. She's 18 years old. She lived with my parents up until two weeks ago when I finally decided to take her. I had reservations about moving her to my apartment, but this inside/outside cat has adjusted pretty well to apartment living. Soon we'll have a new home anyway. It's nice having a little friend to come home to, even if she begs me for food most of the time.

I've taken up go go dancing...A couple of weeks ago, on a whim, I auditioned for this go go girl dance gig for the 60th anniversary for my city's historic shopping center. The theme is 1960s Groove Fest, so I'll be strutting in my white go go boots and mini dress to the Twist, the Pony, the Swim, the Backstroke, the Jerk, the Hitchhike, and the Mashed Potato to a Beatles tribute band. This is the outfit three other girls and I are wearing. How fun is that?

That's all that's going on for me right now. I'll be sure to post a review of the Jalie jeans as soon as they're done.