SAD

Seasonal Affective Disorder. Do you get it? Before this year, I’d have said no, but this year was different. Our winter was brutal, and while I’m used to our winters being cold and miserable, this year was just worse–colder, windier, drier…even if the sun was out it was almost an angry sun, not a comforting one. I’m not usually a “talk about my mood/feelings kind of person”, so obviously I didn’t get any official diagnosis, but I’m pretty sure that I had SAD. I think/hope it’s starting to go away now, but I can’t wait until it starts to warm up again. I don’t even care if it’s sunny, in fact I’d prefer if it was rainy (we need rain so bad!!), I am just tired of cold and wind.

Anyone else get SAD over the winter? How do you deal with it? All I know is that I never want to be this tired, angry, sad, miserable, and unmotived to do anything or interact with anyone ever again.

Things That Tick Me Off Thursday

Why is it that everything I like/love is quickly discontinued? It’s like I have a curse–if I like it, there’s a good chance it’s either already discontinued and I don’t know it yet or it will be soon. Everything from flooring to clothing, if I like it, it’s a death knell. 😦

The most recent to hit this curse was my favorite brand of jeans. Yeah, they were cheap and didn’t fit quite as nicely as I would have liked (not enough coverage over the butt, a perennial problem for me), but they were cheap and good enough if I cinched them with a belt. Now I’m facing a dilemma–make my own? Or go do the shop of shame* for new ones?

*The shop of shame is that feeling you get when not a single pair of jeans fit and you leave the store crying and empty handed or with a pair of jeans that is less than ideal, but at least you aren’t naked. I know I’m not the only one who has been there!

If I go the make my own route, where do fellow sewists find nice quality stretch denim in a variety of colors? I’d like to find one “brand” that is nice and then be able to get it over and over. I bought some Kauffman 20% stretch stuff a while back to make the Jalie Eleonore, but I haven’t used it yet because it’s so terribly thin. Denim shouldn’t be something you have the possibility of VPL with!

Things that tick me off Thursday

Another Thursday, another peeve. Today I’m bitching about the post office. Not the people at our tiny local office–they’re fantastic–but the postal system in general. These are probably pretty universal, so even if you don’t deal with the US postal service, you can probably relate by inserting your local variation here.

• What part of DO NOT BEND is so hard to understand? Does it need to be in French? (I got an envelope from Canada that said it in French and English and it was actually heeded–but several in English only have been bent all to hell).
• Why such a long lunch break? What if lunch is the only time I have to get my package mailed? What is so wrong with doing a lunch rotation like everyone else does? Does the post office think they’re employees are speshul?
• And why does it close so early? If I had an 8-5 job, I have no idea how I’d ever utilize the postal system, since they are closed during lunch AND THEY GO HOME EARLY!! What?! Maybe it’s different at the larger hubs in bigger cities, but I’ve never lived in one of those.
• Oh wait. I suppose if I worked I could try to squeeze it in during the couple of hours they’re open on Saturday with everyone else. I’d just have to hope that my spot in line reached the counter before closing time. Because when they say they close at 11, they MEAN they close at 11. Maybe I should camp outside like those crazy people do on Black Friday?
• And why is it so hard to work with their counterparts in other countries? I send a package of patterns to Canada and I have to fill out some “valuation” form, I can’t track it, and it takes an age.
• Why do they leave packages on my porch when it’s raining?! I’d rather try my hand at picking it up from the office to collect it than hope that whatever I ordered is safely waterproofed inside a melting cardboard box…
• And lest you think I’m just mad at the USPS, I have similar issues–especially re: rainy days with FedEx and UPS. 😡

Gah! Get it together postal service!

Things that tick me off Thursday

It’s a quick one today folks, but one that drives me absolutely BONKERS!!

The word is “yoke”– Y. O. K. E.

Shirt with Yoke

Skirt with Yoke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not a “yolk”, that’s part of an egg. We’re not making eggs here, we’re making shirts, skirts, and pants. I just keep seeing this pop up and I have to restrain myself from pointing it out every. single. time. 🤦‍

 

Is JoAnn Fabrics quality already slipping?

I recently bought some solid color flannel (usually I buy prints) for Scotch to have for pajama pants, and after the prewash it was just covered in little balls of lint. And it made a lot, because it also covered everything else that was in that load of laundry with little red and blue specks too. I’m used to flannel pilling, but usually it takes it more than a couple of washes (and not to this degree!), and this is just not acceptable to me. I’ve previously defended JoAnn’s, but if this is how they’re gonna be now that Hancock’s is gone, I can’t.

Has anyone else had this experience? Did I just buy the wrong “brand”?

Things that tick me off Thursday

Today’s peeve isn’t really sewing related, except for the hypocritical moment I admit to at the end…

As you all know, I’ve got two boys. And when you have kids–boys or girls–you quickly realize that they need stuff. Plastic cups that have straws, plastic plates that don’t shatter when they hit the floor, training pants, potty seats, toothbrushes, shoes, etc,. etc.

WHY DOES EVERY ONE OF THOSE THINGS HAVE TO HAVE A STUPID CHARACTER ON IT?????!!!!! I don’t WANT shoes with Ninja Turtles or toothbrushes with Elmo, I just want a pair of nice looking shoes and a toothbrush that does its job!!! My sons don’t need all this licensed character crap, they just need the basics. And frankly, someone needs to tell these people that those shoes with characters on them are fugly. Same with the bicycles–why is it impossible to find a bike that isn’t either pink with a goddamn princess on it or green/blue with a effing superhero on it?! How about a bike that’s gender neutral without a character so that should I have a daughter in the future (God, please no!) I don’t have to buy a new bike for her. And don’t even get me started on those stupid faux motocross bikes that are ubiquitous today.

Now, having shouted all that (sorry!), I will admit to one time that I’d like the option of more character stuff, and that is fabrics to make pajamas for the boys from. The occasional Thomas and Friends print just doesn’t quite cut it for me. And while my kids are John Deere fans from the womb, those prints are often ugly too, and so I skip them when I’m hunting for fabrics.

Who’s with me on this?

Things that tick me off Thursday

Sorry this post is a bit late getting off the ground, for some of you Thursday is already over!

So today my peeve is about pattern companies. WTF is up with the S-M-L type sizing anyway? And to add insult to injury, they can’t be bothered to put the full size range into one envelope, so you get to guess which one you need and pray that you’re not between a M and an L! Some of the patterns that I’ve skipped out on because of this stupid sizing:

McCall’s 7254. Close-fitting and moderate stretch only. This seems like a bit of a recipe for a lot of tweaking in such a limited size grouping.

McCall’s 6751. Same thing here. And this is supposed to be able to be used on a woven too, which is definitely uncool. You need those size variations for a woven, even a loose-fitting one, because fit through the shoulders is important.

Now, lest you think I’m picking on McCall’s, I’m not. I just really wanted these two patterns (plus a couple more that I can’t think of off the top of my head), but the sizing cutoff didn’t work for me. Am I the only one bothered by this?

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Things that tick me off Thursday

It’s that time of the month week again. 😉 No, I’m not OTR, the Cardinal isn’t visiting, and it’s most certainly not “shark week”, though I remember watching that on the Discovery channel when I was a kid.  Ah, memories… Do they even play anything besides Mythbusters marathons on there anymore?

But, I digress. This peeve is kind of getting to me, even though I know it’s absolutely a first world problem. I’ve tried talking to WordPress on their forums and on Twitter, but got nowhere, so I’m just going to ask any of you that I follow and that follow me back, can you dig my comments out of your spam folder? Every time I post on someone else’s blog (doesn’t seem to be an issue on mine) it never shows up. 😦 Hopefully, if enough people do that, my commenting feature will be fixed??? I know that I’m not the most witty person out there, but in the meantime, I want you all to know that I have loved the thoughtful, lovely posts that you’ve made. Your projects were gorgeous and I totally want to copy a lot of them. 🙂

Up next, I hope to have a post about a wedding guest outfit, plus maybe a bonus rehearsal dinner outfit. Have a great weekend! 🙂

Things that tick me off Thursday

I realize it’s Friday, but I didn’t get this post finished last night. Sorry!

Maybe I’m the only one who is bothered by this, but I’m throwing this out there anyway.

I hate all the extra stitches and complicated menus to find said stitches on new sewing machines. There. I said it. I have no need or desire for dozens/hundreds of fancy stitches that I’ll never use. I want a basic machine that does all the important stitches and buttonholes, and that’s it. All those extra stitches do is make it harder to find the one you want in the menu. I’d rather have a simple machine that does a select few stitches flawlessly than a fancy machine that does a mediocre job on dozens of stitches. Why is it so hard to get a basic machine with all the buttonholes, adjustable presser foot pressure, and a knee lift? Are there seriously that many people who want to stitch lines of wobbly pinecones or deformed maple leaves on their garments?

As an example, my current machine is a Pfaff that I bought in 2009-ish. I’ve had issues with it from the beginning because it’s buttonhole feature isn’t worth a damn. I’ve used the decorative stitches maybe 3 times, and each time I’ve been slightly disappointed with the quality of those stitches when they were done because they weren’t perfect. Yes, I’m a perfectionist, but then, aren’t most people who sew their own clothes? Isn’t that kind of the point? If we weren’t perfectionists, we’d wear just whatever in the hell we could find on the rack and be done with it. I’ve always felt that if it were a few less tricks of a pony, it might do a better job on the critical bits.

Anyone else with me on this?

Things that tick me off Thursday

TNT’s. We all are searching for them, aren’t we? Whether you have a basic block that you are altering to make into multiple different shapes and styles or a favorite dress pattern that you’ve made a half dozen times, the end result is the same; a well-fitting garment that makes you feel good and love to wear.

So why do we as sewists apologize for making multiples of something? Even RTW has like 5 styles in several colors/prints/tiny appliques and no one bats an eye if you buy a shirt you like in 2 or 3 colors. Heck, every RTW t-shirt (unisex) that I own is the same cut–and often the same color (heathered grey)–with a different logo on it. Same with jeans. Does it bug you to buy 2 or 3 pairs of the same jeans if they fit well and are in a wash you like? So why do we apologize for making the same thing several times if it’s a garment we feel good in?

If it doesn’t bother you to wear the same cut of clothes, it doesn’t bother me–so quit apologizing! Make it because you look fantastic in it or love the style, and don’t be sorry for it.

Happy sewing! 🙂