last day o' may

WELL because of the weekend and the part where I was SOCIALIZING, not as much to post on what I actually did. But here are some tidbits from this memorial day weekend:

• 10 Simplicity patterns for $10 (thanks, JoAnn fabrics sale!) (also patterns generally run over $15 for just one, so this is an awesome deal)
• Party party party for the going away of some working-in-PA-for-the-summer friends
• Lunch with grandparents fo FREE
• BON BON COOKIES which are gone now, but there were only like 14, sooooo... there (ALSO: pumpkin catastrophe of Ohio, apparently, because we wanted to make pumpkin cupcakes but there were no canned pumpkins saddest)
• Super lovely walk in the park
• Memorial day grillin' feast with family friends

And maybe some other things, but I forget.

Did I sew? Nope. OH but I did start and finish reading The Giver 'cause I didn't remember much of it from reading it years and years ago. Starts out super interesting, but the end is a lot weaker if you ask me. Not cool.

Anyhow, goodbye May. It's been real.

painting 4eva part three

Srsly. Painting. Today, sister's room. Nothing more to report. Wrists hurt.

:( :( :(

not the most productive

Well, guys, today was not the most productive of days. To be fair, it wasn't entirely unproductive. I did go out and get fingerprinted to prove I'm not a kidnapper for my summer job. Then I came home and got distracted by UH OH THE TELEVISION.

But it wasn't just any television. It was TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras. Jesus. That show. Is the worst. It is watching the worst people ever do the worst things ever and make examples of how America is terrible sometimes. I could not look away, obviously. And TLC was doing some marathon or something because I watched four episodes (that's four hours) while I half-heartedly worked a little on sewing and also ate dinner and stuff. But basically I spent my day watching 3-year-old (sometimes they were younger and sometimes older... up to 9!) pageant girls (and boys!) and their crazy pageant parents and being so horrified I couldn't look away.

Am I disgusted with myself? Eh, maybe a little. But days like these happen sometimes. It's like that time after I had oral surgery that I watched Tila Tequila all day while on Vicodin. Anyway.

So what sewing did I get done? Well I transferred the funky shapes on the pattern sheets to the fabric (this... might not make sense if you don't know how patterns work... but basically there are little shapes that you have to match up between pieces, like a puzzle, but you have to copy these shapes onto the fabric, or at least that's what I do runonsentencesorry) and then I sewed the bias tape onto the arm hole bits. This takes a lot longer than you'd expect, turns out. Three rows of sewing for each arm hole and multiple times ironing and super-precision and stuff. BUT IT WAS A GOOD LESSON, and I will definitely use bias tape in the future for things like u-necks and other arm holes and stuff. Also now I can make bias tape, which is good for the part where I am cheap and also good for matching fabric.

I also worked on the gathering that happens around the neck, and I was gonna sew on the yoke (this shirt has a yoke! front and back!) but then I got a phone call and now I'm all thrown off so I'm just going to give up on productivity for today. Particularly because sewing when I'm tired and irritable means that I will do a quick (crappy) job, and I am supposed to be getting better at this, not cheating.

So... kinda did stuff, but could have done more, had TLC not thrown horrifying people in my face for hours. (I also watched PREGNANT AND IN PERIL, which was really not as interesting.)

On a brighter note, I've been writing everyday before bed, except when I am not home / when company is over. All summer, actually. I am pretty proud of myself for that. Also, this is funny.

just an average zoo date

Well! The zoo was fabulous. Saw the whole darn thing in only five hours! (This is a big deal. The Cleveland Zoo is kinda big. And full of animals.) I didn't do anything else because I figured that wandering around for five hours is enough / I am tired and my body hurts / I'm watching Weeds on Netflix, okay?!

Anyway, so the zoo had lots of great things and here are some highlights!

There were instructional signs for the safety of animals:

There were informational signs on the animals themselves! This one showed different ways condors had to deal with being almost extinct / dying:

(I added the frowny faces.)

And of course, there was wildlife! My favorite = dinosaurs.

Thanks for all the cool stuff, zoo! And a great time with friends which included not only dinosaurs, but also actual living animals, blue icees (and blue stained mouths, oops), and all sorts of walking in the beautiful Ohio sun.

Gotta watch television now lol!

a shirt for $0.75 (provided I can follow directions)

After a glorious birthday weekend involving relaxation and booze and turning into a grown-up-21-year-old, I'm back to doing things that are slightly more productive and sometimes less fun.

I started today with some good old-fashioned seam-ripping to take apart the floral dress recently procured at the local thrift store for $0.75. I took apart the sides, took out the 8 ridiculous pleats on the upper portion, took out the zipper, took off the non-functional buttons, and ironed the crap out of that fabric. (Sometime in the middle of SEAM-RIPPING FOREVER was a trip to Target where unfortunately there remain zero one-piece swimsuits, which is a bummer because I need one for not looking whoreish working at camp this summer.)

After seam-ripping the poop out of everything, I cut out a pattern for a SHIRT because I am going to try making a shirt. It's Simplicity somethingorother, I don't remember the number, and I am far too lazy to go upstairs to look at the pattern. I'll include it next time, once (if) the shirt is finished. Although I love skirts and dresses very much, I'm attempting a tank top mostly just because I've never made a shirt at all and it's a SUPER COOL CHALLENGE for myself. Which actually seems like it's going to be a lot easier than all the other patterns I've attempted in the past, soooo fail on the challenge part, maybe. (Fun fact: I have sewn three things with patterns. One was a tote, one was a dress, and one was a failure of a dress.)

Somethin' coo': I noticed unfortunately that I need bias tape for this pattern, also. I've never used bias tape before but I'm excited for it, not only because it's a new thing to learn, but also because I made my own. Usually you buy stuff that matches your fabric, but I made some from some leftover fabric. I used this tutorial, but I don't have a fancy bias tape tool, so I just used my iron (it takes longer).

Here's a picture of the dress before, some homemade bias tape in the upper right corner, and the cut out pattern pieces waiting for me to sew them.

The little green square on the neck of the dress is the price-tag. $1.50, but green tags were half-off the day I went, so I got it for $0.75, and soon that'll mean a shirt for $0.75 and also a good long zipper and some buttons. This is what we call a good deal.

Going to the zoo with friends tomorrow! And maybe even doing some sewing. We shall see. It's supposed to be summer for real tomorrow (hot) and maybe the zoo will kill me (probably not).

birthday weekend

Dear world, today's blog post comes a little early to let y'all know that this weekend there will probably not be updates. Or at least not tomorrow. BECAUSE TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY and I will do things if I want to, but blogging about it right away is one of those things that probably I won't do.

Never fear, I did do some things today. I had a two-hour work meeting ($16!) that was all about what I'll be doing all summer. The answer is hanging out with 5 and 6 year olds, mostly. Plus some other kids here and there. And "flying by the seat of my pants," also, apparently. Anyway, it should be good.

Other things: I GOT MY LICENSE that says I can buy booze. 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 tomorrow (that's "21" 21 times, if you were curious). 

And then I finished putting things in my room after painting and then I vacuumed some places and now I am done doing stuff for today. Except maybe I will buy a dress pattern online.

NO PICTUREZ SRY.

painting 4eva part two

Today painted the trim and the window bits and mom painted the door and frames (takes longer than you'd think). Touched up where needed, moved the furniture mostly back, washed my sheets, and soon will put them on the bed.

Not as busy as I could have been, perhaps, but still did things.

Alllllll my body parts hurt. Accidental exercise via painting?

painting 4eva

MY ROOM IS PAINTED. I am tired.

Thanks to mom for the assist on the second coat.

OH ALSO went to coffee with darling Stephanie. She had better be reading this.

skirts skirts everybody loves skirts

Guess who finished her music-men skirt today? Me. I did. I did it. I did things. I am the best. I also had the pleasure of taking out some of the seams in my sister's prom dress because someone has grown since she bought the dress. (That someone is not me this time, guys.)

Anyway, onto this skirt, right? Here's the before picture in case anybody missed it and the way it is terrifying.

Beautiful! So here's what I did:

• Separated the top half from the bottom with my trusty seam-ripper
• Ironed over the top edge to put in elastic and began sewing the tube-bit for the elastic when I realized...
• OH NO GOTTA TAKE OUT THOSE POCKETS (which is sad, because I do love pockets... but they were very much in the way of where the elastic would be)
• Sewed up the sides where the pockets used to be (seriously...saddest that there are no pockets now)
• Put in the elastic for the waist band! Can we talk about how much of a pain pushing a couple feet of elastic through a SEVEN FOOT FABRIC TUBE is? My fingertips are angry at me for the death-grip I had on the safety pin I used to assist. 
• Sewed up the areas around the entry-point for the elastic.
• Sewed some of the skirt to the elastic to avoid it folding and twisting in the laundry/wear/etc.
• PUT THAT SKIRT ON:

(Excuse the part where you can see my bra through my t-shirt. Oops.) Also, after picture is complete with close-up of the fabric so you can see the glory that is the print on this skirt.

Anyway, now it is late and I have to get ready to do things tomorrow. What am I doing? you might wonder. PAINTING MY ROOM YES I AM. And I am very excited about it. Also doors. And trim, if trim is not to be replaced. Dearest room, you are going from ten-year-old's-room to capable-of-being-a-guest-room-when-I-move-out-without-making-guests-feel-awkward-and-ten-years-old tomorrow. Be excited. I am pumped to live in a grown up room. And put my white sheets on my bed soon after that.

Yessssss.

P.S. Happy birthday, Dad. I microwaved dinner-in-a-steam-bag because I am a super cook and daughter.

where have i been?

I didn't cheat. Visiting the bf for a couple of days counts as doing something.

DOING THINGS again tomorrow.