oops

Forgot to blog, blog! This is because I am getting up at six in the morning this week (happened yesterday, too!) to work with children all day and I came home yesterday exhausted.

Anyway, blog. Here I am today, exhausted. Just know that I did not forget about you.

RAIN GO AWAY. Children + indoors = worst.

shirt!

Holla atcha, blog! I finished my shirt! If you recall it was a dress to shirt transformation that involved the total take apart of the dress to cut out pattern parts and put it together as a shirt. I learned cool things like how to UNDERSTITCH and SLIPSTITCH. (RElearn, actually, since I had done it before, but long ago.)

As a refresher, here's the before:

Let's remember, this was $0.75 worth of fabric (and buttons! and zipper!), and now it is this not-perfect, but good-enough shirt:

I promise I'm wearing shorts. Just you can only tell in the one picture. It's a bit shapeless, and you don't really notice the little yoke and gathering up top (detailed in the corner), but I like the pattern and I think I like it enough to actually wear it around. There aren't any pictures of the back because the back is pretty much exactly the same as the front. At the very least, I am proud of myself for finally finishing it. And I like it with a belt!

Things that were tough:

• This fabric is old. It frays soooo easily (and rips easily too) 'cause it is decrepit and fragile.
• The pieces didn't match up as well as I would have liked. 
• I got so tired of working with the instructions after a while. It is a lot more work to sew from a pattern than to just wing it. 
• I put too much pressure on the pedal of the sewing machine and it goes crazy fast and I'd get stressed when I was sewing sections that needed to be more particular.

Things that were nice:

• Making something totally different from a frumpy dress.
• Hand sewing! I actually really like that sometimes. Like when Mad Men is on and I'm seeing all the pretty clothes while I make clothes.
• The pattern of the fabric hides mistakes!
• I like gathering fabric!
• BEING DONE.

And on the topic of being done, to be honest there are a couple things I should fix that probably I won't because I am just so over this project, ha. BUT IT IS DONE (enough) SO THAT'S OKAY.

Also spent hours out for coffee and dinner with dear Steph and read more of my book. I am almost done with it-- expect an entry about it because I am wrestling with it very much.

So today, blog, has been very productive. Even though I didn't get up until noon.

almost finished

Srsly almost finished with that shirt I've been sewing. Hemming and side-stitching left- easy-peasy. Read some today, too. Legit blogging tomorrow.

the truth about some things

1. I am a terrible blogger, mostly because my life is not interesting enough to talk about.
2. Today... not the most productive.
3. Cleaned my room, though, since I have been letting it get ridiculous by leaving/throwing things everywhere.
4. Also finished season three of Gossip Girl, not that I would ever watch or have ever watched that show.
5. Read a lot of pages, too.
6. OH AND I DID whip out my clarinet and play it for a while for the first time in a long time. My mouth is no longer strong buuuut I do remember notes and I played what band music I had that sounded interesting and I miss band a lot because I'm a giant nerd. I will maybe get some good solo music or something.
7. I did sew a tiny tiny bit.
8. So I guess it wasn't that unproductive.
9. Here's a pretty picture I found on the internet, because every blog (especially this one) needs more pictures:

Found it here.

hey again, blog!

I have not been home so here's an update:

• made a bandana! with embroideryomg!
• pumpkin muffins!
• wandering around outside!
• super fancy mall!
• driving in the rain and the sun!
• sister's graduation!
• got a new book and been readin' it!
• avatar and where the wild things are! (both pretty decent)
• camp planning!
• picking off all my nail polish! (oops)
• sleeping and eating!

So. Back to regular updates tomorrow.

stuff i did today

1. grocery shopping for healthy foods
2. took a nap
3. gym time
4. lazy time
5. oops not the best at stuff today

i had a busy day, blog!

Well today was crazy busy. I got up at ten in the morning (omgsoearly) on the hunt for a one-piece swimsuit to avoid whoredom at camp. Let me tell you, world, I have probably the worst proportions ever for one-piece swimsuits. Short torso means smaller swimsuit. Smaller waist. Bigger butt. Real big up top. And I only get to pick one size. And the ladies need to be supported. And it can't be too long. And it can't be too wide. And it has to cover the ladies. AND AND AND AND. Always ands. And unfortunately the more swimsuits one tries on the more depressed one is about not finding THE SWIMSUIT that meets all your needs. Hell, I even let go of the hope that I would find a fun swimsuit and just hoped to find a swimsuit that was appropriate.

It took hours and bummed me out in the end, but SEVEN HOURS AFTER STARTING I found one. (Not true, less time than that, but that is how many hours being at malls happened. Holler. Thanks mom.) It is black and kinda plain and was overpriced, but... it'll do. It fits, so... miracle. I also found four pairs of shorts because of none of mine fit me the right way (thigh explosion!), some nail polish, and a cute wallet that fits a check book! Oh man oh man!

AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN after being home for like a half hour went to WORK OUT OH MAN. After some nice jogging time there was some thigh time then some ab time then some arm time then some certified for belaying time (which is also get-paid-for-it-time). Honestly, mostly went to work out because shopping and not finding things is depressing and I needed the endorphins for some cheerin' up and oh how they worked.

THEN I PAINTED MY NAILS. Which I am not good at. Because I am bad at doing anything with my left hand like painting the nails on my right hand. Also there are air bubbles but whatever. I am not super into nail polish because I bite my nails, but I'm trying to get out of that. For whatever reason, when my nails are painted I'm way less likely to eat them, soooooo, here's to nail growth.

Busy day all day. I win at doing things.

sewing and i...

Dear Sewing from Patterns,

You irritate me. Pictures do not often come out quite the same in the pieces. Gathering fabric is weird and upsetting to pin and baste, because it doesn't seem like it's going to look nice, but then it does look nice and I am thrown off. I get too stuck in wanting to be just like the pictures and it makes sewing stressful instead of kinda fun and creative.

Now, I know that you help me to be happier with what I sew. In the end, I'm way happier with you than with refashioning, usually. (Except when you really mess with me and end up looking terrible / when I don't follow directions). You are teaching me a lot, and I appreciate that. Maybe someday we can be best friends. I think once I am better at this sewing thing, we will be. I have faith in us.

Just know that you're not my favorite ever right now.

With love maybe someday,
Lindsay

Anyway, even though sewing from patterns is frustrating and hard for me to keep to, I did do a little bit of work today on that shirt. Then the cranky set in and I had to put it down. It's better for everyone that way.

Got laundry done! I am the best. Three loads worth of awesome.

I think another reason I'm frustrated with sewing, now that I'm thinking about it, is because I have way too many projects I want to do, and sewing a shirt from scratch takes a hell of a lot longer than sewing a skirt from a dress. A lot less attention to detail is necessary for that and the instant gratification is a lot more instant. I am someone who likes to see results, and sewing from patterns takes me sooooo much longer to do than refashioning old clothes. Speaking of, I have at least seven pieces in my closet (thanks Sarah, for your grandma's dresses!) waiting to be refashioned. I have tons of fabric from my grandma's house and tons of patterns. I have a bag full of high school t-shirts and fleece waiting to be turned into a t-shirt blanket. There are too many projects I want to do, so when one takes a little longer I get frustrated and just stop being inspired with that one and thinking too much about other things I want to do. Which means I get nothing done.

OOPS.

Note to self: finish sewing your darn shirt so you can move on. It could be fun. Attitude is everything, right?

Speaking of, I'm working from this pattern: McCalls 5388. It's not hard, but it is time-consuming. No ruffles and no sleeves, so it's in Quadrant III, for all you math nerds.

working hard or hardly working?

Today was new employee orientation omgomgomg. It was... not informative, but it was a good reminder of the things that are most important about a job like attitude and... stuff. But the manager seems pretty nice and it really was nice in that way where it's helpful for success in life and other jobs and just in general.

BUT AFTER THAT I started looking at planning for camp counseling this summer. I'm in charge of nine different camps, and I have to plan out the mornings for each of those. So I've been looking at those and starting to think about and to work out crafts and programs and whatnot.

I also figured out tumblr kinda and I'm putting pretty pictures on one because I like pretty things and getting to look at things I find pretty all in one place. Look at these pretty things. LOOK. Also, generally they are inspirational which is necessary. It's nice to have them in one place which also allows me to share with others who want to look at pretty things.

Today I felt kinda ill, so I took it easy, but tomorrow is laundry day. It's been far too long. I don't even know what clothes I have anymore.