Trying to Catch Up

Monday gave me the perfect time to get caught up, well, mostly caught up.
Before I start does anybody know why my Outlook Express doesn’t work? (The error says: The connection to the server has failed. Account: 'OEmail', Server: 'yahoo.com', Protocol: SMTP, Port: 25, Secure(SSL): No, Socket Error: 10060, Error Number: 0x800CCC0E)Or, why when I try to respond to blog questions through e-mail, it automatically goes to Outlook Express? I really want to get back to you but I have a TT (temper tantrum) everytime I see the OE box pop up.
Here are answers to some recent blog questions.
Summerset, of course you can steal the idea. And, I can’t believe that two of you noticed my box of plastic bags was the tiny sandwich size! I’m not so particular about the size anymore, just happened to have these on hand.
And, a couple more non-sewing, sewing items that I forgot to include.


I use the brush to clean out my machine instead of the one that came with it. The press and seal – I use for everything! I read about this in a PR review and have used it for all sorts of things. I cut it in strips and use it instead of tape on my pattern adjustments. I used it to stabilize gathers as I was attaching them. I used it to hold buttons in place while I sew them on by machine. It’s great because it doesn’t gum up the needle when you sew through it.

C_fabrication, I don’t remember where I got the binder but yes it’s small, just the right size to fit a Butterick, McCall’s or Simp. Pattern. The others are put in sideways and folded. I 3-hole punch the envelope. I used to use the clear plastic sleeves but when I got the smaller binder it just wasn’t necessary. I too fold my patterns the way they came from the factory but I keep them folded up inside the pattern instructions so the smaller bags still keep everything together. This seems a little OCD but when I fold the pieces into the instructions, I keep the pieces I didn’t use in a separate “fold”. That way, if I want to make it again, all the pieces I cut are separate from the pieces I didn't cut.

Here are my recent vintage pattern purchases. Sometimes when I come home I’m so exhausted I just want to veg out in front of the computer and the vintage pattern sites are so much fun. I’ve been checking the daily listings now instead of going to a certain era. The pamphlets that I ordered last week haven’t arrived yet but I’ll share them with you as soon as I can.

The story of the black skirt. Once upon a time I made a basic black ultrasuede straight, knee-length skirt. No matter what my body did, that skirt looked good. I wore it to death. Last year I was forced to retire the skirt before I had made a replacement. This resulted in many anxiety-ridden mornings staring into my closet. Very sad. Finally, I have a replacement!

My favorite design feature on the skirt is the combination of a pencil silhouette with multiple pleats instead of a slit at the back. Here’s the detail on another skirt from the same pattern in a dark gray. It’s so easy to do! I’ll try and diagram the process in another post because you could easily add it to any skirt pattern that is designed with a slit.


For the black skirt I attached a waistband, but for the gray I went back to an old standby – the grosgrain ribbon facing. Can you see how I did it from the pictures? I learned the process years ago. One of the keys to getting the ribbon to lie flat is to press a curve into it first. Who knew that grosgrain ribbon was flexible? (Sorry, I hate to throw things out there without and explanation but any details are just going to have to wait for a different post.)
As for the turtleneck, yea, so I bought this pattern and made a muslin on my quest for the perfect turtleneck. Then last weekend I got out my winter clothes and found this turtleneck, which I love! The only flaw is that there is a zipper in the back. I cut out three more on Monday and will play around with the zipper. Meaning; I’ll probably try at least one without the zipper to see if I can stretch the neck opening so that it's wide enough to fit over my head without breaking stitches but still holds the shape of the turtleneck.

Kristine tagged me ages ago! Finally, I have a response :)
Rules to the Game of Tag:
1. Link to your Tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. (See list below.)
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a post on their blog.

  • When I eat, I only eat one food at a time. You know, salad, turn the plate, vegetables, turn the plate, meat, turn the plate. Most of the time I don’t even realize I do it!
  • I was once mistaken for my mom...by her brother!
  • I got married (for the first time) at age 39. (Just so you know, prior to getting married I was perfectly happy being alone, not lonely.)
  • I’m terrible with numbers. (It’s possible I was 38 when I got married. No wait, I think it was 39.)
  • Two years ago, two weeks before my birthday I was in shock because my husband pointed out that I was already 47, not just turning 47. Honest truly.
  • Guess it’s redundant to point out that I never remember anniversaries. After filling out so many forms for my kids I think I have their birth dates correct. Just don't ask me how me how much they weighed when they were born!
  • After the first two weeks of work/school I realized I hadn’t worn the same thing twice. I kept it up for a total of 3 ½ weeks. (Well, somewhere around 3 ½ weeks.)

Thanks Linda for the Premio-2008 award!


Rules are:
Paste the rules on your blog.
Select 6 to 10 bloggers to whom I would like to give this award to. You're all nominated and tagged - how about that!
Curly Crafter
For Me by Me
Nibbles and Bytes
Subversive
The Amazing Ms. O
Weekend Designer (Wow, I haven’t visited in a while and I just saw another project to add to my list – instructions for drafting a pair of jeans – cords for me. You must check out this site.)

Write 6 of your most important values:
Humor
Forgiveness
Faith
Humility
Perseverance
Creativity!


Happy sewing to all!





Comments

CraftRage said…
Hey there! That pleat is AWESOME, and that skirt is incredibly flattering!

When you get email containing comments from your blog, they're essentially sort of just autoforwarded to you from your blog page, so you can't reply to them via email at all.

The only way to respond to comments is to visit your blog, open your post, and click on Post A Comment, and put your replies in your comment. It took my rat-brain four or five attempts to figure this out.

Also, Outlook Express is possessed. I can't tell you why it pops up all the time; maybe it likes your earrings! :)
Meg said…
Love the 7 things about you. Funny!
marysews said…
Great job on the skirt, and I like reading your sewing tips.

I got sick of Outlook and Outlook Express filling up my hard drive, and switched to gmail. Since we have high-speed internet at home, I read it online and it doesn't fill up my hard drive with email. In 2.5 years using gmail, I have 2317 emails, using a mere 3% of my alloted space. One advantage to reading email online is that I can read it from any computer and it will never automatically infect my computer.
TwilaO said…
Thanks, Dana! That was fun. :)