Giftmas Update and Stitchery
We went to my parents' house for the Christmas holiday. As they live in the middle of nowhere, it was a pretty relaxing weekend. Lots of laying around watching bad Christmas movies and eating fattening foods. mangledpuppies, kcsdhottie (aka my little sister), and I made a quick trip to a Dollar Tree on Saturday after we got to the house; it must have been a fairly new store since it reeked of chemicals and made my lungs burn. Burning lungs was about as exciting as the trip got.
We made out like bandits, though. I ended up with a couple of very nice sweaters (that look just like other sweaters I own and wear all the time; perhaps I need some more variety in my wardrobe), my first ever Le Creuset dutch oven in a lovely shade of blue, a sushi book chock full of history and information, and a very large check. Most of that last item will be spent on bills, but I figure I get to splurge on one item. I'm debating between a fancy dress or a good outdoor-activity winter coat.
I also recently purchased a couple of books for myself. They're both sewing books, and seem pretty awesome for my level (which is more near to beginner than to advanced). I got Sew U, which includes patterns for a skirt, shirt, and pants in sizes 0-12 (retail sizing, not the usual sewing pattern sizing). It's a pretty comprehensive guide to sewing basics, and I'm really excited about getting started learning the right way (as opposed to the cobbled together smattering of knowledge that I'm using right now). It shows you how to customize all the patterns and gives three specific variations for each of the patterns. I like that it shows which direction to stitch in and other basic stuff, as well as how to add a yoke to the shirt and other customizations.
The other one is Sew What! Skirts, which is a guide to making your own skirt patterns based on measurements rather than sizes. It gives you directions for A-lines and straight skirts, as well as circle skirts, wrap-arounds, and variations on all the above (including darts--important for the curvy among us). Pretty much an intro to patternmaking basics, it looks to be a good guide for beginners. Yay for books that tell you to how to boss around your projects instead of just following the directions and hoping something good comes of it.
I'm excited about sewing all over again. We're going to to work on my crafty corner this weekend, since we haven't gotten around to it yet. Yay for blue shelves and a table for my sewing and knitting machines. If I'm well-behaved I'll save money by not going out, and I'll have a new wardrobe of custom-made clothing. We'll see how that goes.
We made out like bandits, though. I ended up with a couple of very nice sweaters (that look just like other sweaters I own and wear all the time; perhaps I need some more variety in my wardrobe), my first ever Le Creuset dutch oven in a lovely shade of blue, a sushi book chock full of history and information, and a very large check. Most of that last item will be spent on bills, but I figure I get to splurge on one item. I'm debating between a fancy dress or a good outdoor-activity winter coat.
I also recently purchased a couple of books for myself. They're both sewing books, and seem pretty awesome for my level (which is more near to beginner than to advanced). I got Sew U, which includes patterns for a skirt, shirt, and pants in sizes 0-12 (retail sizing, not the usual sewing pattern sizing). It's a pretty comprehensive guide to sewing basics, and I'm really excited about getting started learning the right way (as opposed to the cobbled together smattering of knowledge that I'm using right now). It shows you how to customize all the patterns and gives three specific variations for each of the patterns. I like that it shows which direction to stitch in and other basic stuff, as well as how to add a yoke to the shirt and other customizations.
The other one is Sew What! Skirts, which is a guide to making your own skirt patterns based on measurements rather than sizes. It gives you directions for A-lines and straight skirts, as well as circle skirts, wrap-arounds, and variations on all the above (including darts--important for the curvy among us). Pretty much an intro to patternmaking basics, it looks to be a good guide for beginners. Yay for books that tell you to how to boss around your projects instead of just following the directions and hoping something good comes of it.
I'm excited about sewing all over again. We're going to to work on my crafty corner this weekend, since we haven't gotten around to it yet. Yay for blue shelves and a table for my sewing and knitting machines. If I'm well-behaved I'll save money by not going out, and I'll have a new wardrobe of custom-made clothing. We'll see how that goes.