pulling a loose thread and unravelling....

I'm so glad that I still have people who read my blog--thank you for sticking around.  Interesting observation:  it took bloglovin' and feedly about 12 hours to pick up my blogpost.  I'm not certain what's going on with that.

One task has lead to another, very similar to pulling a loose thread and unravelling a sweater. I've figured out where to stop, so I don't end up with a bunch of snarly tangled yarn.

It's the tail end of the long weekend--I have managed to get a lot done, but to my eyes, I am still on the uphill climb.  It seems like nothing has changed.  Sigh.   No sewing this weekend, and no fabric or notions have been de-accessioned.  I managed to wash and clean three of my four windows, inside and out (I can't easily get to the fourth window from the inside or outside). That was a major accomplishment, since the windows have not been cleaned since I moved into the apartment in 2002.   I have learned that when windex doesn't work, white vinegar (undiluted) will do a great job removing hard water stains.  I still have some stains.  My goal is progress, not perfection.

I've washed and painted one wall of my bedroom a different shade of white.  It's the smallest wall with the lowest ceiling but the room does look a little brighter.  I'm considering re-arranging my bedroom furniture.  I've been reading some fengshui books at bed time--and there are some fun concepts in there. I still have lots of boxes and cartons in an around my apartment. So that might be a project for next weekend

Labor Day weekend--Digging out my Mojo

I wish a happy Labor Day to my North American friends.


I haven't been sewing recently. I thought that my Mojo disappeared--I was avoiding sewing. I identified patterns I wanted to sew and fabric in my stash I wanted to use, but I never got started on any project. I spent some time looking for it in my apartment. It took a week or two for me to realize that my mojo was still in my apartment, but it was BURIED under a huge stash of fabric, patterns, books, dance clothing, fitness clothing and other random stuff. It really depressing being surrounded by too much stuff.

I've lived in the same apartment for 12 years (really in the same complex for 20 years). I haven't done a major re-arrangment of my furniture in err. decades. I did to a major de-stashing last year, but at that time I didn't go through my books, closets, etc. I have not re-located in literally decades, so it's time to thin out my possessions (Example: I have LPs, Cassettes, CDs and digital downloads in my apartment). I do not have an empty flat surface. So I'm spending this weekend going through as much as possible. I have several plastic bins (mostly fully of fabric) on my patio, and I'm going through everything to get rid of the obvious stuff. I've made two donation trips (books and shoes) and I have stuff set aside for electronic recycling, stuff for a dancer-garage sale.   I'm also cleaning and doing minor repairs. I'm pretending I'm moving. I may end up renting some storage space, but I'll have a clearer idea of my possessions. There is a lot to do, so I had better get cracking

Bloglovin, I think

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I'm claiming my blog for Bloglovin'. the Deadline caught me by surprise.....

Sewing on Saturday night with Sylvain Reynard

I'm sewing again. I'm currently tracing out Jalie 2796 (the multisport skirt). it looks like a fun pattern! I'm hoping that sewing these garments will help inspire a more active fitness routine.

I've gotten in to the habit of listening to audiobooks while sewing or doing things around my apartment. By total random choice, I borrowed the book Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard from the library. Apparently it's part of a series. Has anyone in Blogland heard of these books before? Is this fiction in the genre of 50 shades of Gray or post-Twilight? I haven't read the Gray or Twilight series.

I selected it from the list of newly acquired audiobooks. I'm enjoying the story--I would describe it as a throwback to Harlequin Presents novels (circa 1980's), complete with the ultra mysterious, but wealthy Alpha male, the meek heroine (frequently compared to a rabbit), a charming beta male, and bitchy other woman, mixed with some accurate observations about classics (it takes place in a Humanities graduate studies department in exotic Toronto. I've been to Toronto and I love that city). I've been listening Dante's Inferno while driving to work and I keep cracking up and laughing because the dynamics are highly similar to a Harlequin (AKA Mills & Boon) romance--I read so many of these novels in junior high school, so I find it highly amusing to hear the narrator talk about chewed lips, expensive cars, a scowling heros who interrogates the heroine frequently about her meal habits and "whose expression hardens" the heroine disagrees with him. I am taking care to drive slowly and carefully so I don't get in to an accident. And with all the chewed lips, I'm using a lot of lip balm.

I see that BBC 2 is starting a new competion series called Great Sew Off. I see several familiar names from the internet sewing world. I hope that the series migrates to US television somehow. I saw a little bit of the Bake-Off series when I was in London and I thought it was a lot of fun.

Proposing a Happy and Productive 2013!

Hello, my patient friends out there in the internet. There are several explanations for why have not been posting for the past 5 months. Please pick and choose any combination of explanations because they are all true.

1. I have been away from my sewing machine.
2. I have been crazy busy at work.
3. I was crazy busy packing, de-cluttering and stashing in order to prepare to be away from home for a long time.
4. I have lived and worked in another country for 3 months. London! it was great!! yes, I was crazy busy at work, so I didn't meet up with anyone--sorry! I did go fabric shopping, though. I have come to realize that it's a form of torture to shop for fabric when you don't have access to a sewing machine. Yes, but between work, dance, touring, I did manage to get some shopping done. I'll try to post some pictures of my purchases.
5. I came home, did laundry, slept, and packed again for my vacation.
6. I spent 3 weeks in Egypt! it was great! No, I wasn't scared--I went with several friends and I made new ones. I saw lots antiquities, learned some dancing, brushed up on my bargaining skills and bought souvenirs, including fabric and buttons. It was a happily exhausting process.
7. I'm crazy busy at work. :)

Sadly for now, my new reality is that my international jet-setting days are over for the foreseeable future (I had a lovely time!). I'm working on reconnecting with friends, sorting through piles of postal mail, coping with the realization that I'm a packrat with a hoarding situation (it's not a unsurmountable situation, but it does need constant attention). Immediate Goal? clearing of my sewing/cutting table so I can sew some simple tops for work. Intermediate Goal? find a space for my serger. It's been in a box for several years and it deserves to be used. But before I work on these, I'll probably head out to the sewing and quilting show. I found an invite in that pile of postal mail.