Skip to main content

{Links} 2015.08.24

Ninja Wake-Up Call Block


Happy Monday! Or rather, 'Ugh, Monday!'. Yeah, that's more like it. I meant to post this on Friday, and then Saturday, and then Sunday.....but I had better things to do, like finally watch Season 2 of The Great British Sewing Bee! I didn't even realize there was a Season THREE until I was looking for videos online of S2 and saw I was so far behind in this show that a whole additional season was also online.

Unfortunately I couldn't find episodes 5, 7, or 8 (THE FINALE!) of Season 2, but I did watch episode 9, which was a reunion/flashback episode so at least I saw highlights of the final challenges and who won. I gotta say, I really liked a lot of the contestants on S2. So many of them were really, really likable. And who isn't totally inspired by Chinello's way of dressmaking? I want to learn how to sew that way! Quite fascinating indeed.

Then I got started on Season 3 and I wasn't really feeling it a couple episodes in. No offense to the contestants of S3, but it took about three or four episodes to find some favorites. Watching two seasons back-to-back has me thinking that the challenges in S3 were much more difficult than S2. I mean they made a corset! That's pretty impressive. Also, the men are totally showing up the women this season. I like how Neil works, real methodical, kinda like myself. Lorna is really good too and I think her and Neil will be vying for Sewing Bee Champ. I think I'm in the middle of episode 4 so I still have a ways to go.

Oh, and, by the way, hello, I'm back here blogging again after a brief disappearance. Work, as usual, got in the way of my sanity for awhile. But things are *hopefully* back to normal, and I have a vacay fast approaching, so I am in much better spirits. Trust me, no one wants to hear/read me rant along like a mad woman so radio silence is much better than a stressed out post.

So onto the links! Again, no real category of links, just a random bunch of articles I found amusing and thought other people should see too:

1. Recently a friend made a comment that he thinks allergies are an upper-class problem and the he never knew anyone growing up who had an allergy. I'm not entirely sure of his socio-economic upbringing, but the point he was trying to make is not being such a germophob can help you be healthier. A couple days later I read this article advocating parents to let their children roll around on the NY subway to be exposed to non-life threatening bacteria. 'Rub some dirt in that wound, kid!' {Roll Your Kid Around on the Subway // NY Times}

2. I've been VERY tempted to try out Blue Apron or something similar. While I love cooking I dislike meal planning and my lack of planning usually results in me being too tired or uninspired to cook a real meal. I loved this video of a guy cooking a Blue Apron meal and comparing how long it took him to the suggested cook time. {Blue Apron // Tech Insider}

3 I've been getting back into calligraphy via Melissa Esplin's I Still Love Calligraphy Online Course. I would classify myself as an intermediate calligrapher, but I'm loving her class. My enthusiasm for calligraphy swelled even more when I came across Schin's work on Open Ink Stand. Just LOOK at those Xmas card envelopes!!!! That's where I want my calligraphy to get to. {Open Ink Stand}

4. My eyes started to swell up with happy tears when I read this story about older women in a senior assisted living facility who still maintain their beauty routines. It's just too adorable. {Inside Senior Assisted Living Beauty Shop // Racked}

5. Ugh, you guys, Sew LA is closing! While I guiltily admit I didn't shop there nearly as much as I wanted to or should have, I always enjoyed stepping foot in their store. Even if it meant driving up and down the street looking for a parking spot (at the old location) or trekking it all the way to Atwater Village. They carried beautiful fabric and was there when I needed something in a pinch or didn't want to buy a pdf pattern or pay for shipping costs. You'll be missed, Sew LA! {Farewell Sew LA}

6. Even though there are so many shelters and animal rights groups out there, apparently, like in most industries, there are the good ones and the bad ones. I've never done any research into animal rescue groups so I was shocked to read about 'the bad ones' in this interview with the director of 'Saved in America', a documentary about saving dogs in America. {Saved in America Interview // Huffington Post}

As usual there's some sewing I want to do this week and the upcoming weekend (including a Closet Case Files Sallie Jumpsuit!). Also, I'm so close to finishing a work dress. Yesterday I hand-basted in a zipper, sewed it in, then discovered it was about an inch too short and I couldn't put on the dress! Rip and repeat. Thankfully I had another zipper that is jussssst long enough. Now it just needs a hem and some tweaking to the sleeves. Right now it looks like I have a football player's shoulder pads on, not a good look! My husband said the sleeves made it look more cocktail dress than work dress (despite the suiting fabric) because the sleeves were so poofy. Hopefully it won't be too difficult of a fix. I think I have my sewing mojo back, which means I may actually get some sewing done during the week!

Does anyone else sit at work on Monday and think about all the things they want to do on Saturday??

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

{Simplicity 2154} Not so Retro Anymore

I meant to post this on Sunday, but somehow life got in the way. By the way, how was your weekend? (I feel like talking about mine so I'm going to pose a rhetorical question first.) I felt so off all last week as I kept getting the days mixed up and my husband was out of town for half of the week and normally I'm all like " SEWING ALL NIGHT! Woooo!! ", but I just wasn't feeling it. Instead I was mopey and sad that he was gone and my cat ignored me most of the nights (is that not the saddest thing you've read all day??) This is how I felt all last week.......mehhhhhhhh...... But the weekend made up for it. We celebrated our SIXTH (!!) wedding anniversary at Animal , which we first went to three or four years ago, I think for another anniversary dinner. Then two nights later, on Monday, we went out for sushi at Sugarfish , which in my opinion is the best value for the quality you get. And now it's already Wednesday evening! Where did the week go?

{Travel} Tokyo Train Travel

One of the things I obsessed over while planning my trip to Tokyo was train travel. I knew we could sight-see all over Tokyo by just using the train, but how exactly would we do it? What tickets did we need? How much were the fares? What lines to take? I consulted with my brother (who lived there for a couple years in the 2000s, my mom (who was born and raised in Japan and lived there till her mid-20s and has gone back every now and then over the years), and friends. I also read a lot of blogs and websites scouring for info. If you're traveling to Tokyo and only staying in Tokyo, which is what we did, then here are some train travel tips to save you some headaches. Do note that I'm notoriously frugal, but in some cases I'm not always suggesting the cheapest option. Sometimes, it's worth paying a few extra yen to save time and travel easier. 1. Choose a Hotel Near the JR Yamanote Line My #1 suggestion for visiting Tokyo, is book a hotel near one of the stations al

Fabric Shopping, Muslins, and Sewing Distractions

Every month I tell myself to stop buying fabric until I make several garments with the fabric in my stash. Unfortunately, most of what I currently have in my stash is for making dress/button-up shirts, which I still need to work out some fitting issues. I've gotten a lot better about not buying new patterns by the five-fold from Jo-Ann Fabrics during the Big 4 sales, although I have bought a couple new patterns from Sewaholic and Thread Theory. But fabric shopping....oooooh, I just can't help myself sometimes! I'll have an idea in my head and then I HAVE TO GET THE FABRIC NOW! I got into one of those fits last Friday. I blame Marrie and her amazing stretch cotton sateen dress . That dress is so cool and exactly the style and colors (black and white!) I would love to use as the backbone for my work wardrobe builder. After thinking about stretch cotton all morning, I sped-walked over to Michael Levine during my lunch break hoping to find some fabric to make a dress.