Scenic Route

I set out about a year ago to apply my perpetually jet lagged brain to garment sewing for myself again--wanting to learn new techniques and knowing I would have  to learn how to fit my, ahem, "mature" body.   Boy, have I learned....  ...that FBAs are wondermous.  Why did it take so many years for me to catch on?  Countless wadders could have been avoided. ...that still, I tend to make things too big. ...I have narrow shoulders and have great success in making a size smaller in the neck & shoulders than I do for the rest of my bod. ...that my skirt & dress hems look far better just above my knee.  No more church lady look!  Not that I have anything against church ladies--I am one ;) ...that adhesive dots work great on knits to identify the right sides.  Even the Chinese ones found in UB. ...that 1/4" Steam-a-Seam works great for narrow hems on unruly knits.   ...that using grosgrain ribbon for s...

Am writing this in wonderful Incheon Airport, So Korea.  Took the midnight flight from UB last night, winging my way home to Colorado. I both dread and embrace these 2-day trips spanning half a globe and a 15-hour time difference.  Dread because, well, hanging out on planes and in airports for all those hours is a drag.  Embrace because there is something Zen-like in traveling solo on such trips.  I think of it as The Zone.  Submersed in anonymity and the wonderful care of Korean Air and Incheon Airport.   Ahh, Incheon.  Spotlessly clean and incredibly accommodating with numerous rest areas, transit hotels, sightseeing tours around the island and into Seoul, free showers, free water, multiple restaurants and stores, no obnoxious TSA recordings and some of the best massage in Asia.  I try never to miss that.   Anyway.  The is a time to just zone.  Read.  Watch movies or documentaries.  Think.  Doze.  Hold ...

I have been having some fun--and being able to wear the end products.  What's not to love about sewing?  Even the occasional wadder are part of the learning curve, right?  The constant learning--not only new fitting skills and sewing techniques, but the spill over into learning new tech-y things, photography things, blogging things--is something I am really enjoying.  Plus the online sewing community is so much fun. Anyway.  My successes :) Shirt #2 from my TNT  Simplicity 9158 this time in a basic black lightweight stretch poplin from Fabric.com   This time I added a kicky facing.  Next time I might just do a bias binding instead of the facing. Then a black skirt from a great bottom weight knit I found here in UB.  It was a dream to work with and feels great to wear.  It's from Vogue 8750 I really like the curves and fit and the vent in the back adds just enough leg.  Not sure about the length, though.  Sti...

Mental Rioting.   Isn't that the coolest phrase?  I just heard it minutes ago on a Nat Geo bio on Darwin.  Thought it summed up a lot for me today.  All good.  Except for the head cold I'm getting over.  A glorious fall day is outside and I've been cooped up trying to mend.  Respiratory infections are not to be taken lightly here in UB. The good news is that I was able to snuffle about and cut out 4--count them: 4! sewing projects today.  Very excited about them.   Oh, and the really, really good news is that Mr. M indeed fixed my serger.  The same day.  He's a keeper. Before the cold hit, it hasn't all been sewing here. I started helping out with conversational English with bright young people working in Mongolian government who are trying to get to Australia to work on Master degrees.  Last Friday I was thrilled to be invited to tag along on a tour of the Parliament Building.  Quite a privilege for a local, nev...