Interesting Stuff

Another Useful Idea

Posted by

2

Even though my sewing machines have cutting blades on the left hand side I don’t use them because as a right handed person I want to reach for my scissors, instead. 

I’ve found this simple way to keep a small pair of scissors nearby on each sewing machine (I have 4, but three are on my sewing tables). 

Plastic hooks with removable tape on a clear spot on the side of the machine does the trick – once I got used to not having to hunt for scissors when I’m sewing I no longer have to think about it – they’re always right at hand!

A “Good Thing”

Posted by

0

Living is about improvisation. One of life’s small frustrations is finding the end of a roll of tape. I think I came across this idea on Pinterest – using the little plastic tabs on the end of the plastic bread bags (among other places) to mark the tape end. It’s a “Good Thing” as Martha Steward would say.

I use many different kinds of tape in my sewing room – double sided tape for positioning the machine embroidery hoops, masking tape to mark alignment positions on my sewing machines and to mark front/back of fabric, to identify rows of blocks for quilting, to convert cutting rulers to templates, duct tape when something needs a more secure temporary join.

Life got a whole lot easier when I started using those little pieces of plastic instead of throwing them out!

Sun At Last

Posted by

0


There was an item in the Newfoundland paper a few days ago:

Wanted! Summer has failed to appear. Anyone knowing its whereabouts should contact the Newfoundland Constabulary!

It’s been as bad in NS these past few weeks as well but this afternoon the sun has shown its face at last! It’s even warm. No idea how long good weather will continue but it’s joyful outside at the moment.

Mr. Piggy

Posted by

2

IMG_5136

For the last couple of months I’ve been working with an eleven year-old on spelling. He reads well, but doesn’t connect what he knows visually about words to how they’re written. To add to his problem, while he has no difficulty speaking and understanding spoken language, he can’t for the life of him break spoken words into component sounds or connect spoken word elements with their letter representations. So we’ve been meeting weekly to work on writing, and spelling, and problem solving in an effort to help him develop strategies for learning and remembering how words are spelled.

Today was our last session before summer. His mom had invited me to lunch before our lesson. When I arrived at noon I found Mr. Piggy at the door entryway waiting for someone to let him in. Mr. Piggy, a soft rubber toy that goes “oink”, belongs to Max – a large black Lab, very friendly and very fond of Mr. Piggy, his favourite toy! Mr. Piggy was placed so carefully in front of the door I was sure one of the kids had put him there – neither admitted to it, however – “Oh, Max probably just left Mr. Piggy there.”

I had lunch, we’d had our session and I was getting ready to depart – I got up from the table and there on the kitchen floor beside my chair, looking right at me, was Mr. Piggy:

IMG_5135

I didn’t see Max deposit Mr. Piggy there – I know neither of the children did it. I wondered whether Max was trying to tell me something…

Ornithogalum Continued

Posted by

1


This was the Ornithogalum a month ago – here it is today:

It continued blooming while I was away (cared for by my next door neighbour) and I’m guessing it will last a few more weeks! Amazing.

It’s a bulb so I’ll try to keep the foliage going for a bit before letting the plant die back. If I’m lucky, the bulbs will survive till next fall when I’ll replant them and see if I can encourage them to bloom.

-8 But a Glorious Day!

Posted by

0

IMG_4250
It’s a minus 8 outside but the day is simply gorgeous.
I sit here enjoying the view from my living room window, my Amaryllis in full bloom, the drifted snow on my back deck, and I feel happy.
My neighbours have been complaining about the weather, but I learned many years ago while living in Winnipeg to dress warmly and head out to enjoy the sunshine. Just what I’m going to next.

IMG_4243

Bali here I come…

Posted by

1

Bali1

This looks orderly – you should have seen it yesterday—that room was a MESS! It took me the whole day to organize stuff: following the rule – lay out all the stuff, then pack half the stuff and twice the money!

I’d already looked after the “twice the money” thing with a visit to the bank a couple of days ago. Yesterday was the day for sorting out “half the stuff.”

Notice the post it notes? I’ve been leaving messages to myself so I will remember a few last minute items I’m still using. I hope to finish up the pair of socks I’m working on tonight which will let me begin the pair I will work on while I travel (hence the small knitting bag with the fish mola).

I leave Wednesday afternoon. I’m travelling Toronto/Frankfurt/
Bangkok/Denpasar (takes three calendar days – about 35 hours travel time).

I’ve managed to get everything into the one suitcase (which is half filled with “gifts” – (which are heavy) that is the custom in Bali, apparently) – so there will be lots of room to bring back batik fabric. The bag weighs only 35 lbs – well below the 50 lb limit so I’m good to go (the bag will open another 2″ wider if I unzip that second zipper). On the way back the bag will likely be well over 50 lbs – I’ll simply pay the charges – or I guess I can jettison the clothing and other stuff I’m bringing to keep the weight within the limit – none of that is of concern at this point.

I have my small Japanese style backpack which I made a couple of months ago and a carry on bag which I made a couple of years ago to carry stuff to sewing classes – it’s not too big—just the right size for my pillow, a change of clothing, the liquids/meds/supplements that you don’t want to get lost on the trip. It’s not too heavy to carry across my body (I added some strap padding last evening for that very purpose).

Tomorrow and Tuesday I have things to catch up on—I will be able to attend to those tasks without feeling any panic about having to pack.

And Wednesday—the adventure begins. I’ve made contact with three women who are coming via Taipei, arriving in Denpasar about half an hour after I am (that’s if everybody’s connections actually happen as the itineraries say!). We’re planning to meet up in the Denpasar airport and travel together by cab to the first hotel we’re staying at. I’ll be looking for the chartreuse luggage tags we’ve all made.

 

Armani / Swarovski Dress

Posted by

0

Screen Shot 2014-09-05 at 12.46.59 PM

Armani Privé evening gown. Silver silk, Diamond Leaf Swarovski crystals. Fall 2007.

A couple of years ago on the New York Garment/Fabric Shopping trip we visited the FIT Museum – this was the first item you saw as you walked into the exhibit. It’s an amazing garment – created in 2007 by Armani at the request of Swarovski to showcase a new “leaf crystal” added to the Swarovski collection.

We weren’t able to see the internal construction of the gown, but it must have been substantial to allow a wearer to hold up the 50 or so pounds of crystals!

I’ve been looking for images of the dress since I got back. I finally got the idea of writing to the FIT Museum to ask about it. They answered me with a lot of information:

The dress was designed for Armani’s Fall 2007 collection in collaboration with Swarovski. It is embellished with approximately 100,000 Swarovski crystal beads and rhinestones as you describe. The beads appear in graduated sizes from small ones around the neckline to larger ones at the hem.  I’ve also included the label text that appeared with the dress in the exhibition in 2012 (Fashion journalist Suzy Menkes described Armani’s elaborately embellished women’s clothes as “symbols of escape from everyday reality.” This gown features approximately 100,000 Diamond Leaf crystals, a new shape designed by Armani for Swarovski. Prior to this collaboration, Swarovski had not worked directly with a designer since the 1950s, when the company partnered with Christian Dior.)

A New Face

Posted by

0

IMG_2852I was at the dentist the other day. We’ve all seen that overhead light. It suddenly struck me that there was a face above me – I love the row of bottom teeth – I couldn’t actually see them from where I was sitting, but the positioning of the iPhone picked up that reflection. Other-worldy, don’t you think?