totchipanda

On Friday I saw an orange and white cat cross the alley close to my building. Friend!! I hoped he'd still be out by the time I got there, and he was hiding under a vehicle but came over when I said hi baby, come here. He was very sweet, let me pet him a little and meowed, and walked away so I got to check the undercarriage and saw evidence of where trouble nuggets used to be lol. Went on my way.

Later, kitty showed up at my window and meowed some more. The kittens were not impressed! He wandered off again and the girls were Extra Vigilant. Around 9 I posted on my community group because while kitty was large and solid and not yet in danger of going hungry, he seemed a little lost. No one really responded, not even in the morning, and he was back at the back window at 730am. I put some food and water out for him, and then left at 1130. I have not seen him since so I hope he's made his way home.

Friday evening I braved Costco, specifically wanting a fan so I took an orange flat deck, but they didn't have any fans so I looked like an idiot walking around with groceries on it. Saturday was a good day, went to the yarn store, then the mall to replace my phone and finally my dance friend's house for a mini reunion. Didn't get home until after 11pm! I know I woke up early in the morning, but when I finally woke up for good, it was after 11am lol. Spent the whole day cross stitching while time just... slipped away somehow.

Tonight I will consider sewing. It's not supposed to be too hot, so I'd also like to go get some groceries before it heats up again. I also want to order new glasses but the site I was going to use didn't direct bill my insurer, so its out of pocket first and submission after. Might as well use the site with more selection, then. That's going to happen soon. My eyes did get used to the small-ness of the cross stitch but a proper prescription upgrade can only help, IMO.

Friday afternoon: No poking!! Doc pressed on my belly where I have had some pain issues in the past (could be gall bladder) and took my blood pressure and that was the only bit of touching! I need to book a mammogram (screening, since there is family history). I've lost 10 lbs since I saw him last year through absolutely no effort of my own.

Friday evening: BEANS BEANS BEANIE BEANS. They're all so cute! Three weeks old that night, they are peak stage 2 "potato blorb" with triangle tails and having learned to stand 1 hour ago. I took some photos and worried over Calcifer, the tabby. The girls all look the same, kind of, especially in photos. Sophie is the bravest, the first to come investigate anything. The next bravest is very soft and silky (and bigger than her siblings) but has not been named. The last kitten is almost identical to Sophie in both size and fur, but isn't as brave.

Saturday I took my car in for the oil change, and went to catch the bus back to wait it out. A guy waiting there asked me what bus he should take downtown, which i know well because I take the bus downtown, and then in the 5 mins before the bus came, he told me about how he used to drive trucks up in the oilfield but got a DUI and has to be recertified, and he can't get a place in the city because he can't have the dogs he wants (pitbulls; AFAIK they are not banned), he wants to get a place out near (small town, have you heard of it? of course I have, they're famous for their sausage) and he wants to get a pair of specialty pitties to the tune of $10k, that's fine, he makes good money (as a scaffolder) but he doesn't trust women anymore bc the last one he was sweet on cost him (allegedly) $980k. Oh, here's my bus, hey me too, you know I'd love to take you out for a drink some time.

My dude. No. I was like "uh... no thanks" and thankfully he did not sit near me on the bus.

I went straight to my dad's place, where my sibling and I played with the kittens for an hour. I made sure to take photos of EACH black one, even though in photos they all look the same lol. I promise they are different! At one point, sweet little Calcifer sat in front of me and we looked into each other's eyes for 10 seconds, solid. AUGH I LOVE HIM SO MUCH and he's so tiny because I think his sister is bullying him away from the milk bar! I left just in time to miss the bus back to the shop, and decided to go home for more coffee since they said they would call.

And that worked out because I was there for almost an hour before they were ready for me. Right on, back to pick it up and home at last! I made myself a tasty lunch with leftover spiced taters from Mary Brown's and then said -- OK. It's laundry time and I am going to work on pants.

I retraced the pattern for Miriam. I traced it at 20 front waist (16 back) with the 22 height, out to 20 by the hip/fullest point and then immediately back into 18 for the legs. I also shortened them 1" right away, which added a tiny bit more. Then I cut a single layer of each to do the mock-up with, as per top-down-centre-out, though I did not add extra. I did not have a waistband prepared, but I got good information even without it. I need a bit more room through the butt/upper thigh area, it was very snug and pulling immediately. And I don't need so much height in the front, but a bit more in the back.

I also broke the band on the sewing machine I was using, from the wheel to the pot motor on the back. Thankfully it was towards the end of the sewing the leg together, so honestly I'm not sure how the calf fits because it stopped right at the knee lol. ANyway, after that, the laundry was done and so was I. I took a nap.

Later in the evening, I went back to visit the beans. Towards the end of the time I was there, one of the black kittens was with me while I lay on the floor, and then Sophie came from underneath my arm and settled in. Her sister left to join the other two in a cuddlepuddle, and Sophie fell asleep under my chin. MY HEAAAAAAAAAART!!!! I love these beans so much!

Sunday was the show. Our friend told us 2 hours before showtime that her head hurt and she was going to lie down. We knew immediately that we weren't going to see them lol. Show was good, we had a yummy dinner after, and then I went to visit the beans again! They were all sleepy or hungry, so I didn't stay long.

Yesterday I tried to go, but it had started storming just as I was leaving work, and by the time I got home I was SOPPING WET and COLD AF (it was 3C/37F with strong winds and heavy rain that was trying to be snow). I literally have to walk four blocks to get to their place but I was drenched. So I had a nice hot shower and then made dinner and we went to be at like 8:45. Our hockey team is in the playoffs but I have no idea who won because I was asleep and haven't looked it up yet. (The other team did, had a feeling because no one was talking about it. My team dropped a 2-0 lead for that!)

I think my friend had initially planned to stay in the neighbouring city overnight, like I did in February (I was playing it a bit by ear, we didn't get out of customs etc until after 11pm) but she came home late last night. Her kitty was so happy to see her, she sent me videos of him cuddling and purring and making biscuits on her face. He could have had that from me but noooooo. I was very grateful she told me earlier in the evening so that I could go home and sleep in my own bed!

Dental work yesterday put the balance of my fillings complete. It felt like one of the teeth was breaking though, but he didn't say anything about it when he was done. I think I have another basic check up next month, so we'll see what else needs to happen then. The fillings that needed to be done meant three different needles to freeze the areas, which ended up freezing all the way up into my sinuses. It was so weird! Bit sore today but not bad. I will not be eating pizza from the place in the mall today.

I was so thoroughly exhausted last night that I just noodled around on my phone. Today I am wishing I didn't have to wear my heavy rated-to-minus-40 coat still, because while it's chilly in the mornings, its in the single to low-double digits and warmer in the afternoons. I don't need that much extra! So now I'm pondering coats I could make that are more spring/fall weight. I have a couple yards of denim-quilted-to-satin fabric, unfortunately cut into 1-yard lengths bc I had high hopes of making a quilted petticoat out of it (hahahahahhahaha dumbass). I bet there's some weirdly shaped "shacket" or whatever that I could make with it, something that doesn't need much structure.

While I was running Millie the other weekend, I felt that the motor was working a bit too hard for my liking. Millie is a 15-class clone very similar to the Brother I brought home in September, if a little more well-used. She is powered with the ubiquitous small motor on the back, which is so hilarious because its label declares it to be a shoe machine motor. I have three of these little motors! One is definitely an after-market add-on, to the 1923 National whose electrics looked so dodgy that I never dared turn it on, but the good news is that I am reasonably confident I can use one of the others. Millie's was sparking inside that I can see. I have not tried James' as he only came with the motor and nothing to run it with. The Brother has a similar looking motor but it is branded and definitely original to the machine.

Anyway, I've been trying to figure out the safest way to add some lubrication to the motor. I know I can't just go willy-nilly spraying WD-40 or sewing machine oil into it. I have found that the little screws top and bottom hold in "brushes", but so far the only videos I've found include wicks or obvious oiling points that the motors don't have, or complete disassembly and rewiring which is beyond my skills. I might need to ask my sewing machine guy.

Boooooo daylight savings boooo. I slept OK saturday/sunday, but terribly last night. I dreamed, bc I remember dreaming (about work, extra boo), but it always felt sort of surface-level, not deep.

Belly is nearly healed! I have been forgetting about it and so walking with my usual amount of energy. A couple of days of rest have been good :3

Friday night I finished cutting out the hemd, pulling threads and cutting. I still have wrist and neck bands to cut but plenty of fabric for those. I am following this tutorial, and made my armscyes a little deeper as she notes that hers was very tight. I sewed down 14" and flat felled about 12", to leave myself room for adjustment and gusset insertion. Hemming the neck took awhile (i was being very deliberate about it), but is there anything more delightful than hand-sewing linen? I didn't measure any of it, just eyeballed it, finger-pressed (or used a bone tool), and off I went. Then I marked all the dots for smocking and even started to gather them up. I said I would sew until 9, and I did, when it was time to finish dealing with my mountain of laundry and go to bed.

My work is having an equipment sale, and they let me purchase something I really wanted -- a projector! It's fantastic!!! I set it up Saturday morning in the sewing room, because what I really wanted, and have wanted since I was about 16, was a way to enlarge a gridded pattern without a lot of drawing or math skills. And also to trace off some of the indie patterns without having to either pay $4-8/sheet* or tape together a million pages of paper.

*This is an eminently reasonable price, I have just been funneling all of my cash into car payments for so long that spending that money on paper when I could be buying groceries was just a very easy choice to make.

So I spent some time projecting A0 patterns on the wall and measuring them out and what not. They look so small! But they seem to be exactly as they should be. There was a box that was supposed to be (x)" (it differed between patterns, even from the same company), and getting the file to show was a bit of trial and error and also not fully exact, but certainly close enough. The biggest issue was that it was nearly illegible. Fine if you are only doing one size, but if you need to grade in and out you better know what lines you need.

The second biggest issue is how do you get the tracing made without being in the way of the projection. I did not have long to spend on that because I would have needed to cut paper, hang it (hopefully in a way that didn't leave me holes to patch when I finish the wall), move the two tables out of the way, and then I wouldn't be able to even DO anything with it, so I did not try.

Instead, I pulled Millie, my newest old machine (class 15 clone, Royal York), out onto the table. She does indeed sew beautiful little stitches! I am worried about the motor though, it sounds and smells terrible. It's also of the age where, even though the colour matches the machine, the label on it indicates it is a shoe machine motor. I am watching YouTube videos of potted motor repairs, specifically from a guy who does vintage sewing machine repairs, and especially looking for the type of motor I have. A few of my machines have these motors, so I will get lots of practice!

Again, did not have long to spend on that, as I then had to get ready for my sibling's birthday lunch. It was, alas, the day of a long-running social event that my mom attends, so we nearly ran into her as well (we knew it was a chance). And then I headed to my friend's house for board games, where I did not INTEND to stay out as late as I did, but that's how the games go sometimes. We left just after 11pm. My roommates were in bed already, J was even asleep when I got home, and the next day they teased me about their wayward teenager being out until all hours lol.

Yesterday I attended Kendra's wig class online, which didn't REALLY tell me stuff I didn't already know. I really ought to get her book, it would be a nice and useful addition to my library.

Which, you may recall, is part of the Internet Archive, which is currently under attack from select publishers for stealing their profits, or something. But first, a story:

I did indeed have more energy last night, but instead of doing the thing I "should" be doing (making shorts) I took down a couple things to make modifications to. I pinned up 2" on last year's cropped Pietra pants, because the finished length of the full version required shortening, and hmm maybe I should do the cropped ones too, because 25.5" inseam doesn't mean it's a good length for me. I've got it to 23.5 now and I like it better but I think I need to lower it JUST a touch because with every movement it tries to pull up my calf. Then I pinned in the excess fullness in the hip because... their plus size is still drafted for a more even distribution of flesh than I have.

THEN I cut the bodice off a dress I made in 2009 to turn it into a skirt. I never liked the bodice, I added to the pattern bc according to the measurements it should have been way too small, but then it ended up being way too large and I had to take it in in a hurry. It was a halter top, that never fit my chest well, and the neck straps were just... it was all weird, yo! But the skirt is delightfully fluffy and it has POCKETS. So after I cut it, I added a petersham ribbon for waist stability (bc of course I didn't use interfacing or anything when I made it), folded and stitched the facing back on, and then -- THEN -- I added 2 hook and eye.

That's how badly I am avoiding making shorts. Yikes.

Anyway, I tried it on just to see, and while I love it (more now that I can wear it without worrying about the bodice), it's really really flat. So I thought, I should make a petticoat. Even a plain one made from a light cotton or something, rather than more traditional skirt-floofing materials, will add some body. And I remembered a really great tutorial for a short gathered petticoat from my loli days.

Y'all. The tutorial is gone. The blog has been removed and purged and it's gone.

OMG what am I to do?? I tried to locate a couple others, but being too impatient to wait until I get home to find my remaining lolita books, I suddenly remembered the Wayback Machine. And IT STILL EXISTS!! HURRAY!!!

I have also copied this and saved it as a doc for my own use. Angry publishers want to take this away from us. I fucking hate business people who only see profits and not much farther than the ends of their own noses.

I know I keep saying this, but what is time, really? I could have sworn I posted late last week but uhhhh apparently not.

Did not go grocery shopping until Saturday morning. Left the house around 9. Roommate had already texted at 8:16 to say that the bus people were not a vibe and she was already done with the day. (The bus people apparently were yelling at each other and on the verge of a physical altercation when the driver kicked them off. They had not even left the transit centre yet.) This experience carried over to groceries, but I was done PDQ and home well before 10. Still need more groceries, but nothing so desperate I needed to go out again.

Actually FINISHED the petticoat, buttons and everything!! After groceries, I did an adulting task of getting our internet services upgraded, and then decided to call my car loan holder to update my address and find out my balance. Their wait time was estimated at 45 minutes. Well ok, left it on speaker and sewed on the lace, trimmed, pressed, stitched, restitched, threaded a tape, made buttonholes and sewed on buttons. It is 100% done! But no photos, because I was on hold.

Then I started noodling about clearing off the table so I could tape together a pattern when an agent picked up! Hurrah! Except he couldn't do what I asked, and he had to transfer me to the loans department. Another 45 minute wait. But I did get what I needed done, and I am on track to have my car loan paid off at the end of the year. So that's good.

Laid out the pattern and taped it together, traced a new copy, it's a corset and I was oddly motivated to work on it? Except the only corset-appropriate fabric I have is, predictably, navy. I stopped for lunch and browsed fabric sites for something suitable in white. Debated going to a local store. Decided not to. Taped together the other half of the pattern (drawers) and cut that out. Most of my fabric is packed away in bins and being used as a shelf for other stuff from the renovation. Called it a day and took a nap.

Sunday I wrote a bit, and played my game, and just as I was about to get laundry started, the doorbell rang, and it was our new modem! So spent 20 minutes hooking that up, and then my discord friends wanted to watch some of our sci fi murder show (according to my roommate; we are watching The Expanse lol) and then it was nap time again...

So I didn't sew nearly as much as I wanted to. I hit that weird stage where I wanted to work on This Item But Couldn't Because Reasons And Nothing Else Will Do (tm). Last night I also had a window in which to sew, but didn't because I was (wait for it) napping.

Also, Sunday night/Monday morning I woke myself up by CHOMPING on my tongue, and I was very uncomfortable. Everything hurt in my mouth, the sore spot rubbing against my teeth every time I swallowed (which is rather a lot). It still hurts a bit today, but not like yesterday.

IF, and it's a big IF, we go ahead with this nebulous plan of Edwardian on the weekend of May 21-22, I still have a little under three weeks. I need to hem the skirt. Possibly make a different skirt, that's less heavy and on the correct grainlines. Need to make a shirtwaist. Need to make a combination (cami/drawers). Should have some padding, esp on the hip. I can use a different corset if required, that is not urgent.

But working on something that is not strictly needed is of course an A++ procrastination method so... I really ought to work on the other stuff lol.

I reached a point on my fic chapter that I simply could not look at it anymore and turned it over to my beta/editor. She gave me a lot of really excellent notes and feedback, so I've been plugging away at that too. Hoping to have it complete by hmmm next week. This is the lowest point of my story, and from here it's slowly up up up.

Apparently song lyrics are the first things that pop into my head when I think of a word to describe my day. I'm home sick with a migraine today and my whole face hurts. Yesterday I went to an event for residential school awareness (held on the site of a former residential school), and while it was so powerful, I sat in full sun for almost 5 hours, with an apparent grass allergy I didn't know I had, and haze provided by wildfire smoke. The sharp stabby pain from this morning is gone but I still have hte low-level concentrated pain that I would have gone to work with and suffered my whole day through.

I cut the elastic too short for my Pietra pants, damnit. I also couldn't find 2" when I was out that night so I bought 1" thinking no problem, I can just do what I did with the shorts! This was a lie. I have ripped the waist band out for the moment. Guido was yelling at me and wanting to be in my lap so I gave up on sewing any more that day.

I have just over 2 yards of the linen left, plus maybe half a yard of a wide strip where the pants were cut out. Since I am still low-key into Shadow and Bone fandom, one of the actors was photographed at an event wearing a lovely suit, and now I want a jacket to go with my pants. Just debating if I want something more like a blazer, or perhaps blazer-adjacent, or maybe a robe-type thing, or...

AND THEN THE BEST. So, my city area is called "the capital region" because there is the city I live in, and then there are two immediately adjacent cities separated only by the ring road and a bit of land, one north west and one directly east, and then several smaller cities within a half hour drive. My work-friend Erin messaged me early Saturday afternoon with a photo of a vintage sewing machine spotted in the east-side city. I posted on a discord group to tell them to stop me from driving all the way over there (just under 30 km) to pick it up. While I was already collecting my things to make the drive. They were like "um give us a harder question please, go go go!"

The machine, table, an accessory box, and weirdly a universal power adapter which has no reason being with the machine, all came home with me for $40. (I also picked up a set of plastic bins on wheels for $10) I named it James.

The name was hard to read because of the pin rash, but it is a Vickers machine, made in England. It's a vibrating shuttle (the shuttle is missing, as is the back plate) that differs from a Singer 128 in that it can go backwards. The table was definitely built for an electric machine as it has no room or space for a treadle, and the motor is the same type of shoe-machine motor that's on my converted National. It has no foot pedal and the rubber band is missing to drive the machine from motor to flywheel. Everything appears to be moving freely, there were no horrible sounds being made as I turned it. I'm really excited to get the missing pieces and see how it runs!

The table needs a lot of love. Not only did it need repair in the first place, with the veneer being damaged on nearly every edge, and the needle bar leaving a dent when the side leaf was folded up, but some ladies came up to help me get it into my car, and I was distracted by them and hadn't noticed the fold out drawer falling forward, so I broke it when it caught on the seat. Oops.