random thoughts – Day 2,220 (Wednesday) – spring is springing

It was nice again today, and not quite as warm as yesterday, which was startling with the sudden heat. There were gentle breezes moving through the house from the front windows and the side door under the carport and it was comfortable. It feels like spring is springing to life.

While driving downtown to the post office I saw people who are not me wearing shorts, sandals, and short-sleeved tee shirts. I was in jeans, loafers, and a long sleeve shirt, but only one layer of shirts today and that was liberating.

Fiddleheads!

The mystery plant in front of the house that I thought might be forsythia has bloomed and proven me correct. It's kind of scraggly looking and probably needs some love and attention. 

Fiddleheads are poking up through the leaves and near the rocks behind the shed. The trees are sporting buds. Still no sign of flowers in my yard, but Mom’s are starting to come up. Mom doesn't think the former owner of my house ever planted any flowers. She was more of a hanging flower basket person which explains the two chains hanging from the carport and the hooks on the shed.

Instead of frolicking in the spring weather, I did errands and visited the thrift shop for half-off day. I found several useful and sparkly things I can tear apart for dance costumes and if I screw it up, at least it didn't cost much for the materials.

Afterwards, I started sewing the purple tiers of the big fancy skirt and discovered another glitch. The fabric I thought was 44-inches wide has been the subject of shrinkflation or something – it’s only 42-inches wide. That means the tier with ten panels came up short by quite a bit. Luckily there was some fabric left and I could add another panel. The actual sewing part is going well. I haven’t sworn once! Today. About sewing.

random thoughts – Day 2,219 (Tuesday) – making the cut

The fabric was unfurled.

As foretold yesterday, the cutting of the fabric commenced today. The fabric (5 yards at 55-inches wide) was unfurled on the floor because no tables or counters are long enough. The first cut, to even the edge of the fabric, met with resistance in the form of a rotary cutter blade that has seen better times. It required multiple efforts to achieve the objective of the single straight edge. That led to a break for online shopping for replacement blades, which are about a dozen projects overdue. Blades were ordered and will deliver on the morrow with fabric clips and magic tools for threading cording like hoodie and sweat pant strings through a casing that were ordered a couple hours earlier.

This rotary blade issue did not delay production. Fortunately, there were other cutting implements available. Using the calculations calculated yesterday, pinking shears were used to cut the many strips that form the tiers of the skirt. There was some minor slippage of fabric and the strips are not 100% straight but I can deal with that when sewing.

After each couple of strips were cut of the black, purple, and gold metallic fabric, the strips were counted. While in the home stretch, with 17 strips cut and just four left to go, the status count revealed an issue and illuminated the one calculation I hadn’t verified. It turns out that 21 strips of 9” fabric total 5.25 yards, but my fabric was just a hair over the five-yard mark and I would be one strip short at the predetermined depth. 

Lunch break.

There was some fast thinking and it was decided to cut the remaining strips at six inches so the circumference was correct and I could make up the length in the remaining tiers in the fabric that hadn’t been cut yet. One of the nine-inch strips gets 45-inches trimmed off for the other layer and then will be trimmed to six-inches to match its own tier. Whew.

After resolving the issue and altering the depth of the last strips to be cut in the fancy fabric, I found myself standing in the kitchen for a drink of water. That’s when I noticed it was 2:30, breakfast had been hours ago, and one of the avocados bought a few days ago was perfectly ripe. So, when the sewing got tough, this tough sewist took an avocado and bagel break. And it was good.

Next up - sewing.

After the late lunch break, the tier depths were recalibrated for the second fabric. Solid color fabric was laid out (4.5 yards at 44” wide) and cut to a newly adapted wider depth to account for the loss of three inches in the fancy fabric tier. And now, it is all cut out, including the waistband casing. 

Tomorrow, the sewing may begin. Or not. It was gorgeous out today and the windows were open and I felt a bit guilty being inside cutting fabric instead of outside enjoying sunshine, but I was finally ready and it needed to get started. The muse was calling.

random thoughts – Day 2,218 (Monday) – another day, another quiche

This morning, it was gray and gloomy and the house was dark inside. The plan was to work on the 25-yard skirt project. I measured one of my 25-yard skirts that I thought was 36-inches long and discovered it is 37-inches and now I know why I keep stepping on the hem. Calculations were recalibrated to make the length 35 inches to minimize the risk of stepping on it and reduce the need to roll the waistband. The overall length dictates the depth of the individual tiers and the measurements were checked and rechecked. The math wasn’t math-ing on the yardage layouts for cutting the tiers.

Another day, another quiche.

When the going gets rough, I tend to head to the kitchen. Sometimes it’s to stress eat, but cooking is also a frequent activity. The next thing I knew, I was standing in the kitchen, cognizant of the facts I was hungry, hadn’t eaten anything yet, and lunchtime was approaching. And suddenly, I was making a quiche with six eggs, multiple cheeses, spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms. The chopping, mixing, cleaning up the dishes and the counter, and emptying the dishwasher took long enough to clear my head.

After eating a piece of quiche with some grape tomatoes, I was at the computer starting a new spreadsheet to figure out the yardage needed for using two different fabrics in the skirt. The yardage calculator from a belly dance sewing site uses one fabric for all four tiers, but my friend and I are using two fabrics. When we bought the material, we bought every inch they had in the patterned cloth and it isn’t enough to make two skirts in the one material. We had assumed that might happen and had also chosen a coordinating solid. To add to the fun, the fabrics are two different widths which requires two sets of calculations.

Another day, another spreadsheet.

I looked at the numbers all afternoon and it felt like my years working in finance. It also made my brain hurt. I found a couple errors in the original chart from the sewing site and while watching the process video I realized I was setting the strips along the length of the yardage and not along the short edge as the creator of the pattern had done. That has a major impact on the number of strips needed to form each tier.

The measurements feel correct now. Tomorrow the cutters will come out. (Sure, I say that now.) It still hasn’t been determined if it will be the rotary cutter or the scissors or the pinking shears, but I can figure that out over coffee in the morning.

random thoughts – Day 2,217 (Sunday) – day of dance

It was a day filled with dance, both doing and watching. The morning had dance group in a new studio space that is spacious and bonus, it has a wall of mirrors, which is a huge improvement over our previous spaces. It’s an Irish Step Dance studio and I had fun looking at the many medals hung on a wall, trophies on a shelf, various dance shoes hanging in a row, and Irish Step Dance warm up notes posted on a wooden pillar. Bonus for me, it’s a smidge closer to home than the place we were renting the past few months.

Later in the afternoon, a friend and I headed west to Holyoke to the Cairo Cabaret Show in an American Legion Hall. The space was set up with tables with cloths and centerpieces. Attendees had been advised that the usual kitchen service wouldn't be available tonight and we should bring our own snacks. That was good to know as the show began around 5:00 which is also my usual suppertime. 

I grabbed some crackers, toasted chick peas, grapes, sharp cheddar cheese, and grape tomatoes. My friend, who has instincts like a caterer, could have fed the entire room with her bag packed with sliced veggies, fruits, goat cheese, sliced cheese, tiny pita breads, hummus, and stuffed grape leaves. We had a nice feast.

The dancers were amazing. Some we recognized as fellow dancers in the Natick Showcase we have performed in and others we saw dance a month ago at the Molten Show at the LAVA Center in Greenfield. 

It was a sparkly and impressive couple of hours filled with bright and glittery costumes, coordinated cane work, top notch zill skills, and gorgeous dancers dancing. Some of the music was new to us, and some we knew intimately and immediately from the first few notes, having performed to it in dance group. It has taken some digging to find local-ish shows, but it seems they are out there. Each time we attend one, we hear of one or two others. It’s almost as if it’s some secret underground belly dance show communications network.

It was dark and drizzly on the ride back home, which made it feel later than it was. My 8:40 arrival home felt more like 10:30 or 11 and it was a nice surprise to see there was time to relax before bedtime.

random thoughts – Day 2,216 (Saturday) – a miss and a mystery

The morning included a trip next door to visit with Mom. Now that the weather is more civilized, we plan to resume our morning coffee visits which had been suspended during the winter cold. The funny part is, we learned this morning that each of us has cut back on coffee consumption. My recent fling with strep throat saw three consecutive days with no interest in coffee. When I felt better, my interest in coffee was greatly reduced and I scaled back how much is brewed each morning to minimize what gets dumped down the drain or into the plants.

Suddenly, the morning was gone and it was a mystery where it went. Any plans for the day were forgotten or cast aside if they involved any chance of spending money. I thought about low-budget entertainments and took action on none of them. I thought about trimming the undercarriage of the smallest hedge in front of the house. I thought about sewing. I thought about reading a book. Places in the yard that might be suitable for planting flowers and herbs were considered. 

None of the mulled topics received any sort of action beyond the confines of my skull. The main accomplishment was taking a walk to the mailbox and getting another book from the neighborhood Little Library. I took the long route back home for a change of scenery and it was 19 minutes of walking. Last fall’s personal best was 13 minutes round trip on the shorter direct route.

Not very tasty supper.

Dinner was cooked after a crazy train of thought. I saw the avocado on the counter and thought rice and beans might be good to go with it. Rice was made. Somewhere between the pantry where the beans and salsa live and the spice cabinet next to the stove, things shifted from a Mexican inspired meal to Indian. I ended up cooking chicken with tandoor masala spices, onion, and mixed frozen veggies to go with the rice. 

There was plenty for supper and leftovers, but unfortunately, it was not very good and it seemed I had wasted a bunch of ingredients. Such is the cost of cooking without consulting a recipe, Internet advice, or having any sort of a clue. Live and learn. Maybe I can administer some sort of culinary first aid to the leftovers to make it more interesting.

Ceiling light spots.

Around 7:00, the sun streamed through the open curtains in the back windows and caught the prisms on a hanging piece that has been temporarily hung on the corner of a mirror. It cast spots of light on the ceiling and walls. The effect was amusing, or I’m easily entertained, but I sat there looking at my sunshine and prism ceiling lights until they were gone.

As suddenly and mysteriously as the morning was gone, the whole day was gone. It keeps happening. Time is flying by, it’s been 9.5 months without a job (or any hope of one) and I’m doing very little beside taking up space but I’m not bored yet. 

random thoughts – Day 2,215 (Friday) – yard labor on a nice day

The thrift store item rework continued, but on a small scale. The pink skirt had the waistband and zipper removed yesterday, and today the panels of the skirt were ironed to remove the creases from the box pleats. Instead of making a hip belt, today’s idea was to make a top with it and the pattern pieces were tested on the fabric. The pattern fits without issues and with a little fabric left over, but the working and thinking stopped there.

The next costuming challenge was working out the depth of tiers for a four tier 25-yard skirt. The objective was to see if there is enough fabric on hand or if more is needed.  There are options for the number of tiers which affects the yardage needed for each one (and the cutting involved). I think I found a way that doesn’t require additional fabric, but the process really made my head hurt.

Overgrown with questionable health.

The weather was warm and windows were opened to air out the house. It was too nice to be inside any longer. Gears were shifted and the role was changed from indoor domestic to yard laborer/shrub trimmer, this time in the front yard. The loppers were enlisted to help trim underneath the front hedges, rhododendrons and two other plants of unknown species. Two of the mystery plants, one at each end of the house, were really easy to clean up. The dead looking branches were rotted at ground level and came out with barely a touch, which didn’t seem like a good sign for the overall health of the plants. The plant at the far end of the house has some yellow buds (but not a lot) and I'm guessing it's forsythia.

The loppers were helpful in trimming the underside of the overgrown hedges. They hang over the width of the paved walk. The top and sides were trimmed last fall, but it wasn’t possible to cut them back as much as it needs. The fall trim revealed a lot of brown needles in the middle of one of them which is even worse now.

Reasonably sized hedge and
half-dead mystery plant (forsythia?).

Trimming the hedges from underneath involved sitting on the paved walk and peering under the shrubbery to see the dead stuff, the branches growing along the ground, and the specific branches encroaching on the walk. It was a great way to clear my head of all the math, think about something besides fabric yardage, and top off the air in my head.

Giant green hedge blobs are about as boring as a carpet of grass and I kept thinking I want to pull out both overgrown hedges and plant a mix of flowers. The hedge removal idea is a project much larger than I can handle myself and is at the bottom of the growing list of house chores.

random thoughts – Day 2,214 (Thursday) – deconstructing and reconstructing

On Wednesday, I picked up a few items in a thrift shop. I was looking specifically for items that could be converted into an element for a specific dance costume and generally for things that could be converted into various dance pieces like tops and hip belts. One of the items bought was a dark green velour skirt with an elastic waistband that I wanted to deconstruct and make into a choli top. Another is a pale pink and metallic pleated skirt that could be made into a dance hip belt.

Today, the plan was sewing, but most of the day was spent laundering, deconstructing, and ripping out stitching in preparation for cutting pieces and sewing. The waistband and zipper were removed from the pink skirt and the pleats were undone. The waistband from the green skirt was removed and the side seams undone. It took close to what felt like forever.

Started as a skirt.

The green skirt was a knit fabric with pressed in pleats and cut in an A-line design. It was hard to find the straight grain of the fabric, but after consulting a sewing book and some videos, I learned how to do it by stretching the fabric in various ways. The grain is important because it determines how the garment hangs. I've had countless tee shirts and blouses that go crooked and twist after the first wash, which is the result of the fabric not being cut on the straight grain. That is what I was trying to avoid in the remake. Ignoring the grain would result in the fabric hanging oddly and possibly stretching when worn. 

Once I got the grain business sorted out (which took forever), I laid out the pattern pieces for the same top I made a month ago. That’s when I discovered that cutting the top the correct way meant there wasn’t enough fabric for sleeves. I rarely wear sleeveless tops for a couple reasons, the biggest one being, no matter the season, I’m always cold. Even in the summer, I usually have to wear a sweater. Having a sleeveless dance top is about my last choice in tops, but maybe I can find some black mesh fabric for a contrast sleeve. 

Ended as a top.

When I finally sat at the machine, things went well up until the last step, which was finishing the armholes that were intended to hold sleeves. That’s when the machine suddenly went on strike and the stitching was messed up with skipped stitches. It was a hot mess. Swearing occurred. The machine was rethreaded. Knobs were turned. Fresh stitching was removed. Testing strips were stitched and knobs adjusted. Finally, after the fiddling, the final machine stitching was done. There are still threads to be tied off and trimmed, but that can wait until tomorrow. I’m pretty much over it for today.