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3. GIRLY DAY!

OI! Hello! It's meeeee!

Hello! It’s me, Caity!  Shocking you as I reveal the alarmingly unflattering arms-length self portrait to show you my even shorter hair and new green framed glasses!  Wooooo!

Yep, that is grey at the temples there.  The pink just fades too darn fast, so I’m going BLONDE next.  At the next haircut.  And I finally got to see my waxer today, so I’m no longer auditioning for any roles as “grotesquely bearded lady” – just “slightly spotty” one.  And given how NONE of you wanted to hear about my facial hair woes mentioned in the last post, I’ll just leave that there, eh?

Sewing: ummmmm – well, I’m going to Gardam’s to order velvet tomorrow after gym… does that count? And I’m planning on rethreading the @*&#!)&*(# overlocker (serger) tonight and replacing the needle that broke right before I went on holidays.  Provided the front room has cooled down some – our wee hoose has no insulation and the temp got up to 36 degrees INSIDE today. That’s 95 F… hot for Toowoomba, but nowhere near the summer scorchers of my childhood.

(In primary school in Dubbo, we all FERVENTLY believed that when the temperature outside reached 46 degrees (115F) we’d be allowed to go home.  I have no idea if it was ever true, but I do remember when the temperature sat at 44 or 45 degrees for weeks and we’d have our classes outside under trees instead. Back in my day, sonny, we didn’t HAVE aircon at school…)

And I will confess to ordering a couple of new Vogue patterns: I like this one from Sandra Betzina especially.

Once my stupid swelly belly problem is a bit more sorted, I’ll sew up some skirt patterns… in the meantime, it’s just easier to wear loose dresses and tshirts with jeans.

Quilting: After quite a long hiatus I actually feel inclined towards making some fibre/quilt art.  I’ve been so out of that loop that I haven’t even read the last few issues of Quilting Arts… horror! And I’ve let my subscriptions to most of the other magazines lapse.  In their most recent email, though, there were some books coming out this year that looked worthwhile…including this one by Melanie Testa:

Doesn’t that look inspiring?

And now I really need to go and get settled for sleep.  I’m trying a new gym class in the morning and I’m feeling very nervous…

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3. It’s happening….

Then I ate according to my emotions and not my Eating Plan.

AGAIN.

Boysenberry Cream Cheese muffin.

Great choice, Caity: FIVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY EIGHT CALORIES.  TWENTY TWO POINT EIGHT GRAMS OF FAT.

In an Eating Plan that’s supposed to be 1100 calories and about 30grams of fat FOR THE ENTIRE DAY.  Oh, well done, that girl.

There were plenty of other choices.  I even had a gluten free muesli bar in my handbag.

*HEADDESK*

*HEADDESK*

*HEADDESK*

I can’t even talk about the rest of everything right now.  I’m going to go lie in the (hot!) bedroom with my (stifling!) CPAP mask on and agonise about THE ENTIRE WORLD’S PROBLEMS for a few hours now.

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And I’m still tired.  I’m getting to bed early (straight after The Bill last night, and probably even earlier tonight)   – just … well, pain makes me tired.  A lot.

So even though there are patterns cut and waiting, fabric washed and ready, and I’ve even unearthed the pressing ham… I’ve done NO SEWING.

Which means I still have NOTHING TO WEAR! Which wouldn’t be a problem if all I was planning on doing was staying home and sleeping but I am going ON HOLIDAYS in two weeks!

Ugh.

And I didn’t get to meet up with the lovely Brenda, who was in town for a family do. I also didn’t get to go out to the movies to see Australia, or to an afternoon tea with friends… bugger bugger bugger bugger!

Dentist tomorrow, the routine 6 monthly torture session – I’d much rather that than wait and discover horrible damage, but still – it’s … unpleasant.

Not much room for interesting blogging when all I do is SLEEP, dagnabbit!

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1. Bloody OW!!

ARRRRRRRRGH!!!

Too sick to do much.

Talk to you all later.

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1. Grrrr

Had a lovely thing happen today as the TeaBot5000 and I were coming out of the town library.  A lovely woman came up to me and said “Excuse me, are you Caityquilter?”

YES!!!  We’ve been reading each other’s blogs for a while, and have quite congruent interests (quilting, reading, poodles, technology) and had yet to meet up – so she said “When I saw you standing there I thought that HAD to be you!”

We had a brief chat about the frustrations of dealing with technophobes, and the joy of meeting up (virtually and in person) with bloggist kindred spirits.

We’re going to meet up for a lunch soon.

Lunch, dahhhhlings!

*post abandoned as neighbout’s screaming child is getting TOO MUCH!! More later when my head has stopped exploding…  Jebus may love the little children BUT I DON’T!  Actually, it’s the parents I blame…*

Hmmmph!

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ARRRRRRRGH!!

Fortunately I recognised the symptoms and had a repeat of the prescription from last time.  Still don’t know if the lozenges are supposed to be orange or lemon flavoured – they’re just yuk!  I’ll have to try and get in to the doctors this week   *sigh*

So anyway – I’m sewing.  Or at least getting ready to cut out this:

Simplicity  3921 – I’m making view A, a simple little bolero top.

One side will be plain black cotton, the other black with little white dots – that way it will be reversible and coordinate with the next few things I’m making – and that’s the whole point of the Endless Combinations Contest over on Pattern Review.

The dress I wore for the cup lunch was piece 1 – so piece 2 has to go with that; then the next thing has to combine with either piece 1 or 2; then piece 3 has to combine with any of the previous ones… it’s a great way to make sure I’m not sewing “orphans”.

(And speaking of the cup outfit, I was thrilled to bits that two other blogs featured my hat – the original inspiration, “Outsapop Trashion“, and also “The Lazy Milliner“- wooooohoooooo! THAT’S what blogging’s all about, making connections!!  The hat itself went un-noticed at the lunch, except by those on the same table.  Next I’m going BIG or not going at all!)

I also cleared my fabric stash of a few pieces of fabric that were so very very autumn I couldn’t even use them as bottoms pieces or linings – fortunately they went to a good Autumn home!

Ow. My mouth and throat are really sore.  Obviously I’m working at just the threshold between well and sick – the least bit of stress and overtiredness and BAM! Down I go.

Off to cut fabric now.  Talk amongst yourselves.

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Maybe this is even too advanced for them....

and stay the heck out of things they know nothing about.

ANGRY!!!!!

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Lily of the Valley brooch

Isn’t it pretty?  It needs a good clean, though – one of the stems is wobbly, and the silver is very tarnished. I’m off to get a quote from a local jeweller to see what can be done.

Can’t you just see this pinned to a plain (vintage!) dress or (vintage, to die for!) hat?

Anyway, that’s a job for tomorrow.  We used up too much bandwidth this month and so our internet is cut back to dial up speed ’til the new month.  PAINFUL!!

So tomorrow I’ll try and mostly sew, I think.   Hmmm.

I went to Quilters today – first time in ages, since I was so sick before the surgery that I wasn’t going much of anywhere – and THEY DIDN’T RECOGNISE ME!!  It was hilarious watching people whisper “Who’s that?” to each other.

Last time they saw me I:

• looked really ILL
• had long hair
• had different glasses
• wore no makeup
• only dressed in jeans and t-shirts!

And today I went in the new frock with cute shoes, a little bit of face on, and my short short haircut – and, if I do say so myself, looking better than I’ve done in YEARS.

Quite the difference.

And now it’s past my bedtime again – catchya tomorrow!

*yeah, more on that later  – I need to figure out how to get a spirit lamp (?) that burns without making soot, I think?

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You know how there is a series of books called “The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been In The Box”? (Pogue Press O’Reilly are awesome technical publishers, BTW. If you’re stuck on something techie, they are THE go- to books, IMHO.) Well, what I need is a “Missing Manual” for the Big 4 pattern companies!  It would include things like:

• cut the interfacing to the SEAM lines (not outside cutting lines) of pieces you need to interface, it reduces bulk and makes things turn in so much more nicely
• when to put in a grosgrain waist stay
• WHEN to finish which edges in construction – the stupid patterns assume you know this, except when they suddenly remember to say things like “Finish long facing edge…” – NOT HELPFUL, arrgh!
• reminders along the way to hand baste to check fit
• ideas about alternative ways to finish seams

40 is the new...

Yes, I have at various times read most of these things in my treasured collection of Threads magazines; but with my menopausal memory (like a steel… sieve!  Yep, that’s it, memory like a steel sieve, me!) I can’t keep so much in my head.  Most of my functioning brain space these days is taken up with thoughts such as “HOT!  Why is it so HOT In here?” and “What was I doing… why am I in this room?” and “Did I just eat that gingernut… or if not, where have I put it?”

Last night I spent HOURS – literally hours – trying to work out how to pin something together that should have been simple.  I know, I shouldn’t attempt to sew when I’m tired; but I reckon losing those brain cells to another general anaesthetic combined with the lack of hormones has made me even sillier than before!

Paris Frocks At Home

Actually, the more I look at this book at Vintage Pattern Info, the more I see where my Missing Manual went – this is all the sort of stuff I was talking about!  ARGGGGH!

Could it be that I’m not only menopausal, but need to TIME TRAVEL for sewing lessons as well?

(ooooh, imagine being able to grab that yummy David Tennant as Dr Who and travelling to various couturier’s workshops – who would you pick first?  I think I’d have to at least go to Charles Frederick Worth and see how HIS seamstresses managed those princess lines he allegedly invented!)

Right, I’m off to iron a frock – I’m going to a TUPPERWARE PARTY this arvo  – LOL! (It’s an excuse to eat yummy things and drink champagne and be giggly with the girls – gotta love that!)

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