At Her Leisure

Nothing of import to say today. I started watching a British history show last night, the first episode was about Henry VIII and the third was about the Norman invasion of 1066 (ish), but the second episode was about WWII and the fourth was "avoiding apocalypse", and I just couldn't. It was one thing when the shit going on wasn't happening in anyone's living memory, but here we are, trapped in a horror show of (several) someone(s) who saw a history documentary and took it as a how-to manual. Nothing new under the sun but far shittier.

Aside from giving M some emotional support (her boss' last day is today, he was her work bestie) I have no firm plans for the evening or weekend. Hem my dress, and then... Just really time for trousers. The past two days have been cool and I wore the icky RTW ones which just slid down all the time as expected. It'll get hot again and I wanna be prepared.

It was too ding-dang hot to do anything but lay with as few of my bits touching as possible. I did make myself a pot of pasta to eat with the yummy ratatouille that I made on Tuesday, and that was plenty enough TYVM. I tidied up my table a bit and that was it.

Temps are expected to be MUCH lower today so I expect I'll feel less like dying. I have some eggplant to use up so I'll cook that. Time to Get Serious (tm) about the next project... if I could decide what it is. Ugh actually I have a good idea. I'm wearing the RTW pants today that give me Bad Feelings so definitely some pants!

Yesterday was a holiday, so I spent it at home despite it seeming like everyone I knew being out and about for various celebrations. No thank you, I am an indoor cat and I was still quite tired. I did do my laundry though. The room had a note that they know about the flooding issue, but the access area is currently blocked off for the alley reconstruction. It will be addressed ASAP, in the meantime use caution in this room, or use any of the other 7 rooms on site.

Speaking of alley reconstruction, I did not see them on Monday, but they did work yesterday, so my morning and part of the afternoon was spent listening to various grinding noises and beeping. They should be done soon, the scope of work was to take about 4 weeks and they're coming up on that pretty fast.

I did not even touch my library book, so that's going back mostly unread. Oops.

Nautical dress is done but for a hem, and it is ridiculously cute. It is, sadly, far too hot right now to wear. Yes, this heat is nothing like what Europe is experiencing right now, nor any of the southern states, but we just aren't used to it. The summer lovers are having a blast. The rest of us are imitating starfish.

On to the next project! Of course, I have no idea what it is right this second. The heat makes me want to work on something summery, like linen and sundresses. I could do the culottes. I could do a lil jacket to make said sundresses more work-appropriate. I could do a lot of things, as long as I pick something and do it!

Another weekend, another night of a 3 hour nap. Why does my body hate me so? Partly I think it was because Sophie decided to curl up on the bed with me, which she never does, so I slept lighter not wanting to disturb her. Alas. I woke up at 4 am and decided it wasn't worth my time to try to sleep again, but hoooooo boy do I have regrets right now. Thank the holy stars that coffee exists.

Friday, My boss kicked me out an hour early because I had one hour banked from when I was sick in March. Twist my rubber arm! I got straight into the car and went to the auction house (I had won a 12x18 cutting mat), and then to Walmart for groceries. I forget why I wanted to go to Walmart specifically, as I didn't get anything I couldn't have found at a different store, but whatever. I popped into 7-11 for a Slurpee too, and got home about 10 minutes before the sky opened up and there was a river running down the street woohoo!

Most exciting though, my pattern arrived! EEEEE! There were no English instructions, only French, but it was complete and factory folded as described. The lack of English instructions doesn't bother me at all, the illustrations are clear enough. My French is severely lacking, one day I must fix that.

On Saturday I pulled out the poplin and started cutting out the dress. It took a good long while because the kittens were stage 3 clingers and spent a goodly amount of time sitting on my fabric. I had to make sure everything would fit first, discovered one piece that I thought was poplin was a different fabric entirely, cut the skirt side/back first (the pictured skirt with the top is from the Liz dress, which I do not have, but I do have a gathered gored skirt pattern that I like), with Calcifer's "help", and I started sewing not long after. I even changed the serger threads from white to black and finished edges, who AM I?

Dinner was mashed potatoes and creamed kale (basically an alfredo sauce) which was tasty. Earlier in the day I had made granola, which was also tasty.

Yesterday I started sewing up the skirt as much as I could, and then it was time to do something about the collar situation which I had not prepared yet. I cut it from the bedsheets I'd salvaged some years ago, again with feline help. Pinned on the first layer of bias tape and decided to do a second as well, partly because there was a stain on the upper collar that would then be covered by it, and also because the collar is a statement itself, the double row of trim just makes it even more so. Later I cut the knot tie from a scrap of red silk and hand-stitched it. Currently it is just pinned in place but omg it's so stinkin' CUTE. Sleeves are up next, I just didn't want to uncover the serger again. Plus I need to run a whooooole bunch of gathering stitches, which should be perfect for my very tired brain tonight.

Also yesterday, I decided to start a new audiobook while I was sewing, and I am enjoying it SO much, I spent most of the day listening to it! The book just came out and I'd been eying it in the bookstores M and I had gone to, and when I logged into my audiobook app to finish a different book I remembered that I had credits, so I used them! (The credits were purchased earlier this year, but since that was 3+ months ago, using them now meant the books were "free". Girl math!) And wow it's a good read. When I took a break from sewing to contemplate the stripe trim of the collar, I knit a few rows and kept listening. So good.

My library book is due on Wednesday and I don't think I can renew it as it is also a new release, so I started reading it last night too. I told myself I wouldn't do that this time, waiting until the last day to read it, but here we are. Tomorrow is Canada Day so I will have plenty of time to read.

Re: who AM I? above, I was thinking about how I had to take a break from sewing after CoCo '18 and when I picked it up again almost 18 months later in laaaate 2019, I had started to spiral about if I did X, then I needed do Y and Z and also J, K and L too, and quickly nipped that in the bud. I had decided to consider more about HOW I sew and not WHAT, which meant taking time to do things like basting and seam finishes. That fell off more over the past few years, but I was reminded of it again when I started serging. So I think I will start doing this more again, even when the extra steps seem like so much WORK and why do they even matter. They DO matter. They matter to me as a tiny little way to show up for myself and my work.

Payday today, so I refreshed my memory on this week's budget (since i need to get some groceries) and bleh. It's silly. Then I made some envelopes at work (abusing my access to a label maker and highlighters and blank envelopes) and sorted out the next pay day too. It is also stupid. Maybe I wouldn't be in this position if I'd considered a visual rep to start with but hey. Baby Corn wasn't born yet to give me financial advice.

The "up" side, I guess, is that aside from groceries, I'm doing OK. My cats have food, I have access to get food as long as I'm careful, and I have plenty of hobby-related things to keep me entertained for a very long time.

Since I was partially inspired for a sailor dress from Gothic Lolita fashion, I did an image search for ideas, and I've settled on this one from Beleganty. I like the double line of stripes on the skirt. I'm planning to make this from poplin and I'm not 100% sure if I'll make the collar a contrast colour. I'm also not 100% sure on what colour to make the stripes out of... although I'm very sure I don't have enough pre-purchased bias tape to do as much as I'd like. Luckily, making bias tape is very easy and kind of fun. Black and white is so classic, and I plan to put various knots and bows onto pins so I can change them out as I please.

I was cruising YouTube this am looking for entertainment and found a sew-along video for 1948 Mccall's culottes. Hilariously, they look exactly like Gertie's Elsa culottes. I decided I wanted to save my teal twill for said culottes, so I think it's time to bump that higher on the list. And I really do need some tops. Summer is coming fast and I'll want to be stylish and cool.

Finished cutting pattern pieces and taped them all together, with PLENTY of help from Sophie. She wanted pets, so she was being super duper cute by rolling onto her back and patting my arm with her paw, but she didn't want to sit still for pets so I mostly worked around her. There are plenty of tape spots with her fur trapped beneath them. I want to trace off the pieces to make a mockup before I start on the dress I have in mind.

It's been a weird week for clothing. I do need to do laundry, but I also just don't want to wear anything I currently have, especially pants. I want dresses, but I've mostly made sundresses (not work-appropriate). I want skirts but the one is wool (delicious, delicious wool) and the other was modified two summers ago and is now too big. Plus I'd like to fix up the zipper, it is definitely not my best effort lol. I made it as a dress in 2009, took the bodice off 2023, have since lost a couple inches. I braved the closet today, namely bc its one of the Forbidden Doors and getting the kittens out of it can be real tricksy, and am wearing the top I made a couple months ago and wool trousers. It's OK. Clearly need to be pushing this wardrobe building kick I'm on.

Finally sat down with my Monopoly money last night. Couldn't find any envelopes, but I flung the pieces around and that was fun. I started by pulling my current balance + tomorrow's deposit, and then went through my app and sorted the paper until I had accounted for everything and could see what I had left. It was helpful, actually, bc I had a number in my head that was NOT the number the money represented and now I can act accordingly. I want to find a little toy cash register (or I guess a lockbox would be OK too) to put the money in. Make it more fun for me lol.

Took a nap yesterday despite feeling much more awake. Woke up just before the alley construction on the other side of my wall started getting very noisy indeed. They'd laid down some mesh/overlay to further build on, and I could guess they were laying the gravel next and compacting it. It was SO VERY VERY LOUD, the walls and windows and windows were shaking and I paused my show because I couldn't hear it. I expected a large truck or something with the amount of terror the cats were experiencing, but then the worker finally moved into sight of a window and... it was one guy with a hand-operated machine. Good lord that thing is unholy. They didn't get the whole alley yet so I expect they will do so today and terrorize my cats some more. (Actually they didn't seem too bothered. They aren't fussed with thunder or fireworks either.)

Because my hand was still sore, I only spent a little bit of time cutting out pattern pages. I spent a goodly amount of time looking at tiny paper slicers so I will purchase one of those soon to make my life a little bit easier. It's still sore today too, but again improved even from yesterday.

It was late last night when I remembered to check my Monopoly game, and I had NOT, in fact, added the extra bundle to the game. It is currently in my backpack awaiting my attention. I would want to be careful adding it in anyway, the stack is not very neat and bent on a lot of edges. Let's be real, I'm never going to actually PLAY it, I have it more as a nostalgia item lol.

Survived yesterday! I got home, plonked myself on the couch, and did gloriously nothing. I watched some movies. WHAT movies, I couldn't tell you. (Thinks for a moment) I watched Juno and Cinderella, aka things that I've seen a million times that did not require my attention whatsoever. Dinner was half a bag of chips.

Around 9 I thought OK this is a good time to move to the other room, I'm starting to feel like I could sleep for the next three years. Started to do that but of course that triggered some energy, so I collected up the last of the knit fabric (less left over than I thought, but still plenty for a shirt) and put it away, then took the scraps out from a project 2 years ago and laid out a Rita blouse. Currently considering taking apart the old dress and making Rita into a dress, since the old dress is a shapeless sack that, while adorable, does not suit me. The sleeve situation was tricksy with the remnant but I set it aside and told myself this is soooo not a today problem. Then I decided to print out another pattern, so I did that. I'd left all the various tabs open so hopefully there would be less faffing the next time I wanted to print. Limited success. Absolutely did not want to be trimming pages with my hand the way it was so it just got put on the table and I walked away.

Into bed and lights out. Solstice a few days ago means we're still getting tons of light and sunset is still around 10pm. I finally put everything down and conked out around 1130. Slept about 6 hours, which is not NEARLY enough, but at least it was a straight 6 hours without waking up in the middle. My hand is MUCH better today, still a little sore and I still need to be careful with it, but improved. I really must have slept on top of it or something while I napped.

Early AM half-asleep thoughts: I messed up my budget (slightly) until mid-July, whoops. My friend sent me a video of the most adorable cat on the internet, Baby Corn, "budgeting" for his new couch since he's a big boy now and outgrew the last one. (I'd already seen the video, and voted that he should blow his earnings on the best couch.) This morning I randomly thought about all of the Monopoly money in my house. I have a 1960s version of Monopoly Canada that my dad had found a pack of money for at the thrift store. No game, just money. I've added it into the game itself (I think) once the kittens knocked the box off the table and it needed to be sorted before being stored again. Baby Corn is the financial role model I need, apparently, because these two thoughts connected. I can't have actual cash for budgeting since it just... goes away, and virtual budgeting is limited success atm. But what if... what if I used Monopoly money. I could have a visual representation of what I have that doesn't have any actual value so can't be spent willy-nilly. I'm gonna consider this today, I think.

Part of what spurred this was realizing I hadn't accounted for some automatic payments, but I DID account for a large one later in the period. I'll have to move that large one to the next period bc I won't have enough to cover it (even if its the kind of payment that I get most of it back, it won't be enough to cover the smaller ones, and also is the last one of the cycle so there's nothing to draw from) which means I can stop worrying about groceries. I WILL learn all this eventually, it's just a slow process with the fluidity of money and pay cycles.