Well, as you can tell, I'm not doing so well with Historical Sew Fortnightly. It seems I have fallen into a little bit of a sewing funk, well to be honest, a general funk that has affected my sewing.
I've realized that the projects I'd planned for the Historical Sew Fortnightly were mostly just projects to fit the themes, not necessarily projects that I would make us of. And, at the moment, that doesn't make sense for me. With my limited funds, and limited time, I don't want to waste either making projects simply to have met a challenge. Right now, for me, it's more important that each piece I sew can be put into my wardrobe. So, at this point, I'm bowing out of the challenge.
However, today will not be a day only of doom and gloom. I have some good news as well.
Firstly: I'm employed! I started working at a fabric shop in mid January. It's right near where I live, which means I've been walking to work most days, and there are some awesome perks once my probationary period is up. Of course there is a staff discount. But there is also the Garment Display program, where I can make current patterns (from lines the store carries) and my supplies will be given to me either free or at cost in exchange for them having the garment as a display for a month. I'm really looking forward to giving it a try. I'll be able to make my first in April, which is the same month the new catalogs come out, so I'm not certain if I'll be in time to make anything from this release or not, but either way, it should be an awesome way to get some sewing in.
Secondly: I may be starting a second job! I've always heard that they best way to find a job is to have a job, and maybe it's true. One of the ladies I work with also works doing alterations at a dry cleaners. They were looking for another seamstress, so I've been introduced to the boss and I'm to start next week. I'm a little nervous, but we'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.
Thirdly: Just because I haven't been sewing Historical doesn't mean I haven't been sewing. I've finished my Portrait Blouse, so stay tuned for a reveal post and a review of Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing soon. And I've got a finished plaid skirt to show you as well. And two more projects underway, including my first authentic vintage pattern!
Fourthly: I'm considering starting to do a Better Fit Friday series where I go through pattern adjustments on 1/4 scale patterns. Would there be any interest in following along?
Showing posts with label Real Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Real Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Thursday, 24 October 2013
Emotional Energy
Real life can be a bit of pain sometimes.
I've been feeling really drained recently. At first I thought I was just tired, and then it was just my cold and then ... and then... Not too long ago, I realized that I was slipping back into depression, which I've fought with before.
Now, I realize that, yes I was slipping into depression, however that was not my only problem. More than just the depression, I lacked any stores of Emotional Energy. This is the kind of energy that fills you with that Get-Up-And-Go, with the motivation to get you through the day. More relevantly, it's also the energy I use for sewing, and writing and blogging.
Now, I love doing those things. But, there's only so much gas in the tank, and recently, my Emotional Energy Tank has been leaking. This week, I came to the startling, yet blatantly obvious realization that work was the leak in my tank. Well, not work itself, I actually rather enjoy secretary-HR-management. However, the current work environment is rather hard on me.
I'm constantly pulled between my Mother-in-Law and everyone else. Be it, my darling boyfriend, the other staff members (who are usually unhappy and in my opinion not treated very well), or just the general public. I've also had increasing contact with the Handy Man, who is now dating my Mother-in-Law. He's not only drunk or drinking more often than not, but he also reminds me very strongly of my mother's abusive ex-husband. Then there's of course the drama of my Mother-in-Law (not so quietly) waging war on not only the previous owner of the hotel, but also on her business partner (more quietly, as far as her partner is concerned, though everyone else and the cat next door knows). And finally there's the fact that I'm constantly on call, to not only my M-i-L but also to the Handy Man and every member of staff.
Drama drains my emotional energy. And I'm not sure if you can tell, but there's a lot of drama going on in my life right now.
Step one to a solution is identifying the problem. I think I've sorted that one out. Step two, is finding a way to stop the problem. So at the moment I've started looking for a new job. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
In the mean time, I might be a little more absent around here that I'd like. I'm not getting much sewing done to be honest, so I'm not really sure what I can show you. What I am going to try and do, is find some patterns that I either like or want to try, or just feel like showing off / pointing out.
Thanks for sticking with me!
I've been feeling really drained recently. At first I thought I was just tired, and then it was just my cold and then ... and then... Not too long ago, I realized that I was slipping back into depression, which I've fought with before.
Now, I realize that, yes I was slipping into depression, however that was not my only problem. More than just the depression, I lacked any stores of Emotional Energy. This is the kind of energy that fills you with that Get-Up-And-Go, with the motivation to get you through the day. More relevantly, it's also the energy I use for sewing, and writing and blogging.
Now, I love doing those things. But, there's only so much gas in the tank, and recently, my Emotional Energy Tank has been leaking. This week, I came to the startling, yet blatantly obvious realization that work was the leak in my tank. Well, not work itself, I actually rather enjoy secretary-HR-management. However, the current work environment is rather hard on me.
I'm constantly pulled between my Mother-in-Law and everyone else. Be it, my darling boyfriend, the other staff members (who are usually unhappy and in my opinion not treated very well), or just the general public. I've also had increasing contact with the Handy Man, who is now dating my Mother-in-Law. He's not only drunk or drinking more often than not, but he also reminds me very strongly of my mother's abusive ex-husband. Then there's of course the drama of my Mother-in-Law (not so quietly) waging war on not only the previous owner of the hotel, but also on her business partner (more quietly, as far as her partner is concerned, though everyone else and the cat next door knows). And finally there's the fact that I'm constantly on call, to not only my M-i-L but also to the Handy Man and every member of staff.
Drama drains my emotional energy. And I'm not sure if you can tell, but there's a lot of drama going on in my life right now.
Step one to a solution is identifying the problem. I think I've sorted that one out. Step two, is finding a way to stop the problem. So at the moment I've started looking for a new job. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
In the mean time, I might be a little more absent around here that I'd like. I'm not getting much sewing done to be honest, so I'm not really sure what I can show you. What I am going to try and do, is find some patterns that I either like or want to try, or just feel like showing off / pointing out.
Thanks for sticking with me!
Friday, 27 September 2013
Visiting Generosity
A few days ago, there was a lovely woman staying at our hotel. Now, Judi is an interesting woman. She's in her late 60s and lives about an hour from where I grew up, in Southern Ontario. One day, she woke up and bought the cheapest house in Canada. She looked it up on the internet, sent the agent an email, and bought it sight-unseen, for about $5000.
The first time we met Judi she was driving out to New Brunswick for the first time to see her new house. She stayed with us for a day or two, and then went on her way. We got a phone call when she arrived, and then out of the blue, she showed up at the hotel again on her way back.
The house is very cute. We got to see a bunch of pictures. It's all worn wood on the outside. Fairly small, but on a gorgeous lot, near the water. You can see the ocean from her front porch. Its just summer house for now, without insulation you can't really live there in the winter. She's planning to fix it up though, so we'll see what she decides to do.
She stayed for a couple days. And spent all of Friday a part of Saturday before she left helping with renovations, like painting, around the hotel. She also took a trip into the Salvation Army (thrift shop) and came back with a pearl necklace for me!
This is a shout out to the wonderful people like Judi. Who buy houses they've never seen in cities they've never been to. Who help with renovations at the hotels they stay at. Who give gifts to people they barely know.
Thanks Judi!
The first time we met Judi she was driving out to New Brunswick for the first time to see her new house. She stayed with us for a day or two, and then went on her way. We got a phone call when she arrived, and then out of the blue, she showed up at the hotel again on her way back.
The house is very cute. We got to see a bunch of pictures. It's all worn wood on the outside. Fairly small, but on a gorgeous lot, near the water. You can see the ocean from her front porch. Its just summer house for now, without insulation you can't really live there in the winter. She's planning to fix it up though, so we'll see what she decides to do.
She stayed for a couple days. And spent all of Friday a part of Saturday before she left helping with renovations, like painting, around the hotel. She also took a trip into the Salvation Army (thrift shop) and came back with a pearl necklace for me!
 |
| Isn't it gorgeous! |
This is a shout out to the wonderful people like Judi. Who buy houses they've never seen in cities they've never been to. Who help with renovations at the hotels they stay at. Who give gifts to people they barely know.
Thanks Judi!
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Entertaining
Sorry for the unplanned absence. My mother and younger sister came up for a surprise visit. They stayed at the hotel, not at my place, but they came home from work with me and didn't leave until about time to go to bed, so I couldn't carve out time to get a couple blog posts up...
What are your views on entertaining? For me, there are a select few who I'm happy to just have come visit, without any sort of plans and we'll just figure it out as we go. But usually, I like to have things ready.. A clean house, something planned for dinner (if they're staying, or over near a meal time), drinks in the house to offer them and some idea on how to entertain my guests.
I've come to the conclusion that this might be an old fashioned view of entertaining... My grandmother has a cook book, it was a wedding present. I forget what year it was published, but its from an age where entertaining is always much closer to my preference. There is a large section in the back about planning dinner parties. From menu to seating plans. That's right, it expects seating plans to be the norm for small dinner parties. And a lot went into it too! Unfortunately, I don't remember most of it...
It really seems to show how much has changed though. Not that long ago, seating plans were the norm, now, we're inviting people over without deciding what to make for dinner...
Do you think we're changing for the better, or loosing something wonderful? Or is it just different?
What are your views on entertaining? For me, there are a select few who I'm happy to just have come visit, without any sort of plans and we'll just figure it out as we go. But usually, I like to have things ready.. A clean house, something planned for dinner (if they're staying, or over near a meal time), drinks in the house to offer them and some idea on how to entertain my guests.
I've come to the conclusion that this might be an old fashioned view of entertaining... My grandmother has a cook book, it was a wedding present. I forget what year it was published, but its from an age where entertaining is always much closer to my preference. There is a large section in the back about planning dinner parties. From menu to seating plans. That's right, it expects seating plans to be the norm for small dinner parties. And a lot went into it too! Unfortunately, I don't remember most of it...
It really seems to show how much has changed though. Not that long ago, seating plans were the norm, now, we're inviting people over without deciding what to make for dinner...
Do you think we're changing for the better, or loosing something wonderful? Or is it just different?
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
More Than Just Clothes
I firmly believe that looking like a Bombshell is more than the clothes and what accessories you pair them with. The biggest part, to me, is the personal confidence and how you feel about yourself and your body.
Two years ago, I went to the gym every day. I watched what I ate even though I was still on a residence meal plan. I lost 20lbs and I felt amazing. I logged my weight every day in a graph, and I loved seeing the trend line sink down. Once a month I did Benchmarks, pushing myself hard to see how many sit ups or push ups I could do before I gave out and it was amazing seeing how much stronger I was getting.
Then, I had a housing crisis that I'm not going to get into. Needless to say, I couldn't get to the gym every day. Now, two years later, I'm slowly gaining back the weight I fought so hard to loose, and I'm just as weak as I was when I started going to the gym.
But the worst part is the way I feel. I feel a little angry with myself, but mostly I'm just embarrassed. I'm embarrassed by the way I look, about the number on the scale and the way my stomach jiggles. And I'm scared. I know that if I don't get this under control I'll be right back up where I was when I started going to the gym. That is something I can't handle.
This is not how I want to feel. And this is not how I want to look.
Back at Christmas I'd realized I was having a lot of 'fat days'. I'd decided enough was enough and since I'd recently come into a hand-me-down Wii, I put WiiFit on my list. Instead I got a gift card for Walmart. It took me a couple months to finally get the game. I few days later I'd tried to set it up and run into issue after issue until I gave up. Last night I decided enough was enough and I set it up.
Now, in my tiny living room, I am going to play WiiFit every day. I've gotten my scale out, and I've started tracking my weight again. Right now, those numbers hurt. But this morning was a tiny bit better than yesterday. Just a daily fluctuation, but it was still a nice way to ease the pain.
I can't wait to start seeing that downward trend line again.
I have about 50lbs to loose until I'm at the goal weight I set three years ago when I started going to the gym. That is my end goal still. But my first goal is a little simpler. By the end of the month, I want to loose something. I don't care how much, I just want to weigh in at less than I did yesterday.
Two years ago, I went to the gym every day. I watched what I ate even though I was still on a residence meal plan. I lost 20lbs and I felt amazing. I logged my weight every day in a graph, and I loved seeing the trend line sink down. Once a month I did Benchmarks, pushing myself hard to see how many sit ups or push ups I could do before I gave out and it was amazing seeing how much stronger I was getting.
Then, I had a housing crisis that I'm not going to get into. Needless to say, I couldn't get to the gym every day. Now, two years later, I'm slowly gaining back the weight I fought so hard to loose, and I'm just as weak as I was when I started going to the gym.
But the worst part is the way I feel. I feel a little angry with myself, but mostly I'm just embarrassed. I'm embarrassed by the way I look, about the number on the scale and the way my stomach jiggles. And I'm scared. I know that if I don't get this under control I'll be right back up where I was when I started going to the gym. That is something I can't handle.
This is not how I want to feel. And this is not how I want to look.
Back at Christmas I'd realized I was having a lot of 'fat days'. I'd decided enough was enough and since I'd recently come into a hand-me-down Wii, I put WiiFit on my list. Instead I got a gift card for Walmart. It took me a couple months to finally get the game. I few days later I'd tried to set it up and run into issue after issue until I gave up. Last night I decided enough was enough and I set it up.
Now, in my tiny living room, I am going to play WiiFit every day. I've gotten my scale out, and I've started tracking my weight again. Right now, those numbers hurt. But this morning was a tiny bit better than yesterday. Just a daily fluctuation, but it was still a nice way to ease the pain.
I can't wait to start seeing that downward trend line again.
I have about 50lbs to loose until I'm at the goal weight I set three years ago when I started going to the gym. That is my end goal still. But my first goal is a little simpler. By the end of the month, I want to loose something. I don't care how much, I just want to weigh in at less than I did yesterday.
Friday, 22 February 2013
Celebration!
This technically isn't vintage, but I'm amazingly excited and it seems relevant.
I've finally found a job!
Since moving to Small Town, Canada in November I've been having trouble finding work. But I had my first training shift on the desk of a small hotel just outside of town on Thursday and it went well. I get to have my first paid (that's right, I'm going to get paid!) shift on Sunday, which means I get to buy pretty things! Not right away, because I'm going to try and be all responsible and such, but it means I can start socking away in a 'pretty things fund'. I'm pretty excited, you might have noticed from the gratuitous formatting...
As a side note, I've been playing Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale which is kind of fabulous on it's own really. But, I want to open a shop! Like a real shop, with gorgeous vintage things that I can sell to people. Oh well, maybe someday.
I've finally found a job!
Since moving to Small Town, Canada in November I've been having trouble finding work. But I had my first training shift on the desk of a small hotel just outside of town on Thursday and it went well. I get to have my first paid (that's right, I'm going to get paid!) shift on Sunday, which means I get to buy pretty things! Not right away, because I'm going to try and be all responsible and such, but it means I can start socking away in a 'pretty things fund'. I'm pretty excited, you might have noticed from the gratuitous formatting...
As a side note, I've been playing Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale which is kind of fabulous on it's own really. But, I want to open a shop! Like a real shop, with gorgeous vintage things that I can sell to people. Oh well, maybe someday.
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