February 2021

Breakdowns

By in music

Not the nervous kind (although this week is unsustainably busy for a solo writer at work, so stay tuned)–the sample kind (lol). I found this page via a Twitter dive about Daft Punk’s breakup and it’s fascinating to me. From the Track Lib site:

Our ‘Sample Breakdown’ video series dissects tracks to visualize the art of sampling. Get a glimpse behind the boards, discover original samples, and learn from the greats.

Even if you don’t know all the songs, it’s just neat to see how they’re put together. Now I want to be a DJ, like this guy (from that Twitter thread)

 

Wednesday Poem

By in poems

I found this on the Swiss Miss blog, which I’m reading again. It’s by Thich Nhat Hanh and I don’t know if it was originally meant to be a poem or prose–but I don’t think that matters much.

 

The Good News

They don’t publish
the good news.
The good news is published
by us.
We have a special edition every moment,
and we need you to read it.
The good news is that you are alive,
and the linden tree is still there,
standing firm in the harsh Winter.
The good news is that you have wonderful eyes
to touch the blue sky.
The good news is that your child is there before you,
and your arms are available:
hugging is possible.
They only print what is wrong.
Look at each of our special editions.
We always offer the things that are not wrong.
We want you to benefit from them
and help protect them.
The dandelion is there by the sidewalk,
smiling its wondrous smile,
singing the song of eternity.
Listen! You have ears that can hear it.
Bow your head.
Listen to it.
Leave behind the world of sorrow
and preoccupation
and get free.
The latest good news
is that you can do it.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Yates Coat

By in sewing, Tuesday Project Roundup

In hindsight, jumping right into another coat tailoring project right after my duffle coat might have been a little much. But I fell in love with the fabric, saw this similar orange tweedy coat for $400 at J. Crew, and thought, “Oh what the hell.”

Did I get a little burned out, especially when I had to go back and cut out the interlining I laboriously put in to make it SUPER WARM but only ended up making it too heavy and stiff to wear? Yes, yes I did. But do I love the finished project? Oh yes I do.

 

FABRIC

That gorgeous tweed is from Linton Tweeds in England, who got their big break working with Chanel back in the 30s (!). It arrived in about three days and is just lovely–heavy and soft, with great body. Considering the quality, it really isn’t all that expensive, either, even with shipping (especially compared with $400 J. Crew RTW).

 

PATTERN & FIT

This is the Grainline Yates coat and, like the Grainline Cascade, it’s beautifully drafted. All the tailoring for the lapel roll is done with just interfacing and it worked wonderfully. This time I didn’t deviate from the interfacing instructions except to add a back stay, since the tweed is pretty loosely woven.

Like the Cascade Duffle, I cut a size 12 even though my measurements put me in a 10. The shoulders are (again) a little big, but I added shoulder pads (and a sleeve head) for now; the fit isn’t 100% perfect but I’m also not getting any smaller as the years pass, so I’m sure I’ll grow into it.

I lengthened everything by 4 inches and redrafted the back to be a single piece so I wouldn’t have to deal with matching the houndstooth pattern.

 

 

DETAILS

I used contrast! royal blue! flannel back satin! for the lining (which I had on hand) and ordered more satin bias from Pacific Trim for a lining detail. I added an inside welt pocket again and the snaps are faux tortoiseshell from Mood. (I was not about to attempt buttonholes in a loosely woven tweed right next to a seam, no thank you and I said good day, sir.).

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

I ended up documenting most of the steps of making this on Instagram and saving it to a story highlight (“Coat!” at the top), which you can find here if you’re interested.

I haven’t touched a woven fabric or interfacing since I finished this, but I do love it. And we can thank Doc for the excellent pictures; he even suggested the mural on the side of the Hawkwatch building for a background, which I love.

 

 

 

 

I Do This Every Year

By in nature

…quote from Wallace Stevens, that is:

“A newly-fallen snow
At the end of winter when afternoons return.”

 

We hadn’t hiked in a few weeks and there was fresh snow and sun in Millcreek–always a mood booster, along with the lengthening days.

 

Shopping The Stash

By in fabric, sewing

You might have noticed in yesterday’s post that I did end up buying the neon spandex I posted about a couple weeks ago. But what about fabric I already own? I was falling asleep the other night and pictured these three printed lawns all together–and then realized I had a pattern that called for 3 different prints, too.

There’s been a lot of fabric/sewing content lately but it’s about all that gets me excited at the end of the winter doldrums, coming up on a year into a pandemic. I want it to be spring, I want to be able to leave the house safely, and I want to do it all in a floral explosion of a prairie dress.

New Toy!

By in sewing

After thinking about one for nearly a year (and strategizing some Xmas/birthday gift cards). I finally bought a cover stitch machine!

I went with a Juki MCS1500, as it got the best reviews on Pattern Review and I could use my gift cards for it. I’ve loved my Juki serger and this is very, very similar for top threading–a bonus.

(Cat for scale)

A cover stitch’s primary function is to do that stretchy 2-row hem you see at the bottom of t-shirts, but it can do so much more! It can apply arm and neck binding like a champ for a super-professional finish on your gym tanks:

You can use the reverse side of the stitch to mimic the look of a commercial merrow stitch on your gym tights:  (You do have to stitch the seam on a regular machine or serger first and then topstitch with the cover stitch, but it’s worth the time to look so fancy.)

 

You can even apply stretch lace and lingerie elastic! No more homemade-looking zigzags!

If you’re on the fence about one, I say go for it. Yes, I could do all these things with my fancy Bernina and my serger, but the cover stitch just makes it faster, easier, and nicer. As my dad says, “You need the proper tools for the job.”

Friday Links

By in Friday Unrelated Information, poems

1. I will read anything Anne Helen Petersen writes about jobs, work, “productivity culture,” and how none of those things benefit the actual workers. This is from her latest newsletter:

 

This is the dystopian reality of productivity culture. Its mandate is never “You figured out how to do my tasks more efficiently, so you get to spend less time working.” It is always: “You figured out how to do your tasks more efficiency, so you must now do more tasks.”
[…] Capitalism does not care for that reality, or for the human wreckage it leaves behind. Leaders will seek out workers who can meet the new production quotas that technology suggests they can achieve, and dispose of them when they can no longer do so. And do not fool yourself: this is as true for factory and physical labor as it is for the office and “knowledge work.” I’m not scared that a robot is going to be able to write a blog post, or write my next book. I’m scared that I’ll be expected to write five books in the time I would’ve previously been expected to write one — and for the same amount of pay.

 

2. In honor of Valentine’s Day Sunday, here’s a love poem from Naomi Shihab Nye (author of this favorite, too). Those last two lines!

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